It has been a busy day in terms of news, so let us catch you up on the latest and greatest.
Today’s Agenda:
- Market Watch
- Highlights of the Day
- The Sandbox x ITV Studios
- Forgotten Runiverse Migrates to Ronin
- Ton Blockchain Plans to Launch an L2
- Project of the Day
- Crypto Corner
- Market Sentiment & Predictions
- Business & Political Insights
Market Watch
Top Gainers
- Stacks ($STX): +11.5%
- Ondo ($ONDO): +8.2%
- JasmyCoin ($JASMY): +7.5%
Top Losers
- Flare ($FLR): -4.3%
- Notcoin ($NOT): -3.1%
- Ethereum Name Service ($ENS): -2.2%
Trending Crypto Sectors/Categories
- Blockchain Capital Portfolio
- Galaxy Digital Portfolio
- Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Portfolio
Total Crypto Market Cap – 2.243 Trillion
Fear and Greed Index – 29
Top NFT Sale
- Bored Ape Yacht Club #8552 Sold for 105 ETH
Highlights of the Day
The Sandbox x ITV Studios
In a bold move that merges digital innovation with television fandom, The Sandbox and ITV Studios have unveiled ShowCity, a groundbreaking addition to the expansive metaverse of The Sandbox. ShowCity represents a pioneering collaboration aimed at bringing reality TV experiences to life within a virtual landscape.
What is ShowCity?
This new virtual neighborhood offers a unique blend of immersive environments and real-world connections, tailored specifically for enthusiasts of popular ITV Studios productions like ‘Love Island’, ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!’, ‘The Voice’, and ‘Hell’s Kitchen’. ShowCity promises fans an interactive journey where they can engage deeply with their favorite shows, blurring the lines between entertainment and virtual reality.
Forgotten Runiverse Migrates to Ronin
In a strategic move, Forgotten Runiverse, a free-to-play MMORPG, is transitioning from Arbitrum to the Ronin blockchain. This move encompasses all facets of its NFT ecosystem, from prized collections like Forgotten Runiverse Real Estate to Game Items and Watcher’s Rings, all slated for transition to Ronin.
Why Ronin?
Notably, what makes Ronin an ideal platform for Forgotten Runiverse is its foundation on Ethereum’s EVM architecture. With 1.44 million daily active users and robust transaction capabilities, Ronin leads in blockchain gaming, processing over $4 billion in NFT volumes daily. Its scalability ensures fast transactions and low fees, promising innovative Web3 gaming experiences. As such, Forgotten Runiverse aims to leverage Ronin’s strengths to redefine blockchain gaming with immersive and accessible entertainment.
Ton Blockchain Plans to Launch an L2
TON Blockchain is gearing up to launch its Layer-2 solution, the TON Applications Chain (TAC), leveraging Polygon’s advanced technology stack. This strategic move aims to enhance the capabilities of TON by integrating Polygon’s Chain Development Kit (CDK) and AggLayer.
Benefits of Integrating Polygon Technology
The integration with Polygon brings significant benefits to TAC. Firstly, the CDK ensures Ethereum compatibility, facilitating seamless interoperability with existing Ethereum-based applications. Secondly, AggLayer enables transaction aggregation, enhancing scalability and reducing operational costs for TAC users. Moreover, Polygon’s plasma framework powers TAC with fast and cost-effective transactions, maintaining the robust security standards of the TON blockchain.
Project of the Day
Stacks
Stacks ($STX) is making waves as an open-source blockchain network that integrates decentralized apps (dApps) and smart contracts with Bitcoin. Overall, by leveraging Bitcoin’s blockchain as a programmable base layer, Stacks enables smart contracts and dApps to utilize Bitcoin as an asset, ensuring transactions are settled securely on the Bitcoin blockchain.
In terms of price movement, $STX currently boasts a market cap exceeding 2.22 billion, with its price hovering around $1.5. Over the past year, $STX has surged by an impressive 136%, reaching a peak of over $3.5 in March 2024. This growth trajectory underscores $STX’s potential, particularly amidst the expanding DeFi ecosystem on Bitcoin. Given these developments, the outlook for $STX appears bullish in the long term, highlighting its role in bridging Bitcoin’s robust security with the innovative functionalities of decentralized applications and smart contracts.
Crazy Day in Crypto
- Bitcoin transaction fees hit a four-year low of $38.69 on July 7, 2024, marking a significant decrease not seen since the height of the pandemic in 2020.
- The TON blockchain has experienced substantial growth in 2024, increasing active wallets from about one million at the beginning of the year to over nine million by June.
Market Sentiment & Predictions
- Bitcoin’s price is nearing a critical juncture, which could lead to either the formation of a local bottom or a significant correction similar to the summer of 2021.
- Investors have poured around $650 million into U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs over the past three trading days, with significant inflows reported in major funds like BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund.
- Eight US-based spot ETH ETFs are nearing readiness, with potential for a summer launch according to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, although specific dates are yet to be confirmed.
Business Talks & Political Insights
- CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam confirmed that Bitcoin and Ethereum were classified as commodities by an Illinois district court last week, reinforcing their status under the Commodities Exchange Act and CFTC oversight rather than SEC jurisdiction.
- Goldman Sachs is set to launch three new tokenization products in the United States and Europe this year, targeting financial institutions rather than retail investors and utilizing permissioned blockchains exclusively.
The German government has reduced its Bitcoin holdings to less than $1 billion remaining, having transferred over $2 billion worth of Bitcoin to exchanges and market makers just in the past week.
