Crypto News. Jan. 25: Are NFT Users 'Irritating'?!

Bitcoin has managed to break above $36,000 — stemming a painful losing streak that saw prices tumble to $33,184.06 on Monday. The world's biggest cryptocurrency got caught up in a spate of global sell-offs that also affected the stock market. BTC got off lightly when compared with major altcoins, with Ether falling by 25% in a single week. On Monday, Bitcoin was in freefall throughout trading hours in the U.S. and Europe, but it managed to buck the trend once Wall Street opened.

The term "Ethereum 2.0" is now being retired once and for all. This doesn't mean that the ongoing work to scale the network is being abandoned. It simply means that, from now on, Ethereum 1.0 is being referred to as the "execution layer," while Ethereum 2.0 has been rebranded as the "consensus layer." Developers argue that the use of the phrase Ethereum 2.0 "creates a broken mental model for new users" — and emboldens scammers who attempt to sell coins with no value.

A developer has created a browser extension that allows users to automatically block the profiles of those who have an NFT avatar. Explaining the rationale behind their invention, they wrote: "In short, NFT users are just irritating to be around. People who bought NFTs have to keep hyping other people to buy NFTs or the NFTs they bought will lose value." They went on to argue that NFTs have a "shocking" impact on global warming" because of how it largely relies on energy intensive blockchains.

Donald Trump's son Eric says the family is planning to take legal action against TrumpCoin — six years after the cryptocurrency launched. In a tweet emblazoned with the words "fraud alert," he wrote: "This has NOTHING to do with our family, we do not authorize the use and we are in no way affiliated with this group." The staunch statement drew a rather confused response from those behind TrumpCoin, as the FAQ section of their website has long made this clear.