The first week of July has been exciting for the cryptocurrency markets. Arguably the biggest news is that Augustín Carstens, the General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), warned young people to stop creating cryptocurrency. In a speech on monetary policy, Carstens remarked that crypto is not money but rather an asset. He added that he believes crypto is a bubble, Ponzi scheme, and environmental disaster. In the strongest condemnation yet from the BIS, Carstens cautioned that the lack of trust inherent in crypto will result in an unhappy ending.

Here is the rest of the week in review:

An anonymous report argues the hypothesis that crypto is partly responsible for the delayed release of the Nvidia GTX 11 Series graphics cards. As miners attempt to sell more used equipment during the crypto bear market, graphics cards price might drop. Thus, the surplus could push back retail release of Nvidia's new card series. Nvidia is expected to desktop and mobile computers with the 11 Series by year's end.

A Forbes piece reports on a suspicious new project called Cosplay Token. Named after the popular act of anime fandom, the crypto purportedly allows cosplayers to create their own digital tokens and trade them. The platform is similar to Patreon in its capacity for fan tipping and exclusive rewards. The project is backed by a large cosplay community and will be conducting an airdrop. It seems too early to tell if the niche coin will succeed in adoption.

The country of Malta officially passed legislation to create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. On July 4, the Maltese Parliament passed 3 bills into law that spell out regulations for cryptocurrency, blockchain, and distributed ledger technologies (DLT). The new laws will regulate DLT platforms, exchanges, ICOs, and wallet providers. Malta is further building on its reputation as an island friendly to crypto.

The country of Kenya is about to decide if cryptocurrency is legal tender. The Kenyan Parliament has tasked the Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich to investigate local crypto operations and determine how to apply regulations. His report is due in two weeks. Though some Members of Parliament have expressed concern over the secret nature of crypto, Rotich thinks that a balanced approach will best support innovation.

Crypto prices traded within a tight range this week. Total market capitalization currently stands at $267 billion, comfortably above the last critical level. For Bitcoin (BTC), strong price rejection remains at $6,800, though BTC has managed to hover near the 20-day exponential moving average. This week's biggest losers are Tezos (XTZ), down 59 percent, Nexty (NTY), down 23 percent, and MOAC (MOAC), down 18 percent. The biggest winners are GoChain (GO), up a whopping 125 percent, Metaverse ETP (ETP), up 85 percent, and Bitcoin Diamond (BCD), up 62 percent.

The author owns a small amount of BTC.