Walmart Debunks Litecoin Payments Announcement and 4 Other Key Things That Happened in Crypto This Week
After hitting its highest level since May, the price of bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, dropped below $50,000 last week and has since extended its losses.
In the last seven days, the top cryptocurrencies by market value, including bitcoin, ether and cardano, are down. Other altcoins, like dogecoin and XRP, remain in the red too.
However, meme-inspired cryptocurrency dogecoin seemingly got a minor boost on Sunday after billionaire Elon Musk tweeted a picture of his shiba inu puppy.
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In addition to price movements, here are five things that happened in crypto this week.
1. Coinbase shares fell after it revealed SEC plans to sue
On Tuesday evening, Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, tweeted that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intends to sue the cryptocurrency exchange over its interest-earning product called Coinbase Lend.
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While it has yet to launch, Coinbase Lend will let users earn interest on select assets on Coinbase, according to the company's blog post. For example, Coinbase Lend will offer users a 4% annual percentage yield (APY) on their USD Coin, a stablecoin that is supposed to be pegged to the U.S. dollar, if users allow Coinbase to lend their funds to borrowers.
Following the news, shares of Coinbase fell 3.2% on Wednesday.
2. Robinhood adds feature for recurring crypto purchases
On Wednesday, trading app Robinhood announced in a blog post that it's rolling out a feature for recurring crypto purchases.
It will allow users to buy cryptocurrency with as little as $1 on a daily, weekly, biweekly or monthly schedule, similar to that of a dollar-cost averaging strategy where people invest the same amount of money at regular intervals.
The feature is rolling out this month, according to the company's blog post.
3. Ukraine is the latest country to legalize bitcoin
On Thursday, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a law that legalizes and regulates cryptocurrency. The bill was set in motion in 2020.
The legislation details protections against fraud for those who own bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It also defines crypto terminology, like virtual assets, digital wallets and private keys.
It does not allow bitcoin as a form of payment and does not put it on an equal footing with the hryvnia, the country's national currency.
4. Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection sells for $24 million at Sotheby's
On Thursday, a collection of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, sold at Sotheby's for over $24 million.
The collection included 107 NFTs total: 101 Apes and six mutant serum vials which will let the buyer mint new Apes based on those they own for free.
Yuga Labs launched the Bored Ape Yacht Club in April. At first, the club consisted of 10,000 NFTs, each considered rare collectibles with unique characteristics.
All-time sales volume for Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs is over $475 million, according to CryptoSlam.
5. Walmart says crypto payments announcement is fake
A fake press release sent out by GlobeNewswire said that Walmart, the biggest retailer in the U.S., would accept cryptocurrency for payments using litecoin, an altcoin ranking among the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market value.
However, Walmart spokesperson Randy Hargrove confirmed that the press release is not authentic and said the retailer is investigating how the fake release was published, CNBC reported.
Intrado, the parent company of GlobeNewswire, issued a "notice to disregard" the original release, which was never listed on Walmart's official corporate website.
Although the fake release sent the price of litecoin higher, it has since retreated following confirmation that the release was inaccurate.
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