Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | May 7, 2024

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Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents

Market Dynamics and ETF Updates

• Bitcoin Transitions from Volatility to Accumulation
• Growing Institutional Interest in U.S. Bitcoin ETFs
• SEC Postpones Decision on Ether ETF
• Robinhood CEO Criticizes SEC's Impact on Innovation

Regulatory Actions and Government Policies

• Nigeria's SEC Moves to Ban P2P Crypto Trading
• Australian Taxation Office Targets Crypto Users
• Ethena Labs Partners with Bybit for Zero-Fee Trading

Crypto Exchange and Platform Developments

• Revolut Launches Crypto Exchange for Professional Traders
• Exodus Movement Digitizes Stocks on Blockchain
• Surge in Activity Post V2 Launch at Friend Tech
• Jupiter Expands Token Exchange on Solana
• Poloniex Hacker Moves Funds Through Tornado Cash

Controversial and Noteworthy Events

• Ohio State Commencement Speech Sparks Controversy

Emerging Technologies and Market Innovations

• PEPE and WIF Dominate Altcoin Leverage
• Global Outflows from Crypto Products
• QCP Capital Expands into the Middle East
• Starknet Foundation Launches Seed Grants Program
• Polygon Tests New Zero-Knowledge Rollup Solution
• Arbitrum Leads in DeFi Market with Uniswap Volume
• Blast Ecosystem Introduces Jackpot Feature
• Solana NFT Ecosystem Outperforms Polygon

Bitcoin Transitions from Volatility to Accumulation

Bitcoin is undergoing a shift from volatility to accumulation, with a current market resilience indicating a matured cycle post-halving. Analysis points to Bitcoin remaining in a prime buy zone despite recent price rallies, with active whale accumulation on dips. The market is reacting to Bitcoin reaching $64,000 with notable inflows and trading activities indicating a robust demand. 

Selling pressure from short-term holders appears to be decreasing, suggesting a potential for price recovery. The sentiment in Bitcoin options markets is bullish with bets on prices surpassing $100,000 by September. It comes as Bitcoin miners are holding onto their coins due to decreased revenues and network activity. 

Growing Institutional Interest in U.S. Bitcoin ETFs

U.S. Bitcoin ETFs experienced substantial inflows, with Grayscale and Fidelity showing significant gains. Hightower Advisors invested $68M across several spot Bitcoin ETFs, highlighting growing institutional interest. Meanwhile, Monolith Management favored BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF, indicating a strategic shift towards cryptocurrency assets in Hong Kong. 

However, Hong Kong's first spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs struggled to attract substantial assets compared to their U.S. counterparts, mainly due to regulatory and market differences. Notably, ChinaAMC's Bitcoin ETF saw its first outflows, shedding light on the challenges facing new market entrants.

SEC Postpones Decision on Ether ETF

The U.S. SEC has postponed the decision on Invesco Galaxy’s Ether ETF to July 5, amidst wider delays affecting all Ether ETF applicants. Market sentiment is pessimistic as Polymarket odds plummet to 7% for an Ether ETF approval by May end. Ethereum is probably witnessing an exit of major investors, with a notable whale cashing out 7,000 tokens for over $16 million in profit. Simultaneously, Ethereum's implied volatility remains elevated compared to Bitcoin, reflecting ongoing uncertainty, particularly ahead of the SEC’s pending ETF decision, which keeps the market on edge.

Robinhood CEO Criticizes SEC's Impact on Innovation

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev criticized the SEC's regulatory pressures, warning of their detrimental effects on innovation after receiving a Wells Notice about potential legal actions against Robinhood's crypto operations. Meanwhile, CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam at the Milken Global Conference indicated a forthcoming surge in regulatory actions against crypto firms due to increased retail interest and past market upheavals. Behnam urged for clear crypto regulations and underscored the growth and resilience of the crypto market despite recent setbacks.

Nigeria's SEC Moves to Ban P2P Crypto Trading

Nigeria's SEC plans to ban P2P crypto trading with the naira, affecting exchanges like Binance, amid concerns over naira manipulation. Binance, already excluded the naira from its P2P services due to a crackdown that led to the arrest of executives Gambaryan and Anjarwalla for alleged tax evasion and money laundering. 

Binance CEO Richard Teng asserts Gambaryan's innocence, criticizing the Nigerian government for using employee detentions as leverage, and pledging cooperation with regulations and law enforcement to address issues. Despite efforts, detained Binance employees remain in custody, sparking international concern over the precedent it sets for global companies.

Australian Taxation Office Targets Crypto Users

The Australian Taxation Office seeks personal data and transaction details from 1.2 million cryptocurrency exchange users to ensure tax compliance. Cryptocurrencies are taxable assets in Australia, necessitating capital gains tax payment on profits. Globally, Canada, Turkey, and the US are also intensifying efforts to enforce crypto tax regulations amidst rising crypto market profitability.  

Ethena Labs Partners with Bybit for Zero-Fee Trading

Ethena Labs integrated its USDe token with Bybit, enabling zero-fee trading with BTC and ETH pairs and access to Ethena's 15.3% yield. ENA token surged 1.5% to $0.97, with a $1.3 billion market cap. USDe, Ethena's synthetic stablecoin, climbed to a $2.29 billion market cap, pegged to $1, backed by staked ETH on Lido, and hedged with short ETH positions.  

