UPDATED: Bitcoin drops to $49,000!

GM. In today’s weekly recap, we will cover: Ethereum is down 30%, Bitcoin is down 20%, market is down down bad.

I was preparing for the portions of this newsletter last night when I remember that our athlete, Carlos Yulo, is competing for his second gold in the Olympics. And that, he did.

It was one of those moments where a Filipino can be truly proud to be one.

Well then, apologies as we also caught the Olympic bug! Now onwards to today’s weekly news recap!

Market Updates 📈

Here are the crypto highlights of the week:

• Bitcoin is down 21.0% vs the previous seven days, now at $54,634.61.
• The weekly top gainer in the top 100 coins is Tether Gold ($2,445.73), up 2.2%! XD
• The weekly top loser in the top 100 is ETHEREUM ($2,332.23), down 29.3%
• Noteworthy: BLAST ($0.01493) is down 17.9% vs the past week.

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Feature Story: Crypto and Stocks Plunge Amid Economic Concerns

Cryptocurrencies and traditional stock markets are experiencing sharp declines, with Bitcoin dropping 20% and Ethereum falling 30% over the past week. Japan’s Nikkei index has also fallen 15% in three days following a surprise rate hike by the Bank of Japan.

• Data from Coinglass is showing that 97,000 traders got liquidated in the past 24 hours, Coindesk reported.
• The most recent Coinglass data at the time of publishing: In the past 24 hours, 212,064 traders were liquidated, resulting in total liquidations amounting to $822.87 million.

What’s happening: These declines signal a broader financial instability that could impact investors worldwide.

By the numbers:

• Bitcoin: Down 20% over the past week.
• Ethereum: Down 30% over the past week, erasing year-to-date gains.
• Nikkei: Down 15% in three days, the worst performance since the 2011 disaster.

What’s happening in Japan: The Bank of Japan raised its interest rate to 0.25%, causing the yen to surge and the Nikkei to plummet. This move has had a ripple effect, leading to significant drops in U.S. and global markets.

• Ripple effect: Investors are reacting to mixed signals from central banks, particularly the U.S. Federal Reserve’s ambiguity about future rate cuts, adding to market instability.

What’s next: Uncertainty continues, monitoring geopolitical developments and central bank decisions will be important in the coming weeks.

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Weekly Recap: Local Crypto News 🇵🇭

• Press Release: The Philippines’ National Printing Office is collaborating with Venom Blockchain.
• BreederDAO announced that $BREED holders on Ethereum can claim a 10% multiplier and bonus points in Sipher’s Play to Airdrop Event.
• Coins.ph partnered with open financial infrastructure PlatON.
• ETH63 collaborated with Coinfest Asia to offer discounted festival tickets.
• Paytaca announced its new merchant partner in Ormoc City:
• The Philippine Blockchain Week (PBWx) nationwide series, started the first leg at Davao City for ChainReact: Igniting a Digital Revolution in the Philippines.
• PDAX announced a new HOLD and Earn Promo, still 10% on USDT (on Tron) and USDC (on Solana)
• GCash announced listing Solana-based PayPal USD (PYUSD).
• YGG co-founder Gabby Dizon discussed in an interview the future of Web3 gaming, YGG’s evolution, on-chain guilds, and the key to mainstream adoption of Web3 games.
• ICP Hub PH extended the submission deadline to its iThink Hackathon pump up the Jam until August 15.

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Educational Corner 🎓

Check out our new and updated guides:

Other Beginners guide:

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Regulation Watch 📜

Stay informed about the latest regulatory updates from here and around the world and what they mean for you:

