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Bitcoin News Roundup for Aug. 12, 2020
With bitcoin prices sitting around $12K and Russia developing “Transparent Blockchain” AI, CoinDesk's Markets Daily is back for your latest crypto news roundup!
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 9:42 a.m. Published Aug 12, 2020, 4:00 p.m.
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With bitcoin prices sitting around $12K and Russia developing “Transparent Blockchain” AI, CoinDesk's Markets Daily is back for your latest crypto news roundup!
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This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io.
Today's Stories
First Mover: How a DeFi Trader Made an 89% Profit in Minutes Slinging Stablecoins
So-called stablecoins like tether and USDC are $1 tokens in theory, but a complex arbitrage transaction seems to have netted one trader an 89% profit in just minutes.
Some Traders Now Taking Bets Ether Will Break $1K by December
Some option traders are now betting ether will rise to $1,000 by year’s end.
The Linux Foundation Wants Open-Source Tech to Address Future Pandemics
The Linux Foundation hopes open-source apps will play a key role in tracing exposure to diseases like COVID-19 while being fully transparent.
Russian Financial Crime Agency Plans AI Tool to Link Crypto Transfers to Users
Russia's anti-money laundering agency Rosfinmonitoring has already built a prototype blockchain analytics tool, according to a report.
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More For You
Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.
What to know:
Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.
The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.
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Meta and Microsoft continue going big on AI Spending. Here's how bitcoin miners could benefit
In its fourth quarter earnings report, Meta said capital spending plans for 2026 should be in the range of $115-$135 billion, well ahead of consensus forecasts.
What to know:
- Fourth-quarter earnings results from Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta (META) suggested no slowdown in AI-related spending.
- Microsoft highlighted that AI is now one of its largest businesses and pointed to long-term growth.
- Meta projected sharply higher capital spending in 2026 to fund its Meta Super Intelligence Labs and core business.
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