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Gas prices are falling. Is it too late to save the Dems?
The average price at the pump is still $1.17 per gallon higher than it was a year ago. But Democrats are eagerly embracing the shifting economic tides — and hoping voters pay attention. “We have some really good news: Gas prices are coming down,” Biden said at a White House meeting last week. “In some cities, it’s down almost a dollar from last month. We’ve been working really hard to bring the price down.” It’s an open question, though, whether voters will give more weight to the declining fuel prices, or to the fact that they spiked so high to begin with. One GOP operative acknowledged that the drop could make a difference. “If the market continues to respond as it has and gets back to year-ago prices, that will definitely blunt the criticism” over inflation, said Chuck Coughlin, a Repub...
StarCard Sports Games Launches “Legends” Initiative for New World Football Alliance; Partners with Ashley Cole and Roberto Carlos
Boston, MA, 26th July, 2022, Chainwire [embedded content] StarCard Sports Games (SCSG), the creator of New World Football Alliance, a play-to-earn football (soccer) video game marrying blockchain with social impact and environmental initiatives, announced today the launch of their Legends platform. This is a series of real-world and in-game partnerships between SCSG and some of the most iconic names in football history, including Ashley Cole and Roberto Carlos. These partnerships will be reflected in StarCard Sports Games’ new title, “New World Football Alliance,” as well as through the creation of NFTs and the curation of real-world events around the globe. SCSG is the first-of-its-kind social impact play-to-earn (P2E) gaming platform, bridging the digital divide between real-life athlete...
Experts clash on where virtual reality sits in the Metaverse
Virtual reality (VR) will eventually have a place within the Metaverse, but not for the foreseeable future given its slow adoption rates, according to experts. There isn’t much that can rival the experience of having one’s senses almost immersed in a virtual world — which is why many believe that the technology will have a natural fit for the Metaverse. It’s a technology that Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is betting big on by introducing Meta accounts that it says will allow users to access its Meta Horizons platform more easily through Oculus VR headsets. Founder and CEO of metaverse platform CEEK Mary Spio is also one waving the VR metaverse flag. In an interview with Cointelgraph, Spio argues that the true power of a Metaverse cannot be realized unless users are totally immersed through ...
Britney Spears Won’t Have to Sit for a Deposition in Legal Battle With Dad, Judge Rules
A Los Angeles judge sided with Britney Spears on Wednesday (July 27) and rejected her father’s demand that she sit for a deposition. At a hearing Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge Brenda Penny finalized her earlier tentative decision to deny a request from attorneys for Jamie Spears to depose his daughter amid ongoing litigation over his alleged misconduct during her controversial 13-year legal conservatorship. Britney’s attorney, Mathew Rosengart, argued there was no reason for the pop star to face a deposition in the case, and called it an act of revenge by her father and his lawyers. “Whether he believes it or accepts it, what she went through under him [was traumatic]. What would a decent dad do? He would say, ‘That’s my daughter, I love my daughter,’” Rosengart said...
Will the Fed prevent BTC price from reaching $28K? — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week
Bitcoin (BTC) enters a new week with a question mark over the fate of the market ahead of another key United States monetary policy decision. After sealing a successful weekly close — its highest since mid-June — BTC/USD is much more cautious as the Federal Reserve prepares to hike benchmark interest rates to fight inflation. While many hoped that the pair could exit its recent trading range and continue higher, the weight of the Fed is clearly visible as the week gets underway, adding pressure to an already fragile risk asset scene. That fragility is also showing in Bitcoin’s network fundamentals as miner strain becomes real and the true cost of mining through the bear market shows. At the same time, there are encouraging signs from some on-chain metrics, with long-term investors still re...
The best bear market plan? ‘Relentless optimism for the future,’ says fintech CEO
While many crypto veterans give out a wide range of bear market advice and strategies, some opt for a more straightforward approach—optimism. Being resilient and positive during this time is very important, according to Jeremy Almond, the CEO of Paystand, a business-to-business (B2B) payments fintech. Almond told Cointelegraph that the best way to plan during the crypto winter for companies is having what he calls a “brutal understanding of the facts” and “relentless optimism for the future.” He explained that: “As a company, you always want to be resilient in case of hard times but also optimistic about the world we are creating.” The CEO expressed that companies get to be the ones to implement the vision. Because of that, Almond said that they need to be prepared, saying that the best co...