• Tron founder Justin Sun urged China to reconsider its strict cryptocurrency policies in response to former President Donald Trump’s advocacy for Bitcoin.
• Venezuela‘s election authority announced Nicolas Maduro’s reelection as President, highlighting the nation’s reliance on crypto due to economic crises, international sanctions, and significant emigration.
• Johnny Ng, a Hong Kong lawmaker, proposed discussions on including bitcoin in the region’s financial reserves following former U.S. President Donald Trump’s promise to create a “strategic bitcoin reserve” if re-elected.
• Slovenia became the first EU nation to issue a sovereign digital bond, a 30 million-euro ($32.5 million) note settled through the Bank of France’s tokenized cash system as part of the ECB’s money settlement experimentation program.
• One Trading secured regulatory approval from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets to operate as a regulated crypto derivatives exchange.
• Russia is moving to legalize cryptocurrency for payments amid increasing pressure from sanctions.
• The Bahamas passed the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act, of 2024 (DARE 2024), introducing comprehensive reforms and tighter regulations for the digital asset and cryptocurrency markets.
• India is working towards implementing a “country-specific” approach to cryptocurrency regulation, influenced by the G20’s synthesis note on crypto assets. 
• UAE residents can now directly trade Bitcoin and Ether using their bank accounts through M2’s new integration
• The European Securities and Markets Authority issued an opinion to help crypto companies avoid breaching the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) rules when dealing with overseas firm
• Updates in the United States:
  • Amid the upcoming U.S. presidential election, analysts at Bernstein note that crypto has become a partisan issue with Donald Trump making six major promises to support Bitcoin and Kamala Harris attempting to reset relations with the crypto industry.
  • The vote on Senator Debbie Stabenow’s crypto bill has been delayed due to a lack of bipartisan support, with a markup hearing initially planned for this week now postponed until September.
  • The SEC charged BitClout founder Nader Al-Naji with fraud, alleging he misled investors about the project’s decentralization and misused over $7 million of the $257 million raised on personal expenses.
  • Alabama’s new Blockchain Study Commission, created in May, met for the first time to explore how to regulate and utilize blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. 
• The FBI warned that scammers are impersonating cryptocurrency exchange employees to steal funds by soliciting login details or providing fraudulent login links.

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The following people were feature in last week’s community spotlights:

1. Aldrin Rabino, also known as Crypto4Chun. (July 31)
2. Fermin D. Barrenechea III, the co-founder of Museigen.io. (August 1)
3. Eliezer Rabadon, CEO of DvCode Technologies Inc. and the CTO of Ark of Dreams. (August 2)

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At the Scene 📍

On the ground activations and more:

• Startland meetup in Bicol

• Multiple Solana ecosystem call meetups.

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More Web3 and AI News 💡

Discover the latest in web3 and AI innovation.

• Why Monad ecosystem is gaining VC interest.
• Ordinals bleed as BTC touchs $70,000.
• ArcadeXYZ collateralizes $450,000 of Ringers NFTs.
• 21Shares integrated Chainlink’s Proof of Reserve on the Ethereum mainnet to enhance transparency for the Ethereum reserves backing its Core Ethereum ETF (CETH).
• Superteam announced that the Solana Radar Hackathon, presented by Colosseum, will be held from September 2 – October 8.
• The Global FinTech Institute and ICP Hub Singapore partnered to drive innovation and growth in the FinTech and Web3 sectors through initiatives like the FLEX investment platform and the Chartered FinTech Professional certification promotion.
• The Data Ownership Protocol (DOP) launched on Polygon PoS to enhance data ownership and selective transparency.
• Movement Labs joined Polygon’s AggLayer to facilitate interoperability across Ethereum Layer 2 chains and has launched a public testnet attracting $160 million in committed TVL.
• Hyperbolic raised $7 million in a seed round to develop a blockchain-based cloud platform that aims to make AI hardware more affordable for startups and researchers.
• Blackbird Labs launched Blackbird Pay, a blockchain-based payment and check settlement network for restaurants, allowing them to pay a 2% transaction fee and enabling diners to use Blackbird’s reward points, FLY, to pay for meals.
• NFT startup Mintify raised $3.4 million to build infrastructure for an NFT order book for gaming, art, and real-world asset markets.
• The Terra blockchain briefly halted operations after a reentrancy attack exploited a known vulnerability, resulting in the theft of over $4 million in tokens, but it has since restarted following an emergency upgrade to fix the issue.
• Icebreaker, a blockchain-based professional network co-founded by Coinbase and Google veterans, has raised $5 million to create an open professional network that aims to challenge LinkedIn by allowing users to own and control their digital identities.
• The Worldcoin Foundation launched its World ID orb verification in Austria, expanding access to its iris-scanning “proof of humanness” technology in Europe.
• JokeRace, a no-code platform for launching onchain competitions and hackathons, raised $3 million to expand its marketing and business development.

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Web3 Gaming Section 🎮

The future of web3 is gaming, and here are the latest news.

