MARKET WRAP

1. $BTC Falls to its Lowest Since July, Dropping Below $20K

CoinDesk – August 28, 2022 at 10:43pm EST

This past week we witnessed $BTC cling to its $20K support level, and quite tenaciously at that. However, late last night, the leading crypto dropped to a 1-month low of $19,600, down 2% over the past 24 hours alone. $ETH, trading at around $1430 in the past day, is down more than 4%.

Current prices reflect investors’ declining optimism for risk-on asset classes for the foreseeable future, responding in particular to US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s most recent speech at Jackson Hole, where the central bank hosts its annual economic symposium.

“Reducing inflation is likely to require a sustained period of below-trend growth. While the lower inflation readings for July are certainly welcome, a single month’s improvement falls far short of what the committee will need to see before we are confident that inflation is moving down…

We are moving our policy stance purposefully to a level that will be sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2%... We will keep at it until we’re confident the job is done.” – Jerome Powell, Jackson Hole Symposium

In terms of real fiscal policy, this means that the Fed will not be backing away from its 75-basis point interest rate hikes as some investors had hoped for this past month. Instead, the FOMC will be continuing full-steam ahead to ensure that the longer-lasting side effects of rampant inflation, such as detrimental accommodations for high inflation that employers and businesses incorporate into wage and price calculations across the world. 

Already, it has been seen that July’s Personal Consumption Expenditures price index (PCE) has shown a year-over-year gain of 6.3% in July. While this is down from its 6.8% reading in June, a 0.1% decrease month over month, the core PCE index, which excludes food and energy price categories, climbed by 4.6% on an annualized basis, indicating that already prices deserve some serious reining in.

In crypto, it is clear that investor attitude is, more or less, disillusioned.

“The macroeconomic uncertainties continued to weigh on the price of $BTC, and while the PCE data came in negative (giving market hopes that the Fed could take a less aggressive stance moving forward), the Fed chair’s talk on Friday dashed those hopes as he cautioned against premature policy loosening. The market has reacted negatively to those comments and we’re seeing Bitcoin testing the $20,000 support.” – Joe DiPasquale, Crypto Asset Manager of BitBull Capital.

In response, most other major cryptos saw losses, with $AVAX and $ATOM down more than 9% and 6% respectively.

2. Mastercard Collaborates with Binance to Enable Crypto Payments for Its Customers

Cryptosaurus Networks – August 25, 2022

Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach announced that the largest payment services company is teaming up with Binance, the biggest crypto exchange by volume, to enable users to use their digital assets to make payments at acceptable Mastercard stores. 

“We can unlock the full potential of blockchain technology when we make it simple and easy to use. One way that we are bringing crypto to everyday purchases.” – Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard

This statement follows Mastercard and Binance’s first initiative to launch a Binance Card in Argentina. With this, Binance users will be able to purchase goods and services and pay bills utilizing Bitcoin ($BTC) or Binance Coin ($BNB), with the opportunity to earn up to 8% in crypto cashback on eligible purchases and withdraw cash from ATMs with zero fees. With this new service, Argentina has become the first place to test and estimate this new payment method’s efficacy. 

To utilize the service, Binance users in the country must complete identity verification and have a national ID to be eligible. 

3. Samsung Focuses on Future Plans to Launch Crypto Exchange in Korea Next Year

CryptoPotato – Augusts 22, 2022 at 7:50am EST

Samsung’s investment arm Samsung Securities has reportedly begun shifting its focus toward the launch of its own digital asset exchange by 2023. 

In recent years, domestic financial regulators in South Korea, namely the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), have imposed strict requirements in an effort to stem increasing money laundering schemes, especially those that utilize web3-native platforms to facilitate their operations. Around seven notable securities companies have asked permission to establish their cryptocurrency exchanges in the first quarter of 2023.

According to a local media source, these securities companies in particular have recently begun to collaborate with domestic monetary watchdogs in order to more efficiently align with regulations and obtain a license for their crypto exchange. 

Samsung Securities, in particular, intends to enter the blockchain-based security token business, unlike its counterpart Mirae Asset Securities, which intends to incorporate NFT investments through its subsidiary Mirae Asset Consulting. 

Last year, Samsung attempted to establish an exchange but failed to organize a team capable of getting the service off the ground. Recently, however, Samsung has been making other strides to keep pace with the quickly evolving industry.

In the early of this month, Samsung Securities teamed up with the biggest exchange in Korea, Bithumd. Samsung was also the first organization that has launched a global blockchain exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Asia. And in May, it partnered with Nifty Gateway to bring NFT technology to its Smart TVs. 

4. Gamefi Investors Account for Most Affected Sector According to ChainPlay Report

ChainPlay

The catchphrase for the crypto industry this year was play-to-earn. This powerful concept of combining one of life’s most pleasurable activities – playing video games – with the ability to earn money, known throughout the industry as GameFi, successfully served as a bridge to onboard more users into the crypto landscape. According to the report, the play-to-earn sector accounted for 75% of all crypto investors worldwide.

However, beneath that accomplishment, GameFi is currently the pain-point of many said investors, with 89% of them reporting that the investment profits have been decreasing for the last six months. Furthermore, 62% of the investors have lost more than half of their portfolios. 

The survey also revealed that 51% of GameFi investors are more focused on the earning aspect of the game. Nonetheless, most respondents (81%) expressed that they would prioritize the “fun” element of the game over earning capacities for future GameFi projects.