Visa is moving towards the goal of settling cryptocurrency payments

Bitcoin had a tougher start to February with the price dropping slightly over the course of seven days, but key indicators place the market in "contango" mode meaning the futures price is above the market price. Other positive signals for the world's largest cryptocurrency continue.

Bitcoin started the week slightly above $23 but then dropped below $500 before returning to the market. However, the price fell below $22 and settled around $500 this morning.

Ethereum it was very volatile over the course of the week, with the price dropping below $1 at first, then surpassing $530, its highest level since November last year. Later in the week, the market pulled back slightly, with the token currently trading around $1.

Bitcoin in "contango" - funding rate at its highest since 2021

Bitcoin's funding rate, which measures its future price relative to the spot price, is at its highest level since December 2021, despite the price level looking much lower, according to Glassnode.

Bitcoin's current market conditions resemble a "contango" of commodity prices - where the futures price is higher than the market price for the asset. This usually happens with commodities such as oil or copper when traders are willing to pay more for the asset in the future than to take on the cost of carrying it at today's price.

In the case of bitcoin, this situation came about thanks to the short squeeze and the market breaking above the average pullback price for many investors. in Glassno notes that there are now a number of other positive indicators for bitcoin, including neutral outflows from the exchange and the strongest monthly price performance in January for the token since October 2021.

Ethereum Shanghai update is getting closer

Ethereum developers have come close to launching a new test ahead of the Shanghai update and are launching the Shapell fork on the Zheijang testnet sometime around February 7.

The Merge was a huge change in the way the Ethereum network works, but so far there are still a few key features missing. The Shanghai update will introduce ethereum staking withdrawals, giving institutional and individual investors the option to take their tokens out of staking as needed.

At the moment, staking functions like a perpetual bond where investors receive a profit in exchange for their stacked token. But the introduction of withdrawals will allow users to opt out and make it much more functional - like an easy access account. While the network may still be the best place to stash tokens, it will give stakers peace of mind that their collateral remains repayable at all times.

Visa is moving towards the goal of settling cryptocurrency payments

Visa is looking at ways to integrate cryptocurrency settlements into its network, according to comments Cuy Sheffield at StarkWare Sessions 2023 in Tel Aviv.

Global payments are still largely settled through the SWIFT banking network, and fiat currencies that cross borders are required to go through this process. Opening the way for cryptocurrency payment settlements has big potential implications as it would unlock significant opportunities for cross-border payments.

Visa is the main link in the global financial system. With the development of stablecoins and the adoption of a key opportunity in the sector of expanding cryptocurrency adoption, the potential for any increase in the network effects of this technology is positive. Stablecoins are a key exchange point for cryptocurrency users with fiat and can be a key part of any international payment standardization process.