Thai SEC launches digital hotline for Zipmex users
In the aftermath of the Thai cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex stopping withdrawals last week, local financial regulators are stepping in to look into potential losses by investors. Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking action to collect all necessary information from investors on how they have been affected by issues on Zipmex. The regulator officially announced on July 25 that Zipmex customers can submit information via an online forum on the Thai SEC’s official website. The SEC has received a number of complaints from people affected by Zipmex after the crypto exchange temporarily suspended withdrawals of the Thai baht and digital assets on Wednesday, the regulator said. “In the past, the SEC issued a letter requesting the company [Zipmex] to provide an efficient sy...
NFT utility to remedy ticketing dilemmas? Experts weigh in
The 2022 Champions League final will have a checkered position in the competition’s history book. Real Madrid emerged victorious over Liverpool inside the Stade de France, but the pandemonium outside the stadium before kick-off highlights the need for innovative solutions to events ticketing. Counterfeit tickets played a massive role in the chaotic scenes that played out in the French capital in June 2022, as fans broke into the stadium precinct while authorities rebuffed many. French authorities estimated that 35,000 people had arrived at France’s national stadium with fake tickets or none at all, in addition to the 75,000 fans that had legitimate tickets for the grand final. Black market ticket sales and touting have been part and parcel of the sporting and events world for decades, but ...
Rap on Capitol Hill: Proposed Federal Law Would Ban Lyrics From Criminal Cases
A proposed law introduced in Congress on Tuesday (July 27) would heavily restrict when federal prosecutors can cite rap lyrics as evidence during a criminal case, mirroring recent efforts in California and New York to limit the increasingly controversial practice. Introduced by U.S. Reps. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), the Restoring Artistic Protection Act (RAP Act) would sharply limit when any form of creative or artistic expression could be used as evidence against the person who created it. “Our judicial system disparately criminalizes Black and brown lives, including Black and brown creativity,” Bowman said in a statement announcing the bill. “We cannot imprison our talented artists for expressing their experiences nor will we let their creativity be suppressed.” The bi...
Tether, Bitfinex, Hypercore collab to launch encrypted P2P apps
Staying true to the “bear market is for building” motto, crypto exchange Bitfinex along with Tether (USDT) and Hypercore announced the launch of a fully encrypted platform, Holepunch, for building peer-to-peer applications. As part of the initiative, the trio launched Keet, an encrypted application capable of facilitating real-time audio and video calls, text chat and file sharing. Partners aim to bestow control over data while breaking technology monopolies with Holepunch, according to the announcement. Tether and Bitfinex funded the development of the Holepunch platform. Paolo Ardoino, the chief technology officer of Tether and Bitfinex, will lead the new initiative as the chief strategy officer. Speaking on behalf of Tether and Bitfinex, Ardoino highlighted the need to address the growi...
When worlds collide: Joining Web3 and crypto from Web2
A friend of mine who is a seasoned Web2 tech executive joined a Web3 company in June. A switched-on operator, he asked to speak with all 16 staff before deciding to join the firm. This shows that Web3 joiners need to really hone in on the mission when jumping ship from the old tech world. Is the blockchain tech business model really plausible? You almost need to be a seasoned venture capitalist or world-class engineer when considering a new project’s potential to build a new L1 blockchain as promised — and, thus, deliver your token rewards. The risk-reward metrics mean there are opportunities for great success. But with great success comes great tax problems… Taking the leap from Web2 to Web3 is not for the fainthearted. “The first thing I see is that everyone in the space has an innovativ...
Bitcoin drops below $21.8K realized price as FOMC spooks markets
Bitcoin (BTC) stuck to its realized price just below $22,000 on July 25 as Wall Street opened with a flat performance. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Bitcoin gives up more key levels Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked BTC/USD as it consolidated after falling from $23,000 overnight. The pair echoed equities in cool trading prior to the July 27 United States Federal Reserve decision on interest rates. Analysts were expecting several days of volatility, and despite buyer interest in Bitcoin being strong below spot price, everything could still change. No guarantee any support holds after Wednesday’s #FED announcement, but for now #FireCharts shows a ladder of #Bitcoin bids around these next technical support levels. https://t.co/Ng2R...
