One week in review:
Aug. 15–21 We've selected the hottest materials of the past week for you to stay up to date with the latest crypto news: | | #1. Coinbase amasses a $4B war chest so it can outlast 'crypto winter' | | | Coinbase, the top U.S. crypto exchange, has amassed a cash-based war chest worth $4 billion on the back of two very productive quarters for the firm. | | | It reportedly expected to use the cash to cover costs incurred by a variety of factors, including conforming to new regulations handed down by the United States legislature. | | | Coinbase has also announced its official launch in Japan in partnership with banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, while also revealing plans to add $500 million worth of crypto to its balance sheet and invest 10% of all generated profits into digital assets moving forward. | | #2. Walmart seeks crypto product lead to drive digital currency strategy | | | On Aug. 16, it was reported that U.S. retail giant Walmart was seeking out an experienced crypto expert who can develop and drive a digital currency strategy and product roadmap for the firm. | | | According to the job listing, Walmart is looking for someone with a track record of leading and scaling businesses. They also want at least 10 years of experience in product/program management and tech-based product commercialization. | | | Ideally, they should also know a thing or two about crypto, blockchain tech and why JPEG's of poorly drawn pet rocks are selling for absurd prices on Ethereum. | | | Walmart's future digital currency and crypto product lead will be based in the company's home office in Bentonville, Arkansas. The state has produced talents such as Billy Bob Thornton and Johnny Cash, along with Bill and Hillary Clinton. | | #3. Team officially reestablishes Dogecoin Foundation after 6 years | | | There was good news for Doge fanatics this week as the Dogecoin Foundation resurfaced after several years of total media silence. | | | According to an announcement on Tuesday, the foundation stated it was reestablishing itself in a bid to support the fiery-eyed Dogecoin (DOGE) community. The foundation also said it would be announcing new projects that are centered on encouraging adoption of and promoting the utility of DOGE. | | | The project's website lists Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Dogecoin co-founder Billy Markus and Dogecoin Core developer Max Keller as advisory board members. Furthermore, Tesla CEO and DOGE proponent Elon Musk's interests may be catered to from the shadows via Neuralink CEO Jared Birchall. | | | It is yet to be revealed if Musk's "toddler hodler" son has loaded up on DOGE in light of the announcement. | | #4. Prediction of the week. Ethereum 'liquidity crisis' could see new ETH all-time high before Bitcoin — Analyst | | | Bitcoin, the crypto industry's largest asset by market cap, and Ethereum (ETH), the second largest asset, have both posted notable price recoveries over the past several weeks. Although BTC has yet to be surpassed as the crypto industry's top dog, ETH might tap its own all-time price high near $4,400 sooner than BTC reaches its record level of nearly $65,000, according to thoughts from CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju on Twitter this week. | | | "$ETH might reach its all-time high earlier than $BTC in the long term," Ju tweeted on Wednesday. "Current $ETH price is closer to ATH compared to $BTC. Higher demand, lower supply. $ETH sell-side liquidity crisis still intensifies, while $BTC exchange reserve stopped its downward trend in May." | | | On Friday, BTC fluctuated above the $48,000 mark, and ETH traded above $3,200 — which, however, are both still notably shy of their record highs. | | #5. FUD of the week. JPMorgan Chase reportedly shuts down bank accounts of Bitcoin mining firm | | | On Aug. 19, U.S. banking behemoth JPMorgan Chase reportedly blocked all account activities of Bitcoin mining firm Compass Mining. | | | The Delaware-based firm was absolutely thrilled with JPMorgan, and Compass CEO Whit Gibbs took to Twitter to share the gospel, tweeting: | | | "Shoutout to @Chase for shutting down @compass_mining accounts for doing our part to replace the old guard with self-sovereign, future-focused supporters of hard money. Get behind #Bitcoin or get out of our way." | | | It is unclear if the temper tantrum will be enough to sway JPMorgan Chase to change its mind, and it is also unclear how shutting down banking services to one Bitcoin mining firm represents an attack on BTC in any way. | | | If anything, the banking giant has been upping its exposure to Bitcoin and the crypto sector in 2021. | | #6. FUD of the week. Liquid exchange hacked to the tune of $80 million | | | Liquid, a Japanese crypto exchange, was the victim of a $80 million-plus hack this week which made the platform not so… liquid. | | | Cointelegraph reported on the news quickly after the exchange first announced the news, estimating an $80 million loss of digital assets including BTC, Tron (TRX), Ripple (XRP) and Ether. | | | The exchange stated that only its warm wallets were affected and added that its assets were being moved into cold storage for security purposes. | | | The platform has since provided an update and revealed the hack totalled in at $91.35 million. The firm has urged users to not deposit any crypto assets in Liquid wallets until further notice. | | | Feel free to explore the most important news with Hodler's Digest: | | | |
