Breaking crypto news from the last week (July 16 – 22, 2022):
July 17: Yuga Labs, a creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), released the litepaper for its Otherside, a “starter guide” to its “world-building metaverse platform,” which is in development with software company Improbable. The document supports open development, user-generated content, and interoperability in its online world.
July 18: The total crypto market capitalization climbed above $1 trillion for the first time in five weeks. The milestone comes amid three key crypto bankruptcy proceedings getting underway and investor expectations for Ethereum’s long-awaited The Merge upgrade.
July 19: Dubai Metaverse Strategy has been officially launched, aiming to create more than 40,000 new jobs and 4,000 new companies in the sector. There are currently 1,000 companies in Dubai engaged in the crypto and metaverse sector, contributing $500 million to the national economy.
The world-renowned auction house Christie’s has launched its venture capital arm, which is set to focus on Web3 projects. Christie’s Ventures’ first portfolio company is the cross-chain interoperability firm LayerZero Labs.
July 20: Coinbase is on the verge of losing its dominance in the crypto market. Uniswap, one of the biggest decentralized exchanges, is almost surpassing Coinbase’s trading volume, as the recent data shows. Meanwhile, Binance has overtaken Coinbase in Bitcoin balances.
July 21: Elon Musk’s Tesla revealed that it had sold 75% of its Bitcoin coin because it was concerned about “overall liquidity” due to COVID-19 lockdowns uncertainties in China. This February, Tesla was holding nearly $2 billion in Bitcoin.
July 22: Crypto exchange Crypto.com will allow users can have crypto transactions using the payment integration with Google Pay App. This announcement follows the recent integration of Apple Pay into its mobile app and website.
Ethereum on exchanges hit a four-year low alongside steady inflows into the network’s staking contract ahead of The Merge. The market cap of the second-largest cryptocurrency has rallied by more than 34.5% over the past week, reaching nearly $199 billion.