Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | May 16, 2023

Crypto Market Update

Written by Van

Table of Contents:

Market Movements

• Milady Meme Coin Whales Reap Huge Profits Amid Price Drop
• Optimism's Mainnet Upgrade to Bedrock Aims for Higher Security
• Lido's V2 Upgrade Boosts ETH Withdrawals, Rewards and Efficiency
• Major Bitcoin Withdrawal from Exchanges Signals Potential Long-Term Strategy
• Binance Smart Chain Sees Rising DEX Volumes Amid Negative Sentiment
• Bitcoin Poised to be 3rd Most Sought-After Asset in Debt Default Scenario
• Arbitrum Sees 13% Price Surge as Whales Double Holdings
• Token Unlocks Set to Release $85 Million in Locked Altcoin Tokens

Regulatory Updates

• EU Expands Anti-Money Laundering Regulations to Crypto Asset Transfers
• SEC Dismisses Coinbase's Plea for Crypto Regulation Clarity

Legal and Business Developments

• BlockFi to Liquidate Crypto Lending Platform Amid Legal Complications
• Justin Sun Accuses Li Wei of Unlawful Huobi Token Transactions
• Valkyrie Files for Leveraged Bitcoin Futures ETF with SEC
• Federal Reserve Identifies Catalysts for 2022 Crypto Bank Runs
• OKX to Launch Marketplace for Minting and Trading Bitcoin Ordinals

Technology and Security

• Sui Blockchain Fixes Critical Bug, Securing Billions in Assets
• Kaspersky Warns of Fake Hardware Wallets After Bitcoin Theft
• Ledger's Nano X Update Features Controversial Recovery Tool
• Country-Specific Developments
• US Secret Service Embraces Crypto and NFTs for Investigation
• Paraguay Recovers Stolen Bitcoin Mining Rigs Amid Crypto Boom

Milady Meme Coin Whales Reap Huge Profits Amid Price Drop

Milady Meme Coin (LADYS) has made several millionaires since its launch last week, with the top 10 LADYS whales sitting on cumulative profits currently worth over $20 million. However, the price of the coin has dropped over 31% due to movements of large LADYS amounts by suspicious wallets, according to Lookonchain. 

One wallet, reportedly related to market maker DWF Labs, transferred 15.1 trillion LADYS worth $2.1 million to four large crypto exchanges, but has since moved the coins back without selling any. LADYS follows the success of PEPE, which saw a similar decline in price after reaching an all-time high.

Optimism's Mainnet Upgrade to Bedrock Aims for Higher Security

Optimism has announced that it will upgrade its mainnet to Bedrock on June 6. The upgrade will require a few hours of downtime during which, deposits, and withdrawals will not be available. The foundation claims that the upgrade will improve the security and resilience of the network and significantly cut fees.

Lido's V2 Upgrade Boosts ETH Withdrawals, Rewards and Efficiency

Lido's V2 upgrade has enabled users to withdraw staked ETH directly, resulting in over $500,000 worth of stETH being redeemed within three hours. The upgrade includes a staking router component to diversify staking, leading to a more efficient use of staked ETH and increased Ethereum staking rewards. LDO has been surging lately amid whales accumulation. Read more about the upgrade’s impact here.

Major Bitcoin Withdrawal from Exchanges Signals Potential Long-Term Strategy

$800 million worth of Bitcoin has been withdrawn from exchanges, Coinbase experiencing the largest transfer. Glassnode data shows daily on-chain exchange flow displayed a net outflow of Bitcoin at $709.1 million, and Ethereum and Tether were also affected. The number of addresses receiving Bitcoin from exchanges has hit a nine-month low, possibly indicating a pivot towards a long-term holding strategy. 

This significant withdrawal is likely due to a single whale and may not represent a broader trend. Glassnode reports that there has been an unusual increase in the number of Bitcoin whales this cycle, contrary to previous cycles where numbers decreased. Santiment's data indicates that while whale activity has decreased, there has been a recent increase in large transactions suggesting continued interest in trading Bitcoin. 

