After a rough few months of slipping down the ranks, Shiba Inu is back in the top 15 cryptocurrencies by market cap. In the last 24 hours, the price of Shiba Inu has spiked in excess of 5%, allowing it to overtake cryptocurrencies like Wrapped Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash to reach the 14th spot with a market cap of $4.8 billion.

Shiba Inu Jumps 5% In 24 Hours, Reclaiming 14th Spot

The price of the majority of cryptocurrencies seems to be plateauing in the past week, with some even losing some of their market cap. However, meme coins like Shiba Inu and Dogecoin seem to be doing slightly well, with DOGE leading the pack with a 7.02% gain in the past seven days. 

In the case of Shiba Inu (SHIB), the altcoin has found a bit of momentum, amassing an increase of 293.16% in trading volume in the past 24 hours. 

As usual with volatile meme coins, its hard to pin down an exact catalyst of the spike. However, the price jump seems to have come after Shiba Inus developers announced the release of a testnet bridge between Shibarium and Ethereum.

Shibarium to Ethereum Testnet Bridge Pushes SHIBs Price by 5%

Shiba Inu has come a long way since its creation as a meme coin made just to challenge the popular Dogecoin (DOGE). However, the Shiba Inu ecosystem now has a lot of following, investors, developers, and an active community. 

Shiba Inu developers are now working on a Layer-2 upgrade with the aim of developing the ecosystem and becoming a serious blockchain contender. The network, which will operate on top of Ethereum, is called Shibarium and was announced earlier in March. When Shibarium is launched, it is expected to help minimize costs and increase transaction speeds.

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

On July 28, SHIB devs began testing a bridge that allows tokens to be easily transferred between the Shibarium and Ethereum. The testnet release is an important step toward making Shibarium a reality. This cross-chain solution seems to have sparked the interest o...

Heartland Tri-State Bank of Elkhart was closed on July 29, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) taking control.

Should Elon Musks platform choose to introduce crypto payments in the future, Stripes on-ramp service could prove beneficial.

(Reddit.com)

WLD price may get anchored to $2 until October, primarily due to its initial supply distribution.

XRP has been one of the trending tokens following the summary judgment which ruled that the token was not a security, giving its parent company, Ripple, a partial victory over the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). That event saw XRPs price soar to about $0.93. 

However, XRPs price seems to have cooled off, settling at the $0.7 price mark. Despite this, there still seems to be bullish sentiment around XRPs future price, which is why this Machine Learning tool was consulted to predict XRPs price. 

Heres What It Said

PricePredictions.com, a site powered by an advanced machine learning algorithm that provides current and futuristic trends about several tokens, was consulted in a bid to get an insight into XRPs future price and to better position themselves in case of a rally by the token.

According to XRPs futuristic price action, the AI tool forecasts that there will be an upward trend that will see XRP gain about 1.5% in value from its current price of $0.7. It has also been projected that XRP will hit the price mark of $0.71 by August 26, 2023.

For insight into how the machine learning tool works, the algorithm analyzes current technical analysis (TA) indicators, like moving average convergence divergence (MACD), average true range (ATR), relative strength index (RSI), and Bollinger Bands (BB) to come up with a logical price forecast.

XRP Has Come A Long Way

Ripple Labs aforementioned victory over the SEC undoubtedly sparked significant interest in XRP, especially from institutional investors, seeing the token rise above Circles USDC and Binances BNB to become the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

This took XRPs market capitalization to a yearly high of $46.1 billion at the time of the ruling that it wasnt a security (XRPs market currently stands at around $37 billion according to data from CoinMarketCap).

XRP also became the most actively traded altcoin in 2023. The token accumulated over $1 billion in trading volume, outperforming other altcoins like BNB, SOL, MATIC, and DOGE.

Although XRP is still far below its all-time high of $3.84 in 2018, it has undoubtedly had an impressive market trend lately, and it is projected that many more users will continue to pick an interest in the token and ultimately promote wider adoption.

(Steve Johnson/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

Tether USDT has seen its market cap value reach new highs in the month of July. According to a report by on-chain analytics company Into The Block, the worlds largest stablecoin is steadily approaching the key $84 billion mark.

Based on data from DeFiLlama, USDTs market cap is up by over $480 million since the beginning of July, indicating an increasing level of adoption. Generally, the stablecoins total market share value has been on the rise for the majority of 2023, moving from $66.23 billion on January 1 to its current value of $83.80 billion.

