Introduction

Defining Fiat Money

Fiat money is tender not backed by a tangible asset or commodity like gold or silver. Its usually mandated by governments, but this isnt always the case. The currencies we use for everyday transactions in the modern era are all examples of fiat money, such as the U.S. dollar (USD), the euro (EUR), the pound (GBP) or the Chinese Yuan (CNY).

The term fiat is a Latin word that means by decree or let it be done, representing an arbitrary order that reflects the issuance of money as a government enactment. Fiat is one form of money, along with representative and commodity money. While fiat money comes in various forms physical banknotes, coins or digital units representative money merely represents an intent to pay, like a cheque. Commodity money has an intrinsic value derived from the commodity it is made of; for example, precious metals, food and even cigarettes.

How Fiat Money Works

The currency itself has no intrinsic value but derives its worth from trust in the government that issues it; it is not representative of another asset like gold, silver or any other financial instrument.

Government Decree: Fiat money is declared by the government to be the official currency of a country and is typically designated as legal tender. This means that banks and financial institutions must adjust their systems to allow the currency to be accepted as a form of payment for goods, services and debts within a given country. There are some exceptions to this rule, with Scotland being the prime example.

Legal Status: Whereby the new money is given the status of legal tender, meaning it must be accepted as payment within the country. Laws and regulations are established to ensure the proper functioning of fiat money. These regulations cover issues such as counterfeiting, fraud and the overall stability of the financial system.

Acceptance and Trust: The value of fiat money is based on the belief and trust that it can be exchanged for goods and services and the illusion that it will retain its value over time. The general acceptance of fiat money by the public and its use in everyday transactions are crucial for its functioning. Should the majority recognize the power of compounding inflation, they may begin to lose confidence in the governments money.

Central Bank Control: Central banks are responsible for maintaining the stability and integrity of the currency. They control and monitor the supply of base money and adjust it based on economic conditions and monetary policy goals. By managing the money supply, central banks aim to maintain price stability and promote economic growth.

Ce...

<p>Bitcoin may be at a decision point right now as investor sentiment is exactly neutral. Which way will the market tip in the coming days?</p> <h2>Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index Suggests Market Is Neutral

A few days back, Bitcoin had observed a sharp plunge that had taken the cryptocurrencys value towards the $29,000 level. In the days that followed, the asset had only consolidated around these relatively low levels, but during the last 24 hours, things appear to have changed a bit.</p> <p>The impetus for this latest volatility appears to have been the US Federal Reserve (Fed)<a href= "https://www.newsbtc.com/breaking-news-ticker/fomc-delivers-expected-0-25-rate-hike-bitcoin-holds-steady-above-29000/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"> hiking interest rates by an expected 25 bps</a>. Shortly after the FOMC meeting had announced this increase, Bitcoin started to surge, giving investors hope that the coin may be traveling back toward the $30,000 level.</p> <p>This new rise, however, seems to have already run out of steam, as BTC has fallen back to lower levels. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $29,400, down 2% in the past week.</p> <p><img alt="Bitcoin Price Chart" class= "alignnone size-medium aligncenter" height="877" src= "https://www.tradingview.com/x/cSuxzYLF/" width="1534"></p> <p>While Bitcoin has retraced from its peak during the past day, the cryptocurrency is still up a net amount in this period, meaning that the asset has managed to hold onto some recovery nonetheless.</p> <p>The fact remains, though, that the coin has been unable to keep up its upward trend, a sign that the market is still perhaps indecisive about its direction. This is reflected in the general investment sentiment in the space, as the <a href= "https://www.newsbtc.com/news/crypto-fear-greed-index-drops-to-one-month-low-heres-what-it-means/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Fear & Greed Index shows.</p> <p><img alt="Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index" class= "alignnone size-full wp-image-544580 aligncenter" height="331" src= "https://www.newsbtc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/METER.png" width="369"></p> <p>The Fear & Greed index makes use of various market-related metrics (like volatility, dominance, and volume) to judge what the most likely sentiment of the average participant in the sector is currently.

