Euro Stablecoin

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Coin Discovery
September 28, 2023

Good morning, Coin Discoverers!

  • BTC: $26,443 (+0.79%) YTD (+59.53%)

  • ETH: $1,622 (+1.74%) YTD (+35.42%)

  • BNB: $215 (+1.41%) YTD (-14.27%)

*Crypto numbers as of 8:00 pm EST on September 28th

Circle launches native euro stablecoin on Stellar

Most stablecoins are backed by the U.S. dollar, meaning if a user wants to send Web3 payments denominated in their local currency, there currently aren’t many options.

USDC-issuer Circle attempted to help solve this problem in 2022 by launching EUROC, a euro-backed stablecoin on Ethereum. According to research published by the Bank of International Settlements, the euro is the second most traded fiat currency in the world. It is currently the official currency for 20 countries in Europe. On May 25, Circle launched a native version of EUROC on Avalanche, and on Sept. 23, it was renamed “EURC.”

According to the announcement, crypto payment provider Ripio has integrated with the new version of EURC. It now allows its users in Spain to deposit and withdraw EURC using the Stellar network.

Bitcoin gains legal recognition as digital currency in Shanghai, China

The Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People’s Court in China has reportedly recognized Bitcoin as a unique and non-replicable digital asset while acknowledging its scarcity and inherent value.

The Chinese court released a report on Sept. 25 discussing the development of internet technologies. The report stated that with the development of internet technology, digital currencies such as Bitcoin stand out as unique and non-replicable. The report states that among a sea of digital currencies, Bitcoin is different and unique from other digital assets.

The report states that Bitcoin has key currency features such as scalability, ease of circulation, storage and payment. Bitcoin continues to see global usage despite its decentralized nature and lack of central authority administration.

The latest recognition from one of the key courts in Shanghai comes despite the hostile attitude of the Chinese government toward Bitcoin. China imposed a blanket ban on all forms of cryptocurrency activities, including Bitcoin mining, in 2021. However, several courts in China have recognized Bitcoin and other digital assets as legal properties protected by law.

STOCKS

  • DOW: 33,550 (-0.20%)

  • S&P: 4,274 (+0.02%)

  • NASDAQ: 13,092 (+0.22%)

*Stock numbers as of market close on September 27th

Micron widens loss forecast, shares drop; chipmaker hopes to supply Nvidia

Micron Technology on Wednesday forecast a wider than expected first-quarter loss, and its shares sank 2.4% even as it prepares to ramp up production of new product lines and said it was working to become a supplier to Nvidia.

The Idaho-based chipmaker's first-quarter revenue forecast exceeded Wall Street estimates, powered by demand for its memory chips from the rapidly growing artificial intelligence sector.

Micron said it is working with Nvidia, the world's most valuable chip company, to qualify its newest high-bandwidth memory chips for use in Nvidia's computing chips.

Demand for high-bandwidth memory chips, a market led by Nvidia supplier SK Hynix, for use in AI has also raised investor hopes that Micron will be able to weather a slow recovery in other end markets.

Micron essentially sat out the current generation of high-bandwidth chips and instead made a bet that it could profit by selling higher performing chips starting next year, Sumit Sadana, Micron's chief business officer, told Reuters in an interview.

Micron expects adjusted revenue of $4.40 billion, plus or minus $200 million, for the current quarter, compared with estimates of $4.20 billion, according to LSEG data.

The company forecast an adjusted loss per share of $1.07, steeper than the analyst estimates of a 95 cents per share loss.

Revenue for the fourth quarter stood at $4.01 billion, compared with estimates of $3.91 billion.

ECONOMY

  • GOLD: $1,893 (+0.11%)

  • AVG GAS: $3.835

  • WTI CRUDE OIL: $93.22 (-0.49%)

    *Economy numbers as of September 27th

US durable goods orders beat expectations in boost to economy in third-quarter

  • Orders for durable goods, items ranging from toasters to aircraft meant to last three years or more, gained 0.2% last month. Data for July was revised lower to show orders for these goods decreasing 5.6% instead of 5.2% as previously reported.

  • Economists polled by Reuters had forecast durable goods orders falling 0.5% last month. Orders increased 4.2% year-on-year in August. Machinery orders rose a solid 0.5%, while bookings for electrical equipment, appliances and components jumped 1.1%. Orders for computers and electronic products gained 0.3%. Demand for fabricated metal products increased 0.5%.

