Bitcoin's little dive🔻
Bitcoin dives under $26,000, dragging otherss with it. What triggers? Google's brewing an AI life-coach, and Tencent's prepping too. Singapore seizes big number and MasterCard has a forum.
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Bitcoin decided to take a roller coaster ride, diving under the $26,000 pool.
But it wasn't having fun alone - the whole crypto squad followed, resulting in a $800 million of liquidations.
Bitcoin's brief dip: In a mere 20-minute thrill ride, Bitcoin dropped 7%, giving us flashbacks to its early June price.
Culprits of the crash? Blame it partly on China's property tycoon, Evergrande Group, playing the bankruptcy card and whispers about SpaceX revisiting their Bitcoin portfolio.
Squad follows suit: Ethereum, XRP, SHIB, LTC — everyone's chart had a bit of a downhill slope, diving at least 14% in 24 hours.
Liquidation: Coinglass noted the after-party cleanup: a whopping $801 million vanishing in an hour.
Federal Reserve gossips
The Fed seems to be upping the ante, hinting at more rate hikes.
High rate, High stakes: Last month's policy turned heads with a 5.25%-5.50% rate — a jump not seen in 22 years!
Rate hike rumours: After the recent FED minutes, the market's buzzing with hike speculations, and traders are adjusting their bets.
Bright side: The job sector's shining, boasting "robust" job additions and fewer people without jobs.
Wall Street whisperings
S&P 500: Took a little dip, marking a 0.76% drop.
Dollar Index: On the flip side, it rose by 0.54% this week, a monthly peak, all thanks to the rate buzz.
SpaceX's big move
Josh Gilbert, the eagle-eyed market analyst at eToro, pointed his finger at a Wall Street Journal scoop from Aug. 17. Apparently, Elon Musk's SpaceX might've said sayonara to a chunk (or maybe all) of its massive $373 million Bitcoin stash. When Musk makes a move, the market's bound to feel a tremor.
Yuan connection
Matrixport's Markus Thielen sees the potential devaluation of the Chinese Yuan as the sneaky culprit. A flashback to August 2015 serves as a chilling reminder - Yuan's devaluation led Bitcoin on a 23% downhill journey, though it did eventually bounce back with a spirited rally.
Oil is more volatile?
Kaiko research reveals that the 90-day-volatility indexes for both Bitcoin and Ethereum have sunk by 35% and 37%, respectively. Meaning? They've become less unpredictable than oil, which has a volatility of 41%. In simple terms, the ups and downs you'd expect from the crypto darlings have been more subdued lately.
Volatility: A quick 101
Market volatility is like the heartbeat of an asset. A high and irregular beat (or high percentage) means more unpredictability, and a calmer, lower rhythm means steadiness. Historically, crypto has had quite the erratic heartbeat, much more than oil. Yet, as Dessislava Ianeva from Kaiko points out, this summer has been "unusual."
Ethereum gets a boost
In between, ETH had a quick hike, was up by 11% to $1,700 for a brief time. Thanks to the hints that the SEC might be in the mood to say 'yes' to the first-ever Ether Futures ETFs.
With companies like ProShares, Volatility Shares, Bitwise, and Roundhill in the mix, it's making some waves in the industry.
Although the specifics about which ETF applications will get the green light are still under wraps, indications are we might see some movement by October.
Trump says what?
Former US President Donald Trump has warned that the US dollar is losing its dominance as the world's reserve currency, painting a bleak picture for America's future.
“We have power, but it’s waning. In fact, it’s waning in terms of our currency. And I’m not just talking about the value of our currency, I’m talking about our currency being used throughout the world.”
He blames this decline on domestic energy policy decisions and the growing US debt. In light of this, Bitcoin is emerging as a potential contender for the world's reserve currency.
The stock relation
Famous investor Michael Burry's hedge fund has bet $1.6 billion on short positions against the US stock market, sparking speculation on how Bitcoin's price could react. While Bitcoin has shown no statistical relationship with the stock market, recent bearish trends have led to a growing correlation between the two markets. The BTC/S&P 500 correlation coefficient has been trending upward in August, indicating that a 10% change in the stock market could result in a 4.7% change in Bitcoin's price.
TTD Numbers 🔢
$735 million
Singapore takes the stage with a $735 million alleged money laundering case involving cryptocurrencies.
Singaporean police crack the case, arresting 10 foreign nationals suspected of forgery, money laundering, and resisting lawful apprehension.
