OTC’s Weekly Retrospect 23/05–27/05/2022

Every Friday we take a look back over the week’s biggest Bitcoin and Digital Asset stories making waves in the cryptosphere.

1. World Bank won’t support Central African Republic’s Sango crypto hub
2. Seven Blocks Reorganized On Ethereum Beacon Chain
3. Tether pays out $10bn in withdrawals since start of crypto crash
4. Andreessen Horowitz raises $4.5 billion crypto fund to take advantage of bargains in down market
5. Stripe to Resume Accepting Bitcoin Payments in Crypto Push

Story Summaries;

1. The World Bank has said “it will be physically impossible” for the lender to fund the planned Sango crypto hub and voiced concerns regarding the country’s adoption of Bitcoin. A spokesperson for the institution told Bloomberg via email the recently approved grant “is unrelated to any cryptocurrency initiative” and that, “the World Bank is not supporting ‘Sango”.
2. The Ethereum Beacon Chain has experienced a seven-block reorganization, raising concerns for the Merge. Beaconscan shows that on May 25, in Epoch 121471, from 08:55:23 to 08:56:35 AM UTC, blocks 3887075 to 3887081 were forked from the chain. It was noticed by Martin Köppelmann, who posted about it two and a half hours later on Twitter.
3. Tether, the multibillion-dollar “stablecoin” that functions as the largest bank in the cryptocurrency economy, has paid out $10bn (£8bn) in withdrawals since the crypto crash started in early May. The pace of withdrawals means the company is effectively dealing with a slow-motion bank run.
4. The Silicon Valley firm announced a new $4.5 billion fund for backing crypto and blockchain companies on Wednesday. The firm plans to invest in both the cryptocurrencies behind projects and in company equity.While cryptocurrencies may be struggling to regain momentum, money flowing into private companies is at all-time highs.
5. Stripe teamed up with crypto startup OpenNode to allow its customers to accept Bitcoin payments through a new app, the companies announced Tuesday. Stripe customers will be able to convert incoming payments and any amount of their balance into Bitcoin. Stripe’s renewed Bitcoin support has the potential to broaden usage among its millions of customers.

And that’s you up to date with another busy week of Bitcoin and virtual asset news! As always… Happy Friday!