Week in Review: Worldcoin launches WLD token as Elon Musk pumps Dogecoin

Bitcoin’s price did not react to the Fed rate hike, Worldcoin launched its own token WLD, Elon Musk pumped Dogecoin, Tim Draper predicted widespread Bitcoin adoption, and other events from the week just past.

Bitcoin slips below $29,500

On July 26, the Fed raised the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 5.25-5.50% per year. Bitcoin and other digital assets showed only a muted reaction.

As a result of another adjustment in mining difficulty, the mining difficulty of the first cryptocurrency fell by 2.94%. The metric retreated from its high to 52.33 TH.

Throughout the week, digital gold traded in a range between $29,000 and $30,000. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price stood at $29,300.

Most top-10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization showed little movement. The exception was Dogecoin (DOGE), which rose by 10.7%.

The combined market capitalization of the crypto market exceeds $1.2 trillion. Bitcoin’s dominance index stands at 49.6%.

What’s going on with Binance?

Binance and its head Changpeng Zhao filed a motion in federal court in Chicago to dismiss the CFTC’s complaint. On March 23, the regulator accused the cryptocurrency exchange of violating derivatives trading rules and operating without a license. The agency also claimed that the company knew that its clients included sanctioned individuals.

According to Zhao, Binance will return to the Japanese digital asset market by the end of the summer. In 2022 the company acquired the Sakura Exchange BitCoin trading platform, registered with the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA).

Binance also withdrew its application for a trading license from BaFin. Earlier media reported that the German regulator planned to refuse to grant the company a license to provide digital asset custody services.

The Worldcoin project by Sam Altman launched its own token

The Worldcoin project by Sam Altman announced the official launch of its native token WLD. A number of major crypto exchanges, including Binance, Bybit and OKX, announced listings for the new coin.

Users will be able to receive WLD by completing verification, and by participating in beta testing. The developers pledged to share more precise tokenomics in the near future.

Worldcoin’s core product — the World ID protocol — is based on zero-knowledge proofs. It is a mobile tool that allows people to verify identity without sacrificing anonymity. In addition to biometric data, users can use a phone number to verify identity.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said that Worldcoin poses a privacy threat due to its iris-scanning feature. He said there is a real risk of data leakage.

Among other project concerns, Buterin highlighted centralization and the low security of users’ mobile devices. At the same time, he described the Worldcoin concept as “truly valuable.”

France’s data protection authority CNIL expressed doubts about the legality of biometric data collection by the project. Worldcoin also attracted the attention of the United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

What to discuss with friends?

• Sam Altman showed a long queue of Japanese people for Worldcoin.
• An 11-year-old “sleeping” address moved Bitcoin worth $31 million.
• A US family organized a “God Blessing Through Cryptocurrency” pyramid scheme.
• A Spanish crypto billionaire was found dismembered in Argentina.

Elon Musk Pumps Dogecoin

On July 24, the meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE) surged 9% to $0.083 after Twitter owner Elon Musk placed the symbol “Д in his profile description.

At the time of writing, the asset had retreated below $0.08. Dogecoin’s market cap stands at $11.2 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Tim Draper predicts widespread Bitcoin adoption

Venture capitalist and billionaire Tim Draper said that sooner or later the world will adopt the first cryptocurrency. In his view, Bitcoin will transform commerce and money.

“Bitcoin is accepted around the world, and it’s only a matter of time before retailers realise that they can save 2% by accepting Bitcoin. They don’t need to pay banks and card processors,” he explained.

Also on ForkLog:

• 800,000 blocks have been mined on the Bitcoin network.
• Putin signed a law on the digital ruble.
• OpenAI announced a ChatGPT app for Android.
• Experts calculated the amount of Bitcoin donations to Ukraine since the start of the war.

U.S. presidential candidate bought 14 BTC for his children

In May, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a participant in the current U.S. presidential race, bought 14 BTC for his children as an investment. He said he wanted to demonstrate his commitment to the first cryptocurrency.

“I bought two Bitcoins for each of my seven children. Now I’m a crypto investor. I’m sure the media will find another way to attack me, but no one will be able to say that I didn’t put my money into what I talked about,” the candidate noted.

User loses Bitcoin due to key generator

Reddit user r/jdmcnair fell victim to a $3,000 Bitcoin theft from a paper wallet after using a key generator. He asked experts to explain how this happened.

“I stored non-custodially — generated a private key and printed it on paper on an offline computer. I put it in a safe that only I have the key to. I believed this was one of the safest methods,” the user explained.

The victim said he used walletgenerator.net. Commentators noted that the community had pointed out vulnerabilities in the generator.

CertiK’s Chief Security Officer Hugh Brooks urged users to think twice before using such services. He said that online wallet generators have recently been used as a tool for hacks.

What else to read?

New educational flashcards explained what the Howey test is and why regulators are trying to apply it to cryptocurrencies.

In the traditional digest, the week’s main cybersecurity events were gathered.

The decentralised finance sector continues to attract heightened attention from crypto investors. ForkLog has compiled the most important events and news of recent weeks in its digest.