Bitcoin Tests $25K: Can It Reach $30K This Week?

• Bitcoin opened the week testing $25,000.
• Hong Kong has unveiled its crypto licensing framework for Virtual Asset Service Providers in June.
• This new regulation will not allow retail investors to trade digital, contrary to what a recent tweet suggests.

Bitcoin Opens Week Testing $25K

Bitcoin opened the week with prices testing the USD 25,000 mark. Ethereum is also down by 0.7% and other Layer 1 protocols including Solana, Polkadot, and Polygon have made double-digit gains of 20%, 19%, and 18.5%, respectively. Joe DiPasquale, CEO of crypto fund manager BitBull Capital says that it is critical for bitcoin to reclaim USD 23,000 if we were to see more upside action.

Hong Kong Crypto Licensing Framework

Hong Kong has unveiled its crypto licensing framework for Virtual Asset Service Providers in June 2021 which focuses on accredited professional investors only and does not allow retail investors to trade digital assets, contrary to what a recent tweet suggested.

Elon Musk’s Tweet Impact

Elon Musk’s recent tweet had an impact on Dogecoin (DOGE) as it rose by 5% in the last week while Shiba Inu (SHIB) was up 4%. However Floki token named after Musk’s dog was down 7% on-day but still up 108% for the week overall.

Bitcoin Needs Bullish Monthly Close

Joe DiPasquale believes that another bullish monthly close may be what the market needs for bitcoin to test USD 30,000 mark; however he thinks that the market may just consolidate instead of going up if not this month then next month in March 2021.

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Wirex and Visa Expand Partnership to 40 Countries, Bringing Crypto Payments to New Markets

• Wirex and Visa have expanded their partnership to 40 countries including the U.K. and APAC.
• This expansion allows Wirex to directly issue crypto-enabled debit and prepaid cards in those countries.
• Matt Wood, Head of Digital Partnerships at Visa, said they want to bring more payment options to consumers by connecting digital currencies with their network of banks and merchants.

Wirex and Visa Expand Partnership

FinanceCrypto payments firm Wirex and Visa have announced an extended global partnership that will expand its footprint in Asia-Pacific (APAC) and the U.K., according to a Monday announcement. With this expansion, Wirex, which has over 5 million customers, will now be able to directly issue crypto-enabled debit and prepaid cards in over 40 countries.

Existing Relationship between Wirex and Visa

In 2015, according to Wirex, it became the first company in the world to develop a crypto-enabled card that allowed users to buy or sell multiple traditional and cryptocurrencies. Additionally, the two companies’ existing relationship includes a crypto-linked visa debit card in the U.S., as well as Wirex holding principal membership status with Visa in Europe.

Visa’s Intentions for Crypto Payment Options

Matt Wood, Head of Digital Partnerships at Visa’s Asia Pacific division noted that “Visa wants to bring more payment options to consumers by connecting digital currencies with our network of banks and merchants.”

Wirex’s UK Disengagement

The London-based firm had previously withdrawn from the U.K Financial Conduct Authority’s temporary registration regime ahead of a deadline requiring full registration which meant it would serve U.K customers through a subsidiary licensed in Croatia instead..

Conclusion

This partnership between Wirex ansd Visa is an important step towards providing more payment options for cryptocurrency users around the world by expanding access across 40 countries globally including APAC and UK regions

Lyra Automated Market Maker Now Live on Arbitrum, GMX Perpetuals

• Lyra, an automated market maker for crypto traders to buy and sell options, has successfully launched its Newport upgrade.
• The upgrade includes integration with GMX perpetuals, a derivative trading product without an expiration date, and expansion to Arbitrum, another layer 2 platform.
• This will allow users to benefit from improved capital efficiency and user experience.

Lyra Automated Market Maker Deploys to Arbitrum Network

Lyra, an automated market maker for crypto traders to buy and sell options, has successfully launched its Newport upgrade earlier this week. The upgrade includes integration with GMX perpetuals, a derivative trading product without an expiration date, as well as expansion to the Arbitrum network – another layer 2 platform. This will enable users to benefit from improved capital efficiency and user experience.

Benefits of the Upgrade

Before the upgrade was completed, Lyra’s market maker vaults (MMV) paid swapping fees for every collateralization and hedging trade that took place. Now that it is integrated with GMX perpetuals there are no longer any fees associated with these trades which leads to more efficient capital usage by traders. Additionally, this new setup allows users access both Optimism and Arbitrum networks which increases their options when looking for a suitable platform on which they can conduct their trades.

Increasing Crypto Options Trading Volume

The share of crypto options trading volume settled through OTC platform Paradigm has increased significantly recently due to hedge funds, family offices and high-net worth individuals sitting on the fence in regards to cryptocurrencies. It appears that this situation may persist for some time yet as these investors wait for further developments before making their decision about entering the space or not.

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Sage D Young: Tech Protocol Reporter at CoinDesk

Sage D Young is a tech protocol reporter at CoinDesk who owns NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens), gold & silver as well as BTC (Bitcoin), ETH (Ethereum), LINK (Chainlink), AAVE (Aave), PEOPLE (PeopleCoin), DOGE (Dogecoin), OS (OmiseGo) & HTR (Helios Protocol). Follow @httpsageyd on Twitter if you are interested in staying up-to-date with his work!