[Comparative to Zaobao] Ethereum's strong rise broke through an all-time high of $1,500; MicroStrategy once again bought Bitcoin with $10 million in cash; Forbes Crypto Rich List: 11 people with assets exceeding $1 billion

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[Ethereum's strong rise broke through $1,500 and reached a new all-time high]

According to comparative data, Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, rose 12% on Tuesday, breaking through $1,500 to a new all-time high. This is also another record high for Ethereum after January 19. Currently, the cryptocurrency's market capitalization has reached 172.2 billion US dollars. Since entering 2021, Ethereum has achieved a 100% increase, thanks to the booming development of the decentralized finance sector. According to DeFi Pulse, more than $28 billion of value has now been locked in Ethereum-based DeFi protocols, which is also a record high.

[MicroStrategy buys Bitcoin again with $10 million in cash]

According to the official announcement, MicroStrategy has purchased approximately 295 bitcoins for $10 million in cash, with an average purchase price of around $33,808 each. As of February 2, 2021, Beijing time, the company had purchased a total of 71,079 bitcoins at a price of US$1,145 billion, with an average holding cost of approximately US$16,109 each.

[Forbes Crypto Richest List: 11 People with Assets Exceed $1 Billion]

Business media Forbes updated its list of the crypto industry's richest people on Tuesday, with a total of 11 people with assets exceeding $1 billion. Forbes said that in the past year, the stock market gave investors plenty of reasons to laugh, but no one smiled more brightly than cryptocurrency holders. Currently, the total value of all digital coins is over 1 trillion US dollars, a fourfold increase from 250 billion US dollars in January 2020. After calculating the digital currency held by these crypto industry insiders and their shares in related companies and traditional assets, Forbes found that 11 people had assets of more than $1 billion.

[Crypto market hits, Ethereum breaks $1,500]

The crypto market has collectively risen over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency with the highest market capitalization, surpassed $35,000, and Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, broke through $1,500, reaching a record high. The current total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market is $1,077,997,137,874, and the 24-hour trading volume is $223,126,809,707. Bitcoin accounts for 61.37% of the market. In the past 24 hours, 16 of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization have risen, and 71 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization have risen. The top 3 gainers were UMA (22.95%), Solana (19.68%), and Siacoin (17.54%). The top 3 declines were Dogecoin (-18.00%), Onix (-13.84%), and XRP (-11.30%).

[Indian Government Clarifies Position on Cryptocurrency and Digital Rupees]

The upper house of India's parliament published a list of questions and written responses on Tuesday, in which it clarified its position on cryptocurrencies and the digital ruble. According to public documents, Indian MP Sri Sanjay Raut asked Finance Minister Anurag Singh Thakur if the Indian government was aware that many commercial companies were using cryptocurrencies to conduct international transactions in the past year? Is the government considering the possibility of introducing India's own cryptocurrency? Thakur answered the first question with “no.” To a question about the digital rupee, he said, “No. In the 2018-19 budget speech, the government did not consider cryptocurrencies legal tender and will do everything possible to use these crypto assets to finance illegal activities or become part of the payment system. The government will actively explore the use of blockchain technology to usher in the development of the digital economy.”

[Chen Kaifeng: US GDP is expected to reach 6% this year, and the government will control Bitcoin]

Chen Kaifeng, chief economist at Huisheng Finance and professor at New York University, and CEO of Edoc Acquisition Corp, recently listed on NASDAQ, said in an exclusive interview with “Comparative” that the US economy will recover rapidly in the second half of the year. Regarding the US economy under the pandemic, Chen Kaifeng believes that it is very likely that the 1.9 trillion economic stimulus plan announced by Biden will pass. Although the number of unemployed people in the US is still high, it is mainly due to the slump in the service sector. The current state of manufacturing and the overall economy in the US is actually very good. Driven by stimulus policies, the second half of the year should be overheated. With the COVID-19 pandemic subsides and the spread of vaccines, the US GDP can achieve a 6% growth rate this year, while the nominal GDP growth rate after considering inflation is likely to reach 8% or more.

[Billionaire Mark Cuban: DeFi and NFTs Will Be the Next Hot Spot]

Billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said at the Reddit community's r/WallStreetBets sub-edition AMA event on Tuesday that DeFi (decentralized finance) and NFTs (non-homogenous tokens) will be the next hot spots. Some users asked him, what niche fields are likely to explode in the next ten years? Cuban replied, “DeFi and NFTs, but the road will be tortuous.” DeFi has made great strides in the past year. Last year, the amount of cryptocurrencies locked in DeFi agreements rose from 700 million US dollars to more than 15 billion US dollars, and now this figure has exceeded 28 billion US dollars. In 2020, the NFT market also grew by more than 57%, surpassing $100 million in trading volume.

[Gemini launches a loan service with a yield of up to 7.4%]

The US cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has launched a lending service called Earn, which offers a yield of up to 7.4%. Gemini announced the plan on Tuesday, and the service will initially only serve select Gemini customers and will roll out to all customers in early February. The service will be available in all 50 US states, including New York. Gemini Earn supports all 26 crypto assets supported by the exchange on its trading platform, including DeFi coins such as Uniswap and Aave. However, only Filecoin has the highest yield (7.4%). Interest rates range from 1.54% to 5.83% for the remaining supported currencies.

[The Robinhood turmoil has not subsided, and the CEO is asked to attend a virtual hearing to explain the details of the GME incident]

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev (Vlad Tenev) will attend a virtual hearing hosted by Representative Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) on February 18. According to the US political publication Politico today, Congressman Waters has announced that the Financial Services Commission will hold a virtual hearing related to the GameStop incident on February 18. Waters also said, “The reason I'm concerned about Robinhood's restrictions on transactions is that there is collusion between Robinhood and some of the hedge funds involved.”

Author Amy Liu

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