  • But orders for primary metals fell 0.6%.

  • Transportation equipment orders slipped 0.2%, weighed down by a 15.9% tumble in civilian aircraft. Motor vehicle and parts orders climbed 0.3%.

  • Durable goods inventories rose 0.2%, while unfilled orders increased 0.4%. The data suggested that manufacturing, which makes up 11.1% of the economy, was muddling along, despite surveys suggesting that the sector was mired in recession.

  • The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing PMI has contracted for 10 straight months, though the pace has slowed in recent months.

  • Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, surged 0.9%. That was the largest gain since January and followed a downwardly revised 0.4% decline in the prior month.

  • These so-called core capital goods orders were previously reported to have edged up 0.1% in July. They increased 2.1% year-on-year in August.

  • Core capital goods shipments rebounded 0.7% after falling 0.3% in July. Shipments of nondefense capital goods soared 1.2%, reversing the prior month's decline.

Equipment spending rebounded in the second quarter after two straight quarterly declines, contributing to the economy's 2.1% growth pace during that period.

These shipments feed into the calculation of equipment spending in the gross domestic product report. Economists at Goldman Sachs raised their third-quarter GDP growth estimate to a 3.2% annualized rate from 3.0%. But some economists expect business spending on equipment to contract this quarter.

REAL ESTATE

  • 15-year: 6.93%

  • 30-year: 7.65%

*Mortage rates via Mortgage News Daily

Commercial Mortgage Delinquencies Rise in America

Based on the unpaid principal balance (UPB) of loans, delinquency rates for each group at the end of the second quarter of 2023 were as follows:

  • Banks and thrifts (90 or more days delinquent or in non-accrual): 0.66 percent, an increase of 0.09 percentage points from the first quarter of 2023;

  • Life insurance company portfolios (60 or more days delinquent): 0.14 percent, a decrease of 0.07 percentage points from the first quarter of 2023;

  • Fannie Mae (60 or more days delinquent): 0.37 percent, an increase of 0.02 percentage points from the first quarter of 2023;

  • Freddie Mac (60 or more days delinquent): 0.21 percent, an increase of 0.08 percentage points from the first quarter of 2023; and

  • Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) (30 or more days delinquent or in REO): 3.82 percent, an increase of 0.82 percentage points from the first quarter of 2023.

TECH

Meta Connect: All the details on Quest 3, Ray-Ban smart glasses, AI chatbots

Here are the key announcements at the event:

QUEST 3

  • Meta released the Quest 3, which the company said was its first mainstream headset built for mixed reality. Quest 3, with double the graphic processing power of Quest 2, is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform.

  • The latest headset will get over 100 new and upgraded game titles this year, and many will incorporate mixed reality experiences. Meta said Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming will come to the Quest platform in December, allowing access to Halo Infinite and Minecraft Legends, among other titles.

  • Quest 3's price starts at $499.99 and will start shipping Oct. 10.

AI CHATBOTS, STICKERS

  • Meta unveiled more than two dozen chatbots that will work within its social media applications.

  • The company announced Meta AI, a conversational assistant available on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, that will deliver real-time information and generate photo-realistic images from users' text prompts.

  • Meta has partnered with Microsoft's Bing search to deliver information off the internet.

  • Meta will add 28 more AI chatbots that will have personalities of celebrities such as Bear Grylls, Chloe Kim and Josh Richards, among others.

  • The company announced Meta AI Studio, a platform for developers to build custom AI chatbots. These bots will have profiles on Instagram and Facebook, and users will also be able to chat with them in WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram.

  • Meta also rolled out a tool to generate AI stickers using Llama 2 and the company's image generation model called Emu, based on user prompts.

RAY-BAN SMART GLASSES

  • Meta announced new generation Ray-Ban smart glasses, priced at $299. They will start shipping on Oct. 17.

  • Users can livestream directly from the glasses to followers on Facebook and Instagram. The smart glasses will also have Meta AI built in, with the ability to give information on the item a user is looking at.

QUICK RECAP 

#1. GameStop (GME +6.70%) after the company named Ryan Cohen as president and chief executive.

#2. Peloton Interactive (PTON +16%) after announcing a five-year partnership to develop content for Lululemon.

#3. Workday (WDAY -9.90%) after the company at an investor presentation lowered its target for annual subscription revenue growth over the next three years.

#4. Jefferies Financial (JEF -1.20%) reported fiscal third-quarter down from a year earlier.