Binance approves Shiba Inu 🐶, Base launches mainnet bridge UI 🚀, Elon Musk's tweets' influence 🌪
Daily Crypto, Blockchain & Web3 Update 2023-08-04
CRYPTOCURRENCY
‘Is this a Bitcoin ad?’ Joe Biden unknowingly touts BTC in coffee mug video (3 min read)
United States President Joe Biden may have inadvertently become Bitcoin’s latest brand ambassador in a new "cringe" video advertising merchandise for his reelection campaign.
On Aug. 3, President Biden tweeted: “A cup of Joe never tasted better,” along with a video of himself drinking coffee from a mug.
Binance approves Shiba Inu as collateral asset (2 min read)
Crypto exchange Binance is adding 22 new loanable and collateral assets to its Flexible Loan and VIP Loan services, the exchange announced on Aug. 4.
This development has also fueled speculation about the potential listing of Bone ShibaSwap (BONE) tokens on Binance, coinciding with the upcoming launch of the layer-2 blockchain, Shibarium, anticipated to take place in August.
Base launches mainnet bridge UI for end users, sets Aug. 9 for official launch (2 min read)
Coinbase has launched a new user interface (UI) for its official bridge on the Base network. This makes it possible for end users to onboard without needing developer tools, as announced on August 3rd.
Elon Musk tweets and Twitter bot spam influences altcoin prices: Study (3 min read)
Twitter bots that promote cryptocurrencies may have a bigger impact on boosting altcoin prices than we thought.
Using a sample of various FTX-listed cryptocurrencies in a study published Aug. 2, the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) said it analyzed over 3 million tweets posted from Jan. 1, 2019, to Jan. 27, 2023, involving 18 altcoins.
BUSINESS
Coinbase beats Q2 estimates amid BlackRock custody deal, institutional focus (1 min read)
The crypto exchange’s second-quarter revenue beat estimates, while non-trading revenue surpassed trading revenue.
Coinbase earned $663M in revenue in Q2 2023 due to its partnership with BlackRock and focus on institutional clients, despite regulatory actions.
Futureverse co-founders launch $50M venture fund (2 min read)
The AI metaverse company raised $54 million in a Series A round in July.
Shara Senderoff and Aaron McDonald, co-founders of artificial intelligence and metaverse company Futureverse, have launched a new $50 million venture fund and studio.
Block posts 34% increase in Bitcoin revenue in Q2 but shares stumble (2 min read)
Shares in payment technology firm Block Inc. tumbled after hours despite its second-quarter results beating earnings expectations, including a 34% year-on-year increase in Bitcoin revenue.
Bitcoin profits on Block’s Cash App dropped slightly from the first quarter of 2023 but remain up 7% from this time last year.
QUICK LINKS
Hong Kong debuts retail crypto trading with HashKey and OSL (2 min read)
HashKey and OSL are among the first licensed exchanges to offer cryptocurrency trading to non-professional investors in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is expanding cryptocurrency trading exposure to individual investors, with at least one exchange getting the regulatory green light to offer the services.
Oman financial regulator seeks feedback on proposed virtual asset framework (2 min read)
Although the proposed virtual asset regulatory framework in Oman covers FATF-defined assets, the issuance of privacy coins might be banned.
Oman is getting closer to implementing its own regulations for virtual assets. The country's financial markets regulator is asking for public feedback on its proposed framework for governing digital assets, like cryptocurrencies.
Revolut to suspend cryptocurrency services in US (2 min read)
Cryptocurrency-friendly trading neobank Revolut is wrapping up its crypto services in the United States amid ongoing regulatory uncertainty.
Soon after announcing the partial delisting of certain digital assets from its platform, Revolut took the decision to suspend all crypto services for U.S. users, the firm said in a statement to Cointelegraph on Aug. 4.
Canadian crypto ownership declines amid tight regulations, falling prices (3 min read)
The Bank of Canada (BoC) reported a decline in the ownership of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in the country in 2022, as neither market conditions nor regulations sided in favor of Canadian crypto investors, according to a BoC study published on July 26.
Actor Adam DeVine appears in new Bitget exchange ad (2 min read)
American actor and comedian Adam DeVine has appeared in a new, one-year-long advertisement partnership with crypto exchange Bitget.
“Now it’s time to make our wildest dreams come true. Trade crypto from the comfort of your race car bed at 2:00 a.m. I don’t care. Business hours are “a thing of the past,” says DeVine in an upcoming clip.
Curve’s crvUSD depegs as market reacts to shock events (3 min read)
Curve Finance’s native stablecoin, crvUSD, briefly depended on Aug. 3, reacting to an uncertain environment surrounding the protocol after its recent exploit. In the course of the day, the stablecoin fell by as much as 0.35% before regaining its peg to the United States dollar.
Massachusetts launches probe into AI in securities industry (3 min read)
Massachusetts securities regulators seek to ensure that AI applications in the securities industry will not harm the interests of their users.
US regulators in Massachusetts are investigating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the securities industry due to growing concerns about its implications.
Meta launches suite of generative AI music tools rivaling Google’s MusicLM (2 min read)
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, released a collection of generative AI models called AudioCraft. This new suite allows users to create music from different inputs. The release was announced on Aug. 2 in a blog post.