Bitcoin was trading at around $57,500 at the time of writing, although concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant remain. Labeled as a ‘variant of concern’ by the WHO, this strain might be more virulent and contagious. The US and several other countries imposed travel restrictions on South Africa and a few other countries in the region, where the variant seemed to come from, CoinDesk reported.
Friday saw major losses for most altcoins
Most altcoins lost value on Friday. Ethereum dipped below $4,000 briefly, and then again on Sunday. At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading for over $4,300. As investors await the impact of Omicron, the crypto market’s fate may face weeks of uncertainty.
Bitcoin’s FGI (Fear and Greed Index), which measures market emotions, dropped to its lowest level in two months, which corresponds to the sentiment of ‘extreme fear.’
Backlash to Discord integrating ETH wallet
After toying with the idea of integrating an Ethereum wallet, Discord backtracked, with founder and CEO Jason Citron tweeting the platform had decided against integrating crypto. This followed a period of backlash, with Discord users threatening to deactivate paid Nitro memberships.
Earlier this week, Citron suggested on Twitter that someone at the company was working on Ethereum functionality. Although he passed it off as “probably nothing,” users began to suspect Discord would add infrastructure for NFTs and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
Mass market still resistant to crypto
Many users weren’t happy about the prospect of this new direction. Although crypto is surging, a lot of people are still suspicious of the industry. In response to the tweet, slacktivists called for other users to ditch the platform and cancel their paid subscriptions, which was among the main sources of income for Discord, a company that is averse to advertising.
Discord caught wind of the sentiment. The company told TechCrunch:
We’re excited about the potential for Web 3 technology and the positive ways these communities are coming together on Discord, especially those organized around environmentally friendly, creator-focused projects. However, we also recognize there are some problems we need to work through. For now, we’re focused on protecting users from spams, scams and fraud.
Web 3 is a positive development. This is a generic term for an alternative to the internet that’s blockchain-based. In Web 3, users own their data and hold a stake in the used tools. Crypto is a great way to counteract “surveillance capitalism” if we refrain from looking at legal challenges to monopolistic internet giants according to a CoinDesk analysis.
The dark side of crypto
Crypto also has a dark side. It is an avenue for the ultra-wealthy to make even more money. It advances the “neoliberal turn” towards globalization, financialization, and mass commodification. It may promise a lot, but it has yet to achieve digital sovereignty.