Revolut Launches Crypto Exchange for Professional Traders

Digital bank Revolut has launched Revolut X, a standalone crypto exchange for professional traders. With over 40 million customers, the London-based bank aims to rival top crypto exchanges by offering zero fees for makers and 0.09% for takers. This move follows Revolut's earlier in-app crypto trading and demonstrates its commitment to the crypto market.  

Exodus Movement Digitizes Stocks on Blockchain

Exodus Movement, the creator of Exodus Wallet for Bitcoin, obtained SEC qualification to list its EXOD common stock on the NYSE American. The stock will be tokenized on the Algorand (ALGO) blockchain, enhancing trading efficiency. This move signals the company's commitment to digitizing traditional stocks and embracing the future of blockchain-powered assets.  

Surge in Activity Post V2 Launch at Friend Tech

Friend Tech, post V2 launch, sees a surge in activity, with over 79,500 users creating 137,157 clubs. Club keys drove $37.9 million in volume, spiking after the airdrop to $4.98 million. The token's price tripled from a low on May 3, now at $2.69. Despite some hurdles, daily active users are at 911,450.  

Jupiter Expands Token Exchange on Solana

Jupiter, a leading decentralized exchange aggregator on the Solana network, has integrated the Clone Protocol, allowing users to trade non-native Solana tokens such as DOGE and BNB without the need for bridges. Despite a decrease in trading volume since its peak, Jupiter aims to expand its exchange with a market capitalization of over $1.5 billion.  

Poloniex Hacker Moves Funds Through Tornado Cash

The Poloniex hacker, who stole $125 million, sent 1,100 ETH ($3.3 million) to Tornado Cash after 178 days of dormancy. This follows a $32 million BTC transfer. Tornado Cash, under U.S. sanctions, was used by North Korean hackers to obscure $12 million from a previous exploit. The hacker's total holdings amount to $181 million.  

Ohio State Commencement Speech Sparks Controversy

Chris Pan, an Ohio State University alum, delivered a polarizing commencement speech fueled by psychedelics. He advocated for Bitcoin, causing audience backlash, and incorporated cringe-worthy karaoke. Pan's use of psychedelics and unconventional content received criticism, overshadowing the tragic incident of a person falling to their death during the ceremony.  

PEPE and WIF Dominate Altcoin Leverage

Pepecoin (PEPE) and Dogwifhat (WIF) lead altcoin leverage use, boasting ratios twice that of other coins, according to Kaiko’s findings. Their remarkable 510% and 1,880% YTD increases position them among the top 40 altcoins by market cap. In the past week, PEPE and WIF surged 21% and 28%, outperforming major altcoins. 

Global Outflows from Crypto Products

Crypto products witnessed $1 billion in global outflows amid Bitcoin ETFs seeing $156 million moved out. Ethereum broke its seven-week outflow trend with $30 million in inflows. Altcoins like Avalanche, Cardano, and Polkadot attracted investments, while the US registered the highest outflows at $504 million. Contrastingly, Hong Kong's ETF debut accumulated $307 million in inflows.  

QCP Capital Expands into the Middle East

QCP Capital's approval in Abu Dhabi emphasizes its Middle East expansion. With over $60 billion in crypto derivatives traded in 2023, CEO Deng praises Abu Dhabi's progressive regulators. The UAE's growing appeal to crypto companies includes Bitpanda's entry. The country looks to leverage cryptocurrencies for trade with a focus on regulatory frameworks and becoming a crypto-friendly hub with global governance standards.  

Starknet Foundation Launches Seed Grants Program

The Starknet Foundation has launched a $5 million Seed Grants Program to support emerging blockchain projects. The initiative aims to assist at least 200 teams with $25,000 each to help final-stage projects launch on Starknet. The focus is on reducing barriers, fostering innovation, and supporting blockchain gaming, which accounts for a significant portion of decentralized application activity.  

Polygon Tests New Zero-Knowledge Rollup Solution

Polygon has launched the alpha testnet of Miden, its zero-knowledge rollup solution, offering client-side proving and enhanced privacy capabilities. Miden's roadmap includes a builders testnet scheduled for September. Despite this development, Polygon's native token experienced a 5% decrease in value. Additionally, Polygon Labs CEO criticized Layer 3 networks, emphasizing the efficiency of Layer 2 solutions.  

Arbitrum Leads in DeFi Market with Uniswap Volume

Arbitrum has become the first Layer-2 network to surpass $150 billion in swap volume on Uniswap, reflecting its dominance in the DeFi market. The trading volume surged to $170 million in a day, with a total value locked of $2.64 billion. Despite this, ARB token's price experienced volatility and a decrease in value over the last month.  

Blast Ecosystem Introduces Jackpot Feature

The Blast ecosystem introduced the Jackpot feature, leading to a surge in token and NFT prices. Despite this, the total value locked (TVL) increased only by 1.7% in the past 7 days. The Jackpot allows users to enter their Blast tokens and NFTs for a chance to win Blast Gold, a new method to farm the Blast airdrop, sparking increased activity and speculation.