Gucci Moves To Accept Crypto In Select Stores

The Solend protocol on Solana (SOL) has been rebranded as Save. This update includes the introduction of a new stablecoin, liquid staking token, and a platform for shorting memecoins. Save described its platform as the official permissionless savings account for Solana.

The announcement also introduced SUSD, saveSOL, and dumpy.fun and comes after the team behind Solend launched Suilend on Sui (SUI) in March. At that time, Rooter praised Sui for its advanced developer tools, comparing it to the more cumbersome development processes on Ethereum and Solana.

Offering True Decentralization

SUSD is a new decentralized stablecoin that offers 0% interest borrowing against Solana. Save expressed optimism that the close integration of the stablecoin with its protocol will drive its swift expansion.

Rooter, the pseudonymous founder of the former Solend, claims Solana is currently dominated by centralized stablecoins like USDC and USDT. He added that the straightforward mechanism and design of SUSD ensures full decentralization while offering 0% interest borrowing against SOL. Rooter further noted that the 0% borrowing rate of SUSD is highly appealing compared to USDC and USDT, which have averaged a 10% APR on Save over the past month.

An Intriguing Opportunity

SaveSOL is a new token and liquid staking protocol on Solana that allows trading while earning rewards via staking. SaveSOL can also be used as collateral for SUSD. Dumpy.fun is a platform designed for shorting meme coins, capitalizing on market corrections in this segment. Save promotes this new tool by pointing out that meme coins have reached a fever pitch, but scams and cash grabs are harming the community.

Currently, Save shows $395 million in deposited assets and $92.9 million in borrowed assets. The documentation specifies that Save is an algorithmic, decentralized protocol for lending and borrowing on Solana.

It is worth mentioning that the top pool on Save offers an annual percentage rate (APR) of 18.35% for deposits in the liquid staking token Blaze (BLZE). The website claims these pools are finely tuned to balance attractive yields with secure asset parameters.

Republican Senator Roger Marshall has retracted his endorsement of the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, a contentious anti-crypto measure he developed alongside Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren in 2022. His withdrawal as a co-sponsor of the bill occurred on July 24th, leaving 18 senators still in favor, according to the official Congressional directory for the legislation.

Senator Warren is seeking re-election in 2024 for her Massachusetts seat. On February 20th, pro-crypto attorney John Deaton announced his candidacy as a Republican with the aim of challenging Senator Warren.

Regulating Crypto

The DAAMLA bill, introduced by Marshall and Warren in December 2022, was championed by Senator Warren, who alleged that cryptocurrency was being exploited by rogue nations, oligarchs, drug lords, and human traffickers to launder billions in stolen funds.

The legislation seeks to regulate the cryptocurrency sector under established Anti-Money Laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. A significant aspect of the bill is its classification of numerous crypto service providers, such as decentralized wallet providers, validators, and miners, as financial institutions, thus requiring them to adhere to the Bank Secrecy Act.

The Ramifications

Critics, including several crypto organizations and individuals, argue that the proposed legislation grossly overstates the involvement of crypto in funding terrorism and illegal activities, and could severely impact the US economy.

On February 20th, the Chamber of Digital Commerce (CDC), a US-based crypto advocacy group, urged the Senate Banking Committee to reject the DAAMLA bill, warning it could wipe out hundreds of billions of dollars in value for US startups and devastate the savings of numerous Americans who legally invested in crypto.

Additionally, on February 13th, a coalition of 80 former military and national security officials sent a letter cautioning lawmakers against endorsing the DAAMLA bill. They warned that the legislation could obstruct law enforcement and raise national security issues by driving the majority of the digital asset industry overseas.

HSBC has announced that, starting July 24th, 2024, their Australian division will block payments to cryptocurrency exchanges, becoming the latest major bank to avoid the industry, citing concerns about scams.

Justifying The Decision

In an email to customers outlining new safety measures, HSBC Australia stated it will now prevent payments via bank accounts and credit cards to cryptocurrency exchanges to protect customers, the bank explained. To justify its decision, HSBC highlighted that Australians lost up to $171 million to investment scams in 2023.

While apologizing for the inconvenience, HSBC emphasized its priority of safeguarding customer funds. This move follows similar actions by various other Australian banks, all aiming to shield customers when it comes to scams and other kinds of potential fraud.

Amy-Rose Goodey, managing director of the Digital Economy Council of Australia, expressed surprise at the decision, underscoring broader concerns in the cryptocurrency community about increasing bank restrictions. HSBC clarified that it will continue accepting payments via cryptocurrency exchanges, maintaining regular banking services for its 1.5 million Australian customers across 45 branches.