This index has a value of 51 right now, which means that the Bitcoin investor sentiment is almost exactly in the balance. This lack of direction in the market isnt a new development; the investors have been leaning towards neutrality for a week or so now.</p> <p>...</p>

In what is perhaps the most articulate and thorough Bitcoin grant offering to date, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has announced a 20 BTC set of bounty challenges in support of open-source Bitcoin developers building tools and services that increase the functionality of Bitcoin. These selections, inspired by the HRFs research and work with activists across the world, were carefully chosen to perpetuate usability and increase privacy applications within Bitcoin, the Lightning Network, ecash and Nostr.

The challenges will run through the end of 2024, with any unclaimed bounties being converted back into the HRFs Bitcoin Development Fund. The bounties themselves have a clear privacy, censorship-resistance, and self-sovereignty focus, bringing much needed attention towards some of the greater problems Bitcoin faces today.

The first bounty is a 2 BTC reward to port the Bitcoin UI Kit to the open-source Penpot project from its current Figma file format. This kit is a large set of design components for builders to use when developing Bitcoin projects. In its current format, its use is limited to those operating proprietary software, and the HRF aims to sponsor the replication of the Bitcoin UI Kit on Penpot, actualizing free access and self-hosted instances.

The second bounty is a 2 BTC reward for a serverless implementation of a payjoin protocol. The bounty specifically calls send and receive Payjoin transactions without requiring a sender or recipient to operate a public server. The Serverless Payjoin bounty asks for use of BIP-21 unified bitcoin URIs, and to remain independent from a trusted third party (hence serverless) which could expose user privacy in a non-trivial way.

The third bounty is another 2 BTC reward for the creation of a Nostr client implementation of end to end encrypted group chats which is incapable of leaking metadata to potentially malicious third parties. In order to be eligible, the group chat must enable three or more users to communicate, with no ability for outside adversaries to gather the content of the messages, nor the identity or frequency of the users messaging.

The fourth bounty is a 2 BTC reward for a mobile Bitcoin wallet capable of receiving and sending Silent Payments without the use of a client-side full node. The wallet must be open-source and multi-platform, with a backend that is interoperable with other mobile wallets. The bounty asks for compliance with the Silent Payments BIP, written by Josie Bake.

The fifth bounty, a 2 BTC reward for Human Readable Offers, calls for a bolt 12 offer generator to be integrated into a mobile wallet. Ideally, a bolt 12 offer could be communicated from a phone screen to a human without the use of copy and paste or a QR code scan, similar to how a Bitcoin...

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Those who wish to participate can do so by minting their avatars on the Polygon and Ethereum blockchains.

Shiba Inus development team has announced a significant advancement in the SHIB ecosystem. With the introduction of the Shibarium Bridge, users will have a new way to interact with the ecosystem. However, as this technology is still in its beta phase, the team behind Shiba Inu (SHIB) is urging the community to exercise caution.

A team representative known as Lucie recently announced the Shibarium Bridges beta release. This addition to the Shibarium network was first introduced to the public in April and has since progressed from being partially functional to undergoing public testing.

Shibarium Bridge: New Level Of Interoperability?

Constructed on the foundation of Plasma Bridge technology, the Shibarium Bridge presents a noteworthy degree of cross-functionality between Shibarium and Ethereum. By employing a collection of proof-of-stake validators, this bridge paves the way for Shiba Inu users to execute transactions with a reduced need for intermediaries and a diminished risk profile.

Related Reading: Shibarium Reaches New Milestones As Anticipation Builds For Mainnet Launch

The bridge is also compatible with the ERC-20 token standard, the prevalent token format within the Ethereum network. Notably, the Shibarium Bridge is expected to serve as a solution for scaling, an indispensable facet for any blockchain network aiming to manage substantial transaction volumes without compromising speed or efficiency.

Shibarium Beta Bridge has gone live for public testing!

Be among the first to try out this revolutionary cross-chain solution.

Remember, always exercise caution and verify authenticity before connecting your wallet to any website.

PLEASE DO NOT USE YOUR REAL ASSETS! pic.twitter.com/7yfhX8gQc6

(@LucieSHIB) July 26, 2023

While the beta release of Shibarium Bridge marks a significant milestone, it comes with a word of caution from the SHIB team. Lucie urged users not to use real tokens while the technology remains in its beta phase, including the currently running...

(Getty Images/Jackyenjoyphotography)

The Ethereum sidechain will transition to a proof-of-stake network this August and become a full-fledged layer 2 based on Polygons zero-knowledge protocol in 2024.

