Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | June 6, 2024

Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents

Crypto Market Overview

• Bitcoin Hovering Around $71,000 Amid Market Influences
• Leveraged Ether ETFs and Bullish Ethereum Predictions
• Bitcoin ETFs See Significant Inflows
• Robinhood Acquires Bitstamp for $200 Million

Meme Coins and Institutional Investors

• Institutional Investors Increase Meme Coin Allocations
• Whales Acquire 1.356 Trillion SHIB Coins

Exchange Updates

• Bybit Allows Chinese User Registrations
• Binance Launchpool Unveils IO.NET
• Binance Resumes Mastercard Crypto Purchases
• KuCoin Lists BRETT, Market Surge Follows
• Significant XRP Withdrawal from Binance

Regulatory and Compliance

• Turkey's Finance Minister Dismisses Crypto Tax Reports
• Core Scientific Rejects $1 Billion Buyout Offer

DeFi and Blockchain Developments

• EigenLayer Achieves $20.09 Billion TVL
• Fleek and Polygon Labs Collaborate for On-Chain Cloud Solutions
• Ethereum's Ronin Launches Forge Program
• Avalanche Core Wallet Partners with Blockaid
• Ondo Finance TVL Surges Past $500 Million
• Worldcoin Users in Spain Favor Service Return
• Nocturne Labs Ceases Operations
• TON Foundation and Tether Unveil Global Integration Plan
• Unstoppable Domains and Blockchain.com Team Up
• Taiko Achieves Permissionless Sequencing

Token Movements and Trading Activity

• Whale Dump Causes UNI Price Collapse
• Arthur Hayes Unstakes 1.55 Million PENDLE Tokens
• Celebrity-Backed Tokens Plummet
• Dora Factory Initiates Gas-Free Airdrop

Security and Privacy

• Web3 Developer Exposes Wallet Keys on GitHub

NFT and Metaverse

• The Sandbox Raises $20 Million
• McLaren F1 Team Launches "Race Rewind" NFT Series

Bitcoin Trading Under $71,000 Amid Market Influences

Bitcoin's price is hovering around $71,000, influenced by the ECB's rate cut to 3.75% and increased U.S. jobless claims. Bitcoin whales now control over 40% of the supply, with continued accumulation since mid-March. Bitcoin's open interest surged by $2 billion in three days, potentially leading to price volatility. Analysts predict a breakout to $75,000 if BTC surpasses $72,000, driven by a short squeeze and institutional ETF inflows. 

According to LookIntoBitcoin creator Philip Swift, global liquidity hitting $94 trillion could support further Bitcoin gains, with potential to reach $85,000 if closing above $71,300 weekly. However, a $2.2 billion options expiry on June 7 could introduce volatility, with a "max pain point" at $69,500.

Leveraged Ether ETFs and Bullish Ethereum Predictions

Volatility Shares launched ETHU, a 2x leveraged Ether ETF, with ProShares planning two similar ETFs for June 7. VanEck forecasts Ethereum to hit $22,000 by 2030, citing a 9x user increase since 2020, reaching 2.25 million daily active users. Amid the bullish predictions, an Ethereum whale transferred $33.55 million in ETH to Coinbase, potentially indicating a sell-off amid a 22.15% price surge over the past 30 days, currently trading at $3,830.

Bitcoin ETFs See Significant Inflows

On June 5, 2024, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $488 million in net inflows, marking the 17th consecutive day of positive inflows, totaling $15.3 billion year-to-date. Major ETFs like Fidelity’s FBTC led with $221 million, followed by BlackRock’s IBIT with $155 million. Coinbase experienced $500 million in Bitcoin outflows over two days, correlating with the surge in spot ETF activity. Despite strong inflows, Google searches for Bitcoin ETFs remain low, indicating limited retail investor interest compared to 2021.

Robinhood Acquires Bitstamp for $200 Million

Robinhood's acquisition of Bitstamp for $200 million in cash marks a significant move in the cryptocurrency exchange landscape. This deal, slated to conclude in the first half of 2025 pending regulatory green lights, reflects Robinhood's strategic expansion into the crypto market. With Bitstamp's established reputation and user base, Robinhood aims to strengthen its position in the crypto trading sector. 

Institutional Investors Increase Meme Coin Allocations

Institutional investors, particularly on Bybit, significantly increased their allocations to meme coins since January, reaching nearly $300 million in April, a surge of over 300%. Notable choices included Dogecoin and Shiba Inu due to their liquidity. However, holdings dropped to $125 million in May as institutions took profits. BONK emerged as a favored new meme coin.

