Giddy Defi

In an interview with CNBC Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said, “Just like we accept all kinds of local currency, we are going to look at cryptocurrency and/or bitcoin in terms of currency to transact. That’s good for business.”

In a way, Bitcoin and crypto as a whole really are just the native currency of the internet, not all that unlike the local currencies mentioned, and when you put it like that, it almost feels strange that we haven’t already seen further adoption, especially in the e-commerce space.

Companies like Tesla and Ferrari have accepted crypto payments on and off for some time now, but the potential of another massive company like Uber opening the door to even further consumer crypto spending is a significant step forward for the industry.

Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick says traditional financial institutions are eager to engage with Bitcoin but have been restrained by current U.S. regulatory demands.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Lutnick described Bitcoin as an outsider to traditional finance, that until this year with Bitcoin ETFs launching, really hadn’t entered the traditional financial system in any major way.

However, Lutnick suggested that if regulations became more favorable for the asset class, traditional financial companies are more than likely to fully embrace Bitcoin.

Just several months after launching their Bitcoin iShares ETF in the country, BlackRock is set to list its iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) on Brazil’s B3 exchange this Wednesday.

This move will give investors access to the two largest cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum, on the Brazilian market. In addition, the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) has recently approved two Solana-based ETFs for listing on B3.

The crypto market shed over $350 billion in a single 24-hour period, following Nasdaq’s worst three-week stretch in more than two years.

As risk-off sentiment prevails among investors, cryptocurrencies have continued to fall, with Bitcoin plummeting more than 20%, and alt-coins like Solana dropping more than 28% on the week.

The rapid price decline seems to be rooted in concerns over a pending U.S. recession, an increase in global conflict, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 market index crashing roughly 12%, causing a ripple effect across global markets.

VanEck, followed shortly after by 21Shares, filed for the first ever Solana ETFs in the U.S. last month, but after a brief 6% pump, SOL settled right back into its downward trajectory.

When comparing the ETH to SOL ratio (slide #2) from when Ethereum ETFs were first approved to Solana’s applications just now hitting, it’s clear to see that SOL just hasn’t been able to match ETH’s hype.

It is worth noting these are just applications, and approval is a whole other ball game, so maybe that’s why we’re seeing such lackluster reception so far. Only time will tell, but it’s looking like crypto needs a lot more than new ETF applications to break Bitcoin out of it’s -20% slump from the last month.