Bitcoin was holding above the $42,000 mark whereas Ethereum slipped below $3,200 levels. The trading volumes remained tepid during the early trade. Trading was light as investors looked for signs that Bitcoin’s downward spiral has reached an endpoint.
Barring Cardano and dollar-pegged Tether, all other eight out of top-10 digital tokens were trading lower during the early trade on Tuesday. Cardano zoomed over 7 per cent although Terra tanked over 10 per cent.
The global crypto market cap was trading more than 2 per cent lower at $2.02 trillion compared to the last day. However, the total crypto market volumes jumped by 20 per cent to $77.26 billion.
What’s cooking in India
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for global cooperation to tackle the challenges posed by cryptocurrencies at the 2022 World Economic Forum’s annual Davos conference, where he spoke virtually.
Modi said, “Cryptocurrency is an example of the kind of challenges we are facing as a global family with a changing global order. To fight this, every nation, every global agency needs to have collective and synchronized action.”
The Center is unlikely to introduce the much-awaited cryptocurrency bill in the upcoming budget session of Parliament as it wants to hold more discussions and build consensus on the regulatory framework.
The Indian government also wants to wait for the pilot launch of the Reserve Bank of India’s digital currency expected in a few months.
Global updates
- Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which investigates serious and organized crime, said it will ask Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to block websites dealing in cryptocurrencies, according to a report by Dawn.
- Binance has agreed to set up a cryptocurrency exchange with Thailand’s Gulf Energy Development. Gulf Energy Development informed the Thai Stock Exchange that its subsidiary Gulf Innova is to study developing a digital asset exchange with Binance.
- The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued guidelines that limit cryptocurrency trading service providers from promoting their services to the general public, as part of a bid to shield retail investors from potential risks.
Streamlining NFTs
In March 2021, a 1961 oil painting by VS Gaitonde sold for over $5 million – making it the most expensive Indian art ever sold.
In the same month, auction house Christie’s sold a digital work of art for the first time for $69 million. It not only set a record but also made a blockchain application called NFT instantly popular.
