This week's crypto weekly was co-authored by @serdave

PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD

- BTC ($28,165): +5% / +70%
- ETH ($1,913): +6% / +60%
- SOL ($20.87): +6% / +114%
- UNI ($5.15): +1% / 0%
- MATIC ($0.94):  +10% / +25%

MARKET CAP CHANGE: WTD/YTD

- Crypto Market Cap ($1.2T): +4% / +47%
- BTC Dominance: 47%
- ETH Dominance: 20%
- Tether ($83B): 0% / +26%
- USDC ($29B): -2% / -35%

NFT 3M TRADING VOLUMES

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO

- Apple users will soon be able to buy and sell Stepn’s digital assets without being forced to exit the app or use an external marketplace. Stepn is a blockchain-powered fitness app, which allows users to buy digital sneaker NFTs and then earn token rewards by “walking, jogging, or running”. Though Stepn will still pay Apple’s 30% in-app fees, it is one of the first blockchain-based applications to be approved by the iOS store. Link.

- Crypto VC firm Paradigm is expanding its investment focus to include a broader array of “frontier tech” which includes artificial intelligence. Link. 

- DCG missed a $630 million payment owed to its now bankrupt subsidiary, DCG. Prior to filing for bankruptcy, Genesis was managing $1.1 billion in digital assets for crypto exchange Gemini and its Earn program. Link. Link. 

- Hong Kong is reopening crypto trading to retail investors in June. It also released new regulatory requirements for virtual asset trading platforms that include onboarding processes and disclosures, in an effort to reposition itself as a key crypto hub in the region. Link. 

- Solana launched a chatGPT plug-in that lets users buy and list NFTs, transfer tokens, and interpret data on the Solana network. Link. 

- Decentralized identity project WorldCoin announced Series C funding of $115 million led by Blockchain Capital. The company is co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Link. Link. Link. 

- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced his presidential campaign in a Twitter spaces with Elon Musk, reiterating his opposition to CBDCs and his support for digital assets in the US. Link. 

- Bitcoin’s next halvening is due around April 2024. A halvening cuts in half the amount of tokens that Bitcoin miners receive as reward for securing the network, a key part of the Bitcoin process for capping Bitcoin supply at 21 million tokens. Link.  

- Visa and Microsoft were 2 of 14 institutions selected by the central bank of Brazil to participate in its CBDC pilot, slated to start mid-June this year. Link. 

- Hardware wallet provider Ledger has delayed the release of its private key recovery service, just a week after announcing the program and receiving backlash from the crypto community. Link. 

- Ethereum’s Layer 2 networks paid $16.2 million in mainnet publishing fees during May, a 5x increase from the total fees paid by L2s in January. Link. 

- The amount of ETH on exchanges fell to lows not seen since July 2016, as volume of staked ETH continues to grow. For comparison, roughly 25% of ETH was held in exchanges during the 2021 bull run. Link. 

- Beijing’s Science and Technology Commission released a white paper and announced $30 million of funding to promote Web3 development in the region. The announcement comes as a part of China’s push to become a global innovation hub for crypto and blockchain technology. Link.

- Chainalysis CEO Michael Gronager said in an interview with Forbes that there are thousands of active US investigations into illegal use of crypto. Link. 

- The monthly volume of Ethereum on-chain stablecoin trading is on track to be the lowest since December 2020. One possible explanation is the recent rise in transaction fees driven largely by memecoin activity. Link. 

- FINRA approved its first broker-dealer with custody rights for digital assets securities. Prometheum Capital operates under the assumption that most tokens are securities under U.S. law, and subsequently decided to pursue a significant registration process with FINRA. Link. 

- Crypto exchange Gemini asked for the dismissal of an SEC lawsuit alleging its Earn program involved the selling of unregistered securities. Earn customers have had their funds locked since the collapse of FTX last November. Link. 

- Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed concerns over re-staking, a mechanism being developed by Eigen Layer which enables Ethereum validators to secure external chains besides Ethereum. Link. Blog Post. 

- Stably announced the launch of USD backed stablecoin, Stably, on the Bitcoin network using the new BRC-20 standard. Stably currently has a $110k market cap. Link. 

- NFT marketplace Blur has facilitated $225 million in NFT backed loans since launching its lending product Blend, accounting for 85% of the market. Link. Dune Dashboard. 

- Platinum group, the leading ticket issuer for Formula 1, began issuing NFT tickets this weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix. The tickets were minted on Polygon. Link. 

- Crypto exchange Gemini announced its building its EU headquarters in Ireland. Link. 

- Digital Currency Group announced its shutting down its institutional trading platform, TradeBlock, due to current economic and regulatory conditions in the US. Link. 

- Nike’s NFT platform Swoosh, built on Polygon, released its first collection this week. Priced at $19.82, over 66,000 NFTs were minted, totaling over $1 million in sales. Link. 

- Mastercard’s crypto and blockchain lead said he sees ‘a lot of promise’ in blockchain tech if safety and simplicity are prioritized. Link.

- Crypto exchange Binance is creating a new platform for Japanese residents in order to fully comply with local regulations. The new platform will be available in the summer. Link.