Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | April 1, 2024

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Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents

Crypto Market Updates

• Bitcoin's Weekly Dip Signals Market Watch
• Ethereum's Path: Innovations and Market Speculations
• Tether Expands: Bitcoin Holdings and Audit Success
• Degen Chain Spurs Layer-3 Network Debate

Innovations and Developments

• Telegram Empowers Ads with Toncoin
• Cardano Attracts Surging Crypto Investments
• CORE Token Skyrockets: Market and Campaign Buzz

Banking and Regulatory Insights

• China's Blockchain Push vs. Crypto Ban
• Bitkub Eyes IPO Amid Crypto Surge
• TRON Challenges SEC Over Jurisdiction
• OpenLeverage Addresses Hack with User Protection Plan

Exchange and Platform Dynamics

• Upbit's Trading Volume Plummets: A Shift in Interest
• Bitcoin Dominates NFT Sales Surge

Bitcoin's Weekly Dip Signals Market Watch

Bitcoin's price fluctuation continues with a weekly dip toward $68,000 despite a best-ever monthly close. The market watches as the BTC halving approaches, with smart money eyeing bids down to $62,000. A notable $627 million BTC withdrawal by a top whale hints at major players' movements. Bitcoin's 60% 30-day volatility outpaces Ethereum's, stirring market dynamics as the halving looms. 

Past halvings have typically been followed by bullish momentum, but the unique circumstances of each event, including macroeconomic factors and market maturity, suggest a cautious outlook. Miner earnings reached a record $2 billion in March, highlighting the sector's robust activity ahead of the halving, further underscoring the significant anticipation and speculative positioning within the market.

Ethereum's Path: Innovations and Market Speculations

Vitalik Buterin announced further development of Ethereum's "The Purge" to streamline the protocol by reducing historical data storage needs, thus simplifying Ethereum and enhancing its efficiency. The SEC may delay Ethereum ETF approval until December, with Bitwise's Bitcoin ETF seeing rapid growth, underscoring regulatory caution and potential market benefits from a delay. 

Ethereum's price history indicates possible double-digit gains in Q2, despite concerns over the potential denial of a spot Ethereum ETF causing price volatility. An Ethereum whale transferred 13,500 ETH from Bitfinex to an unknown wallet, indicating significant market moves and speculation about increased DeFi activities, with Ethereum's price experiencing recent volatility and a potential correction looming if the $3,400 support level is breached.

Tether Expands: Bitcoin Holdings and Audit Success

Tether, the issuer of USDT, added approximately 8,889 Bitcoin (BTC) to its holdings in Q1, bringing its total to 75,354 BTC worth about $5.2 billion. This move aligns with Tether's strategy to use a portion of its profits for acquiring BTC, showcasing a profit of around $3 billion. Additionally, Tether successfully completed a System and Organization Controls 2 (SOC) audit, highlighting its commitment to high security and data protection standards. 

The audit is part of Tether's ongoing efforts to maintain trust and compliance, with plans for annual SOC 2 audits and achieving SOC 2 Type II certification by the end of 2025. This audit, alongside its substantial Bitcoin acquisition, underlines Tether's significant position in the cryptocurrency market, with plans to expand into Bitcoin mining and aiming for 1% of the BTC mining network by investing $500 million in mining facilities in Uruguay, Paraguay, and El Salvador.

Degen Chain Spurs Layer-3 Network Debate

Degen Chain, a layer-3 blockchain on the Base network, reached nearly $100 million transaction volume in 24 hours, with over 272,000 unique transactions and 7,500 contracts created since its launch. Critics argue layer-3 networks like Degen Chain could drain value from Ethereum, highlighted by Polygon Labs CEO's concerns over security risks. 

Despite rapid growth and user adoption, Degen Chain's speculative tokens and lack of stablecoin support underscore the volatile nature of the crypto landscape. Polygon's CEO, Marc Boiron, debates the necessity of layer-3s, stressing they might divert value from Ethereum, contrasting with views seeing layer-3s as enhancing functionalities independent of Ethereum's value.

Telegram Empowers Ads with Toncoin

Telegram has introduced Toncoin for ad purchases, offering 50% revenue share with channel owners. Users can boost channel visibility using Toncoin and choose where ads will appear. Withdrawals for earnings will soon be fee-free through Telegram’s Fragment exchange. The use of TON Blockchain emphasizes low fees, high speeds, and the capability of handling 100,000 transactions per second.  

Cardano Attracts Surging Crypto Investments

Cardano, amidst a crypto investment surge, attracted $1.1 million in a week, reversing previous outflows. Yearly, it drew $6 million in investments. Bitcoin ETFs saw $862 million last week, part of a $13.14 billion total for the year, dominated by Bitcoin with $12.83 billion. A speculated Cardano ETF could enhance its market position.  

CORE Token Skyrockets: Market and Campaign Buzz

CORE token, belonging to CORE DAO, has surged by 67.25% to $2.75 within a day, reaching the 54th spot in market cap rankings. With 875,161,702 tokens in circulation and a fully diluted market cap of $5.78 billion, significant investor interest has been sparked, potentially attributed to endorsements from Coretoshis Lab and the Core Chain x Multibit/Bitstable: Core Journey Campaign. Technical indicators suggest a bullish trend, although the high RSI indicates potential overvaluation.  

China's Blockchain Push vs. Crypto Ban

The Chinese government launched a public blockchain platform, led by Conflux Network, focusing on cross-border cooperation projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. Despite China's cryptocurrency trading ban, 33.3% of Chinese investors hold stablecoins. China has intensified crypto crackdowns, banning trading and mining, with calls for stricter AML regulations following a $2.2 billion underground banking operation report.  

Bitkub Eyes IPO Amid Crypto Surge

Bitkub Capital, owner of Thai crypto exchange Bitkub Online, plans to conduct an IPO in 2025 with an expected valuation of 6 billion baht ($165 million). The exchange, accounting for 80% of the parent company's profit, faces escalating demand amidst the surging crypto market. Increased competition and regulatory challenges have influenced its strategic trajectory.  

TRON Challenges SEC Over Jurisdiction

TRON and Justin Sun seek dismissal of an SEC lawsuit over alleged illegal securities offerings. They argue that transactions were conducted overseas, hence the SEC lacks jurisdiction. Highlighting regulatory ambiguity in the digital asset industry, they stress the need for clearer guidelines to avoid destabilizing the global digital asset market amidst rising SEC enforcement actions.  

OpenLeverage Addresses Hack with User Protection Plan

OpenLeverage, a decentralized protocol, encountered multiple hacks resulting in a $230K loss. The attacker leveraged Tornado Cash, prompting a temporary cessation of operations for investigation. Despite the $220K loss on BNB Chain and $40K on Arbitrum, the company assures the coverage of all losses through internal funds, insurance, and reserves, prioritizing user protection.  

Upbit's Trading Volume Plummets: A Shift in Interest

The trading volume on South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has plummeted by 75% from its peak in March, declining to $3.79 billion. The surge in altcoin activity in early March drove this frenzy, fueled by low transaction fees and political developments. This decrease questions the sustainability of the altcoin rally.