Looking Elsewhere

Banks are often cautious or resistant towards cryptocurrencies due to concerns about regulatory compliance, financial stability risks, potential for fraud or scams, and competition with traditional banking services.

However, several other countries, including Switzerland, Singapore, Japan, and Malta, have established supportive environments for cryptocurrencies within their banking systems. These nations have implemented regulatory frameworks that accommodate blockchain and crypto businesses, with varying degrees of clarity and oversight to foster innovation and integration into financial markets.

Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States and a potential Democratic Party candidate for the upcoming election, will reportedly not be attending the Bitcoin Conference 2024, as confirmed by David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine.

Disappointing But Not Unexpected

Bailey noted the decision is not unexpected, as the Biden administration is very much anti-crypto in general. David also previously hinted at the possibility of Harris, a potential Democratic presidential nominee, speaking at the event similar to her Republican counterpart, Donald Trump, describing it as an opportunity for the party to reconsider its stance on crypto.

The decision for Harris not to attend has sparked speculation about her possibly negative stance on crypto. Bailey himself seems to share this perspective and reaffirmed his support for Donald Trump, emphasizing the potential difficulties Harris might face addressing the community given current policies.

Stuck In The Past

Some like Adam Cochran criticize the crypto community for increasingly attacking Democrats, suggesting a need for bipartisan engagement to advance constructive crypto policies. Many in the community believe that the Democratic party is more interested in maintaining the status quo rather than pushing the envelope in terms of financial innovation.

While reports suggest Harris may reconsider her approach to crypto if elected in the upcoming presidential election following Joe Biden opting to drop out of the race, skepticism remains among stakeholders like Tyler Winklevoss and other notable names.

Toyota is investigating the potential of integrating Ethereum blockchain technology into its vehicles. The move comes right after the United States Securities And Exchange Commission recently approved several spot Ethereum ETF applications.

Creating A MOA

According to the announcement, Toyota intends to incorporate the Ethereum blockchain into its vehicles and is planning to create a Movement Oriented Account (MOA) using the ERC-4337 standard.

Toyota Blockchain Lab aims to develop an MOA (Mobility Oriented Account) based on Ethereum ERC-4337 to ensure the account's maintenance even if the private key is lost. The development of the MOA tool using the ERC-4337 standard is aimed at advancing towards fully autonomous driving in the future.

Exploring New Ways

Company representatives referred to such a blockchain account as a MOA (Mobility-Oriented Account). Based on the widely adopted Account Abstraction standard ERC-4337 in Ethereum, Toyota is actively exploring new ways on how to effectively design MOA. Toyota Blockchain Lab also expressed interest in receiving new proposals through the Ethereum community, including EIP-7702.

Ethereum remains a widely popular choice among car manufacturing companies because its blockchain technology offers robust security, transparency, and the ability to create decentralized applications. These features are appealing for integrating smart contracts and managing data securely across complex supply chains and vehicle ecosystems.

Coinbase has filed a motion against the United States Securities Exchange Commission, compelling the regulator to provide access to private emails linked to Gary Gensler amid their ongoing legal dispute.

Clarity Is Key

The move follows Coinbase recently communicating to Judge Katherine Polk Failla, indicating their intention to narrow the scope of their document request concerning the regulator after encountering resistance.

Initially seeking private communications by Gensler dating back to his tenure as SEC Chair, Coinbase now focuses specifically on documents related to any and all communications during when Gensler first started as Chair in 2021. The motion specifies a subpoena request pertaining to Gensler and his speeches about digital asset regulatory status and exchanges.

Crucial Significance

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, emphasized that these documents are crucial for their defense against allegations by the SEC regarding unauthorized trading of unregistered securities on their platform. The motion asserts that the SEC refusing to search beyond its Enforcement Division is unjustified, citing issues of relevance, burden, and privilege.

Coinbase is also seeking information about SEC staff conversations with other market participants and documents related to their 2021 public offering, which underwent a six-month SEC review. The motion underscores that the SEC did not conclude Coinbase was operating as an unregistered exchange, broker, or clearing agency nor identified tokens listed on their platform as securities.

Swan Bitcoin, a company specializing in Bitcoin investments, has decided against pursuing its initial plans to become publicly traded and is winding down its managed mining operations. CEO Cory Klippsten announced in a recent post that the company is scaling back its increased spending in its core financial services business. This includes reducing staff across various departments, although specific numbers were not disclosed.

