Electric car market Tesla (TSLA) has sold $936 million worth of Bitcoin, equivalent to 75% of its holdings, in the second quarter of the year to maximize its cash position “given the uncertainty of the COVD lockdowns in China.”

Polygon has announced the launch of Polygon zkEVM (zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine), which it said to be the first Ethereum-compatible scaling solution using zero-knowledge proofs.

Southeast Asian cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex has halted withdrawals until further notice over a “combination of circumstances” that include “volatile market conditions, and the resulting financial difficulties” of its key business partners.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Tesla Sold $936 Million of Bitcoin in Q2, Remains Open to Buying More
• Polygon Launches New Scaling Solution
• Crypto Exchange Zipmex Halts Withdrawals
• Chart of the Week: Order Book Activity After CPI Announcement

Tesla Sold $936 Million of Bitcoin in Q2, Remains Open to Buying More

Electric car market Tesla (TSLA) has sold $936 million worth of Bitcoin, equivalent to 75% of its holdings, in the second quarter of the year to maximize its cash position “given the uncertainty of the COVD lockdowns in China.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk added that Tesla is open to boosting its bitcoin exposure in the future and that “this should not be taken as some verdict on Bitcoin.” Musk also said Tesla did not sell any of its Dogecoin.

The electric car maker ended the second quarter with $218 million in bitcoin, down from $1.26 billion in the previous three quarters. The company held around 42,000 BTC heading into the quarter and may have avoided a substantial impairment charge by selling its holdings earlier in the quarter.

The firm first bought bitcoin back in February 2021, when it invested $1.5 billion into the cryptocurrency, in a move that helped BTC’s price surge at the time. Later that quarter, the company trimmed its BTC position by 10%.

Tesla reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.27 in the second quarter, beating analyst estimates of $1.81 per share. It posted $16.9 billion in revenue, over the estimated $16.5 billion.

Polygon Launches New Scaling Solution

Polygon has announced the launch of Polygon zkEVM (zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine), which it said to be the first Ethereum-compatible scaling solution using zero-knowledge proofs.

Zero-knowledge proofs are a verification method that takes place between two parties, in which one is able to prove to the other that they have knowledge of a specific set of information without revealing the information itself.

Polygon first teased zkEVM back in July 2021, and says the solution is designed to work effortlessly with all existing smart contracts, developer tools, and wallets on the network while creating less user friction by removing the need for code reimplementations.

Polygon zkEVM is expected to include a fraction of the transaction fees seen on Ethereum while inheriting the blockchain’s security. The network improves capital efficiency through faster transaction settlements.

Crypto Exchange Zipmex Halts Withdrawals

Southeast Asian cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex has halted withdrawals until further notice over a “combination of circumstances” that include “volatile market conditions, and the resulting financial difficulties” of its key business partners.

The move comes following widespread turmoil and downward pressure in cryptocurrency markets. A number of businesses have been struggling to weather the storm, with various others, including CoinFLEX, Celsius, and Vauld halting withdrawals.

In June, Zipmex had talked to Coinbase about a potential acquisition, and this ended with Coinbase making a strategic investment in the platform.

Chart of the Week: Order Book Activity After CPI Announcement

This week’s Chart of the Week goes into the order book activity following the Consumer Price Index (CPI) announcement on July 12, at 8:30 AM.

Analyzing the 20% market depth for BTC/USDT and USD pairs, we found that the number of orders in this price range rose 12.6% in just 30 minutes.

The CPI rose to 9.1% in June, a 41-year high. After the figure was announced, Bitcoin’s price crashed through its support at the $20,000 level and reached a daily low of $18,919 in just 15 minutes.

The number of asks rose 17.6% while the number of bids went up 1.72% in the 30 minutes following the announcement.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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