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July minutes reveal new potential rate hikes. Will crypto decline again?

The minutes from the Federal Reserves two-day July meeting came out yesterday, August 16. They underscore the central banks growing concerns about persistent inflation. Despite a recent quarter percentage point rate hike, which brought the federal funds rate to its highest level in over 22 years, the inflation battle is seen as ongoing by most FOMC members.

The minutes reveal significant worries about inflation staying above the Committees desired range, with tight labor market conditions further complicating the outlook.

Although some members expressed doubt about the necessity of additional hikes, the consensus leans towards caution, emphasizing the importance of a restrictive monetary policy to steer inflation back to the 2% target.

While the future direction remains uncertain, with indications that inflation pressures might be easing, the minutes highlight a collective sentiment of vigilance, suggesting a heightened likelihood that the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates again in the near future if current conditions persist.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin and Ethereum have slipped from their sideways range in a single percentage decrease of around 3%. Has there been a correlation between the negative sentiment toward the future economic outlook with this decrease in the cryptocurrency market?

The Fed minutes were released on the official website at 2:00 p.m. EDT yesterday.

Although the news outlets started reporting soon after due to writing and publishing, the news lagged a bit behind until it caught on. Nevertheless, BTC and ETH prices have already been in a slight downtrend, which only propelled it further.

At the exact time of the Fed minutes release, the price of BTC and ETH started falling with higher momentum and picked up the pace overnight. The price of Bitcoin was trading at $29,195 and fell to $28,300 at its daily low. Ethereum fell from $1827 to its daily low of $1,777, which is a decrease of 2.69%.

As seen on the chart above, there is a direct correlation between this news release and the price decline. This is because all markets are currently sensitive to the overall economic sentiment, and crypto is still viewed as the riskiest asset class in particular.

The next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting will be held on September 19 20, 2023. The consensus among financial analysts and other experts on the matter is mixed.

Some expect that the monetary policy-making body of the Federal Reserve System will most likely make another interest rate hike by another 25-basis-point to moderate inflation to the targeted 2%.

Others say that it might pause for now as it did in June and evaluate the situation as it fears the economy will get too tight and limit consumer spending.

Federal Reserve is the most important entity in the global economy since its decisions can impact the value of the US dollar, which is still the global reserve currency. This is why investors and traders all across the world are following their announcements.

What the Fed does next still remains unclear, but considering that it only made a small blow to inflation and definitely not a win, further action will be required, thus we would be primarily expecting an increase in interest rates.

With the cryptocurrency market standing on shaky legs since April, this might be a catalyst for a larger decline.

Disclaimer

Please note that the contents of this article are not financial or investing advice. The information provided in this article is the authors opinion only and should not be considered as offering trading or investing recommendations. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. The cryptocurrency market suffers from high volatility and occasional arbitrary movements. Any investor, trader, or regular crypto users should research multiple viewpoints and be familiar with all local regulations before committing to an investment.

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Fed July Records Hint At More Rate Hikes While Bitcoin and ... - CCN.com

Episode 16 of Hashing It Out explores one of the most popular cryptocurrency use cases: payments. Mark Smargon, CEO of Fuse, joins host Elisha Owusu Akyaw to discuss various Web3 payment solutions and how Fuse contributes to businesses adoption of cryptocurrency payments.

Smargon explained that the payment networks strategy involves looking beyond investments to focus on everyday use cases like payments, which will likely bring more sustainable adoption. Despite the goal, Smargon recounted the difficulty in convincing people and investors that businesses would adopt blockchain payments when starting Fuse in 2019.

Smargon further explained that Fuse is not competing with Ethereum but with Visa and Stripe, and that its intended to be the main payment layer for global transactions. On whether the battle of adoption will be won by a few blockchain networks, Smargon mentioned that Fuse has never held a maximalist mindset:

Smargon believes that Web3 payments have come a long way in the last two years as things like nonfungible tokens and digital collectibles have become more popular. Whats more, the increase in freelancers from developing markets who are paid in cryptocurrency and the use of cryptocurrencies for cross-border payments have been among other catalysts spearheading Web3 payment adoption.

Related:Should we ban ransomware payments? Its an attractive but dangerous idea

Owusu Akyaw asked about the impact of regulations on Web3 payments and adoption in the future. Smargon called it a rollercoaster ride, due to the unstable nature of regulations across the globe. He also added that blockchain technology may need to evolve by adding new features and taking away some existing features to fit regulations and create a better connection with traditional finance.

