Bitcoin nears $24K. Quick market review.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) is one of the largest cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization. It has dominated the crypto space ever since its inception and has been the benchmark that all altcoins aim to follow.

▪️BTC - 23900 +3.38%

The growth of the entire market continues, while Bitcoin is trading near the $24,000 mark.

 

▪️Growth leaders among altcoins are ETC, GRT, KLAY.

 

▪️The leaders of the fall are XCN, LEO.

 

▪️BTC dominance is 42.33% unchanged.

 

▪️Alt season index 47, + 10 points per day!

 

Federal reserve interest rate hike of 0.75% as a catalyst for growth

The Federal Reserve enacted its second consecutive 0.75% point interest rate increase, taking this benchmark rate to a range of 2.25% to 2.5%.

Chair Jerome Powell noted that there will be a point where the Fed will start to slow hikes and assess their impact.

“We actually think we need a period of growth below potential in order to create some slack”, said Powell. 

Analyst Dylan Leclair showcased that a long position was being built on the derivatives exchange FTX hours before the decision to raise rates. 

All of these developments have led to an increase in the price of Bitcoin (BTC).

 

Facebook Parent Meta Loses $2.8B on Metaverse Division in Q2

Meta Platforms (FB) posted a second-quarter loss of $2.81 billion in its Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) division, which comprises its augmented and virtual reality operations, according to its earnings report released Wednesday. That was down slightly from its loss of $2.96 billion in the first quarter and better than analyst estimates for a loss of $3.67 billion for the division for the quarter, according to FactSet.

 

From August 1st, Meta will increase the price of Meta Quest 2 VR headsets by $100 and revise the price cap for peripheral products.

 

On the company's earnings call with analysts, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company is more focused on its long-term metaverse and Reels growth than maximizing short-term revenue from monetization. "Developing these [metaverse] platforms could unlock hundreds of billions if not trillions in revenue over time," Zuckerberg said.

FRL generated revenue of $452 million in the second quarter, down from $695 million in the first quarter. That was a small fraction of the $28.4 billion generated in the quarter from Meta’s family of apps, which includes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

 

Solana is about to open a retail store.

▪️Solana themed store will open its doors in New York.

▪️“In the store, you will learn how Solana works, and what Web3 is. We will provide you with a wallet and your first NFTs, and guide you through your first online transactions,” a Solana Spaces spokesperson tweeted. He added that he designed the space as Solana's "cultural center" and "embassy".

 

The Central African Republic will grant citizenship and land against the security of the Sango token.

 

▪️To purchase citizenship, it will be necessary to deposit a deposit in Sango tokens in the amount of $60,000 for a period of 5 years;

 

▪️Electronic residency can be obtained for the placement of coins in the amount of $6,000 for a period of 3 years;

 

▪️A land plot of 250 square meters, along with its copy in the metaverse, will be received by investors who have left a pledge in Sango tokens in the amount of $10,000 for 10 years.

 

After its expiration, the funds will be returned to the owner.

 

Polygon announces collaboration with top automobile companies.

 

The blockchain network has announced a partnership with Mercedes-Benz. 

According to reports, Daimler South East Asia, part of the Mercedes Benz Group, this week launched Acentrik: the new Polygon-based platform for sharing data. Today, that pilot project has become the new platform that uses Polygon (MATIC). Acentrik is not industry-specific. So it could be used for clinical trial data, insurance information, or anything else. And this is where it comes in. 

Acentrik specifically targets business users, including Know Your Business and broad access controls. 

Data is not stored on the blockchain, but an NFT represents each dataset, while a hash of metadata is stored with it. 

Transactions are executed on Polygon’s public blockchain or the Ethereum Rinkeby testnet. 

Users can pay for the data with a stablecoin or another cryptocurrency. The MATIC crypto will be needed to pay Polygon’s fees.