Bitcoin is up .75% at $46,678
Ethereum is up 1% at $1792
and Cardano is up 3% at .89

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Dash up 29%
VeChain up 20%
stellar up 15%

A bill was introduced in Iowa to create a more even playing field for blockchain and smart contracts.

a16z put more money behind DeFi payment platform Celo.

Swarm raised $6 Million in a private token sale.

Over $5 Billion has been staked in the Ethereum 2 staking contract.

Links:

• Bill Text: IA SF303 | 2021-2022 | 89th General Assembly | Introduced | LegiScan
• A16z backs DeFi payments platform Celo's $20 million raise
• Swarm secures funds for mainnet release | by Ethereum Swarm | Ethereum Swarm | Feb, 2021 | Medium
• ETH worth more than $5 billion has been staked in the Eth2 contract

Bitcoin is down 5% at $35,387
Ethereum is down 1% at $1221
and Polkadot is up 4% at $17.17

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Near protocol up 29%
Avalanche up 15%
The Graph up 15%

Goldman Sachs has issued a request for information to explore digital asset custody.

NYDIG CEO Robert Gutmann said today’s institutional investors in crypto are only looking at Bitcoin.

Ripple technology will power a new malaysia and bangladesh remittance corridor.

Kraken is set to halt XRP trading for US residents.

Bittrex has been mum about why it withdrew support for Dash, ZCash, and Monero.

Mt. Gox creditors will be given the option to take up to 90% of the exchange’s remaining bitcoin.

Links:

• Kraken to Halt XRP Trading for U.S. Residents | Kraken Blog
• Mt. Gox Creditors Can Claim 90% of Bitcoin Left in Bankruptcy: Bloomberg - CoinDesk
• bKash and Mobile Money Connect Through RippleNet to Power Wallet-to-Wallet Remittances | Ripple
• Big institutions are only interested in bitcoin, says NYDIG CEO - The Block
• Goldman Sachs to Enter Crypto Market 'Soon' With Custody Play: Source - CoinDesk
• Bittrex to Delist 'Privacy Coins' Monero, Dash and Zcash - CoinDesk

Bitcoin is down 2% at $40,014
Ethereum is up 8% at $1317
and XRP is up 4% at 33 cents

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Dash up 50%
Maker up 47%
Bitcoin Cash up 34%

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty reaches record high.

A test for the digital yuan has given us a look at the card-based hardware wallets.

PayPal, Coinbase invest in TaxBit.

Brad Garlinghouse takes to Twitter to answer questions re: SEC lawsuit.

SoFi may go public.

Kyrgyzstan proposed first regulatory framework for crypto.

Links:

• Kyrgyzstan Has Proposed Its First Regulatory Framework for Crypto - CoinDesk
• EXCLUSIVE-SoFi to go public through merger with Palihapitiya-backed SPAC | Reuters
• TaxBit Secures Investments from PayPal Ventures and Coinbase Ventures; Winklevoss Capital Doubles Down
• Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Hits Record High Amid Miner Revenue Surge - CoinDesk
• China Is Testing A Hardware Wallet For Digital Yuan
• Brad Garlinghouse on Twitter: "I’m not going to litigate the SEC’s unproven allegations on Twitter, and as you can imagine, there are new considerations to what can / should be said publicly after the litigation process starts. However, I would like to address 5 key questions I’ve seen. 1/10" / Twitter

Bitcoin is up 3% at $30,315
Ethereum is up slightly at $737
and Litecoin is down 1% at 125 dollars

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Dogecoin up 44%
Reserve Rights up 23%
Algorand up 15%

Bitcoin has topped 30k for the first time.

Ether from the 2017 Parity wallet hack is on the move.

Bittrex announced they will be delisting privacy coins on January 15th.

DeFi hacks lost 120 million in 15 hacks across 2020.

Non-fungible token artwork posted an all time high of 8.2 million in December

Links:

• Bittrex to Delist 'Privacy Coins' Monero, Dash and Zcash - CoinDesk
• Hackers stole $120 million via 15 DeFi hacks in 2020 - The Block
• $8.2 Million Worth of Crypto Artwork Sold in December - Decrypt
• 2017 Parity wallet hacker begins moving ETH - The Block

Bitcoin is up 1% at $17,185
Ethereum is up 1% at $519
and XRP is up 5% at 56 cents

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Cardano, up 16%
Dash up 16%

Ripple is selling one third of its stake in MoneyGram.

Cyberpunk holdings has liquidated its Ether and Monero to buy more bitcoin.

Curve Finance will distribute nearly $3 million in fees to governance token holders.

Crypto Custodian Copper is looking to make the DeFi space more desirable to institutions.

A DAI price increase led to liquidations in excess of $88 million at Compound.

Links:

• Moneygram International Inc Acquisition Statement SC 13D/A
• Cypherpunk Holdings Inc. Announces Updated Bitcoin Holdings
• Curve Finance Votes to Disperse $3M in Fees to Governance Token Holders - CoinDesk
• Crypto Custodian Copper Aims to Bridge Gap Between DeFi and Traditional Finance With New Tool - CoinDesk
• 🤖 Leshner on Twitter: "This morning, $DAI prices on Coinbase Pro escalated rapidly, leading to the liquidation (repayment) of 85.2M DAI borrowed from Compound. 124 of 225,793 users were impacted; there are no under-collateralized accounts, and all markets are healthy. https://t.co/p2l3v7fNov" / Twitter

Bitcoin is up 10% at 5,624
Ethereum is up 10% at $124
and XRP is up 6% at 15 cents

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Steem Token up 151%
Dash up 29%
and Zcash up 18%

The Steem token saw a huge lift in price with Binance and Huobi vouching to support the Steem blockchain hard fork.

The S&P500 VIX (fear index) closed at all-time highs this week.

The FDIC has approved the deposit insurance application for Square.

Hawaii has announced a regulatory sandbox for digital currency issuers.

Links:

• Binance, Huobi to support Steem's hard fork into Hive; the steem token is up by 180% - The Block
• The S&P500 "Fear Index" closed at all time highs this week as volatility across assets remain near historic highs - The Block
• Square's new industrial loan company receives approvals ahead of planned 2021 launch - The Block
• Hawaii is establishing a regulatory sandbox for digital currency issuers - The Block

Bitcoin is up 2% at $7,463
XRP is up 1% at 19 cents
and Ethereum is up 2% $136

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Dash up 12%

China’s State Intellectual Property Office is re-evaluating and revising its application guidebook for blockchain patents.

This week Ethereum completed its second hard fork in less than 30 days.

A dark web drug dealer has been arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn for dealing in exchange for bitcoin.

Bitcoin was up late this week after a US attack killed a top iranian military commander

Links:

• China's revised patent rules adjust process for applications focused on blockchain, AI - The Block
• Compared to Gaming and Gambling Dapps, DeFi Is Still Behind - CoinDesk
• Muir Glacier: Ethereum Hard Forks for Second Time in One Month - CoinDesk
• US Citizen Accepting Bitcoin for Narcotics Indicted by DOJ - CoinDesk
• Bitcoin Jumps 5%, Gaining With Gold, After US Kills Top Iranian Official - CoinDesk