Hello and welcome to the fourth edition of The Bitcoin Mail, the bi-weekly newsletter to keep you up-to-date with what's happening in the space, and learn the basics about Bitcoin.
If you haven't read them, we recommend to go through the previous posts here first.
In The Bitcoin Mail #4, we'll talk about why bitcoin consumes so much energy and if the situation is really that bad. Enjoy!
Cryptocurrency Market Overview
Since the last two weeks, Bitcoin went steadily from $44,000 up to $58,000 on the 21st of February, going over $1 trillion in market capitalisation. It went back down to $44,400 in two days, dropping more than 20%. It is now hovering around $48,000-$50,000.
Not much has changed for Bitcoin dominance in the crypto market, and the first cryptocurrency still represents more than 60% of the whole crypto market.
Ethereum briefly touched the $2,000 mark on February 20th before plunging below $1,400 a few days later. It is now back above $1,600.
Paying Taxes with Bitcoin in Switzerland
People can now pay their taxes with BTC in the canton of Zug, Switzerland. Bitcoin Suisse, a swiss crypto bank, is handling the payments for the authorities converting BTC to Swiss franc.
Zug is the main city of the canton, often called the "Crypto Valley" for its support for cryptocurrencies.
https://www.clubic.com/antivirus-securite-informatique/cryptage-cryptographie/crypto-monnaie/actualite-362286-le-canton-suisse-de-zoug-accepte-desormais-le-bitcoin-btc-et-l-ether-eth-pour-le-paiement-des-impots.html
An American Hospital Receives a donation of $800,000 in BTC
Donations are an amazing use case for bitcoin, still very underrated today. By its borderless nature, the digital currency can be used to send or receive donations of any amount all around the world in a few minutes, a much more complicated process with the traditional system.
In theory, someone in Europe could donate any amount in bitcoin to an organization located in Africa for example. Converting bitcoin to the local currency the organization operates in is still an important barrier here.