Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | July 8, 2023

Crypto Market Update

Written by Van

Table of Contents:

Crypto Market Updates

• Circle and Tether Respond to Multichain Hack
• Unusual Bitcoin Movements Stir Market Speculation
• Ethereum Faces Resistance Amid Growing Demand for LSDs
• XRP Boasts Strong Q2 2023 Growth, Plans Real Estate Tokenization
• Shiba Inu's Bone Token Soars with Shibarium Release Announcement
• Potential Rebound Predicted for XRP, ADA Amid Market Sell-Off
• Tron Founder Justin Sun's $43 Million ETH Transfer Sparks Speculation

Banking and Regulatory Updates

• JP Morgan Skeptical About Impact of Spot Bitcoin ETF
• SEC Investigates BarnBridge amid Increased Web3 Scrutiny
• SEC Files Response to Coinbase's Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit

Crypto Exchanges and Platforms

• Crypto.com Prevails in Arbitration Over Erroneous Transfer
• Binance Sees Massive Inflows Despite Executive Exits

Legal and Security Developments

• Gemini's Lawsuit Against Digital Currency Group Dismissed as 'Publicity Stunt'
• Crypto Hacks Amount to $30 Billion Since 2012, Report Shows

DeFi Updates

• Grayscale Adds Lido Protocol's LDO Token to DeFi Fund
• Aave to Convert Idle ETH for Yield in Ethereum Collector Contract

Individual Success Stories

• Trader Turns $12,000 into $1 Million with Meme Coins

NFT Updates

• NFT Project Gutter Cat Gang Hit by SIM Swap Attack
• Cardano Collaborates with Epoch Sports for Blockchain-Authenticated Jerseys
• MLB Introduces Virtual Ballpark Experience with NFTs

Circle and Tether Respond to Multichain Hack

After a security breach on Multichain, USDC issuer Circle froze $63 million in assets from three wallet addresses linked to the hack. Tether also froze $2.5 million in USDT tied to a similar exploit. In total, nearly $130 million was stolen from various bridges, depleting WBTC, USDC, and USDT reserves. 

Unusual Bitcoin Movements Stir Market Speculation

Since mid-June, over 600,000 BTC tokens have been sent to exchanges by short-term holders (STH), the longest engagement period in recent history. Despite this, the overall supply held by STH has been increasing, indicating a shift towards viewing Bitcoin as a long-term investment rather than just for trading. 

Additionally, a transfer of 160 million Bitcoin to Binance from an unknown wallet has raised questions about the Luna Foundation Guard and their management of Terra ecosystem assets. 

Ethereum Faces Resistance Amid Growing Demand for LSDs

Ethereum has faced resistance at $2,000 and seen limited gains compared to Bitcoin. Failed breakouts led to correction, but demand for liquid staking derivatives (LSDs) like stETH is growing, limiting downside. 20% of Ethereum's supply is staked, leaving room for growth. Ethereum whales have moved $140 million to exchanges, potentially impacting the market. 

XRP Boasts Strong Q2 2023 Growth, Plans Real Estate Tokenization

In Q2 2023, XRP experienced strong growth with a 42.5% increase in circulating market cap YTD and a 167.2% surge in quarterly revenue. XRPL saw advancements, such as a 12.7% YoY increase in daily NFT transactions. Ripple Labs plans to tokenize real estate, enabling fractional ownership and easier transfer of assets. 

Shiba Inu's Bone Token Soars with Shibarium Release Announcement

Shiba Inu's governance token Bone ShibaSwap (BONE), which is also the Layer 2 Shibarium gas token, had a significant rise after Shiba Inu's lead Shytoshi Kusama hinted at Shibarium's release. 

BONE printed a massive green candlestick as it jumped from a low of $1.06 to reach a high of $1.31 on July 7. The rise advanced in the early hours of Saturday, with BONE reaching $1.39 at press time.

Potential Rebound Predicted for XRP, ADA Amid Market Sell-Off

According to a report by Santiment, XRP and ADA have high chances of rebounding soon after a recent sell-off in the cryptocurrency market. The report suggests that as these two cryptos are being sold off more than others at low prices, the chances of rebounding for XRP and ADA are growing to become high.

Tron Founder Justin Sun's $43 Million ETH Transfer Sparks Speculation 

Tron founder Justin Sun transferred 23,000 ETH worth $43 million to Poloniex, sparking speculation about the purpose. Possible reasons include liquidation, staking, and increasing liquidity on the exchange. 

While fears of a sell-off have arisen, the impact on the Ethereum market may not be significant given its large market capitalization. 

JP Morgan Skeptical About Impact of Spot Bitcoin ETF

JP Morgan has expressed skepticism about the potential impact of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval by the SEC on the price and adoption of Bitcoin. 

The bank's analysts argue that spot BTC ETFs have been approved in other jurisdictions without significantly influencing the asset, even during bear markets. They also suggest that the approval could lead to a shift of liquidity from futures markets without necessarily driving growth.

SEC Investigates BarnBridge amid Increased Web3 Scrutiny

BarnBridge, a protocol for trading structured derivatives, is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In response, the protocol's legal counsel has advised that all work on BarnBridge-related products should cease to reduce further legal liability. 

