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As cryptocurrency news continues to take the headlines, it seemed anything was possible this month. From the UK’s plan to become a crypto hub, NFTs on LG TV, cooling inflation and AI tokens hype – it seems that the crypto universe won’t be taking a break any time soon. Although the market still faces many challenges, the events of this month were highly beneficial to all stakeholders as they brought new opportunities and improvements.
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Market rallies on the back of positive inflation news
Bitcoin has rallied to a 4-month high following the release of US inflation data which has raised hopes for a more favourable macro environment ahead.
This month, US inflation news was a major catalyst for Bitcoin, and the subsequent market rally we’ve seen play out.
Over the past 12 months, the US Federal Reserve has adopted an aggressive interest rate-hiking strategy and now traders are optimistic this will ease. Inflation is already down over 2.5% since the July high of 9.1%. The surge in BTC’s prices indicates that traders have responded positively to the news. The current inflation – 6.45% – is still a far cry from the Federal Reserve’s goal of 2% but it appears to be steadily moving in the right direction.
Traders will closely monitor the Federal Reserve’s response to the cooling of inflation during their February meeting, where they will reveal updated interest rates.
FTX has recovered $5 billion in assets
Bankruptcy officials have stated that the collapsed crypto exchange have located $5b USD in assets. They say $415 million was stolen in the hack.
FTX has announced that it has recovered over $5 billion worth of cash and crypto assets that it may be able to sell to help repay customers and investors. This announcement was made by the company’s attorney, Andrew Dietderich, in a Delaware bankruptcy court on Wednesday. The company had filed for bankruptcy on 11 November 2022.
However, Dietderich also stated that the company’s advisers have identified a significant amount of crypto that will be more difficult to sell without significantly impacting the market price of those digital tokens. Additionally, FTX is trying to sell off other nonstrategic investments that have a book value of $4.6 billion.
In a report to creditors, FTX also revealed that about $415 million in cryptocurrency had been stolen in hacks. The company attributed some of the shortfall to these hacks, saying that $323 million in crypto had been hacked from FTX’s international exchange and $90 million had been hacked from its US exchange.
The announcement of the recovered assets and the ongoing efforts to repay customers and investors may provide some relief for those affected by the collapse of the exchange. However, the news of the hacks and the potential difficulty in selling certain assets may raise further concerns for those involved.
The UK plans to become crypto hub with new foreign tax exemption
Foreign investors will enjoy a tax fee allowance on capital gains made from crypto in the UK in a push to become a global leader.
Spearheading the change is the UK’s new Prime Minister and former finance minister, Rishi Sunak, who, as finance minister, was a known advocate for digital currency. He has stated that the exemption will help spur growth in the UK’s cryptocurrency markets and make it more attractive to foreign investors.
The policy is also part of a larger effort by the UK government to encourage technological innovation, create jobs and attract global talent.
With this new tax relief, crypto startups can concentrate more on developing innovative projects and initiatives that will rival even their foreign competitors. The move shows just how serious the UK is about establishing itself as a major player in the crypto scene, making it easier to launch projects and incentivise foreign investment. For savvy crypto enthusiasts, this could be a dream come true and a golden opportunity to make Great Britain the blockchain capital of Europe.
Crypto AI tokens rally amidst ChatGPT mania
Reports of Microsoft’s potential $10 Billion investment in ChatGPTs owner led to a price surge in several AI crypto tokens.
The emergence of ChatGPT in late 2022 created a frenzy within the tech world. The language processing AI model launched by OpenAI, clocked over 1 million users just 1 week after it launched.
This led to talks with Microsoft about a potential $10 billion investment to help push the technology even further. Microsoft has reportedly already invested $3 billion in the company since 2019, mainly to assist with the huge amounts of computing power required to run and maintain this technology.
This has driven a huge wave of investment in crypto coins that are linked to AI technologies. Amidst all this market excitement, the prices of these tokens shot up drastically and allowed multiple traders to walk away with satisfying profits. In this relatively short period of time, it was a pleasant surprise to see how easily traders positioned themselves for success even though the Crypto AI industry is still in its infancy.
With investors looking to capitalise on AI-driven technology, it’s an interesting space to watch continue to evolve.
LG plans to bring NFTs to its smart TVs
Tech giant LG is integrating NFTs into its smart TV operating systems, just months after Samsung announced its own NFT plans.
With the explosion of NFTs in the last few years, many global companies have begun exploring ways to integrate this innovative technology. LG is no exception as the Korean tech giant has announced plans to bring NFTs to its smart televisions. The new marketplace, called “LG Art Lab” allows customers to buy, sell and display digital collectibles such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on LG Smart TVs. Currently, only customers in the US with an LG TV running webOS 5.0 or later can access this app, conveniently located on your home screen for easy download.
As big brands continue to embrace NFTs, the public awareness and acceptance of blockchain technology could see an increase.
