bitSmiley, a pioneer in building overcollateralized stablecoin backed by BTC, is proud to announce a strategic collaboration with Babylon to transform the landscape of Bitcoin liquidity. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in the blockchain space, integrating BTC into the Proof-of-Stake world and other blockchain economies.
As Native BTC staked on Babylon increases, the potential of BTC Liquidity Staking Tokens (LSTs) remains largely untapped—until now. With the introduction of bitSmiley, Babylon is unlocking new opportunities for BTC holders, offering unprecedented yield-generating options through an innovative stablecoin mechanism.
Introducing the First BTC-Backed Stablecoin with Yield
bitSmiley’s protocol allows users to deposit BTC, which is then staked within the Babylon ecosystem, offering both flexible and fixed-term staking options. This process enables users to mint bitUSD, a BTC-backed stablecoin, across multiple chains including Ethereum, Solana, and Babylon itself. This seamless integration positions bitSmiley as a revolutionary LST protocol within Babylon’s ecosystem, delivering superior liquidity options that go beyond traditional LST projects.
Unleashing the Power of BTC LST Liquidity
bitSmiley transforms static BTC LST assets into dynamic opportunities, enhancing BTC trading activity and offering multiple reward streams. Users can stake Native BTC to receive BTC LST tokens, use these tokens as collateral to mint bitUSD, or provide liquidity on bitCow for LP tokens, which can also be utilized to mint bitUSD.
This dynamic strategy maximizes rewards by leveraging Staking Yield, Protocol Yield, LP Yield, and Active Yield within the Babylon and bitSmiley ecosystems. Through these innovative strategies, users can achieve optimal yields, manage positions strategically, and fully capitalize on their BTC assets.
Redefining BTC Liquidity
The collaboration between bitSmiley and Babylon is more than just a pathway to higher yields; it’s a game-changing approach to BTC LST liquidity. By staking native BTC on Babylon and utilizing bitSmiley, users can unlock unparalleled returns while significantly enhancing the liquidity of the BTC ecosystem. This partnership sets a new standard in decentralized finance, driving both profitability and ecosystem growth.
Babylon and bitSmiley are at the forefront of financial innovation, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in decentralized finance. Join the revolution, stake your BTC, and unlock the future of digital finance today.
About Babylon and bitSmiley
Babylon is a leading blockchain platform dedicated to integrating Bitcoin into the broader blockchain economy through innovative Proof-of-Stake solutions. bitSmiley is an innovative protocol that transforms BTC into a liquid asset with yield-generating capabilities. Together, they are redefining the possibilities for BTC liquidity in the decentralized finance space.
For more details, visit https://www.bitsmiley.io.
Institutional investors have paused their accumulation of stablecoins, leading to a significant drop in Bitcoin’s price below a key psychological level.
Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin’s price fell by 3.9%, trading at $58,930 as of 08:03 am UTC on August 12, down from a weekly high of $62,510.
The dip below the $60,000 mark appears to be linked to institutions halting their stablecoin buying spree, according to an August 12 post on X by on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain: “Institutions seem to have temporarily stopped buying, and the price of $BTC dropped 4.5% today! We noticed that institutions stopped receiving $USDT from #TetherTreasury and transferring it to exchanges 2 days ago.”
Stablecoin inflows to crypto exchanges are a key indicator of buying pressure and investor interest, as they serve as the primary on-ramp from fiat to crypto for many investors. The recent halt in institutional stablecoin inflows could indicate a temporary lack of appetite for Bitcoin.
From August 5 to August 9, Tether, which issues the world’s largest stablecoin (USDT), minted over $1.3 billion worth of stablecoins, coinciding with a market bottom. This influx of stablecoins was transferred to major centralized exchanges, including Kraken, Coinbase, OKX, and Bullish.
Bitcoin had reached a five-month low of just above $49,500 on August 5 but rebounded by over 21% to surpass $60,000 by August 9. The price could recover above the $60,000 resistance level once large institutional stablecoin inflows resume.
Technical analyst Rekt Capital noted that Bitcoin needs to reclaim $60,600 to sustain its upward momentum, stating in an August 10 post: “Bitcoin is doing all the right things to confirm $60,600 as support so as to position price for a revisit of $65,000+ over time.”
