Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Investments news
- Dan Loeb, CEO and Founder of US-based multi-billion hedge fund Third Point, in his letter to investors, said that the fund will continue to pursue more crypto-related investments as they’re “most intrigued by its potential to become a disruptive technology, impacting broad swaths of the economy.” “Recently, investors have grown concerned about the impact of increasing regulation, but we believe it has upside in the long run as a more clear set of guardrails should pave the way for a greater range of capital to flow into the industry,” Loeb added. The fund has already invested in CipherTrace, Bitwise, FTX, eToro, and Circle.
CBDCs news
- The creation of central bank digital currencies to address economic inequality with new retail loan and payments channels must be designed so they don’t “cannibalize” a country’s commercial financial system, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co., as reported by Bloomberg. If set up hastily, retail CBDCs could risk “disintermediating commercial banks” and lead to the exodus of 20% to 30% of their funding base — “potentially rapidly under stress,” per the report.
Economics news
- In the US, nonfarm payrolls increased by 943,000 jobs last month after rising by 938,000 in June, Reuters reported, adding that economists had forecast payrolls would increase by 870,000 jobs. Employment is now 5.7 million jobs below its peak in February 2020.
Exchanges news
- South Korea’s state-run financial IT firm, Koscom, is in talks with the nation’s 30 biggest exchanges about co-creating a clearing system that could help exchanges hold on to customer funds without risking losses, even if they are forced to close late next month. A grace period for crypto exchanges to adopt a range of new protocols, including banking and anti-money laundering requirements, expires on September 24. But, per KBS, the system would allow exchanges to “temporarily keep” funds in crypto while trading platforms complete the application process. The measure would allow exchanges to avoid forced KRW liquidations.
- Ramp said it has become a fiat on-ramp to be registered with the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, as the 8th cryptoasset firm to get this approval.
Blockchain news
- Blockchain platform Tezos (XTZ) said they have completed its seventh upgrade, Granada, which cuts their block time from 60 to 30 seconds. It also decreases smart contract gas consumption by 3-6x and introduces liquidity baking. Also, baseball team New York Mets have added Tezos as an advertised brand at their baseball park, Citi Field.
- Decentralized oracle network Chainlink (LINK) announced its plans for the Cross Chain Interoperability Protocol, which will provide developers with an open-source standard for building cross-chain applications that can interoperate across multiple blockchain networks through a single interface. It has also announced the mainnet launch of Chainlink Keepers, a new decentralized service that will allow users to automate and decentralize smart contract functions and maintenance.
Adoption news
- Crypto exchange Coinbase said it is adding support for more payment and cash-out methods, like Apple Pay and Google Pay, in the US, along with allowing users with linked bank accounts to sell up to USD 100,000 per transaction. Now, users with any Visa or Mastercard debit card linked in their Apple Wallets will automatically have Apple Pay appear as a payment method when transacting with Coinbase on their cellphones, while Google Pay should be available this fall.
- Fashion group Philipp Plein said it will start accepting payments in 15 different forms of cryptocurrency. The coins will be accepted for purchases in the group’s brick and mortar retail stores around the world, as well as on the brand’s e-commerce platform.
- Community-owned decentralized music protocol Audius said it has surpassed 5m monthly active users. The team also stated that the protocol is a popular place to experiment for tech-loving artists like deadmau5 and 3lau, but it has also provided a much-needed haven for specialized scenes and cross-genre exploration, music that’s often underserved by existing streaming music services and platforms.
Regulation news
- A commissioner for the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Brian Quintenz said that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not have jurisdiction over “pure commodities or their trading venues,” including cryptoassets.
NFTs news
- Comics giant Marvel and its non-fungible token (NFT) partner VeVe announced that the first Spider-Man cryptocollectibles will go on sale this weekend. The first series of non-fungible tokens will feature five variations on Spider-Man, priced between USD 40 and USD 400, while future VeVe collectibles will feature Wolverine, Iron Man, and Captain America as well as digital comic books.
Mining news
- Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Bitfarms has announced it has mined BTC 391 last month, or 96% more than in January this year. It has also mined BTC 1,748 BTC in the first seven months of 2021.
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