Temasek is set to lead a US$100 million funding round for Animoca Brands, Asia’s biggest blockchain investor. This adds to Animoca’s US$434 million already raised this year, as it seeks to go public and challenge big tech firms while helping to create Web3 in the process.
Read on for this week’s top news in crypto, and brush up your trading skills, with our featured article ‘What are Candlesticks?’
Markets Spotlight
Note: Market prices captured in US$ at the time of reading. Explore more on Crypto.com/Price.
News Snaps
California passes bill for regulating and licensing crypto firms. Cointelegraph reports that the California State Assembly passed a bill that will require crypto companies and digital asset exchanges to own an operating license given by the state of California. The bill would be implemented in January 2025.
Helium looking to move to Solana. Popular peer-to-peer blockchain Helium is set to take a vote on whether or not they should move to Solana. Helium which is designed for the Internet of Things(IoT) gives incentives to users who run nodes with Helium’s hardware. Visit Blockworks for more.
Bored Ape Yacht Club makes MTV debut. At the latest MTV Video Music Awards, Snoop Dogg and Eminem showed off their Bored Apes in a music video for their new song ‘From the D 2 the LBC.’ This marks the first time Bored Apes has been featured on a big television event. For the full story, see CoinDesk.
Show off your NFTs on Facebook and Instagram. Cointelegraph reports that Meta has released an update that allows Facebook and Instagram users to post NFTs from their digital wallets. Users can now connect digital wallets to both apps.
Firm owned by Reddit co-founder launches US$177M crypto fund. Alex Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, and his venture capital firm Seven Seven Six plan to create a fund focusing on crypto, called Kryptós.The partners believe that now is potentially a good opportunity to invest in strong founders at a discount. Check out Blockworks for more.
What’s Ahead
AxieCon Barcelona. From September 7-10, Axie Infinity will host the AxieCon in Barcelona, bringing together the brightest dreamers, builders, and players of Axie Infinity. AxieCon will cover all aspects of Axie Infinity, such as esports, game design, governance, and collecting.
NFT Spotlight
Relive streetball legend and blacktop champion The Professor’s ankle-breaking NFT collection, which dropped a year ago this month, featuring six of his signature crossover moves on the likes of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Kanye West, and The Rock.
I heard people buzz about it for a few years and I felt a little late to the party, but now I’m realising it’s still new to a lot of people — so I’m excited about the timing.
The Professor, on his interest in cryptocurrency
Check out The Professor’s NFT collection of signature moves.
Product Picks
SpookySwap and SushiSwap Integrations
The DeFi Wallet’s built-in token swap feature now supports the seven largest chains by total value locked (TVL). With the latest integrations, you can now easily swap over 50 tokens on the Fantom and Arbitrum blockchains directly via the DeFi Wallet.
Save NFTs to Your Camera Roll
You can now save NFTs to your device’s camera roll on DeFi Wallet. Additionally, easily view NFTs on Etherscan, Cronoscan, and the Crypto.org Explorer, depending on the blockchain that the collectibles are minted on.
DeFi Desktop Wallet Supports Ethereum Network and ATOM
You can now store and transfer any ERC20 asset and add any EVM network connection to the DeFi Desktop Wallet, giving you quick access to the dApps built on those blockchains. We’ve also added support for ATOM and a bridge from Cosmos to Cronos so you can easily access more dApps on Cronos chain. Learn more.
Crypto Level Up
What is Web3?
Web3 is more than just a buzzword. To understand the changes it brings, let’s look at how the web started and has evolved over the years.
Web1. In the early days of the Internet, the web experience was passive, static, and one way, like reading a brochure or catalogue. Remember Netscape web browser?
Web2. The web we know today. More social and interactive, it has changed the way we interact online. But Web2 has also given too much power to just a handful of big tech companies, leading to questionable business practices.
Web3. Still a work in progress, Web3 aims to take power away from big centralised organisations and put it into your hands, the user. The vision is for everyone to own their part in the new decentralised web.
