This week, ether outperformed bitcoin and most other large cryptoassets, driven by positive news regarding a former investigation by the SEC. On Tuesday, ConsenSys announced that the SEC’s enforcement division has notified the blockchain company that it is closing its investigation into Ethereum 2.0, describing this as a “major win” for the industry. This development implies that the SEC will not bring charges alleging that sales of ETH are securities transactions. In contrast, bitcoin’s price dropped below $64,000, its lowest level since mid-May amid large-scale long liquidations. Selling pressure on bitcoin originated from various sources, including US ETFs, whales, and even the German government.
US spot bitcoin ETFs recorded a fifth straight day of outflows on Thursday, with total losses for the week reaching $900 million, the highest outflow activity since late April. Whales, such as long-term BTC holders and miners, have also been significant sellers recently, with little indication of renewed buying interest. Wallets tracked by CryptoQuant show that whales sold over $1.2 billion worth of BTC in the past two weeks, likely through brokers rather than on the open market. Part of bitcoin’s slump could have been triggered by German authorities selling seized Bitcoin assets. The government recently began offloading portions of a large stockpile of Bitcoin, valued at about $3 billion, which was confiscated from Movie2k.to, a movie piracy website, in 2020.
Conversely, crypto options traders are strategically placing bets that diverge from the ongoing downtrend in bitcoin’s price. The flow in bitcoin options listed on leading exchange Deribit has been biased toward call options at levels well above the cryptocurrency’s current market rate, possibly indicating that sophisticated investors expect the current price weakness to set the stage for a more extensive run higher. Meanwhile, meme coin liquidity has hit a record high, according to data from Kaiko. Executing trades in prominent meme coins is now easier than ever, as liquidity, measured by 1% market depth, has increased significantly.
Market Overview
The global cryptoasset market capitalization currently amounts to roughly $2.47 trillion – down from $2.55 trillion last week, with bitcoin accounting for about 51.2%. Among the Top 30 cryptoassets by market cap, XRP outperformed, gaining about 2.7% over the week. The price of bitcoin (BTC) fell by 4.1% to $64,174 while the price of ether (ETH) increased by 1% to $3,509. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi is sitting at almost $109 billion, with Ethereum (excluding Layer 2s) accounting for about 61% of TVL. Arbitrum One is currently the largest Layer 2 by value locked, accounting for 40.5% of the $43.5 billion in assets.
This Week’s Headlines
- US SEC closes investigation in Ethereum 2.0, “major win” for industry, Consensys says
- Former House Speaker Paul Ryan calls on US to fight China with stablecoins
- MicroStrategy buys additional 11,931 bitcoin for $786 million
- Tether launches aUSDT token backed by Swiss-stored gold as part of new line of synthetic crypto
- Standard Chartered to launch spot trading desk for bitcoin and ether, Bloomberg reports
- Consensys still plans to pursue lawsuit against US SEC
- Consensys asks IRS to delay new crypto reporting rules, citing lack of clarity
- 3iq applies to launch Solana ETP in Canada
- LayerZero asks eligible users to pay 10 cents per ZRO to claim much-anticipated airdrop, plans to raise $18.5 million donation for Protocol Guild
- Elon Musk’s X payments plan doesn’t include crypto
- Japanese gaming giant Konami chooses Avalanche for Resella NFT platform
Notable Deals and Fundraising
- CleanSpark buys bitcoin mining facilities in $25.6 million deal
- Solana Layer 2 Sonic raises funds at $100 million token valuation
- Ethereum restaking protocol Renzo raises $17 million from Brevan Howard, Galaxy and others
- Modular blockchain Particle Network raises $15 million in token round
- Crypto-fueled LinkedIn rival Bondex says it’s raised over $10 million
- Memecoin leverage trading protocol Wasabi raises $3 million led by Electric Capital