Tether, the issuer of USDT—the world’s largest stablecoin—has minted over $1.3 billion worth of USDT since the market bottom, as investors appear to be positioning themselves to buy the dip.
Since the market hit its low on August 5, Tether’s treasury has printed over $1.3 billion in USDT. This newly minted USDT has been transferred to several major centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, including Kraken, Coinbase, OKX, and Bullish, according to an August 9 post on X by Lookonchain.
Large inflows of stablecoins like USDT to crypto exchanges often indicate that investors are preparing to buy assets, as stablecoins serve as the primary gateway for converting fiat currency into cryptocurrencies.
Following a significant $510 billion sell-off in the crypto market, there is speculation that the local market may have reached its bottom. Since August 5, when Bitcoin (BTC) hit a five-month low of just above $49,500, the cryptocurrency has shown signs of recovery. According to Bitstamp data, Bitcoin’s price has rebounded by over 21%, reaching $60,271 as of 10:44 am UTC. In the past 24 hours alone, Bitcoin has risen by more than 5.2%.
Despite this recovery, Bitcoin may still face volatility unless it can break through the crucial $64,000–$65,000 resistance level. This price range is significant because it represents the short-term realized price for large Bitcoin holding entities, often referred to as “whales.” As noted in an August 9 post by CryptoQuant, “The short-term holder whale realized price is in the 64K-65K range. This level may present itself as a resistance.”
Investors are now watching closely to see if the influx of USDT can help push Bitcoin above this key threshold.
On August 9, Ripple Labs announced the initial tests of its United States dollar-pegged stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ethereum mainnets. The company also revealed plans to deploy the fiat-backed token on additional blockchain networks in the future.
Ripple Labs stated that RLUSD will be overcollateralized, meaning each unit of RLUSD will be backed by USD reserves or short-term cash equivalents at a 1:1 ratio with the US dollar. To ensure transparency and accountability, Ripple has promised third-party audits of the underlying cash assets and will publish monthly reports on the reserves.
The firm also reaffirmed its commitment to both XRP and RLUSD, dispelling rumors that it would shift focus from XRP to its new stablecoin.
Ripple Labs emphasized that the stablecoin is currently in beta testing with enterprise partners and cautioned users to be wary of scammers claiming to offer early access to RLUSD, which is not yet available for purchase or live trading.
This announcement follows an August 7 ruling by Judge Analisa Torres, which imposed a $125-million penalty on Ripple Labs in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit, originally filed in 2020. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse described the penalty as a “victory” against the SEC, which had sought a $2-billion fine for alleged securities violations.
Following the ruling, XRP saw a surge in its price, climbing 26% to reach $0.64 on the same day.
Despite these positive developments, Ripple Labs’ Q2 2024 XRP Markets Report highlighted a 65.6% drop in transaction volume on the XRPL, falling from 251 million transactions in the first quarter to 88 million in the second quarter. The report also noted a significant increase in the average cost per transaction on the ledger.
In times of declining effectiveness of crypto incentive programs, the Taunt Token airdrop campaign has caught the interest of crypto enthusiasts due to its creative method of rewarding real and active users. Issued by Taunt Network, which aims to revolutionize interactive gaming experiences, the Taunt token will be used to drive tokenized engagement between audiences and creators.
This article will look at the mechanics of the Taunt Token airdrop, including how it works, who is eligible, and how to maximize the chances of obtaining more airdrop tokens.
Understanding the 1M $TAUNT Token Airdrop
The Taunt Token airdrop is a unique $1 million campaign that aims to distribute $TAUNT tokens while encouraging genuine community interaction. Unlike typical airdrops, this strategy takes a unique route—using special Soul-Bound Tokens (SBTs), Engagement Points (EPs), the EP lottery, and the Referral Program.
How Does Taunt Token Prevent Bot Abuse?
Bot activity has been increasing recently, especially when airdrops are involved. This has impeded the efficient distribution of airdrop campaigns and caused a number of issues in various airdrop campaigns. Nonetheless, the Taunt Token’s airdrop uses more advanced technology to reward only actual community members. This guarantees an equitable and fair token distribution and is expected to benefit the token valuation at launch.