Binance Smart Chain Sees Rising DEX Volumes Amid Negative Sentiment

DEX volumes on Binance Smart Chain have been rising, with the DEX volume on BNB reaching its highest point in 2023. The popularity of DEXs like PancakeSwap has also led to a spike in social media mentions, but sentiment remains negative. BNB's TVL has been declining, but the interest in its DEXs could have a positive impact on its DeFi growth. 

Bitcoin Poised to be 3rd Most Sought-After Asset in Debt Default Scenario

Bitcoin (BTC) could become the 3rd most sought-after asset in the world if the US defaults on its debt, according to Bloomberg's survey. Gold, Treasuries and Bitcoin are the top 3 assets to purchase as a hedge against the hypothetical debt default scenario, respectively, with more than 50% of the 637 respondents intending to buy real gold if the US defaults. However, Bitcoin has become more popular than every fiat currency. 

Arbitrum Sees 13% Price Surge as Whales Double Holdings

Arbitrum (ARB) price has surged 13% in the last seven trading days, with crypto whales buying the dip in April and nearly doubling their holdings. The Arbitrum network has also been gaining traction, with a 30% increase in daily active addresses between May 7 and May 15. The Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio suggests a rally to $1.25 is the most likely ARB price prediction, but if it drops below the previous local low of around $1.10, it could face further downward pressure. 

Token Unlocks Set to Release $85 Million in Locked Altcoin Tokens

Five altcoin projects are set to release $85 million in locked tokens into their projects' supplies this week, according to Token Unlocks. ApeCoin, 1inch, Oasis Network, ImmutableX, and SPACE ID will release millions of tokens to their respective token supply in the market. ApeCoin, ROSE, and IMX are likely to see price movements. Trading before unlocks usually causes prices to drop, while an increase in price indicates demand that counteracts the increased supply.

EU Expands Anti-Money Laundering Regulations to Crypto Asset Transfers

The EU has expanded regulations to include crypto asset transfers to prevent criminals from avoiding anti-money laundering measures. Crypto exchanges will be required to comply with the new rules and collect and make available specific information on the sender and recipient of all cryptocurrency asset transfers they facilitate. The regulations will improve the capacity to spot potentially suspicious transactions and prevent such transactions from occurring. The EU has also proposed the establishment of a new EU body to combat money laundering. 

SEC Dismisses Coinbase's Plea for Crypto Regulation Clarity

The US SEC has dismissed Coinbase's plea for clarity on crypto regulations. The exchange sought clarification over whether existing securities regulations would apply to the crypto industry but received a non-response. Coinbase's Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, expressed disappointment at the SEC's timeline for rule implementation and lack of urgency. The SEC's lawyers argued that Coinbase was not entitled to relief, and the petition should be denied. The friction between Coinbase and the SEC dates back to 2021. 

BlockFi to Liquidate Crypto Lending Platform Amid Legal Complications

BlockFi will liquidate its crypto lending platform to pay back creditors, according to a reorganization plan and disclosure statement filed on Friday. Creditors will vote on the restructuring plan on June 12, 2023, and the asset recovery for clients depends on lawsuits against firms they claim defrauded them. 

BlockFi's creditors have submitted a response to the restructuring plan, claiming that BlockFi deliberately delayed the trial and sold $240 million worth of crypto before filing for bankruptcy, costing over $100 million. The creditors also accused BlockFi of using $22.5 million of customer money to buy a $30 million insurance policy soon after selling digital assets.  

Justin Sun Accuses Li Wei of Unlawful Huobi Token Transactions

TRON founder Justin Sun accused Huobi founder's brother, Li Wei, of acquiring and selling huge amounts of Huobi token (HT) that he received for free. HT lost 43% of its value in the last week, but the tweet resulted in a 3.16% recovery. Sun plans to negotiate a refund and destruction of the remaining HT tokens.

Valkyrie Files for Leveraged Bitcoin Futures ETF with SEC

Valkyrie has filed an application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a leveraged Bitcoin futures ETF called the Valkyrie Bitcoin Futures Leveraged Strategy ETF. The fund aims to benefit from increases in the price of Bitcoin futures contracts and will be used only by sophisticated investors. proposed ETF symbol is BTFD, a term used in the crypto community as "buy the f***ing dip".  

