After entering the final quarter of the year, the crypto industry landed in an interesting place, not only when it comes to the prices, but also in terms of the latest cryptocurrency news and important regulation updates.
Price Performance
In terms of volatility, there was a lot of it in 2021 so far. Earlier this year, a lot of cryptos got to new all-time highs. Bitcoin, the one that mostly dictates the trends at this point, reached a record price of $64.800.
Many other coins hit new records at the beginning of the year, but the situation took a turn in May, causing some of the prices to crash, often by 50%, or even more. As expected, this did not last long, as the situation started to take a turn for the better in August and early September.
The end of September came with a drop in the Bitcoin price, but most traders were not alarmed, and instead chose to take advantage of the dip in the price and invest even more.
NFTs
Another major trend that happened in 2021 was the explosion of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). The NFT sector was quickly flooded by everyone, including celebrities, major companies, and sports stars.
It is also no longer only associated with the Ethereum blockchain. Even Bitcoin, previously known for only being a distributed ledger, will soon be getting smart contracts due to Dfinity’s project Internet Computer, thus including Bitcoin in the developing world of smart contracts.
Regulations
The Biden administration has nominated Saule Omarova, an anti-crypto lawyer, to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which has caused concern within the crypto world. Since Omarova is also against big banks and traditional banking, the banking sector is expected to lobby against her getting the job, meaning that any outcome is possible.
Moreover, the Chinese government released a statement at the end of the quarter which came as not so great news. The letter said that ‘overseas exchanges were barred from providing services to mainland investors via the internet and vowed to jointly root out “illegal” cryptocurrency activities’. Trading cryptocurrency has already officially been banned in China in 2019, but it was a gray area that allowed online foreign exchanges. However, the current statement makes it clear that individuals who are involved in these ‘illegal financial activities’ are committing a crime and will be prosecuted.
On the brighter side, Bitcoin has officially become legal in El Salvador and Cuba made cryptocurrencies a legal payment method, so the climate in other parts of the world is seemingly getting better.
Conclusion
The third quarter of 2021 has shown that the crypto industry continues to change and develop all over the globe. Some regions are more welcoming towards it than others, but overall, the situation seems to be optimistic. The NFT sector is thriving, and while the prices of most coins are still very volatile, they are significantly higher than they were in the second quarter of 2020.
