Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | September 28, 2023

Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents

Regulatory and Banking Updates

• SEC Delays Decision on Ether ETFs
• Ethereum Price Soars Amid ETF Anticipation
• Former FTX CEO Denied Temporary Release
• BIS Tests Cross-Border wCBDC Trading

Crypto Exchanges and Platforms

• Ledn Unveils Ethereum Yield Product
• Crypto.com Adds New Trading Pairs and Partners with PayPal
• Gemini Refutes Allegations Over Withdrawals
• Kraken Considers Stock and ETF Trading
• Coinbase Gets Green Light for Retail Futures Trading

Ethereum Ecosystem

• Surge in Ethereum Staking Post-Merge
• Arbitrum Relaunches User Attraction Campaign
• Ethereum Launches Holesky Test Network

Market Trends and Price Movements

• Bitcoin Reaches $27K Following Wall Street Open
• Tottenham Hotspur to Launch Fan Token

Country-Specific and Company Developments

• GMX Awards $1M Bug Bounty to Collider
• Binance Advises on Paysafe's EUR Restrictions
• Goldfinch FIDU Token Trades at Discount
• Binance CEO Denies Ownership of CommEX
• IOTA to Launch Smart Contracts on ShimmerEVM
• SEC Chairman's Take on Tokenized Pokémon Cards

SEC Delays Decision on Ether ETFs

The SEC has delayed its decision on spot Ether ETF applications from ARK 21Shares and VanEck. The commission extended the deadline to December 25 and 26, respectively. 

This follows the SEC's announcement of a longer period to decide on spot Bitcoin ETF applications from ARK 21Shares and Global X, with a final decision on ARK 21Shares' ETF expected in January. This comes as various firms including Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, and Cboe BZX Exchange have filed proposed rule changes for Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs.  

Ethereum Price Soars Amid ETF Anticipation

With a notable 3.7% surge, the Ethereum market cap has been positively impacted, pushing the token's current trading price to $1,657, its peak in the last eight days. There is growing anticipation for the potential launch of Ethereum Futures ETFs as early as next week, which has sparked excitement within the crypto community, but the SEC postponed the verdict on ARK 21Shares and VanEck's Ether ETFs.  

Former FTX CEO Denied Temporary Release

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried will remain in jail until his October 3 trial, as a federal judge denied his request for temporary release. The judge expressed concerns about Bankman-Fried being a flight risk due to his age and potential prison sentence.

BIS Tests Cross-Border wCBDC Trading  

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), in collaboration with the central banks of France, Singapore, and Switzerland, has successfully tested cross-border trading of wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs). 

In a project called Mariana, a common token standard on a public blockchain was used to facilitate the seamless exchange of wCBDCs across different local payment and settlement systems maintained by participant central banks. This test aimed to explore how foreign exchange settlement could function in a world where central banks have issued a CBDC.

Ledn Unveils Ethereum Yield Product

Bitcoin lending firm Ledn is launching an Ethereum yield product in response to user requests. Ledn's Growth Accounts, which currently offer interest on Bitcoin and USD Coin deposits, will now also include an ETH offering. The firm aims to provide a shielded alternative to manually staking ETH and manage it through liquid staking pools. 

Ledn emphasizes that its Growth Accounts are ring-fenced from its other products and services. Ledn plans to expand ETH support across its entire suite of products in the future. The company will also launch a stablecoin Growth Account for Tether tokens.

Crypto.com Adds New Trading Pairs and Partners with PayPal

Crypto.com's app now features new trading pairs like XRP, DOGE, and SOL, offering users a richer experience when navigating cryptocurrency charts. It has also partnered with PayPal to become a preferred exchange for PayPal's stablecoin, PYUSD. 

However, a report by Bank of America suggests that PYUSD may face challenges from other stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). 

Gemini Refutes Allegations Over Withdrawals

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has responded to allegations that the Winklevoss twins withdrew $282 million from crypto lender Genesis last year. Gemini described the article as "misleading" and stated that the money withdrawn was from Earn users' funds and not the founders' personal or corporate funds. 

The company said it increased its liquidity reserves due to market turmoil in 2022, including the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin. Genesis suspended customer withdrawals after the collapse of FTX, leading to Gemini's Earn customers' assets being frozen.

Kraken Considers Stock and ETF Trading

Kraken, a US-based cryptocurrency exchange, is considering offering stock and exchange-traded fund (ETF) trading options in the US and the UK. If launched, this would make Kraken the first crypto exchange to extend its services to traditional assets. 

