Read in the Digest:
- AAVE Proposes Decentralized Stablecoin, GHO, Shiba Inu Unveils SHI Stablecoin
- SOL Investors Accuse Solana Labs of “Securities Violations” in Lawsuit
- Celsius Network Called a “Fraud” and “Ponzi Scheme” in New Lawsuit
- GameStop Lays Off Staff, Reddit Launches NFT-Avatar Marketplace
Bitcoin Breaks Above $22k and Sets Sight at $25,000, Ethereum Rallies 8%
For the first time in three weeks, the price of Bitcoin has traded above $22k following a 6.5% rally over the last 24 hours. The rally saw Bitcoin break through a resistance zone and point to where the price could go next.
The 24-hour price chart of Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
When Bitcoin peaked at its new three-week high of $22.9k, it formed a symmetrical triangle on the 4H chart. If Bitcoin sustains the buying pressure in the next few days, it could trigger a 25% upswing and a retest of the $25,000 level.
Bitcoin’s rally started a little later than Ethereum’s, which began to rally after the announcement of a successful merge on the Sepolia testnet. Ethereum has gained more than 12% in the last 48 hours.
The 48-hour price chart of Ethereum (ETH). Source: CoinMarketCap
An 8% spike on Thursday, July 7, saw Ether trade at $1,262, its highest value since June 13. Ethereum (ETH) now trades at $1,225, maintaining a +4.1% gain over the last 24 hours.
The 24-hour price chart of Ethereum (ETH). Source: CoinMarketCap
Flipsider:
- The ongoing crypto rout has led to several crypto firms filing for liquidation, the latest being the crypto broker Voyager Digital.
Why You Should Care
The recent crypto rally aligns with the opinions of leading crypto figures that the most damaging part of the ongoing crypto market turbulence has likely passed.
AAVE Proposes Decentralized Stablecoin GHO and Shiba Inu Unveils SHI Stablecoin
Leading DeFi protocol AAVE has put forward a proposal to launch a decentralized, collateralized stablecoin, GHO. The GHO stablecoin will function similarly to the MakerDAO-issued stablecoin Dai.
GHO would be backed by a diversified set of crypto-assets chosen at the users’ discretion. The amount of GHO minted will be based on the amount of collateralized supplied by the user while borrowers continue earning interest on their underlying collateral.
Similar to AAVE, the popular meme coin Shiba Inu has announced an expansion of its ecosystem and the launch of a new stablecoin, SHI. Shytoshi Kusama, the lead developer of Shiba, announced that SHI could launch before the end of 2022.
Like GHO, SHI is also a decentralized stablecoin. Kusama says that SHI is being developed in response to the collapse of UST, and the stablecoin will “avoid the problems found” in other assets in this category.
Flipsider:
- In the wake of the TerraUSD collapse, the entire crypto community remains wary of stablecoins, as regulators also look to clamp down on the assets.
Why You Should Care
With the increased scrutiny on stablecoins, for AAVE and Shiba Inu to succeed, they will need to answer some questions that have plagued the sector.
SOL Investors Accuse Solana Labs of “Securities Violations” in Lawsuit
SOL investors filed a class-action lawsuit against the leading blockchain platform Solana Labs, accusing the company and people within the ecosystem of violating the registration provisions of federal and state securities laws.
According to the class-action suit filed in the California federal court last week by Mark Young on behalf of all the investors, Solana Labs has been making illicit profits from promoting its token SOL as an unregistered security.
According to Young, the way SOL was created and sold aligns with the three tenets of the Howey Test, so he concluded that SOL is an unregistered security. Defendants are: Solana Labs and its co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, the non-profit Solana Foundation, Multicoin Capital Management, CEO Kyle Samani, and trading platform FalconX.
Young describes SOL as a highly centralized cryptocurrency that its insiders benefit from at the expense of capital from retail traders. The lawsuit takes into account all investors who have bought SOL from March 24, 2020, to date.
Flipsider:
- John Deaton, XRP token holders’ lawyer in the SEC case, has warned that If XRP is deemed a “security,” hundreds of class actions will be filed against cryptos.
Why You Should Care
Using the Ripple vs. SEC case as a litmus, if SOL is judged to be a security, it could have undesirable consequences for Solana and the broader crypto market.
Celsius Network Called a “Fraud” and “Ponzi Scheme” in New Lawsuit
KeyFi, the DeFi asset management platform, filed a lawsuit against the struggling Celsius Network on Thursday, alleging that the crypto lender was a fraud and operated in a Ponzi-style fashion, leading to its collapse.
According to KeyFi, Celsius used deposits from customers to inflate the price of its own CEL token. KeyFi also alleges that Celsius failed to hedge risk properly, which caused it to freeze customers’ assets.
The lawsuit filed in the New York state court in Manhattan alleges that Celsius ran a Ponzi scheme and defrauded the plaintiff KeyFi Inc., run by the former manager Jason Stone of a 20% share from over $800 million that it earned for Celsius through DeFi strategies.
According to Stones, the Celsius liquidity crunch resulted from a consistent lack of risk management. He adds that the crypto lender refused to hedge its investments leading to “severe” losses as different coin values fluctuated.
Flipsider:
- Contrary to claims, Celsius has been repaying its debts, clearing off more than $187 million in the last week.
Why You Should Care
Since freezing withdrawals on June 12 due to “extreme market conditions,” Celsius has been a target of public scrutiny due to its operations.
GameStop Lays Off Staff, Reddit Launches NFT-Avatar Marketplace
According to reports, GameStop, the popular video game retailer, has laid off more staff in a revamp process. GameStop is trying to reinvent itself from a brick-and-mortar game shop and compete with the videogame industry that’s rapidly going online.
As part of the process of rebranding the company, GameStop has parted ways with its Chief Financial Officer, Mike Recupero. GameStop CEO Matt Furlong said Recupero was “fired because he was not the right culture fit” and was “too hands-off” on change.
Another company making a headfirst dive into blockchain technology is Reddit. The social media company has announced that it is launching a new NFT-based avatar marketplace allowing users to purchase blockchain-based profile pictures from $9.99 to $99.99.
Reddit will first release 90 different designs of NFTs in the “tens of thousands” to members of the r/CollectibleAvatars subreddit. When it launches fully, Redditors would not need a crypto wallet to buy these NFTs, only a credit card.
Flipsider:
- GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) has approved a four-for-one stock split that will make it more affordable for investors to own the popular meme token shares.
Why You Should Care
As more companies keep up with the innovation of the crypto industry by integrating NFTs into their platforms, the use of non-fungible tokens will increase.
