11/26 FAL Weekly Digest
Welcome to the FAL Weekly Digest, a source for this week’s biggest news articles and crypto market updates.
Here is what you need to know:
COVID-19 resurgences across the world have shaken financial markets as many fear the effects of renewed lock-downs and travel bans on the global economy.
COVID Worries Spook Global Markets
Financial markets are in an uproar today as reports of a new coronavirus variant circulate through media circles. The new mutation found in Botswana, Israel, South Africa, and Hong Kong has provoked fears of lock-down restrictions that could have detrimental effects on the global economy. Investors seem to be moving towards risk-off hedges such as treasury bonds and gold, which have seen sizeable valuation increases today compared to the S&P 500 and the greater cryptocurrency market which has suffered losses.
Potential lock-downs would only serve to worsen the supply chain issues that contribute to the heightened levels of inflation currently observed. The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) has reached a 30 year high, indicating the price of food, gas, and other goods continues to rise over time. Further CPI increases could also prompt the U.S. Federal Reserve to slow their asset purchase program sharply in an effort to combat inflation more aggressively.
Market Analysis- Bitcoin
The overall cryptocurrency market capitalization is about $2.46 trillion USD, a 5.38% decrease from last week’s valuation of $2.60 trillion. At the time of publication, Bitcoin ($BTC) is valued at $54,455 per Bitcoin with a market capitalization of $1.03 trillion making up 41.7% of the overall market.
Bitcoin has endured another week of volatility and general movement to the downside as it hit recent lows of $53,500 on Friday. Concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and potential for global lock-downs have greatly impacted financial sectors across the world and crypto is no exception. While the immediate downtrend may act as a cause for concern amongst investors, the general uptrend established since July has not been invalidated so far. For a more in-depth technical analysis, please see our article found here.
Senate Banking Committee Investigates Stablecoin Issuers
The United States Senate Banking Committee (SBC) has sent several requests to various stablecoin issuers on Tuesday for information regarding how their business operations are conducted. The stablecoin companies in question are Circle (USDC), Gemini (GUSD), Paxos (USDP), Trust (TUSD), Binance (BUSD), and Tether (USDT).
The letters sent out request information on the purchasing, exchanging, and minting of stablecoins as well as figures regarding the circulating supply and transaction frequency of each coin. While the requests for information may seem unfavorable at first glance, federal regulation of the overall stablecoin market is a major step forward in the process of adoption by traditional financial systems such as banks. For more information regarding the specifics of the Senate inquiry, see our article found here.
Jack Dorsey Unveils Decentralized Exchange “tbDEX”
CEO of Square and Twitter Jack Dorsey has announced the release of a white paper detailing Square’s future decentralized Bitcoin exchange “tbDEX.” Taking a new approach to decentralized exchanges (DEXes), tbDEX will not implement a trustless model that is often found in popular protocols in the space. The exchange will not have its own governance token unlike Uniswap ($UNI), but will function as a “messaging protocol with the ability to form distributed trust relationships as a core design facet.”
Participants will have to comply with mandatory background checks commonly referred to as “know your customer” checks (KYC), a departure from the anonymous trading commonly found on DEXes. While some criticize the ability for authorities to cross-reference addresses with KYC information to reveal identities and account balances, others claim it is necessary to prevent illicit activities. One of the redeeming aspects of Square’s “centralized” DEX approach is the ability for Square to reverse transactions on tbDEX to prevent DeFi rug pulls and scams. For more information, see our full article found here.
Dapper Labs Announces Football Version of NBA Top Shot
Dapper Labs, the company behind the popular NBA Top Shot NFT series, has followed up on its announcement of a football version of the collection now called “NFL All Day.” NFL All Day will function similarly to the NBA Top Shots, where each NFT in the series is a collectible version of “moments” made from official video highlights of top league plays.
The first NFL All Day NFT’s will feature popular players such as Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and Seattle Seahawks receiver D.K. Metcalf. “All Day” will run on the Flow blockchain alongside the Top Shot collection, and will first debut as part of a closed beta test before opening up to the general public. For more information, see our full article found here.
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