Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | September 14, 2023

Crypto Market Update

Written by Van

Table of Contents

Banking and Regulatory Updates

• Deutsche Bank Dives into Digital Assets with Taurus
• Paxos' BTC Overpayment Sparks F2Pool Debate
• Kasikornbank's $100M Bet on Web3 and AI Startups
• Polygon 2.0: Three Key Improvement Proposals
• Singapore Slaps Prohibition Orders on Three Arrows Capital Founders

Crypto Exchanges and Platforms

• Coinbase UK's Zero-Fee Trading Promo
• Genesis Winds Down Spot and Derivatives Trading
• Binance to Burn Idle BUSD and Delist TUSD Pairs
• Binance.US Executive Exodus Amid Regulatory Heat
• Metis Offers Token Compensation and Unveils Enhanced Cross-Chain Tech

Country-Specific Developments

• Google Cloud and Zilliqa Join Forces for Scalability
• Sui Foundation Unveils zkLogin for Web3 Authentication
• OKX's Multi-Million Sponsorship Deals

Market Trends and Asset Performance

• HBAR Value Rises Amid Hedera's Stablecoin Studio Launch
• Axie Infinity's AXS Token Skyrockets
• Bitcoin's September Surge Amid Inflation Concerns
• Ethereum's Daily Active Addresses Signal Volatility

Innovations and Partnerships

• SSV.network Launches Distributed Validator Tech for Ethereum
• Lido Finance Expands to Cosmos Ecosystem
• Friend.tech's Trading Volume and Fees Hit New Highs

NFT News

• SEC Action Boosts Stoner Cats NFT Floor Price and Sales

Deutsche Bank Dives into Digital Assets with Taurus

Deutsche Bank has partnered with Swiss fintech Taurus to offer digital asset custody and tokenization services. The collaboration comes after Deutsche Bank participated in Taurus' funding round and applied for a digital asset license in Germany. 

The bank aims to adapt to the growing digital asset market and support its clients in managing cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets. Taurus provides infrastructure for institutional clients to issue, custody, and trade digital assets.

Paxos' BTC Overpayment Sparks F2Pool Debate

A recent incident in the Bitcoin community involved a Paxos’ overpayment of 19.82 BTC ($510,750) in transaction fees to F2Pool, the third-largest Bitcoin mining pool. The mistake occurred in block height 807057 on September 10. 

Both parties initially agreed to return the overpaid amount to the sender, but a debate arose when one party expressed regret. A poll conducted by F2Pool showed that the majority of respondents favored distributing the overpayment to miners.  

Kasikornbank's $100M Bet on Web3 and AI Startups

Thailand's Kasikornbank has launched a $100 million fund to invest in Web3 and AI companies in the Asia Pacific region. The fund will focus on startups in Israel, the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific and will provide capital, corporate resources, and insights to aspiring companies. 

The fund will prioritize investments in Web3 infrastructure companies, privacy-focused companies, and NFTs. Expected to hit a staggering $1 trillion by 2030, the internet economy in the Asia Pacific region could significantly influence cryptocurrency charts.

Polygon 2.0: Three Key Improvement Proposals

Polygon Labs has introduced three improvement proposals for the transition to Polygon 2.0, their interconnected layer-2 Ethereum ecosystem. The proposals include the conversion of MATIC tokens to POL tokens, technical details and contracts for POL tokens, and the update of the native gas token on Polygon PoS. These changes aim to enhance scalability and performance within the Polygon ecosystem.  

Singapore Slaps Prohibition Orders on Three Arrows Capital Founders

The founders of cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, have been issued prohibition orders by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The orders prevent them from participating in any regulated activity in Singapore's capital market services sector. 

MAS found that Three Arrows Capital committed several violations of local regulations, including misleading the regulator and lacking a risk management framework. Failure to comply with the orders could result in fines or imprisonment. The founders have also recently faced regulatory issues with their new venture, OPNX, and were fined by Dubai's crypto regulator.

Coinbase UK's Zero-Fee Trading Promo

Coinbase has announced a limited-time promotion offering zero trading fees for UK customers on its Advanced Trade platform. The promotion started on September 8 and will continue until October 7, 2023. Through this campaign, Coinbase aims to showcase the improvements made to the advanced trading experience and gather feedback from UK traders.  

Genesis Winds Down Spot and Derivatives Trading

Crypto firm Genesis is winding down spot and derivatives trading services offered through its affiliate GCCI. The decision was made for business reasons and means that Genesis will no longer offer trading services through any of its business entities. Open derivatives positions will still be honoured through expiry.

Binance to Burn Idle BUSD and Delist TUSD Pairs

Binance has announced that it will burn idle Binance-pegged BUSD tokens and cease support for the stablecoin. The exchange will also delist TUSD pairs. Binance issues Binance-pegged tokens to facilitate the usage of other blockchain tokens on the BNB chain. This comes after the demise of BUSD, with Paxos stopping minting the stablecoin. Binance has updated its fiat liquidity provider program.

Binance.US Executive Exodus Amid Regulatory Heat

Binance.US is facing further executive departures, including Krishna Juvvadi, head of legal, and Sidney Majalya, chief risk officer, as regulatory pressure intensifies. This follows the recent departure of Brian Shroder, the head of Binance.US, and a reduction in staff. The Securities and Exchange Commission's lawsuit filed in June against Binance has prompted the exchange to scale back its operations.  