In tandem with USDTs market cap growth, Into The Block also noted the tokens circulating supply is up by almost 30% year to date. Interestingly, USDTs market growth has also been reflected in its operators development. 

Back in May, Tether Holdings Ltd published its quarterly assurance report announcing a net profit of $1.48 billion for Q1 2023, bringing its excess reserve to an all-time high of $2.44 billion. 

Into The Block noted that currently, Tether is well on course to surpass those profit levels in Q2 and Q3 as there is an increase in the amount of USDT being issued.

Tether (USDT) Increasing Stablecoin Dominance In 2023

The general stablecoin market has recorded a major decline in 2023, losing over $12.17 billion since the start of the year. However, during this period,  USDT has been waxing strong, accumulating over about $17 billion in market cap.

According to data from DeFiILama, Tethers market dominance has grown by about 19% in 2023, as the token now accounts for two-thirds of the stablecoin market. 

While this development is mainly driven by USDTs impressive performance, there has also been a notable decline in the market shares of some other prominent stablecoins.

For example, Circles USD Coin (USDC), which ranks as the second-largest stablecoin, has seen its market cap fall by a staggering 40% in 2023, with the current value now set at $26.26 billion.

Meanwhile, Binance USD (BUSD), with a market cap of $3.71 billion, has shed over 77% of its market shares following an embargo on its issuance earlier this year. 

At the time of writing, Tethers value remain...

<p>AI (artificial intelligence) tokens were one of the most promising assets in the cryptocurrency market at the beginning of 2023. One of the major drivers of this was the launch of ChatGPT an AI-based chatbot in late 2022, which propelled some AI-related cryptocurrencies to substantial gains.</p> <p>However, the interest in this set of cryptocurrencies appears to be cooling, with data research firm Kaiko revealing a significant decline in trading activity for the AI-related tokens.</p> <h2><strong>Lowest Weekly Trading Volume For AI Tokens</strong></h2> <p>AI-related tokens registered their lowest weekly trading volume since January 2023, according to a recent <a href= "https://twitter.com/kaikodata/status/1684528478295654402?s=46&t=A3BHEABYQUOwmN2Zphb4ng" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">data report from Kaiko</a>. In this report, the research platform looked at the trading volume of six of the top seven AI tokens, including FET, INJ, ROSE, AGIX, RNDR, and GRT.</p> <p><img alt="AI Tokens" class= "aligncenter wp-image-544968 size-medium" height="262" src= "https://www.newsbtc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/photo_2023-07-29_08-39-51-460x262.jpg" width="460"></p> <p>This notable decrease in trading activity suggests a decline in attention from investors since the AI token frenzy peaked in January. And this appears to be reflected in the price performances of many AI-related cryptocurrencies.</p> <p>The Graph (GRT), the largest AI token in the market, was one of the top gainers at the start of 2023, surging by roughly 122% to reach a yearly high of $0.2323 on February 7. However, the price of the GRT token has since plummeted, with a 51% decline from the 2023 peak.</p> <h2><strong>Can ChatGPT & OpenAI Do It Again?

As mentioned earlier, the surge of interest in AI tokens was partly driven by the launch of ChatGPT. However, there has not been a similar effect on the AI and big-data crypto economy following the launch of Sam Altmans Worldcoin project and WLD token.</p> <p>On July 24, 2023, Altman, the CEO of OpenAI the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT rolled out his crypto product, releasing the World ID development kit and the WLD token. </p> <p>The WLD token soared more than 85% to reach an all-time high of $3.3 on the day of launch, acco...</p>

Their letter aimed to explore whether these guidelines might inadvertently hinder the progress and growth of cutting-edge innovations.

The article below is from a recent edition of Bitcoin Magazine PRO, Bitcoin Magazine's premium markets newsletter. To be among the first to receive these insights and other on-chain bitcoin market analysis straight to your inbox, subscribe now.

Disinflation And Monetary Policy

As we delve deeper into 2023, the U.S. economy finds itself at a crossroads. Disinflation seems to be setting in as a direct result of the Federal Reserves tightening monetary policies. This policy shift has led to a notable slowdown in the annualized sticky Consumer Price Index (CPI) over recent months. With this in view, the conversation among market participants has gradually shifted away from inflationary concerns and toward trying to understand the impact of the tightest monetary policy in a decade and a half.

