News updates July 30, 2022
1. BTC on-Chain Analysis: Long-Term Holders Experience Capitulation. Share Article
IN BRIEF
The LTH SOPR moving averages indicate that Bitcoin has been in a bear market for 400 days.
Long-term holders are in a process of capitulation.
Short-term holders are breakeven at $28,000.
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In today’s on-chain analysis, BeInCrypto looks at several indicators for long- and short-term Bitcoin holders to determine the health of the current cryptocurrency market. The capitulation of two types of BTC
holders means that the market is severely cooled, and the bottom may have already been reached.
BTC holders are divided into two groups, separated by a somewhat arbitrary 155-day threshold. Users who hold their coins for more than 155 days are referred to as long-term holders (LTH). In
contrast, users who hold their coins for less than 155 days are short-term holders (STH).
The cryptocurrency market tends to reward those participants who are able to hold their assets for the long term. The history of the BTC price shows that an effective method of avoiding high local volatility is the HODL strategy. It involves buying and holding your cryptocurrencies for the long term, regardless of their current price.
Although long-term holders tend to be in better shape than short-term holders, there are market conditions in which their coins are also in little profit or experiencing a loss. This is well illustrated by a chart published in a recent report from Glassnode, which juxtaposes the monthly and annual SOPR for LTH.
Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) is calculated by dividing the realized value (in USD) by the value at creation (USD) of the spent output. In other words, it is a simple ratio between the selling price and the purchase price of coins.
It is worth noting that the current bear market has been going on – according to the chart above – since June 2021. So, the all-time high of $69,000 in November 2021 was reached during the bear market – taking into account the relationship of the LTH SOPR indicators.
Moreover, the red period has already lasted for almost 400 days, which is close to the 2018-2019 bear market. In addition, the depth of the decline in the LTH SOPR 30-day moving average (red) is getting closer and closer to the January 2019 lows. The chart has also already fallen well below the March-April 2020 lows.
2. Bitcoin price eyes $24K July close as sentiment exits 'fear' zone
The relatively good times could continue next month, one prediction says after July manages to reverse the worst of the 2022 crypto downturn.
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped volatility on the last weekend of July as the monthly close drew near.
*200-week moving average in focus for July close*
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD retaining $24,000 as resistance into July 30.
The pair had benefitted from macro tailwinds across risk assets in the second half of the week, these including a flush finish for United States equities. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index gained 4.1% and 4.6% over the week, respectively.
With off-speak trading apt to spark volatile conditions into weekly and monthly closes thanks to thinner liquidity, however, analysts warned that anything could happen between now and July 31.
“Just gonna sit back and watch the market up until the weekly close like always,” Josh Rager summarized.
Others focused on the significance of current spot price levels, which lay above the key 200-week moving average (MA) at $22,800. Finishing the week above that trendline would be a first for Bitcoin since June.
3. Voyager Digital’s Clash With US Regulators Followed by Broader FDIC Warning
After directing the crypto-lending platform to cease and desist claims that its customers were shielded by deposit insurance, the agency is now telling everybody else what not to do
The day after demanding Voyager Digital erase its claims that customers’ funds would get government protections, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has issued a broader warning to bankers that they need to keep their crypto partners in line.
The agency, which maintains an insurance fund to pay back depositors if their banks fail, doesn’t extend that protection to failing cryptocurrency firms that use those banks, according to an FDIC letter to banks posted Friday.
“FDIC insurance does not protect a nonbank’s customers against the default, insolvency, or bankruptcy of any nonbank entity, including crypto custodians, exchanges, brokers, wallet providers or other entities that appear to mimic banks but are not,” the agency instructed.
The FDIC guidance added that if a bank’s crypto partner “makes misrepresentations about the nature and scope of deposit insurance,” there could be legal risks for that regulated lender.
The FDIC and Federal Reserve sent a letter to Voyager CEO Stephen Ehrlich this week that accused the crypto lender of misleading customers about the protections on their assets by implying that they’d be covered by deposit insurance in the event of Voyager’s collapse. The letter, however, came late for Voyager customers now struggling to get their money back as the company makes its way through bankruptcy court.
In their dealings with crypto companies, insured banks should confirm and monitor that these companies do not misrepresent the availability of deposit insurance in order to measure and control risks to the bank, and should take appropriate action to address such misrepresentations,” the agency said.
4. Chips bill provides for blockchain specialist position in White House science office
The $280 billion bill, which aids the semiconductor industry, also incorporated Representative Darren Soto’s bill to create a position to advise the president on blockchain.
