Cryptocurrency technology startup Yuga Labs has announced its acquisition of Roar Studios, a company specializing in gaming and music, with the aim of strengthening its presence in the Web3 gaming industry. Roar Studios' Founder and CEO, Eric Reid, will become the general manager for Otherside, an upcoming metaverse game powered by blockchain technology developed by Yuga Labs.

Barbie has become a popular topic in the world of NFTs, and even the actress playing Barbie, Margot Robbie, has commented on cryptocurrency. During an interview, Robbie joked about how Bitcoin is a topic for "Kens" and referenced the stereotypical male behavior portrayed in the upcoming Barbie movie.

Institutional investors are showing increasing interest in cryptocurrency and investing in it, but some are concerned that this could lead to Bitcoin losing its anti-establishment roots. BlackRock, a major asset manager, recently applied for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, causing the price of Bitcoin to rise. While cypherpunks originally created Bitcoin to avoid government surveillance, institutional investors are focused on making money, which could lead to stricter regulations and a loss of privacy in the crypto space.

Although smart contracts have transformed the potential of blockchain and cryptocurrency, they are not a perfect solution for widespread adoption. It is outdated to assume that new technology is flawless, and this can create an adversarial relationship with regulators. Mainstream adoption of smart contracts is hindered by a lack of Bitcoin support and the difficulty of connecting crypto and fiat through a smart contract framework. Smart contracts need to be altered to maximize security and privacy, and viewed as a "proof-of-concept" rather than the key to universal adoption. To ensure the future of crypto, there needs to be a consistent dialogue with traditional finance and a prioritization of development to address obstacles preventing fiat interoperability and ease of access.

The price of Ethereum is facing difficulty in surpassing the $1,880 and $1,900 resistance levels against the US Dollar, and may experience a fresh decline if it remains below them. The cryptocurrency is currently trading below $1,875 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average, and struggling to rise above a key bullish trend line. However, if it manages to break above the $1,900 level, it could potentially rise towards the $1,950 and $2,000 levels. On the downside, initial support is near the $1,860 level, followed by major support at $1,850 and $1,780.

Optty, the world's first universal payments platform, has teamed up with Triple-A, a licensed crypto payment gateway, to introduce cryptocurrency as a payment option on its platform. This partnership enables merchants and retailers to accept cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and USD Coin.

Bitcoin's price is showing signs of recovery and could potentially reach the $29,700 resistance level in upcoming sessions. The cryptocurrency has broken a key bearish trend line and is currently trading above the $29,300 level and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. However, if it fails to clear the $29,700 resistance, it may experience a fresh decline with immediate support at the $29,300 level. A close above the $30,000 resistance zone could lead to a significant increase in price. Technical indicators suggest a bullish trend for Bitcoin.

Five major Korean exchanges have issued a joint statement urging their users to exercise caution when investing in CRV, the native token of decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Curve Finance. The statement came after a recent hack at the platform resulted in the loss of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies.

Ripple's XRP has regained its position as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, displacing Binance's BNB coin. This was due to a surge in trading volume following a ruling that declared Ripple's sale of XRP tokens in 2020 did not qualify as the sale of an "unregistered security." However, XRP's on-chain assessment has revealed a decline in daily active addresses and new demand since mid-July, leading to a shortfall in profits. 

Litecoin holders are increasing their accumulation of the cryptocurrency ahead of its halving event, which will reduce block rewards to 6.25 LTC from 12.5 LTC. Mid-sized Litecoin whales have purchased 205,400 LTC since June 14, with their combined holdings amounting to 18.18 million LTC, worth approximately $1.7 billion. Crypto traders tend to perceive most coin halvings as bullish events for the market, and Litecoin miners have also been stockpiling their reserves. <br>