The cryptocurrency market continued to trend higher, with Bitcoin edging into the 5,300 USD area before a mild regression back into the mid-$5,200 zone, while Ethereum rallied aggressively to 170 USD after stops were tripped breaking through $168. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum futures curves are now trading in contango, however, it remains to be seen whether this will be sustainable going forward. The amount of ETH locked into the MarkerDAO credit ecosystem has declined, albeit marginally, to 2.03% vs 2.08% prior to the most recent stability fee hike. The stablecoin DAI has also edged back towards its peg level and resumed trading more in line with its peers. As such, at least for the time being, further hikes are unlikely to be on the agenda. Still, as the crypto market continues to move higher, leverage will continue to remain an attractive option for maximizing returns, especially as the DeFi ecosystem continues to expand.

In other news, Binance is trying to lure projects currently building on Ethereum to switch over to their native blockchain, the Binance Chain. The main incentive for the switch is said to be listing on the platform.

Also of note, financial assets rating agency, Weiss, has tweeted that Microsoft’s communication app, Skype, might soon integrate XRP coin into its platform, allowing users to tip each other and send microtransactions via the XRP TipBot. Microsoft, which owns Skype, is also testing blockchain technology and several projects make use of its Azure cloud platform.

Elsewhere, in a move that will support further adoption of cryptocurrency across the world, Coinbase has introduced crypto-to-crypto conversions and trading to 11 more countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia. The product is now also available to Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Chile, India, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Zealand.

Finally, the eagerly anticipated blockchain ecosystem Telegram Open Network (TON) has announced that is has partnered with German financial services provider Wirecard to develop new digital financial products.

Thank you for reading,
The BeQuant’s Analytics team

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