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Payments company Bolt cancels deal to acquire cryptocurrency company Wyre

California-based online payments company Bolt pulls out of a deal to buy cryptocurrency provider Wyre. News of the scrapped deal, which was agreed earlier this year, comes amid plummeting valuations in the cryptocurrency and fintech sectors.

Bolt Abandons Wyre’s $1.5 Billion Acquisition Plan

Bolt Financial, a San Francisco-based U.S. technology company, said on Friday that it had canceled a deal to buy cryptocurrency infrastructure provider Wyre Payments, Reuters reported Saturday. The e-commerce platform announced in early April a definitive agreement to acquire Wyre for $1.5 billion.

The deal was considered one of the biggest acquisitions of cryptocurrency companies this year. After a funding round in January, Bolt was last valued at $11 billion. The report notes, however, that high-tech valuations are under more pressure as investor confidence has been hit by recession fears and negative stock market developments.

Payment processor Stripe and fintech firm Klarna Bank also made significant valuation cuts, Reuters noted. Industry valuations have also dropped significantly in the cryptocurrency sector during the market slump in recent months.

In a statement released, Bolt emphasized that he will continue his partnership with Wyre. The online payments company explained that remaining independent would allow it to focus on its core areas of business. The company’s CEO, Maju Kuruvilla, was quoted as saying:

We will continue our existing business partnership with Wyre to pave the way for the integration of cryptocurrencies into our ecosystem, bringing Wyre's innovative cryptocurrency infrastructure to the world.

Wyre offers blockchain-connected payment APIs and fiat ramps for cryptocurrency, forex and cryptocurrency liquidity to users of various cryptocurrency projects. It was created in 2013 and, like Bolt, which was founded a year later, is based in San Francisco.

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Trading App Giant Robinhood Launches Support for Ethereum Rival Cardano (ADA) Ahead of Network Updates

Retail giant Robinhood is kicking off the new month by adding a top 10 crypto asset to its trading list.

In a new announcement via Twitter, the company says that Cardano Scalable Decentralized Blockchain (ADA), driven by customer demand, is now available on the Robinhood platform.

Cardano is a competitor to Ethereum (ETH), and this month both projects will institute major network upgrades.

Earlier this week, Cardano creator Bob Hoskinson provided an update on the long-awaited Vasil hard fork, saying that developers are making steady progress towards the event that should take place in the coming weeks.

“Things are moving very fast. The community is still doing extensive testing and so are we. There is a lot of integration work going on behind the scenes, so all of this infrastructure is looking good.

Sometime in September is what it looks like, unless something is discovered or we have a substantial slowdown somewhere.”

The Ethereum Foundation also announced last week an updated timeline for the Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) Consensus Engine project merger, starting with the Bellatrix update on September 6, followed by the transition formal Sometime between September 10 and 20.

Cardano experienced a week of price fluctuation, falling 1.74% to trade at $0.44 at the time of writing.

Ethereum is also in the red at 1.31% and is currently changing hands at $1,536.

While Robinhood continues to add new digital assets to its trading platform, the company has suffered from the negative effects of the long cryptocurrency bear market and in early August laid off 23% of its workforce.

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South Korea’s second largest city, Busan, partners with FTX for a local exchange

The city of Busan, the second largest city in South Korea, commonly known as the ‘Blockchain’ city of South Korea, has partnered with major cryptocurrency exchange FTX to build a local exchange. Furthermore, the association also aims to promote the development of blockchain in the city.

Pursuant to the agreement according to a statement issued by the Busan Metropolitan City on Aug. 30, FTX will assist in the creation of a local cryptocurrency exchange duped by the Busan Digital Asset Exchange. The Bahamian cryptocurrency exchange led by Sam Bankman-Fried will also support the city of Busan in promoting the growth of the local blockchain industry.

Busan City Cryptocurrency Exchange

The city of Busan will leverage FTX’s technology and infrastructure to build its own cryptocurrency exchange and promote blockchain-specific education at local universities and projects within the city’s ‘Special Blockchain Free Zone’ established in 2019.

FTX, through its Investment Division CEO Amy Woo, said that it will establish a Korean branch of FTX in the city of Busan within the next 12 months to help make Busan a digital financial hub in Asia.

