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Top cryptoassets continued to slip lower last week as the market lacked a spark to give life to what has been a largely weak summer of performance, despite positive moves back in June. 

Bitcoin began last week just ahead of $29,000 but has continued its downward trend and has fallen around 1% to now trade around $28,700. The cryptoasset saw a brief rally during the week, peaking above $29,650 on eToro but has continued to reflect market weakness that has prevailed over the summer. Bitcoin is back at levels seen in early May currently.

Ether saw a similar trend downwards over the week, having started just above $1,850 but falling away around 1.8% to now trade around $1,810. The cryptoasset saw significant price swings midweek but ultimately moved lower. 
 

KPMG bitcoin report on ESG

One of the big four accountancy firms KPMG has published a report underlining the potential benefits of bitcoin to ESG initiatives. 

KPMG describes Bitcoin as a “mature” asset that has outperformed all other classes this year, but the report acknowledges the environmental concerns around the cryptoasset, which is famously energy-intensive. 

However, despite its high energy use, KPMG says the cryptoasset has a big part to play in reducing global emissions through the promotion of sustainable energy practices. The firm details four ways in which Bitcoin can help do this, through renewable energy, demand response, recycled heat, and methane reduction.

The report points out that it is not Bitcoin itself that creates the emissions, but rather the processes to create the energy it needs to operate. Bitcoin has the potential to reward renewable energy development by combining renewables with mining and providing real financial incentives for developers of green technologies. 
 

Musk says X (Twitter) will never launch a cryptoasset

Elon Musk has affirmed that his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) will never create its own cryptoasset, in response to a warning about scam tokens made to appear affiliated to the platform.

Musk’s terse response clearly comes as the platform battles a variety of issues. The crypto community is constantly rife with rumors about Musk’s next move in the space, so clarity on the issue of whether he might ever look to launch a native token is important.

But this leaves doubt as to whether the platform may better integrate existing cryptoassets to facilitate functionalities such as payments, tipping, or subscriptions. Contenders for this have long been bitcoin and dogecoin, two cryptoassets Musk has integrated into other businesses such as Tesla. 

Whether this comes to fruition on X remains to be seen. Anyone with an interest in Musk (and he’s got a lot of people watching him) should think most carefully about long-term investment cases rather than trying to guess his next move. 
 

Valkyrie moves to add ether to Bitcoin ETF

Asset manager Valkyrie is looking to add ether to its Bitcoin ETF. The ETF is currently traded on the Nasdaq and looks to invest in bitcoin futures contracts, something permitted by regulators already.

The addition of ether is a tacit acknowledgment of the cryptoasset’s maturity and the diversifying element it brings in combination with Bitcoin. The ETF will however trade ether futures rather than the real asset, like with bitcoin.

ETFs that feature futures have created a buzz around the cryptomarket but don’t go nearly far enough in widening access to investors who are interested in tracking the price. We saw a few months ago the strong reaction of the market to the suggestion that BlackRock will launch a bitcoin ETF with trading for the real asset. For now, this remains elusive but the market is paying close attention to developments.

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