PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($8,692): +1% / +132%
- ETH ($268): +0% / +101%
- LTC ($114): +1% / +274%
- XRP ($0.44): +7% / +25%
- Crypto Market Cap ($275B): +4% / +119%
- BTC Dominance: 56%
THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- Bitcoin briefly broke $9,000 for the first time since May 2018 though it fell below $9,000 shortly after. The currency has been on a tear since the beginning of the year but it's unclear what has been behind the price action. Some have pointed to positive signals like Fidelity and the Intercontinental Exchange entering the space. Link.
- Coinbase President and COO Asif Hirji announced he was leaving the company. Hirji joined Coinbase in December 2017 after a stint at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The move comes following the recent departures of other senior executives at Coinbase including CTO Balaji Srinivasan and VP of International, Dan Romero. Link.
- Crypto custodian Anchorage says it has a fully insured solution for storing digital assets for institutions and investors. Insurance is offered through AON and is reportedly more comprehensive than others, including BitGo which offers $100 million in insurance through Lloyd's of London. Anchorage's custodial solution securely uses offline storage and online signing, and generates private keys via dedicated secure hardware devices. Link.
- A car-racing crypto collectible sold for $113,000 in ether. The collectible is a token tied to a virtual Formula 1 race car that can be used in a racing game called F1 Delta Time. Around 15 bidders submitted 40 competing bids for the crypto collectible. Link.
- Coinbase announced support for the EOS cryptocurrency on its retail site. The token was added to Coinbase Pro back in April. Link.
- Social media company Kik launched a crowdfunding effort to help it fight the SEC over its 2017 ICO, in which it raised $100 million for its native token called Kin. Kin can be used across a network of apps, whether to get paid for taking surveys or to buy new stickers and themes. Back in November the SEC came out with a statement that kin are securities, and thus subject to restrictions on how they can be bought, sold, or traded. Kik is hoping the fight will lead the SEC to define clear rules and regulations on cryptocurrencies. Link.
- Late this week the SEC announced that certain startups that conducted ICOs over the last few years may be eligible for relief from potential enforcement actions. For the last year and a half the regulator has been filing cases against projects that raised money via token offerings without registering them as securities. The SEC has alluded to similar regulations before, referencing ethereum which may have resembled a security during an ICO at its launch but that had become sufficiently decentralized from being a security. Link.
- Telegram released a test client for Telegram Open Network (TON), a preliminary version of the product. With this test client users can create simple wallet smart contracts in TON. The company recently confirmed it is planning to launch TON in the third quarter. Link.
- Salesforce is launching a blockchain platform to strengthen ties between institutions and its consumers. Salesforce Blockchain is built on the open source of Hyperledger Sawtooth, a tech for running ledgers. Companies can build blockchain networks without requiring any coding, and can then invite partners to join the network, effectively sharing data on a ledger system and automating the saving and authenticating of data. Arizona State University and life science company IQVIA have already signed on to the platform. ASU is interested in using the platform to increase transparency and make the exchange process of academic records easier. The product will become generally available in 2020. Link.
- Insurance companies State Farm and USAA have announced they are testing whether blockchain technology could speed up insurance claims. In particular, they are focusing on the auto claims subrogation process, which involves the recovery of costs from the at-fault party's insurance company. Roughly $9.6 billion was demanded and issued through the subrogation process in 2018, a process that is time consuming and manual. Link.
- Coinbase is reportedly looking into supporting margin trading. The news comes soon after Binance announced it was looking to get into the derivatives market. Link.
- The number of wallets holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC has grown over the last 9 months. These wallets account for 46% of bitcoin circulating supply. Retail holders (between 0 and 100 BTC) currently hold 38% of circulating supply. Exchange volumes have declined, dropping from 20% of circulating supply in November to 16% in May. Link.
- Button Wallet, a messenger-based platform for sending P2P payments, will now let users of Telegram to buy and sell crypto with USD. Button Wallet's fiat on-ramp stems from a partnership with payment processor Wyre. Link.
- BitGo co-founder and Facebook Alum, Ben Davenport, has joined Blockchain Capital as a venture partner. Davenport's crypto portfolio already includes Lightning Labs, Paxos, LedgerX, and the Electric Coin Company. He stepped down from BitGo in April 2018. Link.