Bitcoin Daily: BoA Says Crypto, NFTs ‘Too Large to Ignore’; Tanzania’s Central Bank Backs Crypto but Economists Say Country Not Ready

Bank of America (BoA) has published a report saying cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are likely here to stay, Cointelegraph reported.

The BoA report said crypto’s $2.15 trillion market capitalization is too big to ignore and that the currency has evolved far beyond only bitcoin, according to Cointelegraph.

The BoA report says, per Cointelegraph, that digital currencies are “not about payments per se. They’re about a new computing paradigm — a programmable computer that is accessible everywhere and to anyone and owned by millions of people globally.”

In addition, the BoA report highlighted the growing popularity of crypto, saying the venture capital in the sector has increased exponentially since the beginning of the year, Cointelegraph reported. There’s been $17 billion invested in the industry in just the first half of the year — three times more than the $5.5 billion from the entirety of 2020. And there’s been a new spate of crypto adoption, with 221 million users estimated to have traded the currency or used a blockchain device as of June.

In other news, crypto opponents in Tanzania have said the lack of resources in the country makes it “difficult to participate in worldwide trade,” even though the Bank of Tanzania is willing to prepare for crypto, Bitcoin.com reported.

Haji Semboja, a professor at the State University of Zanzibar, said Tanzania’s economic profile makes adopting crypto hard, according to the report. He said the “development of our economies is a complete function of the development of global international monetary and commodity markets.”

“I am not yet to accept an instrument that will never benefit the majority of people,” he added, per the report. “It is not simply because of limited knowledge, but also the level of economic development.”

Meanwhile, bitcoin has gone back above $50,000 in value, with bulls now attempting to get the daily close above that level, Cointelegraph reported.

Bitcoin’s strength has also helped altcoins with their valuations, and several tokens have now seen gains above 20%, according to the report.