In addition to signing an agreement with FTX, Busan also partnered with Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by turnover, on August 1. Binance has signed a memorandum of understanding to provide the city with infrastructure and technology support for its blockchain development effort.

Both FTX and Binance are expected to establish a presence in South Korea in the next 12 months.

Since Busan was designated as the Blockchain City of South Korea in 2019, several projects have already been launched. These projects include a proprietary blockchain-based identification system, a blockchain-powered driver’s license platform, and cryptocurrency support for various services.

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Goldman Sachs urges investors to buy commodities now; expect stocks to suffer as inflation remains high

Global investment bank Goldman Sachs has urged investors to buy commodities now and worry about a recession later. The company’s analysts see commodities as “the best asset class to own later in the cycle, where demand remains above supply.” Meanwhile, “stocks may take a hit as inflation remains high and the Fed is more likely to surprise on the aggressive side,” Goldman noted.

Goldman Sachs Recommendation: Buy Commodities Now

Global investment bank Goldman Sachs has recommended that investors buy commodities. In a note titled “Buy Commodities Now, Worry About Recession Later,” published on Monday, Goldman wrote: “Our economists view the risk of a recession outside of Europe in the next 12 months as relatively low.” Company analysts including Sabine Schels, Jeffrey Currie and Damien Courvalin explained:

With oil a commodity of last resort in an era of severe energy shortages, we believe the downturn in the entire oil complex offers an attractive entry point for long-term investment.

In the US, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said last week: “We are taking strong and swift action to moderate demand to better align with supply and keep inflation expectations anchored. We will continue this way until we are sure the job is done.”

Furthermore, European Central Bank (ECB) board member Isabel Schnabel noted on Saturday that central banks around the world are at risk of losing public confidence and must now act forcefully to combat inflation, including if you drag your savings into a recession.

“From a cross-asset perspective, equities may suffer as inflation remains elevated and the Fed is more likely to surprise on the aggressive side,” Goldman analysts further noted, explaining:

Commodities, on the other hand, are the best asset class to own later in the cycle, where demand remains above supply.

The final phase of the cycle normally implies an increase in inflationary pressures and an economy that exceeds the maximum rate of economic growth.

Goldman Sachs also warned: “We recognize that the macroeconomic environment remains challenging and the US dollar could rise further in the near term.”

Currie, who heads commodity research at Goldman Sachs, believes recessions are a natural part of a prolonged commodity supercycle. He told Reuters in November last year: “We expect a structural bull market in commodities, very similar to what we saw in the 2000s or 1970s.”

The analyst told CNBC in June that we are at the start of a commodity supercycle. “This is the first round of a commodity super cycle, it’s not just oil and gas, it’s metals, it’s mining, it’s agriculture, because the sector has suffered from over a decade of underinvestment,” he said.

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Binance will help the South Korean city of Busan increase

cryptocurrency adoption and develop a blockchain ecosystem
Binance is helping the South Korean city of Busan “increase cryptocurrency adoption in and out of the city”. The global cryptocurrency exchange will also support the development of the city’s blockchain ecosystem and the Busan Digital Asset Exchange.

Binance Signs Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Busan

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced on Friday that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the metropolitan city of Busan. Busan, located at the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula, is the second largest city in South Korea, with approximately 3.4 million inhabitants.

“As part of the agreement, the City of Busan will receive technological and infrastructure support from Binance for the development of the city’s blockchain ecosystem and the promotion of the Busan Digital Asset Exchange,” Binance explained.

“Another form of cooperation between the two parties will be the sharing of the order book”, added the company, adding that it will establish a presence in Busan by the end of the year.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said, “We are happy to work with the City of Busan to bring about tangible blockchain-related developments that benefit and support the city’s innovation efforts.” The executive opined:

Through our industry-leading position and technology expertise, combined with the City of Busan's strong support of the blockchain industry, we hope to help increase cryptocurrency adoption in the city and beyond.

“We look forward to our close cooperation with the city to support the establishment of digital asset exchanges and various blockchain industries,” added Zhao.

Busan Mayor Heong-Joon Park commented:

With this agreement, we are one step closer to establishing the Busan Digital Asset Exchange as an integrated global platform for digital assets.

“By making Busan a specialist blockchain city that attracts global attention, we will fuel a new growth engine for the local economy and make it a global digital financial hub,” he added.