#2023

The Dogecoin Foundation has expressed its heartfelt condolences over the passing of Balltze, the dog widely recognized online as Cheems. He passed away on August 18, 2023, during a surgical procedure. Balltze rose to internet fame in 2017 due to a photo capturing his distinctively troubled expression. Among the plethora of memes generated from this image, one in particular stands out: a comparison with Kabosu, the Dogecoin cryptocurrency mascot. Condolences have also poured in from various cryptocurrency and meme communities worldwide.

PayPal suspends crypto buying services in the UK Starting October 1, 2023, PayPal will no longer support cryptocurrency purchases for it's users from the United Kingdom. This action is consistent with the company's obligation to comply with local financial legislation. While the measure is planned to last until the start of 2024, PayPal remains hopeful about restoring the service. During the suspension, users are free to either hold their existing cryptocurrencies without any associated fees or sell them if they choose.

The current market landscape marks an unprecedented decline in liquidity, according to Bloomberg Intelligence's senior macro strategist, Mike McGlone. If this pattern holds throughout 2023, he warns of a potential sharp descent in Bitcoin prices, which would ripple through Ethereum, XRP, and the general cryptocurrency domain. “What should be early indications of recessionary times? The best indication should be bitcoin and that’s where I’m looking for the bleeding occasion from bitcoin and it’s still kind of showing what I expected.” “Picture December: Recession looms, Fed hesitates on easing due to inflation,” said McGlone.

"Soho House, an elite club where memberships are priced between $2450 and $4800. What I did was create an AI model of a woman (based on ChatGPT), a marketing expert, who would invite young and affluent men for business meetups." Success came without delay: "The AI's efforts resulted in approximately 30,000 men accepting the invitation, bringing in about $90 million, as all of them had to secure a membership." But that's not the end of Jack's endeavor; he aimed for personal gain: "The main thing is, I managed all of this within a week, precisely when the company was to disclose its 2023 second-quarter gains, and in doing so, I bought options valued at $50,000." In the end, Soho House's shares rose nearly 20%, and Jack's earnings were substantial.

In a three-month span beginning in March 2023, the FBI shifted gears in their investigations involving digital currencies. Those efforts have led to the confiscation of an estimated $1.7 million in cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, USDT, XMR, and DAI. Some of these were traced back to Binance-affiliated wallets. Notably, the Eastern District of Virginia saw the most substantial single seizure of 428.5 ETH.

During its second-quarter 2023 earnings call on August 3, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, expressed confidence that the exchange would win the court case, stating, “We do think we can win. We expect to win.” In terms of their financial performance: Coinbase reported a net loss of $97 million on $708 million in revenue for the second quarter of 2023. Trading volume fell by 37%, and operating expenses were down nearly 50% year over year, partly due to a 30% reduction in headcount.