Coin360 Daily Dispatch (May 1, 2023): Crypto Market Updates & Highlights

Crypto Market Update: JPMorgan Chase Acquires Failed First Republic Bank in FDIC Deal

Written by Van - Perfected by ChatGPT
JPMorgan Chase is set to acquire the assets of failed First Republic Bank (FRB). The FDIC has entered into a purchase and assumption agreement to protect depositors, with JPMorgan acquiring all assets, including uninsured deposits. 84 FRB locations in eight states will reopen as JPMorgan, with all depositors having access to their total deposits insured by FDIC. A loss-sharing agreement has also been agreed upon for residential and commercial loans acquired by the FRB. FRB joins Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in becoming the latest US bank to fail in 2023.

Bhutan Quietly Accumulates and Mines Bitcoin with its Vast Renewable Energy Potential

Bhutan has been quietly accumulating and mining Bitcoin since April 2019, leveraging its vast hydroelectric potential, which accounts for 30% of its GDP. The scale of its mining operations remains unclear, but the government organisation Druk Holding and Investments has invested millions of dollars in cryptocurrency holdings. Bhutan is currently in talks with Nasdaq-listed mining company Bitdeer to secure 100 megawatts of power for a data centre, which would increase Bitdeer's mining capacity by about 12%. More than 50% of Bitcoin mining's energy sources are renewable or clean energy.

Nigeria's Securities Regulator Mulls Tokenized Coin Offerings on Licensed Exchanges

Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission is considering allowing tokenized coin offerings backed by equity, debt or property on licensed digital asset exchanges, but not cryptocurrency. The regulator is also processing applications for digital exchanges to undergo one year of "regulatory incubation" with limited services offered and under SEC monitoring, intending to determine the firms' fitness to provide services. The SEC will not start registering digital asset exchanges until it reaches an agreement with Nigeria's central bank, which has blocked local institutions from interacting with crypto service providers.

Coinme Fined $4 Million by SEC Over Allegedly Misleading Investors in ICO

Coinme has been fined $4 million by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over allegedly misleading investors in its initial coin offering (ICO) of UpToken. The SEC claim that the ICO was an investment contract under the Howey test, and that the offer of unregistered securities was misleading. While Coinme and subsidiary Up Global SEZC raised approximately $3.6 million from the ICO, they have been fined $4 million, with CEO Neil Bergquist fined $250,000 and Up Global SEZC fined $150,000. All have agreed to pay the fines and desist from further violations of securities laws.

Crypto Exploits Result in $103 Million Loss in April, $430 Million So Far in 2021

Crypto exploits, exit scams, and flash loan attacks resulted in the loss of over $103 million in April, according to a report by CertiK. The total loss for the year reached $429.7 million, as major crypto exploits included $25.4 million from a MEV trading bot exploit, $22 million from a hot wallet exploit at the Bitrue exchange, and $13 million from a hack at South Korean GDAC exchange. Half of the $145 million exploited in the first four months of the year was lost in the month.

Genesis and Creditors to Enter 30-Day Mediation Process for Bankruptcy Exit Plan

Crypto lender Genesis and its key creditor group have agreed to a 30-day mediation process in an attempt to move forward with a final restructuring plan. The mediation is to move forward on a proposed bankruptcy exit plan submitted in February that expected creditors to recover 80% of lost funds. Gemini, however, added it had "expressed our frustration" regarding "the pace of progress among the parties and the need for urgency."

Bitcoin Whales Accumulate $1.8 Billion in BTC Amidst Market Turmoil

Bitcoin failed to rebound after JP Morgan acquired First Republic Bank, which had been hoped to increase Bitcoin's liquidity in the financial system. Bitcoin is hovering around $28,200 at press time. However, Glassnode data suggests that whales are buying, with approximately $250 million worth of Bitcoin being pulled from exchanges in the weekend.

Bitcoin whales have accumulated 64,000 BTC ($1.8 billion) since the recent high above $30,000, according to on-chain data from Santiment. The data analysed Bitcoin supply distribution, which examines the total amount of Bitcoin that each wallet group in the market is holding. The relevant group is the Bitcoin whales, which holds between 100 and 10,000 tokens, corresponding to wallets worth between $2.8 million and $200.8 million. The BTC whales had sold during the rally that took the cryptocurrency towards $30,000 but started buying again, accumulating around 64,000 BTC in the last few weeks.

Selling Pressure from ETH Whales Contributing to Price Drop, Says Report

Despite ETH 2.0 deposit contracts reaching a new all-time high and the total value of ETH staked hitting an ATH of over 19 million ETH, ETH's price has not reaped the benefits due to selling pressure from whales contributing to a significant price drop. While there has been a slight recovery in open interest and an increase in demand for leverage, the market condition is still improving gradually with low demand, and the bulls may not show off their strength until selling pressure from ETH whales eases off.