1908 photograph of a vault door (Shutterstock)

Crypto wallet Beam goes live. (PIxabay/GuentherDillingen)

PancakeSwap is now available on zkSync Era blockchain. (Mae Mu/Unsplash)

Amazon Managed Blockchain adds new services for developers (Shutterstock)

Zaki Manian, the co-founder of Sommelier, is a key figure in the Cosmos blockchain community but worries about its future (CoinDesk)

Trade (Ian Taylor/Unsplash)

BNB Chain noted that the rise in verified smart contracts highlights the demand for security, reliability and scalability.

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The Saudi Central Bank warned in 2019 that Bitcoin is not recognized by legal entities but hasnt made many statements on crypto since.

As the trilogue on the AI Act begins, the European Commission, German politicians, and digital experts express skepticism and make new demands.

Newly-launched project Worldcoin has failed to achieve significant progress as signups for the platforms Digital ID continues to dwindle since launching on July 24. 

What Is Wrong With Worldcoin?

Controversies surrounding the project and reservations like privacy concerns have brought about skepticism and reluctance to sign up on the platform. As part of the sign-up process, users must scan their iris using The Orb, available at designated locations worldwide. Once the user is verified as human, they receive the World ID alongside 25 WLD, the projects native token, worth roughly $60. 

Many have questioned how safe it is to use The Orb and how the project will handle such sensitive data, with prominent figures like Twitters former CEO Jack and Ethereums co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressing their concerns. 

Stark Difference Between Pre-Launch And Post-Launch Figures

Worldcoin saw an impressive 2 million sign-ups before the projects launch. However, there seems to be a stark difference between the pre-launch and post-launch numbers.

Hong Kong was one of the cities with the most number of sign-ups. The South China Morning Post reported that the three designated locations in Hong Kong saw a combined total of about 600 sign-ups on the first day. 

According to the report, Heather Huang, an operator of one of the Orbs in the city, asserted that the 600 sign-ups accounted for almost half of the total Worldcoin sign-ups on launch day.

If 600 sign-ups represent half of the total sign-ups on the first day, that will invariably mean only about 1,200 people signed up on launch day a not-so-impressive figure compared to how many Worldcoin claims signed up pre-launch.

In what may be a direct response to the alleged dwindling signups, Worldcoins co-founder and Open AI CEO Sam Altman tweeted a video of many users queuing to sign up at what looks like one of the designated locations of The Orb. 

He posted the video with the caption:

Day 3 of @worldcoin launch, crazy lines around the world. one person getting verified every 8 seconds now

Many Twitter users were quic...

The U.S.-based trading platform is set to become the first to issue and trade tokenized assets in both the U.S. and the EU, and will operate under the new DLT pilot regime.

This is an opinion editorial by Marc Taverner, CEO of XEROF, a digital-asset-focused financial services provider.

At long last, were entering the era of bitcoin financial products. After several attempts at regulatory approval from numerous financial firms, players like BlackRock may finally get their U.S. bitcoin ETF approved, while global firms like Deutsche Bank are seeking their own crypto licenses.

These institutional movers could be looking to hold bitcoin on their balance sheets ahead of the next halving. But make no mistake: I believe their larger play is to develop financial products for accredited investors and their normal customers to access bitcoin.

Its important to note here that I said financial products. They are unlikely to pursue these licenses and approvals only to make it possible for their customers to buy bitcoin directly. This is for several reasons, all of which I hear regularly in my work as a licensed digital asset provider in Switzerland. Heres why these large banks, investment firms, family offices, etc., wont just buy bitcoin.

Why Financial Firms Wont Buy Bitcoin For Their Balance Sheets

First, most customers dont know how to open or manage their own bitcoin wallets. By customers, were not just referring to retail customers, but also to sophisticated money managers and institutions. Wallets are still an unforgiving and complex element of bitcoin management. Offering direct bitcoin purchases at scale requires infrastructure and education that these institutions are behind in cultivating. Not to mention that they would need to compete with the established dominance and captive market of companies like Coinbase.

Second, financial firms wont be investing in bitcoin directly because holding the asset itself securely (unless you have a dedicated bitcoin security team) is hard to manage. And that is before they consider how to manage it for thousands or millions of customers. Holding direct bitcoin in wallets makes their institution a target for hackers, criminals or internal bad actors. I have seen an influx of consultancies helping these institutions create their own highly-secure cold storage processes and procedures. However, like the bank heist movies tell us, no system is completely immune to infiltration.

