- Bitcoin Trades Cautiously Even as Real Yield, Dollar Support Bullish Stance
Bitcoin (BTC) is trading tentatively even as intermarket factors favor an extension of July’s double-digit gain.
The largest cryptocurrency by market value was changing hands at $23,300 at press time, down 1.3% on a 24-hour basis, having failed to keep gains above $24,000 over the weekend. Futures tied to the S&P 500 nursed a 0.15% decline.
What appears to be a chart-driven pullback could be fleeting considering the declining real, or inflation-adjusted, bond yield in the U.S. In two weeks, the yield on the 10-year U.S. inflation-indexed security has dropped 46 basis points to 0.20%, the lowest since May 31, reviving the case for investing in risk assets. Historically, bitcoin has moved in the opposite direction to the real yield. The 90-day correlation coefficient between the two stood at -90% at press time, indicating a strong inverse relationship.
“Since the Fed meeting last week, real yields have been falling across the curve. Here we can see both 5 and 2 Year Real Yields falling back into negative territory, while 10 Year Real Yields are dancing right above 0,” Cameron Dawson, chief investment officer at NewEdge Wealth, said in a Twitter thread, adding that the decline in real rates contributed to the recent rally in growth stocks.
- Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Criticizes Corporate Metaverse Attempts — ‘Anything Facebook Creates Now Will Misfire’
This weekend Vitalik Buterin discussed the metaverse after sharing a tweet from the co-founder of Dialectic and blockchain auditor, Dean Eigenmann, who said he doesnt believe the metaverse “will happen in the ways VCs are currently funding.” Buterin shared Eigenmann’s tweet on Saturday and agreed with the assessment.
“The ‘metaverse’ is going to happen, but I don’t think any of the existing corporate attempts to intentionally create the metaverse are going anywhere,” Buterin said. 24 hours later, Buterin’s tweet about the metaverse is closing in on 10,000 likes and close to 1,500 retweets.
Buterin’s metaverse statement got a lot of responses and one individual wrote: “I think the barrier to entry being a bleeding edge bit of evolving research hardware has created a rare case of a necessary condition favoring large incumbents. The idea wouldn’t even be under discussion without Quest 2.”
- Aave DAO Approves Creating GHO Stablecoin
An overwhelming majority of Aave DAO voters have approved creating a new stablecoin.
The proposal, submitted by Aave Companies, was backed by 99.9% of voters, who pledged half a million AAVE in approving the measure to create GHO, a stablecoin that will be backed by collateral consisting of other cryptocurrencies.
Aave is a decentralized, non-custodial market protocol that enables users to borrow and lend cryptocurrencies. While providing liquidity to the cryptocurrency market, users can earn passive income on digital assets allocated to a smart contract. It is open-source and boasts $9.8 billion in liquidity, according to Aave’s website.
https://decrypt.co/106088/solana-spaces-irl-store-web3-embassy-new-york
- Bitcoin Trades Cautiously Even as Real Yield, Dollar Support Bullish Stance
Bitcoin (BTC) is trading tentatively even as intermarket factors favor an extension of July’s double-digit gain.
The largest cryptocurrency by market value was changing hands at $23,300 at press time, down 1.3% on a 24-hour basis, having failed to keep gains above $24,000 over the weekend. Futures tied to the S&P 500 nursed a 0.15% decline.
What appears to be a chart-driven pullback could be fleeting considering the declining real, or inflation-adjusted, bond yield in the U.S. In two weeks, the yield on the 10-year U.S. inflation-indexed security has dropped 46 basis points to 0.20%, the lowest since May 31, reviving the case for investing in risk assets. Historically, bitcoin has moved in the opposite direction to the real yield. The 90-day correlation coefficient between the two stood at -90% at press time, indicating a strong inverse relationship.
“Since the Fed meeting last week, real yields have been falling across the curve. Here we can see both 5 and 2 Year Real Yields falling back into negative territory, while 10 Year Real Yields are dancing right above 0,” Cameron Dawson, chief investment officer at NewEdge Wealth, said in a Twitter thread, adding that the decline in real rates contributed to the recent rally in growth stocks.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7163552
- $200M BitGet BTC-USDT protection fund hints at investor-centric trend
With the ultimate goal to regain investor confidence amid a prolonged bear market, crypto derivatives exchange Bitget launched a $200 million fund to safeguard users’ assets. Bitget joins the growing list of crypto companies, such as Binance, that have taken an investor-centric approach to gain investors’ trust via protection funds.