BNB Rises by 5% due to SUI as its Latest Launchpool Project

Binance's native cryptocurrency, BNB, has risen by 5% due to the latest Binance Launchpool project, Sui farming. Binance customers can farm SUI tokens using staked BNB and TrueUSD, and rewards for farming will be issued in the form of 40 million SUI tokens. Furthermore, BNB is gaining amid a crypto market retreat today. 

Tron founder Justin Sun arranged a full refund of a $56 million transfer to Binance after warnings of a potential token grab of the new SUI token. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao warned Sun the exchange would take action if he used funds to buy up large amounts of SUI tokens from Binance's Launchpool. Sun argued the funds were meant to "facilitate market-making between leading TUSD exchanges". The SUI token is set to take place once the mainnet goes live on May 3.

Pepe Emerges as Third-Largest Meme Coin by Market Cap, Surpassing Dogecoin and Shiba Inu

Meme coin Pepe (PEPE) has become the third-largest meme coin by market cap, rising to a value of just below $600 million. The less-than-two-weeks-old asset outperformed the likes of Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Bitcoin and Ethereum over the weekend, with over 15,000 new holders added to the PEPE community. Its rapid rise has generated enormous profits for early investors, with calls for a meme season.

Polygon (MATIC) Falls Below $1 as Investors Lose Confidence and Bearish Pressure Looms

Polygon (MATIC) has fallen below $1 for the first time since January 2021, amid negative sentiment following Ethereum's Shappela upgrade. On-chain data shows investors losing confidence, and MATIC is still "overvalued," with warnings of bearish pressure. The In/Out of Money Around Price (IOMAP) data suggests a possible drop to $0.91, with potential support at 31,000 addresses holding 630 million coins. Bulls could stage a comeback if MATIC breaks above $1.0, but a significant 4.08 billion coin sell-wall could prevent it.

Ripple Releases 1 Billion XRP Tokens from Escrow for Liquidity Provision

Ripple has released 1 billion locked XRP tokens from an unknown wallet, with 500 million XRP being released to two Ripple-designated accounts. The company unlocked the tokens from a pre-timed Escrow system, with the funds used to provide liquidity for its On-Demand Liquidity partners. Following normal operation, the XRP tokens will return to Escrow once they have been used for their intended purpose. XRP has struggled to rebound after slipping below the $0.46 mark, dropping by -5.11% in the past 24 hours.

Casper Network's CSPR Token Sees 60% Growth in April

Casper Network's native token, CSPR, rose over 60% in April, reaching a high of $0.060. It currently trades at $0.059, down -0.21% in the past 24 hours and 16% higher in the past seven days. Despite its recent success, CSPR is still far from its peak of $1.33 and down 95% from its all-time high of May 2021. As a layer 1 blockchain network aimed at enterprise adoption, Casper Network has seen several projects built on its proof-of-stake blockchain.

Hedera Witnesses 40X Growth in Transaction Volumes 

Hedera saw 40x growth in transaction volumes, along with a 350% increase in daily users and a 170% increase in new accounts in Q1 2023. The network's DeFi platforms and the launch of Pangolin DEX contributed to a 52% growth in total value locked, while the addition of Dell to the Hedera Governing Council and recognition from the US government also helped the HBAR token perform well. However, NFTs and web3 gaming saw little growth. The network also recently had to temporarily shut down due to "network irregularities."

Summary of Market Events and Price Action

As a summary of today’s events and price action in the market, it is crucial to note the following key points:

• JPMorgan buys First Republic Bank in FDIC agreement
• Bhutan mines Bitcoin with renewable energy
• Nigeria may allow tokenized coin offerings on licensed exchanges
• Coinme fined $4M for allegedly deceiving investors in ICO
• Crypto exploits cause $103M loss in April, $430M in 2021
• Genesis and creditors to mediate for bankruptcy exit plan
• Bitcoin whales accumulate $1.8B amidst market turmoil
• ETH whale selling pressure contributes to price drop
• BNB rises 5% due to SUI launchpool project
• Pepe surpasses Dogecoin and Shiba Inu as third-largest meme coin
• Polygon (MATIC) falls below $1 as investors lose confidence
• Ripple releases 1B XRP tokens for liquidity provision
• Casper Network's CSPR token sees 60% growth in April
• Hedera witnesses 40X growth in transaction volumes

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:
Bitget Token BGB (+1.67%)
Binance Coin BNB (+1.43%)
BitTorrent New BTT (+0.94%)

Losers:
Internet Computer ICP (-9.84%)
Radix XRD (-8.89%)
Stacks STX (-8.55%)

NFT Market Map
Is it Pepe day? Not only the PEPE token but Pepe Open Editions by Matt Furie, an NFT collection, has managed to enter the top 10 projects by daily trading volume with a 1,138.37% surge. Its growth surpassed the biggest collections in the space, including MutantApeYachtClub, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Azuki.