Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | June 28, 2023

Crypto Market Update

Written by Van

Table of Contents:

Cryptocurrency Market Analysis

• MicroStrategy Adds 12,333 Bitcoins to Portfolio Amid Institutional Interest
• Bitcoin Retests $30,000 Support Level Despite MicroStrategy's Latest Buy
• Miners Transfer $1 Billion to Exchanges After BlackRock's ETF Filing
• TrueUSD Loses Dollar Peg Amid Concerns Over Reserves
• Stellar (XLM) Introduces Overlay Protocol for Scalability
• Conflux Network Receives $18 Million Token Investment Amid Market Doubts
• Crypto Criminals Shift to Alternative Cryptocurrencies, Chain Hopping

Regulatory and Institutional Developments

• ARK Invest and 21Shares Update Spot Bitcoin ETF Application
• Nevada Regulators File Petition Against Prime Trust LLC
• ECB Supports Proposal for Digital Euro Legislation
• UK Law Commission Proposes Legal Framework for Cryptocurrency as Collateral
• KuCoin to Implement Mandatory KYC Checks from July 15

Crypto Exchanges and Platform Updates

• FTX Puts Plan to Sell Anthropic Stake on Hold
• Voyager Digital Owes $1.1 Million to Law Firm Amid Bankruptcy

Blockchain and Web3 Technology Developments

• Tether Partners with Georgia to Develop Bitcoin, P2P Infrastructure
• WMG and Polygon Labs Announce Music Accelerator Program
• Sys Labs Launches Rollux, a Layer 2 Network for Ethereum
• Maple Finance Launches Direct Lending Arm Amid Bankruptcies
• Paxos and MercadoLibre to Bring USDP Stablecoin to Mexico
• Horizen Repositions ZEN as General Digital Asset, Removes Shielded Transactions
• Sui Foundation Denies Token Sale, Plans to Double Supply

MicroStrategy Adds 12,333 Bitcoins to Portfolio Amid Institutional Interest

MicroStrategy, led by Michael Saylor, acquired 12,333 Bitcoins for $347 million, increasing their total holdings to 152,333 Bitcoins worth $4.52 billion. Bitcoin's price may be affected, but institutional interest and anticipation of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval support its long-term growth.

Bitcoin Retests $30,000 Support Level Despite MicroStrategy's Latest Buy

Bitcoin (BTC) retested the $30,000 support level as the US Federal Reserve indicated further interest rate hikes. Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that there is majority support for at least two more rate hikes. Despite news of MicroStrategy purchasing over 12,000 BTC, the market remained hesitant. 

Bitcoin investors anticipate a seasonal surge in July, historically seeing average gains of over 11% and positive returns in 7 out of 10 months, according to Matrixport. However, a strong July is typically followed by a lackluster August and a September selloff. Matrixport predicts Bitcoin to rally to $35,000, retrace to $30,000, and then rise to $40,000, with a year-end target of $45,000.

Miners Transfer $1 Billion to Exchanges After BlackRock's ETF Filing

Bitcoin miners transferred more than $1 billion to cryptocurrency exchanges following BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF filing. Most of the funds have returned to miners' wallets, indicating potential hedging strategies and increased trading activities in the derivatives market. The transfers do not significantly impact Bitcoin's price. Fidelity is reportedly preparing to submit its own spot Bitcoin ETF filing. Bitcoin's price has increased by over 20% since BlackRock's filing.

TrueUSD Loses Dollar Peg Amid Concerns Over Reserves

The stablecoin TrueUSD (TUSD) lost its peg to the US dollar due to concerns about its reserves and corporate structure. Critics question its transparency and highlight red flags, including issues with the custodian Prime Trust. The stability of the $3.13 billion stablecoin is important for the entire crypto market.

Stellar (XLM) Introduces Overlay Protocol for Scalability

Stellar (XLM) is one of the top performers in the digital currency ecosystem, with a 7.39% increase in the past 24 hours and 22.52% growth in the past week. It aims to become more scalable and has introduced an overlay protocol to enable efficient smart contract invocations. Scaling remains a challenge for the protocol.

