PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($9,198): +2% / +28%
- ETH ($238): +5% / +82%
- LTC ($44): +6% / +6%
- XRP ($0.20): +13% / +3%
- Crypto Market Cap ($271B): +5% / +42%
- BTC Dominance: 63%
STABLECOIN MARKET CAP CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- Tether ($9.2B): 0% / +122%
- USDC ($1.1B): +7% / +111%
THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- A viral TikTok video caused the price of Dogecoin (DOGE) to surge 43%, driving the token's price to its highest value since 2018, $0.0045. The video creators asked TikTok users to invest $25 into the currency to drive the price to $1. In response crypto exchanges Binance, Okex, and Bitfinex all expanded their support for Dogecoin making various derivatives and swaps available for traders. Link. TikTok video.
- Crypto exchange Coinbase is reportedly preparing for a US stock market listing that could come this year. The company is awaiting SEC approval but if successful this would mark the first time a crypto exchange would be listed on traditional markets. Coinbase is reportedly exploring going public via a direct listing instead of traditional IPO. Coinbase was last valued at $8 billion in 2018. Link.
- Chainalysis has raised an additional $13M to expand its Series B round to $49M. Investors in this round included Ribbit Capital and Sound Ventures. Link.
- Chainalysis data shows that only 19% of Bitcoin's circulating supply is being traded at any given time. Roughly 20% has likely been lost to dead-end addresses or forgotten wallets. The remaining 60% has been untouched for years, likely held by long-term "hodlers". These entities have never sold more than 25% of the bitcoin they've ever received. Link.
- DeFi protocols like Compound and Balancer are now handing out $25 million a month to users. The platforms have launched an incentivization technique called "Liquidity Mining" which rewards "yield farmers" for using the protocol and providing liquidity. The rewards often come in the form of the protocol's native token and in the case of Compound, in the form of their governance token COMP. "Yield Farming" is where traders move their assets to the DeFi pools offering the best APY from week to week. With Liquidity mining, a yield farmer gets a new token, as well as the usual APY return, in exchange for providing liquidity on the protocol. The idea for the protocol's is that as network usage increases, token value increases, thereby driving usage and continuing the cycle; they offer these extra incentives to get people using the platform. Link. Overview of Liquidity Mining.
- The CFTC is set to develop comprehensive regulations for cryptocurrencies by 2024. Bitcoin and ether are currently classified as commodities and regulated by the CFTC. Securities are regulated by the SEC. Link.
- Cannabis lender Ceres wants to build a "seed to sale" transaction network for cannabis on the blockchain using its own dollar-backed stablecoin. The company has filed paperwork with the SEC to sell up to $50 million in tokens and coins for its network. Consumers, dispensaries, and producers would use the Ceres coin to transact with each other throughout the supply chain. Ceres token holders (separate from coin buyers) would receive up to 80% of the firm's net revenues from its loan business and 20% of net revenues from the payments system used by coin holders. Link.
- The Shariah Advisory Council of Malaysia has said crypto buying and trading is compliant with Shariah law, opening up the crypto market to Muslims who have historically been reluctant to trade crypto in fear it was not Shariah-compliant . Statistics have shown that crypto usage in Muslim countries are amongst the lowest worldwide. Link.
- Bitcoin trading in Argentina has nearly doubled week over week, as Argentina braces for its worst financial crisis yet. Argentines went from trading 59 million pesos ($500k USD) worth of Bitcoin last week, to breaking 100 million pesos ($850k) this week. Link.
- Banking giant Banco Santander is operating its Ripple payments platform, One Pay FX, across 19 countries and wants to expand to more. Santander says it has seen an increase in speed and transparency by using the tech. One Pay FX uses Ripple’s payment messaging system, as opposed to Ripple’s native token XRP, to move money between currencies. The tech product, which competes with Swift, helps banks settle fiat-to-fiat transactions in real time by using messaging to clarify and verify transaction details. Link.
- Torus, a Singaporean crypto key management platform, now allows users to send crypto through social media platforms like Twitter or GitHub, even if that account has never used Torus' crypto wallet. Users can log in to see balances using their social media accounts. Link.
- Telegram is discontinuing support of the test network for its blockchain-based Telegram Open Network (TON). Remaining TON validators will be turned off by August 1. Link.
- Coinbase has hired Facebook's deputy general counsel Paul Grewal as its new Chief Legal Officer. Link.
- Sigal Mandelker, a former key executive at the US Department of the Treasury, has joined Chainalysis' board of advisors. Mandelker is known for her 2019 crypto investigations involving three hacker groups that helped the North Korean government launder billions of dollars in cryptocurrency funds. She also played a role in convicting an illicit digital currency platform known as “E-Gold” back in 2008. Link.
- There are reportedly over 13,000 bitcoin addresses that are worth at least $1 million. Link.
- Crypto investor Brock Pierce announced he was running for president in the upcoming 2020 US election. He has yet to make any policy statements, but in his announcement video he said using technology would have gotten stimulus and unemployment checks into the hands of the people much faster. Link.