cryptocurrency: Crypto Week at a glance: Crypto market back in the green, NEAR enters the top 20

After a 20 percent drop in the past two weeks sparked by fears of a US Federal Reserve rate hike and a rise in Omicron cases, Bitcoin has turned the tide this week by climbing back above its key psychological level. at $42,000. It is currently trading at $43,100, up 3 percent over the past seven days.

With that shift in sentiment, all of the top 20 cryptocurrencies except LINK and stablecoins have begun to march forward with Near Protocol (NEAR) recording a weekly gain of 38% to enter the top 20 crypto list by market cap.

Bitcoin (BTC) had a dull start to 2022, with prices dropping below $40,000 for the first time since September 2021. However, it quickly found support and has recovered $42,000, an important level that gives confidence to altcoins in the market.

Many top altcoins have gained more than 15% this week, including Polygon (MATIC), Terra (LUNA), Polkadot (DOT) and Dogecoin (DOGE). Near Protocol, which raised $150 million from Three Arrow Capital, rose more than 35% this week as competition between Layer 1 protocols intensified.

The news from the crypto world continued to lean towards optimism from around the world.

Businesses and Nation-States Bank on Bitcoin

Eduardo Paes, mayor of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, has announced that he plans to put 1 percent of the city’s treasury in Bitcoin. This will turn the city into a cryptocurrency hub. Brazil is relaxing its stance on Bitcoin and is working on a framework to legalize crypto as a payment method.

Tonga, a Pacific island, reportedly plans to copy El Salvador’s crypto account to make Bitcoin legal tender in the nation by the end of 2022. Remittances make up nearly 40% of Tonga’s GDP.

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and the Ministry of Commerce have reached an agreement to allow local traders to use cryptocurrency to facilitate international trade. This deal allegedly circumvented US economic sanctions associated with the nuclear program.

Strike, a payment app powered by a lightning network, launched Bitcoin services in Argentina. This allows Argentines to make Bitcoin remittance payments, receive Bitcoin tips on Twitter, and use Strike’s peer-to-peer transaction services.

Elon Musk Recreates the DOGE Trend as BoA Endorses Solana

Elon Musk announced Friday that Tesla would accept Dogecoin (DOGE) as a form of payment to purchase its merchandise. Shortly thereafter, DOGE rose 15 percent. DOGE is currently trading near $0.18, up 21 percent a week.

A Bank of America (BoA) strategist has endorsed greater adoption of Solana for its low transaction costs, scalability and ease of use. Solana may be the “Visa of the Digital Asset Ecosystem” according to a note the company released last week.

Solo miner wins a BTC block; Jack Dorsey Fund to Help Bitcoin Developers

A rare mathematical quirk happened in the crypto ecosystem last week. A solo miner with a low hash power has won the 6.25 BTC Bitcoin mining lottery as a reward. Usually public Bitcoin miners have 10,000 times more mining capacity than this solo miner who won.

Block (formerly Square) CEO Jack Dorsey has proposed the creation of a Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund that would help Bitcoin developers deal with mounting lawsuits. The services should be set up in such a way that developers can take advantage of them for free if they so choose.

Top winners of the week

• Oasis Network (ROSE): 69% higher
• Secret (SCRT): 48% higher
• Near Protocol (NEAR): 42% higher
• Phantom (FTM): 28% higher
• FTX Token (FTT): Up 27%

Top losers of the week

• Raceway (LRC): -13% down
• Internet computer (ICP): 8% down
• Chainlink (LINK): 6% down
• Quant (QNT): 5% down
• AMP (AMP): 4% lower

(Note: Data as of 12:15 p.m. IST, Jan. 16, 2021; Source: Coinmarketcap.com)