Bitcoin Back Under $60,000 | Metaverse Gets Mega Backers

BITCOIN TAKES A BREATHER

After nearly reaching $69,000 last week, Bitcoin prices fell to their lowest in more than a month on Friday, suffering this decline at a time when technical indicators are showing that the digital currency could be heading for further losses. However, this dip is not surprising to some watchers, as the asset and broader crypto market has shown some recent weakness. “Bitcoin has been trading sideways within the $55,000-65,000 price ranges, similarly to its performance this past February - May,” noted John Iadeluca, founder and CEO of multi-strategy fund Banz Capital. Adding to market worries is continuing fears about rising inflation and the Fed’s anticipated response.

Furthermore, bitcoin volatility has weighed on the price of ethereum, Binance’s BNB, solana, cardano and Ripple’s XRP—all down between 4% and 8% over the last 24 hours—and wiping around $500 billion from the combined crypto market capitalization in just over seven days. Traders are now looking for signs of a floor, with one crypto exchange chief executive naming bitcoin’s $1 trillion market capitalization as a possible support level.

Source: Messari. Prices as of 4:00 p.m. on November 19, 2021.

A MEGA RAISE FOR THE METAVERSE

After years of self-funding their astrologically-inspired Gemini Exchange, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have taken on their first outside capital. Announced on Wednesday, they completed a $400 million investment that values the New York parent company, Gemini Space Station, LLC, at $7.1 billion. The investment sets the stage for a possible final showdown between more than just the twins and their archrival, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, but between the very idea of so-called Walled Gardens, where companies like Facebook own and profit from user data, and a free, open-source future.

CONSTITUTION DUD

A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) dubbed Constitution DAO narrowly missed out on purchasing a rare first print of the U.S. Constitution, one of only two known to be owned by private collectors. The organization crowdfunded its bid, attracting thousands of individual donors who contributed in ether, a popular cryptocurrency. The group’s organizers first met a week ago and began soliciting donations on Sunday, orchestrating a word-of-mouth campaign through Twitter and other social media. They ended up raising more than $40 million, but it was ultimately not enough. The actual buyer remains anonymous.

CONSENSYS CASHES IN

ConsenSys, a developer and service provider focused on Ethereum, has closed a $200 million round of funding at a $3.2 billion valuation. This announcement comes just as ConsenSys appears to be finding its stride, which is also aided by the massive jump in the price of ether (Ethereum’s native asset), which has surged 489% year-to-date. The company, largely self-funded by Lubin with his personal wealth, was reported to be spending up to $100 million per year. That said, given all this growth, Lubin and ConsenSys will still need to contend with the fact that Ethereum faces a substantially more competitive environment than it had to in prior years, with platforms such as Cardano, Algorand, Solana and Avalanche seeing dramatic growth.

ELSEWHERE

Binance US Expects New Funding ‘In About A Month Or Two’ [Decrypt]

Staples Center In L.A. To Be Renamed Crypto.com Arena [WSJ]

Why Barbados’ Metaverse Embassy Matters Why Barbados’ Metaverse Embassy Matters [CoinDesk]

Steven Ehrlich
Editor 
Forbes CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor

Nina Bambysheva
Reporter
Forbes Money & Markets

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