The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, the financial heart of Brazil, has revealed he is planning on allocating 1% of the city’s treasury reserves to buy cryptocurrency, a move that would make Rio de Janeiro the first Brazilian city to buy BTC and potentially other cryptoassets.

Lightning Network-powered app Strike is reportedly only supporting Tether’s USDT stablecoin in Argentina, where users have complained the app does not allow them to buy, sell, or hold bitcoin as it does in other countries.

Walmart is seemingly venturing into the metaverse with its own cryptocurrency and collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The firm filed several new trademarks that indicate it’s looking to sell virtual goods, including electronics, home decorations, toys, and others, along with a cryptocurrency and NFTs.

Bitcoin’s market share dropped from 71% to 39.8% last year, whilst Ethereum and other altcoins saw their market share grow exponentially.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Rio de Janeiro to Invest 1% of Treasury in Crypto
• Lightning Network-Powered App Strike Won’t Support Bitcoin in Argentina
• Walmart Quietly Prepares to Enter the Metaverse
• Chart of the Week: Bitcoin’s Declining Dominance

Rio de Janeiro to Invest 1% of Treasury in Crypto

The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, the financial heart of Brazil, has revealed he is planning on allocating 1% of the city’s treasury reserves to buy cryptocurrency, a move that would make Rio de Janeiro the first Brazilian city to buy BTC and potentially other cryptoassets.

Paes’ words came during Rio Innovation Week when he discussed the subject with Miami’s bitcoin-loving mayor Francis Suarez. During the chat, Paes said:

“We are going to launch Crypto Rio and apply 1% of the Treasury in cryptocurrency.”

Paes did not specifically mention any cryptoasset. In the event, the 52-year-old Brazilian mayor praised Suarez’s efforts to transform Miami into a cryptocurrency hub.

Rio de Janeiro is also looking to provide people with a 10% discount on taxes when they pay them using the flagship cryptocurrency bitcoin, with the goal of incentivizing people and companies from the cryptocurrency space to join the region.

Lightning Network-Powered App Strike Won’t Support Bitcoin in Argentina

Lightning Network-powered app Strike is reportedly only supporting Tether’s USDT stablecoin in Argentina, where users have complained the app does not allow them to buy, sell, or hold bitcoin as it does in other countries.

In a tweet, Strike announced its move into Argentina with its CEO Jack Mallers saying the app would “use the world’s open monetary network, #Bitcoin, to give hope to the people of Argentina.”

Argentinian users have detailed the app does allow them to receive BTC payments, but immediately converts the cryptocurrency to USDT. Some have said the app is a custodial wallet that works with USDT on the Ethereum network.

Walmart Quietly Prepares to Enter the Metaverse

Walmart is seemingly venturing into the metaverse with its own cryptocurrency and collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The firm filed several new trademarks that indicate it’s looking to sell virtual goods, including electronics, home decorations, toys, and others, along with a cryptocurrency and NFTs.

According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Walmart’s applications were filed on December 30, 2021. In a statement, the firm said it is “continuously exploring how emerging technologies may shape future shopping experiences.”

Walmart added that it tests new ideas “all the time” and that while some become products and services offered to customers, others are used as learning experiences. Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney, was quoted saying the language in the trademarks shows “there’s a lot of planning going on behind the scenes about how they’re going to address cryptocurrency” and the metaverse.

Chart of the Week: Bitcoin’s Declining Dominance

On December 31, 2020, Bitcoin’s market share was at 71% of the entire cryptocurrency space. In 2021 an explosion in cryptocurrency adoption saw altcoins take further market share from the flagship cryptocurrency, to the point that on December 31, 2021, BTC commanded 39.8% of the market.

Ethereum’s market share, in comparison, increased from 11.1% to 19.9% over the same period, while the market share attributed to other cryptoassets not included in the top five jumped from 11.1% to 32.7%.

BTC, ETH, and USDT managed to remain in the top five by market share, while XRP and LTC lost their positions to SOL and BNB.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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