LiveWire

Swiss-based Basel committee said that banks should apply a 1,250% risk weight to Bitcoin meaning that if a bank holds $100 of bitcoin exposure, it would give risk to a risk-weighted assets of $1,250-given an 8% minimum capital requirement results in banks setting aside at least $100. On another note, banks in Europe will be testing CBDC transfers--the Swiss National Bank and the Banque de France said yesterday that they will conduct experiments.

The over-the-counter market share price of Grayscales Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale Ethereum Trust was $30.10 and $24.90, respectively.

Six insurers in Q1 picked up shares of digital currency investment offered by Grayscale. Though the funds did not buy crypto directly, they have positioned themselves in such a way as to gain (or lose) from Bitcoin and Ethereum exposure. Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co. in February took up a position in the Bitcoin Trust with a purchase of 18,000 shares at an actual cost of roughly $968,000. Donegal Mutual Insurance Co. subsidiary Atlantic States Insurance Co. added 20,000 shares of that trust in February as well. State Mutual Insurance Co. (GA) was the only insurer to initially acquire shares of both the Bitcoin and Ethereum investment vehicles. The Georgia-based mutual insurer acquired 13,000 shares of Bitcoin Trust and 9,000 shares of Ethereum Trust, at respective costs of approximately $491,000 and $141,500.

''Ethereum USD denominated transfer volume dropped by over 60% in the last two weeks. The comparable decline in 2018 was far more extreme at -95%, however it remains to be seen whether this lull in demand is temporary, or a sign of things to come.''

El Salvador has become the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.

Lawmakers in the Central American country’s Congress voted by a “supermajority” in favor of the Bitcoin Law, receiving 62 out of 84 of the legislature’s vote.

The price of bitcoin was up 5% to $34,239.17 shortly after the vote.