Aurelia Butler

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  • 88 Shares119 Views

    in Economy

    Cryptoverse: Trump’s bitcoin stockpile plan stirs debate

    By Medha Singh and Lisa Pauline Mattackal(Reuters) -“Never sell your bitcoin,” Donald Trump told a cheering crowd at a crypto convention in Nashville, Tennessee in late July.The Republican presidential candidate’s speech was the latest overture in his effort to court crypto-focused voters ahead of November’s election and offered a bevy of campaign promises, including a plan for a state bitcoin reserve.     “If elected, it will be the policy of my administration to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future,” Trump said, adding the funds would serve as the “core of the strategic national bitcoin stockpile.”  Indeed, Trump isn’t the only one with such a proposal. U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has introduced legislation that would see the U.S. government purchase one million bitcoin, around 5% of total supply, while independent candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr has suggested a government stockpile of four million bitcoin. A strategic reserve would be one use for the massive amount of bitcoin held by the U.S. government. The jury’s out on what it would be used for, whether it’s feasible, or if it’s even welcome for the broader crypto market, though. The U.S. government holds a bumper cache of crypto: around $11.1 billion worth which includes 203,239 bitcoin tokens, according to data firm Arkham Intelligence which said the pile came from criminal seizures, including from online marketplace Silk Road, which was shut down in 2013. At current levels, the U.S. holds about 1% of overall global bitcoin supply – which stands at about 19.7 million tokens, according to Blockchain.com. Bitcoin’s total supply is capped at 21 million coins. To compare against big non-state investors, Michael Saylor’s Microstrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) holds about 226,500 bitcoin tokens, as per second-quarter results. BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust hold 344,070 and 240,140 tokens respectively, according to data site BitcoinTreasuries. A government bitcoin stockpile could shore up bitcoin’s price. “It would have a positive impact on price. It would have to because we’ve never had such a limited supply commodity, albeit digital, assume a new state of a reserve asset,” said Mark Connors, head of global macro at Onramp Bitcoin. Yet such a reserve also means fewer tokens for crypto investors to trade with and could leave them exposed if the government ever sold part of its reserves. “RFK talked about having 19% of bitcoin, the same amount of the gold supply – I can’t imagine a single bitcoiner would be happy about that,” Connors added. Governments besides the United States also boast bumper hoards of bitcoin, with BitcoinTreasuries reporting China is the second largest government holder, with 190,000 coins. ‘A LOT TO FIGURE OUT’While the prospect of a national bitcoin reserve is uncertain, crypto watchers are nonetheless pondering what form it could take.Connors suggested the Federal Reserve could manage the reserves for the Treasury Department, as it does with gold. On the other hand, the stockpile could be more akin to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, where both the president and Congress have varying amounts of control, according to Frank Kelly, senior political strategist at asset manager DWS Group. “There’s a lot to parse and figure out there,” Kelly said. There’s also an irony that jars with many true bitcoin believers: the digital asset intended to be decentralized and free of government control becoming part of a state reserve. Regardless of what happens with a bitcoin stockpile, many market players are happy enough to see crypto becoming a significant campaign talking point. “There’s a general view in the industry that both parties are paying much more attention to digital assets,” said Rahul Mewawalla, CEO of Mawson Infrastructure Group  which operates data centers for bitcoin mining.”The expectation is that will continue post November.” More

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    in Economy

    Instant View: Weekly jobless claims fall relieves recession-wary markets

    Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 for the week ended Aug. 3, the Labor Department said on Thursday, the largest drop in about 11 months. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 240,000 claims for the latest week. The data suggested fears the labor market is unraveling were overblown and the gradual softening in the labor market remains intact.The government’s monthly nonfarm payrolls report on Friday showed job gains slowed markedly in July and the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, raising fears in markets that the labor market may be deteriorating at a pace that would call for strong action from the Fed.MARKET REACTION:STOCKS: S&P 500 E-minis extended gains and were up 0.76%BONDS: The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose to 3.99%, the two-year note yield jumped to 4.044% FOREX: The dollar index turned 0.27% higher COMMENTS: THOMAS HAYES, CHAIRMAN, GREAT HILL CAPITAL LLC, NEW YORK”Since the jobs report on Friday, everyone’s been nervous about a recession with the Sahm Rule triggered. The initial jobless claims came in lower than expected, alleviating some of the fear that the labor market was completely rolling over.””We have a reasonably robust economy and not an imminent recession, so we can wait a few more weeks for that final first cut from the Fed.”IAN LYNGEN, HEAD OF US RATES STRATEGY, BMO CAPITAL MARKETS (emailed note)”The drop in initial filings was larger-than-anticipated and the resulting price action suggests the update is being interpreted as evidence that the labor market remains on solid footing despite the July BLS report. Overall, the lack of information suggesting a further deterioration of the employment landscape was the most relevant takeaway from the final data release of the week.”MARC CHANDLER, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, BANNOCKBURN GLOBAL FOREX, NEW YORK“When it comes to the labor market, it’s multi-dimensional. There’s not one number. And so I think that the weekly jobless claims is one of those numbers. Today is a little bit softer, I think, than people expected, but the four-week moving average still moves higher.”“The talk of an imminent recession seems wide of the mark.” (This story has been refiled to correct a typo in the headline) More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Exclusive: Web3 game studio Moonveil wraps up $9M Pre-Series A funding round

