Bitcoin prices rose over 1%
and traded above the $20,000 level after a turbulent week saw the world’s
largest cryptocurrency plunge below the $20,000 level for the first time since
2020. The digital token is down over 52% so far this year, and trading over 70%
below its record high of $69,000 it had hit in November 2021.

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Cryptocurrencies
had been moving for past months in the same direction as stocks as investor
appetite for risk assets faded on growing concerns about an economic downturn.
Several Bitcoin investors have been selling in this environment as prices
continued to fall over the past few months. The coin over the weekend dropped
around $17,700, the lowest level since the end of 2020. Overall, digital-asset
investment products saw outflows of around $39 million last week, with total
assets now at their lowest level since February 2021, according to Coinshares
data.

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The
global cryptocurrency market cap was at $906.25 billion, up 2.34% in the last
24 hours. However, the total cryptocurrency 24 hours trading volume is $64.97
billion. Most cryptocurrencies were trading in a tight range amid fears globally
over high inflation and the likelihood of the US economy plunging into
recession.

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Bitcoin
fear and greed index on Thursday, June 23, 2022, went from the extreme fear
level of 11 to the level of 11 as per the alternative. me. The Fear and Greed
index is a technique for assessing investors’ emotions toward the market.

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Bitcoin
is currently trading at $20,592.09, up by 1.97%. In the last 24 hours, the
highest it touched was $20,835.75 and the lowest was $19,848.08. Bitcoin has a
current market cap of $392,845,575,021. It has a circulating supply of
19,074,693.00. BTC coins have a maximum supply of 21,000,000 coins.

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GST council to consider sales tax on cryptocurrency next
week

GST council will meet next week to consider a goods and
services tax (GST) on cryptocurrency transactions, reported Bloomberg. The
panel, comprising federal and states finance ministers, is looking to broaden
the tax net to track dealings in virtual digital assets in a more effective
manner. The GST panel is meeting for two days starting Tuesday, June 28, 2022,
in Chandigarh. It is unlikely to finalize a rate in the forthcoming meeting but
discussions may be held on placing cryptocurrency in the highest tax bracket of
28%, the report added.

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Shopify introduces an NFT-gated option for online
retailers

Shopify is leaning toward NFTs as the future of
e-commerce. The online shopping major, which allows small businesses to create
custom e-commerce stores, is launching NFT-gated storefronts as a new feature
for brands looking to make their stores more exclusive, it said on Wednesday.
“Invite your community into a world that recognizes and rewards loyalty,” a
narrator says in Shopify’s announcement video, which features a skateboarding
woman who goes through a pastel portal and turns into a Doodles NFT.