7-Day Market Moves

Market Movement: Bitcoin dipped slightly by 0.25% over the past week, while Ether declined by 1.72%. Notably, digital assets faced their fourth week of outflows, with a hefty sum of US$107 million being pulled out, hinting at increased profit-taking.

BTC Shift: Bitcoin-focused products witnessed their most significant weekly outflow since March, registering US$111 million. However, a pause in outflows from Bitcoin short positions might indicate a potential strategy pivot by institutional investors.

Trading Tidbits: July saw muted crypto activity—Bitcoin's volume dropped by 13.1%, Ether by 21.9%, and stablecoins by 12.3%. Research analyst Greco from Fineqia International attributes this lull to the summer slowdown, yet remains optimistic about 2023 due to growing institutional interest.

Bigger Picture: The crypto market cap slightly grew to US$1.16 trillion. While trading volumes surged by 59.07% to US$32.76 billion, developments like the U.S. ETF applications and Hong Kong's new crypto trading licenses for HashKey Exchange and OKX spotlight the continued interest in the sector.

Eyes on the Price

Bitcoin's price took a dip below the $28,800 mark but managed to stay afloat above $28,600. After hitting this low, the coin rebounded, breaking through the $29,000 resistance and even pushing past a significant bearish trend, peaking near $29,280. Currently, it's consolidating these gains, hovering above the $29,000 mark.

Looking ahead, Bitcoin faces its next test at the $29,500 resistance. If it clears this hurdle, we might see it touching the $30,000 mark, or even soaring to $31,200. On the flip side, if it struggles around the $29,400 resistance, a downturn could be on the cards, potentially plunging it towards the $28,000 zone. As always with BTC, keep an eye out for those sharp turns.

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Paypal Launches a Stablecoin

TL: DR

• PayPal is launching its own Ethereum-based stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), backed by Paxos Trust Co.
• Users can convert dollar-denominated tokens for cash or other assets on PayPal's platform.
• Eligible U.S. users can transfer PYUSD between PayPal and compatible external wallets.
• Paxos, after ending its partnership with Binance, will release public monthly reserve reports for PYUSD.

PayPal has stepped into the crypto space by launching its very own stablecoin called PayPal USD (PYUSD). Created in partnership with Paxos Trust Co., the coin is expected to become an integral part of the payments infrastructure, according to PayPal's CEO, Dan Schulman. PYUSD, which will be issued on the Ethereum network as an ERC-20 token, is backed by short-term treasuries, dollar deposits, and cash equivalents.

This move positions PayPal to compete with existing stablecoin leaders such as Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC). The firm's aim is to allow users to swap dollar-denominated tokens for cash or other assets on its platform, integrating it with its other crypto offerings. PayPal's US customers will be able to use PYUSD for person-to-person payments, transfer between PayPal and compatible wallets, and convert other supported cryptocurrencies to and from PYUSD at checkout.

Paxos will publicly share monthly reserve reports for PYUSD starting next month, which will outline the stablecoin’s reserves. Paxos will also publish third-party attestations of the value of PayPal USD reserve assets, conducted as per the standards of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

However, this launch follows a recent announcement by Paxos about ending its relationship with Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, amid concerns from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about potential violations of investor protection laws.

In other news,

• Tether’s CTO has brushed off the competition from Paypal.

Binance Labs Invests Despite Regulatory Pressure

Despite the increasing global regulatory scrutiny, Binance’s venture arm, Binance Labs, remains active. Last week, it announced investments in four companies: AltLayer, KiloEx, Kinza, and Sleepless AI, all part of its Most Valuable Builder incubator's sixth season.

Several companies kept fundraising amounts undisclosed, but some shared their figures: D8X raised $1.5M, ZkPass secured $2.5M with Binance Labs and Sequoia China's support, Orbital garnered $6.4M, and Solv Protocol obtained $6M, with participation from Nomura Securities.

Huobi's Stablecoin Reserves Down 30% Amid Reports of Executive Arrests

TL: DR

• Huobi sees a $64 million outflow, TVL drops to $2.5 billion.
• Adam Cochran hints at Huobi's financial instability and police inquiries.
• Huobi refutes allegations and challenges outflow data accuracy.
• Amidst rumors, Huobi's stablecoin reserves dip by 34%; Sun stays optimistic.

