Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | May 20, 2023

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May 20 2023

2 years ago3 minutes read

Markets360

Crypto Market Update

Written by Van

Bitcoin Steady at $26,900, Analysts Eye $30,000 Mark

Bitcoin continues to hold steady at $26,900, prompting analysts to predict that $30,000 could be the next target. However, the cryptocurrency faces downward pressure as its price struggles to surpass $27,000, with decreased trading activity and uncertainty impacting price sentiment. Factors including debt ceiling discussions, regulatory uncertainties, and the strength of the US dollar are also affecting Bitcoin's price.

Ethereum Down 8.66%, ETH 2.0 Deposit Contracts at Record High

Ethereum's price has fallen 8.66% in 30 days, but its total value locked (TVL) in ETH 2.0 Deposit Contracts reached an all-time high on May 19, according to Glassnodealerts. CryptoQuant analysis suggests the rise in deposit contracts could favour ETH's price, but at the time of writing, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) stood at 44.73 and the bears still appeared to have control of the market. Intelligence platform Santiment's data showed development activity on the ETH network had dropped in recent days, and ETH's network growth had fallen gradually.

Despite Social Buzz, Solana's Price and NFT Sales Slump

Solana (SOL) has seen an increase in popularity, ranking third on the list of cryptos by social activity on May 19th. However, SOL's price remains stagnant, trading at $20.43 with less volatile price movements compared to other cryptocurrencies. SOL's NFT ecosystem also experienced a decline in sales, buyers, and sellers in the last 30 days. Despite the upcoming exclusive mint of a new NFT collection, SOL's on-chain performance and weighted sentiment remain bearish.

Strike Expands to 65 Markets, Relocates HQ to El Salvador

Bitcoin payments firm Strike is expanding to 65 global markets and moving its headquarters to El Salvador, where Bitcoin is legal tender. CEO Jack Mallers said the decision was due to regulatory pressure and a lack of clarity in the US. The currently operates in the US, Argentina and El Salvador but will expand to around 3 billion people. Mallers hopes to expand ties with banks to allow fiat-on and off-ramps in more countries and launch a debit card.

Bakkt Optimistic on Crypto Regulatory Environment, Plans Expansion

Bakkt chief product officer Dan O’Prey is optimistic about cryptocurrency regulatory environment, citing the recently passed Markets in Crypto-Assets regulations in the European Union. O’Prey also noted that Bakkt plans to expand its retail activities internationally and that the lack of regulatory clarity in the US for cryptocurrencies remains a hurdle for Bitcoin adoption. Nonetheless, he highlighted positive long-term trends and institutional interest in Bitcoin.

Ripple vs SEC: Potential Implications of Hinman Documents Unsealing

Legal experts are speculating over the potential outcome of the high-stakes legal battle between Ripple and the SEC. Ripple's chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, highlighted a recent Twitter opinion by the Supreme Court that could reshape the interpretation of securities laws in the digital age. Ripple's argument is that XRP does not fall under the SEC's jurisdiction as a security. The unsealing of the Hinman documents, which show how cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum were initially categorized as securities, is set to happen on June 6.

MIAX Acquires Exchange and Clearinghouse LedgerX in Strategic Move

Miami International Securities Exchange (MIAX) has completed its acquisition of the exchange and clearinghouse LedgerX, one of the FTX assets approved for sale in January. The deal was approved by a US bankruptcy court and is part of MIAX's growth strategy to "offer new and innovative products" to the swaps and futures industry. The company is owned by Miami International Holdings (MIH), which also has a stake in cryptocurrency exchange Open Exchange.

Withdrawal Bug in Aave v2 Polygon, Funds Remain Safe

A bug in Aave v2 Polygon is preventing users from withdrawing assets from Wrapped Ether, Tether USDT, Wrapped Bitcoin and Wrapped Matic pools, but users' funds are "perfectly safe." The bug only affects Polygon and can be fixed by governance vote. Aave v3 and v2 deployments to Ethereum and Avalanche are not affected.

Ethereum EIP-6969 Could Bring Contract-Secured Revenue to Layer 2

Ethereum Improvement Proposal EIP-6969 may introduce Contract-Secured Revenue (CSR) on Ethereum Layer 2 solutions. CSR is a series of smart contracts that allow developers to earn revenue when other users interact with their code. The proposal modifies the current system by sending a portion of gas fees to the developer of a smart contract. This incentivises the creation of infrastructure, which could expand the Ethereum ecosystem. The proposal is expected to be implemented into Layer 2 solutions within the next six months.

Lido Finance to Introduce Staking with LDO Token

Lido Finance is proposing to add a staking feature to its LDO token, allowing token holders to stake and earn rewards, with earnings drawn from revenue generated by charging a 10% fee. Stakers would earn between 20% and 50% of the DAO's revenue, with generated revenue used to buy more LDO tokens and distributed. However, stakers would also become the "insurance providers of last resort," with up to 30% of LDO stakers' funds at risk in the event of a mass-slashing event.

Cardano's DeFi Ecosystem Hits $399M

Cardano's DeFi ecosystem has reached $399 million in total value locked, with Minswap leading with $55.2 million. TVL measures the amount of cryptocurrency deposited in DeFi protocols and is used to indicate the popularity and activity of the ecosystem. It happened as Polkadot reportedly surpassed Cardano as the leading cryptocurrency network by development activity.

Tether Partners with KriptonMarket Amid Argentine Hyperinflation

Tether has partnered with KriptonMarket to enable USDT transactions for payment of goods, bills, and employee wages at the Central Market of Buenos Aires. The move aims to shield Argentine small-scale businesses from the country's hyperinflation and eliminate intermediation costs by enabling direct digital transactions. Tether and KriptonMarket will also conduct educational programmes in Buenos Aires to raise the next generation of crypto enthusiasts and blockchain businesses. USDT remains the largest stablecoin, with a total market cap of $82.9bn.

Meta to Launch Twitter-like Decentralized App

Meta, Instagram's parent company, reportedly has plans to launch a text-based app similar to Twitter. The app will be separate from Instagram and decentralized, and will allow users to reach more audiences through compatibility with other social media apps like Mastodon. Text-based posts will be limited to 500 characters, and the app will feature centralized feeds and creator controls and account safety features. Meta first confirmed plans for a decentralized social network in March.

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

Bitcoin SV BSV (+6.72%)

Pepe PEPE (+4.99%)

Kava KAVA (+4.21%)

Losers:

Render Token RNDR (-5.01%)

Conflux CFX (-3.57%)

Optimism OP (-2.01%)

NFT Market Map

Sotheby's concluded the sale of rare NFTs from bankrupt hedge fund Three Arrows Capital's Grails collection, bringing in $2,482,850. The collection included generative art pieces by leading artists. The highest-priced NFTs were Fidenza #725 and Autoglyph #187, which sold for $1,016,000 and $571,500, respectively. More NFTs from the collection will be released in future auctions or private sales.