• Telegram game Catizen delayed airdrop.
• Animoca Brands unveiled Crazy Rush Heroes on Telegram.
• Draper Goren Blockchain Studio announced strategic investment in Turf Gaming.
• Jambo partnered with Pixelverse to integrate Web3 games directly into its smartphones.
• XProtocol launched its ‘superchain’ on the Layer 2 Base chain to address scalability issues in web3 gaming.
• Matr1x launched its $MAX token with a $1.5 billion valuation, aiming to revolutionize Web3 mobile gaming by enhancing community engagement, decentralization, and creator involvement.
• Hamster Kombat‘s new whitepaper revealed that 60% of its token airdrop will be allocated to players.
• CropBytes invited Web3 gaming projects to join its ecosystem, offering benefits like access to the CBX token, a marketplace, and community support.
• The TON-based idle game ‘BANANA’ rapidly gained popularity, reaching 1 million users in under 72 hours.
• Alliance Games launched DePin, a chain-agnostic decentralized infrastructure platform for Web3 gaming, offering decentralized cloud hosting, automated payments, and secure data storage to enhance gaming experiences.
• Manchester United launched a new Web3 football game called “Fantasy United” on the Tezos blockchain, featuring interactive Player Trading Cards that update in real-time and allow fans to manage virtual teams and compete based on real-life player performance.
• nWay, a division of Animoca Brands, launched the beta of “Cosmic Bomber,” a casual Web3 game that combines Bomberman-style action with blockchain features, offering real-time multiplayer competition, digital asset ownership, and a hybrid economy within Mocaverse’s Cosmic Club.

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Noteworthy 🌟

Key updates and announcements from around the crypto and blockchain world:

• Hong Kong police arrested four people, including a 14-year-old, for allegedly using fake banknotes to swindle HK$11 million ($1.4 million) from cryptocurrency owners since October 2023.
• A North Korean national, Rim Jong Hyok, was indicted by a U.S. grand jury for ransomware attacks on hospitals, with charges including hacking, extortion, and money laundering.
• HSBC Australia restricted payments to cryptocurrency exchanges due to increasing concerns about scams, following similar measures by other major Australian banks.
• WazirX, facing backlash over a $230 million hack, proposed a fund recovery strategy allowing users to access 55% of their tokens while converting the remaining 45% into stablecoins.
• Elon Musk expressed on the X Takeover podcast that he sees some merit in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies following Donald Trump’s keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, however, he emphasized that he only promotes crypto in a joking manner.
• A 29-year-old Bitcoiner was kidnapped and murdered in Kyiv by four assailants who stole $200,000 worth of bitcoin.
• A crypto wallet associated with the U.S. Department of Justice transferred $2 billion worth of confiscated bitcoin to an unidentified wallet, later splitting the funds into two separate addresses, according to Arkham Intelligence data.
• NFT artists Brian Frye and Jonathan Mann sued the SEC to clarify whether NFTs fall under the agency’s jurisdiction as securities.
• Compound DAO reached a truce with the Goldenboys, who had taken control of $25 million worth of COMP tokens through a governance vote, resulting in the return of the tokens in exchange for a proposal to share fees with COMP holders.
• Jefferies suggested that Bitcoin’s price could be influenced by the outcome of the U.S. election due to recent policy shifts and promises from Trump to support the crypto industry.
• Solana’s decentralized exchanges are seeing significant trading volume and user growth, surpassing Ethereum’s DEX activity.
• Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust, a spin-off of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), began trading on Wednesday morning at 4 a.m. ET under the ticker symbol “BTC” following SEC approval.
• After delivering a keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, former U.S. President Donald Trump promoted limited edition Bitcoin-themed sneakers on social media, highlighting their availability for purchase with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
• Fidelity International listed its bitcoin-backed exchange-traded product (ETP), the Fidelity Physical Bitcoin ETP (FBTC), on the London Stock Exchange.
• Tether reported a $5.2 billion net profit for the first half of 2024, with its USDT stablecoin fully backed and over-collateralized by $5.3 billion, while its reserves reached $118.4 billion.
• Bybit ceased offering its products and services in France due to stricter licensing regulations.
• Montenegro’s court of appeals has ruled to extradite Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon to South Korea, rejecting the United States’ request.
• Ripple will allocate $10 million to tokenized U.S. Treasury bills on the XRP Ledger, marking the first such issuance on the platform and contributing to a broader fund for tokenized T-bills provided by OpenEden and other issuers.

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This article is published on BitPinas: What’s Behind the Crypto Crash This Weekend | Weekly News Recap