Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | May 27, 2024

Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents

Market Trends and High Performers

• Bitcoin's Meteoric Rise and Challenges
• Ethereum's Price Surge and Positive Market Signals
• PEPE Surpasses MATIC as Ethereum Approaches $4K
• Donald Trump's Diverse Crypto Holdings Reach $10M
• JasmyCoin Rises on ETF News and Whale Activity
• Toncoin Sees Varied Regional Reactions
• Stablecoin Developments in Japan

Crypto Exchanges and Platforms

• Troubled Waters for South Korean Exchange Gopax
• Elon Musk Ventures into AI with xAI Series B Funding
• Aptos Blockchain Breaks Daily Transaction Record
• Arbitrum Invites Game Developers with $250M Program
• Ronin Chain's User Surge Not Just Due to Gaming
• Friend.tech Faces Uncertainty as Co-founder Plans Exit

Regulatory and Security Concerns

• Normie Coin Plummets After Flash Loan Attack
• Celebrities Promote Meme Coin Amid Skepticism
• Privacy Fears Stall Worldcoin's Global Rollout
• Ethereum-Based Taiko Rollup Launches with Vitalik's Support
• Phishing Attack Recovers Major Ethereum Losses
• Cristiano Ronaldo's NFT Venture Amidst Legal Battle

Bitcoin's Meteoric Rise and Challenges

Bitcoin has surged to $70,000, with Argentina seeking advice from El Salvador on their experience with Bitcoin as legal tender. Bitcoin's bullish momentum continues as it tests the $70,000 resistance level, driven by strong institutional interest and favorable macroeconomic conditions. Key market indicators suggest Bitcoin is preparing for its most parabolic phase, highlighted by institutional investments and macroeconomic influences. 

Bitcoin ETF holdings have surpassed previous records, signaling significant institutional adoption and positive market health. Despite this, hedge funds have taken their largest bearish stance in CME micro Bitcoin futures since 2021, driven by concerns over potential regulatory changes and macroeconomic uncertainties.

Ethereum's Price Surge and Positive Market Signals

Ethereum's price surged to around $3,935, nearing the $4,000 mark, driven by the approval of eight Ethereum ETFs, the hype of Ethereum's upcoming Pectra upgrade, and positive crypto market sentiment, including support from Donald Trump. Analysts suggest ETH could hit new all-time highs if it closes the week above $4,000. 

The SEC's approval of these ETFs has positioned ETH for a potential bull run, with significant inflows anticipated. Ethereum’s accumulation addresses have increased, with major holders showing strong bullish activity. The broader altcoin market also shows bullish signs, with market capitalization approaching key resistance levels.

PEPE Surpasses MATIC as Ethereum Approaches $4K

PEPE rose 80% in a week, flipping MATIC with a $7.2 billion market cap as Ethereum neared $4,000, despite RSI indicating a “potential 40% June correction.” The meme coin sector surged, with TURBO up 450%. Meanwhile, a MAGA trader turned $535K into $2.7M in 72 hours amid Trump-related buzz, reflecting whale interest in FLOKI and MAGA. Whale activity saw a $1.1M FLOKI purchase grow by $245K, while MAGA saw a similar whale investment, signaling potential price impacts.

Donald Trump's Diverse Crypto Holdings Reach $10M

Donald's cryptocurrency portfolio, valued at over $10 million, is fueled by the surge in TRUMP coin, now trading at $12.67. His holdings include 463.35 ETH, 1 million MVP tokens, 20 billion CONAN tokens, and others. Trump's pro-crypto stance includes accepting crypto donations and advocating for self-custody, contrasting with President Biden's administration. 

JasmyCoin Rises on ETF News and Whale Activity

JasmyCoin ($JASMY), a decentralized data storage coin, has surged 13% in the last 24 hours and 32% in the last week, fueled by the US SEC's approval of Ethereum ETFs. Jasmy's price is currently at a key resistance level, but recent whale activity pushed the RSI above 80 before a sell-off brought it down to 47. 

Toncoin Sees Varied Regional Reactions

Toncoin (TON) has seen a significant price surge in 2024, outperforming Bitcoin by 118%. American investors are bullish on TON, driving positive price changes during US trading sessions, as per the latest analysis by CryptoQuant. However, European traders appear bearish, with negative price movements during their session. TON's ecosystem continues to expand, attracting developers and users with projects like Notcoin. Telegram's integration of TON for advertising and content creator payments has further boosted adoption.

Stablecoin Developments in Japan

Nomura Holdings and GMO Internet Group have partnered to bring Japanese yen and U.S. dollar stablecoins to Japan, focusing on traditional stablecoin issuance, regulatory compliance, and "stablecoins-as-a-service." The partnership will explore issuance, redemption, and circulation mechanisms for JPY/USD stablecoins in Japan, aiming to enhance digital asset accessibility and innovation.  The collaboration comes as Japan establishes a robust regulatory framework for stablecoins, requiring issuers to register with the Financial Services Agency (FSA).

Troubled Waters for South Korean Exchange Gopax

Gopax, a South Korean crypto exchange majority-owned bnance, sold its users' claims against Genesis for half their value in August 2023. Gopax owes 100 billion Korean won ($69 million) to users due to its exposure to failed lender Genesis. Binance's acquisition of Gopax stalled due to SEC lawsuits, and Gopax is currently in a state of capital impairment. Genesis secured $3 billion to return funds to creditors, including Gopax, leaving its parent company DCG with no recovery.

