Here's what happened this week in Bitcoin in 99 seconds.
The next major exchange Bakkt announced the completion of their first round of financing, which raised $ 182 million. Bakkt intends to satisfy the institutional interests in Bitcoin and other digital assets.
Concerns have emerged regarding the crypto trade. The Bitcoin investor, Trace Mayer, requested a "Proof of Keys" event on 3 January. Users were asked to withdraw their bitcoins from exchanges to test complete or fractional reserves. HitBTC froze some customer withdrawals before the event. Other companies listed on the ProofOfKeys.com website, such as Bitfinex, Poloniex, Purse.io, Robinhood and Coinbase have blocked withdrawals or other problems during the "stress test". This requires questions about their final solvency.
Bloomberg reported that at least one sector of the crypto economy still recorded sustained growth; the cryptocurrency sector. These services allow encryption holders to borrow fiat against their currencies without having to collect current low prices. There is also the request to borrow coins from short sellers.
On January 3rd, users around the world celebrated the tenth anniversary of Bitcoin. Bitcoin has grown enormously in its first decade of existence, from unknown software to a whole new class of business.
Finally, the US online retailer Overstock announced that it will pay some of its Ohio state tax in 2019 in Bitcoin, becoming the first national company to do so. Ohio now offers companies the ability to pay taxes with Bitcoin.
This is what happened this week in Bitcoin. I'll see you next week.