Maker Minds #17 — Bitcoin ETF, OKX BRC-20, FedNow
Howdy Maker Minds! New week, new edition!
By the way, welcome to the newcomers to this newsletter, I hope you are ready to rack your minds 🔥
For those who don’t know me, every Monday, I share whatever helpful information and news I come across with you. To put it simply, I make crypto easy to grasp. And if you're here, it means you're an early Web3 adopter!
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Here’s a recap of what shaped the crypto space this week 👇
🌦️ Market Weather
Bitcoin: $$29,209
Ethereum: $1,850
Solana: $23.60
Gold: $1, 966
S&P 500: $4,536
😯 The unusual news… which is quite usual
In 2021, when the NFT market was booming, crypto entrepreneur Sina Estavi gained attention for buying Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's first tweet as an NFT, shelling out $2.9 million for it.
Back then, the Iranian investor believed the NFT's worth was linked to its one-of-a-kind nature and its connection to a prestigious company like Twitter.
Fast forward two years and the perception of the same NFT's value has shifted considerably. As per the latest data from OpenSea, the highest offer on it now sits at a mere $3.77 🤑
💰 Blockchain and adoption
Celsius moved the equivalent of $59.4 million in altcoins, probably in preparation to exchange them for BTC and ETH. A wallet controlled by Celsius mainly deposited LINK, MATIC, AAVE, and BNB.
Tesla could potentially accept Bitcoin and Dogecoin as payment methods once again. These speculations arise from the code source of Tesla's website mentioning "Bitcoin" and "Dogecoin."
Binance has introduced the Lightning Network as a deposit and withdrawal channel for Bitcoin. The Lightning Network, known for its speed and efficiency, will facilitate micro-payments in BTC.
The SEC has started reviewing applications for Bitcoin spot ETFs. The SEC's review period can range from 45 to 240 days. An initial response from the SEC is expected on August 13th for the Bitcoin ETF filed by Ark Invest and 21 Shares.
Elon Musk has confirmed that he will change the Twitter logo to a letter "X," symbolizing his "super app" project.
According to a new estimate by Bank of the Future, Celsius could potentially repay debts in dollars if the price of Bitcoin and Ether doubles compared to their current price.
FTX and its sister company Alameda are seeking to recover more than $71 million from their philanthropic branch related to life sciences. FTX and Alameda Research allegedly transferred $71.5 million under the pretext of effective altruism.
Florida Governor and presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis, has promised to ban CBDCs if elected as president. DeSantis criticized CBDCs for enabling "government-sanctioned surveillance."
Binance has terminated its partnership with Argentina’s Football Federation, stating that the latter did not "fulfill its contractual obligations." Binance was supposed to be the main sponsor of the team until 2027.
Ubisoft continues to strengthen its presence in the blockchain sector by joining the Cronos network as one of the 28 validators. The publisher will operate a node on the Cronos network, which is interoperable with Ethereum and Cosmos.
Judicial documents reveal that the FTX Foundation was considering purchasing the island of Nauru for various experiments, including the construction of an anti-apocalypse bunker and research on human genetic enhancement.
Solana Labs has unveiled Solang, a new compiler designed to ease the transition of EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) developers into the Solana ecosystem. With Solang, Solidity developers can now create applications on Solana.
OKX has announced a new feature that allows users to lock their bitcoins or BRC-20 tokens in exchange for BRC-20 tokens. Additionally, OKX has revealed plans to launch a dedicated marketplace for BRC-20 tokens.
The FED has launched FedNow, an instant payment service available 24/7. The service has a transaction limit of $100,000 K, which could potentially increase to $500,000 K. FedNow will be accessible only through banks.
Kuwait has banned crypto mining, as well as the offering of services related to crypto and their use for payments. This decision has been motivated by concerns over money laundering risks.
BitMEX has extended its collaboration with AC Milan, becoming a premium partner of the club. The platform has supported initiatives, including celebrating the club's 19th Serie A title and providing support to the Fondazione Milan.
🔥 What’s Poppin’?
If you have some spare time, give it a read 👇
▹ Cathie Wood's ARK Sells Another $50.5M Coinbase Shares
▹ This Week in Coins: Bitcoin and Ethereum Dip as Chainlink, XRP, XLM Lead Growth
▹ What Is ERC-6551? Unpacking The ‘Backpack’ Wallet
▹ Hackers Drain $3 Million in Ethereum From DeFi Protocol Conic Finance
▹ McDonald’s Opens McNuggets Land in the Metaverse, but McWhy?
🤡 Meme of the week
And that’s a wrap-up! If you enjoy what I do, don't forget to drop a like and comment, it gives me the strength to keep going! See you on Wednesday for a special edition,
Tony.
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Have a nice week!