Whales Acquire 1.356 Trillion SHIB Coins

Nine anonymous whales recently acquired a staggering 1.356 trillion Shiba Inu (SHIB) meme coins, totaling $35.2 million. This massive purchase coincided with SHIB's 8% price surge over two days and a significant increase in its burn rate. Additionally, another whale bought 715.9 billion SHIB, indicating heightened activity among SHIB whales.

Bybit Allows Chinese User Registrations

Bybit, a major cryptocurrency exchange, has reportedly removed China from its list of restricted countries, allowing Chinese users to register despite regulatory challenges. While Bybit hasn't confirmed licensing in China, this move could attract millions of users. However, it's unclear how this decision aligns with China's strict crypto regulations, which have led other exchanges to cease services there.

Binance Launchpool Unveils IO.NET

Binance Launchpool recently unveiled IO.NET (IO) as its 55th project, a decentralized AI computing and cloud platform. IO token trading on Binance began on May 11th. Users can farm IO by staking BNB and FDUSD, with rewards distributed across several trading pairs. The project aims to decentralize AI and cloud computing, offering cost-effective GPU aggregation for machine learning startups.

Binance Resumes Mastercard Crypto Purchases

Binance has resumed Mastercard crypto purchases, easing regulatory concerns. Users can now buy cryptocurrency using bank and SEPA transfers. The platform plans to integrate more fiat payment providers. While Binance faced regulatory challenges, reinstating Mastercard purchases suggests a potential resolution. However, ongoing compliance efforts are crucial.

KuCoin Lists BRETT, Market Surge Follows

KuCoin lists BRETT, sparking an over 30% surge at one point in 24 hours. Market cap sits at $2.80 trillion with $79.78 billion 24-hour volume and BTC dominance at 50.4%. BRETT hits an all-time high, backed by a $1.42 billion market cap. KuCoin's listing and a 1.2 million BRETT giveaway boost its appeal. Social media buzz grows as investors predict a move to $0.20.

Significant XRP Withdrawal from Binance

50 million XRP tokens were mysteriously withdrawn from Binance, indicating significant whale activity. Two transactions shifted the tokens to undisclosed wallets, totaling over $26 million. The motive behind these transfers remains unclear, but they coincide with a potential rebound in XRP's price, suggesting strategic maneuvers by large holders.

Turkey's Finance Minister Dismisses Crypto Tax Reports

Turkey's Finance Minister dismissed reports of taxing profits from stocks and crypto but hinted at possible transaction-based fees. Bloomberg had previously suggested taxation plans. Any tax rate, however, would be determined by Parliament. Meanwhile, Turkey proposed a crypto bill to align with international standards and improve market regulation, aiming to remove the country from the Financial Action Task Force's gray list.

Core Scientific Rejects $1 Billion Buyout Offer

Core Scientific rejected a $1 billion buyout offer from CoreWeave, stating it undervalued the company. Despite a pre-existing deal with CoreWeave, Core Scientific intends to uphold its partnership, expected to generate over $3.5 billion. The rejection underscores confidence in its AI-driven future, diversifying beyond Bitcoin mining. Shares surged post-announcement.

EigenLayer Achieves $20.09 Billion TVL

EigenLayer, a prominent DeFi protocol, achieves a milestone with a TVL of $20.09 billion, ranking second after Lido. Its growth, soaring by 1,335% since January, is attributed to steady deposits and Ether's rising price. Despite initial concerns, its unique staking model and security features attract users, positioning it as a leader in DeFi.

Fleek and Polygon Labs Collaborate for On-Chain Cloud Solutions

Fleek and Polygon Labs collaborate to offer on-chain cloud solutions for Polygon CDK developers. Fleek's testnet outperforms AWS with faster web services. The partnership aims to provide cost-effective, censorship-resistant alternatives, addressing current cloud platform limitations. Fleek's infrastructure boasts high performance and aims to enhance decentralization and self-sovereignty in web services.

Ethereum's Ronin Launches Forge Program

The Ethereum network's Ronin launches the Forge program, aiming to onboard more games. This initiative opens opportunities for studios and diversifies the gaming landscape. With Ronin Forge, Ethereum ventures beyond its traditional boundaries, fostering innovation and expanding its user base. This move could catalyze growth and engagement in the crypto gaming sector.

Avalanche Core Wallet Partners with Blockaid

Avalanche Core wallet partners with Blockaid for enhanced security integration. Blockaid's threat database will screen for sophisticated phishing scams and exploits in Web3. This collaboration aims to improve security without compromising user experience. However, some critics raise concerns about potential false positives, though Blockaid defends this as a necessary trade-off.