What are Soul-Bound Tokens (SBTs)?
The Taunt Token incentive scheme is based on non-tradable tokens called Soul-bound Tokens (SBTs). Tokens can be earned by platform-specific activities, such as challenges and referrals. Additionally, SBTs function as a “key” to enable the ecosystem’s Engagement Points (EPs) earning system.
How can users get Soul-Bound Tokens?
Earning SBTs requires performing specific tasks. Every week, there is a distinct SBT with criteria set for every community member to complete within that timeframe. Notably, these tokens can’t be claimed retrospectively; users must earn them through constant task participation, fostering continued engagement and fair compensation for everyone involved.
How do SBTs Contribute to the Taunt Token Ecosystem?
SBTs are essential to the Taunt Token ecosystem in several ways. First, they are required to obtain Engagement Points, meaning that only dedicated users can accrue rewards. Second, SBTs boost users’ chances of winning rewards by acting as multipliers in the weekly EP lottery. Up to 4 SBTs may be awarded to an engaged user who joins at the beginning of a four-week campaign
What are the Different Quests of SBT Activities in Battleworld?
SBT Activities are organized into quests:
Quest 1 (Social)
Thesee initial Quest, which a user must complete before proceeding to other Quests. Activities in this Quest are simple and can be completed quickly. They include;
• Make an account on Battleworld’s website.
• Follow Battleworld on X.
• Follow $TAUNT on X.
• Join the Battleworld Discord.
• Join the $TAUNT Telegram.
Quest 2 (Play Battleworld)
• Play a tournament with an Outsider warrior.
• Visit the Gitbook
Quest 3 (Discover Underworld)
• Play Bored of Directors – Battleworld Escape powered by Pipeflare
Quest 4 (Referrals and deeper engagement)
• Complete referrals to the $TAUNT airdrop campaign.
• Retweet a post from the Battleworld X account.
• Make a post on X using the $TAUNT tag.
• Like a Battleworld X post.
Quest 5 (Watch and Earn)
• Watch a Battleworld match
• Play in a Battleworld prediction match
How do Engagement Points (EP) work?
Engagement Points (EP) are the foundation of the Taunt Token reward campaign. Users can earn these off-chain points by participating in various platform activities. In addition to gauging user activity, EP may be exchanged for Taunt tokens. Interestingly, EP’s value increases with time, providing a strong incentive for continued involvement and long-term ownership.
How can Users get Engagement Points Daily?
Users may earn EPs through a variety of daily activities. These include possessing and holding certain assets such as Genesis Pass, Genesis Warriors, and Black Magic Warriors, with benefits ranging depending on their rarity and quantity. Additional daily EP-earning alternatives include participating in Battleworld Watch and Earn games and owning NFT fighters of various races and rarity Quests.
How to Earn Extra Engagement Points?
Beyond daily activities, users may earn EPs through a variety of innovative techniques. The referral program awards EPs when referred users obtain an SBT. Users can also spin the Wheel by spending SKULLS on Battleworld’s website for a chance to win EPs and other prizes. Additionally, the platform rewards users to perform activities or generate content, with winners chosen by the Battleworld team and community. These multiple alternatives adapt to different user interests, promoting various interactions with the ecosystem.
Benefits of the Referral Program
The referral program for the airdrop campaign has many perks for users with more referrals. The two primary benefits of the referral program are a referral leaderboard and a higher chance of winning the EP lottery. For the leaderboard, a user’s position is based on the number of new users onboarded. Note that additional EP rewards are attached to leaderboard positions with a higher chance of winning in the EP lottery.
How Does the EP Lottery Operate?
The EP Lottery is a weekly event where users may participate using their acquired Engagement Points (EPs). Every EP is like a lottery ticket, allowing users to win different rewards. Users may increase their chances of winning by performing specific tasks inside the ecosystem, such as the referral program explained above.
How do SBTs Impact Lottery Entries?
