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Crypto Market Stabilizes After Weekend Sell-Off
The weekend saw a major sell-off that left major cryptos like Bitcoin down 15% in value. The bleeding seems to have stopped Tuesday, as markets stabilized for the first time in a week.
After an August rally, layer 1 blockchain tokens including Solana and Polkadot mirrored Bitcoin’s loss of 18%, as investors looked to cash in on the recent upswing.
U.S. stock futures posted modest gains and bond prices edged up.
Matt Weller, head of research for Forex.com, told CoinDesk in an email that there was “little in the way of fundamental or macroeconomic news to drive the sell-off, but rather traders’ appetite for risk assets has simply collapsed across the board.”
Despite Weller’s comments, the upcoming U.S. Federal Reserve’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday may be influencing the recent sell-off. The Fed’s July meeting pushed back against hopes of liquidity easing in 2023, and investors could be getting ahead of another negative report from the central bank.
U.S. Lawmaker Demands Explanation of Tornado Cash Ban
U.S Congressman Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) sent a letter to the Treasury Department Tuesday, asking for an explanation of the recent sanctions against Ethereum coin mixing service, Tornado Cash.
In the letter, Emmer called the ban of a “neutral, open-source, decentralized technology” a “divergence” from historical precedent.
The ban came after the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), the Treasury Department’s sanctions watchdog, added Tornado Cash to its list of specially designated nationals on allegations it helped North Korea’s Lazarus hacking group launder millions of dollars worth of crypto proceeds stolen from various crypto projects over the past few years.
Concerns raised in the letter included how U.S. users can reclaim funds currently locked in the mixer and how Tornado could appeal the sanctions since it is not considered an entity or an individual.
‘Open-Chat Alliance’ Allowing Cross-Chain Messaging in Development
Solana-based projects are teaming up to create a cross-chain messaging system. The “open-chat alliance,” as it is being called, is made up of 19 members including Notifi Network, Bonfida and Only1.
Their goal is to create a messaging standard for crypto projects that proponents hope will break down the data silos between projects and chains.
A transparent and interoperable standard for handling crypto-based messages could potentially proliferate across the industry, adding convenience and efficiency for crypto users and investors.
Leon Lee, founder and CEO of Only1, said that an example of the alliance’s framework includes GameFi and NFT dapp users freely communicating with each other, without the boundaries of separate protocols, wallets or chains.
“You’re using your wallet as your kind of passport. And that passport has data on what you have and don’t have in your assets,” said Kim, the Notifi CEO.
GameSwift Partners with Polygon to Build a Web3 Gaming Ecosystem
GameSwift has announced that it’s creating a Web3 gaming ecosystem that aims to enable the mass adoption of Web3 games.
This new approach to the market by the fundraising platform on the Terra blockchain came from its strategic partnership with Polygon. This partnership will allow GameSwift, formally StarTerra, to begin setting up its ecosystem, leveraging the Polygon Edge technology and zero-knowledge proof. It aims to become a one-stop shop for games and gamers looking to get involved in Web3.
Formerly StarTerra, Gameswift has rebranded and is currently setting up its own chain using Polygon’s technology, changing its business model and focusing on the Web3 gaming segments.
Additionally, Polygon awarded the GameSwift team a financial grant as part of the partnership, making GameSwift the ecosystem of the first choice for all Web3 games built on Polygon.
