Crypto weekly is authored by maaria and david blumenfeld
PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- Crypto Market Cap ($2.77T): -4% / -19%
- BTC ($82,469): -3% / -12%
- ETH ($1,828): -9% / -45%
- SOL ($125): -5% / -34%
- UNI ($5.98): -10% / -55%
- OP ($0.74): -13% / -58%
- Tether Mkt Cap ($144B): 0% / +4%
- USDC Mkt Cap ($60.1B): +1% / +37%
- BTC / ETH Dominance: 59% / 8%
THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- Risk-on assets including the S&P 500 and cryptocurrencies fell following signs of weakness in the US economy and worries of rising inflation amidst a trade war. The S&P 500 is set to have its worst quarter since 2022. Link.
- BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warned investors that the US would lose its world reserve currency status to digital assets like bitcoin if it didn't get its debt under control. Fink also suggested that every asset -- from bonds to stocks to funds -- would be tokenized. Link. Annual Letter.
- USDC stablecoin issuer Circle has tapped JPMorgan and Citi to assist in an IPO planned for later this year. Link.Link.
- Wyoming plans to become the first state to issue its own stablecoin. Link. Press Release.
- Coinbase shares fell 31% in Q1, its worst quarterly performance since the collapse of FTX in Q4 2022. Nearly all crypto stocks have fallen this year along with the broader stock market over economic uncertainty and a potential global trade war.Link.
- The FDIC released a statement that banks can engage in crypto-related activities without needing the agency's approval beforehand. The FDIC had a hostile stance towards crypto under the Biden administration, often threatening to cut insurance to banks working with crypto companies (a major component of "Operation Chokepoint 2.0"). Link. Statement.
- Elon Musk said the US government has no plans to use Dogecoin. Link.
- The FTX estate will begin repaying major creditor claims starting May 30. Claims will be repaid based on their November 2022 fiat values, which is significantly lower than current market prices for many cryptocurrencies including bitcoin. Link.
- Fidelity is testing a stablecoin through its digital assets division and announced plans to offer an on-chain tokenized money-market fund. Link.
- The US Senate voted to repeal a controversial crypto tax rule which would have required many DeFi projects to operate like traditional securities brokers and collect and report user trading data. The measure is expected to be enacted into law by President Donald Trump. Link.
- President Donald Trump’s DeFi project World Liberty Financial, is launching a stablecoin $USD1 on Ethereum mainnet and Binance’s BNB chain. Link. Link.
- Sam Altman's Worldcoin is in discussions with Visa to create a stablecoin wallet that would enable crypto payments across Visa's merchant network. Link.
- PumpSwap, a new decentralized exchange launched by memecoin platform Pump.fun, has processed $10 billion in trading volume in the 10 days since its March 20 launch, capturing 67% of Solana’s decentralized exchange market. Link.
- Gamestop's Board of Directors approved a plan to borrow $1.3 billion to buy Bitcoin as part of its treasury reserve asset. Link. Link.
- Donald Trump pardoned BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, who pleaded guilty in 2022 to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Link.