The exchange plans to use a service developed by its new division, Kraken Securities, which has already obtained regulatory permits in the UK. Kraken recently faced regulatory scrutiny in the US and had to pay a $30 million fine to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Coinbase Gets Green Light for Retail Futures Trading

Coinbase International has received regulatory approval to offer perpetual futures trading to non-U.S. retail customers. This expands their services beyond institutional clients and provides retail traders with access to the crypto derivatives market. The platform aims to be a secure and competent gateway for retail traders.  

Surge in Ethereum Staking Post-Merge

Since the Merge, the Ethereum Staking landscape has expanded, making a significant impact on crypto coin prices. With 7.4M ETH staked, totaling $68 billion, and an APR of 3.9%, staking provides a competitive and reliable way to generate rewards. 

The Shapella upgrade increased staking participation and enabled withdrawals, leading to a net inflow of ETH into staking. The number of validators has nearly doubled to over 840,000.  

Arbitrum Relaunches User Attraction Campaign

Arbitrum, the leading Ethereum Layer 2 network by TVL, has relaunched its Odyssey campaign to attract new users. While it lags behind rival networks in transaction throughput, Arbitrum aims to onboard users through a seven-week campaign exploring its top protocols and communities. Participants can collect NFT badges by completing tasks.  

Ethereum Launches Holesky Test Network

Ethereum developers have successfully launched the Holesky test network on their second attempt. The new network will allow for testing of scaling plans and will help address supply issues on the existing Goerli testnet. The launch had initially been planned for September 15 but was postponed due to misconfiguration issues.

Bitcoin Reaches $27K Following Wall Street Open

After Wall Street's opening bell, crypto price dynamics shifted, catapulting Bitcoin to new weekly highs of $27,101. The market is eagerly awaiting comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Bitcoin's reaction to US macroeconomic data and resistance below the $27,000 mark will influence its future movement.  

Tottenham Hotspur to Launch Fan Token

Tottenham Hotspur is set to launch its own fan token, called SPURS, on the Chiliz platform. The token will be sold for $2 each and holders will have access to voting and rewards. The move is part of a growing trend among sport teams to create fan tokens to engage with supporters and generate revenue.

GMX Awards $1M Bug Bounty to Collider

GMX, a decentralized futures trading exchange, awarded a $1 million bug bounty to Collider's research arm for finding a bug that affected pricing for the exchange's liquidity providers. The bug has since been patched.

Binance Advises on Paysafe's EUR Restrictions

Binance advises European users of Paysafe to convert their euros to Tether (USDT) as Paysafe discontinues processing EUR deposits. Users can still withdraw EUR balances, but EUR spot trading pairs and Binance Convert for EUR transactions will be restricted. Binance aims to integrate new fiat channels soon.  

Goldfinch FIDU Token Trades at Discount

Goldfinch's FIDU token, which represents liquidity supply into the Goldfinch Protocol's Senior Pool, is trading at a discount to net asset value (NAV). The discount has created a distressed debt opportunity, but investors should not suffer a total loss as the default represents only one of eleven deals in the Senior Pool. 

The situation highlights growing pains in the tokenization of real-world assets. Other major players in the space include Centrifuge, Maple Finance, Clearpool, and TrueFi.

Binance CEO Denies Ownership of CommEX

Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao has denied being the owner of CommEX, the company that recently acquired Binance's business in Russia. The identity of CommEX has been questioned as it is a newly established company with similarities to Binance. 

CZ stated that he is not the ultimate beneficial owner of CommEX and that former Binance staff may join the company in the future. Binance announced its exit from Russia following reports of a US Department of Justice investigation into sanctions violations.

IOTA to Launch Smart Contracts on ShimmerEVM

IOTA will launch the first public IOTA Smart Contracts (ISC) and a related token on the ShimmerEVM blockchain. ShimmerEVM allows developers to build applications and use features not yet available on the IOTA mainnet before moving them onto the main network. This move aims to expand IOTA's appeal among developers and users.

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

Compound COMP (+19.92%)

Rollbit Coin RLB (+15.62%)

THORChain RUNE (+13.14%)

Losers:

FTX Token FTT (-2.14%)

Casper CSPR (-0.91%)

Unus Sed Leo LEO (-0.69%)

NFT Market Map

SEC Chairman's Take on Tokenized Pokémon Cards

Gary Gensler, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stated that a Pokémon card is not a security under U.S. law. However, when asked about whether a tokenized Pokémon card could be classified as a security, Gensler did not provide a definitive answer. 

New York Representative Ritchie Torres criticized Gensler's responses, calling them "incoherent." Torres argued that Pokémon cards are never securities and tokenizing them does not change that. The article also discusses the potential benefits of tokenizing Pokémon cards as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.