Cryptocurrency Prices Today : Bitcoin gains 1%, markets recover slightly after weekend crash

Bitcoin rose 0.99 percent to trade at Rs 29,32,695 while Ethereum surged 2.37 percent to Rs 2,05,009.3. Cardano rose 0.59 percent to Rs 88.71 and Avalanche surged 2.09 percent to Rs 5,105. Polkadot fell 2.64 percent to Rs 1,475.01 and Litecoin rose 1.28 percent to Rs 8,942.81 over the last 24 hours. Tether rose 0.13 percent to Rs 82.51. Memecoin SHIB rose 1.66 percent, while Dogecoin rose by 2.5 percent to trade at Rs 11.47. Terra (LUNA) rose 2.31 percent to Rs 5,499.94. Read more here.

Biden Administration to Release Executive Order on Crypto as Early as February: Report

The White House is readying an executive order for release as early as next month that will outline a comprehensive government strategy on cryptocurrencies and ask Federal agencies to determine their risks and opportunities, Bloomberg reported. The directive would place the White House in a central role overseeing efforts to set policies and regulate digital assets. Notably, federal agencies have already been studying or providing regulatory guidance around the digital asset sector for years. Read more here.

NBA Top Shot NFTs Have Quietly Surged 72% in 30 Days

Even as the crypto market suffers, NFTs or non-fungible tokens are still raking in eye-watering amounts of money. OpenSea, the top NFT marketplace, smashed its single-monthly record last week with $3.5 billion in sales in January so far—only halfway through the month. And one early NFT collection, in particular, is resurgent over the past 30 days: NBA Top Shot, the licensed NBA "moments" on the Flow blockchain from Dapper Labs. Read here.

Ethereum Could Hold Lead as Dominant Smart-Contract Blockchain: Coinbase Analysts

The second-largest blockchain network by market capitalisation after Bitcoin has become the dominant venue for some of the hottest cryptocurrency innovations, from decentralised finance (DeFi) to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Speculation that up-and-coming "ETH killers" or layer 1 blockchain alternatives such as Solana, Binance Smart Chain and even Cardano might one day overtake the market leader has sent the rivals' token prices soaring. But analysts at Coinbase Institutional, which provides cryptocurrency research to big investors, say Ethereum might succeed in staving off the upstarts. Read more here.