Conflux Network Receives $18 Million Token Investment Amid Market Doubts

Chinese blockchain Conflux Network received additional investment of $18 million in its native token CFX from DWF Labs. Despite the investment, CFX experienced a 6.82% drop in value. DWF Labs' emergence as a venture capital firm has raised doubts about its true nature. Conflux Network is known for its high-speed blockchain and CFX tokens facilitate various functions within the network. The token was trading at $0.214 with a market capitalization of $368.7 million. The market as a whole has been subdued, and altcoins have suffered due to regulatory concerns.

Crypto Criminals Shift to Alternative Cryptocurrencies, Chain Hopping

Crypto criminals have shifted from bitcoin to other cryptocurrencies, with $7.8 billion extracted through Ponzi schemes in 2022. DeFi exploits yielded $3.7 billion, and $1.5 billion went to darknet marketplaces for illegal drugs. Chain hopping across blockchains makes tracking funds harder. Bitcoin's share in crimes dropped from 97% in 2016 to 19% in 2022, with Ethereum (68%) and Binance Smart Chain (19%) dominant. USDT on the Tron blockchain is now the preferred coin for terrorism financing.

ARK Invest and 21Shares Update Spot Bitcoin ETF Application

ARK Invest and 21Shares have amended their spot Bitcoin ETF application with the SEC, including a surveillance sharing agreement with CME futures markets and likely Coinbase. This puts ARK ahead in the race for the first Bitcoin ETF in the US, with an SEC decision date set for August 13, 2023. However, the ETF saga may not be over as ARK still needs to appoint a crypto exchange for the agreement. Other firms like BlackRock, Valkyrie, WisdomTree, and Invesco have also filed for Bitcoin ETFs.

Nevada Regulators File Petition Against Prime Trust LL

Regulators in Nevada have filed a court petition to place Prime Trust LLC in receivership. The Nevada Financial Institutions Division has asked for restrictions on company funds and the appointment of a receiver to take control of Prime Trust's operations. Prime Trust currently has an $82.8 million fiat deficit and owes $85.7 million to customers. 

ECB Supports Proposal for Digital Euro Legislation

The European Central Bank (ECB) expresses support for the European Commission's legislative proposal on the digital euro. The proposal aims to create a regulatory framework for universal use of the digital euro, ensuring its acceptance as a means of payment. It also includes incentives for private intermediaries to distribute the digital euro and emphasizes privacy and data protection. The ECB is awaiting a decision from its Governing Council in the fall on the next phase of the digital euro project. The investigative phase will conclude in October 2023. 

UK Law Commission Proposes Legal Framework for Cryptocurrency as Collateral

The UK Law Commission has recommended the creation of a specific legal framework for using cryptocurrency as collateral, going beyond existing regulations. The commission also suggests classifying crypto assets as a new category of property and forming a panel of experts to advise courts on legal issues related to virtual assets. The report aims to analyze how current legal frameworks can accommodate crypto assets and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The proposals are in line with the UK government's goal of becoming a digital asset hub.

KuCoin to Implement Mandatory KYC Checks from July 15

Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin will implement mandatory know-your-customer (KYC) checks from July 15. New customers must complete the KYC process, while existing customers who do not comply will lose trading and deposit privileges. The move aims to address concerns about lax KYC checks in the industry and their association with fraud, money laundering, and terrorist financing. KuCoin is a major global exchange with 27 million users and a daily trading volume of $531 million.

FTX Puts Plan to Sell Anthropic Stake on Hold

FTX's plan to sell its stake in AI company Anthropic has been put on hold, according to Bloomberg. The bankrupt exchange's financial advisors informed bidders that the stake was no longer on the market after months of due diligence. This news follows FTX's second investigative report, which revealed that the exchange owed customers around $8.7 billion. Former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was charged with defrauding investors in December 2022.

