Freedom of Speech is Under Attack!

Here we are, almost a quarter of the way through the 21st century, and one of mankind’s fundamental freedoms remains under threat. We may have developed and adopted a whole new way of communicating in the last few decades, but those who would suppress our freedom of speech are emboldened, not defeated.

So, why is this freedom coming under such sustained attack? Who exactly is responsible? And, crucially, why are they so desperate to silence us? Most of us are aware that it’s happening, but few consider the underlying reasons why.

In today’s video, we dig into these questions and more besides. As the world seems to lurch from crisis to crisis, with many now believing that the century could be on the brink of entering a dark new chapter, we look at why certain interests are fighting to stifle dissenting voices.

You can watch that video here.

📈 Crypto Market Forecast 📈

It’s been a big week, and it looks like this coming week will be even bigger. This is because the recent rally seems to have caught most crypto investors off guard. This is not surprising considering that everyone was focused on the fact that BTC has historically performed poorly in September. What is surprising, at least to most investors, is how many altcoins have participated in the rally.

If you’ve been keeping up with our newsletters, you’ll know we predicted this rally could happen. We also predicted that alts would rally precisely because of all the altcoin-specific factors that were coming up, such as TOKEN2049. This begs the question of what catalysts are coming up that could make the week ahead even bigger than the last. The answer is… none in particular.

So, why could this week be bigger than the last? In short, investors waking up with a heavy dose of FOMO. In case the views on our videos didn’t make it clear enough, retail interest in crypto is at multi-year lows, or at least it was until last week. To some, this was a bearish sign. To others, this was a bullish sign, because it suggested that there’s only way that metric could go - up!

The most bullish part is that this bearish bias still seems to be present among institutional investors as well. That’s because the spot Bitcoin and spot Ethereum ETFs have still seen muted inflows relative to how much crypto has rallied in recent days. They’re going to want to get more exposure, especially after Blackrock published a pro-BTC report to justify aping in.

With all that said, there are a handful of crypto and macro factors that could provide tailwinds to this potential ‘catch up’ rally. The first crypto-specific factor is the launch of Donald Trump’s DeFi protocol, which has yet to go live. When it finally launches, it will put crypto back in the news. Even if the coverage is negative, tens of millions of Trump supporters could venture into crypto regardless, just to give it a try.

The second crypto-specific factor that could provide a tailwind this week is the addition of Coinbase’s cbBTC to Aave, which is currently being voted on and will likely pass tomorrow. As we explained in detail to our Coin Bureau Club members, cbBTC + Aave = billions of dollars of pristine crypto collateral that can be used to borrow billions in stablecoins to speculate on alts.

Meanwhile, on the macro front, there will be a revision to Q2 GDP on Thursday, and the core PCE on Friday. In the case of the former, it’s possible that there will be downward revision, and in the case of the latter, it’s likely that headline PCE will continue to fall. Taken together, these will give the Fed more leeway to cut by another 50 basis points at its next meeting in early November.

But we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention one big black swan that could sweep away all of these bullish factors in an instant. That’s the prospect of escalation in the Middle East and/or Eastern Europe. In case you missed the news, it looks like things are starting to heat up in the Middle East, and it’s possible that it could turn into the regional war everyone has been fearing.

At the same time, Ukraine has been asking its allies to give it the green light to use long-range weapons to strike inside Russia. This is a topic that could justify its own newsletter, but the TLDR is that Ukraine may already have given itself the green light. This was made clear by its recent attack on a Russian weapons depot in a region that’s surprisingly far from the border.

Hopefully, someday Bitcoin will make war unaffordable - because governments won’t be able to print the BTC they need to start one!

💰 Crypto Payments Shine Again 💰

It’s been a busy week for the crypto payments industry.

We saw several headlines this week hinting at the return of mainstream attention to this rather unglamorous niche.

Starting in the US, Louisiana became the latest state to integrate digital currencies as a mode of payment for state services. Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming announced that the state had finalised a collaboration with crypto payments platform Bead Pay and local integration partners.

The partnership will allow state residents to pay for state services with cryptocurrencies from early September. The partnered service providers will reportedly convert the crypto to US dollars and deposit it into a state government bank account. This will provide more payment choices for residents, while abstracting away the need for the state to manage these assets.

Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump was also spotted making his first crypto payment at a popular New York City bar and restaurant last week. He reportedly used BTC on the lightning network to pay for hamburgers at the popular PubKey Bar in New York.

Not long before Trump’s burger binge, US payment processors Paypal and Venmo announced the addition of support for Ethereum Name Service (ENS) names on their platforms. For context, ENS names replace complex hexadecimal crypto wallet addresses with simple nicknames such as ‘bob.eth.’ This integration lets users enter the recipient's ENS name directly in the search field when sending crypto. This move is expected to boost the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency payments by reducing the risk of errors in crypto transactions.

