The Netherlands is becoming the most Bitcoin-friendly country, and Dogecoin & Ripple are rallying. Here are the cryptocurrency highlights of week 48:
- Western Union might be getting nervous due to the rise of Bitcoin. The American company allows users to transfer money to anywhere in the world at decent rates. The same can be done with Bitcoin, albeit faster and cheaper. This is illustrated by the featured image, which was created by a Bitcoin enthusiast. When the image was posted to Facebook by another Bitcoin enthusiast, he apparently got hit by a copyright claim causing Facebook to take down the image.
- The world’s first supermarket where you can pay in Bitcoin was opened this week in Arnhem, the Netherlands, also claimed to be the world’s most Bitcoin-friendly city. The latter finds support in the fact that a bitcoin-friendly retailer can to be found every 3.7 kilometers squared in this city.
- The Netherlands might even become the most Bitcoin-friendly country if it keeps heading down the current path. The city of the Hague already has its own “Bitcoin Boulevard”, and it was announced this week that the Bitcoin Embassy in Amsterdam will open its doors to the public on December 12th. An official from the Dutch Ministry of Finance noted that the digital currency will “probably” be exempted from Value Added Tax (VAT).
- Despite all the news places to spend Bitcoins, a new study shows that most coins are still being hoarded. More specifically, approximately 70 percent of all Bitcoins have not moved in the past six or more months. Monetary velocity appears to be the highest during bull markets, and the price of Bitcoin has mainly been heading downward this year.
- Dogecoin experienced a strong rally this week as it saw its total market capitalization rise by more than 15 percent. At the highest point, the price was up by 25 percent. The value of one Ripple even more than doubled over the same period, gaining 115 percent since last Saturday.
