Headlines

▌The Popularity of Crypto Mining Companies in the United States Is Soaring, and the Texas Power Grid Has Exceeded the Expected Load

Cryptocurrency miners are accelerating their development in Texas, far exceeding authorities’ expectations and sending electricity consumption in the state soaring. On Friday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said in an email that enough miners have applied to connect to Texas' grid to generate 33 gigawatts of power, more than the grid operator's CEO expected in April. That's a third more, which is equivalent to the power needs of the entire state of New York. As previously reported, Republican officials in the U.S. state of Texas are eager to secure the state’s status as a cryptocurrency hub, even as some lawmakers worry that the industry could overburden an already strained power grid.

Cryptocurrency

▌Biden’s Innovative Executive Order on Digital Asset Responsibility Requires Multiple Agencies to Submit Relevant Feedback Reports by September 5

Much of the response to Joe Biden’s executive order on cryptocurrencies is due after Labor Day. The Treasury and Justice Department responses are expected to have particular implications for future U.S. cryptocurrency policy. Under the March 9 order, the agencies' seven reports are due to be submitted to the White House within 120 days of the order, so their deadline is September 5, the day after Labor Day. The executive orders emphasise the need for interagency cooperation, but the orders and their lead agencies are broken down as follows:

· Treasury: Of particular interest in working with the Federal Reserve of central bank digital currencies or CBDCs.

· Department of Justice (DOJ): A legal assessment of whether Congress needs to enact new laws to issue a CBDC.

· U.S. Department of the Treasury and Key Markets and Consumer Protection Regulators: A Report on the Risks and Rewards of Digital Assets in Markets and Payments.

· Office of Science and Technology Policy: A report on the role of cryptocurrencies in the energy transition across time horizons.

· DOJ with help from Treasury and Homeland Security: The Role of Law Enforcement Agencies in "Detecting, Investigating, and Prosecuting Criminal Activity Related to Digital Assets."

· Department of Commerce: A Framework for Improving U.S. Economic Competitiveness and Utilisation of Digital Asset Technologies.

▌Survey: 64% of American Parents Approve of Their Children Receiving Crypto Education

According to a recent study conducted by Study.com, 64% of American parents believe that cryptocurrencies should be part of their children’s education. Nearly two-thirds of 800 U.S. parents surveyed said cryptocurrencies should be taught in schools. 40% of the participants believed that their children should also learn blockchain technology, while 35% believed that the metaverse should also be included. NFTs came last, with only 25% believing their kids should know about them.

▌Australia Report: Crypto Scams Have Replaced Credit Card Scams

According to a recent report by the Sydney Morning Herald, criminals have shifted their attention from credit card fraud to cryptocurrencies due to the growing popularity of digital assets. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) deputy chair Delia Rickard said cryptocurrencies were a more lucrative target for scammers in 2021 due to their rapid price surge, noting that cryptocurrencies had become the preferred payment method for scams of all kinds. In June, ACCC reported that Australians lost more than $205 million to scams, with cryptocurrency investments accounting for the bulk of the money lost ($113 million). The ACCC warns that consumers are vulnerable to cryptocurrency scams and need to exercise great caution when encountering suspicious investment offers.

▌ARK Invest Analyst: Crypto Markets Moving Back to Risk-on Environment, Ethereum Could Start Gathering More Bullish Momentum

Ethereum (ETH) may start to gather more bullish momentum as the cryptocurrency market pivots back into a risk-on environment, according to Frank Downing, the analyst at investment management firm ARK Invest. “I think we’ve seen something interesting just in the last month, which is when the markets were heading down and we’re in this kind of capitulation cycle, you had assets on the riskier end of the spectrum, so ETH and assets that are built on top of ETH in comparison to Bitcoin sell off really hard, not necessarily trading on fundamentals but markets going completely risk-off,” Downing said. “Just in the latter half of July, I think that started to turn and we saw the market incrementally at the margins starting to trade more on fundamentals.” He added, “And so we’ve seen the ETH/BTC pair, or the price of ETH relative to Bitcoin outperform, which has been a divergence from the risk-off period that we’ve seen. So relatively, [the] market is back to risk-on for these types of assets.”

▌‘Wolf of Wall Street’ J. Belfort: Bitcoin May Start Trading like a Store of Value and Less like a Growth Stock

Former stockbroker commonly known as the “Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort admitted in an interview that his initial prediction that bitcoin (BTC) would go to zero was wrong. He noted that his 2017 stance was due to the view that the asset was a scam, while implying bitcoin has properties of a fraudulent project. Belfort revealed that he came to understand that Bitcoin had the qualities of digital gold, driving him to change his mind. Belfort added that with maturity, bitcoin will likely start trading like a store of value and less like a growth stock.

▌Crypto Liquidations over $300M, Bitcoin and Ethereum Dump over 6%

The crypto industry has lost 6.8% of its value in the last 24 hours, with over $300 million of liquidated positions in the bloodbath. Over the last seven days, Bitcoin has lost approximately 4% of its value. The asset is currently trading at more than 70% of its all-time high. In the last 24 hours, the total bitcoin liquidations amount to $83 million. At the same time, bitcoin’s market cap has plummeted by 50% from nearly $900 billion at the start of the year to its current $387 billion. Ethereum, on the other hand, shed more than 11% in 24 hours, trading below $1,500 for the first time in weeks. The decline meant that gains made on merger anticipation in recent weeks have disappeared from the market. In the last seven days, Ethereum has lost more than 7% of its value, and is almost 70% away from its ATH. Additionally, the steep fall on Friday also liquidated over $135 million in Ethereum’s long positions.

Key Economic Events

▌U.S. Stock Index Futures Extended Losses, Nasdaq Futures Fell More Than 1.2%

U.S. stock index futures extended losses - Nasdaq futures fell more than 1.2%, S&P 500 futures fell 1%, and Dow futures fell 0.8%.