The high inflation weve experienced, particularly in the core basket (excluding food and energy), concealed the effects of the swiftest tightening cycle in history. Inflation was partially fueled by a tight labor market leading to increased wages, and resulting in a sustained second-half inflationary impulse driven more by wages than by energy costs.

Its worth noting that the base effects for year-over-year inflation readings are peaking this month. This could lead to a reacceleration of inflationary readings on a year-over-year basis if wage inflation remains sticky or if energy prices resurge.

Interestingly, real yields calculated with both trailing 12-month inflation and forward expectations are at their highest in decades. The contemporary economic landscape is notably different from the 1980s, and current debt levels cannot sustain positive real yields for extended periods without leading to deterioration and potential default.

Historically, major shifts in the market occur during Fed tightening and cutting cycles. These shifts often lead to distress in equity markets after the Fed initiates rate cuts. This isnt intentional, but rather the side effects from tight monetary policy. Analyzing historical trends can provide valuable insights into potential market movements, especially the two-year yields as a proxy for the averag...

Non-fungible tokens continue to play a significant role in developing the Web3 ecosystem, despite the enthusiasm around them having subsided since its peak in 2021.

Unquestionably, these distinctive digital assets have been a significant force behind the NFT transformations that have taken place. Despite the wide variety of NFT collections and their accomplishments, it is crucial to recognize that some particular ones have recently been severely affected by market pressures and are now beginning to fall from their lofty positions.

Consider the situation with CryptoPunks. CoinGecko discovered that of the top 11 blue chip NFT projects studied, CryptoPunks suffered the worst losses.

Non-fungible tokens known as blue chip NFTs are regarded as highly precious and prestigious in digital assets. These NFTs are frequently linked to well-known and recognized producers or organizations, such as renowned artists, enduring businesses, or essential historical items.

Collectors and investors widely seek after them due to scarcity, historical relevance, and the artists reputation that determine their value.

Alarming statistics currently facing CryptoPunks are raising questions among NFT enthusiasts. These formerly well-liked digital assets have recently encountered a worrying situation, sparking disputes and disagreements among investors and fans.

At the time of writing, the floor price for these NFT collections was set at 47.69 ETH. Data from NFT Floor Price shows that the collections value declined after reaching a high of 11,000ETH during the 2021 NFT bull market.

The volume and sales of CryptoPunks have significantly decreased during the past seven days, claims OpenSea. Sales were down 60%, while volume dropped sharply by 64%.

...

According to the Bank Policy Institute, including digital assets in the Anti-Money Laundering framework is essential for safeguarding the United States financial system.

The U.S. SEC claims that Eeon has a history of repeatedly unsuccessfully representing itself in court cases.

The enduring allure of XRP, despite market volatility, may be evidence of its continued relevance, as it has continued to attract the interest of traders and investors equally.

Even as the dust settles after Ripples recent victory jubilation, the cryptocurrency market remains keen on XRP. Kaiko, a provider of market data on digital assets, reports that the open interest ratio on XRP futures trades on prominent exchanges remains quite impressive.

Recently, the crypto market has experienced a pervasive price reversal. Despite the pullbacks, traders interest in the Ripple cryptocurrency remained remarkably high, according to Kaiko.

At the time of writing, XRP was in the red in all timeframes, trading at $$0.712, down a measly 0.02% in the last 24 hours, and a considerable 8.4% in the last seven days, data from crypto market tracker Coingecko shows. Given these numbers, XRP is still able to shine in another key department.

XRP Community Remains Upbeat About The Crypto

Kaiko shows that across numerous markets, XRPs volume-to-open interest ratio is consistently higher than the median value. This reliability suggests that the XRP coin is actively traded in a healthy market. This percentage is significantly greater than the market average, indicating strong liquidity and sustained interest from traders and investors.

On prominent exchang...

Casper (CSPR) has been making significant strides in the cryptocurrency market, attracting attention with its aim to accelerate enterprise and developer adoption of blockchain technology. As a live proof-of-stake blockchain built off the Casper CBC specification, Casper offers unique features and growth potential, drawing interest from investors and enthusiasts alike.

In the past week, there has been a significant upturn in its on-chain volume. Casper has experienced a substantial price surge in the past 24 hours, with its value increasing by 4.62%. This surge has created excitement among investors, especially as the cryptocurrency has displayed steady growth over the past 7 days, gaining an impressive 14.58%. The positive price movement has generated enthusiasm and optimism among Casper investors, who are pleased with their returns during this period.

