Gate.io Weekly Newsletter: Gate.io_s Global Contracts Trading Championship_ Musk and Dorsey Mock Metaverse and Web 3.0_ SEC Rejects Valkyrie Spot Bitcoin ETF_ Paraguay Senate Passes Cryptocur

TL;DR? Listen on the Go!
Updated Weekly on Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

Gate.io Announcement
Gate.io presents: Global Contracts Trading Championship

Is now open for registration, with a maximum prize pool of $2 million.

On the third anniversary of Gate.io Contracts, we are opening the first Global Contracts Trading Championship in order to give back to our users for their support of Gate.io Contracts.

The event includes team and individual competitions, NFT event rewards and invitation rewards, etc. The dynamic prize pool is up to $2 million. Click here for more details.

TA Highlight: Cryptocurrency markets have stabilized

As Christmas approaches, the cryptocurrency market has seen a rebound.

The bitcoin price achieved four gains this week, with the highest price of bitcoin topping $51,511, which marks the return of bitcoin above the $51,000 level after December 7.

An important indicator of a rebound in bitcoin price this week was in the return to the 20-day price average, which is the first time since November 16.

At the same time, the bitcoin Bollinger Band opening showed a trend of shrinking before expanding, which means that the bitcoin price could see significant movement in the coming period.

On December 18, the bitcoin MACD indicator showed a golden cross pattern, and from the trend indicators, the bitcoin price has a clear upward trend.

Unlike bitcoin's strong rebound situation, ETH has shown sluggishness in its strength-lacking rebound. The ETH momentum indicator ROC is significantly weaker than BTC, and the daily price movement of ETH is also weaker than BTC. The main capital flow is still mainly into BTC, and ETH is weaker than BTC in terms of capital attractiveness this week.

Crypto News

Elon Musk: No Compelling Use-case for Web3 and Metaverse

In a recent interview on a popular podcast show, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO said he sees the Metaverse and Web3 as “more marketing than reality.”

Musk’s criticism of the metaverse focused on a lack of compelling use-cases and a disappointing experience for consumers.

The original quote was, “I don’t see someone strapping a frigging screen to their face all day and not wanting to ever leave. That seems — no way.”

Critics point out that the Metaverse is mostly an over-hyped branding exercise for a series of virtual worlds, some of which are dependent on VR headsets to access. What this current iteration mainly offers is improved hardware, a flashy new title, and billions of dollars of backing from giants like Facebook-owned Meta, keen to control what they see as the next big digital platform.

Dubai World Trade Centre bids to become 'comprehensive' crypto zone and regulator

The Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) made a public bid to compete with other crypto hubs across the world.

They said it "will become a comprehensive zone and regulator for virtual assets and crypto including digital assets, products, operators and exchanges".

The announcement comes as Dubai is creating a framework for innovative financial products, adopting new trends that rely on advanced underlying blockchain technology, such as non-fungible token (NFT) and cryptocurrencies.

Bloomberg reported last week that Binance Holdings Ltd. had held discussions with regulators in the UAE about a potential headquarters in the Gulf.

Jack Dorsey: Yes Crypto; Web3, Nope

Responding to a question from singer Cardi B, Dorsey once again showed enthusiasm for the cryptocurrency, setting off a firestorm of comments from critics in the replies.

In a reply addressing Web3 and the next iteration of the internet, Dorsey said, “You don’t own ‘web3,’” adding that “The VCs and their LPs do. It will never escape their incentives. It’s ultimately a centralized entity with a different label.”

It wasn’t long before Elon Musk jumped in, tweeting, “Has anyone seen web3? I can’t find it.”

“It’s somewhere between a and z,” Dorsey replied.

News in the Financial Market

U.S. SEC Rejects Valkyrie, Kryptoin bitcoin Trusts

The SEC said Wednesday that proposals from Valkyrie Investments and Kryptoin failed to meet requirements that the rules of a national securities exchange be "designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices" and "to protect investors and the public interest."

In its ruling, the SEC emphasized: "that its disapproval of this proposed rule change does not rest on an evaluation of whether bitcoin or blockchain technology more generally, has utility or value as an innovation or an investment."

Last month, the SEC rejected a proposal to list the country's first bitcoin exchange-traded fund, VanEck bitcoin ETF, because it said it did not meet trading standards "designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices."

Forbes Make Crypto And Blockchain Predictions For 2022

Some of the predictions include:

1.NFTs will become boring.
2.Stablecoins will be mainstream.
3.Crypto payments are here to stay.
4.bitcoin will hit 100k.

Donald Trump Says Crypto Is 'Very Dangerous'

Trump has never been a fan of crypto. In August, he predicted that cryptocurrencies are “a disaster waiting to happen.” In June, he called bitcoin a scam that needs heavy regulation.

In an interview with Maria Bartiromo over the weekend, the former U.S. President warned of “an explosion someday” that will “make the big tech explosion look like baby stuff.”

Regarding his social media platform Truth Social, he stressed, “It’s going to be so big.” Trump previously explained that the new platform will be an alternative to Silicon Valley internet companies that he says are biased against him and other conservative voices. He plans to launch Truth Social nationally early next year.

Commenting on his wife’s NFT plans, Trump said: “She’s going to do great … She got a great imagination. And people love our former first lady, I can tell you that. They really do, they love her.”

Global Headlines

Central Bank of Argentina Scrutinizes Crypto Firms

The Central Bank of Argentina issued a statement explaining the actions they are taking against some cryptocurrency investment companies.

The institution announced it is scrutinizing some companies that offer “returns through operations with crypto assets and cryptocurrencies that are not compatible with reasonable parameters in financial operations.”

The bank is also alerting users about the use of these platforms whose performance and investment risk cannot be evaluated by the institution.

Paraguay’s Senate passes bitcoin regulations

Approval of the legislation follows months of discussions, debates, and the development of the bill that would see cryptocurrencies taxed and crypto mining regulated and potentially result in the legalization of bitcoin, the most widely used cryptocurrency.

Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies must pass the legislation and be signed by President Mario Abdo Benitez before becoming law. The lower chamber will discuss the bill in 2022.

If the legislation becomes law, Paraguay would be the second country in the world to recognize cryptocurrency as legal tender, after El Salvador adopted it in September.

Indian Lawmaker Says Crypto Must Be Blocked if Used for Illegal Purposes

Speaking at the sixth Global Technology Summit, jointly organized by the Ministry of External Affairs and Carnegie India last week, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi was quoted by IANS publication as saying:

“If cryptocurrency is going to be used to launch cyberattacks in India, to launch other attacks on India, to do other kinds of illegal and unethical work like drug trafficking, I need to stop all that.”

Meanwhile, the Indian government is reportedly making some changes to the cryptocurrency bill that is listed to be taken up in the current session of Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament.

Recent reports indicate that the government is planning to regulate crypto assets but ban the use of cryptocurrencies for payments. However, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has voiced major concerns regarding cryptocurrency and said at its most recent central board meeting that cryptocurrency must be fully banned, emphasizing that a partial ban will not work.


Gate.io Weekly Blogs:
Will OpenSea go public?
The Sandbox: Everything You Need To Know
Web 3.0: Blue Ocean of Value Brought by Blockchain
Why Gate.io is the perfect platform to consider web 3.0 tokens
Summary of the First Round of Polkadot Parachain Slot Auction: What Projects Deserve Attention?
How to sign up Gate.io Global Futures Trading Competition？

Author: Byron.B & Charles. F & Peter. L (Gate.io Researchers)
* The article only represents the researcher’s views and does not constitute any investment advice.
* Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all other cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.