Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | June 5, 2023

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Jun 5 2023

2 years ago3 minutes read

Markets360

Crypto Market Update

Written by Van

SEC Sues Binance and CEO Over Alleged Violations

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) for allegedly violating federal securities laws, including operating an unlicensed stock exchange. This follows previous allegations by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in March regarding unregistered crypto derivatives products offered by Binance in the U.S. CZ responded with a tweet dismissing the news as "FUD" (fear, uncertainty, and doubt).

The price of Binance Coin (BNB) has dropped by 6.7% following the SEC’s claim that BNB was a security, before recovering. The SEC has named 12 tokens, including BNB, SOL, MATIC, and ADA, as securities in its lawsuit against Binance. Notably, ETH was not included in the list. The SEC also accused Binance of misleading customers and misdirecting funds.

Terra Luna Classic Soars, Co-founder Granted Bail

Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) has seen a 30% increase in price at one point, while also experiencing a 10% gain in the past 24 hours. The community is voting on a proposal to increase the burn rate, potentially impacting the coin's supply and value.

Meanwhile, Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraforms Labs, has been granted a bail reapproval of $430,000 by the Basic Court of Podgorica. Kwon and his associate will be released from custody but placed under house arrest, awaiting verification of travel documents and identity cards. Kwon faces charges of document forgery and awaits extradition after the collapse of the Terra ecosystem.

Metropolitan Museum to Return $550,000 in Donations to Collapsed FTX

The Metropolitan Museum of Art plans to return $550,000 in donations it received from crypto exchange FTX before its collapse. The museum confirmed its intention to repay the funds to FTX debtors in a filing to the United States Bankruptcy Court. FTX's management has been seeking to retrieve its donations since December, with only 19 out of 180 politicians returning the funds. FTX donated $93 million between March 2020 and November 2022.

Atomic Wallet Hit by $35 Million Crypto Theft

Approximately $35 million worth of various cryptocurrencies were stolen from Atomic Wallet, a centralized storage and wallet service. The stolen tokens included Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, Dogecoin, Litecoin, BNB Coin, and Polygon. Tron-based USDT appeared to be the largest stolen asset. Atomic Wallet stated that the affected users represented less than 1% of their monthly active users. The company is currently investigating the attack and has asked victims to submit information for their investigation. Some users reported having their crypto stolen after a recent software update, while others were impacted without updating.

Multichain Transactions Resume on Multiple Networks, CEO Rumored in Contact

Multichain transactions on Polygon, Avalanche, zkSync Era, and Kava networks resumed, while cross-chain services on 11 chains remain suspended. The project's token, MULTI, saw a price increase of 11-46%. Speculations arose that the CEO may be in contact with the team, contrary to previous rumors of his arrest. Users reported issues and exits by investors and stakeholders earlier, leading to uncertainty and a decline in MULTI's market value. The team cited "Force Majeure" as the reason for the delays and suspended services due to the unavailability of CEO approval for server access.

Bitcoin Price Drops Amid U.S. Debt Ceiling Concerns

Bitcoin's price has dropped below $27,000 due to concerns over the U.S. debt ceiling, a strong jobs report, and the latest Binance - SEC saga. Around 780,000 BTC, or 4.6% of the circulating supply, are concentrated within a tight price range, making them vulnerable to profit or loss depending on the market's movement. The dominance of Bitcoin supply has shifted, with U.S. entities holding 11% less BTC and Asian investors acquiring 9.9% more. Stablecoin trends also indicate decreased U.S. capital activity in digital assets. Overall, there is a net capital rotation and a shift towards lower-risk digital assets.

Meme Coin PEPE Suffers Notable Price Decline

PEPE coin, along with other meme cryptocurrencies such as DOGE, SHIB, and FLOKI, has experienced a notable price decline, with PEPE losing 9% in the last 24 hours. Large investors have sold the coin at a significant loss, while the coin's trading volume has decreased by over 90%, suggesting bearish sentiment and a potential further drop.

Ethereum Transaction Fees Drop to More Affordable Levels

Transaction fees on Ethereum have decreased to affordable levels after last month's memecoin trading frenzy, with average gas fees falling to $7.34. Co-founder Jeffrey Wilcke has transferred $41 million of Ether to Kraken exchange, while the top ten largest Ethereum whales hold a record high of 31.8 million ETH worth $59.47 billion.