As of the latest data, Casper (CSPR) is ranked 84th among all cryptocurrencies, with a current price of $0.04035. The circulating supply of Casper stands at 11,202,499,993, contributing to a total market capitalization of $456,309,769. The cryptocurrencys recent performance has been particularly noteworthy, showcasing impressive short- and long-term growth.

Collaboration With INX Boosts Market Sentiment

A contributing factor to Caspers recent growth can be attributed to its strategic partnership with INX, a United States-regulated broker-dealer. Caspers equity was tokenized and listed through this collaboration, enhancing investor confidence and further supporting the cryptocurrencys upward trajectory. This strategic move has enabled Casper to tap into new markets and expand its reach to a broader audience.

Related Reading:...

Hester Pierce, a United States Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner, argued that full transparency should not come at the cost of compromising good-faith efforts.

Despite a favorable ruling as a non-security token, XRP had experienced a correction for over a week and a half, losing bullish momentum after reaching a yearly high of $0.94. It is trading above the $0.70 mark, with the $0.66 level acting as a support.

Over the past 24 hours, XRP has exhibited sideways trading yet shows potential signs of price appreciation. The technical analysis indicates a leaning toward bullish sentiment, with positive buying strength, demand, and accumulation.

Even though the emergence of a pattern suggesting further bullishness is possible, it remains critical for XRP to maintain support at $0.66 and $0.56 levels.

Additionally, breaking through critical resistance levels is essential for the bulls to retain market control. Encouragingly, the altcoins market capitalization has increased, signaling a positive development for the altcoin.

XRP Price Analysis: One-Day Chart

When writing, the altcoin XRP was trading at $0.71. The XRP price chart shows the formation of a bullish reversal pattern known as a cup and handle.

Despite this positive pattern, the coins true bullish potential will be determined by its ability to surpass two significant resistance levels at $0.76 and $0.84, respectively.

Its worth noting that after reaching a yearly high of $0.94, XRP encountered resistance at $0.84 twice. On the downside, if there is a decline from the current price level, XRP may find support at $0.66 and then at $0.56.

Technical Analysis

Bitcoin has continued to stagnate recently as another recovery move has failed to prosper. So heres an indicator that may hint when a break could happen.

Bitcoin Rally May Not Resume Until The Stablecoin Market Cap Goes Up

Around the start of this week, Bitcoin observed a sharp plunge that had taken the assets price from the $30,000 level down to the $29,000 mark. A couple of days back, however, the coin had started surging again and had reclaimed the $26,600 level.

This uplift in the price had come as the US Fed had announced a 25 bps interest rate hike, but before long, the recovery efforts had run out of steam, and now, the cryptocurrency has already retraced its gains from the rally.

Earlier, Bitcoin had been stuck in a phase of stagnation above the $30,000 level for more than a month, but with the plunge in the price, this streak had been broken.

The asset now sticking near the $29,000 level may mean, however, that volatility hasnt truly returned for the asset yet, as it still continues to consolidate, just around a different level. When a true break away from this stagnation may happen and the rally would return could possibly depend on the total supply of all the stablecoins.

As explained by an analyst in a CryptoQuant post, range-breaking price rises in Bitcoin this year have generally only come whenever the stablecoin supply has registered an increase.

As the quant has marked in the chart, the major price increases in the past few months have generally preceded a sharp local increase in the supply of the stablecoins.

Usually, an increase in the stablecoin supply can suggest two things. First, there may be a fresh injection of capital happening into the market, as investors ask for more of these fiat-tied tokens to be minted.

And second, some holders of other coins like Bitcoin may be selling their coins to seek the relative safety that the stablecoins offer. Either way, such investors who hold their capital in the form of stables do so because they eventually plan to dip (back) into the volatile side of the...

Bitcoin traders expect downside as BTC price offers a muted reaction to the Fed's "preferred" inflation metric.

Just over a year after launching its crypto fund, venture capital firm Sequoia is now rolling back its investments and taking more of a more careful approach. The firm was making some serious waves when it launched its crypto fund last year in February, signaling that crypto was ready for mainstream VC backing. But now the company has reportedly downsized its cryptocurrency fund by 65% as the crypto winter rages on. 