SBTs increase users’ EPs’ worth, giving them a significant edge in the lottery. The user’s effective EP count will be boosted by 10% with each SBT, which is multiplicative with more SBTs.
Which Prizes are up for Grabs in the EP Lottery?
The EP Lottery provides a wide selection of rewards to cater to a variety of user interests. These perks include NFT fighters, Genesis Passes, cryptocurrency incentives in MATIC or ETH, and extra EPs available to winners. Principally, the diversity of rewards the lottery offers guarantees that it will always be intriguing and relevant to a large segment of the ecosystem.
Earning Engagement Points Through Battleworld Mini-Games
Battleworld Underground is a collection of six mini-games inspired by the Battleworld IP. These games provide players more chances to earn Engagement Points (EPs) and fit in with Battleworld’s narrative. The first game in the ecosystem, “Bored of Directors – Escape from Battleworld,” introduces players to this new kind of gaming.
Users may earn EPs by playing daily mini-games offered by Pipeflare. Each game awards a defined number of EPs for participation and victory, making the process of acquiring Taunt Tokens more gamified.
The conventional trading ecosystem has long been plagued by fundamental problems: most traders lose money trying to predict markets, trading creates adversarial relationships between investors, and high fees and counterparty risks are rampant. However, a revolution in the trading industry is on the horizon. Imagine a scenario where you don’t need to foresee market moves to benefit. This is precisely what Untrading provides.
Untrading Technologies Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based fintech firm, is driving this change with its decentralized asset management platform. Leveraging cutting-edge protocols and blockchain technology, Untrading aims to make trading more profitable, transparent, and fair for all parties involved.
The Problems with Traditional Trading
Most traders, especially beginners, eventually lose significant money as they proceed on their trading journey. The cause? They focus on attempting to forecast market changes based on various analytical conditions. These attempts often fall outside their plan, demonstrating that the notion of precise market forecasts being necessary for successful trading is fundamentally flawed.
Unfortunately, this mindset turns trading into a competition, making it difficult for anyone to consistently come out on top. The system profits from traders’ mistakes, fostering a hidden agenda where exchanges stand to gain more from traders’ losses.
Reimagining Asset Ownership and Value
Untrading’s innovative techniques are leading the way in reimagining asset ownership and value monetization in the digital era.
Untrading cracks the code on win-win: Where Game Theory meets crypto – turning Prof. Axelrod’s most successful cooperative strategy into a paradigm-shifting blockchain investment infrastructure.
Cooperative Strategies: Insights from Prof. Robert Axelrod’s Research
Untrading’s philosophy was proven by the groundbreaking work of Professor Robert Axelrod on cooperative strategies. Axelrod’s research, particularly his famous “Evolution of Cooperation” studies, provides crucial insights that Untrading has adapted for the crypto trading world. By integrating these principles, Untrading creates an ecosystem where cooperation is not just encouraged but becomes the most profitable strategy for all participants.
Provenance Value Amplification (PVA)
Untrading’s invention is centered around the Provenance Value Amplification (PVA) protocol. This commission-free mechanism enables token holders to profit from future price increases even after they sell their assets. PVA ensures that those who have contributed to the history of an asset are appropriately compensated, understanding the importance of provenance, especially in metaverse assets.
Key features of PVA include:
- ERC-5173 Integration: Users can get a cut of future sales proceeds from previously held assets.
- No Commission Fees: Untrading does not charge commissions and avoids conflicts of interest using a shared success approach.
- Blockchain-Powered Innovation: State-of-art Multisig smart contract technology secures the system.
Building Collaborative Environments
The strategy used by Untrading encourages the growth of open, value-driven communities. Users may foster a more helpful and cooperative trade environment by exchanging ideas, tactics, and success stories. This transition from adversarial to shared prosperity partnerships eliminates financial conflicts and mismatched incentives.
Innovation and Technology
Untrading uses innovative technology to make trading more intelligent and effective:
- Truly Divisible NFTs: A novel structure increases adaptability and offers countless opportunities.
- Upgraded ERC-20 Tokens: Any ERC-20 token may be upgraded to a divisible NFT, which combines the fungibility advantages of ERC-721 with the uniqueness of ERC-20.
