Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | November 9, 2023
Crypto Market Update
Table of Contents
Crypto Market Dynamics
Market Watch: Bitcoin ETF Expectations and Price Movements
Ether and Coinbase: ETF Hopes and Whale Movements
Product and Platform Developments
Circle Enhances USDC and EURC with v2.2 Upgrades
New Ethereum Fund for Institutional Investors by Laser Digital
Frankfurt Exchange's Foray into Digital Assets
Strategic Ecosystem Expansion
Coinbase Welcomes Lido's Wrapped Staked Ether
Steer Protocol Boosts Sushi's Liquidity Provision
Polygon's Ecosystem Growth Initiatives
Regulatory and Legal Landscape
Debates Over Arbitrum's Research Proposal Funding
Indian Think Tank's Crypto Taxation Suggestions
SEC Critiques Binance's Legal Arguments
Legislation to Limit US Government Crypto Dealings
OneCoin's Legal Proceedings and Guilty Pleas
Investment and Venture Capital
FTX Token Recovery on SEC Comments
Venture Capital Optimism in Crypto Sector
New UAE Crypto Investment Vehicle by SC Ventures and SBI
Security and Compliance
Australian Exchange CoinSpot's Hack Incident
Legal Troubles for JPEX Taiwan
User Experience and Compensation
Cardano DEX MuesliSwap's Slippage Refunds
Network and Token Performance
Active Users Surge on Ronin Network
The Sandbox's New Virtual Neighborhood
Events and Community Incidents
Health Concerns at Hong Kong's ApeFest
NFT Market Trends and High-Profile Buys
Market Watch: Bitcoin ETF Expectations and Price Movements
The SEC is reviewing 12 Bitcoin ETF applications, including BlackRock and Grayscale's, with decisions expected between November 8-17. The news led to a surge that drove BTC’s price to over $37,000 before retracing to $36,500. Despite delays, Bloomberg analysts predict a 90% chance of approval by January 2024.
A Bitcoin ETF could attract $50-$100 billion in five years, impacting market dynamics significantly. Bitcoin's price rally and institutional investments, like ARK Invest's digital asset ETFs, signal a maturing market and investor optimism. The SEC's rulings could mark a transformative era for cryptocurrency investments.
Ether and Coinbase: ETF Hopes and Whale Movements
Ether's value spiked to $2,050, then pulled back to briefly above $2,000 following BlackRock's registration of an iShares Ethereum Trust in Delaware, signaling a potential spot ether ETF. Concurrently, Coinbase shares and ether liquid staking tokens like Lido and RocketPool surged, with Coinbase up 8% and staking platforms' tokens increasing by 7-8%.
In the market upswing, a whale transferred 25,700 ETH to Binance, worth roughly $49.52 million, echoing a previous withdrawal of the same ETH amount valued then at $47.71 million, indicating a likely $1.81 million gain.
Circle Enhances USDC and EURC with v2.2 Upgrades
Circle has released its v2.2 upgrades for its USDC and EURC stablecoins. The upgrades aim to improve account abstraction, security, and lower gas fees for transactions on EVM blockchains. The upgrades are fully backwards-compatible and do not require any action from developers or users. Circle will begin rolling out the upgrades on November 9th.
New Ethereum Fund for Institutional Investors by Laser Digital
Laser Digital, a digital asset-focused affiliate of Nomura, has launched an Ethereum Adoption Fund targeting institutional investors. The fund invests in long-only spot ether positions and utilises a yield enhancement strategy by staking ETH held by the fund.
Demand for the product is coming from pension funds, family offices, asset managers and private banks. The fund offers daily liquidity and an approximate annual yield of 5.5%. Laser Digital previously introduced a bitcoin product and plans to launch more "digital adoption investment solutions" in the future.
Frankfurt Exchange's Foray into Digital Assets
Deutsche Börse, the powerhouse behind Frankfurt Stock Exchange, is gearing up to enhance its digital asset foothold. By 2024, it's set to unveil a crypto trading platform, focusing on institutional investors, and will also introduce its own stablecoins. This move is part of a broader "Horizon 2026" strategy to dominate digital platforms across various asset classes.
