Another investment firm predicts a Bitcoin rise: Fundstrat has indicated that the price of Bitcoin could rise as much as 521% from current levels to nearly US$180,000 before the upcoming Bitcoin halving in April 2024, fueled by a Bitcoin ETF launch and the impact of the halving on mining rewards. This is in line with the predictions of multiple other TradFi players.
Market Spotlight
Note: Market prices captured in USD at the time of sending. Explore more on Crypto.com/Price.
Want more? Get weekly Market and DeFi Updates from Crypto.com’s Research Team.
News Snaps
Crypto.com and LINE Xenesis Establish Partnership
This week, Crypto.com launched its partnership with LINE Xenesis, the blockchain business subsidiary of leading messaging app LINE, to advance cryptocurrency business solutions developed by Crypto.com through the LINE user network across Asia Pacific and beyond.
More BTC ETFs in Review
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched its review of the latest Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications. The regulator published documents seeking public consultations on the ETF applications, including BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and Valkyrie’s Bitcoin ETF.
Worldcoin Crypto Project Debuts
Worldcoin, created by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, launched this week with the mission of redefining digital identification by rewarding users with WLD crypto tokens following a self-verification process. Worldcoin is backed by venture firms Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, and entrepreneur Reid Hoffman. The hyped project has also been met with criticism, including from Vitalik Buterin.
French Crypto License for SG Forge
France’s financial regulator has issued TradFi bank Societe Generale’s cryptocurrency division, SG Forge, a license to offer crypto services, which include buying and selling, exchange, and custody of digital assets.
Bäumer Jewelry NFTs Unveiled
Bäumer Vendôme has unveiled an innovative NFT collaboration that combines Web3 and jewelry design in one exclusive collection. Bäumer Vendôme has chosen to offer its collection on the Crypto.com NFT Platform.
Indonesian Crypto Exchange Is Live
Indonesia’s new exchange and clearinghouse for cryptocurrencies is finally operational after multiple delays, according to an announcement from the country’s commodities regulator.
New Interoperability Protocol Launched
Prominent data oracle Chainlink launched its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) on its mainnet. The early access phase supports the Avalanche, Ethereum, Optimism, and Polygon networks, with CCIP also adopted by DeFi lending protocols Aave and Synthetix.
Chart of the Week
Last week, Moons (MOON), the native token of Reddit’s r/CryptoCurrency, surged massively. Bricks (BRICK), which is distributed as a reward for contributions in the r/FortNiteBR subreddit, also rallied.
Markets speculated that the recent change in Reddit’s Terms of Use, which now explicitly allows for trading of Reddit’s tokenized Community Points, was likely the catalyst for the price increases.
NFT Spotlight
Arriving on Friday, August 4, are the likes of the ‘Kindergarden Gang’, ‘High School Crew’, and ‘Work Colleagues’ — all part of ‘Amigos Degens’, the latest NFT drop of the Dimension Amigos series by digital artist Zigor.
Each one is unique, with their own characteristics and abilities. They are part of different groups of friends, and their friendships have been forged in the different stages of their lives, which are full of surprises.
This drop features 🪂 periodic NFT airdrops to keep things clicking, and early access for holders of previously released Zigor collections starts 60 minutes before the scheduled drop time.
“’Amigos Degens’ are the craziest, funniest, and most impetuous creatures of the Dimension Amigos that live [o]n Crypto.com.” —Zigor, in his element
Over here, Amigos. Or over here to hang with Zigor’s other collections.
Product Picks
Three New Tokens on Target Price Orders
LMWR, ACS, and LBR have just been added to Target Price Orders in the Crypto.com App. With Target Price Orders, you can now automate orders at your preferred price without having to monitor the market. Set your Target Price Orders now.
Bitcoin and& BRC-20 Support for the DeFi Wallet Extension
The Crypto.com DeFi Wallet Extension now supports the Bitcoin (BTC) network. Users can access Native SegWit and Taproot wallets directly in the Wallet Extension with the ability to seamlessly send and receive BTC and supported BRC-20 tokens. For more information, click here.
Crypto.com App New Token Listings
Worldcoin (WLD) With Deposits Enabled
Worldcoin is an open-source protocol committed to expanding access to the global economy. Founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Worldcoin consists of a privacy-preserving digital identity network (World ID) built on Proof of Personhood (PoP) and a digital currency, WLD.
The aim of Worldcoin is to create a globally inclusive identity and financial network for everyone; increase economic opportunity; and scale a reliable solution for distinguishing humans from AI online while preserving privacy and enabling global democratic processes. Worldcoin’s native token, WLD, is issued to all network participants to align their incentives around the growth of the network.
Crypto Level Up
Challenges and Solutions for Bitcoin Scalability
Bitcoin’s scalability has been a concern ever since the network launched. It has a limited blockchain capacity to process transactions, which creates several additional challenges. Fortunately, there are solutions to combat this. More details below.
Challenges
The Bitcoin network’s design has resulted in a limited blockchain capacity. Block creation time clocks in at an average of 10 minutes, and each block size is limited to 1 MB. The result? Increased transaction fees and delayed processing times during peak periods.
Solutions
1. Consensus Mechanism Update
Network users have proposed a swap from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS). This boosts scalability without leaving security and decentralization behind.
2. Sharding
This involves the division of transactions into smaller datasets, called ‘shards’. Sharding saves storage space while boosting network processing speeds.
3. Nested Blockchains
These are decentralized networks that leverage the main blockchain to build a system of secondary chains. Transactions can be executed on them to enhance scalability.
4. Layer-2 Solutions
One example is the Lightning Network, an off-chain protocol that enables instant and low-cost transactions by building payment channels between users.
Discover More Challenges and Solutions for Bitcoin Scalability.
CryptoIRL
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Hashtag #CryptoIRL with your Crypto.com Visa Card on your social profiles to get featured! Your 15 minutes of fame in the #CROFam awaits you!
Decoder
Proof of Importance (PoI)
Proof of Importance (PoI) is a consensus mechanism that uses ‘importance scores’ to determine which nodes are eligible to mine new blocks. This helps to ensure the network runs smoothly and that all participants are contributing to its success.
A higher PoI score means the network (and its users) have a higher trust in a specific miner to validate and mine new blocks. Congruently, a miner with a higher score will have a higher chance of being selected as the miner, or in PoI’s case, a ‘block harvester’.
An example of PoI is NEM (XEM).
This Week in Crypto History
Tech Retailer Newegg Expands Bitcoin Payment Option to 73 More Countries
On July 24, 2019, US-based tech retailer Newegg expanded its Bitcoin payment option to almost every country it serves. The only nations where this remained unavailable included Egypt, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Today, Newegg accepts a variety of cryptocurrencies as payment, including ETH, DOGE, USDC, and DAI.
That’s it for this week’s Snapshot. Want more? Head over to our Insta feed for bite-size crypto lessons.