The SEC's increased scrutiny of the web3 industry has led to backlash from Republican congressional representatives and web3 advocates.

SEC Files Response to Coinbase's Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a response to Coinbase's motion to dismiss a lawsuit against it, asserting that the crypto exchange may have knowingly violated securities laws. 

The SEC claims that Coinbase was aware that its crypto listings would fall under federal securities laws. The regulator also dismissed Coinbase's argument that the approval of its IPO would protect it from future enforcement actions. The SEC has requested the court to deny Coinbase's motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

Crypto.com Prevails in Arbitration Over Erroneous Transfer

Crypto.com won an arbitration claim against a user who erroneously received $50,000 from the company and refused to return it. The arbitrator ruled that the user must return the $50,000 and pay for the plaintiff's legal costs, totaling $76,391.46. 

This is not the first time Crypto.com has made a significant accounting error, having previously refunded an Australian woman 10 million Australian dollars ($6.6 million) instead of the 100 AUD it owed her.

Binance Sees Massive Inflows Despite Executive Exits

Despite the recent exit of key executives, Binance saw nearly $2 billion in inflows in the last 24 hours. The specific reasons for this significant inflow are not clear, but it suggests that the market remains confident in Binance's operations and future prospects. 

Gemini's Lawsuit Against Digital Currency Group Dismissed as 'Publicity Stunt'

Digital Currency Group (DCG) has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Gemini as a "publicity stunt" by Cameron Winklevoss. Gemini alleges that DCG and its CEO Barry Silbert orchestrated a fraud against creditors, claiming that Genesis, a DCG subsidiary, owes nearly $1 billion to Gemini's Earn program users and other creditors. 

DCG denies any wrongdoing and accuses Gemini's leadership of being absent from negotiations. 

Crypto Hacks Amount to $30 Billion Since 2012, Report Shows

A report from SlowMist reveals that over $30 billion in crypto has been hacked from 2012 to the present in 1,101 documented incidents. The most common hacks include smart contract vulnerabilities, rug pulls, flash loan attacks, scams, and private key leaks. The losses represent roughly 2.5% of the current market capitalization of cryptocurrencies. 

Grayscale Adds Lido Protocol's LDO Token to DeFi Fund

Grayscale has added the Lido protocol's LDO token to its DeFi Fund, making it the second-heaviest component. LDO's weight in the fund is 19.04%, second only to Uniswap’s UNI at 45.46%. 

The fund also includes Aave (AAVE) at 11.53%, MakerDAO (MKR) at 10.82%, Curve DAO Token (CRV) at 7.03%, and Synthetix (SNX) at 6.12%. Lido is a decentralized liquid staking protocol that allows users to keep staked tokens liquid via a stand-in token, or stToken.

Aave to Convert Idle ETH for Yield in Ethereum Collector Contract

Aave’s community governance has voted to convert 1,600 ETH (approximately $3 million) into wsETH and rETH held in the Ethereum Collector Contract, in an effort to put idle ether to work. 

The proposal aims to move 800 ETH into Rocket Pool’s rETH and an additional 800 ETH into Lido’s stETH, then wrap it to receive 800 rstETH. This move is part of a larger goal to deploy the Ethereum Collector Contract to earn yield on existing funds.

Trader Turns $12,000 into $1 Million with Meme Coins

A trader has turned an initial investment of $12,000 into $1 million by trading in meme coins, specifically Pepe 2.0. The trader, who goes by the name of "Crypto Messiah," shared his success story on Twitter, attributing his success to the power of decentralized finance and the potential of meme coins.

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

Solana SOL (+8.93%)

Avalanche AVAX (+7.02%)

Radix XRD (+6.71%)

Losers:

Zcash ZEC (-7.27%)

eCash XEC (-4.19%)

Compound COMP (-3.87%)

NFT Market Map

NFT Project Gutter Cat Gang Hit by SIM Swap Attack

The Gutter Cat Gang, a non-fungible token (NFT) project, has suffered a SIM swap attack resulting in the theft of over $765,000 worth of NFTs. The attackers hijacked the official Gutter Cat Gang Twitter account and one of the co-founder's accounts. SIM swap attacks involve tricking a telecom provider into transferring the victim's phone number to a SIM card controlled by the attacker, allowing them to bypass two-factor authentication protections. This incident highlights the growing security concerns in the NFT space.

Cardano Collaborates with Epoch Sports for Blockchain-Authenticated Jerseys

The Cardano Foundation has announced a technical partnership with Epoch Sports and Merchandise. The collaboration aims to introduce a limited edition jersey authenticated using blockchain technology. The jerseys, distributed during the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship, feature a near-field communication (NFC) Epoch branded patch that includes a digital jersey version embedded as a non-fungible token (NFT). 

MLB Introduces Virtual Ballpark Experience with NFTs

Major League Baseball (MLB) is introducing a "virtual ballpark" experience for several of its All-Star events. The experience includes a scavenger hunt for 18 virtual cards from NFT gaming company Sorare. This move marks the latest step in MLB's journey into the crypto world, following its partnership with FTX and the launch of a free game with Sorare that allows players to create player lineups using NFT cards.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.