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Happy Tuesday Folks! Well, yesterday was as exciting as watching a bottle rocket. Bitcoin realized price bands form key resistance as bulls lose $24K, Bitcoin is currently trading at $23,417.51, but Bitcoin traders are aiming at $17,000. Ethereum also had spiked but has since pulled back as well, the Merge is the main contributor to July rebound. Add Cardano to the list as it is priced "more aggressively" and saw an insane 270% YTD jump in on-chain transfer volume, overtaking Bitcoin, Ether, and Doge. 

Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead thinks the crypto market has passed the bottom of the cycle and is about to start rebounding; he's not alone - so does JPMorgan. Analyst Tone Vays says Bitcoin is setting up to flash historically "incredible" bullish signal but Mike Novogratz downplays bullish scenario saying $20-30K is a comfortable zone. Meanwhile, Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador, says tourism spike is thanks to Bitcoin. Mark Cuban doesn't believe Cardano is as hot as being reported, says it doesn't have a lot of development? Maybe he should tell the Cardano whales who bought the dip - accumulating $140 million worth of ADA in 8-day spell. Vitalik Buterin believes Crypto payments will become mainstream and Guy from Coin Bureau issues warning, says Crypto markets to face series of ‘wild cards’ this month.

I've created a new sub-category "THE MERGE" to follow all the future news related to the Ethereum merge from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake. Ahead of the Merge, Ethereum is getting cheaper to use it appears and Ether's deepest 'Backwardation' since 2020 crash shows traders are prepping for Ethereum PoW split. FTX will not halt or settle ETH futures prior to Merge and researchers believe Ethereum PoW Fork proposal is a "retail trap" so stay away. Speaking of PoW mining, F2Pool co-founder responds to allegations it's cheating the Ethereum POW system. Justin Sun says Proof-of-Work 'essential' part of Ethereum.

The CeFi contagion news has died down significantly with only Celsius creditor committee taking aim at CEO Alex Mashinsky but the CEL token continues to rise. Also, distressed Crypto platform Zipmex to resume some BTC and ETH withdrawals and Crypto options trading on Solana has mostly fizzled but, a new DEX has a plan to change that. OptiFi went live Monday, bringing portfolio margining to the Solana options trading ecosystem. As we look at Acceptance and Adoption of Crypto, Iran makes the first-ever import of goods using cryptocurrency worth millions. 

As we turn to mining, Bitcoin Miner Marathon to Start Energizing Texas Rigs at Compute North Facility, Iris Energy turns on 41 Megawatts of Bitcoin mining machines ahead of schedule, Bitcoin miner CleanSpark acquires site in Georgia, plans to scale it to 86 megawatts and Kazakh authorities arrest 23 suspected of forcing IT professional to run an illegal Crypto mine. After countless bungles, Compass Mining tries to change course.

Legislation intended to provide clarity on which U.S. government agency should be in charge of regulating crypto needs more work, according to Grant Fondo, a former federal prosecutor for the Northern District of California.

With the good comes the bad,Tornado Cash is creating quite the tornado of news! Crypto-mixing service Tornado Cash got blacklisted by US Treasury. Since then, the US Government has amped up the inevitable clash with Crypto privacy in Tornado Cash the blacklisting. US Secretary of State tweets, then deletes claim that Crypto mixer Tornado Cash is North Korea-Sponsored and now Infura and Alchemy are now blocking access to Tornado Cash. Also, BitMEX executive pleads guilty to violating Bank Secrecy Act.

