Read in the Digest:
- FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried debunks acquisition claims of Huobi Global
- Iran approves crypto for imports, Central African Republic rejects crypto use
- FBI issues warning over increasing cyberattacks on DeFi platforms
- Meta’s new update allows users to post NFTs on Instagram and Facebook (NASDAQ:META)
Bitcoin Holds Above Critical $20k Level, Ethereum Rallies Back to $1,600
Cryptocurrencies, led by Bitcoin, are beginning to recover from the sharp downtrend that followed the hawkish remarks of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Bitcoin has now recovered from its recent 1-month low of $19,600.
Over the last 24 hours, Bitcoin (BTC) has gained 3%, pushing its price as high as $20,542. Bitcoin now trades at $20,400, holding up above the important psychological level of $20,000.
The 24 hours price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
While Bitcoin’s gains are marginal, Ethereum is experiencing a strong bullish upswing, gaining 10.5% in the last 24 hours. The spike has helped the price of ETH to briefly touch $1,600, before retracing back to $1,590.
The 24 hours price chart for Ethereum (ETH). Source: CoinMarketCap
While Ethereum’s 24 hours gains are impressive, it still falls below the biggest gainers. Flow (FLOW) and Lido DAO (LIDO) are the biggest gainers for today, with gains of 19.8% and 18.3%, respectively.
Flipsider:
- Reacting to the Fed’s aggressive stance in curbing inflation, the chief global strategist at JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), David Kelly has warned investors to sell their crypto and avoid large-cap tech equities.
FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried Debunks Acquisition Claims of Huobi Global
FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried took to Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) on Monday to dispel the rumours of his crypto exchange FTX acquiring rival Seychelles-based Huobi Global, contrary to previous reports.
Sam Bankman-Fried has been dubbed “the following Warren Buffett” for his merger and acquisition deals amid the ongoing crypto winter, wrote on Twitter “No, we are not planning to acquire Huobi.”
Bankman-Fried, whose companies have given $750 million to crypto lenders BlockFi and Voyager and other insolvent exchanges, was linked with Huobi after Huobi’s founder Leon Li announced he was going to sell his 60% stake in the company.
The deal comes amidst a period of difficulty for Huobi Global. In addition to suffering the market crash, Thailand’s SEC confiscated Huobi’s license and the exchange is in talks with Malaysian regulators on the possibility of being placed on an investor warning list.
Flipsider:
- Justin Sun of TRON has also denied being in talks to purchase Huobi, and a few hours after Bank-Fried’s tweet, Huobi’s native token HT fell by about 6%.
Why You Should Care
Although none of SBF’s acquisition plans has come to fruition, with FTX’s soaring revenue, there’s a high chance to close a larger deal in the future.
Iran Approves Crypto for Imports, Central African Republic Rejects Crypto Use
Three weeks after Iran’s Trade Development Organisation completed its first official import order, buying cars worth $10 million using crypto, the country has now approved businesses to use crypto for imports.
Iran’s Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine & Trade Alireza Peyman-Pak hopes that “By the end of September, the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be widespread in foreign trade with target countries.”
With the approval in place, businesses can now use crypto to import items into Iran. The approval will allow Iran to circumvent the U.S. sanctions imposed on its finance and banking sector.
Flipsider:
- The High Court of the Central African Republic (CAR) has ruled that using government-backed crypto (Sango) to buy “e-residency” and land is against the country’s constitution.
- The Sango Coin which was launched on July 25, promised to allow foreign investors to buy citizenship for $60,000 worth of Sango. However, the court has ruled that it is unconstitutional.
Why You Should Care
The move from Iran to strengthen their trade in the country with crypto highlights the growing global adoption of the asset class.
FBI Issues Warning Over Increasing Cyberattacks on DeFi Platforms
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning over the increased cyber attacks on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. The FBI has also urged DeFi protocols to beef up security measures.
The law enforcement agency also advised the public to conduct diligent research about a DeFi project before investing in them. This is because of the increasing risk of losing money associated with the DeFi sector.
The bureau also said that DeFi platforms should institute real-time analysis, monitoring and testing systems to minimize the impact of attacks. It adds that DeFi platforms should have a plan for tackling exploits.
The FBI’s warning follows massive attacks on DeFi platforms which have led to the theft of over $1.6 billion in 2022. The most notable attack is the $650 million Ronin bridge exploit, which has been linked to North Korean Hackers.
Flipsider:
- Despite the vulnerabilities, venture capitalists have continued investing in DeFi platforms, pushing the market cap of the sector above $47.8 billion.
Why You Should Care
The FBI’s warning comes in the wake of rising attacks on DeFi platforms and looks to protect investors from losing their money.
Meta’s New Update Allows Users to Post NFTs on Instagram and Facebook
Facebook’s parent company, Meta has announced that users can now post their NFTs minted on Ethereum, Polygon, and Flow blockchains across Instagram and Facebook.
According to the blog post, users will need to connect Rainbow, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) Wallet, or Dapper Wallet. Users that want to post NFTs on Instagram, will need to connect their digital wallets to their Instagram accounts.
A badge will mark a post as a digital collectible. The NFT posts will also feature a shimmer effect and can display public information on the NFT. There are no fees associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible on Instagram.
The tech giant first announced the launch of NFTs on Instagram and Facebook on May 10. The Monday update follows Meta’s August 4th expansion feature that allows Instagram users across 100 countries to connect their digital collectibles to Instagram.
Flipsider:
- Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has been accused of being “wildly underqualified” and not competent enough to lead the development of the metaverse.
Why You Should Care
With over 3 billion users, this is the biggest integration for non-fungible tokens and could mark the beginning of mainstream adoption of digital art.