Crypto VR Sector Surges in Anticipation of Apple VR Reveal

Cryptocurrency's virtual reality (VR) sector has surged by 7.9% in the past 24 hours as investors anticipate Apple's upcoming VR headset reveal. Apple's share price has risen by 7.4% in the past two weeks. The top-performing tokens in the VR sector are Decentraland (MANA) and Wilder World (WILD). The wider metaverse sector has seen a recent bounce, suggesting a shift in the market. The trading volume for metaverse tokens reached $905 million in the past 24 hours, with a total market cap of $8.65 billion.

Bitcoin Ordinals Protocol Upgraded to Recognize 'Cursed' Inscriptions

The Bitcoin Ordinals protocol has been upgraded to recognize and index previously invalid and unrecognized "cursed" inscriptions, allowing them to be traded. The upgrade aims to fix over 71,000 cursed inscriptions and convert them to "blessed" ones. Once marketplaces upgrade to version 0.6.0, these inscriptions can be traded, potentially increasing their value. Ordinals inscriptions are similar to NFTs and have generated $45.5 million in transaction fees so far.

Velodrome to Upgrade, Enhancing User Experience and Security

Velodrome, the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Optimism layer 2 network, is upgrading to its second version on June 15. The upgrade aims to enhance user experience, security, and smart-contract architecture. New features include a rebuilt frontend, customizable pool fees, and concentrated liquidity pools. The price of VELO, Velodrome's native token, has dropped by 5.5% in the past 24 hours to $0.092. The total value locked in Velodrome has decreased by approximately 4% in the past week. The upgrade is expected to improve fee capture and liquidity management.

JPMorgan Trials Blockchain for Real-time Interbank Settlements in India

JPMorgan Chase has launched a pilot project with several Indian banks, including HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, to settle interbank dollar transactions in real-time using its blockchain platform, Onyx. The project aims to provide faster transaction settlements, including on weekends and public holidays, compared to the current systems that can take hours to finalize transactions. JPMorgan's blockchain unit, Onyx, is also exploring other use cases in the finance sector, such as tokenization and decentralized finance, in collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and DBS Bank.

Tether Invests $250 Million in El Salvador's Renewable Energy Project

Stablecoin provider Tether is investing $250 million in a renewable energy project in El Salvador. The project, called "Volcano Energy," aims to create a major bitcoin mining farm using solar and wind power in the volcanic region. Tether's investment will go towards a 241-megawatt renewable energy park. The chosen site will generate computing power crucial for cryptocurrency mining.

El Salvador's Bitcoin consul believes that sustainable bitcoin mining will increase through investments like this. Tether clarified that the investment does not impact its reserves or utilize USDT tokens. However, critics argue that the volcano-powered mining plans may harm the environment.

Raft Launches Stablecoin R, Backed by Staked Ether

Raft has launched a new stablecoin called R, backed by Lido's staked Ether (stETH). The stablecoin uses both hard- and soft-peg mechanisms to maintain a price of around $1. Unlike other stablecoins backed by traditional assets, R is collateralized by a crypto asset. Raft's lending protocol allows users to deposit stETH and borrow a minimum amount of $3,000. The launch of R comes as crypto protocols aim to avoid fiat assets as collateral due to regulatory pressures and exposure to banks.

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

Terra Classic LUNC (+9.89%)

Decentraland MANA (+5.64%)

The Sandbox SAND (+5.41%)

Losers:

Pepe PEPE (-8.42%)

WOO Network WOO (-6.57%)

Gatechain Token GT (-6.24%)

NFT Market Map

Bitcoin has emerged as a strong competitor to Ethereum in the NFT market. Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and other collections like Azuki gained traction, increasing Ethereum's NFT volume by 242.29%. Bitcoin's NFT collection also saw a 242% increase, with collections like Uncategorized Ordinals surpassing Ethereum-based collections. The rise of Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens contributed to this shift. Solana's ranking in the NFT market has declined, possibly due to some collections migrating to Polygon and Ethereum.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.

Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | June 5, 2023

Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents:

Regulatory and Legal Developments

Security and Fraud Issues

Market Movements and Analysis

Technological Innovations and Upgrades

Banking and Corporate Developments

New Products and Services