    The gaming Layer 2 ecosystem has onboarded blockchain venture capital firms, including Spartan Group, Gumi Cryptos Capital, and HashKey Capital to bankroll its latest capital injection. Other investors in the round included Animoca Ventures, Hivemind, and Mask Network. This follows a previous seed round funded by P2 Ventures. However, the company did not disclose a valuation as part of today’s announcement. Since its establishment in 2022, Moonveil has created a Web3 ecosystem incorporating multi-game metrics.“With this funding, Moonveil is set to redefine industry standards through our top-tier, self-developed products on a ZK-powered Layer 2 chain built with Polygon CDK. Stay tuned for Moonveil’s flagship games, AstrArk and Bushwhack, and the upcoming $MORE token Play-to-AirDrop event,” M.J Wang, the co-founder and CEO of Moonveil, told Investing.com.The new funds will be used to fund growth initiatives and several experimental projects on a ZK-powered Layer 2 chain, powered by Polygon CDK. Moonveil is developing its own games, with the first two titles Astrark, an immersive tower defense mobile game, and Bushwhack, set for release soon.The Polygon CDK and aggregation layer chain solution show a lot of promise at the infrastructure level and could make Web3 adoption a reality in the future, the company said.Moonveil provides an optimized environment for hosting web3 games created by third-party developers and its in-house gaming studio.  In the long term, the developer plans to create a multi-game metrics ecosystem that includes its own games, experimental methods, and possibly third-party games.While Web3 is currently riding the wave of trends in the broader gaming industry, it remains highly competitive. Companies and projects in this space have raised the largest share of crypto VC capital in 2024 so far.Moonveil’s leadership team is made up of gaming veterans formerly with Riot Games, Tencent, Netease, Funplus, and CARV. The founders worked previously on major titles such as League of Legends, Valorant, Minecraft, and EVE Online. More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Bitcoin price today: steady at $58k, XRP surges on Ripple “victory” in SEC suit

    Bitcoin climbed 1% to $57,969.0 by 09:03 ET (13:03 GMT). While the token did recover from lows of around $49,000 hit earlier this week, it still remained shy of levels seen before a crippling rout on Monday. XRP rose over 18% to $0.61 after Ripple Labs, the issuer of the token, was ordered to pay $125 million in fines to the Securities and Exchange Commission.District Jude Analisa Torres, of the Southern District of New York, levied the fine on Ripple after finding that Ripple violated securities law in its institutional sales of XRP. Ripple was also slapped with an injunction to register any further sales of securities. The fine, however, was a fraction of the reported $2 billion penalty sought by the SEC, and was viewed as a “victory” by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. “We respect the Court’s decision and have clarity to continue growing our company. This is a victory for Ripple, the industry and the rule of law,” Garlinghouse said in a social media post. It was not immediately clear whether the SEC will appeal the decision. Despite Thursday’s gains, XRP still failed to fully recoup losses made over the past week. Bitcoin and broader cryptocurrency prices moved in a flat-to-low range, and were sitting on steep losses this week as concerns over slowing U.S. economic growth and rising Japanese interest rates battered risk-driven markets.While the SEC-Ripple ruling did clear a major, long-running point of contention for crypto markets, it still did not provide clarity on just what U.S. regulations will entail for the industry. Frail sentiment towards risk-driven assets also kept traders averse towards cryptocurrencies, given their highly speculative nature. World no.2 token Ether added 0.8% to $2,482.09. Meanwhile, ADA/USD fell slightly while SOL/USD edged 1.5% higher. Among meme tokens, DOGE rose 0.4%, while SHIB lost 2.7%.While the unwinding of the yen carry trade has likely paused since Monday, stabilizing risk assets including bitcoin, other risks remain, according to 10x Research’s analysts.Among the key concerns is the slowdown in U.S. consumer borrowing.The Federal Reserve’s data showed total credit outstanding increased by $8.9 billion in June, following an upwardly revised $13.9 billion in May, but fell short of the $10 billion consensus estimate. Revolving debt, primarily credit cards, fell by $1.7 billion, the largest drop since early 2021. Non-revolving debt, including student and auto loans, rose by $10.6 billion, the biggest increase in a year.Delinquency rates are also rising, indicating deteriorating household balance sheets. In the June quarter, credit card delinquencies, defined as payments over 90 days late, reached 10.93%, the highest since early 2012. Auto loan delinquencies hit 4.43%, the highest since 2021. This suggests that U.S. consumers have maxed out their borrowing capacity, posing challenges to bullish crypto narratives.”Weak U.S. consumer credit data, which dropped from $11.3 billion to $8.9 billion (below the expected $10 billion), mainly due to rare negative credit card debt and soaring delinquencies, signals a collapsing personal savings rate. This is significant for crypto as it suggests the fiat-to-crypto onramp will remain constrained due to maxed-out U.S. consumers,” 10x Research said in a note to clients seen by CoinDesk. It also highlighted the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. election, the slowing U.S. economy, and dwindling AI hype as additional risks to the crypto market. More