They seize a whopping S$815 million worth of assets, including 94 properties and 50 sleek vehicles.
Crypto Clues Galore: Among the confiscated loot, 11 secret documents spill the virtual beans on cryptocurrency assets. While the exact value remains a mystery, it's bound to be a mind-boggling crypto stash.
The plot thickens as over 35 related bank accounts with at least S$110 million are nabbed, leaving no stone unturned in this virtual caper.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore joins the fray, working hand in hand with the authorities to root out tainted funds and assets in the country's financial realm, taking a stand against transnational financial risks.
TTD CBDC 💰
Mastercard isn't just about swiping your card anymore.
Mastercard kicked off a forum that's set to be a melting pot for crypto aficionados to chat and synergise on CBDCs.
The guest list for this CBDC shindig? We've got big names like Ripple, Fireblocks, and Consensys strutting in. The goal? Spark lively discussions, inspire innovation, and work towards a brighter digital future.
Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard's main man for digital assets and blockchain, shared some wisdom: "We believe in payment choice and that interoperability across the different ways of making payments is an essential component of a flourishing economy," he added. "As we look ahead toward a digitally driven future, it will be essential that the value held as a CBDC is as easy to use as other forms of money."
A walk down the memory lane
Mastercard isn't new to the CBDC game. Remember when they launched a prepaid card for Bahamians to flaunt their country's CBDC (which, by the way, was the world's first)? Recently, they've been tinkering with tokenised bank deposits in the U.K., hinting at adding CBDCs and stablecoins into the mix soon.
TTD NFTs 🐝
🎨 Magic Eden's Boost for Polygon:
The news: Magic Eden, a luminary in the Solana-based marketplaces, is splurging a cool $1 million to bolster creators crafting on the Polygon blockchain.
Why it Matters: This hefty fund is all about nurturing top-tier NFT collections on Polygon. Selected whizzes will bag financial backing, mentorship, marketing muscle, and tech troubleshooting. Having broadened its Polygon wingspan last year, Magic Eden is stoking the flames.
🌊 OpenSea's royalty ripples
The News: OpenSea, the NFT marketplace titan, is shaking things up. Come August 31, it's bye-bye to mandatory creator royalty fees on NFT re-trades. Instead, artists can nudge buyers for a 'tip'.
Why it matters: The move's a nod to rival platforms trimming royalties. While it's sparked some applause, there's a fair share of boos too. Many artists and NFT platforms argue that royalties are the industry's lifeblood.
🎮 DeLabs Co-Founder takes a bow
The news: Finn DeGods, one-half of DeLabs' founding duo, is exiting stage left. This, amid a storm of sagging NFT prices and community ire.
Why it matters: The DeGods NFT bunch has watched its floor price dip, tumbling from 8.7 ETH to 4.3 ETH. Meanwhile, the y00ts NFT collection's facing similar price blues. Rohun "Frank" Vora, DeLabs' other co-founder, threw shade at Finn's departure timing, hinting at a possible rift.
TTD HelloAI 🦜
🌍 Google's AI for life advice
Snapshot: Google and Deep Mind are testing a new AI assistant, developed with Scale AI, to offer tailored life advice - from career paths to heartbreak woes.
Caution Ahead: While AI support can be invaluable, especially to isolated communities, some worry that leaning too much on AI might dent personal agency and well-being.
🇨🇳 Tencent throws its hat in the AI arena
Snapshot: Tencent is gearing up to unveil its AI model, Hunyuan, set to have applications from gaming to fintech.
The bigger picture: With Alibaba recently open-sourcing two AI models, it's clear that China's tech titans are amping up their AI game, heeding Beijing's call to lock horns with Western AI bigwigs like Google and OpenAI.
📰 AP draws line on AI journalism
Snapshot: The Associated Press has charted out guidelines restricting its journalists from using generative AI tools for creating publishable content.
The Rationale: AI might be an asset, but it's no replacement for the human touch in journalism. The guidelines stand against AI's use in manipulating media and underscore the crucial role of editorial judgment.
TTD Surfer 🏄
SEC is reportedly close to approving ether (ETH) futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for trading in the country.
A district court judge has ruled in favour of the Treasury Department in a lawsuit backed by Coinbase over Tornado Cash sanctions.
Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of popular video game franchise "Grand Theft Auto," has announced plans to launch a crypto game.
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