- Modular Smart Contract Infrastructure: Multi-sig smart contracts with a modular design make security, smooth deployment, and upgradability possible.
Compared to established platforms, these advances place Untrading as a leader in transparency, trust, accessibility, efficiency, and security.
Market Opportunity and Growth Strategy
Untrading concentrates on the quickly growing Southeast Asian crypto retail investor base, which consists of over 37 million users spread across essential markets, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Untrading has developed a thorough expansion plan to take advantage of this opportunity. In the initial phase, the company integrates important partners and creators while focusing on community building and ecosystem jumpstart.
During its second phase, Untrading concentrates on acquiring users by employing strategic partnerships. The company’s strategy involves partnering with top cryptocurrency platforms and wallets to integrate its functionality into partner platforms.
The last stage focuses on enterprise and institutional outreach. Untrading wants to work with businesses investigating blockchain-based revenue streams and partner with financial institutions on innovative product development.
Regulatory Advantage and Global Expansion
In an attempt to capitalize on many significant benefits, Untrading is aggressively pursuing a Capital Markets Services (CMS) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Getting the MAS license will, first and foremost, significantly increase Untrading’s legitimacy and dependability.
Furthermore, Singapore’s regulatory structure provides regulatory synergy with other regional markets because it is well-aligned with them. This alignment makes it simpler for Untrading to grow its services regionally by streamlining compliance procedures and enabling more seamless operations across several countries.
Finally, Untrading will have a solid platform for international growth thanks to the MAS license. Untrading can more skillfully traverse the regulatory environments of other countries by creating a solid regulatory foundation in Singapore.
The company intends to expand gradually around the world, giving priority to regions with hospitable regulatory frameworks.
Creative Community-Sparked Growth
Untrading is employing distinct tactics to promote uptake:
- KOL-Led Investment Groups: This approach forms dynamic investment groups by collaborating with prominent trading community leaders, gamifying the transition from “Camps” to “Kingdoms.”
- Religious Community Focus: Reaching out to close-knit religious groups by working with authorized local investment advisers and sending out committed ambassadors.
Future Developments
Market Making Yield for Statistical Arbitrage (SAMMY)
SAMMY, a statistical arbitrage-based hedge fund strategy, is scheduled to launch in Q1 2025. This functionality will allow users to take advantage of risk-free high-frequency trading possibilities. Untrading intends to employ this tactic for its token on several exchanges in Q3 2024 and provide market-making services to exchanges and cryptocurrency projects.
Upcoming Innovations: Bridging the Gap Between CEXes and DEXes
As part of its commitment to continuous innovation, Untrading is excited to announce the development of its v1.5 release, scheduled for Q4. This update will introduce a groundbreaking feature that promises to revolutionize users’ trading experience.
At the heart of this update is an industry-first On-demand Market Making (OMM) mechanism. This innovative system combines the best features of centralized exchanges (CEXes) and decentralized exchanges (DEXes), offering users an unparalleled trading experience.
Key benefits of the OMM mechanism will include:
Enhanced Price Execution: Users can expect improved price fills, ensuring they get the best possible rates for their trades.
Minimal to Zero Slippage: The mechanism is designed to significantly reduce or eliminate slippage, a common issue in many existing exchanges.
Abundant Liquidity: The OMM will provide ample liquidity across various trading pairs by leveraging advanced market-making techniques.
Seamless User Experience: The system will operate behind the scenes, offering users the benefits of sophisticated market-making without additional complexity in the trading process.
While excited about this innovation, Untrading is keeping the specific details under wraps for now. This strategic decision allows the platform to maintain its competitive edge and ensure that it can deliver a fully optimized and tested system to its users.
The introduction of the OMM mechanism represents a significant step forward in Untrading’s mission to create a more efficient, fair, and user-friendly trading environment. It aligns perfectly with the platform’s existing innovations, like the Provenance Value Amplification (PVA) protocol and their implementation of Professor Axelrod’s cooperative strategies.
As the release date approaches, the Untrading team will be sharing more information about this feature and how it will integrate with their existing ecosystem. The team encourages users and industry observers to stay tuned for updates and prepare to experience the next evolution in decentralized trading with their v1.5 release.
