Last week in review: Fort Worth, Texas becomes the first US city to mine Bitcoin

While last week saw the continued slump of crypto prices, the news was anything but quiet, with a number of high-profile acquisition and adoption stories making waves across the markets.

In Australia, adoption picked up across both government institutions as well as financial products, with the launch of its first Bitcoin ETF. Meanwhile, the Central African Republic became the second country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal currency and Fort Worth, Texas made headlines as the first US city to mine it. And finally, after a few weeks of tense discussions with Twitter’s board, Elon Musk’s offer of $44 billion to buy the company was accepted.

There is never a dull moment in crypto. Here are our top picks from the news.

Australia to launch its first Bitcoin ETF

What

The Cosmos Asset Management Bitcoin ETF, the first of its kind available in Australia, is set to be listed on the Cboe trading platform next week

Why

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Australian government has decided to reform its policies surrounding Bitcoin and digital assets

What next

Alongside these reforms, Australia has also outlined a path to start accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the near future

Read the full story here

Elon buys Twitter, Twitter reacts

What 

Following a very public and drama-filled bidding process, Twitter’s board of directors has accepted Elon Musk’s offer to buy the company for $44 billion 

Why 

Musk believes the only way to fix the issues that have been plaguing the publicly-listed social media giant is to take the company private 

What next 

Pending regulatory and shareholder approval of the deal, the sale is expected to be finalised later this year 

Read the full story here

Fort Worth, Texas becomes first US city to mine Bitcoin

What

Fort Worth, Texas has become the first city in the US to mine Bitcoin

Why

The city’s council voted unanimously in favour of a resolution to become a crypto-friendly city, accepting a donation of Bitcoin mining machines

What next

After six months, Fort Worth will re-assess and decide whether to remove the machines or continue to build on the mining operation

Read the full story here

The Central African Republic adopts Bitcoin as legal currency

What 

The Central African Republic has adopted Bitcoin as legal currency, only the second country in the world to do so after El Salvador

Why 

“The president supports this bill because it will improve the conditions of Central African citizens,” the Chief of Staff Obed Namsio told Reuters

What next 

The adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender implies that the people of CAR can use Bitcoin, alongside the CFA franc, for daily transactions. 

Read the full story here

To catch up on other big stories from last week, be sure to check these headlines:

Fidelity Investments to allow retirement savings accounts to invest in Bitcoin

Australia’s first three ETFs delayed

US mortgage firm backs home purchases using crypto

US Asset Manager BlackRock launches its first crypto ETF

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