Digital Universe

​​A look at the Shiba Inu ecosystem post Shibarium relaunch Shibarium is growing steadily Since the launch, there have been multiple misconceptions related to Layer 2, and the most prominent one was that it was down. However, the reality was that it was the block explorer that was down and not the network itself. As reported earlier, this was because Shibarium uses an open-source version of Blockscout and doesn’t use massive servers for it. Shiba Inu continues to disappoint investors Though most expected SHIB’s price to surge after the Shibarium launch, the opposite turned out to be true. The memecoin has been witnessing multiple price corrections over the past few weeks. According to CoinMarketCap, SHIB was down by more than 3% in the last seven days. At press time, it was trading at $0.000008125 with a market capitalization of over $4.7 billion. LEASH is stealing the spotlight While all eyes were on SHIB and Bone ShibaSwap BONE, the ecosystem’s third token, Doge Killer LEASH, was silently stalking the cake. The memecoin’s price registered a promising uptick of more than 7% over the last week.

​​What next as Dogecoin bulls attempt recovery Dogecoin saw positive news on-chain recently. A report highlighted the growing number of active users but the market sentiment was firmly bearish after Bitcoin fell to $25.1k. The higher timeframe bias has been bearish in August. The $0.06 saw a positive reaction from buyers over the weekend On the 1-day chart, a bullish order block was seen at the $0.06 area (cyan). This was previously tested as a support zone on 30 June. Dogecoin was able to establish a rally in July that climbed as high as $0.0834 before the momentum began to shift bearish. Dogecoin futures markets had muted participants and signaled sellers had the advantage Dogecoin prices bounced close to 6% since 18 August, but the Open Interest stayed resolutely flat. This was a strong indication that sentiment was bearish as it highlighted the lack of bids from speculators.

​​Here’s what ChatGPT told me about Cardano’s performance post the Mithril launch Taking ChatGPT’s help in devising a basic intra-day strategy One can come up with an endless array of strategies to trade on various timeframes using a combination of TradingView indicators. The only limitation is the user’s imagination and familiarity with indicators. ChatGPT predicts the price movement of ADA The bot refuses to venture into the business of predicting crypto prices in future years, even as a fun pursuit. To test the capabilities of the bot, I used a jailbreak method a Reddit user posted in the recent past. Using this, we asked ChatGPT what it thought the price of Cardano would be by the end of 2023. What separates a good trader from a bad one? It is possible to go on and on taking different indicators together, altering and tweaking their input values, and backtesting their signals. However, we shall move towards risk management. Risk management is what separates a trader from a gambler. It also helps undercut the emotions a trader might feel during a trade.

​​Coinbase Layer 2 Base Mainnet Launch Date Announced Coinbase, the largest publicly traded crypto exchange based in the US, revealed its plans to open mainnet for the public, starting August 9. Built on the OP stack in partnership with Optimism, Base is a layer-two scaling solution for Ethereum (ETH). “Over the next week, you’ll begin to see Dapps across the on-chain ecosystem turn on Base support and new ones launch,” the exchange said Thursday. Alongside, Coinbase is kicking off a month-long celebration calling it - “Onchain Summer” - where 50 “best builders,” creators and developers can highlight art, music, gaming and advocacy. Some of the mainstream brands enlisted by Coinbase include Coca-Cola, Atari, OpenSea, Pixelmon, and Showtime, which would offer daily mints of on-chain non-fungible tokens (NFTs). “Base is now open for bridging and Base mainnet will open for everyone and everything on August 9,” Base said in a release. “Our goal is to enable anyone, anywhere to safely and easily participate in the on-chain economy.”

​​Biggest Movers: SHIB Stays Close to Recent 2-Month High on Monday Shiba inu remained close to a two-month high to start the week, as sentiment in the meme coin remained mostly bullish on Monday. This comes despite the global cryptocurrency market cap mostly consolidating in today’s session. Bitcoin cash was another notable exception, as the price rose by over 4%. Shiba inu (SHIB) was close to a two-month high on Monday, as momentum in the meme coin remained bullish. Following a low of $0.000008171 on Sunday, SHIB/USD jumped to an intraday high of $0.000008688 earlier today. This has pushed SHIB close to its highest point since May 29, when price peaked at $0.000008888. Monday’s move came as the relative strength index (RSI) bounced from a recent support point at the 60.00 mark. Another notable gainer on Monday was bitcoin cash (BCH), which rose by as much as 4% to start the week. BCH/USD peaked at $258.30 earlier in today’s session, following on from Sunday’s low at $243.34. The move saw the cryptocurrency continue to trade near yesterday’s two-week high at the $266.29 point. Earlier gains have since slipped however, as price strength collided with a resistance level at 56.00. Currently the RSI is at a reading of 53.23, and appears to be heading for a floor around the 50.00 zone. A destination of $240.00 may be the target for bears should this decline continue.