Third, buying bitcoin could reflect a loss of assets under management (AUM). If these institutions were to help their family offices or wealth managers directly buy bitcoin, that is no longer an asset they manage. This amount of AUM is a critical metric for banks, investment ma...

Arbitrum (ARB), a Layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum, has been on an eventful journey, with its promise of enhanced scalability and efficiency facing continuous scrutiny.

Recent downtime incidents and declining metrics have raised concerns among investors and users, challenging the networks resilience.

This kind of downtime raises concerns about the networks stability and the potential impact on users and DeFi protocols running on the platform.

Traders and investors, already cautious about the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency landscape, may need more time to engage with a network facing repeated disruptions.

ARB Incident Raises Eyebrows

A notable incident was reported via Twitter, where Arbitrum seemingly experienced a block production halt for approximately 15 minutes. The information surfaced through the Arbitrum scanner, but the exact cause of the disruption remained unclear. It was uncertain whether the issue originated from the scanner itself or if the network had indeed stopped producing blocks during that time. 

looks like Arbitrum was down for ~15min a little bit ago?

or arbiscan rugging again idk pic.twitter.com/h1evcO6wIP

Spreek (@spreekaway) July 25, 2023

This occurrence was not an isolated event for Arbitrum, as it had previously faced outages, including one in January that prompted a public statement from Offchain Labs, the team behind the development of Arbitrum.

Challenges In Metrics And TVL

In addition to the downtime concerns, Arbitrum has been experiencing declining metrics and a recent slump in its token price. As per CoinGecko, the cost of ARB stood at $1.20, with a 24-hour rally of 2.8%. However, over the last seven days, the token declined 8.1%, reflecting the uncertainty and hesitancy among investors following the downtime incidents.

...

Trader redeems 6.72k ETH from Rocket Pool (Elena Mozhvilo/Unsplash)

Sui Foundation sacks MovEx after token unlock violation (Matt Smart/Unsplash)

Bitcoin (BTC) has shown much resilience in the wake of the US Federal Reserve announcing a 25 basis points hike in the Federal Funds Rate (FFR) on Wednesday.

Based on data from CoinMarketCap, the premier cryptocurrency is up by 0.78% in the last 24 hours, with the majority of the market also posting notable gains. However, a crypto analyst has predicted a significant bearish trend for the market leader.

Incoming Dip For Bitcoin? 

According to a technical report on July 27 by an analyst with the Twitter handle @CryptoFaibik, BTC is likely to plummet in value by 15-20% in the coming weeks. 

Related Reading: FOMC Delivers Expected 0.25% Rate Hike, Bitcoin Holds Steady Above $29,000

However, the analyst noted that Bitcoin could first hit the $32,000 mark, indicating an imminent potential 8.6% gain on the tokens current market price.

I think $BTC will hit 32k first, and then We may Witness a 15-20% Correction in the Coming Weeks.

Share Your Thoughts #Crypto #Bitcoin #BTC pic.twitter.com/Qni4cCBxLX

Captain Faibik (@CryptoFaibik) July 27, 2023

Following @CryptoFaibiks predictions, BTC is then expected to fall to around $25,000, with a breakout below its current ascending channel, as seen on the daily chart. 

While this might be an interesting projection, it is worth stating that there were no specific reasons backing this bearish outlook. In fact, there has been a positive sentiment surrounding Bitcoin in the last few weeks.

Besides its recent positive performance in the face of the Fed rate hike, the market leader appears to be poised for an increase in institutional demand.

Currently, prominent asset managers have filed applications with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) seeking approval to launch the firs...

hi's Mastercard debit card (hi)

The positions come with six-figure salaries, ranging from $450,000 to $650,000 for the Technical Director role and $300,000 to $900,000 for the Product Manager position.

Amid the new changes to the online social media platform now known as X, users have begun to debate on what to name the iconic posts formerly called tweets.

The Twitter user who initially registered the @X handle had their profile forcibly changed after Elon Musk rebranded the social media platform to X.

(CoinDesk)

Dogecoin (DOGE) has been making headlines again with its recent price rally, causing a significant impact on the PEPE network and its investors. As the price of DOGE surged around mid-July, on-chain data indicates that investors began to abandon their holdings in PEPE, leading to a sharp decline in the networks activity.