Conclusion
In the field of finance, Untrading is a paradigm change that provides a solution to the persistent problems with traditional trading. By eliminating the need for forecasts, promoting cooperative ecosystems, and utilizing cutting-edge blockchain technology, Untrading is set to upend the multi-trillion-dollar trading sector.
Owing to its unique features, the platform’s users have never-before-seen opportunities to participate in sophisticated trading strategies and profit from asset appreciation. These include Provenance Value Amplification, a Collaborative environment, Innovative Technology, an impending SAMMY strategy, and the development of the v1.5 release. Untrading makes trading more fair and beneficial for all parties by emphasizing security, transparency, and aligned incentives.
Untrading has the potential to upend the multi-trillion-dollar trading sector. In order to support this goal, they are making up to 4% of their tokens available to forward-thinking investors. These funds will be used to improve platform development and user experience, increase market penetration and add new users, empower their community through growth initiatives and educational resources, and draw in top talent to spur innovation and expansion.
At the Aug. 7 Wall Street open, Bitcoin (BTC) hovered around $56,000, raising concerns over a lack of support.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC’s price rebound stalling, with BTC/USD remaining flat compared to the daily open. Despite being up by around $7,000 from the six-month lows on Aug. 5, market observers remained worried amid uncertainty.
Analyzing exchange order book conditions, trading resource Material Indicators suggested that Bitcoin’s price direction could go either way based on current buy and sell liquidity. “The amount of BTC ask liquidity between here and the CME Gap fill is significant, but not insurmountable,” it noted in a post on X. “The concern is that there aren’t any large buy walls in the active trading range to create a foundation for a stronger move up. Let’s see if that changes after TradFi opens and the CME Gap is open for business.”
The “gap” in CME Group’s Bitcoin futures market, potentially acting as a price magnet, was identified between $57,845 and $58,845.
Material Indicators co-founder Keith Alan warned about two potential death crosses involving various moving averages but mentioned that the downside they suggest could be mitigated. “Trend Precognition and the MACD are both signaling a momentum shift on the Bitcoin Daily chart. The bullishness of those signals is somewhat dampened by the death cross between the 21-Day and 100-Day MAs. It appears that the 50-Day and the 200-Day are also on a similar path,” he explained on X, referencing proprietary trading indicators.
“It’s worth noting that Death Crosses are lagging indicators. A fast recovery could unwind them, and if BTC bulls can manage to fill the CME Gap today and continue upward, that would be a sign of strength. Failure to fill the gap or a rejection from the top of the gap would be a concern for bulls.”
The macroeconomic situation also remained volatile, with traders adopting a “wait and see” approach. In its latest bulletin to Telegram subscribers, trading firm QCP Capital advised monitoring macro correlations closely. “While the initial shock may have passed, we foresee continued selling pressure in the coming days as systematic funds continue to pare exposure in light of the heightened volatility,” it warned. “We recommend keeping a close eye on Nasdaq, Nikkei, and USDJPY as cross-asset correlations remain high in the near term.”
QCP reiterated its earlier view on long-term profitability, suggesting that crypto should now be suitable for longs.
Media outlets have reported the outcomes of three primary races in Missouri and Michigan, influenced by contributions from the Fairshake Super PAC or its affiliates, with a fourth race in Washington still undecided.
As of August 7, reports confirmed that Democrat Wesley Bell defeated incumbent Cori Bush in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District primary, Bob Onder secured the Republican nomination for Missouri’s 3rd, and Shri Thanedar won the Democratic primary in Michigan’s 13th. Votes were still being counted for the Democratic primary in Washington’s 6th Congressional District at the time of publication.
Fairshake and its affiliates, the Defend American Jobs PAC and the Protect Progress PAC, invested approximately $4 million combined into these four primary races to support pro-crypto candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives or oppose those with anti-crypto stances. Of this, $1.4 million was spent on opposing Bush, $250,000 on supporting Onder, and $1 million on supporting Thanedar.