The platform will support tokenization, trading, settlement, and custody of securities, alternative assets, and cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, Deutsche Börse's D7 digital post-trade platform has already made waves, issuing over 4,000 digital securities valued at upwards of €3 billion. With Germany's clear crypto regulations and the EU's MiCA framework on the horizon, Deutsche Börse is positioning itself as a pivotal player in the burgeoning digital asset economy.
Coinbase Welcomes Lido's Wrapped Staked Ether
Lido's wrapped staked ether (wstETH) is now available on Coinbase's layer-2 network Base after receiving approval from Lido's DAO. wstETH is a wrapped version of Lido's staked ether (stETH) product. Over $21 million of wstETH was traded in the past 24 hours. Base is now the latest protocol to access wstETH. Base is the third-largest rollup by the number of protocols and total value locked (TVL).
Steer Protocol Boosts Sushi's Liquidity Provision
Steer Protocol has integrated its Smart Pools on Sushi to make liquidity provision more attractive for liquidity providers (LPs) in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Smart Pools automate liquidity management to increase efficiency for LPs and tackle the issue of loss-versus-rebalancing.
Steer is currently the ninth-largest liquidity management protocol by total value locked (TVL). The integration comes as Sushi considers changing its tokenomics to incentivize LPs to lock their liquidity for longer periods of time.
Polygon's Ecosystem Growth Initiatives
Polygon Labs has launched Polygon Village 2.0, a $90 million fund aimed at boosting ecosystem development. The fund will offer grants, mentorship, and ecosystem support to projects within the Polygon ecosystem, with projects able to access over 110 million MATIC.
The initiative also includes a community grants program, a platform for project inspiration, and support for start-ups. Polygon Village is part of Polygon Labs' efforts to establish a comprehensive network of interconnected Layer 2 chains powered by zero-knowledge proofs.
Debates Over Arbitrum's Research Proposal Funding
Arbitrum, a layer-2 blockchain network, is facing controversy over a proposal to professionalise its research efforts through the allocation of $2M worth of digital tokens to an "Arbitrum Coalition." Commenters have expressed concerns about cost, conflicts of interest, and the need to reconcile "decentralized" decision-making with expert guidance. A recent poll suggests that the proposal is set to pass, but by a thin margin.
Indian Think Tank's Crypto Taxation Suggestions
A technology think tank in India has proposed that the controversial 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on cryptocurrency transactions should be lowered to 0.01%. The tax has caused many crypto traders to move their transactions offshore and has reportedly cost the government $420 million in potential revenue. The think tank's study argues that the tax has failed to achieve its objectives of curbing speculation and creating transparency in the crypto market.
SEC Critiques Binance's Legal Arguments
The SEC has slammed Binance's legal interpretations in its lawsuit dismissal request, labeling them as "tortured" and "absurd." Binance faces allegations of selling unregistered securities and operating without registration in the U.S. Meanwhile, Rep. Tom Emmer has proposed an amendment to defund the SEC's crypto enforcement until Congress clarifies regulatory jurisdiction.
SEC Chair Gensler is open to an FTX reboot under lawful leadership, amidst bids from Tom Farley and others. Emmer criticizes Gensler as "ineffective" and "incompetent," aiming to rein in SEC overreach and foster American innovation in the digital asset space.
Legislation to Limit US Government Crypto Dealings
US lawmakers have introduced a bill that would prohibit federal government officials from conducting business with Chinese blockchain companies, including iFinex, the parent company of Tether.
The aim of the bill is to prevent foreign adversaries from accessing critical national security intelligence and American citizens' private information. The bill also directs key officials to create a plan to address the risks posed by China's development of blockchain technologies.
OneCoin's Legal Proceedings and Guilty Pleas
Irina Dilkinska, the head of legal and compliance at OneCoin, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges. She could face up to 10 years in prison for her involvement in the alleged crypto pyramid scheme. Dilkinska's guilty plea follows the sentencing of OneCoin founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood to 20 years in prison for similar charges.
OneCoin co-founder Ruja Ignatova, who faces similar charges, has been on the run since 2017 and is currently on the FBI's Most Wanted List. Prosecutors are offering a reward for information leading to her arrest.
FTX Token Recovery on SEC Comments
The native token of defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, FTT, has surged by nearly 50% following comments from SEC chairman Gary Gensler about a potential restart of the exchange. Gensler emphasized the need for compliance and investor trust in the cryptocurrency industry. Several groups are reportedly in the running to take over FTX. FTT was trading at a seven-month high of $2.30 before pulling back.
