This week's crypto weekly was co-authored by @serdave
PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($27,255): -3% / +65%
- ETH ($1,900): -1% / +59%
- SOL ($22.05): +6% / +126%
- UNI ($5.05): -2% / -2%
- MATIC ($0.90): -4% / +20%
MARKET CAP CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- Crypto Market Cap ($1.1T): -1% / +45%
- BTC Dominance: 46%
- ETH Dominance: 20%
- Tether ($83B): 0% / +26%
- USDC ($29B): -1% / -35%
NFT 3M TRADING VOLUMES
THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- Centralized exchange volumes in May were their lowest since October 2020 at nearly $424 billion, a significant drop from the $1.4 trillion and $4.25 trillion seen in May 2022 and May 2021 respectively. Link. Link.
- Binance had net $1.8 billion customer withdrawals last month, equivalent to 3.3% of its total deposits. Link.
- The volatility of Bitcoin, measured as the standard deviation of the last 30 days of daily percentage change in price, was 32% this week, lower than Amazon and Meta stock. Link.
- A Glassnode report notes the DeFi market cap is now 12% of its November 2021 peak, largely because investors are turning to staking ETH. Link. Report.
- Avalanche, a Layer 1 blockchain network, crossed 1 million monthly active users for the first time. Link.
- Coinbase’s CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange is now offering ETH and BTC futures to institutional clients. Link.
- Patrick McHenry and Glenn Thompson, heads of US House's finance and agriculture committees, issued a draft bill to regulate digital assets, outlining criteria for classifying them as commodities or investment contracts. Link. Summary of Bill.
- Russian bank giant Rosbank will start using crypto to make cross-border payments. The bank was sanctioned by the US Treasury department last year. Link.
- Evertas, a cryptocurrency insurer, raised its policy coverage limit to a record breaking $420 million for custodians or exchanges, an increase from their previous limit of $5 million. It’s estimated that 2-3% of global cryptocurrency is insured. Link.
- Circle is launching native USDC support on Arbitrum and Cosmos. Up until now there was no way to mint USDC on either network. Link. Link.
- Elon Musk was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the billionaire manipulated the price of DOGE coin. Link.
- The CFTC is taking public comments for 60 days on a proposed rulemaking notice on risk management requirements for digital asset exchanges and custodians. Link. Link.
- The price of Bitcoin was down month over month for the first time since December 2022. Link.
- USDT market cap hit an all-time high this week of $83.6 billion. Interest in USDT increased over the last 3 months since USDC briefly lost its peg during the Silicon Valley Bank crisis. Link.
- Japanese airline ANA launched an NFT marketplace, becoming the latest airline to integrate crypto concepts into their business operations. Link.
- Nike announced a partnership with Electronic Arts, publisher of the Madden and FIFA video game franchises, where players can use NFTs from Nike’s .Swoosh platform. Link.
- A French Olive Oil company issued the first Euro-denominated bond on-chain. Link.
- Web3 wallet as a service provider Magic announced it raised $52 million in funding led by PayPal Ventures. Link.
- During a Senate hearing, Elizabeth Warren addressed the use of crypto in the Chinese fentanyl trade and made plans to reintroduce her controversial Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act. Link.
- The central banks of Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates announced they are working together on regulating digital assets. Link.
- Blockchain data platform Nansen laid off 30% of its employees. Link.
- The US Justice Department may drop some charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried that were filed after his extradition from the Bahamas. Link.
- The price of BTC on Binance Australia briefly traded at an 18% discount after the exchange announced it is shutting down its fiat on-ramping service. Link.
- Russian lawmakers announced they are scrapping plans for a state-owned cryptocurrency exchange, opting to regulate existing platforms instead. Link.
- Huobi HK announced it applied for a license with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to offer crypto spot trading. Hong Kong recently introduced a crypto licensing regime for crypto exchanges. Link.
- A notable anti-bitcoin mining bill in Texas will not go to vote this year while two pro bitcoin mining bills passed are awaiting Governor Greg Abbott’s signature. Link.
- NFT Artist Fewocious announced an upcoming PFP project called Fewo that utilizes ERC-6551, an upgrade to the ethereum network allowing NFTs to own other NFTs. Link.
- The US house and senate passed a resolution to increase the debt ceiling. A proposed 30% energy tax on Bitcoin mining was not included in the final bill. Link.
- Skale Labs announced Levitation Protocol, an L2 ZK rollup blockchain. A public testnet is anticipated later this year with mainnet launch expected in Q4 2023. Link.
- Hong Kong-based First Digital is introducing a stablecoin pegged and backed by US dollars but regulated in Asia. Link.
- MoonPay executives including CEO Ivan Soto-Wright received $150 million through stock buybacks during the crypto payment startup’s Series A raise in November 2021. Link.
- The SEC settled charges with a former Coinbase product manager and his brother for engaging in insider trading, though the SEC settlement did not include any additional penalties or fees on top of the criminal charges already brought by the DOJ. Link. Press Release.