Daily Active Addresses, a crucial metric used to gauge the level of network activity, took a hit during this period. On July 14, PEPE recorded 5,086 active users. However, by the close of July 25, that number had plummeted to a mere 1,999 daily dynamic addresses, representing a staggering 61% decline. 

This abrupt drop in network usage suggests that many investors shifted their attention and funds towards DOGE, leaving PEPE behind.

Dogecoin Hype Leaves PEPE In The Dust

The reason for this shift in investor behavior can be attributed to DOGEs recent impressive performance in the market. Over the past seven days, DOGE saw a surge of 11.6%, reaching a price of $0.079, according to CoinGecko. DOGE also experienced a slight 0.7% climb in the past 24 hours. 

...

The bot is the third in a series of AI-trading initiatives launched this year.

Japanese Flag (Shutterstock)

Brian Armstrong said that voting Yes to the bill would protect innovation and national security in the United States.

As BlackRock reiterates that an optimal investment allocation should include 84.9% BTC, the firm has formed a major investment partnership in India.

A major leading indicator for Bitcoin is pointing the way toward a classic repeat of bullish BTC price phases, analysis says.

A video shared by Worldcoin co-founder Sam Altman shows a long queue of people in Japan reportedly waiting to collect $50 worth of Worldcoin (WLD) tokens or 25 WLD.

The Bitcoin and crypto markets are experiencing a slight upswing today, with BTC and other major altcoins making gains. The main catalyst behind this uptrend appears to be yesterdays Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

At the time of writing, Bitcoins price is up by 0.8% in the last 24 hours, currently trading at $29,486. Despite facing resistance around the critical resistance area of $29,750, BTC has shown resilience and is attempting to reclaim its upward trajectory. Moreover, other major cryptocurrencies are also in the green, with Ethereum (+1.0%), XRP (+1.4%), Cardano (+3%), and Solana (+7%) all enjoying gains.

Bitcoin Follows TradFis Reaction

The FOMC meeting has been a focal point for the crypto markets movements. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated that the central bank remains data-dependent, indicating that further interest rate hikes are not ruled out. However, no decision on the matter has been reached yet.

Powell emphasized that core inflation (both PCE, CPI) remains the primary focus. He also stated that FED will stop raising rates way before the inflation target of 2% is reached. However, the big bummer was his statement that he does not expect inflation to fall below 2% before 2025!

Bitcoin experienced a quick dip in response to this Powell statement, but quickly rebounded, seemingly following the trajectory of traditional financial markets. Notably, the Dow Jones rose for a 13th consecutive day after the FOMC meeting yesterday, signaling investors confidence in a bullish market sentiment.

Experts and analysts in the cryptocurrency space have offered diverse opinions on the implications of the FOMC meeting and Powells remarks. Jim Bianco, an influential figure in the financial industry and founder of Bianco Research LLC, highlighted the lack of clarity in the Feds communication, stating:

It is provided the LEAST amount of information of any meeting since they started hiking in March 2022. Powell is going out of his way to say nothing and not commit to anything. So, this meeting has become a Rorschach test. Everyone sees into it what they want.

And this is seemingly what the traditional finance as well as crypto markets are doing. The big question is: how long will the Fed hold rates up, how long before it pivots. As this is data dependent, no one knows, but market expectations and the Feds projections still seem far apart.

While the CMEs FedWatch tool currently predicts a slight majority in favor of a first rate cut already in March 2024, Powell made it clear yesterday in a hawkish tone that the key rate must remain high for a long time because the effects need time to have an impact on the economy.

Polygon (MATIC) has been experiencing a mix of price action, with a 24-hour rally of 3.5% that hints at potential positive movement. However, the coin has suffered a 4.4% slump over the past seven days, indicating underlying bearish sentiments in the market. 

Despite the short-term surge, the weekly time frame presents a negative outlook, primarily due to the failure to break through a long-term horizontal resistance.

Adding to the bearish pressure, an ascending trendline has been broken, signaling a potential further decline in MATICs price.

One of the significant factors contributing to MATICs current bearish scenario is its inability to surpass the significant resistance zone of around $0.80.

This area had been acting as a strong support level for the altcoin, providing stability during various price fluctuations. However, this support became a formidable resistance over the past two weeks, thwarting MATICs attempts to climb higher.