Metis Offers Token Compensation and Unveils Enhanced Cross-Chain Tech

Layer 2 scaling solution Metis will compensate users affected by the PolyNetwork bridge hack through the distribution of 117,000 METIS tokens. The project is also implementing an enhanced cross-chain architecture using LayerZero’s OFT model to improve its ecosystem and provide a superior cross-chain experience for METIS holders.

Google Cloud and Zilliqa Join Forces for Scalability

Google Cloud is collaborating with Zilliqa to enhance the blockchain platform. Google Cloud will operate as a staked seed node on the network and provide cloud services, such as Kubernetes and BigQuery, to enhance efficiency and monitoring. The collaboration aims to improve scalability, resilience, and data accessibility of Zilliqa.  

Sui Foundation Unveils zkLogin for Web3 Authentication

The Sui Foundation has launched zkLogin, a Web3 authentication solution that allows users to log in to decentralized applications (dApps) using their social media accounts. The solution combines zk-SNARKs and JSON Web Tokens to provide privacy and ownership features. Sui Network is a low-cost blockchain that experienced a surge in value after its listing in May.

OKX's Multi-Million Sponsorship Deals

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX spends $25-50m annually on sponsorship deals with McLaren and Manchester City. The platform hopes to extend its five-year partnership with McLaren to a decade. OKX has unveiled a new McLaren race car model featuring the company's logo.

HBAR Value Rises Amid Hedera's Stablecoin Studio Launch

Following the announcement of Hedera Hashgraph's stablecoin studio, altcoin HBAR experienced a 9% uptick at one point, shaking up crypto coin prices. The open-source toolkit aims to simplify the process of stablecoin issuance and includes features such as proof-of-reserve functionality and easy compliance configurations. 

Industry leaders have praised the advantages of stablecoins, including stability, transparency, accessibility, and security. However, it should be noted that HBAR is still down significantly from its all-time high.

Axie Infinity's AXS Token Skyrockets

The native crypto asset of Axie Infinity Game, AXS, experienced a sharp increase of over 20% in a matter of minutes. The rise may be attributed to oversold conditions and a short squeeze, triggering significant short liquidation and increased trading volumes.

Bitcoin's September Surge Amid Inflation Concerns

Ignoring concerns over U.S. inflation, the crypto price of Bitcoin rose to new September highs, hitting the $26,762 mark. Bitcoin traders remain optimistic, targeting $27,000. The European Central Bank raised rates but hinted at a possible pause. Support at $26,000 is crucial for BTC's price strength. 

The latest inflation figures have led traders to believe that the Federal Reserve will pause its rate-setting policy. The consumer price index rose 0.6% in August, its biggest monthly gain of 2023. Core inflation also increased, surpassing estimates. However, investors are uncertain about another rate hike, and the release of the CPI report did not significantly impact market expectations. 

Ethereum's Daily Active Addresses Signal Volatility

According to market intelligence platform Santiment, Ethereum's daily active addresses reached the second-highest number in history at around 1,089,893 on Sept. 13. This surge suggests increased volatility and potential for a market recovery. 

With a soaring Ethereum market cap, the cryptocurrency continues to captivate institutional investors and plays a pivotal role in the decentralized finance landscape. However, Ethereum's price may be influenced by Bitcoin, and there are bearish indicators suggesting a potential decline in the upcoming weeks.  

SSV.network Launches Distributed Validator Tech for Ethereum

SSV.network has launched a distributed validator technology (DVT) network, in partnership with the Ethereum Foundation, to decentralize Ethereum staking. The DVT technology aims to improve private key security, reduce validator downtime, and slashing penalties. More than 10 partner staking decentralized applications have deployed on the network.

Lido Finance Expands to Cosmos Ecosystem

Lido Finance has partnered with Neutron and Axelar to bring its wrapped liquid staked ether (wstETH) token to the Cosmos ecosystem. More than 30 Cosmos teams have expressed interest in integrating wstETH, and Neutron and Axelar have committed 1% of their network genesis supply to build liquidity for wstETH. Currently, Lido holds around 70% of the liquid staking market on Ethereum with $14 billion in total value locked.

Friend.tech's Trading Volume and Fees Hit New Highs

Decentralized social media platform Friend.tech saw a resurgence in trading volume and fees, hitting a new peak of $18.51 million and $1.9 million, respectively, on September 13th. The platform, built on the Base Ethereum protocol, had previously experienced a decline in popularity. However, it has seen a recent increase in the number of daily active users and has no direct competitors in its market. Challenges remain with server capacity.

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

Axie Infinity AXS (+10.34%)

THORChain RUNE (+5.52%)

Rollbit Coin RLB (+5.14%)

Losers:

FTX Token FTT (-4.43%)

Klaytn KLAY (-3.36%)

Synthetix SNX (-1.93%)

NFT Market Map

SEC Action Boosts Stoner Cats NFT Floor Price and Sales

The SEC has ordered the Mila Kunis-backed NFT cartoon project Stoner Cats to cease operations, pay a fine of $1 million, and establish a "fair fund" to reimburse victims. However, the move has caused the floor price of Stoner Cat NFTs to increase by over 250% and sale volumes to surge by 2,500%. 

Despite the penalties, the creators of Stoner Cats will likely still profit from the project, having raised $8 million and earning an additional $500,000 in royalties. The show follows the story of a woman using medical marijuana to alleviate Alzheimer's symptoms, and features a star-studded cast.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.