The United States House of Representatives passed the Chips and Science Act on Thursday by a vote of 243 to 187. The bill, which was introduced into the Senate over a year ago, provides grants and incentives to the semiconductor industry and encourages research. It also creates a blockchain and cryptocurrency specialist position in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
The bill passed the Senate on Wednesday. It has an overall price tag of $280 billion, which includes $52 billion in grants and incentives for U.S. semiconductor manufacturers who face fierce competition from China, and $170 billion in incentives for research. It is expected to contribute to the easing of supply chain issues in the industry as well.
*Scaramucci sees bright future for crypto but ‘very worried’ about US politicians*
Soto has a long record of crypto advocacy. He was a co-sponsor with Republican Tom Emmer of the 2020 bill to exclude small purchases made with crypto from the capital gains tax. He and Emmer were also among the co-sponsors of the reintroduced Digital Commodity Exchange Act in April 2022. The OSTP was given a role in several of the initiatives mandated by President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.
5. Regulation of Cryptocurrency in South Africa Should Not Scare Away Investors Experts Say
Two experts have said they welcome South Africa’s planned regulation of cryptocurrency but warned this should not scare away investors. If the regulation is balanced between the need to protect investors and stimulating interest in crypto investment, this “could see funds stream into South Africa while growing the country’s burgeoning crypto ecosystem.”
*Crypto as a Financial Product*
For his part, Rodrigues said regulation of the crypto industry is something that Revix not only welcomes but also takes seriously.
“Crypto is global and highly fluid, tending to flow into markets where regulations are welcoming, and just as easily out of those that are not,” the CFO said.
Therefore, South African regulators including the SARB are urged to be wary of pursuing policies that protect investors and overburden them at the same time. According to the two experts’ joint statement, when regulation is balanced, this “could see funds stream into South Africa while growing the country’s burgeoning crypto ecosystem.”
Meanwhile, Rodrigues pointed to the issue of crypto ownership and custody as one important factor that South African regulators also need to consider. He called for the external independent verification of crypto service providers’ claims relating to the quantity and security of clients’ assets.
Lobban suggested that the SARB needs to engage in public and other stakeholders “to ensure the policies it develops are informed by the interests of all parties who will be affected by them.”
6. Positivity blazing through a bear market: Blockchain Economy Istanbul 2022
The Blockchain Economy Istanbul 2022 summit made one thing clear: The positivity of the crypto ecosystem remains unfazed by the turbulent market shakeouts.
Held at Hilton Bomonti, a fancy hotel next to a renovated and repurposed beer factory in Istanbul, the fourth iteration of the Blockchain Economy Summit 2022 (BE2022) proved to be a significant step-up compared to its pre-pandemic predecessors.
The previous summit, BE2020, was held at the WOW Convention Center two years back. In addition to being situated in a harder-to-reach part of Istanbul, the summit coincided with the COVID-19 outbreak, further impacting the overall attendance. Since the sole purpose of that venue was organizing large-scale events, the crypto community from two years prior was just not big enough to fill the space. As a direct result of the aforementioned factors, the BE2020 felt like a two-day trip to a ghost town.
Attendees of Blockchain Economy Istanbul 2022 described the summit as dense, vivid and full of energy, drawing a stark contrast to the BE2020 in almost every aspect. It was also the first international crypto and blockchain event held in the region ever since Turkey revoked travel ban restrictions. As a result, the crypto community members — from Western and Eastern countries — could join in on the celebration.
The event roster had a good balance between the local companies and global crypto players. While big shots like Binance, Huobi or FTX were visibly absent from the event, logos of major companies like KuCoin, Gate.io, Bitget, Bitmex and Uphold were filling the main hall. Despite its recent troubles, Gari Network donned the main sponsor badge for the whole event.
For two days, the main hall never saw a dull moment: People were there mainly for networking purposes after two years filled with lockdowns and travel bans —and it’s hard to say they missed much by not attending sessions at the main conference stage.
Considering everything that transpired during the event, the Blockchain Economy Istanbul 2022 summit solidified that no matter the market conditions, the crypto ecosystem is ready to invest time, money and energy to stay positive.
7. Crypto Insider Stuck in Saudi Arabia Over North Korean Conference
* Emms has been in legal limbo in Saudi Arabia for the past five months, awaiting potential extradition to the US
* UK parliament member Crispin Blunt is now petitioning the Foreign Office to intervene
Cryptocurrency insider Christopher Emms, who presented at North Korea’s infamous blockchain “conference,” is fighting what he calls his wrongful detention in Saudi Arabia over the past six months at the hands of the US government.
