FameEX Morning Crypto News Recap | May 15, 2023

NFT Sales Soar by 31% as Bitcoin NFTs Claim Second Spot in Blockchain Sales
Last week, non-fungible token (NFT) sales experienced a modest uptick of 1.46% compared to the previous week, totaling $149.31 million from April 29 to May 6, 2023. However, sales exceeded expectations as they surged by an impressive 31.22% during this period, reaching $208.17 million. The significant increase in NFT sales can be attributed to the emergence of NFTs originating from the Bitcoin blockchain.

US Economy Faces 'Hard Landing,' Warns Hedge Fund Mogul Stanley Druckenmiller
Billionaire hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller predicts an approaching recession for the U.S. economy, potentially hitting in June. He highlights the low consumer spending in the United States, primarily reliant on credit card usage. Druckenmiller, an experienced investment mogul, emphasizes the importance of recognizing the possibility of a severe scenario and cautions against dismissing its potential impact.

Biden Names New Fed Vice Chair as Fedwatch Tool Indicates Low Probability of Rate Hike in June Meeting
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a preliminary review of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, noting their exposure to cryptocurrency industry deposits. The GAO attributed Signature Bank's collapse in March to poor governance and risk management practices. While digital assets were not explicitly identified as the cause, the report mentioned their exposure to the crypto industry as a potential contributing factor.

Bitcoin Clears Backlog, but Congestion Leads to Decreased Lightning Network Capacity and Channels
The Bitcoin network has seen improvements in clearing its congestion problems. After reaching a record high of over 500,000 unconfirmed transactions on May 7, the backlog has significantly reduced to 263,406. About 184 blocks are needed to process the remaining transactions in the network's mempool.

Internal Memo Indicates Democrats on US House Committee Urged to Back Party's Stance on Crypto Regulation
Democratic Party members of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services received a memo before hearings on May 10, instructing them to support the party's stance on cryptocurrency regulation. The leaked memo emphasized Democrats should highlight the Republican Party's disregard for investor protection and advocated for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to retain its regulatory role in the U.S. crypto market.

Robert Miller of Fuse Believes Web3 Payment Services Hold the Key to the Future of Digital Payments
Robert Miller, Vice President of Growth at Fuse, highlights the advantages of cryptocurrency-based payments, also known as Web3 payments. Although not widely adopted, these payments offer lower transaction fees and protection against fraudulent chargebacks for merchants. Despite not being mainstream yet, Miller emphasizes the benefits they bring to the table.

Glassnode: One Million Bitcoin Addresses Now Hold 1 BTC or More
According to data from Glassnode, convicted buyers took advantage of falling Bitcoin prices throughout the previous year to purchase the cryptocurrency at a discounted rate. On May 13, the milestone of one million Bitcoin addresses holding 1 BTC or more was reached.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this section is for informational purposes only, doesn't represent any investment advice or FameEX's official view.