The Bitbuy Brief: The Latest Market Update, And Russia's Comments On Crypto

Issue 154: The Latest Market Update, And Russia’s Comments On Crypto 🇷🇺

October 14, 2021

Weekly Market Recap

This week, Ethereum and other altcoins bounced back, even after the IMF reiterated more oversight is needed for crypto.

XLM and XRP leading the way, up 2.6% over the 7-day period, with Bitcoin up 2.5%.

If you are looking to buy or sell the market move, click here below to access your account.

Headlines & News

Prominent Silicon Valley VC firm Andreessen Horowitz embarks on major crypto policy push in Washington – CNBC

McDonald’s China Launches Its First-Ever #NFT Despite Government’s Anti-Crypto Stance – Gadgets 360

Venezuelan International Airport to Accept Bitcoin Payments – Cointelegraph

IMF Reiterates More Oversight For Crypto in The Latest Report  – Investing.com

Kanye West Mural Now Being Auctioned Off as NFT – Hypebeast

Russia Recognizes Crypto’s Valuable Role 🇷🇺

While crypto is still facing increased scrutiny from financial regulators around the world, Russia announced Thursday on their Kremlin website that they recognize Bitcoin’s existence and functionality. The announcement was citing a recent interview with CNBC.

President Vladimir Putin said that cryptocurrency “has the right to exist and can be used as a means of payment”.

This comes as a surprise to world leaders, and the crypto community, as Russia’s earlier stance on Bitcoin seemed unwelcoming. The Kremlin had long warned about cryptocurrency volatility and advised against using digital assets when making payments domestically.

Now, the Kremlin’s stance has changed as Russia has been seeking alternatives to trading in USD. Putin’s administration long viewed USD as a political weapon that is leveraged by the United States against other countries. Reading between the lines, he may view cryptocurrency as a way to transact globally in the future.

The deputy finance minister of Russia, also had some recent comments. He said that “Russian citizens can have a wallet open outside of Russia”, meaning there doesn’t seem to be any objection to Russians trading crypto on international platforms.

Although Russia’s stance may not affect us too much here in Canada, one of the world’s biggest economies warming up to cryptocurrency is a big positive for the future of the industry.

NFT Artist of The Week: Jonathan Wolfe

Jonathan Wolfe is a 21-year-old artist from Calgary, Alberta. Earlier on in his life, Wolfe had an affinity to art, knowing that he will someday become a full-time artist.

Wolfe got familiar with NFTs about a year and a half ago, as they began exploding in popularity. After connecting with his Seattle -based, friend and artist, Feowcious, he embarked on his NFT journey with full steam ahead. Wolfe’s digital artwork ranges from acrylic-based abstractions and shapes to cartoon-like illustrations. Some invoke a deep meaning of heartfelt melancholy and gloomy themes of existence, while other pieces are for the mere sake of artistic interpretation.

The FEWOCiOUS x parrott_ism x Odious x Jonathan Wolfe release collaboration is what placed Jonathan Wolfe on the larger NFT map. Auctioning off one of his digital masterpieces, called “Living in my Head”, for USD $55,555.55, the piece got sold with a higher evaluation than Wolfe expected. Painted onto the back of a “Two-way Traffic” sign, the image depicts a textured grey structure with miniature figures entering and existing, and a set of two blinking eyes.

Since the auction, Wolfe’s has contributed to his NFT collection, releasing his first solo collection. His collection “Growing Up Got Old” is an experimentation process with clay as a medium.  His process involves making real life clay models, photographing them, then digitally illustrating his signature touches.

Since his first sale, Wolfe has sold over 130 pieces of art, amounting to more than USD $1.3 million in total value.

You can check Wolfe’s NFTs on SuperRare, or Rarible.

Bitbuy Made it to the 2021 List of Best Workplaces™ in Financial Services and Insurance!

Bitbuy is proud to announce that our organization has been named in the 2021 list of Best Workplaces in Financial Services and Insurance.

Bitbuy received this honour after a thorough and independent analysis conducted by Great Place to Work®.

The list is based on direct feedback from employees of the hundreds of organizations that were surveyed by Great Place to Work®. The data has a 90% confidence and a plus or minus 5% margin of error.

To be eligible for this list, organizations must be Great Place to Work-Certified™ in the past year and must work primarily in the financial services and insurance industry. Great Place to Work® determined the BEST based on employee responses to our Trust Index Survey.

You can ready our presser here.

Bitbuy Is Hiring!

Here at Bitbuy, we’re always looking for talented people to join the rocket ship!

If you know any qualified candidates, please encourage them to apply for the following job postings:

Intermediate Java Developer

Intermediate Mobile Developer

Account Manager

Email Marketing Specialist

Account Payable Accountant

Visit our website to see what positions we are actively recruiting.