Revised Expectations

Klippsten expressed regret over the necessity of letting go of some of the highly skilled employees who have worked at Swan Bitcoin for a long time, calling them some of the top Bitcoin experts globally. He emphasized his willingness to collaborate with them again in the future.

The decision to abandon its managed mining business and halt its IPO plans is reportedly due to revised expectations regarding revenue by mining operations in the near term. Swan Bitcoin had previously disclosed its development of a Bitcoin mining division starting mid-last year, alongside plans for a Series C funding round and a potential public offering within the next year.

Time To Adapt

Despite experiencing significant growth last year, including doubling its team and achieving over $125 million in annualized revenue, Swan Bitcoin faces challenges in the competitive mining landscape. Factors such as the recent Bitcoin halving, which reduced block rewards and heightened competition, as well as the popularity of spot Bitcoin ETFs diverting investor interest away, have contributed to this strategic shift.

To adapt, many mining companies are diversifying beyond traditional mining activities into areas like artificial intelligence and cloud computing, leveraging their existing infrastructure to remain profitable amidst evolving market conditions.

Cryptocurrencies held steady on Monday following the United States Securities And Exchange Commission (SEC) approving several spot Ethereum ETFs. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) saw a modest 1% dip, settling around $67,359.39, while ETH experienced a 1.55% decline, closing at $3,483.31. Meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) also slipped by 1.64%, trading at $0.1387.

Greed Dominates

Bitcoin traded within the $67,000 to $68,000 range, while Ethereum faced selling pressure post-ETF approvals. Notable market movements included a significant $30 million Ether transfer to Binance, raising concerns of potential market impacts.

Liquidations also totaled over $105 million in the past 24 hours, wiping out nearly $75 million in long positions. The Open Interest for Ether grew marginally by 0.25%, indicating new short positions amid price declines, while the Open Interest for Bitcoin fell 1.11%, reflecting reduced long positions.

The Cryptocurrency Fear & Greed Index rose to 71, indicating increased market greed. Top gainers over the past 24 hours included Helium (HNT), up 4.18% to $5.10, cat in a dogs world (MEW) rising 3.63% to $0.007637, and XRP (XRP) gaining 2.16% to $0.6076. The global cryptocurrency market now stands at $2.44 trillion, down 1.44% in the last day.

Stocks React

In stocks, the S&P 500 rose 1.08% to close at 5,564.41, its best performance since early June, with the Nasdaq Composite climbing 1.58% to 18,007.57, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.32% to reach 40,415.44. NVIDIA Corp. led the charge, gaining 4.76%. Major indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite had their largest weekly declines since April last week.

Lastly, traders are now anticipating a 91% chance of the Fed cutting interest rates at the upcoming FOMC meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Analysts noted potential market pullbacks following the approval of spot Ether ETFs but advised buying on dips, citing bullish signals on longer time frames.

Elon Musk recently made headlines by changing his profile photo on social media to depict laser eyes, a widely recognized symbol within the Bitcoin community. This update coincided with flight data indicating his private jet had touched down in Tennessee, where the Bitcoin Conference was scheduled to take place.

Tracking His Movements

The news was initially reported by Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, renowned for her coverage of cryptocurrency, and later confirmed by an Instagram account dedicated to tracking Musk and his aviation movements.

Historically, Musk has been proactive in managing his online presence, including taking steps to restrict Twitter accounts that track his movements. However, similar accounts on Instagram have continued to operate without interruption.

History Repeats Itself

Musk has had countless past interactions with the crypto community on social media which have included displaying Bitcoin-themed imagery and mentioning Bitcoin in his Twitter bio, although these references have since been removed over time. These actions have drawn significant attention by both cryptocurrency enthusiasts and the broader public, reflecting the ongoing influence that Elon has in the digital currency sphere.

Musk and his tweets have often caused significant price movements for the entire crypto market in the past, making him a central figure in the cryptocurrency community. His involvement has also sparked debates about the influence of prominent figures on decentralized currencies and their future adoption.

The U.S. political scene recently underwent seismic changes as President Joe Biden announced that he will no longer be competing in the 2024 election, conceding to his long-time rival Donald Trump. This significant development introduced new volatility into cryptocurrencies associated with Trump, who is seen favorably by some in the crypto community.

Selling Activity Spikes

MAGA Coin, linked to the Make America Great Again movement which was introduced by Trump years ago, experienced an 8% decline over the past 24 hours. Trading volume for this Ethereum-based token surged by 140%, reflecting intense selling activity. Meanwhile, a meme coin named after the former President, based on Solana, surged by 53% in the same period, accompanied by a 265% increase in trading volume.

