Following the bloodbath in January, the majority of the crypto market is gradually bouncing back, with most tokens rebounding from multi-week losses. Nevertheless, not all is positive in the cryptoverse as Meta (FB) abandons its Diem digital currency initiative and metaverse project Terra suffers more setbacks.
Bitcoin Witnesses Low Demand Amid Bearish Market Movement
Even though BTC registered a promising run over the past seven days, the most valuable token by market capitalization is still facing extreme resistance at the $40,000 mark. Per the latest market data, BTC prices (BTC-USD) are pulling back after failing to clear the $39,250 resistance zone and are currently trending near $37,000.
Despite Bitcoin’s struggle to gain ground, the annual transaction volume on the Bitcoin network surpassed other well-known networks, such as Discover (DFS) and American Express (AXP), in 2021. Per data published by the NYDIG Research team, Bitcoin processed $3 trillion worth of payments during 2021, placing it above popular credit card networks American Express ($1.3 trillion) and Discover ($0.5 trillion).
Meanwhile, MicroStrategy (MSTR) continues to make the most out of this ongoing market dip. According to the official data released by the SEC, MicroStrategy has purchased an additional 600 BTC between December 30, 2021, and January 31, 2022, shelling out approximately $25 million in cash. With this new acquisition, MicroStrategy brings its total holdings to 125,051 BTC.
Tezos Kicks Off February with a Promising Upward Rally
Several promising layer-1 blockchain networks have jumped double-digits over the past week. Tezos (XTZ) stands out from the lot after registering gains of more than 35% in the last seven days. Often pitched as the “greener alternative to Ethereum,” the Tezos network’s ongoing upward rally comes on the heels of a new deal between Tezos-based NFT marketplace OneOf and the Warner Music Group (WMG).
Driven by NFTs, the Tezos ecosystem has registered impressive growth throughout 2021 in terms of smart contract addresses and general adoption. According to the Coin Metrics’ “State of the Network” report, the amount of smart contracts transactions on the Tezos network soared from less than 10,000 per day in January 2021 to more than 50,000 per day over the past 12 months.
The Sandbox (SAND), a blockchain-based virtual world platform, has also jumped double-digits in the last seven days. Following the recent two-month correction that wiped out almost 70% of SAND token’s value, the token has managed to reverse course as a slew of new announcements helps bolster the protocol’s appeal.
The value of the SAND token picked up momentum as American rapper Snoop Dogg tweeted a teaser that made it seem his upcoming NFT collection (Snoop Avatars) will be dropped on the Sandbox metaverse. The Sandbox team has also announced that it will create a concert venue and a music theme park in its metaverse with Warner Music support, positively impacting the value of the SAND token.
Terra and Cosmos Slide Persists
Terra (LUNA) is still battling losses after plummeting throughout January 2022. While the broader crypto selloff has slowed, LUNA’s case is different. The token has lost almost 15% of its value in the past seven sessions, slumping more than 50% from its all-time high within the last month. LUNA’s negative sentiment has been pinned on Terra ecosystem’s link with Magic Internet Money (MIM).
At the same time, a “crypto mega-whale” is on a LUNA-buying spree. According to the data published by blockchain-transaction tracker WhaleStats, an unnamed Ethereum wallet has purchased 135,000 LUNA tokens for $6.72 million. The same user has also purchased another five million SAND tokens for $17.2 million.
In the meantime, Cosmos (ATOM), another promising blockchain project, is also down by almost 14% over the last seven days. ATOM was range-bound for the better part of January, trading between the $34 and $44 levels. However, following a massive selloff last week, the value of ATOM plummeted beneath the expected lows and is currently trading below the $31-mark.
Meta’s DIEM Finds a New Owner
DIEM, formerly known as Libra, has reached its ultimate end, with the company now unwinding its business. The Meta-backed Diem Association has confirmed that it is shutting down operations for the much-hyped DIEM tokes. Diem Association has signed a deal with Silvergate Bank to sell off its assets and technology to repay investors.
Diem will repay its investors by using the $132 million in Class A shares and $50 million cash that Silvergate provided as part of the deal. Silvergate, in turn, will receive all of Diem’s intellectual property and technology tools, which it will then use to help launch a stablecoin by the end of the year.
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