July of 2023 is heating up with crypto news. Google is opening the gates to NFTs in Android apps, the latest inflation numbers signal a chilling effect on top-line consumer prices, and two U.S. senators are revisiting one of the most comprehensive crypto bills from 2022. Let's dive in!
The search engine giant and company behind the Android operating system announced that they would now allow developers to embed token-based experiences into Android apps. Reddit was named as a partner with Google in the new policy. The success of Reddit’s NFT-adjacent Collectible Avatars might have inspired the rethink at Google. Rewarding loyal users or community members with NFTs is becoming an increasingly common way to onboard crypto newcomers to the world of blockchain, but obviously Google sees the vast potential for rolling out blockchain-based rewards to apps in the Google Play Store library.
Cryptocurrency explained: What are NFTs?
Yes, inflation numbers for June of 2023 were at their lowest levels in 2 years. No, it’s not time to spike the football. The expectations around rate increases are sounding less dramatic than previous estimates but it’s still too soon to say that the Fed will discontinue interest rate hikes after July.
Bitcoin prices barely budged as the news of lower inflation dropped last Wednesday, sniffing at the $31K mark before ultimately dropping below $30,500. However, the landmark ruling in the SEC-Ripple Labs case was there to provide a lot of gusto for crypto prices across the board at the tail end of last week.
Catch up: The fight against ‘flation
The Lummis-Gillibrand crypto bill was one of the most significant pieces of crypto legislation to emerge in the United States. Now, the bill is being reintroduced. There’s a lot to catch up on since the 1.0 version of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act. Let’s face it, 2022 was an eventful year for crypto.
The bill clocks in at a hefty 274 pages. Contained within the wide-ranging bill are proposed tax structures for crypto profits, rules for investor protection, and regulatory frameworks. Perhaps the biggest sea change represented by the revamped bill is clearing up the regulatory no-man's land that crypto currently occupies. The commodity vs. security debate would be put to rest, with many of the largest cryptocurrencies such as ETH being treated as commodities and falling under the purview of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Proof of reserves for centralized crypto exchanges would be another crucial component of the bill were it to make it into law. The crux of the post-FTX revisions are clearly aimed at consumer protections and preventing another major crypto exchange collapse. Stablecoins are part of the bill, too. Let’s not forget that painful TerraUSD debacle that just might have kicked off crypto winter last year, and turned out to be the impetus for the original Lummis-Gillibrand bill.
Privacy advocates may have quibbles with certain sections of the bill in its current state, but the bill is already creating dialogue between passionate crypto supporters and key U.S. lawmakers. The contents of the bill can still change, but the crucial takeaway is that crypto legislation is once again the subject of serious conversation on Capitol Hill.
Refresh: The Lummis – Gillibrand Crypto Bill
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