Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes,
Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.
Top Stories This Week
‘Uptober’ closes at record high in best month of 2021 — 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week
After Bitcoin’s (BTC) first-ever monthly close above $60,000 for October and a new all-time high (ATH), the bulls are reading the tea leaves to see what November will bring. Plan B — who has been pretty bang on the money in recent months — has forecasted a November close of $98,000 per BTC.
Something that may suggest the asset is on the up this month is that a strong number of holders weren’t tempted to sell despite BTC reaching its ATH of $67,100. Kraken Intelligence pointed out as much, noting that mass accumulation has continued over the past two months despite the potential to reap mad gainz.
“Notably, while long-term holders were unfazed by the retracement last month and used it as an opportunity to continue accumulating, this trend has not changed despite a significant rebound in price to new all-time highs near $67,000,” Kraken Intelligence said.
NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers will accept part of $22M salary in Bitcoin
With Bitcoin looking as good as ever, star NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers has bravely decided to accept a chunk of his $22.3 million salary in BTC. Unsurprisingly, it was a part of a promotional deal, with Cash App being the method of choice to hodl the BTC.
In a video shared via Rodgers’ Twitter account, the Green Bay Packers legend cited his belief in Bitcoin and its bright future as the reasons for partnering with Cash App, but one would believe it might actually be a part of what some call a “celebrity endorsement deal.” Another brave soul who vowed to accept his salary in Bitcoin this week was Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. The well-known crypto proponent said on Wednesday that he would take his next paycheck 100% in BTC. Suarez said that he would prefer to use an app like Bitwage or Strike rather than make the local government figure out how to convert his fiat paycheck into crypto.
Google invests $1B in CME Group along with 10-year Cloud deal
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, splurged $1 billion via an equity investment into the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group. The exchange is home to many crypto derivatives products such as BTC futures contracts, micro BTC futures, BTC options, and micro Ether (ETH) futures.
The move was announced on Thursday via a note to CME Group investors. Also announced in the note was a 10-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud aimed at accelerating the exchange’s move to the cloud and changing the way global derivatives markets operate.
“Through this long-term partnership with Google Cloud, CME Group will transform derivatives markets through technology, expanding access and creating efficiencies for all market participants,” said CME Group chair and CEO Terry Duffy.
Burger King serves up free crypto with meal purchases
Fast Food giant Burger King (BK) signed a “whopper” of a deal this week with retail trading platform Robinhood to give away free crypto to customers who spend more than $5 in November.
The U.S.-based promo campaign is running until Nov. 21, with customers given free crypto primarily in the form of Dogecoin (DOGE). A few lucky customers will even have the chance to win a whole Bitcoin or Ether, but must register with Robinhood Crypto to receive the reward.
The crypto rewards will be drawn from a trifecta of 2 million DOGE, 20 BTC and 200 ETH. Customers can only claim one prize per day and must make their purchase on the BK app, website or in-store using a code at participating locations.
Commonwealth Bank to enable crypto trading for 6.5M Aussies, ‘other banks will follow’
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank), one of the local ‘big four’ banks, announced on Wednesday that it is rolling out crypto trading services directly through its banking app. CommBank said it will support 10 crypto assets in total, including Bitcoin, Ether, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC).
The CommBank app has a user base of around 6.5 million people, and the crypto move is being launched in partnership with the blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.
Following the bullish announcement, Steve Vallas, the CEO of industry body Blockchain Australia, told Cointelegraph that it is only a matter of time before the other major Aussie banks follow suit.
“It is inevitable that the other banks will follow suit,” he said. “Clarity in the local regulatory landscape is emerging with issues such as licensing being tackled head-on by industry and by governments. […] Impediments to action and participation are being removed.”
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $60,936, Ether (