Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | August 7, 2023

Crypto Market Update

Written by Van

Table of Contents

Regulatory and Compliance Updates

• SEC Categorizes Cryptos as Securities
• MAS Invests in Fintech Innovations
• Kenyan Raid on Worldcoin's Warehouse
• Huobi Faces Rumors and Outflows

Platform and Token Developments

• Ethereum Burned by Holder 'nd4.eth'
• PayPal Introduces PYUSD Stablecoin
• Major Altcoins Set to Unlock Tokens
• Play-to-Earn Tokens See Decline
• Bounty Set for Curve Finance Thief

Market Sentiments and Trading Insights

• Bitcoin Drops Under $29,000
• OPNX Eyes Takeover of Hodlnaut Assets
• Lido DAO's Token Unlock and Metrics
• YGG Token Offload by Investors

Institutional Movements and Investments

• Institutional Shifts in Bitcoin Perception
• Maker Protocol Sees Spike in DAI Deposits

NFT Market Updates

• Controversy Over Blur NFT Bidding
• NFT Royalty Declines Affect Artists

SEC Categorizes Cryptos as Securities

The SEC has published a list of approximately 48 cryptocurrencies that it considers to be securities, including BNB, ADA, MATIC, SOL, ALGO, TRX, and others. Bitcoin and Ethereum are not on the list, and XRP is also excluded.

The SEC's campaign against altcoins, excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum, revolves around the belief that most digital tokens are unregistered securities. Some disagreement exists regarding whether Ethereum is a security, while Cardano's ADA token also made the SEC's list. 

MAS Invests in Fintech Innovations

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will commit up to $112 million to support fintech solutions, including Web3, under its renewed Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) scheme. The scheme aims to accelerate and strengthen innovation by funding projects that utilize cutting-edge technologies.

Besides Web3, MAS will continue to support adoption in areas such as AI, data analytics, and RegTech. The program has awarded $340 million since 2015 to drive innovation in the financial sector. 

Kenyan Raid on Worldcoin's Warehouse

Kenyan police raided Worldcoin's warehouse, a cryptocurrency protocol co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner supervised the raid, but claims to be unaware of it. Operations were suspended by the Ministry of the Interior. UK, France, and Germany are also investigating.

Despite challenges, Worldcoin experienced significant growth in ID verifications and active users, but the WLD token's value dropped 11%, with fewer than 6000 holders and 23,655 transfers. 

Huobi Faces Rumors and Outflows

Rumors spread over the weekend that Chinese authorities were investigating Huobi exchange executives, leading to massive $64M outflows and drop in TVL. Rumors suggest leaders were arrested due to investigation into involvement with gambling platforms. One top executive recently left Huobi but unclear if related.

Huobi says rumors are untrue and exchange is doing well. However, fintech exec Adam Cochran pointed out inconsistencies in Tether holdings, suggesting insolvency. Huobi chief Justin Sun responded to ignore FUD and keep building, but did not comment on Chinese investigations. 

Ethereum Burned by Holder 'nd4.eth'

An individual under the name nd4.eth burned $4.5 million worth of Ethereum by sending it to a burn address. The motives behind this action are unclear, leading the Ethereum community to speculate and seek answers.

The individual is also a significant holder of GMX and Gains tokens and sent a smaller amount of ETH and tokens to the burn address as well. The incident has garnered attention and generated discussion among cryptocurrency insiders.

PayPal Introduces PYUSD Stablecoin

PayPal launches USD-backed stablecoin PYUSD with Paxos, aiming to transform payments in web3 environments. Fully backed by USD deposits and treasuries, PYUSD offers one-to-one redemption for US dollars and may become PayPal's native token. Issued on Ethereum, it enables seamless fiat-crypto connections, fast transfers, and support for global brands.

Paxos oversees issuance, ensuring regulatory compliance and transparency through monthly reserve reports and independent accounting firm attestations. PayPal is dedicated to increasing understanding of digital currencies and engaging with regulators.

Major Altcoins Set to Unlock Tokens

In August, several major altcoins, including SAND, APT, IMX, INJ, LDO, and AVAX, are scheduled to unlock tokens. The total value of these tokens is estimated to be over $425 million.

Notable releases include SAND's 332.55 million tokens worth $134 million on August 14 and Avalanche's 9.54 million tokens worth $120 million on August 26. ApeCoin will also unlock 15 million tokens worth $28 million on August 17. 

Play-to-Earn Tokens See Decline

Trading volumes for top play-to-earn (P2E) tokens like Axie Infinity have fallen by 98% from their peak in November 2021, according to data from Kaiko Research. The decline in trading activity is due to decreasing interest and falling in-game rewards, leading to a struggle to retain user bases.