Venture Capital Optimism in Crypto Sector
Blockchain-focused venture capital firm Lightspeed Faction is launching a new $285 million fund to invest in early-stage projects. The firm, a joint venture with Lightspeed Venture Partners, will also provide "crypto-native" advice to the projects it invests in. The launch comes as optimism returns to the crypto sector.
New UAE Crypto Investment Vehicle by SC Ventures and SBI
Standard Chartered's SC Ventures and SBI Holdings are partnering to establish a $100 million crypto vehicle in the United Arab Emirates. The joint venture plans to invest globally in crypto startups across various areas including decentralized finance, tokenization, infrastructure, payments, and the metaverse.
SC Ventures and SBI Holdings have previously invested in the same startups, and SBI Holdings is launching a separate fund to invest up to $663 million in web3, AI, and fintech startups.
Australian Exchange CoinSpot's Hack Incident
Australian crypto exchange CoinSpot has reportedly been hacked for $2.4 million through a probable private key compromise on one of its hot wallets. The breach involved the theft of 1,262 ETH, involving complex transactions intended to obscure the flow of the stolen funds. CoinSpot is regulated by the Australian financial watchdog.
Legal Troubles for JPEX Taiwan
Taiwan has detained two individuals connected to JPEX Taiwan, the troubled crypto exchange. The chief partner of the exchange's Taiwan Office and a lecturer affiliated with JPEX have been taken into custody for suspected violations of banking and anti-money laundering laws.
The size and scope of JPEX's operations in Taiwan are unclear, but several victims have filed lawsuits related to the case. JPEX's operations in Hong Kong were also busted in September.
Cardano DEX MuesliSwap's Slippage Refunds
MuesliSwap, a decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Cardano blockchain, is set to open its claims window to refund users for high slippage losses incurred over a 12-month period. The DEX currently holds over $13 million in various tokens and faced criticism for high fees in August.
The self-claim site will allow users to connect to the Cardano network and receive compensation for their losses. Refunds have been available through support tickets on the Discord platform.
Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers
Gainers:
FTX Token FTT (+50.20%)
THORChain RUNE (+15.25%)
Huobi Token HT (+14.08%)
Losers:
PancakeSwap CAKE (-10.80%)
Trust Wallet Token TWT (-8.77%)
Toncoin TON (-8.73%)
NFT Market Map
Active Users Surge on Ronin Network
The number of active wallet addresses on the Ronin network has tripled following the launch of the game Pixels. The network has also seen a surge in activity, with its native token RON experiencing a 13% increase in the last 24 hours.
Ronin has onboarded other games onto its Ethereum scaling network, including The Machines Arena and Zoids Wild Arena. The network was hit by a $622 million hack in March 2022, but Sky Mavis, the creator of Axie Infinity, reimbursed stolen user funds.
The Sandbox's New Virtual Neighborhood
The Sandbox is launching a new virtual neighborhood called Cinerama, where buyers of virtual land can develop immersive experiences alongside famous Hollywood brands like "The Walking Dead" and "Black Mirror." The platform hopes to renew interest in the metaverse after a decline in sales for virtual land. The Sandbox has sold 70% of its 165,000 LAND non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the native SAND token has seen a slight rebound in price.
Health Concerns at Hong Kong's ApeFest
At Hong Kong's ApeFest, UV lights caused eye and skin issues for attendees, with at least 15 reporting symptoms. Yuga Labs confirmed this, following an investigation with event producer Jack Morton Worldwide.
Separately, Asif Kamal, Artfi CEO, is considering legal action after suffering an eye infection and facial burns, alleging improper lighting at the event. Yuga Labs has been legally notified by Kamal, who also experienced significant discomfort and vulnerability during treatment.
Yuga estimates less than 1% of the 2,250 attendees were affected but advises medical attention for any symptoms. Kamal, now in Dubai, still suffers hazy vision and skin damage.
NFT Market Trends and High-Profile Buys
Wylie Aronow, co-founder of Yuga Labs, has spent over $1.5 million on NFTs from collections like CryptoPunks, Doodles, and Beeple. This spending spree comes as the NFT market sees a small rebound in trading volumes in October. Aronow's purchases include tokens from various collections outside of Yuga Labs.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.