The Bitget Protection Fund comprises 6,000 Bitcoin (BTC) and 80 million Tether (USDT), valued at $200 million at the time of writing. Considering the fact that crypto winter currently shows almost no signs of slowing down, Bitget pledged to secure the value of the fund for the next three years.
While Bitget chose to self-fund the entire protection fund without relying on a third-party insurance policy, Binance set up its user protection insurance fund, Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), by allocating 10% of the trading fee. Starting off in 2018, SAFU reached a $1 billion valuation by early 2022. Sharing details about the newly founded fund, Gracy Chen, managing director of Bitget, added:
“The protection fund will help us mitigate investors’ concerns and attract potential users. As we continue to endure the crypto winter, it is crucial that our users can rest assured that their funds are kept safe.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/200m-bitget-btc-usdt-protection-fund-hints-at-investor-centric-trend
- Jewelry Brand Tiffany and Co. Unveils $50K CryptoPunk Necklaces
The company is selling 250 customized, diamond-encrusted pendant necklaces for 30 ETH (around $50,000) a pop to holders of the famed collection. Each necklace will include a combination of 30 diamonds and gemstones, according to Tiffany’s website.
The necklaces will go on sale Aug. 5 and are only available for CryptoPunk holders to purchase in the form of NFTs redeemable for the physical necklaces. Tiffany’s will net over $12 million from the sale’s sellout, standing to make even more profit from resale royalties.
The release comes as a tie-up with the crypto startup Chain, which is taking care of the launch’s back end. Chain’s CEO Deepak Thapliyal first teased the collaboration in a tweet last week.
NFT Twitter had mixed reactions to the announcement, with some users criticizing the pendant’s high price. Others praised the collaboration as a step forward for the collection’s image.
- Central Bank of Uruguay Summons to Binance Due to Its Savings Focused Cryptocurrency Products
Cryptocurrency savings products are in the spotlight of several regulators of countries all over the world. The Central Bank of Uruguay has these in its sights, and it has recently issued a summon to Binance due to its product portfolio in the country. According to the institution, Binance is offering these as savings-focused alternatives, without any kind of registration or authorization from regulators.
The institution clarified that:
The call to the general public for the application of their savings can only be done through financial intermediation institutions authorized to collect deposits in the market or as an issuer registered in the stock market registry.
Furthermore, the Central Bank of Uruguay called Binance to stop advertising these investment products as a savings-focused activity.
- This Week on Crypto Twitter: Wikipedia Accused of Playing Politics, Coinbase-Bored Ape Collab Widely Jeered
Leading cryptocurrencies gained in value this week despite the U.S. Federal Reserve’s announcement on Wednesday that interest rates will be raised by an additional 75 basis points to combat inflation.
Typically, announcements like this are detrimental to crypto markets. Last month, the Fed raised rates by 75 basis points in the steepest hike since 1994. Crypto prices crashed heavily as the cost of borrowing rose, causing investors to dump riskier assets. No such response came this time, with all leading cryptocurrencies posting notable seven-day price gains.
A fierce debate now rages as to whether the United States, after two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, is in a recession. The White House thinks not.
- Nearly $140 Billion in Stablecoins Poised to Re-enter Crypto Markets
Crypto markets stabilized in July with no final capitulation event as many had predicted. There is now a large sum sitting in stablecoins waiting to re-enter markets when the time is right.
Three of the top ten crypto assets by market capitalization are stablecoins. Their combined value at the time of writing is $138 billion, according to CoinGecko.
Tether’s USDT is the third largest cryptocurrency with $66 billion, Circle’s USDC is fourth with $54.4 billion and Binance’s BUSD is seventh with $17.8 billion.
On July 31, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pointed out that this was a lot of money sitting on the sidelines, waiting to get back in.
“If people wanted to get out of crypto, most won’t hold stablecoins.”
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7163489
- Honduras attracts crypto investor tourists with Bitcoin Valley
A small tourist town in Honduras has begun accepting Bitcoin (BTC) payments as part of the Bitcoin Valley initiative designed to increase tourism revenue across 60 local businesses.
Some locals of Santa Lucia, like shopping mall owner Cesar Andino, expect the initiative to open up more opportunities for shops in the area and “attract more people who want to use this currency,” according to a report from Honduran news outlet La Prensa. Andino added:
“Accepting Bitcoin will allow us to open another market and win more customers. We have to globalize. We cannot close ourselves off from technology, and we cannot be left behind when other countries are already doing it.”
The program started on Thursday, allowing patrons of local area shops to pay with United States dollars, Honduran Lempira or Bitcoin.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/honduras-attracts-crypto-investor-tourists-with-bitcoin-valley
