Circle Internet Financial has partnered with the Junior Achievement of Northern California to launch a financial literacy curriculum for high school students in the Bay Area, California. The program aims to educate students about Bitcoin, blockchain, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and equip them with skills for economic success. As part of the partnership, the JA of Northern California will also manage the Circle Scholar award program, with one of the twenty $5,000 scholarships to be awarded to students who complete the Digital Financial Literacy Curriculum between 2023 and 2025. This program joins a growing list of literacy curriculums launched to educate the world about blockchain technology.

On August 1, Fitch downgraded the credit rating of the US government from AAA to AA+, indicating a lack of confidence in its ability to handle fiscal responsibilities. This caused investors to move their money out of assets like stocks, silver, oil, and long-term bonds, and into cash and short-term instruments perceived as safer options. The downgrade had a broad-based impact on commodities, fixed income, and equities, including Bitcoin. However, the stability of US Treasuries Credit Default Swaps suggests that investors are not panicking about the immediate impact of the downgrade, and the strengthening dollar may lead investors to enhance their cash holdings instead of turning to Bitcoin as a safe haven.

According to market intelligence firm Santiment, wealthy investors have spent more than $750 million on Bitcoin in the last three months. Bitcoin millionaires and billionaires have been accumulating the cryptocurrency at a high rate since May, increasing their total amount of BTC owned to 11.5 million, which is over half of BTC's overall supply. The firm also notes that high-net-worth traders have been moving Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) out of crypto exchange platforms, resulting in a spike in on-chain transaction volume for wBTC. Bitcoin is currently trading at $29,280, with a slight decrease in the last 24 hours.

Data from BitPay shows that Litecoin (LTC) is responsible for 34.05% of the net transaction count on the platform, indicating a spike in usage prior to its third halving event. This puts LTC in a position to potentially surpass Bitcoin (BTC) in number of BitPay transactions, as BTC currently holds 36.47%. The two most popular cryptocurrencies make up 70.5% of BitPay activity, while Ethereum (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE) combined only make up 15.5%. Despite the anticipation leading up to the halving event, LTC has since experienced a sell-off and is currently trading at $86.32, down almost 4% in the previous 24 hours.

A crypto analyst believes that Bitcoin may be on the verge of a massive bull run based on a metric showing low volatility. The analyst, who hosts InvestAnswers on YouTube, points to a chart from Glassnode, a crypto analytics company, indicating that low volatility is a sign of a bull market. The analyst notes that Bitcoin's current level of volatility is the second-lowest on record, with the only lower level occurring in 2017 before the bull run that took Bitcoin to $20,000. The analyst also highlights other periods of low volatility that preceded price increases.

MicroStrategy's Chairman, Michael Saylor, has shared his plans to purchase as much Bitcoin as possible based on market conditions. The company currently holds almost 153,000 Bitcoins, with almost 500 purchased since June 30th. MicroStrategy's acquisition strategy aims to accumulate Bitcoin on behalf of its shareholders, using cash flows, equity, and debt issuances.

MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor is confident that his company will remain an attractive option for investors looking to gain exposure to Bitcoin, even if a spot Bitcoin ETF is approved in the future. Saylor stated that MicroStrategy will continue to add more Bitcoin to its balance sheet, potentially using the proceeds from a planned $750 million share sale.

On Thursday morning in Asia, the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ether, experienced a dip in trading. Analysts predict that despite low price volatility, turbulence may occur due to the upcoming decision on BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF application and next year's Bitcoin halving event.

ETF issuer Direxion has filed for a Bitcoin and Ether futures ETF, joining a crowded field of companies hoping to launch similar crypto-related trading products in the US. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Direxion Bitcoin Ether Strategy ETF would invest in bitcoin and ether futures contracts, subject to regulatory approval.

KPMG, one of the Big Four professional services firms, has published a report on Bitcoin and ESG issues, finding that the cryptocurrency offers benefits across an ESG framework. The report notes that emissions are a more significant indicator of environmental damage than energy usage, and contextualises Bitcoin's emissions in relation to other sources, finding it to be the second smallest contributor. The report also highlights positive use cases for Bitcoin, such as fundraising for Ukraine and electrification in rural Africa, and notes that its governance is robust due to its decentralisation. However, the report points out that Bitcoin remains misunderstood and offers crypto-related advisory services.