Bitcoin price registers 13% weekly surge as marketwide boom continues
Bitcoin’s technicals suggest that the coming few weeks could see the asset soar and potentially scale up to the all-important $50K mark.
- The combined market cap of the digital asset sector has breached the $2.2 trillion mark for the first time since early February.
- The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro will start accepting BTC for real estate-related tax payments by early next year.
- The city of Austin has passed two resolutions seeking to promote the use of cryptocurrency and blockchain within its borders.
Bitcoin (BTC) has experienced a lot of bullish momentum recently. Over the past fortnight, the digital asset has registered gains of approximately 23.3% while showcasing a 24-hour profit ratio of around 5%. At press time, BTC was trading at $47,253.
Thanks to its ongoing spike, Bitcoin is well on track to its highest weekly close of the year. Independent analyst Rekt Capital highlighted that Bitcoin’s 21-week exponential moving average (EMA) is at levels that suggest a bullish breakout. However, some analysts also believe that purchasing BTC at its current levels makes little to no sense, especially from a long-term risk/reward ratio standpoint.
Lastly, technical data clearly shows that the current marketwide surge is being driven, in large part, by the spot markets and not the derivatives sector. Cofounders of blockchain analytics firm Glassnode Yann Allemann and Jan Happel noted that sustained hikes have historically been driven by spot demand.
BTC for tax payments to start in Brazil by 2023
Rio de Janeiro mayor and Brazil’s secretary of economic development, innovation and simplification, Chicão Bulhões, revealed earlier this week that come 2023, BTC-based tax payments will be allowed within his city’s borders for urban real estate-related excise tariffs. The move has been well-received globally, with Changpeng Zhao, CEO of prominent cryptocurrency exchange Binance, announcing that he will set up a new office in the region to help Bulhões with his initiative.
The proposed rollout will make Rio de Janeiro the first Brazilian country to start accepting BTC payments. Lastly, as part of the plan, city officials are looking to utilize governance policies that are based on non-fungible tokens (NFT) to transform the region’s local arts and tourism markets.
City of Austin looking to become next global crypto hub?
The city of Austin, led by Texas Governor Greg Abbot, is seemingly en route to becoming a major destination for crypto enthusiasts globally. The local government greenlighted two resolutions focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain innovation.
Earlier this month, Austin city council members tabled two documents seeking to explore the potential benefits of cryptocurrencies, especially the adoption of Bitcoin and a few other cryptocurrencies for daily payments and transactions.
This trend of cities adopting crypto has been garnering a lot of traction across the US. Miami became the first city to deploy its own digital currency last year, dubbed MiamiCoin. The move was mirrored by New York, with Mayor Eric Adams even taking his paycheck in BTC earlier in 2022.
Interested in cryptocurrency? Learn more about the basics with our beginner’s guide to Bitcoin, dive deeper by learning about Ethereum and see what blockchain can do with our simple guide to DeFi.
Disclosure: The author owns a range of cryptocurrencies at the time of writing.