CRYPTO MARKET

• 54% of crypto investors say they haven’t sold their coins during the market carnage (Finbold)

BITCOIN & ETHEREUM

Negative

• Bitcoin drops to support as looming CPI print shakes up crypto and stock markets (Cointelegraph)
• Why Are Crypto Investors Rotating From Bitcoin To Altcoins? (NewsBTC)
• Inflation Probably Slowed in July, but Not by Enough to Trigger Crypto Bull Run (Coindesk)
• Bitcoin Traders Are Aiming at $17,000, Here's Why (UToday)
• Bitcoin’s next-level Taproot upgrade now stores 0.06% of all BTC (Finbold)
• Bitcoin dominance hits 6-month lows as metric proclaims new 'alt season' (Cointelegraph)
• Bitcoin realized price bands form key resistance as bulls lose $24K (Cointelegraph)
• Bitcoin.com to introduce Bitcoiners to decentralized finance: KBW 2022 (Cointelegraph)
• Lightning Speed: How To Take BTC From Reserve Asset To World Reserve Currency (NewsBTC)
• SANGO Coin Is Defining What It Means To Be A Government-Backed Cryptocurrency (Bitcoinist | NewsBTC)
• ETH Spiked to 2-Month High, BTC Rejected at $24K (Market Watch) (CryptoPotato)
• Morgan Stanley’s New PAVA Indicator Divides ETH Users Into ‘Believers’ and ‘Speculators’ (Coindesk)
• Ethereum Investors Close 300k Long Positions on Bitfinex, Rally To Stop Soon? (NewsBTC)

BITCOIN HELPS POOR COUNTRIES SURVIVE WHEN GOVERNMENT BONDS ARE WORTHLESS

ALTCOINS

• Cardano Sees Insane 270% YTD Jump In On-Chain Transfer Volume, Overtakes Bitcoin, Ether, And DOGE (ZyCrypto)
• Cardano (ADA) Is Priced “More Aggressively,” Report Shows (UToday | Cryptoglobe | CryptoPotato)
• Cardano whales buy the dip accumulating $140 million worth of ADA in 8-day spell (Finbold)

THE MERGE

• Circle to only support Ethereum proof-of-stake chain after integration (TB)
• Ethereum Is Getting Cheaper to Use, Even Before the Merge (Coindesk)
• Ether's Deepest 'Backwardation' Since 2020 Crash Shows Traders Prepping for Ethereum PoW Split (Coindesk)
• FTX Will Not Halt or Settle ETH Futures Prior to Merge (CryptoPotato | TB | Finbold)
• Ethereum Proof-of-work Fork Proposal is “a Retail Trap,” Researchers Say (Blockworks)
• F2Pool co-founder responds to allegations it's cheating the Ethereum POW system (Cointelegraph)
• Justin Sun Says Proof-of-Work 'Essential' Part of Ethereum (Coindesk)
• The Ethereum Merge Is the Main Contributor to July Rebound: JPMorgan (Coindesk)
• Ethereum Is The Most Prospective Blockchain For Web3, Hard Forks Not Necessary – DeBank (EWN)

CEFI CONTAGION

• Bankruptcy Claims Traders Have Begun Offering Creditors of Embattled Crypto Firms a Lifeline (BIC)
• Canadian Regulators Probing Crypto Lender Celsius Network Alongside US: Report (Coindesk)
• German Crypto Exchange Nuri Files for Insolvency (Blockworks | Finbold | Cointelegraph | BIC)
• Celsius Creditor Committee Takes Aim at CEO Mashinsky, Other Insiders (Blockworks)
• Bankrupt Lender Celsius’ Token Surges on Twitter-Driven Short Squeeze (Coindesk)

ANALYST'S CORNER

• TechDev: Technical Analyst Predicts Big Run for Stocks, Bitcoin (BTC) and Crypto – Here’s His Timeline (TDH)
• Three Indicators Supporting the Bull Case for Bitcoin, According to Crypto Analyst Benjamin Cowen (TDH)
• Ark Invest: Expect Bitcoin To Go Up by $200,000 to $500,000 (Cryptoglobe)
• Michael van de Poppe: Crypto trading guru sets key areas to watch for Bitcoin’s uptrend to persist (Finbold)
• JPMorgan: claims crypto market has ‘found a floor (Finbold | Bitcoinist) 
  
• Dan Morehead: $5,100,000,000 Crypto Hedge Fund CEO Says ‘New Rally’ Incoming, Ethereum and Altcoins Set To Outperform (TDH)
• Bitcoin (BTC) Setting Up To Flash Historically ‘Incredible’ Bullish Signal, Says Veteran Trader Tone Vays (TDH)
• Billionaire Mike Novogratz downplays bullish Bitcoin scenario, says ‘$20-30k’ is comfortable zone (Finbold | CryptoPotato)

