Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | June 27, 2023

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Jun 27 2023

last year3 minutes read

Crypto Market Update

Written by Van

Robinhood Announces Third Round of Layoffs Amidst Market Challenges
Bitcoin Holders Move Assets to Exchanges as Price Hits $30,000
Ethereum Whales Accumulate ETH, Reach Record High Holdings
Jump Trading Shows Confidence in DeFi Despite Slow Recovery
Tezos Launches Nairobi Upgrade and Ecosystem DAO Amidst XTZ Losses
Optimism Sees Major Surge in Transactions After Bedrock Upgrade
Circle Implements Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol on Arbitrum
Chibi Finance Falls Victim to Rug Pull, Loses Over $1m

Legal and Compliance Developments

Attorney Defends XRP Holders in SEC's Ripple Lawsuit
Teneo Seeks to Recover $1.3bn from Bankrupt Three Arrows Capital Founders

Investments and Fundraising

SwissOne Capital Launches Dedicated Fund for IOTA and Shimmer Ecosystems
Mythical Games Secures $37m in Funding, Plans for NFT Sales

Innovation and New Technologies

Ethscriptions Protocol Offers Cost-Effective Alternative to NFTs

Fidelity Joins Race for Bitcoin ETF Amid Growing Institutional Interest

Fidelity is reportedly preparing to file for a spot Bitcoin ETF, joining the race initiated by BlackRock. The SEC's previous concerns about market manipulation and lack of regulation may be challenged due to growing institutional interest. Other asset managers have also filed for spot Bitcoin ETFs recently. Approval would allow investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without purchasing the cryptocurrency directly.

Federal Judge Denies Binance's Request in Ongoing SEC Dispute

A federal judge rejected Binance's request to limit the SEC's use of language in press releases regarding Binance.US' management of customer funds. The judge stated that court intervention was unnecessary and that the SEC's public statements were unlikely to affect the case. Binance's lawyers complained about the SEC's press release, claiming it was misleading and could harm their customers. The judge gave Binance until September 21 to respond to the SEC's allegations. The SEC sued Binance on June 5 for alleged violations of federal securities laws.

FTX Founder Faces Criminal Charges Amidst $8.7bn Misuse Allegations

FTX owes customers $8.7bn due to commingling and misusing their deposits, according to a report. Accused of knowingly misusing asset and falsifying documents its management and senior lawyers are charged and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried faces criminal charges. Recovered $7bn in assets, however, tracing FTX transactions and funding is difficult due to commingling and mismanagement.

Robinhood Announces Third Round of Layoffs Amidst Market Challenges

Trading firm Robinhood is set to cut approximately 150 jobs, marking the third round of layoffs in just over a year. The decision is attributed to the need for structural adjustments as the company experiences a decline in trading activity, particularly in the crypto sector. Robinhood's workforce reductions come as it faces challenges in the market and a decrease in revenue. The firm may need to explore alternative revenue streams and adapt its strategies to remain competitive.

Bitcoin Holders Move Assets to Exchanges as Price Hits $30,000

As Bitcoin hits $30,000, holders move their Bitcoin to exchanges for profit with short-term holders primarily benefiting. Around 48,000 Bitcoin were transferred, with 41,000 sent at a profit. The percentage of Bitcoin held on exchanges hits a record low of 11.7% or 2.27 million BTC, and Bitcoin’s correlation with tech stocks drops to a three-year low. However, BTC briefly rose above $31,000 due to the potential launch of a Bitcoin spot-based ETF by Fidelity Investments, before coming back to the $30,700 range.

Ethereum Whales Accumulate ETH, Reach Record High Holdings

Ethereum's top 10 self-custodial wallets, owned by influential whales, continue to accumulate ETH, reaching a new all-time high of 33.47 million ETH. Meanwhile, the supply held by top exchange addresses has decreased, suggesting whales are withdrawing from exchanges. Ethereum's price is currently around $1,900.

Jump Trading Shows Confidence in DeFi Despite Slow Recovery

Quant trading firm Jump Trading has been rapidly accumulating various decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens, including MASK, LDO, LEVER, and PERP. Their interest in DeFi tokens signals confidence in the sector, but it doesn't guarantee price rallies. DeFi activity has been slow to recover in 2023.

Tezos Launches Nairobi Upgrade and Ecosystem DAO Amidst XTZ Losses

Tezos implemented its 14th network upgrade called Nairobi, introducing enhancements to improve user experience, transaction throughput, and transaction fees. The upgrade also added support for Smart Rollup functions and improved communication. Additionally, the Tezos Ecosystem DAO was launched for streamlined fund deployment and treasury management. Despite these changes, the price of XTZ, Tezos' native currency, has remained under pressure and has not reversed its losses from June 2023.

