Weekly Market Update - WE 04/09/23

In the ever-evolving landscape of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, fascinating developments continue to capture our attention. 

Recently, the crypto world witnessed a curious phenomenon as one billion XRP were moved, resulting in significant fluctuations in price. Meanwhile, the LNMesh paper has delved into groundbreaking possibilities by exploring methods to enable Bitcoin's Lightning Network even without traditional internet access. 

Finally we touch on what Disney enthusiasts and collectors are currently doing, with Cryptoys stepping into the spotlight with the launch of 'Mickey and Friends' NFTs, sparking discussions about the future of digital collectibles in comparison to Disney's traditional offerings. 

Come with us as we delve into the wonderful world of crypto and the exciting news stories that have shaped the last week.

Market Highlights 

• Ripple moves one billion XRP, price goes down.
• No need for the internet? LNMesh paper explores ways to enable Bitcoin Lightning Network without internet access.
• Anything digital is better than what Disney is doing currently - Cryptoys launches 'Mickey and Friends' NFT.

Ripple moves one billion XRP

Ripple has once again made headlines with its latest move involving the release of a substantial amount of XRP from escrow. Over the course of the past 24 hours, Ripple Labs orchestrated a series of notable transactions, collectively unlocking a staggering one billion XRP tokens. These transactions were divided into four sizable chunks, each comprising 400,000,000 XRP, 200,000,000 XRP, 100,000,000 XRP, and 300,000,000 XRP, respectively. At the time of these transfers, their cumulative value soared to an impressive $510,600,000.

What's particularly intriguing about these actions is their alignment with Ripple's established monthly XRP release strategy, a practice that has been in effect since 2018. This strategic approach serves a dual purpose within Ripple's overarching goals. Firstly, it functions as a mechanism to promote the XRP token, raising awareness and visibility within the cryptocurrency community and beyond. 

Secondly, and perhaps even more significantly, it contributes to bolstering the liquidity of XRP within the broader market. This, in turn, can facilitate smoother and more efficient trading of XRP, benefiting both the cryptocurrency's users and its ecosystem as a whole.

What does this mean for you?

Meanwhile, an anonymous whale, previously responsible for moving a staggering 420 billion XRP in chunks earlier in the week, has once again initiated a similar transfer of XRP. 

These significant transactions, amounting to millions of XRP, have the potential to cause short-term market volatility, leading to price fluctuations. The mystery surrounding the anonymous wallet's activity fuels speculation and uncertainty within the XRP community. 

Observers are left pondering the intentions behind these transfers, which might reveal insights into the strategies of major XRP holders or whales. While these developments can be unsettling in the short run, XRP's long-term value remains influenced by its fundamentals, utility, and adoption potential, prompting holders to consider diversification and risk management as they navigate the cryptocurrency market's ever-changing dynamics.

Source: https://u.today/whopping-15-billion-xrp-moved-by-ripple-and-anon-wallets-as-september-begins 

No need for the internet? - LNMesh paper explores ways to enable Bitcoin Lightning Network without internet access.

With the rapid increase in modern technology development and communications, some of the original accessibility features have been lost to progress. Maybe too much evolution is a bad thing, let's just keep it simple! Well, that's the idea behind a Florida-based startup looking to find ways of enabling Bitcoin (BTC) Lightning Network transactions without internet access. Built on the back of local "mesh networks", LNMesh is looking to facilitate offline Bitcoin payments.

So why the need then? Well, mesh networks are decentralised, independent networks where devices connect directly via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, creating a local network without relying on the internet. While it may not be very often these days that you are without internet access, the aim here is to focus on areas where this is more common. 

The paper, for example, lays out scenarios like a post-natural disaster or remote areas with unreliable connectivity where internet outages or poor infrastructure altogether are common.

Source: https://decrypt.co/154499/no-internet-you-could-still-use-bitcoin-on-the-lightning-network 

What does this mean for you?

It's certainly a promising take on creating a local Lightning Network, one that is potentially faster and cheaper built on Bitcoin's blockchain. So far the team has explored the option of using Raspberry Pi computers (keeping within the affordability criteria) to showcase a smaller network built across a university campus. As the local Lightning Network doesn't require changes to the existing Lightning Network protocol or code, the set-up can be expedited.

Of course, as this is only one study, there is still far more work to be done to make this a real-world applicable concept. 

However, as an open-source advocate, LNMesh's code and research findings are available for others to explore and build upon, so the potential to grow is evident. As more development on ensuring that transactions conducted offline are secure and new real world testing is completed, there is plenty of merit in increasing the accessibility of blockchain and crypto technology!

Anything digital is better than what Disney is doing currently - Cryptoys launches 'Mickey and Friends' NFT

Are you collecting the Disney 100 cards? Well if not, maybe this is more to your liking, as a new collection of Disney's most popular characters is set to launch from Cryptoys. The NFT-native digital toy company announced earlier this week that 15 limited-edition digital toys, complete with accessories will be launched under the 'Mickey and Friends' moniker. 

Cryptoys is no stranger to the NFT scene, closing a $23 million Series A round last year, having previously released collaborations with Mattel and even earlier Disney launches like its Star Wars-themed collectibles.

Each digital toy in this collection will be priced at $39.99, maintaining the brand's accessibility to the wider market and each collectible will consist of a digitalized toy for play and collecting, issued as NFTs on the Flow blockchain. As with most NFT projects, the collectibles will have varying rarities (likely 5 levels as per previous Cryptoy's releases) and for those that complete the set, a very special Grail or Ultra Grail Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey will be the reward.

Source: https://insidethemagic.net/2023/08/disney-mickey-mouse-nft-nk1/#:~:text=Disney's%20Mickey%20Mouse%20NFT,%E2%80%9CMickey%20and%20Friends%E2%80%9D%20collection

What does this mean for you?

What is promising to see is that once again large brands are continuing to push the boundaries on their branding and engagement exercises, looking to add modern concepts and technology to their customer experiences. 

Given some well-established brands like Disney have been struggling of late to really excite markets with their offerings, we'd like to see more exploration into new creative ways to bring revenue creation and brand equity.

While we have still yet to see a massive market share increase within the NFT digital toy and collectible space, it appears that brands like Cryptoys are laying the groundwork for a lucrative industry (once consumers realise). Pairing with large brands of highly engaged customers that are advocates for both brand and offerings, is certainly the way forward.