Welcome back to our mid-week market updates on everything happening in crypto.

Let’s dive in.

Tokens of the Week

Let’s take a look at what’s been the biggest movers in the market this week!

1. Saylor’s Bitcoin Bet Pays Off

Key Takeaways:

• MicroStrategy, the enterprise-software maker and prominent holder of Bitcoin, returned to profitability in the second quarter after facing significant losses due to a plunge in Bitcoin's value the previous year.

• The company's net income for Q2 2023 was $22.2 million, compared to a loss of over $1 billion in the same period last year.

• MicroStrategy continues to invest heavily in Bitcoin, acquiring about $361.4 million in Q2 2023, bringing its total Bitcoin purchases to approximately $4.53 billion, and holding 152,800 Bitcoin as of July 31.

Summary:

MicroStrategy, led by Bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor, reported a return to profitability in Q2 2023, recording a net income of $22.2 million after facing substantial losses the previous year due to the decline in Bitcoin's value.

The company's revenue fell short of Wall Street estimates, dropping 1.4% to $120.4 million, with digital-asset impairment losses of $24.1 million. Despite this, MicroStrategy has continued its aggressive Bitcoin purchasing strategy, acquiring $361.4 million worth of the cryptocurrency in Q2, bringing its total Bitcoin purchases to around $4.53 billion, with 152,800 Bitcoin in its holdings as of July 31.

The company recently revealed plans to raise $750 million through share sales, with intentions to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including further Bitcoin purchases. Despite the company's operations still being unprofitable, its strong focus on Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency's recent recovery in value have positively impacted investor sentiment, leading to a significant rise in MicroStrategy's stock price this year.

2. FTX: Terraform Labs Supoenas Evidence Amid SEC Fraud Allegations

Key Takeaways:

• Terraform Labs (the company behind Terra LUNA) has been granted permission by a judge to subpoena information from defunct crypto exchange FTX Trading and FTX US as part of its defence against fraud allegations brought by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

• Terraform Labs claims that the failures of its algorithmic stablecoin and governance token were due to a coordinated attack from short-sellers, potentially involving Alameda Research.

• FTX was one of the first crypto firms to collapse in 2022, filing for bankruptcy in November, contributing to a major market crash and impacting token prices across the board.

3. DeFi is in trouble? Curve Protocol is hacked

Key Takeaways:

• The recent hack against Curve Protocol poses a huge threat of catastrophic liquidations.

• Micheal Egorov, the founder of Curve has borrowed millions of dollars in tokens against his CRV holdings, which poses a systemic risk to DeFi protocols. If the price of CRV drops too low, the collateral could be liquidated, resulting in massive losses for multiple DeFi platforms.

• Some DeFi platforms are taking proactive measures to protect themselves from potential liquidation chaos caused by Egorov's financial position.

• Measures include changing how token prices are tracked, reinforcing links between DeFi protocols, and preparing for an increase in insurance claims.

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