Sequoia Pulls Back On Its Crypto Funding

Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valleys most prestigious VC firms, is scaling back its ambitions in the crypto space. After launching a dedicated $585 million crypto fund last year, Sequoia recently announced theyre slashing it by 65% to $200 million. 

The firm has also reduced its ecosystem fund by 50%. The fund, which invests in other smaller venture funds and solo investors, is now at $450 million, down from $900 million.

Insiders close to the situation said this is a result of the bear market, which has affected projects across the industry and pulled down prices significantly over the last year.

Why Is Sequoia Taking This Step Now?

Sequoia is known for making investments in crypto companies and had initially announced its funds as part of a larger restructuring effort to increase its investments in the crypto space. The crypto market, however, has seen most projects take a big hit over the last few months and Sequoia wasnt left out, as it has seen a major part of its investment take drastic losses. 

The company was particularly affected by the crash of FTX, as it had a $214 million investment in the failed crypto exchange. Rather than spray and pray with a large fund, Sequoia is now tightening its focus. 

According to the report, the companys new investment plan is to pivot toward smaller crypto players. The smaller cryptocurrency fund will now focus more on a select group of startup companies. 

With the crypto market taking a major downturn since the announcement of its funds, its no surprise that Sequoia has decided to scale back. Crypto projects, in particular, havent done well in recent times.

According to a recent report by Lattice, a crypto venture fund, only 5% of projects created during the 2021 crypto boom have...

Mighty Bear Games CEO Simon Davis AKA Papa Bear gave us a look inside his Web3 gaming studio, and his thoughts on the future of gaming.

Russia (Egor Filin/ Unsplash)

French data protection agency CNIL said it finds the legality of Worldcoins collection methods questionable alongside the conditions for storing the data.

Blockchains tracing capacities can help certify that crops werent grown by razing woodlands or harvested with child labor.

Worldcoin's iris-scanning technology is being questioned by regulators. (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

Bitcoin (BTC) has continued to occupy center stage, drawing varied reactions from different financial pundits. One of these voices is billionaire investor Mike Novogratz, who has yet again reiterated his support for the top cryptocurrency despite the unsettling dynamics in the United States economy.

The Growing Concern: Skyrocketing Interest Payments

The US is currently experiencing an unprecedented increase in debts as its interest payments reach $970 billion. This figure represents a leap of $41 billion in the second quarter alone. Observers anticipate that the rising trajectory could soon see the countrys debts surge resulting in the interest payments hitting the $1 trillion milestone, which has set off alarm bells in financial circles.

Related Reading: Bitcoin Retreat Below $30,000: A Threat To Cryptos 2023 Dominance Over Stocks?

To clarify, interest payments are the actual payments that the borrower makes to the lender, typically on a regular schedule, to repay the interest on a loan or debt. The amount of each payment is determined by the interest rate and the terms of the loan.

As such, the sustained upsurge of interest payments in the US economy has triggered growing unease among financial experts. Tax receipts are currently failing to keep pace with the ballooning sovereign debt.

Consequently, the issuance of more debt to fund interest payments is becoming an increasingly common occurrence. This scenario has created a vicious cycle, causing concern about the potential repercussions on the nations fiscal health.

In light of this, Mike Novogratz has once again expressed his firm support for Bitcoin. His latest advocacy came to the forefront recently when he urged investors to buy Bitcoin as the US national debt spiked by $1 trillion between June and July.

Buy $BTC!!! https://t.co/UyGNaGXzyI

Mike Novogratz (@novogratz) July 27, 2023

Novogratzs Stance: Bitcoin As A Safe Haven

Despite expressing caution regarding the broader economy, Novogratz holds a sanguine view of Bitcoins prospects. He...

Given the importance of sovereignty and data today, it is not possible for people to be fully sovereign without entrusting sovereignty over their own data.

Bored Ape in the Otherside (Yuga Labs)

The Supreme Court bench asked the union government to file a report on whether the latter is capable of setting up a federal agency to investigate crypto-related crimes.

Grayscale's new ad campaign in New York's Penn Station. (Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk)

Energy Web CEO Jesse Morris explains why blockchain can make going green more efficient, how fighting climate change is easier, and why Energy Web is building on Polkadot.

ARK Invest CEO and crypto proponent Cathie Wood says that Bitcoin is set to grow massively as a store of value following the recent bank collapses. She believes that Bitcoins stability and a huge rally in the wake of US regional banks collapsing is a major testament to the fact that Bitcoin is the future of money.

