PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD

- BTC ($7,572): +2% / +102%
- ETH ($152): +1% / +14%
- LTC ($46): -3% / +51%
- XRP ($0.23): +3% / -34%
- Crypto Market Cap ($205B): +2% / +63%
- BTC Dominance: 67%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO

- Figure Technologies, a blockchain-powered fintech startup founded by former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney, has raised a $103 million Series C round valuing the company at $1.25 billion. Figure provides home equity loans on the blockchain, allowing consumers to be approved in minutes and receive funding within five days. The company plans to expand its mortgage refinance and student loan refinance services with the capital. The company has originated $1 billion loans to date. Link. 

- Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler is expected to replace Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson, who has announced plans to vacate his senate seat by year-end, until the special election in November 2020. Link. 

- Ethereum has undergone a hard fork, called "Istanbul," in which six upgrades have been added to the network. The upgrades are expected to improve performance, adjust costs of opcodes, enable better interoperability between Ethereum and Zcash, and enable more creative functions via contracts. Miners and node operators will have to upgrade their Ethereum client in order to run Istanbul otherwise they will remain on an incompatible chain. Link. 

- Crypto exchange Binance said it would support tezos (XTZ) staking starting this week and wouldn't charge any fees. Other exchanges like Coinbase and Gate.io are charging 25% and 33% respectively for their XTZ staking services. The zero-fee staking service appears to be a user-acquisition strategy. Link. 

- EU finance ministers have agreed to a de facto ban on global stablecoins, such as Facebook's upcoming Libra cryptocurrency, until the region has sufficient regulations in place. The group recognized the benefits of cryptocurrencies including cheaper and faster payments across borders, but also cited risks related to consumer protection, privacy, taxation, cyber security, money laundering, terrorism financing, and governance. Link. 

- The Bank of China has issued $2.8 billion in blockchain-based bonds for small and micro-sized enterprises with their own blockchain platforms. The two-year bonds have 3.25 percent coupon rates. The bank used its own blockchain system to issue the digital certificates that prove ownership, form groups of underwriters and document proof of transactions. Link. 

- Nearly 70 crypto-focused hedge funds have shut down this year, largely those that raised from institutional investors. There are currently 804 crypto funds in the total market right now, 355 hedge funds and 425 venture funds. Link. 

- A recent report from Charles Schwab shows that more millennials hold a bitcoin-tied investment product in their investment portfolios than Netflix stock. Millennials aged 25-39 have more holdings in Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust investment product at 1.84% than Netflix stock at 1.58%. GBTC is also more popular than Berkshire Hathaway, Walt Disney, Microsoft, and Alibaba. GBTC is not in the top 10 equity holdings by Gen X and baby boomers. Link. 

- Coinbase's Visa debit card has added support for the DAI stablecoin, the first stablecoin added to the platform. The debit card launched in April and allows customers in the UK and EU to spend their crypto assets directly from their Coinbase accounts. Coinbase Card is available in 29 countries in Europe. Link. 

- Brave, the privacy-focused internet browser, has passed 10 million monthly active users. Daily active users have tripled over the last 12 months, to 3.3 million users. Link. 

- Cruso Energy Systems, a Denver-based company that converts natural gas to energy-intensive computing, is building a new bitcoin mining facility in the US. Crusoe has raised $70 million to fund its projects, from investors like Winklevoss Capital, Polychain, and Bain Capital. Link. 

- The SEC appointed Kristina Littman as the new chief of its cyber unit, which covers ICOs and distributed ledger technology. Littman was hired from within, having joined the SEC in 2010 as a staff attorney. Littman also served as a senior advisor to SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, where she advised on regulatory matters relating to cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Link.