Colombia’s largest bank to offer crypto trading

'US to embrace crypto in 2022' says Bloomberg analyst, plus other highlights today

Dec 7, 2021

‘We expect the U.S. to embrace crypto in 2022’ says Bloomberg, ETH/BTC ratio rises to 3.5-Year high, Retail made up 80% of NFT transactions in 2021

Quick Take:

Bloomberg: ‘U.S. to embrace crypto in 2022’
Ether/Bitcoin ratio rises to 3.5-Year high
Bancolombia to offer crypto trading
Binance seeking FCA approval to launch in the U.K.
CIA director says it has several projects in crypto
$400M ETH withdrawn from exchanges to 3AC wallet
Retail made up more than 80% of NFT transactions in 2021
CME Group launch micro Ether futures

Colombia’s largest bank is set to offer crypto trading via Gemini

Starting from December 14th, Bancolombia, the nation’s largest bank, will soon offer its customers the ability to buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) through a partnership with Gemini.

Bancolombia is a commercial bank belonging to the holding company Grupo Bancolombia, which has operations in Colombia, Panama, Guatemala and El Salvador, and serves 17.8 million users, according to its 2020 report.

“Our partnership is part of a one-year pilot program run by Colombia’s financial regulator, the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (SFC), and will offer users seamless and secure access to crypto. The partnership also serves as an important step toward the strategic expansion of Gemini’s presence in Latin America.” said Cynthia Del Pozo Principal, Strategy and Corporate Development at Gemini.

‘We expect the U.S. to embrace cryptocurrencies in 2022’: Bloomberg

In Bloomberg’s ‘2022 Outlook: Global cryptocurrencies’ report yesterday, analyst Mike McGlone said ‘we expect the U.S. to embrace cryptocurrencies in 2022, with proper regulation‘ brought about by China’s ban and the proliferation of revolutionary technologies such as crypto dollars and NFTs.

McGlone also went on to note that ‘some normalization in stock-market returns and a continued decline in U.S. Treasury bond yields may shine on Bitcoin and Ethereum in portfolios.’

ETH/BBTC ratio hits 3.5-Year high, but what’s next?

Despite the broader crypto market sell off on last week as global markets signalled a risk off environment, the ETH/BTC ratio rose 13%, reaching a 3.5-year high and clocking its best weekly performance since May.

Historically, this move has preceded major Ether rallies and huge upside for alts. While many traders are still optimistic for an end of year rally, it is worth noting that taper talk may continue to cause downside risk.

With a hawkish Fed set to meet next week, causing headwind for risk-on assets, the next FOMC meeting will set the tone for how speculative assets such as crypto and equities will perform going in to 2022.

Coinbase noted in a newsletter to institutional clients on Friday that “the speed with which global liquidity contracts is the most important factor for cryptocurrency performance in the weeks ahead and possibly even into early 2022,”

55% of investors bought Bitcoin for the first time ever over the past year

A newly released study by Grayscale found that more than half (55%) of investors polled invested in Bitcoin for the first time ever over the past 12 months. Among those polled, a majority of investors today continue to hold their Bitcoin, and more than half (55%) of investors perceive Bitcoin as a long-term play that fits into their overall investment strategy.

Most investors who own Bitcoin (87%) also have exposure to one or more altcoins:

More highlights:

Binance seeking FCA approval to launch in the U.K.

CIA director says it has several projects in crypto

Fidelity launches spot Bitcoin ETF in Canada

CME Group launch micro Ether futures

$400M ETH withdrawn from exchanges to 3AC wallet

a16z invests $36M in ex-Meta employee’s Web3 startup

Retail made up more than 80% of NFT transactions in 2021

Massive jump in number of Australians who own crypto

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