Simon Peters' Cryptocurrency Corner: Tether introduces the GBP token

Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, held its price above $ 20 last week. It is too early to say whether bitcoin has stabilized at this level. Last week started at $ 000 and ended at $ 19 on eToro. Similarly Ethereum started the week at around $ 1050 and ended at around $ 1200.

Cryptocurrencies are very sensitive to US markets, in particular to the monetary policy decisions taken by the Fed to combat rising inflation. The interest rate hike and rising bond yields have influenced US stock valuations in recent months, and thus the cryptocurrency markets. In a speech to Congress last week, Jerome Powell reiterated the Fed's commitment to bring down inflation.

Reading between the lines suggests further rate hikes in the future. Increasing risk of recession, weak profits and forecasts of companies may additionally affect stock prices. Considering recent correlations, this could also affect cryptocurrency prices.

The Metaverse Standards Forum is launched

A group of large technology companies has launched "Metaverse Standards Forum”To ensure that stringent standards are met in a rapidly growing sector. This move appears to be a clear attempt at self-regulation and setting basic quality standards to prevent any backlash and ensure some kind of interoperability between metavers. The group includes such big brands as Epic Games, Huawei, Ikea, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Qualcomm. However, major players including Roblox and Niantic are absent here.

The message has a positive impact on metaverse-linked cryptocurrencies such as Sandbox (SAND) and Decentraland (MANA). Crypto exists at the heart of the metaverse movement, laying the foundations for the economies in the metaverse and providing utility to players. Changes like this, which help to consolidate the fundamentals of the sector, can support the price.

Shiba Inu grows stronger

Shiba Inu cryptocurrency (SHIB) is very popular these days, rising by over 50% over the past week. SHIB has somewhat broken the trend in the wider cryptocurrency markets today, and its price has risen significantly, though it has yet to hit last year's level. Many factors contribute to the increase in the token price. We owe the uptrend in part to large token-buying investors, one of whom grabbed 150 billion cryptocurrencies in one fell swoop. However, the nature of the network is also contributing to the rise in prices - over 62 billion cryptocurrency tokens have been burned in the last few days, which reduced supply and contributed to price increases.

This potentially heralds the changes that the Ethereum network is preparing as part of the "The Merge" project, which aims to move from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake - which could have a similar effect to burning by blocking coins with staking.

Tether introduces the GBP token

Major stablecoin provider Tether announced its intention to launch a sterling-linked stablecoin in July. The company already has a US dollar token, a euro token, a yuan token, and has announced plans to introduce a Mexican peso token. The move highlights the growing importance of stablecoins in the cryptocurrency sector. Stable coins provide significant liquidity and stability in the market while maintaining the ability to easily switch between cryptocurrencies for users and investors.

The addition of a pound-based stablecoin is good news for the UK as it could become a leading player in this sphere. Tether is an established player in this space, and with its upcoming stablecoin regulation, the UK should be on track for the upcoming changes.