Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | January 15, 2024

Bitcoin Price Plummets Post-ETF Approval

Post-ETF approval, Bitcoin's price dropped sharply from $48.9K to $41.5K, influenced by negative U.S. market sentiment and significant outflows from Grayscale. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index hit 'neutral', reflecting changing sentiments. Bitcoin's market cap fell by $83.91 billion, underperforming against ETH and altcoins despite the upcoming halving event. 

Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted less than 0.1% of Bitcoin’s market cap, indicating mixed reactions and cautious investor approach. The realized price of 1 to 3-month-old Bitcoin holders, sitting at around $36,700, could act as a potential support level if the current correction continues, as per CryptoQuant Head of Research Julio Moreno.

Ethereum ETF Delays and Market Complexities

The Ethereum market faces regulatory delays, with the SEC likely postponing ETF approvals until post-2024 elections. Interest in Ethereum ETFs surges, led by positive sentiments from influential figures like BlackRock's CEO. Meanwhile, Celsius Network's $125 million Ethereum transfers to exchanges raise concerns about market stability. Legal developments around former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky, facing securities fraud charges, add to the sector's complexity, highlighting the intricate dynamics at play.

New Highs in DeFi Tokens Sui and Celestia

Sui's token hit a new high of $1.45, buoyed by the DeFi boom. Celestia's TIA reached $20, entering the top 40 tokens, driven by its innovative blockchain network. Arbitrum's XAI gaming token surged 35%, reaching $1.12, post-airdrop, doubling its airdrop value to $140 million.

Record Trading Volume in Crypto Investment Products

Crypto investment products hit a record $17.5 billion trading volume last week, with U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs driving a significant $1.18 billion inflow. Bitcoin funds dominated, capturing 98% of these inflows. Meanwhile, XRP saw a 244% surge in fund inflows, totaling $2.2 million, amid speculation of an upcoming XRP ETF, highlighting a shift in investor focus and regional dynamics.

Bitfinex Foils Major XRP Exploit Attempt

Bitfinex thwarted a $15 billion XRP "Partial Payments Exploit" attack, securing against an attempt to move 25.6 billion XRP. The attack failed due to Bitfinex's proper handling of data, clarified as only moving a few cents. Ripple's former director of engineering verified the transaction's insignificance, and on-chain data revealed a failed similar attempt on Binance. XRP's price remained steady, with a 77% spike in trading volume.  

Google Cloud Joins Flare Blockchain as Validator

Google Cloud has joined Flare blockchain as a validator and infrastructure provider, contributing to the Flare Time Series Oracle. Flare's native token, FLR, saw a 4% jump to around $0.018 after the partnership announcement. The network's market cap is nearly $550 million. Flare aims to provide decentralized data access to developers through its Oracle system.  

FTX Token Rebounds Amid Bankruptcy Proceedings

Following a decline, bankrupt FTX's native token FTT rebounded to a market cap over $1 billion. The rise was attributed to a recent 27% surge, linked to a broader crypto market uptrend. Meanwhile, FTX customers are contesting the exchange's plan to dollarize their digital asset claims, arguing it would deprive them of significant accrued gains.  

Solana Faces Price Drop and Liquidation Challenges

Solana's price dropped by 8%, leading to a $7 million liquidation in long positions and contributing to the crypto market's $88 million liquidation. Solana's transaction volume and active network addresses decreased. A proposal to deploy Aave v3 on Neon EVM aims to expand lending on the Solana blockchain, leveraging its liquidity and initially launching with limited assets and conservative risk parameters.  

Fantom Lowers Validator Requirements for Accessibility

The Fantom blockchain has reduced its validator self-stake requirement from 500,000 to 50,000 FTM, aiming to increase accessibility. The move is expected to boost network security with more validators, maintain performance, and not compromise decentralization. The consensus mechanism, Lachesis, facilitates independent transaction confirmations and expects a faster transaction distribution.  

Tether's USDT Linked to Money Laundering in Asia

A UN report reveals that Tether's USDT is increasingly used for money laundering in East and Southeast Asia, particularly in the online casino industry. This comes as Tether faces scrutiny globally. With a market cap of over $95 billion, USDT is the world's third-largest cryptocurrency. USDC, the second largest stablecoin, has a $25.5 billion market cap.  

Venezuela Discontinues Petro Cryptocurrency

Venezuela has officially halted the Petro cryptocurrency after six years due to limited adoption, skepticism, and a corruption scandal. The project aimed to counter US sanctions but faced numerous challenges. The Petro's demise coincides with a crackdown on crypto mining and economic difficulties, leaving Venezuela to navigate the implications for its crypto landscape.  

Polygon Advances with zkEVM Stage 2 Beta

Polygon zkEVM enters Stage 2 Beta with a two-month timeframe, aiming to onboard 30-50 projects and enhance network throughput. This phase sets the stage for further engagement campaigns in Stage 3. As part of the multichain ecosystem, zkEVM prioritizes DeFi activities, facing competition from Arbitrum One and zkSync Era in the Ethereum Layer 2 space.  

Avalanche's ASC-20 Tokens Gain Popularity

Avalanche's ASC-20 tokens are gaining traction, with the AVAV project experiencing rapid growth, drawing over 585,000 listeners to a Bitget-hosted Twitter Space. The protocol facilitates the creation and trading of customized tokens with lower transaction fees and a mechanism for returning unresolved funds. Meet high market demand, surging 2,000% within a week.  

USDC Wallet Growth Despite Market Cap Drop

Circle's State of the USDC Economy report showcases a 59% growth in wallets holding USDC, amounting to 2.7M. Usage for leveraged trading has dropped by over 90% since 2019. Despite a major market cap drop from $56B to $24B, USDC has rebounded and currently holds the seventh position among digital assets.  

Senator Warren Criticizes Coin Center's Hiring Practices

Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Coin Center for hiring former officials, alleging their role in undermining efforts on cryptocurrency regulations. Coin Center's director, Jerry Brito, declined to address Warren's concerns, asserting the organization's right to lobbying as freedom of speech. The industry criticized Warren for seeking help from a banking lobbying group to draft legislation.

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

Flare FLR (+22.93%)

Sui SUI (+12.22%)

Beam BEAMX (+9.45%)

Losers:

Kaspa KAS (-3.18%)

Bonk BONK (-3.28%)

Optimism OP (-3.26%)