Cathie Wood Remains Bullish On Bitcoin

In a recent interview with Barrons, Wood maintained that she remains bullish on digital assets and highlighted three reasons she wont be backing down on her investments. According to her, Bitcoin stood tall and rose by 60%, from $19,000 to $30,000, when regional banks like First Republic, SVB, and Signature Bank collapsed. She attributed this run to investors seeing the asset as a safe alternative for storing their wealth. 

Wood explained:

We see three revolutions taking place because of crypto. Bitcoin will dominate the first one, the money revolution. The biggest proof is that when regional-bank stocks were falling apart earlier this year, Bitcoin went from $19,000 to $30,000. That was a flight to safety, and we expect it to accelerate. The centralized monetary system we have today is an aberration. We could be going back to the future before the Federal Reserve existed under a digital, rules-based monetary system with no government oversight.

The other reasons for her bullishness on digital assets relate to decentralized finance (DeFi) and digital property rights involving tokenizing several physical assets in real estate and other relevant industries. 

The second revolution is in financial services, or the so-called DeFi, which will be Ethereum-based. There are a number of infrastructure providers out there. Its the survival of the fittest, and Im excited to see who wins, the CEO said.

Last but not least, according to Woord, is digital property rights, or what many call NFT or the metaverse. People are already buying real estate in virtual worlds. Our young research associates come into the office wearing jeans and T-shirts with no logos, but they are getting their status in the virtual world.

Weighing In On Coinbases Battle With SEC

During the interview, Cathie Wood also discussed Coinbases ongoing battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Woods ARK holdings are one of the largest holders of Coinbases stock. She believes tha...

This is an opinion editorial by Logan Chipkin, a professional writer who creates educational content about Bitcoin and other topics.

In The Fiat Standard, economist Saifedean Ammous argues at length that the United States federal government has been propagandizing the masses into choosing cheap industrial substitutes and massively reducing (its) meat consumption since at least 1916.

As Ammous wrote:

...the ADA (American Dietetics Association) is responsible for formulating the dietary guidelines taught at most nutrition and medical schools worldwide, meaning it has for a century shaped the way nutritionists and doctors (mis)understand nutrition. The astonishing consequence is that the vast majority of people, nutritionists, and doctors today think that animal fat is harmful, while grains are healthy, necessary, and safe!

In other words, even though a meat-centered diet is superior to a grain-centered one, the government and its quasi-private partners succeeded in persuading millions of people into opting for the latter.

Ammous raises the topic of dietary guidelines as just one example of how a fiat standard distorts an industry, but theres another lesson in this story that Bitcoiners have to grapple with:

Even if your product is the best on the market, governments (and other entities) are capable of spreading narratives that persuade citizens to choose an inferior alternative.

If it happened with food, it could happen with money.

A CBDC Punch-Counterpunch

On July 10, 2023, Karin Strohecker published an article in Reuters titled, Twenty-Four Central Banks Will Have Digital Currencies By 2030, Survey Shows. Apparently, a couple dozen central banks have been making great progress in their development of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Strohecker wrote that these central banks have been working on digital versions of their currencies for retail use to avoid leaving digital payments to the private sector (emphasis added) amid an accelerating decline of cash.

This purported motivation behind CBDCs has been brewing for a while in August 2022, the European Central Bank (ECB) released a report called Towards The Holy Grail Of Cross-Border Payments. In it, the authors compared the merits and demerits of various technological implementations of a cross-border payment solution that might be immediate, cheap, universal and settled in a secure settlement medium. Of the candidates they considered, they concluded that Bitcoin is least credible and that the interlinking of domestic instant pa...

Crypto.com has registered as a crypto provider with the Netherlands central bank. (Flickr)

Near has partnered with Colombian social media platform Blumer to build token infrastructure. (Archive)

The key supporting factors for the market are the adoption of blockchain technology and the demand for NFTs for transparency and traceability in the food industry.

dogecoin/pepe slot machine (Coco Bets)

An amendment in the bill tightens oversight on institutions engaging in crypto trading.

Simulation theory proposes that our reality is a sophisticated computer simulation, raising profound questions about the nature of consciousness and existence.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov promised to distribute money from crypto mining at the hydropower plant to ordinary people.