​​Argentina Raises Electricity Tariffs for Crypto Miners Crypto miners in Argentina are set for a rise in energy costs, after the Ministry of Economy published a revised list of electricity rates. Per Livecoins, the Ministry has set miners a new rate of 17,240 Argentine pesos (around $63.30 at the time of writing) per megawatt-hour (MWh), the highest band on the ministry’s scale. By contrast, residential energy costs are heavily subsidized, with households entitled to enjoy subsidies of up to 70%. Residential rates start at just under $11.30 per MWh. The rate rise puts crypto mining in the same energy price bracket as heavy industries, and above the levels paid by commercial enterprises. The revised rates come into force on August 1, and will run until October 31, 2023, when they could be changed again. Differentiated electricity rates for crypto miners are a relatively new phenomenon in Argentina. But their onset has cause upheaval: Miners have been struggling with spiraling energy costs for over a year. In early 2022, the ministry announced that it was removing miners’ access to subsidized electricity, a move that sent the price of 1 MWh worth of power up from just under $17 to almost $48 for miners.

​​Crypto’s Early Innovator Turns Advocate for Compliance: The Charlie Shrem Saga Charlie Shrem – founder of the fallen Bitcoin (BTC) exchange Bitshrem – has pivoted to being a voice for regulatory compliance after being jailed for crypto violations eight years ago. The exchange co-founder is now a general partner at Druid Ventures, an early-stage crypto VC firm providing growth and strategic advisory services. “There’s a whole bunch of people out there wrestling with the crypto compliance beast, trying to figure it all out with their lawyers,” Shrem told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). “That’s where I come in, helping them get their ducks in a row.” Having founded Bitshrem in 2011, the early Bitcoin investor’s company surged in trading volume in 2013 as Bitcoin’s price rallied from roughly $100 to over $1000 by year-end. It then received a $1.5 million investment from Winklevoss Capital to help scale operations. However, the ex-CEO found himself jailed in 2015 on charges of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and for allegedly attempting to launder over $1 million through the defunct darknet marketplace Silk Road. He spent two years behind bars.

​​Defying SEC: Solana, Cardano, and Polygon Disagree with 'Security' Label In an ongoing battle against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Solana, Cardano, and Polygon have united forces to challenge the classification of their cryptocurrencies as securities. This comes as lawsuits unfold against major exchanges Binance and Coinbase, these prominent projects are pushing back, seeking regulatory clarity that fosters innovation while safeguarding consumer interests. Our token is non-security, and we urge regulators to collaborate for clear regulations that strike a balance between innovation and consumer protection, stated a spokesperson from the Solana Foundation. Defying the SEC's assertions, Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC), and Cardano (ADA) have boldly challenged the recent classification of their cryptocurrencies as securities. The SEC included these tokens, among others, as examples of allegedly non-compliant assets traded on major crypto exchanges, leading to lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase. Notably, their prices have recorded stark drops.

​​The U.S. Justice Department Awaits Bahamas Response Regarding New Charges Against Sam Bankman-Fried The charges that could be dropped include those related to bank fraud, operating an unlicensed money transmitting service, and a case of bribery of a Chinese official, court documents filed on Monday shows. The reason given for why some charges could be dropped if Bahamas objects to them is that they could violate the terms of Bankman-Fried’s extradition since they were not included in the original indictment that served as the legal basis for Bankman-Fried’s extradition to the US. The former FTX boss was arrested in the Bahamas in December of 2022, and shortly after extradited to the United States under a special agreement between the two countries. According to the agreement, individuals who are extradited can only be tried and punished for crimes that the extraditing country – in this case the Bahamas – has agreed to. For the time being, US federal prosecutors are still waiting to hear from Bahamian authorities on whether they can get a waiver from the rule in order to try Bankman-Fried on the charges that have been brought into the case after his extradition.

​​BlockFi used customer money to buy $30M insurance, creditors claim😲 Disgruntled creditors of the bankrupt cryptocurrency lending firm BlockFi have submitted a new court filing in response to the company’s latest restructuring plan. 👉On May 12, BlockFi outlined its Chapter 11 reorganization plan in a filing with the United States Bankruptcy Court in Trenton, New Jersey. The firm said that selling BlockFi might not generate enough value for creditors, as it owes nearly $1.3 billion to its top 50 creditors. In response, BlockFi creditors submitted another court filing on May 15, arguing that BlockFi deliberately took measures to delay the trial. 🙊Represented by the law firm Brown Rudnick, BlockFi creditors wrote that BlockFi sold about $240 million worth of crypto before filing for bankruptcy in late November 2022. The creditors emphasized that the crypto lender sold the assets “at the nadir,” referring to a massive market slump following the collapse of FTX. “Liquidating nearly all domestic cryptocurrency in *November 2022* was a very poor decision,” the creditors said, arguing that the decision cost more than *$100 million* in the months since. The creditors also cited “unnecessary and undesired tax consequences,” adding that the sale amount didn’t relate to its bankruptcy. The filing reads:👇👇 🌸“Selling $240 million in cryptocurrency was never rationally related to bankruptcy funding needs, given that no reasonable estimate would peg the costs of this bankruptcy at $240 million.”