🔗 News wrap-up
In your inbox every Saturday morning, best enjoyed with coffee and brunch ☕. Today we are talking US inflation falling, also Paypal and Starbucks taking steps into the world of crypto.
I’m remixing the format slightly after some feedback, instead of one large combo weekly newsletter get ready for bite-sized treats throughout the week!
If you are new, be sure to check out the archive
Market update 📉
Bitcoin & Crypto markets still pretty boring and staying mostly within the same range as the last few weeks (BTC around $17k. Sentiment seems to be improving as the fear of Bitcoin crashing to $10k subsides. Onwards and upwards!
General sentiment in the US overall financial markets is wary, with more signs of their economy slowing down as the Federal Reserves rate hikes start to have effect. The (oversimplified) summary of their plan is that by increasing the cost of borrowing money, everyone will start to spend less and the demand for good and services will decrease, which will reduce their problematic inflation. It seems to be working, and the American factory sector is now at its weakest in 31 months, and now contracting. The giant US services sector is actually shrinking at a faster pace. The good news is that it seems to be reducing inflation you can see below:
Ironically, the best-case scenario is a mild/moderate recession for the first half of 2023 which squashes inflation meaning the Fed can reduce interest rates, with would see markets rally with stocks and crypto doing well.
Interesting news from the week 🗞️
⚖️ US Senators introduce Digital Assets Anti-Money Laundering Act. If it becomes law, will bring know-your-customer (KYC) rules to crypto participants such as wallet providers and miners. It also requires institutions to report certain transactions involving unhosted wallets (where the user has complete control over the contents).
While these go against the privacy “ethos” of crypto, the reality is that concerns over the use of crypto to facilitate money laundering and terrorist financing are frequently used by lawmakers and more robust regulation of the digital asset industry will increase institutional and retail.
🦊 PayPal is working with major crypto wallet MetaMask to allow easy crypto purchases. According to a press release, the partnership between the payments firm and MetaMask developer ConsenSys will enable users to select their PayPal accounts as a payment option to buy ether (ETH) from within the MetaMask app. The offering is designed to facilitate seamless purchases and transfers of ether from PayPal to MetaMask. Since “on-ramping” (converting NZD to crypto) is often a barrier to entry, this is a good thing!
☕ Starbucks launched its blockchain-based loyalty program and NFT community, Starbucks Odyssey, to its first group of U.S. beta testers. It includes coffee-themed NFTs that translate to real-world experiences, is an extension of Starbucks’ existing loyalty program, Starbucks Rewards, but leverages web3 technology like the polygon blockchain and NFTs.
Customers can engage with interactive activities called “Journeys” that, when complete, allow members to earn collectable “Journey Stamps” (NFTs) through completing activities, like watching videos or taking quizzes, playing puzzles or even going to the store to try out new drinks the company wants to promote. I love this as it’s actually connected to the company’s existing loyalty program, business goals and mobile payment technologies.
