“Bitcoin remains in a long-term uptrend despite the sharp 50% correction from the all-time high of over $63,000 in April. Buyers were able to defend support at around $30,000 after a two-month consolidation phase, which resolved to the upside. Bitcoin faces resistance at $50,000 to $55,000, which could stall the recovery given short-term overbought signals.
Unlike the 2018 bear market, bitcoin is currently holding above the 40-week moving average, which reflects renewed upside momentum. Bitcoin will need to form a decisive break above $55,000 to fully resolve the selling pressure from May.”
“EIP 1559 is live on Ethereum. So far, it appears to be effective at doing two things, including burning ether and curbing block sizes to an ideal target. It hasn’t been so effective in helping users predict what transaction fees will look like over a few minutes or hours, but it has removed the uncertainty for users trying to price their transactions in the heat of the moment.
A total of 22,708 ETH worth roughly $71.6 million has been burnt since the London upgrade, representing roughly 33% of new coin supply growth. Users have paid a total of 7,141 ETH, worth roughly $22.4 million at time of writing, in priority fees [‘tips’] since the activation of the London upgrade.
Reduced revenue from transaction fees does not appear to have significantly affected total miner revenue on Ethereum. Part of the reason for persistently high miner revenue levels is the bullish price breakout for ETH, which took off in earnest a day prior to London.
London … is driving this activity [and] it’s mostly institutional.”
“The $400 billion asset manager is expanding its investments strategy to include bitcoin and ether. Asset management firm Neuberger Berman has given its $164 million commodities-focused mutual fund the go-ahead to invest indirectly in bitcoin and ether for the first time.
The fund, which as a mutual fund would be widely available to investors, has been on a tear this year as commodity prices surged. Its top holdings were gold, corn, heating oil and Brent crude at the end of June.”
“Exchange tokens and digital assets associated with proof-of-stake blockchain networks have outperformed the broader cryptocurrency market since the end of 2019, while privacy-focused digital tokens have underperformed.
As the market matures, monitoring crypto’s market segments may help determine which network features investors are rewarding, as well as the prospect for practical applications of the technologies.”
“In a letter to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Gensler said Congress should grant the agency with additional oversight and enforcement abilities to monitor “transactions, products and platforms” in the U.S. crypto sector.
In my view, the legislative priority should center on crypto trading, lending and DeFi (decentralized finance) platforms. Regulators would benefit from additional plenary authority to write rules for and attach guardrails to crypto trading and lending.
It’s unclear whether Warren intends to introduce legislation calling for new regulations to address Gensler’s concerns or whether other federal agencies or private companies will also be solicited for their views on the issue.”
See Also: Commercium Financial Becomes Fourth Wyoming-Chartered Crypto Bank
“When Poly Network announced the hack and the associated wallet addresses, the accounts held over $600 million in various cryptocurrencies. Less than $400 million remained by the time the hacker said he was ready to return the funds.
The hacker has been embedding messages to transactions with his own addresses to communicate with the world. Dozens of people have used the same method to ask for handouts.”
See Also: Returned Funds, Blacklisted Tokens Raise More Questions Than Answers in DeFi’s Biggest Hack
“The U.S. Consumer Price Index jumped by 5.4% in the 12 months through July, the same pace as June but slightly exceeding the 5.3% increase expected by economists. The rest of the report was illustrative of easing bottlenecks in the global supply chain.
The July CPI report may not influence tapering discussions at the Federal Reserve. In last month’s FOMC press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that the central bank is aiming to make gains in its goal to reach maximum employment before tapering.”
See Also: US Senate Passes $3.5T Budget Plan
“USD Coin (USDC), Circle’s dollar-pegged stablecoin, seemingly lost one of its biggest competitive advantages over its main rival, Tether (USDT).
The Coinbase website now states that USD Coin is “backed by fully reserved assets,” contrary to the now-removed claim of “backed by U.S. dollars in a bank account.”
A [recent] audit by multi-national tax advisory firm Grant Horton showed that 61% of USDC’s reserves were held in cash and cash equivalents, while 9% of the reserves were held in commercial paper.”
See Also: ‘Shark Tank’s’ Kevin O’Leary becomes FTX spokesperson, will be paid in crypto
“Chinese payments app Alipay is now requiring users to hold onto non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for at least 180 days before they can transfer them. Users can send NFTs only to accounts that have passed real-name verification. The terms also state that the copyright of digital works belongs to the creator or issuer and that buyers can’t use them for commercial purposes without consent.
Ant Group, Alipay’s parent company, has been trying to “rectify” its standing with regulators for almost a year, after its initial public offering was abruptly halted last year.”
“The digital cedi will be tested with banks, payment service providers, merchants, consumers and other stakeholders. Giesecke & Devrient will be providing the technology for the currency. Munich-based Giesecke & Devrient provides banknote and securities printing services as well as cash-handling systems.
In July, Bank of Ghana First Deputy Gov. Maxwell Opoku-Afari said the last phase before implementation of a digital cedi is ‘expected to start by September.'”
The Disrupt 