There’s never a dull moment on the blockchain. Here’s what you need to know this week:

Bitcoin

$61,230.54



0.10%

Ethereum

$2,383.35



0.02%

Tether

$1.00



0.00%

Solana

$139.23



1.35%

USDC

$1.00



0.00%

XRP

$0.53



1.25%

See the latest prices

SHIB SEASON

Why Shiba Inu has been rallying as crypto markets slumber

For most of the summer, prices for the biggest cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether, have been remarkably stable — with BTC volatility hitting six-year lows in July. But the biggest players in another category of tokens — so-called “memecoins” including Dogecoin (DOGE), ApeCoin (APE), and Shiba Inu (SHIB) — have seen recent spikes. SHIB has rallied the most (roughly 8%) of these three in the last week due to anticipated upgrades on its roadmap. Let’s take a closer look.

• Smaller cryptocurrencies tend to be more volatile than bigger ones (meaning their prices see bigger and more frequent swings) — and those movements can be appealing to traders attracted to risk. As The Block put it, “In the absence of a strong catalyst driving large cap cryptos like bitcoin and ether, traders are once again flocking to memecoins.”

• Shiba Inu (SHIB), the twelfth-largest crypto by market cap, is up more than 25% for the month. SHIB, which was launched in August 2020, was inspired by DOGE — but unlike DOGE it runs on the Ethereum blockchain as opposed to its own bespoke blockchain, which makes it compatible with the wider Ethereum economy. At least some of the token’s recent rise may be due to anticipation over two major features developers have announced.

• SHIB’s developers plan to launch an Ethereum “layer 2” blockchain called Shibarium later this month, with a focus on gaming, decentralized social media, and DeFi. Layer 2 blockchains are kind of like HOV lanes on a highway — they allow some traffic to move off of the main Ethereum blockchain and onto a faster (and typically lower-fee) parallel chain. 

• SHIB also plans to incorporate digital-identity technology called “sovereign self identity” (SSI) to all SHIB-compatible apps and developments. As CoinDesk puts it, SSIs “are the digital alter ego of identity documents, like passports and driver’s licenses. In the digital world, SSI is said to give users more control over their personal data and its distribution online.”

Why it matters… SHIB’s developers are hoping their token can compete in an increasingly crowded marketplace for layer 2 solutions (including the new Coinbase-incubated Base blockchain) and Ethereum alternatives like Polygon and Solana. There’s at least some evidence they’re succeeding. As of July, according to CoinDesk, a Shibarium test blockchain already had “meaningful activity” — with around 27 million transactions from 16 million wallets. 

DROPP IT LIKE IT’S HOT

How the Fed’s new payment platform boosted a crypto project

Few would imagine that the Federal Reserve might include a blockchain-based protocol as part of its new instant-payments system, FedNow. But this week, as part of a showcase of promising new payment technologies, FedNow featured a micropayments platform called Dropp, which is built on the Hedera blockchain. News of the announcement helped Hedera’s native token HBAR spike by 16% — while also bringing attention to the newly launched central bank initiative. 

Here’s what you need to know.

What exactly is FedNow?

FedNow, which launched last month, aims to modernize the U.S.’s financial capabilities, allowing financial institutions to settle payments between each other instantly, 24/7. Proponents argue that the system — assuming enough financial institutions embrace it — would allow Americans to send and receive money instantly, instead of waiting days for transfers to settle. Paychecks could be withdrawn prior to the end of pay cycles, invoices could be settled immediately, and insurance payouts could be instant. 

The FedNow website includes Dropp among a wide range of participating payment platforms (although it also notes that “the inclusion or exclusion of a provider should in no way imply any recommendation or endorsement”).  

Got it. So what is Dropp?

Dropp is a credit-card alternative designed for micropayments — amounts as low as one cent. Consumers can use Dropp to pay for small-value goods without sharing user data with merchants. For merchants, Dropp makes it possible to build business models around micropayments: Imagine a media company that can profitably sell access to a single piece of content or a nonprofit that can accept small-money donations. Processing a $1 transaction via Dropp costs just 5 cents, compared to around 50 cents via Stripe, for example. 

The bottom line…

Though the Federal Reserve is careful not to explicitly endorse any of its service providers in its FedNow showcase, the inclusion of a blockchain-based micropayments platform is a helpful reminder that crypto can do more than one thing. It can provide decentralized alternatives to outdated financial systems and also aid in updating established, centralized systems — and in the case of the Fed, one of the most established systems in the world.  

NUMBERS TO KNOW

$500,000

Maximum amount of ETH that former president Donald Trump holds, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. The Republican frontrunner’s ETH holdings — reported as being worth between $250,000 and $500,000 — may be related to $99 NFTs he released in 2022 and 2023.   

10,000 

Number of NFTs that mobile-gaming giant Zynga (Farmville, Words with Friends) is releasing as part of its upcoming Ethereum-based game Sugartown. As Decrypt reports, “Last year, Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive acquired Zynga for $12.7 billion, and signaled plans to work together on future blockchain games.”

10%

Estimated share of bitcoin’s market cap that “spot” BTC ETFs could take up within three years if the SEC approves them, according to a recent Bernstein research report. In June, several Wall Street giants including BlackRock submitted SEC applications for such products, which would buy BTC and sell shares of it via conventional brokerages. 

87%

Percentage of Americans who believe “the financial system needs changes, or a complete overhaul,” according to June polling from Bovitz Research and Coinbase. This week marked the launch of the Stand with Crypto Alliance, an advocacy organization supported by Coinbase that aims to unite the U.S.’s pro-crypto grassroots community.

TOKEN TRIVIA

What is SHIB’s maximum supply?

Find the answer below.

Trivia Answer