5 Things You Need To Know About The Crypto Market This Week

【TL; DR】
As 2022 comes to a close (per the Gregorian calendar), the cryptocurrency market remains as chaotic as ever. With lawsuits, adoption, legislation, DeFi, and innovation, amongst hundreds of other topics consistently discussed in the blockchain space, it can be difficult to hone in on the most relevant information from the past week that better informs your understanding of the current market climate.

Fortunately, we’re here to break this past week down for you, so you can better understand the market and decipher the chaos.

Ripple vs SEC Picks Up Pace

In a lawsuit that has undeniably shaken the crypto world to its core for over 18 months, there has thankfully been some movement in recent weeks. With discussion surrounding a possible settlement between Ripple and the SEC forming within the crypto community, many key figureheads from across blockchain have begun to weigh in, with Cardano founder, Charles Hoskinson taking centre stage earlier this week. Stating that the lawsuit will undeniably result in ‘unfavourable consequences’ for the crypto industry, Hoskinson has affirmed his support for an out-of-court settlement as a means of mitigating further negative repercussions on the industry and prospective legislation.

Yet, despite the adversity the lawsuit has brought upon the wider crypto community, as well as the XRP community, XRP holders have remained loyal to the asset. However, the ongoing lawsuit has continued to affect the asset’s valuation, with recent price data demonstrating a downturn, with XRP currently standing at $0.3376, after shedding 1.86% in the past 24 hours and 2.6% across the past seven days.

Chainlink Automation Goes Live

The Chainlink blockchain has historically been associated with the mission of interconnecting powerful platforms from across all areas of blockchain to support the wider growth of the industry. As a testament to its core mission, Chainlink has recently unveiled the fruits of its partnership with Arbitrum One, whom they onboarded to support in the expansion of its DeFi eco. In a collaborative effort between the two, Chainlink has now released its coveted Chainlink Automation, which was built specifically to operate on the Arbitrum One platform.

This new automation feature grants Chainlink developers access to trusted and efficient automation for scalable smart contacts and dApp development, as well as support in network re-organisations, nonce-management, and gas spikes. It is anticipated that this deployment will help further the expansion of the Chainlink platform by streamlining building, deployment, and organisation processes within the network.

NFT Investors Rush To Sell Using ‘Unsellable’

Admittedly at some point, a majority of investors’ attention was thwarted by the NFT craze of mid-to-late 2021, with the likes of BAYC rising to tremendous popularity as regular investors, businessmen, and influencers were vying to grab the latest NFT trends. However, with the NFT market having plummeted to unprecedented lows as the bear market slowed the DeFi sector, many NFTs that were formerly worth millions of dollars are now worth mere dollars, with no one willing to purchase them.

Thankfully for NFT investors looking to recoup their losses on their now almost worthless assets, the Unsellable platform is looking to purchase large volumes of these NFT collections. Helping investors offset their tax losses, Unsellable has purchased over 15,000 individual NFTs as of writing, with the intention of gathering more as more investors look to save their skin and dump their now worthless collections.

Italian Government Approve 26% Crypto-Gains Tax

With a range of international governments beginning to crack down on digital commodities, including many cryptocurrencies, it comes as no surprise that earlier this week the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni included a 26% cryptocurrency gains tax in her 2023 expansionary budget. Alongside the taxation, Meloni also included over 21 billion euros ($22.3 billion) in tax breaks to assist businesses and households facing the energy and cost of living crises.

Crypto up until now, has remained relatively unregulated in Italy, however, the 387-page budget legitimised crypto assets by defining them as a ‘digital representation of value or rights, which can be transferred and stored electronically, using the technology of a distributed ledger or similar technology.’. In what is arguably a nuisance for Italian investors, can also be perceived as a historic milestone in the mass national adoption of cryptocurrencies and their subsequent legitimisation in the eyes of the law.

Coinbase Customers Withold Account Info In Lawsuit

Coinbase customers who had previously sued the exchange giant over the unauthorised transfer of their cryptocurrencies have continued to withhold their account information in a bid to block efforts to move their case to arbitration. In response, a renewed emergency motion was filed in the federal court, revealing that the plaintiffs have agreed to provide the relevant information (including email addresses, usernames, and Ethereum addresses) in exchange for a protective order.

According to a filing with the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgie, the plaintiff has alleged that an estimated $6,000 worth of cryptocurrency was drained from his wallet and migrated to one that he had never previously interacted with and has claimed that Coinbase has facilitated the breach of his account. The filing also went on to show that the hackers managed to withdraw a further $1,000 from his personal bank account. However, Coinbase has refused to accept the plaintiff’s refusal to provide information stating that ‘Refusal to provide this basic information is an improper attempt to undermine Coinbase’s right to compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act.’