The future is looking promising for cryptocurrencies
In exciting news for the crypto industry, global travel agency Skyscanner has joined forces with crypto-native travel agency Travala to offer bookings using over 100 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. The integration makes crypto payments available to Skyscanner’s 110 million monthly users, and highlights the ease of paying with crypto alongside more traditional options.?
Their partnership is the first within the crypto and travel industries, and highlights the increased appetite for alternative payments options such as crypto across the globe as they enter the ‘mainstream’. The demand for crypto payments is also growing elsewhere, with Mastercard set to release a euro-denominated debit card, in partnership with Mercuryo, that enables users to spend their tokens directly at over 100 million merchants using Mastercard’s network.
Additionally, Bitcoin has garnered the attention of a subsidiary of one of Japan’s largest energy providers, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco). The subsidiary, Agile Energy X, is reported to have shown an interest in mining Bitcoin with its surplus renewable energy to promote greener practices - another sign that cryptocurrencies are beginning to reach new and unexplored audiences as they grow in popularity.
In the wider markets, Bitcoin and other tokens have shown signs of recovery over the past few days ahead of a week filled with potential flashpoints for crypto. The market dropped in reaction to underwhelming U.S. non-farm payroll (NFP) data on Friday, which gives an overall snapshot of economic health. The market has since clawed back some of the losses, with catalysts this week including the release of CPI and PPI data, which track inflation and consumer prices.
The much-awaited Presidential debate is also due this week, meaning any mention of potential crypto-related policies could see a flurry of activity within the token markets. All eyes are now on the FOMC meeting in mid-September, where rate cuts are expected following the weaker economic data being released.
Volatility is expected up until that meeting, but key figures in the space including former bitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes, have predicted a rally for Bitcoin could be on its way. Hayes said on X that “if stuff continues to puke next week, bitcoin MIGHT rise anticipating more $ liquidity,” implying that activity might be spurred on an injection of liquidity from the Federal Reserve.
?
A trending token this week is Fantom, which saw the testnet for its new Sonic blockchain produce industry-leading transaction finality times in testing. With the launch of Sonic pending, the FTM token is proving popular with investors wanting to access the latest developments in blockchain technology. Learn more about Fantom in the app.
?
Another trending token is SUI, the native token of the Sui blockchain. The network has recently launched its native stablecoin, AUSD, which is set to bring increased activity to its DeFi ecosystem. Additionally, the SuiPlay0X1, dubbed the “world’s first Web3-native handheld gaming device”, was also made available to preorder with SUI last week. Check out Sui on the app.
领英推荐
?
Faith Love is an artist in the NFT space whose work focuses on Minimalism and emotions. "New beginnings" brings to life the notion that things don’t come to an end, and they always bring about a new beginning. The image masterfully represents this by showing there’s an expanse beyond the end of a chapter, ready to be explored.
New beginnings... by Faith Love (Source: SuperRare)
?
? Tether makes $102 million investment in agricultural landscapes, addresses concerns [The Block]
EigenLayer to distribute 86 million tokens to stakers and node operators [Coindesk]
Fantom’s rebranded blockchain Sonic Labs launches testnet [The Defiant]
Snapshot X launches to enable gas-free, on-chain voting via Starknet [The Block]