Outside the US, we saw stablecoin issuer Circle announce the integration of its USDC stablecoin with Brazil and Mexico’s national real-time payment systems through partnerships with leading banks. The integration allows businesses to directly access USDC from local financial institutions without international wire transfers.

Circle’s partnership also hints at the growing importance stablecoins have in the global financial system, especially in relation to cross-border payments and aiding financial stability for users in emerging markets.

In fact, a recent research report by digital asset investment firm Castle Island Ventures and hedge fund group Brevan Howard found that the use of stablecoins for everyday finances such as savings, currency conversion and cross-border payments was increasing in emerging markets.

The report, which surveyed users in Brazil, Nigeria, Turkey, Indonesia, and India, found that 69% of respondents had converted local currency to a stablecoin, while 39% of respondents paid for a good/service with stablecoins, or sent/received money to a relative in a different country using stablecoins. The respondents also confirmed the use of stablecoins as a medium of income, with 30% having used stablecoins for their business, and 23% having paid or received a salary in stablecoins.

This probably explains why more and more companies, both TradFi and crypto-native, are looking to launch their own stablecoins. Just over the past few weeks, we’ve seen reports of major players like Revolut, BitGo and Ripple announcing their entry into the stablecoin space.

That said, stablecoins aren’t the only products accelerating the adoption of crypto payments.

There’s a new breed of crypto project looking to integrate crypto payments with components of DeFi. These projects seek to motivate users to opt for crypto payments by incentivising them with additional benefits and rewards for doing so.

These platforms are fundamentally reshaping how we think about payments, bringing in elements of programmability, smart contracts, and liquidity pooling to the world of everyday transactions.

Huma Finance, one of the more prominent projects spearheading this model, calls this ‘PayFi.’ The project, which recently raised $38 million in a Series A funding round led by Distributed Global and the Stellar Development Foundation, allows users to borrow against cash flow rather than tokens. This includes borrowing against receivables such as pay stubs or invoices. It aims to address the liquidity needs of trade financing and claims to offer more efficient, more accessible services than traditional alternatives.

Another example of a crypto-native product accelerating crypto payments is ‘Ether.fi Cash’ – a new crypto-native credit card launched by the liquid restaking platform Ether.fi. The credit card allows users to pay with cryptocurrency “anywhere Visa is accepted.” Users finance these purchases by borrowing against yield-bearing crypto assets deposited on the platform. This specifically targets retail power users of crypto.

That said, lending and borrowing are not the only DeFi models we see being included under the PayFi category. Token rewards and loyalty programs are also effective means of incentivising users to opt for crypto payments. For instance, Blackbird – a consumer crypto app that uses a loyalty rewards system to boost revenue and business for partnered restaurants, plans to use its Blackbird Pay program to promote crypto payments.

Instead of simply offering free drinks and desserts, Blackbird plans to allow consumers to pay for entire meals using their FLY (loyalty) points. With 1 FLY being equivalent to one cent, it becomes the blueprint for a new payment system built on crypto rails. In its most recent Flypaper update, Blackbird hinted that it plans to launch "Flynet" in the longer term. Flynet will be a layer 3 chain on Base dedicated to loyalty infrastructure in support of the FLY payments network.

We suspect these are just the first in a long line of upcoming PayFi projects. That said, it’s already evident that crypto payments are a serious subject of focus for builders in the space.  

We recommend you keep a close eye on this growing crypto niche. The era of crypto payments is here, and it’s transforming finance as we know it.

🔥 Hot Deal of The Week 🔥

It’s been a solid week for the markets and this has led many to consider adjusting their portfolios for the potential next leg up. To do that you’ll need to use an exchange of course.

So, it might be time to try out a new exchange and grab yourself an exclusive sign up incentive. The three most frequently spotted exchanges at Coin Bureau HQ are…

🥇 Blofin - up to $100k bonus + exclusive 70% fee discount
🥈 Bybit - up to $60k in rewards + 0% maker fees for 30 days
🥉 OKX - exclusive 40% trading fee discount for life!

🔮 Video Pipeline 🔮

* Tron Review: Outlook for TRX in 2024?
* FED: Press conference summary
* ETH Sales: What’s up with ETH foundation and founders selling?
* Top 10 Crypto Telegram channels
* Gemini Report: Global state of crypto report!
 
🏆 What's New at CoinBureau.com This Week? 🏆

* Trezor vs Ledger: Which is Better in 2024?
* Is MetaMask Safe and Legit?
* 7 Best Crypto to Mine in 2024
* 7 Best No KYC Crypto Exchanges in 2024

📖 Quote of the Week 📖

You don’t always have to trade coins in the market if you want outsized returns. Sometimes the buy and hodl strategy works wonders.  

“Activity is the enemy of investment returns” - Warren Buffet

Team Coin Bureau

Disclosure: Authors may own cryptoassets named in this newsletter. These are unqualified opinions, and a Coin Bureau newsletter, is meant for informational purposes only. It is not meant to serve as investment advice. Please consult with your investment, tax, or legal advisor.