The crypto exchange, Huobi, is reportedly battling financial instability rumours as it experienced a net outflow of $64 million this weekend and a reduction in the total value locked (TVL) on the exchange. The TVL dropped to $2.5 billion from $3 billion a month ago, as per DeFiLlama. These claims were primarily propagated by fintech executive and crypto analyst, Adam Cochran, who pointed towards apparent balance anomalies at Huobi and police inquiries into Huobi executives and Tron personnel.

Cochran suggested that Huobi’s insolvency might be responsible for Binance's large-scale sale of Tether (USDT). He alleged that Huobi only holds $90 million of assets against user balances of $631 million in USDT, speculating that missing funds were potentially used to support yields of other DeFi apps operated by Tron's Justin Sun. Responding to these allegations, Huobi's head of social media dismissed the rumours, claiming normal operations at Huobi. Cochran, however, stood firm, citing his source as a senior Tron executive.

Huobi has had its share of troubles this year, with a 20% staff layoff in January and a recent order to halt operations in Malaysia. Adding fuel to the fire, there have been unconfirmed reports of Chinese officials detaining Huobi executives and employees being urged to leave the country. Cochran reiterated these claims, stating that his information comes directly from a high-ranking Tron executive. The Huobi spokesperson dismissed these allegations and inaccuracies in outflow data, calling for more accurate data representation.

In other news,

• Blockchain.com secures major payment institution license in Singapore.
• Bitstamp crypto exchange to raise funds for global expansion.

Who Did What?

‍TL: DR

• Anonymous user nd4.eth burned 2,500 ether ($4.5m), sparking speculation.
• Some crypto enthusiasts appreciated the act for reducing Ethereum's supply.
• The act aligns with the "Ethereum's Ultrasound Money" narrative.
• The user also burned other tokens from perpetual trading protocols.

Crypto watchers are stunned after an anonymous crypto whale, known by their ENS name nd4.eth, burnt a colossal 2,500 Ether ($4.5 million), effectively eliminating these coins from circulation. The event happened on July 26th, and it just recently sparked widespread attention and speculation in the crypto sector, as the reasons behind this substantial burn remain unclear.

While many in the crypto community are left scratching their heads about why someone would intentionally destroy such a large sum of Ether, others humorously praised the individual for helping decrease Ethereum's overall supply. This act aligns with the "Ethereum's Ultrasound Money" theory, which suggests that as Ethereum is burned, it becomes more scarce, thereby increasing its value.

The mysterious individual isn't a small player in the crypto world, with on-chain analysts from Lookonchain identifying them as a significant holder of tokens from perpetual trading protocols. They hold 34,287 GMX tokens, valued at $1.84 million, and 311,003 Gains tokens worth $1.43 million. Interestingly, they also sent an additional 1.5 ETH, 34.9 GMX, and 600 GNS (equating to approximately $7,000) to the same burn address.

In other news,

• DeFi app Steadefi exploited for at least $334,000.
• Curve Finance offers public bounty of $1.85 million to identify hacker.
• Cypher Protocol freezes smart contract after an estimated $1M exploit.

Neopets' Crypto Conundrum

TL: DR

• Neopets halts NFT game development for crypto-free "World of Neopets".
• CEO Dominic Law cites community's negative crypto sentiment.
• Focus shifts to site fixes despite a recent $4 million investment.
• Law remains open to potential future crypto integrations.

After spending two years on the anticipated NFT-driven Neopets Metaverse, the iconic pet simulator game halted due to public crypto skepticism and a hesitant community. CEO Dominic Law, now navigating Neopets' fresh independence under the "World of Neopia" umbrella post an 18-year stint with NetDragon, has shifted gears to "World of Neopets", a mobile venture sans crypto.

Money Troubles: Despite securing a cool $4 million from crypto enthusiasts like Polygon Ventures just six months prior, Neopets finds itself on a tight budget. Tasked with the urgency to update their post-Adobe Flash platform and refine core functionalities, the focus has become foundational rather than futuristic.

While Neopets has experimented with the crypto world in the past — dabbling in CryptoQuests and even NFTs — the future remains uncertain. Although the Metaverse vision is sidelined, Law hasn't shut the door on crypto. He sees potential in leveraging parts of Web3 technologies to enrich player experience, signaling that Neopets' crypto story may just be waiting for its next chapter.

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