Gas fees on the Ethereum network have been declining since March 2024, but last week, they hit a level not seen in the past five years. Data on the crypto analytics platform Dune shows that the median Ethereum gas fee fell below 2 gwei last week for the first time since 2020. Median Ethereum Fees...Read More
The National Pension Service (NPS) of South Korea purchased nearly $34 million in MicroStrategy (MSTR) shares during the second quarter of 2024. With significant investments in other crypto companies, NPS – which happens to be the world’s third-largest pension fund by assets – has demonstrated a clear expansion of its interest in the digital assets...Read More
On Friday, August 16, around 24,300 Bitcoin options contracts will expire, with a notional value of around $1.4 billion. Today’s options expiry event is smaller than last week’s, so its impact on spot markets is likely to be limited. The much larger month-end expiry event currently has a notional value of $3.2 billion. Bitcoin Options...Read More
Zcash was the leading crypto token on the market cap leaderboards last week. By Tuesday, the coin remained the fifth top gainer among crypto assets behind Aptos (APT) at #4, with Sui (SUI) topping the gains for the week at +57%. ZEC’s 7-day gains Tuesday were +29%, but from trough to peak (between Aug. 5...Read More
Binance, the largest crypto exchange, has finally reached a settlement with Brazilian regulators for $1.76 million over unlicenced derivatives trading allegations. This comes after an investigation into the exchange, which lasted a year regarding its activities in Brazil. Binance’s Derivatives Trading Allegations The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) asked Binance to halt its derivatives...Read More
The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) has announced increasing its holdings in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by 447,651 shares. The latest addition brings its total to over 2.89 million as of June 30, according to a recent SEC filing. SWIB Expands Bitcoin Exposure SWIB, an independent agency handling assets for Wisconsin’s retirement and...Read More
Sahil Arora, who has been associated with a series of high-profile celebrity-backed meme coins, reportedly netted approximately $3 million this year, according to blockchain investigator ZachXBT. This figure starkly contrasts with the $30 million earnings estimate initially reported by blockchain data platform Bubblemaps. Who Is Sahil Arora? Arora, an Indian entrepreneur now living in Dubai,...Read More
Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA), one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies, has bought approximately $249 million worth of Bitcoin. The purchase was funded by successfully closing a $300 million senior note offering. MARA Raises $300M in Private Note Offering In an August 14 press release, Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) announced the completion of...Read More
Artificial Intelligence is undoubtedly one of the hottest topics within the cryptocurrency industry (and well beyond it) throughout the past few years. With the advent of firms dedicating their efforts to further improving and developing various AI-based tools and programs, many crypto projects have also integrated novel technology within their protocols. You can take a...Read More
Crypto algorithmic trading platform and market maker Jump Trading has resumed its ether (ETH) sales, offloading more than 17,000 ETH worth over $46.44 million on Wednesday. An X post by blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain disclosed that Jump Trading claimed the assets from the liquid staking protocol Lido and moved them out for sale in batches...Read More
The Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has secured a first-of-its-kind partnership with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League. According to an official announcement, Crypto.com will serve as the official global sponsor of the UEFA Champions League during the multi-year partnership, earning it a spot as the football competition’s first and exclusive crypto platform...Read More
Texas-based Bitcoin mining company Core Scientific has announced the pricing of its increased offering of $400 million in 3.00% convertible senior notes due in 2029. The initial size of the offering was $350 million, which has been upsized due to favorable market conditions. Scheduled to settle on August 19, 2024, the notes will be issued...Read More
Bitcoin fell 2.5% on Wednesday to $59.100 after the U.S. government moved more of its Silk Road-affiliated Bitcoin holdings to Coinbase Prime. On-chain analysis platform Arkham Intelligence flagged the move on Wednesday, noting that 10,000 BTC worth $593 million had been moved. “Wallet bc1ql received 10K BTC from a known US Government wallet 2 weeks...Read More
Ethereum’s Layer 2s are bustling with activity. The latest data suggest that the ecosystem has reached a new record for daily transaction volume. In fact, these networks were also found to hold now more stablecoins than Solana and Binance Chain combined. Ethereum Layer 2 Ecosystem Growth According to the stats compiled by Growthepie, the daily...Read More
Decentralized exchanges are undervalued and gaining traction, with volumes reaching all-time highs. These are the findings of Messari researcher Kunal Goel who said that centralized exchanges (CEXs) are listing tokens too late in a post on X on Aug. 13. He added that they’re becoming a “dumping ground for VCs,” and retail will learn sooner...Read More