“Cori Bush has now become the latest anti-crypto, Elizabeth Warren-endorsed lawmaker to lose their seat in Congress,” stated Fairshake spokesperson Josh Vlasto. “The crypto and blockchain community will continue to support candidates who believe in innovation and job creation.”
In Washington’s 6th Congressional District, Emily Randall, supported by a $1.5 million media buy from Protect Progress, was leading with roughly 62% of votes counted. If victorious, she could face Republican Drew MacEwen in the November general election.
Hilary Franz, trailing against MacEwen and Randall, criticized the influence of Super PACs on X during the primary night. Her campaign manager, Eve Zhurbinskiy, had previously suggested that Protect Progress was a “MAGA-funded Super PAC” aiming “to buy members of Congress” with financial influence.
“Out-of-state Super PACs spent over $2.4 million to buy this seat,” Franz said on August 6. “Despite this unprecedented influx of dark money, our volunteers and supporters have kept this race too close to call.”
These August 6 races followed earlier primaries in Arizona, where Fairshake-backed candidates lost on July 30. Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress invested $1 million in media buys for Republican Blake Masters and Democrat Andrei Cherny, but both were defeated within their respective parties.
In Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District, Protect Progress spent around $1.3 million to support Democrat Yassamin Ansari over Raquel Terán. At the time of publication, the race was extremely close, likely heading to a recount, with Ansari leading by fewer than 100 votes.
Buying a “strategic reserve” of Bitcoin would be another “Louisiana Purchase moment” for the United States, according to Michael Saylor, the outspoken co-founder of business intelligence company MicroStrategy. Speaking on CNBC on August 6, Saylor endorsed Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis’ proposed BITCOIN Act, which aims to compel the US Treasury to gradually accumulate 1 million BTC, almost 5% of the total supply.
“Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory for $15 million in 1803 and nearly doubled the size of the United States,” Saylor remarked. “Bitcoin is scarce, desirable digital property. It’s a great idea to trade a little bit of currency or paper for someplace that billions of people are gonna want to be in 100 years.”
Saylor’s company, MicroStrategy, owns approximately $8 billion worth of BTC. He has consistently been bullish on Bitcoin and recently predicted that its price could reach approximately $13 million per coin by 2045. This forecast was made during his keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference on July 26.
The Bitcoin 2024 conference, which Saylor described as “very catalytic and marked an inflection point for Bitcoin,” attracted significant attention from political figures, including US presidential candidates, governors, senators, and house members who voiced their support for the digital asset. “Now, it’s possible to discuss nation-states holding Bitcoin on the balance sheet. And if nation-states are going to buy it, then it’s reasonable for institutions, corporations, and individuals to buy it as well,” Saylor told CNBC.
Saylor has urged investors to become “triple maxi” BTC bulls, advocating for pouring all available resources into BTC with the goal of achieving a nine-figure net worth in the coming decades.
His comments came just one day after the entire crypto market experienced a $510-billion drop in total market capitalization during a market crash. Despite Bitcoin’s approximate 18% price decline, it has shown partial recovery. Notably, long-term investors have remained resilient, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) experiencing zero net outflows on August 5, despite the market turbulence.
Bitcoin (BTC) aimed to reclaim $62,000 on August 3, as markets showed signs of recovery after a significant liquidation event.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView indicated a 3% rebound in BTC price following multi-week lows of $60,435 on Bitstamp.
This came on a day of heavy losses for global stocks, with Japan’s Nikkei dropping 6%, setting a pessimistic tone for Wall Street. Disappointing U.S. employment data added to the panic.
Bitcoin itself lost nearly $5,000, breaching several key support levels, including the short-term holder cost basis.
Liquidations surged as a result, with monitoring resource CoinGlass reporting a total crypto longs wipeout of $230 million on August 1 and 2.
“The yields are falling off a cliff in the U.S. markets as the job reports came in astonishingly bad,” Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm MNTrading, commented on X.
“Slight panic across the board, as the markets are pricing in a substantial recession for the U.S.”
Van de Poppe suggested that the recent events likely increased the chances of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates at its next meeting in September, a move seen as bullish for crypto and risk assets.
“One thing is for certain: Rate cuts for September are confirmed,” he concluded.