In 2017, Bitcoin faced disagreements within the community over scaling issues, ultimately leading to a hard fork that created the new blockchain BCH. With the onset of the 2017 bull market, even more Bitcoin forks emerged, such as Bitcoin Gold (BTG), which opposed segwit2x, and Bitcoin Diamond (BCD), which promised a five-fold increase in block generation speed. At one point, there were over 70 forks on the market, but most lacked value and computing power, quickly disappearing.

Globally, the adoption of cryptocurrency payments has been steadily increasing in recent years. Research by data platform PYMNTS found that among surveyed companies with annual revenue exceeding $1 billion, 85% reported using cryptocurrency payments to expand their customer base. Simultaneously, the availability of cryptocurrency debit cards has been rapidly growing. For example, Binance recently partnered with Mastercard to launch a prepaid card in Argentina to bridge the gap between cryptocurrency and everyday purchases. Currently available cryptocurrency credit and debit cards allow users to enjoy seamless transactions, withdraw cash from ATMs, and even earn cash back rewards when making purchases.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced on August 26 that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Busan, South Korea, and stated that it will begin operations in Busan by the end of this year to assist in the establishment of a digital asset exchange. As part of the collaboration, Busan will receive technical and infrastructure support from Binance to develop the city's blockchain ecosystem and promote the Busan Digital Asset Exchange. Another form of cooperation involves order book sharing.

European Central Bank Governing Council member Rehn stated that the ECB will take significant interest rate hikes in September to curb inflation. The Governor of the Bank of France echoed this sentiment. The interest rate hike cycle in Europe and the US continues, and once the September rate hike is implemented, most of the negative factors will have subsided. The market rally we've been waiting for in the fourth quarter is just around the corner. There should be at least one more surge towards $30,000 before the end of the year, representing a 50% drop from the current level. Other smaller cryptocurrencies will also have some opportunities. Let's make the most of the fourth quarter and try to make up for some of the losses from the first half of the year. The important thing is to persevere.

Siu's entrepreneurial career began in the 1990s when he founded several software companies, one of which even required him to use his personal credit card to stay afloat. This startup, Outblaze, sold its cloud messaging business to International Business Machines during the 2009 global recession, which allowed Siu to co-found Animoca with others in 2011 and explore his passion for video games. The studio helped create hundreds of mobile games, but unfortunately, it failed to generate consistent profits. During the company's darkest days, Siu laid off half the staff and sold equity at a discount to raise funds.

Since the birth of the NFT trading market, royalties have always existed. Royalties, also known as copyright usage fees, are fees charged by the original creator or copyright holder of intellectual property to users. In the early days of the NFT concept, trading platforms like OpenSea introduced royalty mechanisms to attract more artists and creators to release their works. This meant that for every NFT sold, a fixed percentage of the revenue would be given to the original creator, allowing NFT creators to continuously receive income.