In February, Emms was arrested in Riyadh’s airport following an Interpol Red Notice issued by the US.
Emms, a 30-year-old British citizen who’d been living in and working for Roger Ver’s Bitcoin.com out of Dubai, had been invited to the capital by the Saudi government to attend its One Giant Leap technology conference. He was apprehended on his way back to the United Arab Emirates.
The Feds allege Emms breached sanctions on North Korea when he traveled to the country in 2019 alongside US citizen Virgil Griffith — the Ethereum programmer recently sentenced to five years’ prison for presenting at the same conference.
US authorities had 45 days from Emms’ arrest to provide evidence of his alleged crimes — only applicable to US citizens, which Emms is not — to support his extradition.
Nothing has been lodged some 150 days later, leaving Emms stranded after posting bail following a one-day stint in a Saudi jail.
In a video interview with Blockworks, Emms said he’s now forced to hop between hotels at his own expense, as he’s ineligible for residency. The US froze his bank accounts and crypto exchange accounts.
*Christopher Emms denies being Pyongyang’s blockchain mastermind*
According to the FBI, which features Emms on its Most Wanted list, Emms planned and organized Pyongyang’s one-day blockchain conference, and allegedly recruited an American crypto expert to join him, arranging his travel to North Korea in violation of US sanctions.
While the crypto expert Emms allegedly recruited wasn’t named, it seems the FBI is referring to Griffith. Feds say Emms answered specific questions about blockchain technology and even proposed plans for smart contracts to serve Pyongyang’s interests, mapping out crypto transactions designed to evade US sanctions.
US authorities, alongside the United Nations, have suggested that Pyongyang funds its nuclear missile programs by Bitcoin-fueled ransomware attacks and cryptocurrency exchange thefts, the fruits of which have amounted to more than $1.3 billion.
8. Expert Reveals Recession-Proof Assets, Here’s The Comprehensive List.
Peter Berezin, the Chief Global Strategist of BCA Research, revealed the recession-proof assets that he believes can protect investors during a period of economic downturn. Berezin is a major crypto critic, who has called Bitcoin a complete fraud and believes that the cryptocurrency does not have any use cases.
According to Berezin, consumer staples and healthcare are good stocks to invest in to protect oneself during the economic downturn. Berezin believes that products that are important for customers to buy will perform reasonably well against those products which are discretionary.
Berezin’s View Of Recession
According to Berezin, the US is most likely not in a recession. According to him, the U.S. is in a recession only when the National Bureau Of Economic Research announces that to be the case.
Ever since the GDP of the second financial quarter has revealed consecutive quarters of negative growth, there is widespread debates over whether the US is in a recession. According to the White House and Fed chair Jerome Powell, the rest of the economy is doing much too well to be in a recession. On the flip side, many have accused them of changing the definition to fit their narratives.
Berezin’s view is much more aligned with the White House and believes that the strength of the labor market and unemployment numbers point to an economy that is not in a recession. Therefore, the need of recession-proof assets might not be required.
9. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to Build Metaverse Campus
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has announced plans to build an online-based metaverse campus called Metahkust. The institution will take its first step toward this goal by building a mixed virtual reality classroom that will allow students from other latitudes to attend classes like they were in the same space. The virtual classroom will host the launch of the new Guangzhou campus.
*The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Bets on the Metaverse*
Institutions are finding more functions and applications for metaverse spaces, and they are slowly integrating these technologies into their everyday processes. The Hong Kong university announced its plan to create a joint metaverse that will integrate both of its campus locations as if they were one. Called Metahkust, the application will allow students of the institution in different latitudes to attend classes and events as if they were in the same venue.
The first event in which this metaverse-based system will be tested is the opening of the Guangzhou campus that the university will host the next September. Pan Hui, professor of computational media and arts at the Guangzhou campus, stated:
The institution explained the benefits that metaverse-based classrooms and campuses can offer when compared to a more traditional remote classroom setup, that consists of using video conference tools like Zoom. Hui stated that metaverse environments offer more interaction for students, that can feel as if they were attending lessons in the real world. He explained:
Furthermore, Hu stated this new focus would promote a sense of “unity and participation” that would otherwise be impossible to achieve due to geographical constraints. To achieve this united virtual campus, the university will install a series of sensors and cameras to feed information to the metaverse system.
Recently, the University of Tokyo also announced the integration of metaverse tech into its learning processes. The institution reported it will start offering introductory engineering lessons in the metaverse later this year.
