Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | July 31, 2023

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Jul 31 2023

last year3 minutes read

Markets360

Crypto Market Update

Written by Van

Curve Finance Exploit Leads to Multi-Million Losses

The Curve Finance exploit led to a loss of millions in digital assets, drained from several Curve liquidity pools. The vulnerability in Vyper's programming language allowed for the theft of 7 million CRV tokens and $14 million in wrapped ether (WETH). The exploit also had market implications, causing a dip in CRV's price and affecting trading patterns of various tokens.

Multiple DeFi protocols suffered losses, totaling over $70 million, due to vulnerabilities in Vyper. Despite the damage, white-hat hackers and MEV bots were able to secure some stolen assets.

Market Tensions Rise as Bitcoin and Ether Price Drop

Bitcoin and Ether experienced price drops but remained above support levels. The decline followed news of a hack at DeFi exchange Curve Finance. Other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies also saw losses, with Tron's TRX token leading the losers.

Bitcoin volume has hit its lowest level since early 2021, increasing concerns that the price could drop below $25,000. Analysis suggests that BTC price retracing below $25,000 is possible, with $28,300 being a critical level for Bitcoin bulls. On the charts, BTC has remained relatively stagnant, with $29,500 becoming a popular trigger for sellers.

Rising Accumulation of Stablecoins Dominates Crypto Market

Stablecoins like Dai, Binance USD, USD Coin, and Tether are being accumulated by large holders, with Tether dominating the market share at 68.87%. USD Coin and Binance USD experienced a drop in market shares. Stablecoins accounted for 87.52% of the cryptocurrency market's 24-hour volume, with Tether leading in trading volume. TrueUSD ranked 26th in market capitalization.

BALD Tokens Tumble 90% due to Liquidity Removal

BALD tokens on Base blockchain plummeted 90% due to liquidity removal, hitting 1 cent from 9 cents. Prices recovered to 4 cents with some traders buying in. Market cap reached $85 million before panic selling. Meanwhile, Coinbase's Layer 2 blockchain saw over 276k transactions, memecoins' gains, and $48 million in ether transferred. Base team had no native token plans.

Optimism's Price Surge Follows Token Unlocks

Optimism's price surged 7% to $1.61 as it unlocked 24 million tokens worth $38m into circulation, with daily trading volume up 107% from a day ago. Optimism has another 45 token unlocks lined up, with bulls in control and potential bullish strength signals. However, an increase in circulating supply often coincides with a dip in demand and price.

Binance Granted Operational License by Dubai Amid Global Scrutiny

Binance has been granted an operational license by Dubai, allowing the world's leading crypto exchange to provide services to institutional and qualified retail investors in the region. Dubai has been dubbed a "crypto hub" by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. This is a significant success for Binance as it faces regulatory scrutiny and legal challenges in the US and Europe.

The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission has also issued a second warning against Binance, labeling it as an unregulated and unregistered exchange. Binance had previously been ordered to stop soliciting Nigerian investors in June.

Ethereum Celebrates 8th Birthday Amidst Positive Development News

Ethereum celebrated its 8th birthday, reflecting on its growth and $227 billion market capitalization. The Ethereum network is set to benefit from a proposed upgrade, EIP-6968, designed to incentivize dApp development by providing a revenue stream through "contract secured revenue". In other news, an Ethereum ICO participant moved 641 ETH (worth $1.2M) for the first time in eight years, opting to stake the coins.

PancakeSwap Offers Revenue Share to Fixed-Term CAKE Stakers

PancakeSwap, a decentralized exchange, will share trading fee revenue with stakers of its native token, CAKE. Starting on August 9, fixed-term CAKE stakers will receive 5% of the trading fee revenues from PancakeSwap v3 pairs on a recurring and weekly basis. This initiative aims to tie the growth of the CAKE token to PancakeSwap's development as a protocol.

SEC Requests Coinbase to Suspend Trading, Bar Bitcoin

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requested Coinbase to suspend trading in all cryptocurrencies except for Bitcoin before initiating legal action. The SEC advised Coinbase to delist its more than 200 tokens, stating that every other asset was a security. Coinbase refused, arguing that compliance would effectively end the crypto industry in the US.

