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Supported By
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Good morning!
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If you’ve been around in the blockchain space for a while, you would have witnessed bits and pieces of market downturns. We were there when flagship digital currency bitcoin tumbled from above $65,000 to levels below $20,000.
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Also, we were witnesses to how ‘blue chip’ NFTs like BAYC lost around 60-70 percent of their market value due to a decline of the general NFT market.
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However, nothing would prepare you for the tale of how Twitter’s co-founder and former CEO, Jack Dorsey’s first tweet, which was converted to an NFT, went from a hot cake that was sold for $2.9 million to just above $1000, according to OpenSea data, within a space of two years.
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One could be right to say the digital collectible took the ‘what goes up, will surely come down’ saying too seriously.
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Here is our weekly newsletter roundup. Now get a bucket of popcorn and follow through. First, a summary….
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Summary of the news
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- Tesla did not buy/sell btc in Q2
- Binance and Argentina part ways
- Couple behind BitFinex money laundering agree plea deal
- Nasdaq halts crypto service
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Tesla did not buy/sell btc in Q2
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According to the company earnings release on Wednesday, Electric car maker Tesla did not buy or sell any bitcoin for the fourth straight quarter in Q2 2023. The net value of its digital assets at the end of the quarter was $184 million, the same as it has been for the past three quarters.
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Tesla has not bought or sold any bitcoin since last year’s second quarter, when it sold more than 30,000 bitcoins(roughly 75% of its holdings)for $936 million.
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Recall that the Elon Musk owned company initially bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in early 2021.
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Binance and Argentina part ways
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Citing a breach of contract, giant crypto exchange Binance has terminated its five-year partnership with the Argentine soccer association, just after a year. In a Spanish-language statement posted on Twitter on Monday, the exchange said:
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"We regularly evaluate the results of our partnerships around the world and unfortunately, despite being offered time and opportunities, the AFA has not fully complied with its contractual obligations, which goes against our business values and our partnership principles.”
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The Argentinian Football Association (AFA) has however disputed Binance's claims that it violated the terms of the agreement and the association is reportedly planning to take the matter to court.
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Per a report by SportBusiness, the AFA claims that Binance terminated the deal abruptly due to the financial and regulatory challenges facing the exchange.
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A word from Divest
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Introducing Divest, the easiest way to turn your cryptocurrencies into cash within minutes! With Divest, you get a unique wallet Address that allows you to send your crypto coins and convert them into instant cash. You can share this wallet address with other crypto users all over the world, and every time someone sends you coins, you receive the equivalent cash value right in your bank account. You can get started by downloading the app here. (Available on App Store and Google Play store)
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Couple behind BitFinex money laundering agree plea deal
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Reports emerged on Friday that the husband and wife alleged to have laundered billions of dollars' worth of Bitcoin connected to the 2016 Bitfinex hack have reached a plea agreement with authorities in the United States.
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According to records filed with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan are scheduled to appear for an arraignment and hearing on August 3 as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
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Recall that following the hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex in August 2016, in which roughly 119,754 Bitcoin was stolen, Lichtenstein and Morgan allegedly laundered more than 94,643 BTC of the funds “in a series of small, complex transactions across multiple accounts and platforms.”
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Authorities arrested the two in New York in February 2022 and seized the BTC, worth around $54 million at the time of the hack but $3.6 billion at press time.
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Nasdaq halts crypto service
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Due to regulatory risks, securities marketplace Nasdaq is halting the launch of its own cryptocurrency custody that it previously planned to roll out by the end of Q2 2023. CEO Adena Friedman announced during the firm's Q2 results call earlier this week
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“This quarter, considering the shifting business and regulatory environment in the United States, we have made the decision to halt our launch of the U.S. digital assets custodian business and our related efforts to pursue relevant licenses,”
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Additionally, Friedman emphasized that the company remains committed to digital asset business development:
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“We continue to build and deliver technology capabilities that position Nasdaq as a leading digital assets software solutions provider to the broader global industry. This includes advancing our custody solution as a technology platform to serve the broader, global digital assets marketplace.”
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Notably, Nasdaq initially announced its crypto custody project in September 2022 and the firm planned to launch an official division allowing customers to safely store Bitcoin and Ether.
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Other stories we are following
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