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11/7/2020 – Settle in for your Crypto Current Daily Roundup!

Surging prices, anticipation, and steady coin interest round out today’s headlines.

Ethereum mining difficulty is at a two-year high, DeFi recovers pushing total value locked to over $14 billion!

Rising Ethereum prices can be attributed to open finance—or DeFi. At the time of writing, over $14 billion worth of assets is locked and under management by different open finance protocols. However, a big chunk is controlled by Maker. As more people flow to DeFi, lending, and providing liquidity, ETH—used in paying fees finds new demand pushing prices higher. Behind the scene, Ethereum’s algorithms adjust mining difficulty levels, making it harder for miners. Over the weekend, the Ethereum Mining Difficulty rose to a two-year high of around 3,495 TH/s.

PayPal and CashApp Purchase 100% of Mined Bitcoin

There is no doubt PayPal’s involvement has a huge impact on Bitcoin and crypto. Approximately four weeks after announcing their support, a Pantera Capital newsletter reveals that up-to 70 percent of all mined BTCs is being purchased by PayPal. The remaining 30 percent is bought by CashApp. Combined with other facilitators like Robinhood, trading of Bitcoin has been simplified for a majority of investors who want to tap the current price expansion.

Ripple (XRP) Rallies 70%, Nearly Doubles From $0.26

After weeks of consolidation, the Ripple price nearly doubled over the weekend. The coin is now trading at $0.46, rising 70 percent from last week’s averages of $0.26. There are several fundamentals around the swelling trading volumes and rising market prices. Buyers may be positioning themselves for the Spark tokens snapshot scheduled for Dec 12. A proposal by the United States Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) preventing banks from blacklisting legal industries which might include those connected to cryptocurrency. Ripple’s executives have been complaining against the absence of clear laws around blockchain and cryptocurrencies.