Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | June 3, 2023

Crypto Market Update

Written by Van

Table of Contents:

Regulatory and Legal Updates

• US Lawmakers Propose Crypto Regulatory Bill Amid Congressional Divide
• Blockchain Association Backs Coin Center's Lawsuit Against US Treasury
• FTX Objects to Settlement Delays in Genesis Bankruptcy Case

Market Overview

• Bitcoin Unfazed by Jobs Report and Debt Ceiling, Trading Steady
• Ripple's XRP Escrow Lock-Up Sparks Bullish Momentum
• Arbitrum's Price Rises Following Big Moves by Andrew Kang and an Anonymous Whale

Platform and Exchange Developments

• MUFG to Launch Yen-Pegged Stablecoin Issuance on Multiple Blockchains
• TRON's TRX to Boost Liquidity through BitTorrent Bridge to Ethereum
• Uniswap V3's Proposed Fee Switch Fails in Divided Community Vote
• Alchemy Pay and Mastercard Introduce NFT Checkout for Digital Art
• Swiss Firm Taurus Integrates Polygon for Asset Tokenization

Network Activity and Congestion

• Celsius Network Contributes to Ethereum Validator Queue Congestion

Security and Fraud

• Peter Schiff's Twitter Hacked, Fake Uniswap Scam Discovered

US Lawmakers Propose Crypto Regulatory Bill Amid Congressional Divide

Lawmakers in the US have proposed a bill that would provide regulatory clarity for crypto firms. The bill aims to allow certain digital assets to be classified as digital commodities if they are decentralized and require the SEC to provide a detailed analysis of objections. It also calls for the SEC to modify rules to allow broker-dealers to custody digital assets and modernize regulations for digital assets. The legislation lacks input from Democrats and it remains uncertain how far it will advance in a divided Congress.

Blockchain Association Backs Coin Center's Lawsuit Against US Treasury

The Blockchain Association has supported think tank Coin Center's lawsuit against the US Treasury Department and its sanctions watchdog, the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). Coin Center alleges that the Treasury's sanctions on crypto mixer Tornado Cash restrict Americans' ability to privately transact on the Ethereum network. The suit argues that punishing the tool itself is against the country's values, and regulatory actions should target bad actors, not the technology. OFAC sanctioned Tornado Cash in August 2022, claiming North Korean hackers had laundered millions of dollars through the mixer. 

FTX Objects to Settlement Delays in Genesis Bankruptcy Case

FTX has objected to extending court-mediated settlement talks for bankrupt crypto lender Genesis, claiming it was not invited to the mediation. Genesis has sought to estimate FTX's claims at $0.00, while FTX argues it is the largest creditor with claims worth $3.9 billion. The objections from FTX and other creditors are delaying the settlement process. Genesis filed for bankruptcy in January and has faced delays in reaching a final settlement with its creditors. The proceedings have been complicated by lawsuits and actions from the SEC.

Bitcoin Unfazed by Jobs Report and Debt Ceiling, Trading Steady

Bitcoin showed little reaction to a strong jobs report and concerns over the U.S. debt ceiling. It traded at around $27,200, up 0.4%, amid inflation worries. Ether also rose by nearly 1%, while other major cryptocurrencies, including ADA and SOL, performed well. The robust jobs report caused stocks to surge, but gold dropped 1.5%. The U.S. central bank faces a tough decision on interest rate increases in June.

Ripple's XRP Escrow Lock-Up Sparks Bullish Momentum

Ripple's locking of 900 million XRP tokens in escrow has caused a shift in momentum, making XRP one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies lately. Only 10% of the recently unlocked tokens remain in circulation. XRP's price is currently above its moving averages, indicating bullish control, with the potential for a retest of the $0.55 resistance level.

Arbitrum's Price Rises Following Big Moves by Andrew Kang and an Anonymous Whale

Arbitrum's price rose 9% to an intraday high of $1.25 after Andrew Kang deposited $1 million worth of stablecoins into Arbitrum pools and spent more than 20% of it buying RDNT. Kang later exchanged his newly bought and existing RDNT reserves for $867,000 worth of ARB and deposited the proceeds to Radiant Capital to borrow USDC. However, an anonymous whale's $1.5 million ARB deposit to OKX raises the coin's pullback possibilities. 

