El Salvador is set to become the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender. After a year of ups and downs for Bitcoin, the move represents a significant endorsement of the cryptocurrency, highlighting the ever-growing influence of the crypto market over the global economy.

The pandemic has given hygiene-friendly peer-to-peer solutions a boost – and they’re ushering in a whole new era of banking. Owned by Jack Dorsey’s Square, Cash App is a one-stop digital banking solution that’s attracting increasingly bitcoin-savvy investors, rappers included.

Following in the footsteps of bitcoin, NFTs have gained a place in mainstream consciousness. Axie Infinity is a play-to-earn game that gives people an opportunity to create and cultivate in-game characters and collectibles, which they can sell on cryptocurrency exchanges and use to earn a living.

An Australian start-up has created a wage service that lets anyone receive their salary in bitcoin. By making the cryptocurrency more accessible to consumers, the software is likely to appeal to growing interest in bitcoin and other digital currencies – but at an environmental cost.