Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | November 2, 2023
Crypto Market Update
Table of Contents
Crypto Market and Price Movements
- Bitcoin Hits New Yearly High
- Swiss Bank Embraces Crypto
Banking and Regulatory Developments
- Dubai Approves Ripple's XRP
- The Sam Bankman-Fried Trial
- UK's New Crypto Asset Promotion Rules
Investment Opportunities and Market Tools
- Short Ether ETF Launch
- Nym's Decentralized VPN
- Dune Analytics' New Features
- Uniswap's Revenue from Fees
- EigenLayer's Token Integration Contest
- Pyth Network's Community Rewards
Legal Challenges and Company Updates
- SafeMoon Executives Arrested
- Qredo's Financial Struggles
- Visa and Banks Test Tokenized Deposits
- Trader Exploits Multichain Bridge
- Withdrawal Issues on Crypto Exchanges
- Sky Mavis' Blockchain Partnerships
- Elon Musk's NFT Critique
- Rarible Launches Marketplace-as-a-Service
Bitcoin Hits New Yearly High
Bitcoin's price surged to a new yearly high, surpassing $35,500 and leading to over $100 million in short liquidations. Market analysts predict a "Santa rally" pushing Bitcoin to $56,000 by the year-end. Tether's market cap increased, indicating a influx of traditional finance into crypto. Institutional investments continued, with MicroStrategy holding 158,400 BTC to enjoy a profitable investment. Market sentiment remains bullish.
Swiss Bank Embraces Crypto
Switzerland's fifth-largest cantonal bank, St. Galler Kantonalbank, has partnered with SEBA Bank to launch bitcoin and ether custody and trading services. The bank plans to expand its digital asset offerings based on client demand. SEBA Bank will provide digital asset brokerage and custody services for the bank.
Dubai Approves Ripple's XRP
The Dubai Financial Services Authority has approved the use of Ripple's digital asset, XRP, within the Dubai International Financial Centre. XRP is the first virtual asset to be approved under the DFSA's regime, and its approval is expected to benefit institutions located in the DIFC by enabling faster and more efficient global value exchange.
The UAE is focused on providing regulatory clarity and guidance for licensed firms offering virtual asset services. Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, praised Dubai's leadership in regulating virtual assets and expressed the company's commitment to expanding its presence in the city.
The Sam Bankman-Fried Trial
The prosecution in the Sam Bankman-Fried trial argued that he knowingly deceived customers by presenting false information about the safety of funds held at FTX. They highlighted Bankman-Fried's tweets and public statements, as well as his failure to hire a risk officer. The defense tried to discredit testimonies from Bankman-Fried's former inner circle. The jury is expected to deliver a verdict soon.
UK's New Crypto Asset Promotion Rules
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released additional guidance for crypto firms to comply with the new UK crypto asset promotion rules. The 32-page guidance reflects a new "secondary international competitiveness objective" and provides answers to questions submitted during the consultation phase. Compliance with the rules has been low, leading to industry departures from the UK. Legislation regulating stablecoins is expected in 2022.
Swiss CBDC Development
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is collaborating with the SIX Digital Exchange and six commercial banks to develop a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot. Named Helvetia Phase III, the pilot aims to create a tokenized version of the Swiss franc for digital securities transactions.
The pilot will run from December 2023 to June 2024. Wholesale CBDCs are used for transferring money between financial institutions, while retail CBDCs are available to consumers as a form of digital cash.
Short Ether ETF Launch
ProShares has launched a short Ether-linked ETF called SETH, allowing investors to profit from the volatility of Ether's price. SETH will trade on NYSE Arca, providing exposure through Ether futures contracts. This complements ProShares' existing crypto ETF offerings, including Bitcoin and Ether-focused funds.
Nym's Decentralized VPN
Privacy project Nym is launching a decentralized VPN called NymVPN that routes user web traffic through multiple nodes, providing an additional privacy layer. The VPN will use a "two-hop" structure and incorporate the Wireguard protocol for encryption. It will work alongside Nym's existing mixnet, which aims to complicate tracing on-chain communication. Nym raised $13 million in funding this year.
Dune Analytics' New Features
Dune Analytics introduces DuneAI, allowing natural language queries for crypto data analysis. They also launch Dune Data Hub for data management and integration with external platforms. Additionally, Dune Alert enables users to receive crypto event notifications. These updates aim to enhance accessibility and usability in blockchain data analysis.
