Crypto Scoop: Cryptocurrencies Regain $1 Trillion Market Cap
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Yellow Card
August, 5 2022
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Solana targeted in a crypto attack, USDC finds new use case as Tiffany Jewels and Gucci ramp up NFT and Web3 initiatives.
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It’s the start of another exciting month in the crypto space. Last month recorded a significant change in the market trend. Although the crypto winter isn't entirely gone, there have been some significant strides as the market begins to recover. Here are the highlights in this week’s crypto scoop:
- Crypto space gains back $1 trillion market cap
- Solana targeted in a crypto hack
- USDC payment used in the transfer of a soccer player
- Crypto adoption continues in Nigeria and El Salvador
- Tiffany and Gucci ramp up NFT and Web3 initiatives
Crypto Market gains back $1 trillion market cap.
Last month recorded a sharp turn from the bear market. Over the past few weeks, cryptocurrencies began a price recovery rally. Although top cryptocurrencies are still far from their ATHs, the total market cap is back above $1 trillion, according to Coinshares.
In order news, Michael Saylor, an influential crypto investor whose company owns 129,699 Bitcoins, has stepped down from his CEO role. In Microstrategy's earnings call on the quarter 2 impairment loss of $918M, Michael Saylor handed the chief executive officer role at MicroStrategy (MSTR) to a deputy. He became executive chairman, putting his focus exclusively on hoarding cryptocurrencies.
Saylor explained, “I believe that splitting the roles of Chairman and CEO will enable us to pursue better our two corporate strategies of acquiring and holding bitcoin and growing our enterprise analytics software business. As Executive Chairman, I will be able to focus more on our bitcoin acquisition strategy and related bitcoin advocacy initiatives. At the same time, Phong, the new CEO, will be empowered as CEO to manage overall corporate operations."
Solana targeted in Crypto attack.
Users claim their assets have been taken from popular internet-connected "hot" wallets like Phantom, Slope, and TrustWallet without their knowledge, making the Solana ecosystem the target of the most recent cryptocurrency attack. The assault exposed almost 8,000 wallets. Several Solana addresses were connected to the attack (1, 2, 3, 4), and those wallets amassed at least $5 million worth of SOL, SPL, and other Solana-based tokens from unwary users.
A trusted third-party service may have been hacked in a so-called supply chain attack as the attacker managed to sign (i.e., initiate and approve) transactions on the users' behalf. According to a tweet from SolanaStatus, engineers from many networks have discovered that the fault is not related to the Solana core code but software utilised by several software wallets.
USDC used in the transfer of a soccer player
This week, Giuliano Galoppo, a player from Argentine mid-table club Banfield, was acquired by So Paulo, one of Brazil's most significant soccer teams.
Players frequently switch teams, yet it was a remarkable event since funds were transmitted in the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) via the Bitso exchange in Latin America. The deal is considered a "historic occasion for Bitso, So Paulo, and South American soccer in general" by Thales Arajo de Freitas, CEO of Bitso in Brazil.
That’s not all! Oxford City Football Club (F.C.), a Division Six soccer team in the United Kingdom, will start accepting Bitcoin matchday payments on August 6, when their season begins. Club supporters can use BTC via the Lightning Network to pay for food and beverages and tickets at Oxford City's RAW Charging Stadium.
Crypto adoption continues in Nigeria and El Salvador.
Since the April bitcoin market meltdown, according to Coingecko’s studies, Nigeria has shown the most significant interest in cryptocurrencies. According to t study, Kenya is the second-best-ranked African nation. The top-ranked countries appear more interested in buying the downturn, which emphasises "their long-term outlook for cryptocurrencies," according to Bobby Ong, co-founder of Coingecko.
Nigeria topped the list of countries whose people searched the most globally for the terms "cryptocurrency," "invest in crypto," and "buy crypto." Additionally, Nigerians are the third-most likely people in the world to look for the cryptocurrency "Solana."
In an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Alejandro Zelaya said that adopting bitcoin had helped El Salvador's unbanked population, attracted investment, and increased tourism. It's a phenomenon that already exists, is spreading, and will persist in the upcoming years. He explained that despite the government's over 50% losses on its purchases, El Salvador's use of bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender is succeeding.
Tiffany Jewels and Gucci purchase NFT and Web3 initiatives.
Jewellery brand Tiffany launched $50K CryptoPunk Necklaces priced at 30 ETH each. There are only 250 copies of the series of diamond-encrusted pendants, which are only sold to CryptoPunk owners. According to Tiffany's website, every necklace will contain 30 diamonds and jewels. The necklaces went on sale on August 5 and are available as non-fungible tokens (NFT) that can be exchanged for actual necklaces.
Gucci has also stepped up its Web3 operations by adding ApeCoin to a list of 12 other digital assets it accepts for payment, enabling crypto enthusiasts to buy its merchandise in its stores.
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