Voyager Digital Owes $1.1 Million to Law Firm Amid Bankruptcy

Crypto brokerage Voyager Digital is required to pay $1.1 million in fees to law firm Kirkland & Ellis for its involvement in the bankruptcy proceedings. Kirkland & Ellis charged an hourly rate exceeding $2,000 for certain members. Voyager's bankruptcy plan was approved in May 2023.

Tether Partners with Georgia to Develop Bitcoin, P2P Infrastructure

Stablecoin issuer Tether has signed an MoU with the Georgia to develop Bitcoin and P2P infrastructure. The partnership aims to international and, focusing on education, payment infrastructure, and peer-to-peer communication. Georgia will create a special fund for local in the blockchain sector. 

WMG and Polygon Labs Announce Music Accelerator Program

Warner Music Group (WMG) and Polygon Labs have announced a music accelerator program aimed at supporting blockchain music projects and decentralized applications (dapps) on the Polygon network. The program is seeking companies and entrepreneurs operating at the intersection of music, technology, and Web3. Selected projects will receive funding, mentorship, and networking opportunities from WMG and Polygon Labs. 

Sys Labs Launches Rollux, a Layer 2 Network for Ethereum

Sys Labs, the developer of Syscoin blockchain, has launched Rollux, a layer 2 network compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. The network offers faster and cheaper transactions through merged mining with Bitcoin. Rollux can process 700 transactions per second compared to 3-5 on the base Syscoin layer. The project has been in development for eight years and aims to scale into a rollup. Additionally, Sys Labs has partnered with Filecoin for data storage.

Maple Finance Launches Direct Lending Arm Amid Bankruptcies

Maple Finance has launched Maple Direct, a new direct lending arm focused on providing project-tailored deals to web3 native entities. The move comes after the bankruptcies of Celsius and BlockFi. Maple aims to address the lack of direct lending options in the crypto market and support the growth of the web3 industry. Maple Finance previously released version 2.0 of its platform in December 2022.

Paxos and MercadoLibre to Bring USDP Stablecoin to Mexico

Blockchain fintech company Paxos and online marketplace MercadoLibre have partnered to bring the Pax Dollar (USDP) stablecoin to Mexico via MercadoPago. This move aims to provide access to Mexico's 3.1 million-plus cryptocurrency users and offer relief from remittance-related fees. Paxos, known for its partnerships with PayPal and SEC approval for settling securities, recently received a Wells notice regarding its stablecoin, Binance USD (BUSD), potentially being labeled as a security. Additionally, cryptocurrency exchange EDX has switched custody providers from Paxos to Anchorage Digital.

Horizen Repositions ZEN as General Digital Asset, Removes Shielded Transactions

Horizen, backed by Grayscale Investments, will remove support for shielded transactions on its mainnet to reposition its native cryptocurrency, ZEN, as a general digital asset instead of a privacy coin. The move aims to increase Zen's accessibility and listing on exchanges amidst regulatory scrutiny. Horizen will continue to focus on privacy through a sidechain. 

Sui Foundation Denies Token Sale, Plans to Double Supply

The Sui Foundation denies selling staking rewards on Binance and assures compliance with token lockups. The foundation plans to double the SUI token supply by November. The Sui mainnet, launched by Mysten Labs, offers high transaction capacity and competes with Solana.

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

FTX Token FTT (+8.07%)

BitDAO BIT (+7.57%)

Stellar Lumens XLM (+7.50%)

Losers:

Radix XRD (-19.52%)

FLEX FLEX (-10.66%)

Conflux CFX (-6.40%)

NFT Market Map

Azukis' new NFT collection, "Elementals," sold out in 15 minutes, generating around $38 million. However, complaints arose as the collection was deemed too similar to the original Azuki collection. Following the release, Azukis' floor price dropped over 30%, and the company admitted fault, acknowledging the dilution of the brand. They expressed a commitment to regain trust and improve communication and execution in future endeavors.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.