@cryptocracy 23 July 2022 more from that month

BTC Mining Difficulty Drops to 5% Bitcoin mining difficulty **drops to 5 percent**, but has the **bitcoin mining winter** arrived? China’s financial crisis and the strengthening U.S. dollar could have stark **implications for bitcoin**. https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2022/07/22/bitcoin-mining-difficulty-sees-largest-drop-since-july-2021-as-miners-feel-the-texas-heat/ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2022-07-21/bitcoin-mining-winter-is-here-video https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/chinas-financial-crisis-us-dollar-strength-and-bitcoin Ethereum held on exchanges hits a **4-year low** and Ethereum 2.0 sees record staking. This time, developers say The Merge is actually happening **right on time**. https://decrypt.co/105732/ethereum-held-exchanges-plunges-stakers-prepare-merge https://gizmodo.com/ethereum-proof-of-stake-september-19-merge-date-bitcoin-1849316290 Coinbase and Flexa dispute the SEC’s insistence that **these 9 cryptocurrencies are securities**. *It’s easy to see why they’d dispute that. RLY is a token protocol that allows creators to launch their own social tokens. People who own RLY aren’t buying shares in a company and they’re not making an investment. They’re creating a secondary product that serves as a community-building tool. In that regard, RLY has utility. And it’s just one example.* On another note, Coinbase wins **Best Prime Broker Award**. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coinbase-flexa-dispute-secs-claims-that-these-9-cryptocurrencies-are-securities-11658511332 https://blog.coinbase.com/coinbase-wins-best-prime-broker-award-38129e80f1f0 Binance says it does not stake or lend **locked DOGE**. Meanwhile, the SEC denies **investigating Binance** over BNB. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/07/22/binance-says-it-does-not-stake-or-lend-locked-doge/ https://www.cryptotimes.io/sec-denies-investigating-binance-over-bnb-token/ BlockFi had $600 million in crypto loans **not backed by collateral** in Q2 2022. Nexo, with declining deposits, is seeking other crypto lenders to **snap up off the market**. *If Nexo can acquire just two or three failing crypto lenders, it could emerge from the crypto winter stronger and better than ever before. It will be a long-term contender and perhaps emerge as the* de facto *leader in crypto lending.* https://decrypt.co/105765/blockfi-1-8-billion-open-loans-600-million-exposure-q2 https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/07/22/nexo-crypto-lender-on-prowl-for-ailing-rivals-faces-declining-deposits/ Ethereum Classic climbs **100 percent in 9 days**. https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-classic-soars-100-in-nine-days-outperforming-eth-as-the-merge-approaches NFT Worlds says it will **spin off from Minecraft** after the latter disses NFTs. Epic Games says it **won’t ban NFTs**. Are third-party NFTs in games **unethical**? https://www.pcgamer.com/after-minecraft-says-no-to-nfts-nft-worlds-vows-to-make-its-own-game/ https://cointelegraph.com/news/epic-games-definitely-won-t-follow-minecraft-nft-ban https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2022-07-22-third-party-nfts-in-games-are-the-latest-unethical-twist-from-web3-opinion Legal implications **every project must consider** when entering Web3. **(A MUST-READ)** *You do not want to miss this one. Written by Michael Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner (SME), a thought leader if there ever was one. Forget that SME is a Web2 property. Stelzner is very much into Web3.* https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/web3-legal-what-projects-need-to-consider/

SEC Chair Gary Gensler says **crypto lending firms** fall under his jurisdiction. https://dailyhodl.com/2022/07/22/sec-chair-gary-gensler-says-crypto-lending-firms-fall-under-agencys-jurisdiction/ 7 opportunities and risks of the metaverse **for small businesses**. *Because I run a small business, I’m always interested in what people have to say about the benefits of Web3, crypto, and the metaverse for small businesses.* https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-opportunities-and-risks-of-metaverse-for-small-businesses Have you read the **7 red herrings of cryptocurrency**? *Full disclosure: A rant.* https://cryptocracy.substack.com/p/give-me-a-damn-break 8 experts predict the **future of cryptocurrencies** for the rest of 2022. https://time.com/nextadvisor/investing/cryptocurrency/future-of-cryptocurrency/ **Cred is suing Uphold**, alleging the crypto wallet caused the crypo lender’s bankruptcy. https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2022/07/22/failed-crypto-lender-cred-blames-uphold-exchange-for-its-demise-in-suit/ Over 30 percent of crypto users will **never buy an NFT**. Are NFT’s very **different than cryptocurrencies**? https://finbold.com/over-30-of-crypto-users-will-never-buy-an-nft-study-shows/ https://techdayhq.com/community/articles/how-are-nfts-different-from-cryptocurrencies Are bitcoin mining pools just **delegated proof of stake (DPOS) with extra steps**? **(A DOGGONE GOOD READ)** https://hive.blog/hive-167922/@edicted/mining-pools-dpos-with-extra-steps

What is a DAO? It isn’t “a group chat with a bank account—it’s a **flash mob with a mutual fund**.” Why DAOs are an **important part of the blockchain**. The **best DAO applications** in 2022. https://paragraph.xyz/@anon/anon1 https://screenrant.com/blockchain-daos-importance-governance-web3-explained/ https://heraldsheets.com/best-dao-applications-in-2022/ Builders should not wait for recovery. They should **keep building**. https://cointelegraph.com/news/don-t-wait-around-for-recovery-keep-on-building-says-web3-exec My Big Coin founder was **convicted of crypto fraud**. https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2022/07/cryptocurrency-founder-convicted-defrauding-investors-more-6-million/374821/ Reimaging **books with NFTs** **(AN ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE READ)**. *I’ve been looking into literary NFTs for about a year now. I’ve explored several of the attempts mentioned in this article, and then some. So far, I haven’t seen a single platform that has it down. Maybe that will change. I’m hoping that books as NFTs will take off, but the talk about buying shares in books has me a little uncomfortable because that could lead to the SEC’s involvement. Still, this is a* ***MUST-READ*** *if you have any interest in books.* https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a40654712/crypto-books-future/ WazirX is a **Web3 marketplace for gaming assets**. https://yourstory.com/2022/07/web3-market-gaming-assets-tegro-wazirx-universe-power-solutions/amp How the heck did Steemit end up on this list of **best crypto information websites**? *I completely disagree with this list. CoinTelegraph and Decrypt are better than most of these listed here.* https://beststocks.com/the-top-7-crypto-information-websites-in-2022/ Ukraine intends to **fund the restoration of physical monuments** with NFTs. https://cointelegraph.com/news/nft-sales-will-fund-the-restoration-of-physical-monuments-in-ukraine The Bank of Central African States is being encouraged to issue a **common digital currency**. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/07/22/bank-of-central-african-states-urged-to-introduce-common-digital-currency-report/ *Snark and commentary so good it’s kissable. That’s why I put it in italics.* Cryptocracy is a decentralized newsletter published several times a week. I curate the latest news and crypto analysis from some of the brightest minds in crypto, and sometimes offer a little insightful and snarky commentary. Always fresh, always interesting, and always crypto. *First published at* *Cryptocracy**. Not to be construed as financial advice. Do your own research.* https://cryptocracy.substack.com/p/bitcoin-mining-difficulty-drops-again Image credit: Web3 - Social Media Examiner; DPOS - @edicted at Hive