Crypto Edge: Latest Crypto News in One Space
Introductions
Crypto: financial revolution meets digital fantasies. Every hour, day, and week brings exciting crypto news. Welcome to our latest wrap-up, PAID Warrior. Our news summary is a concise and engaging overview of newsworthy events that covers every detail. Sit back, relax, and take in our news summary for the world of crypto!
ARK Invest predicts a Bitcoin boom, CBDC in San Francisco, Digital Rubble in Russia, and more. Plus, how XRP’s success might influence Binance and Coinbase, major US laws, and OpenAI’s developer finally unveiled his crypto project. Our newest wrap-up has this and more!
ARK Invest’s Wild Bitcoin Forecast
Cathie Wood from ARK Invest is feeling even more bullish about Bitcoin hitting $1.5 million in the next 10 years. Wood said on Bloomberg TV that the recent regional banking crisis has made ARK’s “bull case” for Bitcoin more likely.
So get this; Wood says that when the banking crisis hit, people were all like, “Forget stocks, let’s go for Bitcoin!” Even with the whole market going down the drain, investors were still jumping on the Bitcoin bandwagon. Crazy, right? Over the last few months, Bitcoin surged from sub $20k to even a short stint above $30k. It looks like investors were seeking safety, and they see Bitcoin as the go-to choice. It’s like the crypto version of gold, a legit safe-haven asset.
According to Wood, people would eventually embrace Bitcoin as a means to safeguard their wealth from unfair confiscation, whether it be through government interference or sneaky inflation. She added that Bitcoin’s supply is immune to central banks’ meddling, making it an ideal option for preserving wealth and safeguarding against inflation.
San Francisco Federal Reserve Seeks Crypto Architect for CBDC Project
The Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco is on the lookout for a highly competent crypto architect as per an Indeed Job posting. The employee will be diving into some intriguing CBDC research and development stuff.
This is a full-time and hybrid position with a starting annual salary of $134,900. As per the listing, qualified candidates are those who have a solid understanding of distributed systems implementation, cryptographic protocols (like hashing, public-private keypairs, and signing), consensus algorithms, and security. Sounds like your cup of tea? Crypto developers have been assembling at the San Francisco Fed since February, on a mission to find a software engineer to assist with their CBDC initiative.
The recruitment efforts are like a secret handshake that goes against the Federal Reserve Board of Governors’ public stance on CBDCs. The central bank tweeted on July 19 that they haven’t made up their mind about issuing a CBDC yet making it clear that they’ll only go ahead with it if there’s a proper law in place.
Putin approves Digital Ruble as Russia Dips Toes in Crypto Waters
In a bold and unexpected move, Russian President Vladimir Putin has given the green light to a bill introducing the “digital ruble” as an official currency. Heads are sure to spin with this decision! Amidst Western sanctions and the Ukrainian conflict, this audacious move rides the economic rollercoaster, with inflation on the upswing.
Putin has bestowed upon the Bank of Russia the power to be the grand orchestrator of the central bank digital currency (CBDC). It’s like giving them a front-row seat to the digital monetary revolution. The bill not only sets the rules for users, but also provides banks with a fresh framework to follow. The law is coming into play on August 1st, as reported by local media Vedomosti. For individual transactions fees are initially waived. However, companies are charged a toll of 0.3% shall be levied transactions.
Additionally, Russia is recently getting experimental with crypto exchanges, allowing them for two years under a new legal regime. Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Market Anatoly Aksakov revealed that the laws governing these platforms are still a work in progress. However, he assured us that a pact has been struck with the Central Bank. Aksakov wants Russians to have their own cryptocurrency rules when dealing with outsiders.
XRP Ruling: A Win for Coinbase and Binance?
Ripple’s CLO, Stuart Alderoty, hinted on July 25 that the XRP token’s securities status ruling could have implications for other ongoing cases. Ripple is currently riding the wave of its victory against the SEC. The ruling simply stated that Ripple and its execs didn’t do the whole unregistered securities thing with XRP, despite what the SEC thought.
During an interview on TechCrunch’s Chain Reaction podcast, Alderoty shared insights on how that ruling might affect the ongoing cases involving Coinbase and Binance by the U.S. SEC.
“In our case, we have a clear statement that the trading of a digital token … does not make a contract for an investment, and therefore there’s no security …. I think that ruling will play well in the Coinbase case and … equally well … in the Binance case.” he said.
Namibia Embraces Crypto with New Regulation Bill
Namibia’s government did a U-turn last week, signing a law to regulate Virtual Asset Service Providers instead of sticking to its 2017 ban on cryptocurrency exchanges. Namibia’s VASP-regulating law made it into the Gazette of the Republic with President Geingob’s signature, after getting the thumbs up from the National Assembly.
The Namibia Virtual Assets Act 2023 aims at keeping a watchful eye on crypto exchanges. This law is the pioneer in guiding our nation’s approach to overseeing cryptocurrency endeavors. Namibia’s legal rollercoaster began in May 2018, when the Bank of Namibia did a complete 180 on their decision to outlaw cryptocurrency exchanges.
Providers who refuse to comply may find themselves facing a hefty price tag of 10 million Namibian dollars ($671,000) and a decade behind bars. Namibia’s central bank, the Bank of Namibia, remains firm however stating that cryptocurrencies won’t be given legal tender status.