MUFG to Launch Yen-Pegged Stablecoin Issuance on Multiple Blockchains

Japanese megabank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) will launch its stablecoin issuance platform, Progmat Coin, for Japanese yen-pegged stablecoins on public blockchains like Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, and Cosmos. MUFG's blockchain partners are building a bridge for cross-chain transactions, expected to launch in Q2 2022. Other banks in Japan are also planning to issue stablecoins, but using a separate platform by G.U. Technologies.

TRON's TRX to Boost Liquidity through BitTorrent Bridge to Ethereum

TRON's native token, TRX, will be accessible on Ethereum via the BitTorrent Bridge, boosting TRX liquidity and enabling users to access DeFi protocols. TRON's network has seen increased traffic, with a record 11.47 million daily transactions. TRON also applied deflationary pressure on TRX by removing tokens from circulation. TRX's circulating supply has decreased by nearly 2% in 2023.

Uniswap V3's Proposed Fee Switch Fails in Divided Community Vote

A proposed fee switch for Uniswap V3 pools failed to pass in a DAO community poll due to a split vote. While more than 50% of UNI tokens were in favor of fees, the votes were divided among different fee options. The structure of the vote was criticized, and it was suggested that separate polls should have been conducted. Despite the setback, there is growing consensus for implementing a fee switch. Concerns about legal and tax implications, as well as the timing of introducing fees during a bear market, were also discussed.

Alchemy Pay and Mastercard Introduce NFT Checkout for Digital Art

Alchemy Pay has collaborated with Mastercard to introduce "NFT Checkout," an immediate payment method for digital art. The partnership is anticipated to enhance the accessibility of the NFT market, revolutionizing the way users interact with digital art, and make buying non-fungibles more user-friendly, particularly for those who are not crypto-savvy. The announcement suggested significant potential for NFT adoption, considering Mastercard's worldwide presence in 210 countries and 1.554 billion debit card circulation. 

Swiss Firm Taurus Integrates Polygon for Asset Tokenization

Taurus, a Swiss crypto infrastructure firm, has integrated with the Polygon blockchain network. This allows Taurus's clients, including Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, to tokenize any asset using Polygon. Tokenization is seen as a catalyst for mainstream crypto adoption and a multi-trillion dollar business opportunity. Taurus's tokenization platform has experienced significant growth, with 70% of clients now using it. Taurus raised $65 million in funding earlier this year and plans to expand globally.

Celsius Network Contributes to Ethereum Validator Queue Congestion

Crypto lender Celsius Network has been moving Ethereum (ETH) into staking contracts, contributing to the congestion in the queue to activate new validators on the Ethereum network. Celsius has deposited $745 million of ETH, adding approximately a week to the waiting time. The transfers come as the firm restructures after filing for bankruptcy protection in July. Celsius aims to stake all of its 428,000 ETH stash, which could further increase the waiting time. The queue to add new validators on the Ethereum network is currently 44 days and one hour.

Peter Schiff's Twitter Hacked, Fake Uniswap Scam Discovered

Peter Schiff's Twitter account was hacked and used to promote a fake gold presale with a phishing link. Meanwhile, a sophisticated scam featuring a fake Uniswap website and Zoom recording has been discovered. Uniswap and its foundation have no association with the scam, and efforts are being made to take down the fraudulent website.

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

TRON TRX (+11.50%)

Pepe PEPE (+5.44%)

Optimism OP (+3.69%)

Losers:

The Graph GRT (-2.64%)

XDC Network XDC (-2.03%)

Casper CSPR (-1.97%)

NFT Market Map

In May, NFT thefts totaled $2.95 million, raising concerns about market security. Despite a decline in overall NFT volumes, Blue Chip NFTs experienced increased demand. The percentage of stolen NFTs sold on the Blur marketplace rose from 70% to 91%, while OpenSea accounted for 7.25% of the listed stolen NFTs. The decline in NFT volumes suggests a cooling down of the market after rapid growth in 2021. 

However, there has been a surge in demand for Blue Chip NFTs, including Bored Ape Yacht Club and Azuki. The associated token, ApeCoin, has not seen significant growth, but growing interest from whales and more holders could change its trajectory. Security measures should be a priority to mitigate theft risks.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.