thecoinrepublic.com
Bitcoin has made several memories since the beginning of this year. Amid the global pandemic the entire ecosystem has seen notable growth. However, 2021 has remained one of the most significant years for the digital ecosystem. Several projects witnessed tremendous growth. Several investors see their funds growing at a rapid pace. Although due to some uncertainties the crypto market has also seen several plunges, still if we note the prices since the beginning of this year coins have made multiple record highs. Following the year, we have highlighted below some of the most significant events of the year.
Elon Musk had a greater influence in the Bitcoin market
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has brought several shockwaves in the crypto ecosystem since the beginning of this year. Earlier this year, Musk announced that his electric vehicle manufacturer had allocated a sizable amount of the flagship cryptocurrency in its balance sheet. At the time, the firm’s final Form 10-K filing for its previous year showed that the firm allocated $1.5 billion of the coins which represented around 7.7% of it’s gross cash position at the time.
Later, Tesla also began to accept BTC in exchange for its electric cars. Ultimately, the decision made by the firm not only boosted the price of the underlying asset, but the move gave crypto whales more reason to splurge on the firm’s products.
However, after winning the hearts of enthusiasts in the crypto ecosystem, Musk halted the BTC payments feature. Musk also announced that he sold its 10% of holdings of the firm to demonstrate the coin’s liquidity.
El Salvador became a hodler
One of the biggest news of the year that attracted all the headlines in the sphere explained the potential of Bitcoin. El Salvador embraced the digital asset and is now also hodling it in its treasury. It is incredible that a tiny American nation made history after declaring BTC as a legal tender.
The nation took such measures ignoring the fierce opposition from the likes of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. According to Nayib Bukele, the asset’s gambit could help transform their economy by streaming remittances, promoting financial digitalization, and offering consumers a new vehicle for transactions and savings.
Moreover, El Salvador also introduced the Chivo wallet, which is their national BTC wallet. Notably, hundreds of the residences across the nation installed the application. Moreover, the app helped several cryptocurrency ATMs there to make it easier for locals to begin transacting with the coin.
Since El Salvador has legalized the asset in the country, it has continued to acquire the dip. In the currency scenario, the nation hodls about 1,220 coins in its treasury.
US got its first BTC ETF product
For several years firms were looking to roll out a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund in the United States. However, the regulators were not allowed for several years. In 2021, ProShares was the first firm that received the green signal from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and established the first such products. The financial instrument began to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker of BITO.
Notably, the latest ETF was based on the Bitcoin futures contracts. After the launch of the crypto financial instrument, the residents began to seek a spot based ETF. The US SEC is yet to approve such a product.