Ethereum has dropped 44% relative to Bitcoin. 96% of NFT collections are no longer active. Mastercard released a cryptocurrency card with a settlement in euros. A trader rocked $5,000 to $670,000 on a VISTA token
Mastercard has launched a euro-denominated cryptocurrency card
Mastercard has launched a debit card that allows European users to pay for purchases with cryptocurrency converted into EUR. The project was realized in cooperation with the Mercuryo service, a provider of cryptocurrency wallet infrastructure.
Mastercard crypto Euro is focused on non-custodial wallets, which makes transactions more secure. Let us remind you that users bear sole responsibility for the safety of private keys to such vaults.
Issuing a cryptocurrency card costs €1.6, and the service costs €1 per month. Mercuryo, as a service provider, also charges a fee of 0.95% of the transaction amount.
The card is compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay. You can use it to pay for purchases with cryptocurrencies compatible with Ethereum, Solana, TON, Polkadot, NEAR, and other blockchain.
As of today, you can use Mastercard crypto Euro only in Europe, where it is supported by more than 100 million retail outlets. In the future, the geography of the card availability will expand.
Two years after ‘The March’: ETH lags far behind Bitcoin
The Ethereum network’s transition to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism has negatively impacted the price of the ETH cryptocurrency.
Analysts at CryptoQuant noted that the coin has lost 44% compared to Bitcoin over the past two years. Even the launch of spot Ethereum-ETFs in July failed to improve the situation, and the ETH/BTC pair fell to 0.0425 BTC — the lowest level since April 2021.
Experts predict a further decline in the price of the second cryptocurrency: according to their estimates, the ETH exchange rate could fall to 0.02 BTC — another 50% of the current price.
As of Monday, September 9, the Ethereum exchange rate is $2,306. Expert Nick Forster, founder of online broker Derive, said it is unlikely that the second cryptocurrency will return to ATH at $4,878 before the end of the year. He estimates that the coin has about a 10% chance of skyrocketing.
96% of NFT collections are “dead”
Experts at NFT Evening studied 5,000 digital collections and 5 million transactions with non-mutualizable tokens and concluded that 96% of them are no longer active. These tokens were never traded, had low trading volumes during the week, and were inactive on social networks.
In 2023, more than 30% of projects were deemed inactive. Experts have calculated that on average, NFTs “live” for only 1.14 years, which is 2.5 times less compared to other crypto projects.
According to the latest data, more than 43% of owners of non-mutual tokens are at a loss, losing an average of 44.5% of their investments. The most successful NFT collection is Azuki, whose value grew 2.5 times thanks to marketing and community commitment, and the most unsuccessful is Pudgy Penguins, which “sagged” by 97% and brought losses to investors.
Recall that in August, the most expensive CryptoPunk #5822 was auctioned off for $3.9 million, while the previous owner paid $23.7 million for it in 2022.
Changpeng Zhao has been suspended for life from running Binance
The former CEO of the largest crypto exchange Binance Changpeng Zhao will never be able to manage the company again. This was reported by the current CEO of the platform Richard Teng.
The decision was made after Zhao pleaded guilty to a range of charges, including money laundering. Initially, he was to be suspended from management for three years, but the company later approved harsher measures.
Zhao is now serving a four-month prison sentence. He was sentenced in April 2024 and is due to be released on September 29.
Despite the suspension, Zhao remains Binance’s largest shareholder, thus maintaining his influence over key appointments in the company. Richard Teng also emphasized that Binance is not planning to go public, which could reduce Zhao’s stake. The exchange’s co-founder Yi He remains an important part of the team, and her proximity to Zhao allows him to maintain an indirect influence on the company’s strategy.
Trader earned $670,000 in two days on VISTA token
An unknown trader earned $670,000 in just two days by investing in the VISTA token on the decentralized exchange Ethervista. Experts found out that he spent about $5,000 to buy 5% of the total token supply at the start and distributed the new assets among seven crypto wallets.
After 48 hours, the trader sold VISTA tokens, recording a profit of $670,000 in ETH, which is 134 times the initial investment.
Some users speculate that only an insider who knew about the upcoming price rise could have achieved such success. Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, criticized such deals, calling to focus on projects that benefit society rather than schemes for quick enrichment.
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