Ondo Finance TVL Surges Past $500 Million

Ondo Finance's Total Value Locked (TVL) surged past $500 million following discussions on real-world assets (RWA) tokenization in Congress. This spike, especially noteworthy in June, underscores growing interest in RWA tokenization. Ondo leads in RWA coins, with its TVL rising by 43% since May, showcasing increasing adoption and market confidence.

Worldcoin Users in Spain Favor Service Return

A recent survey revealed that approximately 90% of Worldcoin users in Spain are in favor of the service's return, emphasizing its significance in ensuring privacy and safety. This underscores the trust Spanish users place in Worldcoin's offerings, particularly in terms of digital proof of humanness and data privacy protection.

Nocturne Labs Ceases Operations

Nocturne Labs, an Ethereum-native privacy protocol backed by Vitalik Buterin, has abruptly ceased operations. Despite raising $6 million in a funding round last October, the company provided no explanation for its closure. Users can still withdraw funds until the end of June. The move follows increased regulatory scrutiny on privacy-focused crypto projects.

TON Foundation and Tether Unveil Global Integration Plan

TON Foundation and Tether have unveiled a global integration plan for USDt on the TON blockchain, partnering with over 100 local businesses. This initiative aims to make USDt accessible worldwide, with a specialized team facilitating integrations. TON Foundation has already expanded integrations across Africa, Latin America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

Unstoppable Domains and Blockchain.com Team Up

Unstoppable Domains and Blockchain.com are teaming up to pioneer one of the initial DNS-enabled Web3 domains, ".blockchain," through an application with ICANN. This strategic move aims to bridge Web2 and Web3 by offering browser-compatible domains, with Ethereum Name Service already integrating ".box" domains. If successful, ".blockchain" will join established gTLDs like .com and .org.

Taiko Achieves Permissionless Sequencing

Taiko, an Ethereum Layer 2 solution, has achieved permissionless sequencing and proving post its mainnet launch, marking a milestone in Ethereum's Layer 2 decentralization. This advancement allows decentralized block sequencing and decentralized block proving, fostering a more decentralized environment. Taiko's approach enhances security and scalability, overcoming centralization concerns in Layer 2 networks.

Whale Dump Causes UNI Price Collapse

A recent whale move in the Uniswap market caused a $7 million worth of UNI tokens to be dumped, leading to a 6% collapse in UNI's price. This, along with an upcoming release of $90 million worth of tokens, contributed to the decline. Despite this, UNI still holds a 38% gain over the past month.

Arthur Hayes Unstakes 1.55 Million PENDLE Tokens

Arthur Hayes, BitMEX co-founder, recently unstaked 1.55 million PENDLE tokens worth $9.41 million, raising concerns of a potential price drop. This move sparked community discussion, with some expressing bearish sentiment while others noted Hayes' recent token purchases, questioning the likelihood of a sell-off. PENDLE's price dipped slightly following the unstaking.

Celebrity-Backed Tokens Plummet

The majority of celebrity-backed tokens launched last week, like JENNER and DAVIDO, plummeted over 66% since their peak. However, "MOTHER," initiated by Iggy Azalea, remains strong with a $130 million market cap. It's the sole token still hitting all-time highs, contrasting the dismal performance of other celeb tokens.

Dora Factory Initiates Gas-Free Airdrop

Dora Factory has initiated a gas-free airdrop of DORA tokens to over one million ATOM stakers, facilitating their participation in governance and funding. This move aims to enhance public goods support and developer involvement through innovative voting technologies. The project introduces MACI voting, promising enhanced privacy and anti-collusion measures for Cosmos governance.

Web3 Developer Exposes Wallet Keys on GitHub

A Web3 developer inadvertently exposed his wallet keys on GitHub, resulting in a $40,000 loss in just two minutes. Brian Guan, co-founder of Unlonely, confessed to the mishap, prompting a mix of sympathy and criticism from the crypto community. Some sympathized, while others pointed out past remarks on developers and AI coding tools like ChatGPT.

The Sandbox Raises $20 Million

The Sandbox, a metaverse platform, raised $20 million at a $1 billion valuation, a significant drop from its 2022 target of $400 million at $4 billion.  The funding will be used to enhance features and develop a mobile metaverse launching in 2025. SAND, The Sandbox's native token, rose 4.5% after the announcement before pulling back, increasing its market cap to $1.1 billion.