Listen to the latest episode of Hashing It Out withFuse CEO Smargon on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcastsor TuneIn. You can also explore Cointelegraphs complete catalog of informative podcasts on the Cointelegraph Podcasts page.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

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Fuse CEO Mark Smargon says blockchain payments apps will rival ... - Cointelegraph

This week marked the introduction of Shibarium, Shiba Inus layer-2 project. However, the launch did not unfold as expected. A minor technical issue stemming from heightened traffic, coupled with the prevailing market sentiment, resulted in a downward trajectory for SHIBs value.

Nevertheless, despite these challenges, numerous individuals within the market maintained an optimistic outlook and continued to place their confidence in the aspiration of reaching the one-cent milestone. Among those with a positive stance is Del Crxpto, a crypto analyst. In a recent tweet, the analyst directed attention toward the possibilities presented by Shibarium. This financial expert noted how the layer-2 solution has the potential to enhance SHIBs value, further aiding the vision of pushing the price to $0.01.

Many predicted that the launch of Shibarium would usher in a positive trend for Shiba Inu. Although the projection of hitting 1 cent might seem ambitious, an increase in value was widely expected. Nonetheless, the journey uphill is expected to be smoother due to the projected effects of Shibarium. This is because it is predicted to mitigate transaction fees and ease congestion problems. According to the analyst, this development is poised to shift trading volume from Ethereum to Shibarium.

Also Read: Shiba Inu Seeks Aid From Powerful Frens Post Shibarium Glitch

At press time, SHIB was trading at $0.000008469, reflecting a daily decrease of 4.66%. Since the introduction of Shibarium, the asset has experienced a decline of 15.56%. Given its present value, SHIB would require a remarkable surge of about 117,695,803.23% to attain a value of 1 cent.

The recent decline in price resulted in significant losses for those holding SHIB tokens. Presently, around 76% of the meme coins investors were facing a dip in their investments, while merely 13% were seen to be making gains.

Also Read: Shiba Inu: SHIB Expected To Rise 45%, Predicts Analyst

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Shiba Inu Can Still Hit $0.01 as Shibarium Breaks Away From ... - Watcher Guru

Yesterday, the CME Group officially announced that it will launch benchmark rates for Bitcoin and Ethereum for the APAC region, or Asia-Pacific, in September.

CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) is the worlds leading derivatives exchange, and CME Group is the company that owns and operates this exchange.

In December 2017, CME was among the first global exchanges to launch the Bitcoin price futures exchange, and it is still among the leading players in this specific field.

The APAC-specific benchmark rates for BTC and ETH will be launched in collaboration with CF Benchmarks, which is the leading provider of cryptocurrency benchmark indices.

These rates will provide US dollar reference prices of the two major cryptocurrencies for Asian markets once a day, and will be published at 4 PM in Hong Kong and Singapore.

CF Benchmarks is authorized and regulated by the UK FCA, under the EU BMR, and consists of market data from six exchanges.

Its benchmark indices are provided through public methodologies and transparent governance so that monitoring is possible.

CF Benchmarks indices have already been used to settle over $500 billion of cryptocurrency derivative contracts by CME Group and Kraken Futures.

The benchmark rates will not be tradable, and will complement the existing CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate (BRR) and CME CF-Ether Dollar Reference Rate (ETHUSD_RR), which are published at 4 PM London time, and the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate New York (BRRNY) and CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate New York (ETHUSD_NY), which are published at 4 PM New York time.

BRR and ETHUS RR will continue to be used for settlement of all CME Group Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts.

So in addition to the two rates for Europe, and the two for the US, CME will now also provide those for the Asia-Pacific region, which is the most populous in the world and includes China, Japan, India, Singapore, Southeast Asia and Australia.

After the United States, the Asian market is by far the most important market for cryptocurrency.

In fact, not only Japan and South Korea are countries where many crypto assets are traded on exchanges, but to these must be added Singapore, which is one of the most important crypto hubs in Asia.

Theoretically, Dubai is also part of Asia, although the United Arab Emirates (UAE) markets are closer to European markets than to those in the East.

But the real behemoth of the Asian markets is of course China, with Hong Kong also returning to provide crypto services to retail, and China Mainland never really being able to enforce the crypto trading ban.

Indeed, many believe that China Mainland will also be forced to open up to crypto markets again, and this is likely to make Asian markets the preponderant ones, especially if India also opens up to cryptocurrencies for good.

There is no real ban in India, but authorities have been trying to make things difficult for crypto traders for years. Should both the Chinese ban and Indian qualms fall, APACs will easily become the worlds largest crypto market.