Polygon (MATIC) Ascending Trendline Breakdown

An ascending trendline is a sloping line that connects a series of ascending lows in an uptrend. It represents a rising level of support and is often used to gauge the strength of a bullish trend.

The breakdown of this trendline indicates a shift in sentiment, suggesting that buyers are losing control and sellers are gaining momentum.

The breakdown of the ascending trendline sets the stage for a potential 22% drop in MATICs price. If the coin fails to find strong support at lower levels, this decline could be the next crucial movement for the cryptocurrency.

Traders and investors must closely monitor price action to determine if MATIC can stabilize or if further losses are on the horizon.

Bear Trap Scenario And Bullish Recovery

However, there is a glimmer of hope for MATICs price trajectory. If buyers can...

Sam Bankman-Fried (right) exits the courtroom in Manhattan after a hearing on July 26, 2023. (Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Shutterstock)

With the United States government accused of covering up extraterrestrial activity, crypto degens were quick to sprout a shiny batch of memecoins.

CME Group (Shutterstock)

Solana is attempting a fresh increase above the $25 resistance against the US Dollar. SOL price might continue to rise steadily toward the $30 zone in the near term.

• SOL price is showing positive signs above the $24 level against the US Dollar.
• The price is now trading near $25 and the 100 simple moving average (4 hours).
• There was a break above a major bearish trend line with resistance near $24.80 on the 4-hour chart of the SOL/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
• The pair could continue to move up if it clears the $26 resistance zone.

Solana Price Starts Recovery

After a steady decline, Solanas price found support near the $22.75 zone. SOL traded as low as $22.70 and recently started a recovery wave, unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The price climbed above the $24 and $24.50 resistance levels. There was a break above a major bearish trend line with resistance near $24.80 on the 4-hour chart of the SOL/USD pair. The pair climbed above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $32.42 swing high to the $22.70 low.

SOL is now trading near $25 and the 100 simple moving average (4 hours). On the upside, immediate resistance is near the $25.90 level. The first major resistance is near the $26 level. A clear move above the $26 resistance might send the price toward the $28.80 resistance.

Source: SOLUSD on TradingView.com

The 61.8% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $32.42 swing high to the $22.70 low is also near the $28.80 level. Any more gains might send the price toward the $30 level.

Another Drop in SOL?

If SOL fails to clear the $26 resistance, it could start a fresh decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $24.80 level and the broken trend line.

...

More than 70 startups have raised over $600 million in the embryonic Web3 digital marketing sector.

Ethereum price is recovering above the $1,850 zone against the US Dollar. ETH could restart its decline if there is no move above the $1,900 resistance.

• Ethereum is slowly moving higher above the $1,850 zone.
• The price is trading above $1,870 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.
• There is a key bullish trend line forming with support near $1,855 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair could face a strong selling interest near the $1,900 and $1,920 levels.

Ethereum Price Faces Uphill Task

Ethereums price started a short-term recovery wave from the $1,830 zone. ETH was able to recover above the $1,850 and $1,860 levels, similar to Bitcoin.

However, the bears are still active below the $1,900 level. A high is formed near $1,886 and the price is now consolidating gains. There was a minor decline below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $1,832 swing low to the $1,886 high.

Ether is now trading above $1,870 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is also a key bullish trend line forming with support near $1,855 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The trend line is near the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $1,832 swing low to the $1,886 high.

On the upside, immediate resistance is near the $1,885 level and the recent high. The first major resistance is near the $1,900 level. The next key resistance is near the $1,920 level. A close above the $1,920 resistance could set the pace for a larger increase.

Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

The next resistance is near the $1,975 zone, above which the price might rise toward the $2,000 hurdle. Any more gains could send Ether toward the $2,050 resistance in the near term.

Fr...

My Bitcoin was taken. How? A Reddit user thought they were following best practices until two days ago when their Bitcoin wallet was completely cleaned out.

0.00010 BTC = 2.94 USD
1.00 USD = 0.00003 BTC
Converter

Im going to put my money where my mouth is, the Democratic presidential candidate said as he doubled down on his support for Bitcoin.

The FTX co-founder may be able to face one less charge relating to actions surrounding his alleged mismanagement of the cryptocurrency exchange.