Check this detailed timeline to learn more about Web3.
Crypto IRL
‘Catch me if you can!’ said Mr Crabsy while doing some mild weightlifting with Obsidian Crypto.com Visa Card, proudly shared by our friend @pmbrsantos.
Featured Merchant
Julien Martin, founder of Cold Beach, tells us with burning passion what the upsides of crypto are for small-business owners.
Your business is in handcrafted scented candles — what is your connection to the more abstract world of digital currencies?
The connection is a rather personal one. I have personally been involved in crypto since 2017 — it started as an interesting take on the future of currency and became a legitimate alternative. In 2017, I made my first purchase using Bitcoin. However, back then, cryptocurrency was still in its infancy, and it was a lengthy process.
I knew better solutions were coming, and they did — Crypto.com Pay. Paying with crypto is now a tap away with a QR code scan on any merchant that accepts it. This is what brings me to using digital currencies on a commercial level. As a small-business owner, I do all the bookkeeping myself, and it’s no secret that it’s a daunting task when using fiat.
I’m stretched thin between making candles, conducting marketing, onboarding new retailers, and working full-time in an unrelated field. Crypto.com Pay’s painless onboarding, seamless integration, and simplified currency settlement are what I needed. Let me tell you: If I can do my bookkeeping while accepting crypto, anyone can.
We are intrigued — what are wax melts?
Wax melts are almost materially the same as candles: wax, fragrance, colour, labelling, and container. The difference, however, is that there is no wick. The melts themselves are usually contained in a clamshell containing six wax cubes. They are a great alternative to candles, as they are flameless and placed on a plate heated by electricity. They require less supervision than a lighted candle and are much cheaper because candle jars/vessels usually cost more than all the other materials combined.
What opportunities do you see in crypto for small businesses?
Crypto has always been a headache for bookkeeping purposes: exchanging, settlement, receiving, and sending. It all requires a paper trail. This is especially difficult when you add the current legislative nuance and uncertainty. With Crypto.com Pay, I can keep that out of my mind and get paid in TrueCAD. The opportunities we see in crypto are endless.
Still, I’ll stick with what’s most important as a business owner: getting paid reliably, with no downtime. Cryptocurrency doesn’t experience downtime. Websites are no longer just hosted in one place. You can use the best payment processors in the world and still experience downtime, which costs you money, sales, and opportunity. Yes, some protocols are in their infancy and can experience downtime, but that’s fine — use another one. There is a plethora of high-quality chains that are battle-tested and reliable.
What’s the most exciting thing you have paid for in crypto?
In 2017, I used Bitcoin to buy video games at a reduced price. Since then, I have made small purchases, such as a Dyson cordless vacuum, and occasionally used crypto to pay for things such as groceries and other essentials. In the future, I hope to use it for a down payment sometime in the next five years.
Decoder
Bear Market — A bear market represents a period in which the average prices of assets are on a prolonged decline. TradFi uses the term ‘bear market’ to define a market that drops by 20% or more. In other words, prices are low and projected to continue dropping for an extended period of time.
During a bear market, the economy is slow, with low employment rates and a pessimistic outlook. These conditions often arise from geopolitical crises, natural disasters, political tensions, or poor economic policies.
A bear market is also known as the markdown phase within a crypto market cycle. Often, unfavourable news on the crypto industry fuels the fire. This negative feedback loop causes many users to hold off on buying due to the belief that prices will continue to drop lower in the coming months.
This Week in Crypto History
El Salvador continues to bet big on Bitcoin. This time last year, El Salvador showed its continued conviction in Bitcoin by approving a US$150M BTC buy. This came in the same year that El Salvador recognised Bitcoin as legal tender — a huge milestone for Bitcoin on its journey to mass adoption.
That’s it for this week’s Snapshot. Want more? Visit our Instagram for quick crypto lessons that help you navigate the space.
