Hey Scoopers!

Welcome to another edition of The Scoop. The Scoop is that emboldened feeling you get when you realize crypto companies are finally standing up against the SEC.

The Big Scoop

This week’s Big Scoop is about the winds of change blowing. Never forget that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies were invented to empower the individual user and take money out of the hands of governments. It’s no coincidence then, the Bitcoin whitepaper was published in 2008 during the last economic crisis.

With the collapse of First Republic Bank in the United States, perhaps it’s time to admit we are in another one. The bank officially fell under the receivership of the FDIC this past weekend.

It’s probably a good thing for crypto and Web3 in the long run, but the rest of this year and early next year might involve some growing pains.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t good news going on in the world of Web3. Coinbase continues to fight for regulatory clarity with the SEC. They’re doing so by filing a lawsuit against the agency.

In Web3 specific progress, Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin is launching a new transferring capability that allows you to move coins to different blockchains without using token bridges. Hackers have been exploiting token bridges for years and making millions of dollars stealing tokens. This move by USDC is a big deal.

In other news, Binance is launching a perpetual futures contract on the Blur token, meaning the token could gain real traction in the long run as it continues to take aim at other NFT marketplaces like OpenSea.

Details on all of that and more to come in this week’s edition of The Scoop.

The Bitcoin Bet: Day 47

We have crossed the half-way mark on the Bitcoin bet that we have been monitoring!

… what is the bet you say?

On March 2023, a Twitter user named James Medlock offered a bold wager of $1 million, betting that the United States would not enter a state of hyperinflation. Balaji Srinivasan, the former Chief Technology Officer of Coinbase, responded by accepting the bet, proposing a deal with roughly 40:1 odds. Balaji offered to send $1 million USD to James Medlock if he buys 1 Bitcoin (BTC), which was valued at around $26,000 at the time. The bet had a 90-day term, and Balaji suggested the use of a smart contract or a mutually agreed-upon custodian to settle the bet in the event of digital dollar devaluation.

BTC isn’t doing much :( We still have ways to go...

The News

Makers of USDC Stablecoin Release Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol, Eliminating the Need for Token Bridges

Believe it.

The USDC stablecoin is making waves this week as its founding company Circle achieved a fantastic milestone by launching its cross-chain transfer protocol (CCTP) on Ethereum and Avalanche.

Circle shared the exciting news on their official social media, signaling a fresh era of interoperability across blockchain ecosystems. But what exactly is the Circle cross-chain transfer protocol, and is all the buzz surrounding it justified?

The protocol is loaded with powerful solutions to tackle liquidity fragmentation issues and poor user experiences often tied to unofficial USDC bridged versions on various blockchain ecosystems.

Before the CCTP's mainnet launch, Avalanche users who wanted to transfer their stored USDC from Ethereum needed to rely on an unofficial or third-party bridge to move the stablecoin between networks.

Now, with the cross-chain transfer protocol, Ethereum and Avalanche users can fully enjoy Circle's stablecoin and become less dependent on unofficial and potentially unsafe third-party bridges and services.

Circle's innovative approach will bring together its stablecoin liquidity in Web3 and facilitate easy and secure user payment transactions. Plus, it will connect and unite blockchain networks, further advancing blockchains' interoperability.

Binance Launches a Futures Contract for Blur’s Token

Binance, the top crypto exchange by volume, announced that they would launch perpetual futures contracts for NFT marketplace Blur's governance token. However, the so-called "whales" or large token holders seem to have mixed feelings about this.

On April 27, Binance revealed that it would launch a perpetual futures contract, allowing users to bet on the price of Blur against the stablecoin tether with up to 20x leverage. The Blur/USDT contract is set to go live today at noon UTC.

Interestingly, earlier today, one whale bought a whopping 1.39 million Blur governance tokens using one million USD Coin at an average price of $0.72. The transactions happened through the decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch.

On the other hand, another whale decided to sell. A wallet with the Ethereum Name Service domain luggis.eth traded 1.77 million BLUR for 1.2 million USDC at an average price of $0.68 per token. According to Lookonchain, an on-chain analyst on Twitter, this transaction resulted in a loss of around $295,000 for luggis.eth. Currently, they don't hold any Blur governance tokens anymore.

As of now, the market price for Blur's governance token is $0.72, based on data from Etherscan.

News Flash

Chart.

Here’s a chart that explains why the news about the USDC is so important. Why give you a thousand words when a single image will do?

Market Analysis:

This week has been a waiting game for Bitcoin to make a big move, either breaking up or down. The psychological resistance of $30,000 has yet to be broken through and the price maintained above. However, It will definitely happen, but there may need to be a retracement before it happens, and I have more info below on why that may need to happen first. Until Bitcoin breaks the descending green line in the chart it’s looking short-term bearish, despite the latest signal being a buy signal.

One thing to remember with Bitcoin is the market can go up slow and sometimes fast, but when it goes down it usually goes down very fast, with drastic drops. Preserving your capital and managing risk is an important aspect of investing & trading.

Lunar Eclipse market crash May 5th?

Bitcoin has been teetering on the edge of 28k for a few weeks, and some major traders have been calling for a retracement to 24-25k for that same amount of time. There are a few days left until May 5th, and I have a feeling that it's time for one of those -10% or more days in the market. Especially after what has happened the PEPE and the memecoins. Normally when memecoins and gambling money is the only money moving around in the space, there is a retracement or crypto crash soon after.

Fundraising In Web3.

More than $151 million in new venture capital investment went into Web3 projects this week. Here are some of the top headlines in fundraising🧀💲🤑💸💰

Education

Ready for a quick study break?!📙

We are sure we don’t need to tell you that Circle’s recent announcement about its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol makes it safer for you to use DeFi projects because you don’t have to be exposed to token bridges anymore and risk losing money.

What better place to learn even more about this and how important it is than the Study Space? Here’s everything you need to know straight from their documentation library.

CCTOP 101: Straight from Circle

Scoop Meme

The Final Scoop

Regardless of banks collapsing, interest rates rising, or Bitcoin reaching a $30,000 high for the first time in almost one year (meaning that investors might sell off at the top), the building continues.

The same reason that cryptocurrencies were invented is the same reason that they will grow in the long run. People will lose faith in governments.

For now, stay aware of what’s happening. The idea that you don’t need to use token bridges anymore is big news. It’s going to save all of us money and protect us from hackers. The lines between traditional finance and DeFi are going to continue to blur.

Speaking of Blur. It’s an NFT marketplace that keeps making moves even though NFT floor prices are down overall.

We know we’re going to continue using NFT technology in the future, and it’s obvious that this sector of the crypto industry is hell-bent on making tokens a part of that future. We predict that other NFT platforms will join the parade towards launching a token, including the major players like OpenSea, sooner or later.

#Web34ever #Cirus

Share The Scoop

We would love it if you would be so kind as to continue sharing The Scoop with your friends and family. During these tumultuous times, we aim to keep spreading hope as the idea of controlling your own money and your own data remains alive and well.

Plus we absolutely love joking around with you from week to week.

We hope to continue building an amazing newsletter and we thank you for being a part of it to this point.

See you again next week!