CME Groups Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products, Giovanni Vicioso, said:

These new reference rates are designed to meet the ever-evolving needs of global participants in the growing digital asset space. Year-to-date, 37% of total crypto volume at CME Group has been traded during non-U.S. hours, with 11% of trades coming from the APAC region.

As we continue to see more institutional clients use our Bitcoin and Ether futures products in active portfolios or structured products like ETFs, these APAC reference rates will allow market participants to more accurately and precisely hedge cryptocurrency price risk with timing more closely aligned to their portfolios.

CF Benchmarks CEO Sui Chung added:

Crypto adoption continues apace and CF Benchmarks is delighted to facilitate financial institutions in providing regulated financial products to Asian markets with the introduction of APAC variants to our market defining Bitcoin Reference Rate and Ether-Dollar Reference Rate.

As variants these benchmarks will be calculated and administered to the same exacting standards enjoyed by their existing London and New York counterparts, which have done so much to build investor and institutional confidence in crypto financial products.

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CME Group: Bitcoin and Ethereum benchmark rates for Asia - The Cryptonomist

Scorpion Casino Token (SCORP)has emerged as a prominent crypto player, boldly venturing through the complex legal landscape. As regulations tighten and legal challenges intensify, it becomes imperative to assess how cryptos like Scorpion Casino Token tackle these hurdles head-on.

By contrasting its approach with that of Polygon (MATIC) and Ethereum (ETH), we gain valuable insights into the diverse strategies employed by these platforms to address similar challenges.

An internal legal memo has cautioned that Ethereum 2.0 could be deemed an unregistered security, aligning with the stance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The memo, issued by Buffone Law Group to venture capital firm Ayre Ventures, sounds the alarm bells, asserting that Ethereums transition to proof-of-stake and the staking programs associated with Ethereum 2.0 offered by exchanges may violate securities regulations based on the Howey test.

Often hailed as a benchmark for digital assets exempt from securities classification, Ethereums standing has been reinforced by comments made by a former SEC director in 2018. These remarks suggested that Ethereum (ETH) should be categorized as a commodity rather than a security. However, it is crucial to note that the speech explicitly disclaimed represents the official position of the SEC. Despite this caveat, ETH holders have clung to these words as a shield against potential regulatory scrutiny.

When it comes to safeguarding your digital assets, Polygon MATIC stands tall with its cutting-edge security features. At the heart of Polygons robust security architecture lies the Matic PoS chain, a side solution that seamlessly integrates with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). What sets it apart is its formidable structure, fortified to withstand any potential threats. The best part? Its execution doesnt necessitate validators permission or Proof of Stake checkpoints, ensuring a seamless and efficient user experience.

Within the Polygon MATIC network, users have the option to delegate their staked tokens to validators, reaping the rewards of their participation. Becoming a MATIC token holder or simply a delegate opens the door to earning a share of the income. For those who choose not to independently validate, delegating tokens provides an opportunity to partake in the networks rewards without the burden of running validation operations.

In this intriguing ecosystem, the income, in the form of MATIC tokens, is divided between validators and delegates, creating a shared risk and reward dynamic. Delegates play a vital role in the MATIC network, actively selecting and supporting the best validators. Their crucial role in maintaining network integrity ensures that the system operates at the highest level of performance and security.

The SCORP token is the driving force behind the dynamic Scorpion Casino Token ecosystem. Immerse yourself in a platform brimming with over 30,000 monthly betting opportunities, 210 captivating casino games, and 160 exhilarating live games. Rest assured, Scorpion Casino Token operates with utmost transparency, licensing, and provability.

Regulated and licensed by the esteemed Curacao EGaming licensing entity, the SCORPION platform adheres to strict industry standards. To further reinforce trust, the Scorpion Casino team has undergone rigorous KYC verification through Assure Defi, the renowned KYC Gold Standard. Furthermore, the $SCORP token has been subjected to a comprehensive audit by Solidproof, affirming its impeccable security with a 100% rating.

The barriers that traditionally hindered access to the casino industry are being shattered by SCORP. Typically, launching an online casino requires significant capital and a lengthy six-month process. This has made it inaccessible to outsiders and newcomers without substantial resources, contacts, or experience.

As the crypto and online casino industries continue to flourish, SCORP opens the doors for individuals to participate in this rapidly expanding sector. With SCORP, fun and security go hand-in-hand.

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Navigating The Legal Landscape: Scorpion Casino Token, MATIC ... - Analytics Insight