Elon Musk Ventures into AI with xAI Series B Funding

Elon Musk's xAI, valued at $24 billion after securing $6 billion in Series B funding, aims to accelerate AI development and bring its products to market. The funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, with participation from Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and others. xAI plans to build advanced infrastructure and release new technologies, including a supercomputer to power its AI chatbot Grok. 

Floki Trading Bot on Telegram Aims to Boost Demand

Floki developers have launched a Telegram-based trading for FLOKI holders on the BNB Chain, aiming to increase demand for the token. The bot charges a 1% fee on transactions, with 50% allocated to buying FLOKI on the open market, contributing to buying pressure. The bot, initially in beta testing, is expected to be publicly available in mid-June and will later expand to Ethereum and Base blockchains.

Aptos Blockchain Breaks Daily Transaction Record

Aptos, a layer-1 blockchain developed by former Facebomployees, has set a new record for daily transactions, surpassing Solana with 115.4 million transactions. This surge was driven by the launch of Tapos Cat, a tap-to-earn game that processed 10 million transactions on its first day. While some question the game's long-term viability, proponents highlight its role in showcasing Aptos' scalability.

Arbitrum Invites Game Developers with $250M Program

The Arbitrum community is proposing a $250 million Gaming Catalyst Program (GCP) to attract web3 game developers to the Ethereum Layer 2. The proposal aims to allocate 200 million ARB over three years for incentives, grants, and infrastructure development.  Arbitrum seeks to compete with other L1s and L2s, such as Solana and Optimism, who are actively courting the GameFi industry.

Ronin Chain's User Surge Not Just Due to Gaming

Ronin, an Ethereum sidechain that hosts Axie Infinity and other games, has experienced a resurgence with about 1.4 million daily active users, making it the second-most active blockchain behind Tron. However, the growth is not driven by the popular game Pixels as commonly believed, but rather by bot activities and an airdrop campaign by data-sharing project Carv, which rewards users with SOUL tokens for sharing personal data.

Friend.tech Faces Uncertainty as Co-founder Plans Exit

Friend.tech, a popular Web3 social network on Base, experienced a significant drop in its token value, FRIEND, after co-founder Racer announced plans to leave the Base network. Racer offered a $200,000 bounty for a system design to migrate Friend.tech without user issues, highlighting strained relations with the Base community.  Despite attracting over 200,000 users and generating over $230 million in trading volume, the future of Friend.tech on Base remains uncertain.

Normie Coin Plummets After Flash Loan Attack

The meme coin Normie on Ethereum’s Base network suffered a flash loan exploit causing its token value to plummet by 99%, reducing its market cap from $41 million to under $1 million. The attacker manipulated the token supply through a vulnerability in its contract tax mechanism, resulting in significant financial losses, including one trader whose $1.16 million investment dwindled to less than $150. 

The attacker offered to return 90% of the stolen assets if Normie relaunched a new token to compensate holders. The Normie team agreed to these terms and plans to use all ETH in their development wallet for recovery. As of May 27, 2024, Normie trades at $0.00132 with a market cap of $1.36 million, and their social media accounts remain suspended. The exploit affected around 72,000 investors.

Celebrities Promote Meme Coin Amid Skepticism

Caitlyn Jenner promoted a meme coin, JENNER, on X (formerly Twitter), generating confusion and suspicion about its authenticity due to the recent trend of celebrity account hacks. Despite skepticism and accusations of deepfakes, Jenner and her manager Sophia Hutchins insisted the token was legitimate, achieving $113 million in trading volume within four hours. Simultaneously, rapper Rich The Kid promoted the RICH token, raising concerns about potential scams. 

At the same period, the notorious trader known as GCR's X account was hacked on May 26, and his account was used to promote tokens like ORDI and LUNA2, causing price spikes. Investigations linked these promotions to a broader hacking operation affecting crypto influencers and celebrities, with on-chain sleuths like ZachXBT uncovering ties to the CAT meme coin team, which manipulated markets and potentially engaged in SIM swap scams. These incidents highlighted the risks and vulnerabilities in the crypto space, prompting warnings from the community and calls for cautious investment.

Privacy Fears Stall Worldcoin's Global Rollout

Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project that uses biometric data for identification, is facinworldwide due to privacy concerns. Regulators in Spain, Hong Kong, and other countries have halted operations, citing insufficient information, data collection from minors, and unjustified data retention. Worldcoin is attempting to address these concerns by open-sourcing its software and offering more transparency and user control over their data. However, the company must convince regulators and users that its technology is safe and protects privacy. 

Ethereum-Based Taiko Rollup Launches with Vitalik's Support

Taiko, an Ethereum-based rollup, has launched on mainnith Vitalik Buterin proposing the inaugural block. Taiko leverages Ethereum's security and relies on its block validators for transaction sequencing. The project features a type-1 ZK-EVM designed for maximal compatibility with Ethereum's architecture. Taiko aims to transition to a decentralized, permissionless system with a community-driven governance model. The project has raised $37 million from two funding rounds.

Phishing Attack Recovers Major Ethereum Losses

A victim who lost $6.91 million worth of Ethereum in a permit phishing attack on May 26 received 80% of their stolen funds back. The attack exploited a feature in Ethereum permits (EIP-2612) that allows any account to execute transactions without prior authorization. To protect against such attacks, users should periodically check for abnormal authorizations using tools like RevokeCash and Scam Sniffer.