This request demonstrates the SEC's intention to regulate a broader portion of the crypto market. The SEC's case against Coinbase did not include Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency. The issue of whether all or any crypto tokens should fall under the SEC's purview is still being debated by US authorities.

Tether Reveals Q2 2023 Consolidated Reserves Amid Regulatory Orders

Tether Holdings has released its consolidated reserves report for Q2 2023, revealing consolidated assets of at least $86.5bn against total liabilities of $83.2bn. Tether's reserves aim to provide a cushion for its tokens, such as the USDT, the world's largest stablecoin.

The report also showed a $850m increase in excess reserves, a 30% QoQ increase in operation profits, and a share buyback of $115m. Tether was ordered to issue quarterly consolidated reserves reports by the New York State Attorney General as part of a settlement.

SEC Files Lawsuit against HEX Founder for Security Violations

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against HEX founder Richard "Heart" Schueler, accusing him of conducting a billion-dollar unregistered security offering. The SEC alleges that Heart misappropriated investor assets, manipulated the price of his token, and marketed it as an investment opportunity without proper registration.

The lawsuit seeks to bar Heart from selling crypto securities, recover illicit funds, and impose civil penalties. The case highlights the need for regulatory compliance in the crypto industry.

Bendigo Bank Blocks High-Risk Crypto Payments

Bendigo Bank in Australia has implemented new rules to block "high-risk" cryptocurrency payments, following similar actions by the country's other major banks. The move aims to protect customers from investment scams, but it may force crypto users to interact with offshore and unregulated exchanges. Chengyi Ong, the policy lead at Chainalysis, has urged banks to work with exchanges and target all potential points of interaction between scammers and victims.

Hang Seng Bank Limits Crypto Services in Hong Kong

Hang Seng Bank, owned by HSBC, is reportedly only offering "simple" accounts to licensed crypto companies in Hong Kong, despite no official ban on offering services to such firms. Limited staffing at the Securities and Futures Commission and reluctance from banks means crypto companies are struggling to open accounts.

Whale Reclaims $119 Million in Ether after Long Dormancy

A whale using the domain "darkmarket.eth" has reclaimed $119 million in Ether locked in the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) auction after two and a half years. ENS founder Nick Johnson urged users to check their addresses and claim their funds, as over 100,000 deeds worth tens of thousands in ETH remain unclaimed. Additionally, two other dormant wallets containing millions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency have recently become active.

Japan Blockchain Association Calls for Tax Reform on Crypto Profits

The Japan Blockchain Association (JBA) has requested the elimination of income tax on cryptocurrency profits in Japan. The JBA argues that the current tax regime for digital assets is a barrier for the crypto industry and prevents citizens from actively owning and using cryptocurrencies. The association has proposed three major changes to ease the tax burden on crypto holders.

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

XDC Network XDC (+6.29%)

Optimism OP (+4.48%)

Kaspa KAS (+4.03%)

Losers:

Curve DAO Token CRV (-10.08%)

Frax Share FXS (-8.03%)

Aave AAVE (-7.89%)

NFT Market Map

OpenSea's NFT Sales Decline on Ethereum and Polygon

In July, OpenSea experienced a significant decline in sales volume for Ethereum and Polygon-based NFTs. Ethereum sales volume dropped by 82% since February, while Polygon saw a decline of 98% in the first quarter. OpenSea recorded a total of 258,798 Ethereum NFTs sold this month, a 43% drop from June.

Despite the decline, the count of Polygon NFTs sold on OpenSea increased by 29% compared to June. However, Blur remains the dominant platform in terms of monthly trading volume.

Sorare's Fantasy Sports Platform Now Supports Fiat Payments

Blockchain-based fantasy sports platform, Sorare, has introduced support for fiat payments, allowing users to buy digital trading cards with fiat currencies instead of only using cryptocurrency. This move eliminates a barrier to entry and may help drive user growth.

The platform still uses NFTs and transactions are recorded on the blockchain. The shift towards fiat payments may be an attempt to distance itself from the negative associations with cryptocurrency.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.

Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | July 31, 2023

Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents:

Market Impacts

Crypto Exchange and Platform Updates

Regulatory Challenges and Compliance

Blockchain and Crypto Assets

NFT News