Optimism Sees Major Surge in Transactions After Bedrock Upgrade

Optimism saw a 67% increase in daily transactions after upgrading to itsrock hard fork, moving up from less than 300,000 transactions to over 550,000 by the middle of June. Cost per transaction fell from $80,000 in Ether to $50,000 as of June. The Galxe decentralized credential protocol had the highest transaction count at 528,000. The Bedrock upgrade followed a plan to create a "Superchain", of which Coinbase's Base network is a part.

Circle Implements Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol on Arbitrum

Circle has implemented its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) on Arbitrum, allowing faster and more secure transfers of USD Coin (USDC) across Ethereum, Avalanche, and Arbitrum. Other projects have also integrated CCTP for USDC transfers, replacing traditional bridging methods.

Chibi Finance Falls Victim to Rug Pull, Loses Over $1m

Arbitrum-based Chibi Finance experienced a rug pull, resulting in the theft of over $1 million worth of tokens. The developers used a malicious contract to steal funds and launder them across different networks. CHIBI token value dropped by 98% after the incident. The stolen tokens were sold for ETH and transferred through Tornado Cash to mask the transactions. Chibi Finance's social media accounts were disabled, and influencers who promoted the project faced community backlash.

Attorney Defends XRP Holders in SEC's Ripple Lawsuit

As the legal fight between Ripple and the US SEC continues, attorney John Deaton is defending XRP holders against the SEC’s assertion that XRP is a security. He confirmed that over 52% of first-time XRP buyers were unaware of Ripple as a company but clarified that acquiring XRP indirectly or for non-investment purposes had different circumstances.

Teneo Seeks to Recover $1.3bn from Bankrupt Three Arrows Capital Founders

Teneo, the liquidator of bankrupt hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), seeks to recover $1.3bn from 3AC founders Su Zhu and Kyle Davies. The funds were incurred when 3AC was already insolvent, adding to creditors' losses. The potential liability of the founders is more than a third of the total debt owed to creditors.

SwissOne Capital Launches Dedicated Fund for IOTA and Shimmer Ecosystems

SwissOne Capital has launched a fund dedicated to IOTA and Shimmer ecosystems, aiming to offer financial resources to developers working on the ecosystems. The minimum investment that the fund will offer is €10,000 or the equivalent in MIOTA and SMR. Shimmer is currently testing its Ethereum Virtual Machine capabilities.

Mythical Games Secures $37m in Funding, Plans for NFT Sales

Game publisher Mythical Games has raised $37m in Series C1 funding, to optimise business performance and pursue revenue-generating initiatives. The publisher plans to launch a new marketplace and launch Nitro National World Tour, undertaking sales of nonfungible tokens. Additional games remain in the pipeline and will soon be announced. Recently, Mythical moved from the Ethereum blockchain to Polkadot ecosystem.

Ethscriptions Protocol Offers Cost-Effective Alternative to NFTs

Ethscriptions protocol enables the creation of tokens on Ethereum using calldata, offering a cost-effective alternative to NFTs. It has seen over $1 million in trading volume and is based on inscriptions inspired by Bitcoin Ordinals. While it lacks a clear value proposition, its creator believes it can be more accessible than NFTs. Ethscriptions leverages calldata in a new way by converting data into hexadecimal format and recording it on the blockchain to create unique digital artifacts. These artifacts are not ERC-721 compliant and have limited transferability.

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

FTX Token FTT (+26.17%)

FLEX FLEX (+14.80%)

Arbitrum ARB (+9.86%)

Losers:

BitDAO BIT (-9.21%)

NEAR Protocol NEAR (-4.98%)

Kava KAVA (-3.45%)

NFT Market Map

Azuki NFT's Elemental Beans collection minted all 10,000 NFTs, generating $37.5 million before being open to the public. The collection is part of Azuki's expanding universe, which includes a virtual city called Hilumia. Azuki's previous NFT collection brought in over $1 billion, and the company raised $30 million in Series A funding.

The floor price of Bored Ape NFTs dropped to its lowest level since 2021. Some blamed a crypto influencer's selling spree, but Lior Messika, a Yuga Labs investor from Eden Block, believes rampant speculation caused the crash. Blur, a trading platform, is seen as a driving force behind the shift in the NFT market dynamics. The investor emphasizes the need for new capital to enter the NFT space for the right reasons. Yuga Labs, the creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club, is unlikely to make significant changes in response to the recent price pressure.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.