DeFi protocol, Hector Network, has closed its official Discord server, leaving many investors in the dark. The move comes amidst growing suspicions of a $16 million rug pull engineered through a so-called hard rug, a process where funds are quickly moved, leaving investors with shitcoins. This comes after a controversial rage-quit vote organized by the projects DAO. 

DeFi Protocol Hector Network Leaves Investors In Limbo

Hector Network investors woke up to the news that the DeFi protocol had cut off communications on its official Discord server. The Discord server was the only means of communication between the networks team and its investors which was established after the Hector Network team censored them from the official server in April. 

The server was meant to run parallel to the official Discord, preserving data from the latter. Since then, it has become the only means of communication among DAO members.

The move has left the networks investors in a state of shock since they no longer have any means of communication with the networks team. This has led to a lot of backlash, and according to Libagscientist, an investor and vocal critic of the platform, there is no backchannel open anymore. 

In the absence of any official communication, dejected investors are accusing the network of siphoning the $16 million left in its treasury. 

According to investors, the team embezzled the projects funds over an 18-month period starting in 2021. According to records of DAO votes, the Hector team received over $51 million in salaries during this period without delivering on any meaningful milestone. An aggrieved investor identified as Jintu said, ..not one thing has actually moved forwards.

A Story of Sheer Incompetence and Greed

The Hector Network is part of several Olympus DAO forks, a prominent cryptocurrency reserve currency project that peaked during the DeFi summer of 2021. The Hector Network, like other Olympus DAO forks, promised huge annualized yields of about 100,000% in the beginning, and the early successes of Olympus DAO attracted many investors hunting for massive returns. 

During its hay days, Hector Networks native token, HEC reached $357 in late 2021. However, the platforms challenge lies in the fact that its inflationary yield needs to be supported with a steady influx of investor cash to keep the HEC token valuable and maintain its high yields. 

Following the crypto winter that began in November 2021, the platform has been unable to recover. Aggrieved investors believe that the team should have......

The partnership between The Sandbox, the British Museum and laCollection intends to make artifacts in the museums collection more accessible.

The funds will be used to aid the firm's global expansion across tough regulatory landscapes.

In a thought-provoking blog post titled Moai, Arthur Hayes, co-founder of the renowned crypto exchange BitMEX, delves into the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the future of economic organization and the role of Ethereum. Hayes argues that the rise of AI-driven Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) will revolutionize the global economy and propel Ethereum to new heights.

The Critical Role Of DAOs In The AI Era

Hayes contends that the current economic progress and per capita wealth of global civilization can be attributed to the efficient self-organization of human societies. He emphasizes that traditional company structures, empowered and regulated by the state, have been the primary vehicles for economic development. However, he highlights the limitations of these structures when it comes to AI-driven entities.

He states, An AI has no reason to follow any laws. It cannot be coerced by the state, and therefore, exchanges that trade tokens issued by AI-powered DAOs will likely become natural monopolies.

Hayes lays out a compelling argument for why DAOs, relying on smart contracts executed on public blockchains like Ethereum, are the ideal organizational structure for AI-driven entities. These smart contracts provide transparency, immutability, and cryptographic verification of transactions and agreements. Consequently, DAOs can operate efficiently and securely without the need for third-party intermediaries or costly auditing processes.

He envisions a future where AI-powered DAOs will raise capital and trade their tokens on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) on Ethereum rather than traditional centralized exchanges. This will create truly global capital markets accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Hayes predicts that DEXs will become natural monopolies due to the advantages they offer in terms of trust, security, and ease of use.

The BitMEX founder presents a hypothetical example of PoetAI, an AI-powered DAO that aims to fundraise and produce original poetry for profit. He envisions how PoetAI could issue its tokens, called POET, through a smart contract with specific attributes, such as revenue sharing and voting mechanisms. Investors can confidently invest in PoetAI DAO knowing that its financial statements are continuously available on the public blockchain, eliminating the need for traditional auditors.

Moreover, Hayes explains that DAOs can raise capital by issuing debt, enabling economic time travel by borrowing from the future to stimulate present economic activity. The enforceability of contracts in DAOs can be facilitated through smart contracts on public blockchains, ensuring that investors are protected.

Hayes Bull Case For Ethereum

Hayes concludes, Ethereum transactions will grow exponentially as DAOs proliferate. As a result, the price of ETH should skyrocket in ant...

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