NOTABLE VOICES

• Jeffrey Gao: Selling Bitcoin doesn’t mean you’re not bullish: Cypherpunk CEO (Cointelegraph)
• Nayib Bukele: President of El Salvador says Tourism Spike is Thanks to Bitcoin (BIC)
• Mark Cuban: What If Cardano Was On “Shark Tank”?, Billionaire Voices His Opinion (Bitcoinist)
• Vitalik Buterin: Believes Crypto Payments Will Become Mainstream (Bitcoinist)
• Guy: Coin Bureau Host Issues Warning, Says Crypto Markets To Face Series of ‘Wild Cards’ This Month (TDH)

ACCEPTANCE/ADOPTION

• Iran makes the first-ever import of goods using cryptocurrency worth millions (Finbold | Coindesk | Cointelegraph | Blockworks)

BLOCKCHAINS

• Ethereum Layer 2s Could Take Revenue From the Blockchain as They Become More Competitive: Coinbase (Coindesk)

EXCHANGES

• Popular Brokerage Firm Interactive Brokers Extends Its Crypto Trading Services (Cryptoglobe)
• Distressed Crypto Platform Zipmex to Resume Some BTC and ETH Withdrawals (Report) (CryptoPotato | Coindesk)
• Crypto Options Trading on Solana Has Mostly Fizzled. A New DEX Has a Plan to Change That (Coindesk)

MINING

• Bitcoin Miner Revenue Slows Down As BTC Price Slumps Sideways (Bitcoinist)
• Cipher Mining completes 40-megawatt wind powered site in Texas (TB)
• Cipher Mining Lowers Per-Terahash Cost of Crypto Mining Rigs Even as Quarterly Loss Widens (Coindesk)
• Bitcoin network’s power demand drops by over 20% in 2022 as shift to renewables accelerates (Finbold)
• Bitcoin Miner Marathon to Start Energizing Texas Rigs at Compute North Facility (Coindesk)
• Iris Energy Turns On 41 Megawatts of Bitcoin Mining Machines Ahead of Schedule (Coindesk)
• Bitcoin miner CleanSpark acquires site in Georgia, plans to scale it to 86 megawatts (BM | TB | Coindesk)
• After Countless Bungles, Compass Mining Tries to Change Course (Coindesk)
• Kazakh Authorities Arrest 23 Suspected of Forcing IT Professional to Run an Illegal Crypto Mine: Report (Coindesk)

LEGISLATION/REGULATION

• US Crypto Regulation Bill Needs More Work to Define Boundaries, Former Prosecutor Says (Coindesk)

TORNADO CASH

• Alchemy and Infura block access to Tornado Cash as Vitalik Buterin weighs in on debate (Cointelegraph | BIC)
• Why The Sanction On Tornado Cash Is A Bear Signal For The Crypto Market (Bitcoinist)
• Crypto notables are being sent ETH from sanctioned Tornado Cash wallets (TB | Coindesk)
• Crypto-Mixing Service Tornado Cash Blacklisted by US Treasury (Coindesk)
• US Government Amps Up Inevitable Clash With Crypto Privacy in Tornado Cash Blacklisting (Coindesk)
• US Secretary of State Tweets, Deletes Claim That Crypto Mixer Tornado Cash Is North Korea-Sponsored (Coindesk)
• Infura and Alchemy are now blocking access to Tornado Cash (TB)

THE BAD

• BitMEX Executive Pleads Guilty to Violating Bank Secrecy Act (BIC | Cointelegraph | Blockworks | Coindesk)
• Is your SOL safe? What we know about the Solana hack | Find out now on The Market Report (Cointelegraph)

PODCASTS

• The Breakdown: Are the US Sanctions on Tornado the Beginning of a War on Privacy?
• Bankless: Cryptographer David Chaum | Layer Zero
• The Decrypt Daily: Aug 8: WaxirX Owned by Binance? CZ Says It’s Not True