🌀 Samsung Circling Crypto

August 27, 2022

|In Weekend Recap

|By Osprey Team

Samsung, the largest mobile device manufacturer in the world, is circling the blockchain + crypto industry.

This week, the company said it’s looking to launch a digital asset exchange in the first half of 2023 and initiated a study to learn how to most effectively expand its blockchain business.

During the Summer, Samsung began producing 3-nanometer chips that can be used for bitcoin mining hardware.

The company has already built a mobile wallet to hold digital assets. It also revived the flip phone.

This is a big deal and will be a story to watch into next year.

🔜 On The Verge

Ethereum’s Merge is slated for September 6th.

As it moves from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, the blockchain estimates its energy consumption will decrease by 99% and may offer better scalability.

Dune Analytics highlighted the top dashboards to follow the action.

Here’s an excellent look via SixDegree:

And here’s a lengthy read covering The Merge via NYT: The Crypto World Can’t Wait for ‘the Merge’

🏧 Bitcoin ATM Lists via SPAC

Bitcoin Depot, a Bitcoin ATM network with more than 7,000 kiosks in North America, plans to publicly list in the US via SPAC.

The company will merge with blank check company GSR II Meteora Acquisition Corp in a deal valued at $885M.

Bitcoin Depot Founder and CEO, DeBrandon Mintz commented,

Since inception, we’ve expanded our BTM footprint across North America, signed strategic relationships with major retailers, and enhanced our services to provide convenient access to cryptocurrency as we aim to become a digital asset economy on-ramp destination for users to efficiently turn cash into crypto. We’re excited about numerous growth opportunities and believe a public listing enhances our ability to scale and evolve to achieve our goal of providing a convenient and secure way to purchase cryptocurrency.

The company will trade under ticker BTM.

Read the press release here.

🪙 Coinbase Crypto Education + Voter Registration

On Thursday, Coinbase launched its education initiative including a voter registration tool.

The company writes,

We’re launching our U.S. crypto policy education initiative today, which includes a voter registration portal, to respond to our community’s strong interest in learning more about where their representatives and candidates for public office stand on issues of importance to the crypto community, and in finding ways to have their voices heard.

We love to see it.

Read the full post here.

⛰ Powell In Jackson Hole

On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell shared an update on the status of the US Economy during its annual Jackson Hole symposium.

Powell suggested more pain may lay ahead and will provide further clarity during its September meeting.

He said,

Our decision at the September meeting will depend on the totality of the incoming data and the evolving outlook. At some point, as the stance of monetary policy tightens further, it likely will become appropriate to slow the pace of increases.

Crypto and equity markets both moved lower on the Chairman’s comments.

Watch Powell present here and read his written remarks here.

🎧 Listen to This

Anita Posch, crypto advocate and educator, joined What Bitcoin Did to discuss Bitcoin for Fairness and her initiatives to bring Bitcoin to Africa.

She said,

In Zimbabwe: if you tell them you can’t inflate that money, you can’t make more out of this Bitcoin, you can’t censor it, your government can’t take it away from you, everybody understands immediately.

It’s a great interview.

Also, Meta Founder Mark Zuckerberg spoke with Joe Rogan.

This clip on how Meta (Facebook) moderates controversial content quickly spread across the web: Mark Zuckerberg Answers to Facebook’s Moderation of Controversial Content

And here’s the Spotify link to the full 3-hour episode.