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    in Economy

    July inflation seen ticking higher but still good enough for Fed cuts: BofA

    Economists forecast headline CPI to have risen by 0.3% month-over-month due mainly to a pickup in core services inflation and energy prices. This would keep the year-over-year rate unchanged at 3.0% and the NSA index printing at 314.993.They also expect core CPI to have increased by 0.2% month-over-month.”While this is not quite as low as June, it is in line with prior trend in deflation and should meet the Fed’s benchmark for beginning rate cuts in September,” economists said in the note.The modest reversal in core CPI relative to last month is primarily driven by core services inflation.According to BofA, this is due to two factors. First, core services excluding rent and owners’ equivalent rent (OER) edged down in June largely due to a plunge in airfares. However, for July, they expect the decline in airfares to be much more moderate at -1.0%. Second, shelter prices are expected to pick up to 0.3%, with lodging away from home rising 0.8% month-over-month. Elsewhere in shelter, the deceleration in rents and OER is expected to hold at 0.3%.Overall, BofA expects core services to rise 0.3% month-over-month. While non-housing services inflation is likely to moderate over time due to cooling services wage inflation, a sustained period of deflation is unlikely, economists noted.Last month’s deceleration in shelter came as a surprise, but not by much. In their previous forecast, BofA economists had rents and OER decelerating in August.”Hence, we think the signal is real and expect the deceleration to hold,” they wrote.They are forecasting some modest firming, but after rounding, this should still result in a 0.3% month-over-month rise for both components.”Another month of 0.3% m/m increases in shelter should give the Fed further confidence that inflation is decelerating toward 2%,” BofA’s team continued.Besides services, core goods prices are expected to have fallen for a fifth consecutive month, partly due to another decline in vehicle prices.Should the July CPI report align with their expectations, economists said they would maintain their expectation for the Fed to start its cutting cycle in September and deliver 50 basis points in rate cuts this year.”We acknowledge that financial markets are pricing in more than 100bp cuts for this year with some debate over the likelihood of a larger up-front cut or intermeeting move, but we do not think the current situation meets the bar for action.” More

  • 88 Shares149 Views

    in Cryptocurrency

    XPIN Network Introduces Secure, Decentralized Wireless Solutions

    As the technological landscape rapidly evolves, industries face significant challenges, including high data costs, inflexible networks, security risks, and costly network deployments. To address these issues, innovative solutions are crucial. These solutions will enhance network flexibility, security, and cost-efficiency, unlocking new development opportunities.XPIN Network is pioneering a new era of secure, autonomous, and decentralized wireless networks. XPIN’s vision is to create a robust ecosystem for private and encrypted communications, enabling seamless information exchange and data sharing. XPIN Network provides an open, plug-and-play platform that supports the development of various applications, while actively enabling open access to create a collaborative and shared ecosystem of hardware and software infrastructure. The platform integrates multiple network formats, including 4G, 5G, SDWAN, and satellite networks, ensuring seamless transition through vSIM technology. By combining blockchain’s security and transparency with 4G/5G’s fast data processing capabilities, XPIN Network automates network services and user transactions, ensuring efficient and secure operations.XPIN Network is set to launch XPIN eSIM, marking a new era in global network connectivity. With seamless global network access, cross-regional data switching, multi-operator support, and efficient network management, users can enjoy high-quality network services while avoiding high roaming fees. Blockchain technology ensures high efficiency, security, and user privacy protection, offering users exclusive services and benefits.The upcoming XPIN Box and XPIN Power Bank WiFi are designed to meet the demands of the Web3 era. These devices offer stable and high-speed network connections on-the-go. By contributing to the network and participating in network management and governance, users can earn substantial rewards and drive the development of distributed communications networks in the Web3 era.About XPIN NetworkXPIN Network is a blockchain-based decentralized wireless network platform dedicated to creating a robust ecosystem for private and encrypted communications, enabling users to avoid high roaming fees while benefiting from seamless and private communications. XPIN’s innovative products, including the XPIN eSIM, XPIN Box, and XPIN Power Bank WiFi, are designed to enhance user experience and support the evolving demands of the Web3 era. By leveraging community collaboration and advanced technology, XPIN Network aims to revolutionize global network connectivity and communication.Users can learn more about XPIN Network and stay up-to-date with its developments here:X(Twitter) | Telegram | WebsiteContactLioraXPIN [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Figure Markets Launches Exchange with Decentralized Custody and Democratized Prime Brokerage