RFK Jr. (Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)

CoinsPaid said it is now working with Estonian law enforcement and several blockchain security firms are assisting to minimize the impact of the July 22 exploit.

Two crypto regulatory bills have been passed by the United States House Financial Services Committee that could finally provide some much-needed regulatory clarity.

House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (left) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Bitcoin monthly chart. (CoinDesk Indices)

(Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Meta's metaverse-building business has racked up around $21 billion in losses since the start of 2022.

Paradigm's MKR transfers (Arkham Intelligence)

Sam Bankman-Fried (right) exits the courtroom in Manhattan after a hearing on July 26, 2023. (Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk)

Flag of Spain. (Kutay Tanir/Getty Images)

U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C. (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Changpeng "CZ" Zhao. (Anna Baydakova/CoinDesk)

CEO of Binance Changpeng Zhao at Consensus Singapore 2018 (CoinDesk)

Fabian Vogelsteller has been working full-time to create his new blockchain since 2018, with its mainnet launching just this May.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon reportedly said SBF made roughly 100 calls to a reporter behind The New York Times story that revealed Caroline Ellisons private journals.

New and old bitcoin mining rigs at CleanSpark's site in Georgia. (Eliza Gkritsi/CoinDesk)

The large gains began following Ripples partial court victory over the SEC in the middle of the month.

A couple who filed a lawsuit over how staked Tezos tokens were taxed has gone to appellate court after refusing to accept a refund check from the IRS.

(Shutterstock)

Reddit avatars (Reddit.com)

TVL drops across DeFi (DefiLlama)

(Chris Karidis/Unsplash)

(Arek Socha/Pixabay)

(Nick Fewings/Unsplash)

(Steve Jurvetson/Wikimedia Commons)

Antminer bitcoin mining rigs displayed at Consensus 2021 (Christie Harkin/CoinDesk)

(Fred Moon/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

(Emmanuel Ikwuegbu/Unsplash)

Palau (Rene Paulesich / Unsplash)

Craig Wright (Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for CoinGeek)

(Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

Canada has unveiled new bank-capital plans for crypto (Pixabay)

Potential plaintiffs in the new lawsuit by ENF may need to opt out of other suits against Block.one to be eligible to participate.

Cross-Chain communication protocol platform LayerZero has crossed 50 million cross-chain messages, as revealed by the platform on Tuesday, July 25. This significant milestone proves the massive trading activity and cross-chain token swaps that happen across several chains daily.

LayerZeros Impressive Growth

The 50-million cross-chain messages is undoubtedly a testament to how much LayerZero has achieved in the space. Due to the projects disruptive vision, it has received enormous backing from some of the ecosystems biggest Venture Capitalists (VC). 

Three months ago, LayerZero raised $120 million from prominent backers like auction company Christies, renowned VC firms Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, Capital market company Samsung Next, OpenSea Ventures, and Circle Ventures. What is more impressive is that LayerZero was valued at $3 billion during this Series B funding round, almost three times its $135 million valuation during the funding round held back in 2022. 

This remarkable feat has also come during the lingering crypto bear market when many have felt that the outlook in the industry will be negative. That is why it is easy to share the sentiments of the CEO of LayerZero Labs when he stated:

LayerZero is to blockchains what the internet was to computing clusters. LayerZero allows chains not only to build bridges (to transfer assets/value between them) but send and execute arbitrary data just like a packet on the internet. What this means is that you can now build applications that are orders of magnitude more complex than existing applications and do so with a completely seamless experience between chains.

Blockchain interoperability remains the foremost issue in the Web3 space. Furthermore, this has greatly hindered some from venturing into the space, and it is well-known that if crypto is to enjoy mainstream adoption, this issue needs to be dealt with. That is why interoperability protocols like LayerZero are key in the blockchain ecosystem. 

It is common knowledge that the interoperability issue stems from how blockchains have different protocols and standards that make them incompatible. However, platforms like LayerZero bridge this gap by facilitating seamless and direct communication between different blockchain networks, making it easy for users on networks like Ethereum, Aptos, Solana, and SUI to move their digital assets across these chains.

Wen Airdrop?

The question of if LayerZero will carry out an airdrop has been on the lips of many members of the LayerZero community. Although the team has been tight-lipped over whether or not there will indeed be an airdrop to users, the signs are becoming more glaring that one may, in fact, be on the horizo...