Federal Reserve Identifies Catalysts for 2022 Crypto Bank Runs

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago has released a report identifying three major catalysts that contributed to the 2022 crypto bank runs, including withdrawals by institutional clients, the downfall of Three Arrows Capital, and the collapse of FTX. Large account holders and crypto whales withdrew funds at the fastest rates, and lending firms offering high yields through risky investments were blamed for the crisis. 

OKX to Launch Marketplace for Minting and Trading Bitcoin Ordinals

OKX plans to launch a marketplace within its wallet for minting and trading Bitcoin Ordinals across over 60 supported chains by June. OKX's Chief of Innovation, Jason Lau, said they are "bullish" on Bitcoin and Ordinals, but acknowledged hurdles to adoption. To make things less complicated for current traders of Ordinals, OKX is partnering with open source Bitcoin wallet UniSat to sync their respective indexers. Additionally, the Seychelles-based crypto exchange will soon support the Bitcoin Lightning Network on the OKX Wallet.

Sui Blockchain Fixes Critical Bug, Securing Billions in Assets

Sui blockchain network has fixed a bug that could have put "billions of dollars" at risk, according to security firm Zellic. The bug was in a dependency of the bytecode verifier, which ensures that the Move language used to write smart contracts on Sui is correctly transcribed into machine code during deployment. The bug could have "allowed attackers to bypass multiple security properties, leading to potentially significant financial damages," the announcement said. Other Move-based networks, including Aptos and Starcoin, may have also been affected. 

Kaspersky Warns of Fake Hardware Wallets After Bitcoin Theft

Kaspersky has warned cryptocurrency users about the dangers of fake hardware wallets after a report found that fraudsters stole Bitcoin worth $27,041 from a victim who bought a tampered Trezor Model T wallet through a trusted seller on a classifieds website. Cybersecurity experts have advised users to buy hardware wallets directly from the official to prevent supply chain attacks. 

Ledger's Nano X Update Features Controversial Recovery Tool

Ledger's new Nano X update offers a subscription-based recovery tool for users to encrypt their seed phrase and send it to different custodians for reconstruction. However, Polygon Labs' CISO, Mudit Gupta, criticised the ID verification and key access to contacts, warning users against enabling the feature. Ledger's co-founder and CEO have both denied the existence of a backdoor and clarified that self-custody remains the core principle. The Recover feature is an opt-in subscription and is not enabled by default. 

US Secret Service Embraces Crypto and NFTs for Investigation

The United States Secret Service owns cryptocurrency and has an NFT collection, according to a recent Reddit AMA. The agency praised blockchain technology's transparency as an "amazing opportunity" for crime fighters, but also recommended cash over crypto for illicit activities. The Secret Service noted that the majority of calls and reports they receive involve crypto in some way. 

Paraguay Recovers Stolen Bitcoin Mining Rigs Amid Crypto Boom

Paraguay's Anti-Kidnapping Department (DAS) has recovered 300 Bitcoin mining rigs that were stolen from a farm in Alto Paraná in April. One man has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault, but 192 mining rigs are still missing. Paraguay has become a hotspot for bitcoin miners due to its surplus of hydroelectric power. 

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

Conflux CFX (+9.55%)

Render Token RNDR (+4.65%)

Lido DAO Token LDO (+3.80%)

Losers:

Sui SUI (-6.65%)

Injective INJ (-5.54%)

The Graph GRT (-5.41%)

NFT Market Map

Artist Mason Rothschild disputes copyright infringement ruling, arguing that intangibility of his Hermès MetaBirkin bag NFT means it doesn't fall under the Lanham Act. Lawyers for Hermès dismiss this argument, noting a California court has already rejected similar arguments in the Bored Ape NFT case. The Bored Ape case ruling has wider implications for NFTs, including the high-profile Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, which has recorded $2.8 billion in sales since its inception. 

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.