    The one-of-a-kind exchange introduces unique features and benefits, setting a new standard in digital asset tradingFigure Markets, a decentralized custody marketplace for digital assets, has launched the Figure Markets Exchange, the foundation for the company’s ambitious vision of creating a single platform for seamless trading across a wide range of assets — the “exchange for everything.”Initially launched as a US onshore exchange, plans are already underway for an offshore exchange later this year. Over time, the exchange will operate on a membership basis, with top-tier members benefiting from being paid to trade (vs. paying commissions), discounted borrow rates, and various other advantages.The Figure Markets Exchange offers a suite of unique solutions and capabilities today, including:About Figure MarketsFigure Markets is democratizing finance through blockchain. They’re building the exchange for everything – a decentralized custody marketplace for crypto, stocks, bonds, credit and more. Figure Markets bringing best in class leverage, margining and liquidity to our exchange, while offering our members extensive borrowing options and unique investment opportunities. Figure Markets puts their members in control of their assets and data, disintermediating legacy brokers, exchanges and lenders.Figure Markets is backed by leading venture capital firms and strategic partners, including Jump Crypto, Pantera, Distributed Global, Faction Lightspeed, NewForm Capital and CMT Digital. Figure Markets was founded by a seasoned team of entrepreneurs and operators from TradFi, fintech, and DeFi, including Mike Cagney and June Ou.To learn more, please visit www.figuremarkets.com or their LinkedIn, Telegram, X, and Discord.ContactDirector, MarketingPaula Machado JacklerFigure [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

  • 125 Shares169 Views

    in Cryptocurrency

    JPMorgan remains ‘cautious’ on Bitcoin, crypto market despite recent selloff

    The flagship cryptocurrency tumbled over 15% on Monday before rebounding around 5% the next day. The trigger was not crypto-specific but rather contagion from the correction in traditional risk assets such as equities. Last week’s weak US payroll report, along with rising jobless claims, has amplified fears of a US recession. At the same time, the Bank of Japan’s rate hike sparked concerns about a broader unwinding of the yen carry trade. This dual impact triggered a correction in risk assets, particularly equities and cryptos, and a rally in safe assets such as government bonds, the yen, and the Swiss franc.That said, JPMorgan analysts suggest that a certain crypto trading firm played a role in the sell-off by liquidating large amounts of ether. Retail investors also contributed to the market chaos, with spot bitcoin ETFs seeing their largest monthly outflow in August.”Momentum traders, including CTAs, have been exiting long positions and building up short positions,” JPMorgan noted, exacerbating the downturn. In contrast, broader institutional investors in the futures market have shown limited de-risking. JPMorgan’s futures position indicator, which tracks the total open interest in CME bitcoin futures contracts, suggests this. The futures curve staying positive indicates that these investors remain relatively bullish.According to JPMorgan, several factors are contributing to institutional optimism. Morgan Stanley now allows its wealth advisors to recommend spot bitcoin ETFs to their clients. Moreover, the bulk of liquidations from the Mt. Gox and Genesis bankruptcies are likely behind us, and upcoming cash payments from the FTX bankruptcy could further boost demand in the crypto market. Both major political parties in the US have indicated support for favorable crypto regulations in 2025 and beyond.Bitcoin rebounded from a low of around $49,000, a level that coincides with JPMorgan’s central estimate of the cost of bitcoin production. “If the price had remained at or below this level for a prolonged period, it would have pressured bitcoin miners, potentially leading to further declines in bitcoin prices,” the Wall Street bank explained. Even with these upbeat signs, JPMorgan believes they are largely factored in. “With limited de-risking in the CME bitcoin futures space and equity markets still appearing vulnerable, we remain cautious on the crypto market despite the recent correction,” the report concluded. More