Tokens like Axie Infinity's AXS, The Sandbox's SAND, and Gala Games' GALA have all seen significant drops in value. Despite this, unique P2E tokens with specific use cases, like "vote to earn" tokens, are experiencing growth. In general, the value of gaming tokens associated with web3 gaming has been falling since early February 2023.

Bounty Set for Curve Finance Thief

Curve Finance's $1.85M bounty for identifying the thief who stole $18.5M is now open to the public. The stolen funds represent 10% of the total amount taken. The involvement of the Lazarus group is suspected.

The exploit caused $73M in losses, but a significant portion of over 73% has been returned by white hat hackers. CRV token sentiment has improved after recovering partially from a 30% loss. 

Bitcoin Drops Under $29,000

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading under $29,000 with low volatility. Key factors include US inflation data and on-chain indicators showing accumulation by larger investors. Despite the dip, the number of BTC wallets is growing. Long-term holders hold 75% of circulating supply with 14.59 million BTC. Realized volatility is at historic lows, and outflows of $111 million in digital asset investments were observed. 

OPNX Eyes Takeover of Hodlnaut Assets

OPNX, an exchange associated with Three Arrows Capital, has made an offer to acquire the assets of bankrupt firm Hodlnaut. The offer, which would result in a 75% takeover, has been submitted to the Singapore court and includes injecting up to $30 million in FLEX tokens to provide relief for distressed creditors. If approved, creditors would receive up to 30% of their claims in tokens. The FLEX token has gained 49% in the past week.

Lido DAO's Token Unlock and Metrics

Lido DAO will unlock 8.5 million tokens on August 25, 2023. Despite recent price increase, bearish sentiment prevails with declining bullish sentiment and social dominance. Selling pressure and decreased whale activity indicated by LDO's metrics.

Lido has seen a surge in deposits, with over 10,000 unique ether (ETH) depositors contributing to a total value locked (TVL) of $15 billion worth of tokens. Strong demand for stETH remains despite decreased liquidity in DeFi due to Curve Finance hack. 

YGG Token Offload by Investors

Investors have been dumping YGG tokens following a recent price rally, according to on-chain data platform Lookonchain. Significant amounts of YGG were transferred to centralized exchanges, suggesting an imminent dump. One investor, Youbi Capital, deposited $613,000 worth of YGG tokens onto Binance. The price of YGG dropped from $0.62 to $0.55 after the deposits, now trading at $0.42.

Institutional Shifts in Bitcoin Perception

Institutional investors are no longer betting against Bitcoin, according to CoinShares' fund report. Outflows into short Bitcoin products have stopped for the first time in 14 weeks, suggesting a change in approach by large digital asset funds.

However, investors have been busy selling, with over $111m sold across various Bitcoin-related funds in the past week. Altcoins such as Solana, Ripple, and Litecoin have seen increased institutional interest, with Solana experiencing its most bullish week since March 2022. 

Maker Protocol Sees Spike in DAI Deposits

Since the latest upgrade, the amount of DAI deposited into the Maker protocol has significantly increased. Users can now enjoy an 8% yield on their holdings of the decentralized stablecoin. This increase in interest rates is temporary and is funded by the stability fees earned by Maker.

The supply of DAI has also increased, with 11.9% of the total supply being deposited in the DSR contracts. The protocol's revenue has been boosted by exposure to real-world assets, such as U.S. Treasury Bills and corporate debt. 

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

FLEX FLEX (+15.06%)

Bitcoin Cash BCH (+4.57%)

Dash DASH (+2.69%)

Losers:

XDC Network XDC (-16.35%)

FTX Token FTT (-11.48%)

Hedera Hashgraph HBAR (-7.07%)

NFT Market Map

Controversy Over Blur NFT Bidding

Hanwe Chang tricked bots on the Blur NFT marketplace into bidding high on his Azuki NFTs, earning him 800 ETH ($1.5M). The controversial transaction has caused a stir on crypto Twitter, with some calling it illegal market activity.

The bot's owner offered a 10% reward for the return of the stolen funds. Opinions on the legality of the situation are divided among commentators. Chang has remained silent on the matter.

NFT Royalty Declines Affect Artists

NFT market slump hits artists hard as royalties plummet by 98%, falling from $269m in January to $4.3m in July. Top NFT exchanges, including Blur and OpenSea, have cut royalty rates to incentivize buying and selling, resulting in a significant drop in artist income.

Some experts advocate for embedding royalty rates into NFT software to prevent exchanges from adjusting them. OpenSea's Chief Business Officer suggests linking NFTs to merchandise sales as a potential source of income for artists.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.