Metaplanet announced making yet another significant investment in bitcoin, purchasing approximately $3.3 million (500 million yen) worth of the cryptocurrency. This acquisition involved 57.103 bitcoins, with an average purchase price of 8,756,107 yen per one. This move is part of the Japanese investment firm’s broader strategy to expand its bitcoin holdings. With the latest purchase,...Read More
Coinbase submitted its third comment letter highlighting significant flaws in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) cost-benefit analysis of the proposed rule. The letter argued that the agency has failed to assess the rule’s economic impact on efficiency, competition, and capital formation. Despite acknowledging a lack of critical information on decentralized exchange (DEX) operations...Read More
On-chain analysis platform Arkham Intelligence sounded the alarm on Tuesday as $2 billion worth of Bitcoin connected to Mt. Gox moved from a blockchain address connected to crypto exchange BitGo. According to Arkham, a wallet that had received $2.19 billion from the long-defunct Bitcoin exchange began initiating test transactions early Tuesday. The firm said the...Read More
Three Arrows Capital (3AC), the defunct crypto hedge fund, has its liquidators pursuing a $1.3 billion lawsuit against TerraForm Labs, the bankrupt digital assets company co-founded by Do Kwon. This legal action is part of ongoing efforts to recover funds for 3AC’s creditors following the fund’s collapse. 3AC Liquidators Pursue TerraForm Labs The Three Arrows...Read More
The cryptocurrency market is facing a growing liquidity crisis, as evidenced by the significant price slippages observed during recent sell-offs. According to research by Kaiko, the ongoing issue of liquidity fragmentation across crypto exchanges has resulted in noticeable price discrepancies, particularly during periods of market stress. Price Slippage Liquidity fragmentation refers to the uneven distribution...Read More
The current market condition has put many new Bitcoin investors under financial stress. This is evident in several metrics that indicate a bearish environment and highlight factors that can intensify market volatility, increase selling pressure, and lead to further price declines. According to a Bitfinex Alpha report, metrics like the Short-Term Holder MVRV (Market Value...Read More
The US spot Ethereum ETFs attracted a total inflow of $4.9 million on Monday. Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) notably recorded no withdrawals, a first since its conversion to an ETF following 14 days of outflows. Monday’s trading volume for these ETFs was strong, hitting $286 million on August 12th, a significant jump from Friday’s figure...Read More
The total holdings of the new U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January have reached 909,700 BTC. In a post on X on Aug. 13, Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas compared the figures of each fund with the BTC holdings of corporations and even the founder of the asset Satoshi Nakamoto. “Didn’t realize US...Read More
On Aug. 12, X owner Elon Musk said there appeared to be a massive distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack on the micro-blogging platform, “working on shutting it down.” A DDOS attack aims to disrupt a website or service by flooding the network with spurious traffic in an effort to prevent users from accessing the site. “As...Read More
Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO, is steering the company into venture capital, with a focus on emerging areas like AI, as revealed in his recent interview with WIRED. With billions in reserves, Tether is positioning itself to compete with tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. Tether’s Profit Ventures Since Ardoino took over as CEO...Read More
Ethereum has seen the greatest advantage from the recent market downturn as investors appeared to have viewed the price weakness as a buying opportunity. In fact, data suggests that Ethereum has managed to attract $155 million in inflows over the past week. According to CoinShares, the latest round of inflows boosted its year-to-date total inflows...Read More
Cryptocurrency custody platform BitGo recently announced plans to transfer its Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) business to a joint venture with Hong Kong-based BiT Global. The move, intended to enhance security through a multi-jurisdictional and multi-institutional custody structure, has caused backlash due to the involvement of controversial crypto figure Justin Sun. Backlash Over Justin Sun’s Involvement In...Read More
A CryptoQuant analyst says Ether (ETH) could experience a rally soon, as shown by metrics in the cryptocurrency’s futures market. According to a post by the analyst, Shayan, ETH has just witnessed a significant liquidation event, and historically, such occurrences are often followed by price rallies as markets stabilize and spot buying pressure dominates. ETH...Read More
Bitcoin mining firm Marathon Digital Holdings has announced plans for a $250 million offering of convertible senior notes due in 2031. The latest private offering is targeted at “qualified institutional buyers.” The firm aims to use the proceeds for the acquisition of Bitcoin as well as corporate growth. The company also has the option to...Read More
The Ethereum network is currently experiencing its lowest level of ETH burning this year. Data suggests that the base fee briefly tumbled to a multi-year low of almost 0.8 Gwei. This significant drop in base gas fees has led to a reduction in ETH issuance, with only 210 ETH burned on August 10th, which represented...Read More
