Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | November 9, 2023

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%)