Date: 08/09/2021
“This Metaverse is going to be far more pervasive and powerful than anything else. If one central company gains control of this, it will become more powerful than any government and be a god on Earth.” – Tim Sweeney
Weekly News Report:
1. Flash crash rattles gold markets as Bitcoin holds strong. On Monday, the price of gold quickly fell to its lowest level since March as a flash crash drove prices below $1,700 per ounce.
2. NFT marketplace OpenSea topped the leaderboard in gas consumption on the Ethereum blockchain over the past 24 hours in a rare finish ahead of the DeFi exchange Uniswap.
3. Several crypto mining stocks up sharply as Bitcoin rises above $46K. Crypto mining stocks rallied on Monday on the recent rise in bitcoin’s price, as well as on support for an amendment to the U.S. infrastructure bill that would specifically exclude miners from additional tax reporting requirements.
4. Despite experiencing outflows for the fifth straight week, assets under management in digital funds hit their highest level since mid-May. Following recent gains in the prices of BTC, ETH and other cryptocurrencies, the total investment product of assets under management (AUM) are now back at $50 billion.
5. Tether claims to have increased total assets by $21B in the new accounting review. The market capitalization of USDT currently stands at $62.6 billion. The second leg of the bull market, which appears to be underway this month, could ignite bigger demand for dollar-pegged stablecoins in the near future.
6. Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency is seeking to hire a crypto expert. The job listing outlines that the intelligence agency is seeking someone with an in-depth understanding of the world of fintech and digital currencies.
7. Luxembourg-based Blocktrade has become the latest cryptocurrency exchange to receive major backing from venture capitalists, offering further evidence that digital asset startups are becoming a prime target for investment funds. Private investors across 33 countries participated in the $25.8 million, or 22 million euros, Series A round.
8. Bank of Estonia discovers endless possibilities for digital euro pilots. A digital euro trial based after discovering that blockchain technology can “theoretically” support an almost unlimited scale of transaction throughput.
9. Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire noted that Circle is willing to operate under the supervision and risk management requirements of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Treasury, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Circle has officially disclosed plans to become a full-reserve national digital currency bank in the United States.
10. A new cryptocurrency-related bill in Ukraine will allow payments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin despite not recognizing crypto as legal tender. Deputy Minister of Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation Oleksandr Bornyakov is confident that it would be “quite legal to pay with cryptocurrencies” in Ukraine.
11. Canadian public art exhibition organization Vancouver Biennale is preparing to unveil an art installation that combines physical and digital realities with blockchain technology. The Kusama Network is taking the shape of digital artwork as part of a massive installation by the Vancouver Biennale.
12. AMC Entertainment Holdings, which runs the largest movie theatre chain in the U.S., will begin accepting BTC payments for tickets and concessions by the end of the year.
