Bitcoin Taps $40K To Finish July on Bullish Note – eToro Crypto Roundup

Infrastructure bill fails to dent crypto market rally.

Bitcoin has jumped 7% over the past week, finishing July with a bullish flourish that could signal the end of a multi-month decline.

Across the market, cryptoassets are flashing double-digit weekly returns. Ethereum has doubled Bitcoin’s gains by adding 14% ahead of the EIP-1559 upgrade en route to Ethereum 2.0, XRP has risen 15% on freshly signed partnerships and the release of a new roadmap has helped so-called ‘Ethereum killer’ NEO soar 36%.

The marketwide resurgence comes despite increased regulatory uncertainty, with developments in Washington D.C. threatening to put a damper on market sentiment by introducing burdensome tax reporting rules.

This week’s highlights

• Ethereum rides higher on wave of NFT interest
• Regulators put crypto in the crosshairs
• Maker, Enjin and Shiba Inu listed on eToro

Ethereum rides higher on wave of NFT interest

In addition to the upcoming EIP-1559 upgrade, Ethereum’s leap higher could be driven by increased trading activity in non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

These unique certificates of authenticity minted on the blockchain have sparked a craze for collectible avatars and artwork. The most coveted collections include Stoner Cats, crafted by the American actress Mila Kunis, and CryptoPunks, of which one example was placed for sale last week at over $90 million.

Ethereum scaling solution Polygon is also benefiting from the NFT boom. Matic, the token powering the network, has jumped 4% this past week – adding to a meteoric rise of over 60% since the launch of NFT-focused Polygon Studio in late July.

Regulators put crypto in the crosshairs

Rising prices appear to have reinvigorated regulators, and last week marked a dramatic turn for lawmakers in Washington D.C.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee took the crypto industry to task in a hearing titled, “Cryptocurrencies – What are they good for?” Senator Elizabeth Warren was the most fervent crypto critic, and unwittingly created a new meme by suggesting the market is controlled by “shadowy super-coders.”

Then on Thursday, it was revealed that a last-minute amendment had been made to the $550 billion infrastructure bill. This added new tax reporting obligations for cryptoassets, which some analysts suggest could stall industry growth.

Maker, Enjin and Shiba Inu listed on eToro

In response to overwhelming demand, eToro has listed Maker (MKR), Enjin (ENJ) and Shiba Inu (SHIBxM).

Lending protocol MakerDAO is one of the most popular DeFi applications, Enjin is a blockchain development platform focused on NFTs and Shiba Inu is an Ethereum-based rival to Dogecoin.

Shiba Inu is represented on eToro as Shiba (in millions), with one Shiba (in millions) unit on eToro being equivalent to one million Shiba Inu tokens.

Week ahead

The looming infrastructure bill will be top of mind for traders this week, as according to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer it could be presented to the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate “in a matter of days.”

On Wednesday, Ethereum’s London hard fork is expected to go live and could spark volatility for the leading smart contact platform or fire up smaller proof-of-stake competitors in the event of delays or mishaps.

This post originally appeared on the eToro blog.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/sdecoret

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