The last week of March was a topsy-turvy one, with prices swinging wildly due to positive and negative developments. The week’s new highlights include a persistent Cardano growing in TVL, Galaxy Digital delaying an acquisition, and the fact that over 90% of all bitcoin has been mined.
Highlights:
- Over 90% of all bitcoin has been mined, leaving only roughly 2 million left to mine.
- Coinbase has invested an additional $1 million in the Indian crypto market following clarity on taxation.
- Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem shows strong growth as its TVL crossed $300 million.
- Ethereum staking solution Lido has also seen strong TVL growth, crossing $20 billion.
- Galaxy Digital has delayed its acquisition of BitGo to later in 2022, after negotiating the deal.
This Week in Crypto
Over 90% of All Bitcoin Mined, Only 2 Million BTC Remains
In what is a good milestone for bitcoin, the 19th million bitcoin was mined in the first week of April, which means that over 90% of all bitcoin has been mined. It took 13 years to get to this point, and bitcoin has been through many ups and down in that time. Of course, it keeps getting difficult, and all 21 million bitcoins will only be mined by 2140.
The milestone has come at a time when bitcoin is coming close to breaking the $50,000 mark, having languished between $35,000 and $45,000 for a few weeks. Investors are hopeful that the next few weeks will see a strong push past the psychological barrier of $50,000. There are some reasons to be hopeful for a good price increase, including regulation-related changes in many countries.
Coinbase Pours Money Into Indian Market
India has always had a complicated relationship with cryptocurrencies, having gone back and forth on their legality multiple times in the past. Recently, it imposed a new taxation law that would take 30% out of cryptocurrency profits. While this has angered a portion of investors, major crypto entities see regulatory clarity as a sign that they can enter the market.
One of those entities is Coinbase, which has decided to invest $1 million in the country’s burgeoning crypto market. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong published a blog post revealing that Coinbase would be hosting a crypto community event. It plans to hire over 1,000 people in India by 2022.
Cardano’s Momentum Continues As TVL Crosses $300 Million
Cardano and its ADA token have been one of the success stories of 2022, with excellent development and price growth. Ever since its launch in 20187, the project has been known for its systematic approach to development, which has especially paid off in the past 12 months. After a suite of successful upgrades, the project has managed to foster an ever-growing ecosystem.
With that ecosystem, growth has come a great increase in Total Value Locked (TVL), with an explosion in activity in March, seeing it cross $300 million, though it has since dipped. Most of the value comes from DEX, with Minswap and SundaeSwap making up for the bulk of Cardano’s TVL. With more developments on the horizon, that value can only be expected to increase.
Lido Crosses MakerDAO in TVL
Meanwhile, Ethereum projects are also seeing a surge in growth. Lido has seen a surge in TVL that takes it past $20 billion. Much of the growth has come in 2022, with the TVL more than doubling since the start of the year.
Lido is a liquid staking solution for Ethereum which allows you to stake any amount of Ethereum, while also letting you use that staked ETH across DeFi applications. It has experienced a rise in usage over the past six months, and its popularity shows no signs of abating. One of the current problems with staking on ETH2 is the fact that it has a minimum amount of 32 ETH, out of reach for most investors, but Lido sidesteps that problem.
Galaxy Digital Pushes BitGo Acquisition to Later in 2022
Digital assets management firm Galaxy Digital has announced that it will delay its acquisition of custody platform BitGo to sometime later in 2022. The company had expected to finalise the acquisition in Q1 after the deal had been signed last year. The acquisition will happen after Galaxy Digital is domesticated as a Delaware corporation, which should happen between Q2 and Q4 2022.
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said that the deal had been adjusted “for the progress that BitGo had made.” The new deal puts the acquisition value at $1.15 billion, paid in Galaxy shares and cash. Galaxy Digital also plans to go public in the United States in 2022.