The negative market response may stem due to Biden exiting the race, but it is worth noting that crypto speculators have been betting against Biden for a while, with odds of his withdrawal soaring on platforms like Polymarket even before the formal announcement.

Trump Continues To Gain Momentum

Trump-themed cryptocurrencies have seen strong rallies this year, buoyed by his supportive stance on the U.S. cryptocurrency industry. His advocacy has resonated with crypto enthusiasts, whether through promises to make the U.S. a crypto-friendly destination, his portrayal as a crypto president, or his acceptance of crypto donations.

With odds favoring Trump and his electoral prospects standing at 65% on Polymarket, the cryptocurrency market remains bullish on his potential return to office. The 2024 United States Presidential Election will be held on Tuesday, November 5th, later this year. Voters will elect a President and Vice President for a term of four years.

etherfuse raised $3.00M in Seed funding by North Island Ventures. Etherfuse is a blockchain infrastructure platform that launched Stablebond, a tokenized bond issuance product based on Solana.

Nirvana Labs decured $4.00M in Seed funding led by Castle Island Ventures. Nirvana Cloud is a Web3 optimized bare-metal cloud that is built to handle the most demanding web3 workloads.

ZKEX.com secured an undisclosed amount in Seed funding with support by Fenbushi Capital. ZKEX is a multi-chain order DEX that facilitates buying and selling crypto assets across multiple blockchains. It operates in a trust-minimized, non-custodial manner and leverages zero-knowledge proofs to ensure transaction security and reliability.

Truvius raised $3.20M in Pre-Seed funding with support by Galaxy. Truvius is a platform designed to support systematic and accessible investing in digital assets.

Zivoe secured an undisclosed amount of funding via Concave, showcasing strong investor interest. Zivoe is a real-world asset credit protocol aiming to disrupt predatory high-interest consumer lending by bringing yield from consumer loans on-chain.

Liquidium obtainerd $2.75M in Seed funding led by CMS Holdings, LLC. Liquidium is a platform for P2P Ordinals lending. It offers users the option to either lend or borrow Bitcoin, utilizing a special type of Bitcoin-based assets known as Ordinal Inscriptions as collateral.

Chainbase raised $15.00M in Series A funding with support by Tencent. Chainbase is a Web3 interaction layer infrastructure, providing APIs, node services, and data cloud solutions.

zkLink received strategic support by OKX Ventures, although the exact amount was undisclosed. zkLink is a trading-focused multi-chain L2 network with unified liquidity secured by ZK-Rollups.

Allium secured $16.50M in Series A funding through Theory VC. Allium provides a unified data platform for blockchain analytics teams to extract insights and monitor on-chain patterns in real time.

Bitcoin (BTC) has remained strong over the last 24 hours, achieving gains exceeding 5%. In a broader sense, the cryptocurrency market experienced a significant recovery yesterday after a sluggish start and notable declines.

Buyers intervened and propelled Bitcoin above $67K, with numerous altcoins also showing impressive returns. Remarkably, all of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by total market capitalization are in the green.

Bitcoin Reaches Above $67K

BTC hit a local daily high of $67,400 on Bitstamp but has since decreased to its current level of $66,600. Despite this, it remains a strong performance, and the bulls might be consolidating in preparation for a new rally toward the $70K mark.

When viewed on an hourly scale, the price appears to be on an upward trend, raising the question of whether it will reach $70K, the next significant level. Moreover, it is not just Bitcoin experiencing gains, as the entire market is showing strength. In fact, all large-cap altcoins have risen significantly. Notable performers include DOGE, which increased by approximately 7.3%, SOL by nearly 6%, AVAX by 5.4%, NEAR by over 6%, and various others. SEI and ORDI rose by 18.5% and 16.4%, respectively. Among meme coins, POPCAT and BONK performed best, increasing by 16% and 13.2%.

Other Markets

The 2024 Republican National Convention is a focal point amidst various economic developments. Investors are increasingly drawn to junk debt and industrial sectors under the influence of the Trump trade surge, while the tech sector faces pressure to deliver on earnings amidst a significant stock slump. Additionally, the US economy anticipates the release of Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index figures amid easing inflation, which could reassure the Federal Reserve.

Meanwhile, Ghana teeters on the brink of a debt default, and Nigeria celebrates the opening of the $21 billion Dangote Mega Oil Refinery, aiming for a daily output of 550,000 barrels. Across the Pacific, Xi Jinping is still trying to reclaim wasteland for agricultural use which underscores his efforts to bolster food security and reduce reliance on imports, reflecting broader global economic dynamics.