headlines
▌Coinbase U.S. stock soared more than 30% at the beginning of trading
On August 4 (Thursday), the Dow Jones Index fell 37.85 points, or 0.12%, to 32774.65 points; the S&P 500 Index fell 6.57 points, or 0.16%, to 4148.60 points at the opening on August 4 (Thursday); The Daq Composite Index rose 13.36 points, or 0.11%, to 12681.52 points at the opening on August 4 (Thursday). Coinbase's U.S. stock soared more than 30% in early trading, and the company formed a partnership with BlackRock.
policy
▌Paraguay’s National Electricity Authority proposes to set cryptocurrency mining fees
Paraguay’s National Electricity Agency has proposed setting dedicated mining fees for cryptocurrency mining operations. As the group faces huge losses, it has stopped supplying energy to some mining operations that evaded paying their electricity bills and connected to the grid illegally.
cryptocurrency
▌Reuters: Bitcoin payment company Block slows down hiring and cuts investment target by 1/4
According to Reuters, Block, the bitcoin payment company owned by the former Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, has announced that it will slow down its recruitment pace and will also cut its investment target for 2022 by a quarter (approximately US$250 million). Block, which provides bitcoin trading services primarily through its online payment service Cash App, saw its profit plummet 24 percent to $41 million as bitcoin fell about 36 percent in the second quarter. Block Chief Financial Officer Amrita Ahuja explained that while Block's gross profit trend has been healthy over the past seven months, the market is now entering a potentially uncertain situation, which will slow down hiring and cut investment targets.
▌Voyager Digital lawyer: The company has received multiple acquisition offers higher than FTX
Lawyers for Voyager Digital said in court on Thursday that the company has received multiple takeover offers higher than those of FTX and Alameda. Voyager rejected FTX's offer last week. Alameda previously lent Voyager via a $200 million cash/USDC-backed credit facility and 15,000 BTC.
▌Cryptocurrency market maker GSR established GSR Capital and launched two crypto funds
GSR Capital, which cryptocurrency market maker GSR began forming last year, has been formally established to create investment products for institutions, family offices and others. Founded nine years ago by former Goldman Sachs executives, GSR works with cryptocurrency projects and provides liquidity to crypto markets including Binance, Coinbase and FTX. GSR Capital has now launched two funds, one focused on Bitcoin exposure and the other on the broader market, the funds are now open to investors seeking to enter the crypto market, GSR CEO Jakob Palmstierna said, They have seen "very much interest" from family offices and institutional investors looking to gain exposure to digital assets.
important economic developments
▌Fed Mester: The U.S. economy is not in recession now, but the risk of recession has risen
Mester of the Federal Reserve stated that the U.S. economy is not in recession now, but the risk of recession has risen. The Fed is committed to reducing inflation to the target value and needs to further raise interest rates to ease demand. The path of inflation will determine the scale of future interest rate hikes. And said that given the size of its balance sheet, the Fed should discuss selling some mortgage-backed securities. It also said it wanted its balance sheet to fall to $6.5-7 trillion.
▌Fed Mester: The Fed will cut interest rates once inflation falls back closer to the 2% target
Fed Mester said the Fed would cut rates once inflation falls back closer to its 2% target. I think the rate should be slightly above 4%. And said that it is not unreasonable to think that the Fed may raise interest rates by 75 basis points in September; but it is very likely to be 50 basis points, and the Fed will be guided by data. Rates should continue to rise this year and the first half of next year; then we may be able to stop and start cutting rates.
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