Uniswap's Revenue from Fees
Uniswap Labs has generated $764,000 in revenue from fees on certain trades in the last two weeks, according to Blockworks Research. Other DeFi platforms including Osmosis, Blur, and Hashflow are also considering implementing trading fees. While some believe fees are a sign of DeFi maturing, others argue they may be impractical given that platforms can be duplicated.
EigenLayer's Token Integration Contest
EigenLayer, the Ethereum restaking protocol, has launched a contest for liquid staking token issuers to secure an integration on the platform. Users can vote for their preferred tokens, and those receiving more than 15,000 ETH in votes will be integrated into EigenLayer in the coming months.
Pyth Network's Community Rewards
Pyth Network has launched a retrospective airdrop program to reward community members who have contributed to its growth. The PYTH token will have a total supply of 10B tokens, with 1.5B in initial circulation. Eligible wallets can claim their tokens at a later date. Pyth Network provides real-time market data to smart contracts on blockchain networks.
SafeMoon Executives Arrested: Updated Information
Two executives from SafeMoon have been arrested for allegedly lying to investors about having "locked" liquidity and using the funds to buy luxury cars and real estate. Prosecutors claim the executives diverted millions of dollars for personal use. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also brought charges against the executives for fraud and offering unregistered securities.
Qredo's Financial Struggles
Crypto custody infrastructure provider Qredo is facing financial difficulties and recently cut 50% of its staff. The company is seeking fresh funding and exploring mergers and acquisitions to stay afloat. Qredo's business has declined, and it is focusing on web3 wallets and custody solutions.
The company was previously valued at $460 million and has raised $94 million in total venture capital funding. The QRDO token has also experienced a significant drop in value. This comes as other crypto firms, including Ledger, Chainalysis, and Chia Network, have also made job cuts.
Visa and Banks Test Tokenized Deposits
Visa, HSBC, and Hang Seng Bank tested tokenized deposits for Hong Kong's CBDC, aiming to innovate payment systems and explore digital dollar applications. Concurrently, Hong Kong's SFC issued guidelines for asset tokenization, treating tokenized securities like traditional ones, aligning with legal and regulatory norms, and supporting the city's Web3 ambitions.
Trader Exploits Multichain Bridge
A trader turned $280,000 into $1.9 million exploiting a temporary opening of the Multichain Bridge, leading to suspicions of an insider job. The wallet swapped FTM tokens for depegged assets on Fantom, transferring them to Ethereum. The community is questioning the legitimacy, with no official statement from Fantom or Multichain.
Withdrawal Issues on Crypto Exchanges
Leading crypto exchanges Kraken and Gate experienced temporary withdrawal downtimes, highlighting the risk of storing crypto assets on exchanges. Kraken recently appointed a new managing director for its UK operations, reflecting its commitment to expanding its global reach. Users are advised to stay vigilant and secure their assets while navigating the crypto markets.
Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers
Gainers:
Trust Wallet Token TWT (+11.37%)
Decentraland MANA (+9.95%)
Uniswap UNI (+9.09%)
Losers:
Rollbit Coin RLB (-10.75%)
Conflux CFX (-5.78%)
THORChain RUNE (-4.73%)
NFT Market Map
Sky Mavis' Blockchain Partnerships
Sky Mavis, developer of Axie Infinity, partners with Act Games to bring Japanese game franchises to the Ronin blockchain. The first game to be bridged is Zoids Wild Arena, with other franchises like Hello Kitty Aggretsuko and Bubble Bobble to follow. Axie Infinity has $4.2 billion in NFT sales volume and Ronin ranks second in NFT sales transactions after Ethereum.
Elon Musk's NFT Critique
Elon Musk criticized NFTs for not encoding the JPEG on the blockchain, inadvertently promoting Bitcoin Ordinals. Bitcoiners praised the use case of Ordinals, with millions of inscriptions on Bitcoin's blockchain. Ethereum remains dominant in NFT trading volumes (84%), followed by Bitcoin (11%), and ImmutableX (2.5%).
Rarible Launches Marketplace-as-a-Service
NFT marketplace Rarible has launched RaribleX, a marketplace-as-a-service product that enables brands and developers to create branded marketplace experiences with custom search and UX. RaribleX aims to bring more people to Web3 and facilitate the adoption of NFT technology.
The platform offers tools such as distribution launchpads, access to aggregated listings, custom control over fees, and integration with popular cryptocurrency platforms. The company has highlighted its work with brands such as Smurfs, Barbie, and DC Comics and aims to support all brands and creators in Web3 growth.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