US Crypto Secures Major Victory
The Bitcoin classification law drafted by the House Financial Services Committee acts as an impartial arbitrator in the cryptocurrency world. Furthermore, it gives the Commodity Futures Trading Commission more power to oversee the industry of virtual currencies. In the meantime, the measure defines the role of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has been called “overly bossy” by some crypto enthusiasts.
Since investors were duped by the abrupt failures of Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, FTX, and others last year, the crypto business has been under regulatory scrutiny, and the next bipartisan bill might be a game-changer for the industry.
Crypto advocates have finally convinced lawmakers to vote on a regulatory bill, marking a historic moment in Congress. This victory could lead to a full vote by the House of Representatives, bringing much-needed clarity to the crypto industry.
Singapore High Court: Crypto = Fiat Money
Judge Jeyaretnam of Singapore’s High Court declared that cryptocurrency is trust-capable property. The judge shrugged and declared, “Whether it’s crypto, fiat money, or shells, it’s all the same as long as we believe in its worth.”
Jeyaretnam dropped the hammer on Bybit vs. Ho Kai Xin. Bybit claims that the employee gave herself a little bonus and caught her red-handed, sneaking away with a cool 4.2 million Tether from the exchange to her personal stash.
The judge debunked the myth that cryptocurrency lacks value, reminding everyone that value is simply a collective judgment of human minds. Jeyaretnam classified cryptography as a lively force in motion. The judge cleverly cited the Monetary Authority of Singapore to back his ruling on implementing segregation and custody rules for digital payment tokens. He notes that if it’s doable to identify and separate these digital assets, then it should be legally possible to hold them on trust.
Celsius Strikes a Deal: Users to Unlock Assets by Year-End
Crypto lender Celsius Network has successfully reached two settlements, reclaiming customers’ property and closing its bankruptcy case.
$78.2 billion in unsecured claims will be under Judge Martin Glenn’s scrutiny at a hearing on August 10th. To appease allegations of fraud and misrepresentation, Celsius management has sweetened the deal by boosting consumer reimbursements by a cool 5%.
In any case they opt out of the settlement, account holders can still file their own claims against Celsius. Celsius customers with cash in the Earn program can now breathe easy with the second installment. Crypto borrowers get a deal: shares in the new company and a cut of their crypto assets as compensation during bankruptcy.
Celsius’ settlements tackle customer claims of fraud and deceit by its executives. Celsius users are taking legal action, claiming the lender’s ex-management behaved badly according to Court documents filed July 20.
Sky Mavis Teams Up with CyberKongz for New Game
Sky Mavis, the mastermind behind the blockchain sensation Axie Infinity, has joined forces with CyberKongz for an Ethereum-based NFT collaboration. The partnership would bring users the Genkai NFT mint on Mavis Marketplace, migrating the Play & Kollect game to Sky Mavis’ Ronin platform, and even developing a game starring Genkai.
In honor of the arrival, Sky Mavis will be giving out one Genkai NFT for every Mystic Axie in circulation. In the not-too-distant future, all Ethereum Genkai holders will be able to make the switch to Ronin. The addition of NFT utility is a boon for Sky Mavis, making the company’s work more than just a PFP endeavor.
Sky Mavis hopes to make Ronin the de facto standard for blockchain gaming, and this alliance will help them get there. Sky Mavis plans to develop a gaming ecosystem by partnering with one of Web3’s major NFT projects in order to pool their large user base, community-owned protocols, applications, and deep asset liquidity.
Sam Altman Officially Launches Worldcoin
Worldcoin, the brainchild of OpenAI’s leader Sam Altman, took flight into the crypto realm on Monday. The project’s star attraction is its World ID, a “digital passport” that confirms you’re a human, not a sneaky AI bot. To snag a World ID, customers must undergo an up-close-and-personal iris scan with Worldcoin’s orb. The orb winks at you, scans your iris and upon successful completion and verification, gives your very own World ID.
In the era of advanced AI chatbots like ChatGPT, World IDs are becoming essential according to the project. These bots are so impressively humanlike, it’s like chatting with a real person. World IDs would be able to easily spot the Real Deal in a Sea of AI Bots.
Worldcoin (WLD), the fuel behind Sam Altman’s crypto venture, skyrocketed on its debut day of trading. Worldcoin’s publicity blitz worked wonders, with the token skyrocketing 110% to a peak of $3.58. Worldcoin founder Sam Altman proudly tweeted that their project is experiencing a lightning-fast adoption rate, with one person getting verified every 8 seconds. Altman’s claim however, lacked serious evidence, relying solely on his cell phone video.
Conclusions
In recent days, we’ve seen news and events that could make or break crypto’s destiny. ARK Invest dropped a mind-blowing Bitcoin prediction that could potentially ignite global craze if it pans out. San Francisco struts its stuff with CBDCs, giving the FED a sassy side-eye. US Crypto is poised for a big win as regulators wise up to the importance of clear guidelines for classifying cryptocurrencies. NFT giants Sky Mavis and CyberKongs joined forces in a strategic partnership, while the Worldcoin launch made waves over the weekend.
The path that the cryptocurrency industry has taken up until now is but a taste of what is to come. Follow our Medium for up-to-date information on everything happening in the industry.
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