The market appears to be picking up, with both price movements and positive developments taking place. India has announced its strategy for a digital rupee, while the Terra ecosystem attempts a restart with Luna 2.0.
Highlights:
- India will release its digital rupee central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a phased manner, starting with a proof of concept.
- Tether has launched a new stablecoin pegged to the peso in Mexico.
- JPMorgan says that bitcoin has a significant upside and is undervalued by 38%.
- The Terra ecosystem’s effort to revive its network has begun with the launch of LUNA 2.0.
- Billionaire investor Tim Draper has said that women drive a huge bull run, which, along with merchant store adoption, could push bitcoin to above $250,000.
This Week in Crypto
India To Introduce Digital Rupee in Phased Fashion
India’s interest in the crypto space is largely limited to its digital rupee central bank digital currency (CBDC) and taxation. Now there appears to be some progress in that regard, with the Reserve Bank of India saying that it plans to launch the digital rupee in a phased manner.
The central bank will take the digital rupee through a proof of concept, then pilots, before finalising setting a date for the official launch. The bank has made this launch a priority for the upcoming year, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that it could launch this year. In any case, India is keen on leveraging the technology for its fiat currency and is waiting on global consensus before implementing more regulations on the crypto market.
Tether Launches New Stablecoin in Mexico
Tether has launched a new stablecoin in Mexico, this time a peso-backed stablecoin on the Ethereum blockchain. The MXN₮ stablecoin is the fourth stablecoin to be launched in the region, which does have a thirst for crypto.
Tether Chief Technology Officer Paolo Ardoino said that there was a noticeable uptick in crypto usage in Latin America and that the company wanted to meet that demand. Ardoino highlighted the asset’s resilience, which may have been a reference to the UST crash.
JPMorgan Says Bitcoin Has Significant Upside
It’s not often you hear JPMorgan Chase say something positive about bitcoin, but the firm is slowly warming up, it would seem. The investment bank said in a research note that the asset had significant upside and that bitcoin was undervalued by 28%. This would put its accurate price, according to JPMorgan, at $38,000.
JPMorgan offers a number of crypto services, which is notable because CEO Jamie Dimon is no fan of bitcoin. The bank’s clients are very interested in it, however, and as such, it has worked on expanding its crypto services. Analysts from the firm also believe that ether will outperform bitcoin in the long run.
Luna 2.0 Off to a Rocky Start
In a bid to move out of its precarious situation, Terraform Labs launched Luna 2.0, but the effort has gotten off to a very rocky start. The token crashed by nearly 70%, as many who received the LUNA token from the airdrop sold. Investors may be trying to recover some of the hefty losses they experienced from what is now known as Luna Classic.
It remains to be seen whether Luna 2.0 can pick up where Luna was before the crash happened. There is a lot of trusts that will have to be regained, and investors will be hoping that those leading development will have learned their lessons.
Tim Draper Says Women Will Spark Bull Run
Billionaire investor Tim Draper believes that there is a lot of room left for bitcoin to grow, and this week said that women would be behind a huge bull run. Draper made the remarks on a YouTube show, saying that women and retail store adoption would drive the asset to above $250,000.
Specifically, he said that “all of a sudden, all the women will have Bitcoin wallets, and they will be buying things with Bitcoin” when retail store owners begin accepting bitcoin. Women are noticeably behind on bitcoin and crypto usage compared to men, though that characteristic is quickly changing.