Gm☀️

Bouncing back from the Fourth of July festivities, we're stepping into the second half of 2023. Let's ignite the second half with the latest market scoops that emerged amidst your July Fourth BBQs.

If you’re wondering why everyone’s talking about Threads, we’ve got something for you as well.

📈 MARKETS

This week, ether caught up a little with bitcoin, while the traditional markets also continued their streak from last week.

DONUT HOLES

Hole lotta news…

• NFT creator royalty payments hit a 2-year low

• Cocaine found in White House by Secret Service

• Binance.US market share plummets

• Crypto funding drops for fifth straight quarter

• Celsius and its ex-CEO likely to be sued by CFTC

WEB2

Zuck’s Twitter killer is here

Instagram’s Threads, which sparked Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk’s MMA fight idea, launched earlier today—and it seems like Zuck is already leading the fight with over 10 million sign-ups in the first seven hours.

Why is this crypto-related?

It's no secret that Twitter has always been our go-to place for the freshest crypto news and trends. It's text-based, light, and has a bunch of smart people on it.

However, Twitter has been getting some flak from users due to a few updates lately. For instance, they’ve recently imposed a paywall on the number of Tweets a user can view on any given day.

Some quick bits on Threads:

1. It can sync with your Instagram ID (you can import your followers and following list)

2. It's a text-based conversation app, much like Twitter

3. It will use an “open social networking protocol”

But what’s it ACTUALLY like?

So, our team did the fieldwork ourselves, spending a few hours dabbling with Threads.

Imagine Twitter as a wild Mardi Gras, with everyone anonymous and letting loose. Threads? More of a posh garden party because, well, there’s not much anonymity with everyone’s Instagram linked to their Threads accounts.

Two crypto lovers fighting in social media war

Instagram and Twitter are both obsessed with the same toy: blockchain. They even let users show off their NFTs as profile pictures. Meta (Instagram's parent) tried to join the fun with their own crypto project until they backed out due to regulatory issues. Meanwhile, Twitter's practical leader, Elon Musk, is the Dogecoin king.

Now, these two giants are clashing in the text-based social media war. The coming months promise to be popcorn-worthy, so stay tuned.

ALTCOINS

This OG coin is up 25% this week

Litecoin (LTC) has long been considered one of the staple cryptocurrencies, often referred to as the "silver" to Bitcoin's "gold".

Why Litecoin is special

Litecoin stands apart from many other altcoins due to its age, reliability, and proven track record. Developed by an ex-Google developer in 2011, Litecoin is built on Bitcoin's codebase, sharing many of the same technical aspects. However, Litecoin offers four times the maximum supply and faster block generation times, making transactions quicker.

Reasons for the price surge

1. Halving Event: Just like bitcoin, the number of Litecoins that are rewarded for completing a task in the network (like verifying transactions) is cut in half, roughly every 4 years. This effectively slows down the creation of new Litecoins, potentially making each existing Litecoin more valuable. We're coming up to one of these "halving" events in August 2023, and folks are starting to pay attention.

2. Longetivity and reputation: Increased institutional interest in the crypto space has brought more attention to established cryptocurrencies like Litecoin. It actually saw a big rise in price when was listed as one of the four tokens listed on the EDX exchange alongside Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum.

Investment strategy

Since it’s inception, Litecoin has increased by an average of over 600% before each halving and 7,000% after each halving. Although it may not be so dramatic, it may follow a similar pattern this time around as well.

It’s also important to mention that the price does tend to drop immediately after halving, which could be a good buying opportunity.

Just remember, patterns are just patterns and you should never trust in them 100%.

💰 REWARD QUIZ

Quiz yourself, earn rewards

Did you learn something new today? Let’s see if you were paying attention. Buckle up for a 20-second quiz—we might just have a little treat for ya—just for trying!

Afraid of getting questions wrong?

Yes, the shiny 100 points are awesome, but remember, it's about getting your hands dirty and giving it a go. If you get something wrong? They stick in your memory longer, which means you learn more.

So, hop on board with the rest of our brave quiz-takers. Remember, it's ok to score a zero!

🐦 TWEET OF THE WEEK

Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t posted anything on his Twitter for over a decade (his last Tweet was in 2012), and above is what he posted shortly after Threads launched. Shots fired much?

Zuck admits that Threads is almost identical to Twitter, but states that it will do much better and seize the opportunity Twitter couldn’t.

Alright, that's a wrap for now 🙌. If you made it to here, let us know by voting below. Catch you next Thursday!

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