The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum’s Ether (ETH), significantly outperformed Bitcoin last year as the flagship cryptocurrency’s volatility hindered its growth.

Grayscale Investments has seen its assets under management (AUM) drop more than 28% from around $60.9 billion in early November to $43.6 billion. Its Bitcoin Trust product, the firm’s largest holdings, saw a 30% decline from $43.5 billion to $30.4 billion.

Shiba Inu has launched a beta version of its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to give users more power to decide on cryptocurrency projects and pairs listed on the ShibaSwap trading platform.

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Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Ether Outperformed Bitcoin as Volatility Hindered BTC’s Growth
• Grayscale’s Assets Under Management Dropped 28% Since November
• Shiba Inu Launches Beta Version of its DAO
• What is Polkadot?
• Sponsored: Crypto.com - The World’s Fastest Growing Crypto App

Ether Outperformed Bitcoin as Volatility Hindered BTC’s Growth

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum’s Ether (ETH), significantly outperformed Bitcoin last year as the flagship cryptocurrency’s volatility hindered its growth.

Volatility tied to the U.S. Presidential election helped BTC’s price grow, along with a risk-on attitude from traders that surged right after the first COVID-19 vaccine arrived in early November 2020.

Bitcoin showed a positive correlation with the S&P 500 Index, emerging-market securities, and commodities as a measure of inflation for some time, but after seeing significant returns its momentum plateaued.

Bitcoin's lost momentum was seemingly replaced with significant volatility that stopped BTC from making significant returns over the past year, with data showing it moved up around 46% over the last 12 months while Ethereum moved up 392% over the same period.

Ethereum has benefited from the adoption of decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), along with the growth of GameFi.

Grayscale’s Assets Under Management Dropped 28% Since November

Grayscale Investments has seen its assets under management (AUM) drop more than 28% from around $60.9 billion in early November to $43.6 billion. Its Bitcoin Trust product, the firm’s largest holdings, saw a 30% decline from $43.5 billion to $30.4 billion.

The AUM of the firm’s second-biggest holdings, Grayscale Ethereum Trust, dropped 22% from $15 billion to $11.6 billion. These decreases come after cryptocurrency prices fell over the last few weeks. The firm’s total AUM has seen a 170% rise from its $16.4 billion a year ago.

Grayscale’s portfolio has seen the addition of multiple trusts offering investors exposure to altcoins. Grayscale manages these trusts for a fee, allowing investors to gain exposure to crypto without having to manage public or private keys.

Last year, cryptocurrency-focused exchange-traded funds and other products were launched, offering investors alternatives to gain exposure to the nascent space.

Shiba Inu Launches Beta Version of its DAO

Shiba Inu has launched a beta version of its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to give users more power to decide on cryptocurrency projects and pairs listed on the ShibaSwap trading platform.

According to a blog post, the meme-inspired cryptocurrency will release the Doggy DAO in a “stage-by-stage” metric and in a phased approach. The first phase, DAO 1, is launching now with a focus on providing “immediate power to the community to decide which crypto projects and pairs on the ShibaSwap WOOF Pools will be, and how the $BONE rewards (Allocation Points) are to be distributed amongst them.”

The DAO will use the locked version of $BONE tokens, $tBONE for voting rights. Once this first phase is concluded developers will use community feedback to launch a second version called “DAO 2.”

To prevent whales from controlling the DAO, Shiba Inu noted that the “the guardians (6/9 wallet)” will have final say on whether a pair should be listed or not.

What is Polkadot?

Polkadot is a blockchain network often described as a “blockchain of blockchains,” as it allows users to launch and operate their own blockchains on top of the main Polkadot blockchain. This main blockchain, called the relay chain, does not support smart contracts, but other blockchains connected to it can support them.

As a result, Polkadot is set to become a growing ecosystem of cryptocurrencies that competes with other smart contract networks such as Ethereum, the Binance Smart Chain, and more. It was launched in 2020 and brings a number of technical features that help it reach its goal.

The user-created blockchains, called parachains, benefit from the same security of the relay chain where transactions are permanent, but can be customized by the users. Polkadot’s design allows it to become a network of blockchains with secure transactions and varying features, all while using the resources of its relay chain.

DOT is the native cryptocurrency of the Polkadot network and serves as its governance token. DOT holders can stake their tokens to vote on network upgrades and help decide the future of Polkadot by actively participating in its governance.

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