- Tether’s market cap has been growing at the expense of rival stablecoins such as USD Coin, the report said.
Tether’s market cap has been growing at the expense of rival stablecoins such as USD Coin, the report said.
The stablecoin universe continues to shrink, and until this stops, a sustained recovery in crypto prices is unlikely, JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report Thursday.
A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency that is pegged to another asset, such as the U.S. dollar.
“Headwinds from the U.S. regulatory crackdown on crypto, the unsettling of banking networks for the crypto ecosystem and the reverberations from last year’s FTX collapse are weighing on the stablecoin universe which continues to shrink,” analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote.
- US Bitcoin Corp Secures Hosting Agreements for 150,000 Bitcoin Miners
Despite the challenges faced during the crypto winter of 2022, a significant surge in bitcoin mining operations is now underway. On May 18, U.S. Bitcoin Corp (USBTC) unveiled its ambitious plan to unleash a formidable army of 150,000 mining machines. The latest deployment will be executed in collaboration with five prominent bitcoin mining operations: Marathon Digital, Foundry USA, Sphere 3D, Decimal Group, and Teslawatt.
USBTC sealed a multi-year deal to host their machines at the company’s Charlie, Delta, and Echo locations. The Charlie facility, nestled in Kearney, Nebraska, will be one of the hosting sites, while the Delta site is located in Granbury, Texas. Notably, the Echo mining site in Upton County, Texas, co-located with a wind farm, is a shared facility with joint ownership between USBTC and Nextera Energy (NEE). This partnership with NEE was solidified in December 2022 when USBTC acquired its stake from Compute North.
https://news.bitcoin.com/us-bitcoin-corp-secures-hosting-agreements-150000-bitcoin-miners/
- Bitcoin Custody Services Are Coming to Custodia Bank, Says CEO Caitlin Long
Custodia Bank, a Wyoming-chartered special purpose depository institution, will soon be rolling out Bitcoin custody service, founder and CEO Caitlin Long at Bitcoin 2023 said during a panel at Bitcoin 2023.
“There are certain types of businesses like investment companies, registered investment advisors, corporate treasurers, and other types of fiduciary that have to, by law, segregate the custody of the assets from the management of the assets,” she said during a Thursday morning panel. She added that the bank issued its 60-day advance notice in April that it would be rolling out Bitcoin custody as a service for its clients.
https://decrypt.co/140603/bitcoin-custody-services-are-coming-to-custodia-bank-says-ceo-caitlin-long
- Crypto Browser Opera Integrates Layer 1 Blockchain MultiversX
Metaverse-focused blockchain MultiversX, formerly known as Elrond, is teaming up with crypto browser Opera to integrate support for its growing ecosystem.
Opera users can explore the decentralized internet with the MultiversX network integrated into the browser’s interface. Users will also be able to transact with its native tokens EGLD or ESDT, connect to MultiversX-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and access decentralized applications built on the network.
Beniamin Mincu, CEO of MultiversX, told CoinDesk that integrating the network into Opera gives users a more accessible path into the Web3 ecosystem.
“By being integrated into the Opera browser suite, MultiversX is leveraging the potential of Web3 in a way that is accessible and familiar to users,” said Mincu. “It’s a significant step in creating a simplified, low-barrier entry point to the world of Web3 and blockchain assets, one that allows users to easily access the new digital economy without needing to understand the underlying complexities.”
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7565773
- Crypto should become a regular part of TradFi within 5-10 years: Exchange CEO
Crypto needs to establish itself as a “brand new” component of traditional finance, rather than try to squeeze itself into existing financial products, suggests the CEO of crypto exchange Bittrex Global.
The company’s United States arm recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, announcing it intended to return customer funds and wind U.S. operations. It added it would not impact global operations.
Speaking to Cointelegraph at Bitcoin Miami on May 18, Bittrex Global CEO Oliver Linch stated that in several places — including the United States — regulators tend to view crypto through the lens of traditional finance while trying to comprehend its nature.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-integration-finance-bittrex-ceo
- Crypto Browser Opera Integrates Layer 1 Blockchain MultiversX
Metaverse-focused blockchain MultiversX, formerly known as Elrond, is teaming up with crypto browser Opera to integrate support for its growing ecosystem.
Opera users can explore the decentralized internet with the MultiversX network integrated into the browser’s interface. Users will also be able to transact with its native tokens EGLD or ESDT, connect to MultiversX-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and access decentralized applications built on the network.
Beniamin Mincu, CEO of MultiversX, told CoinDesk that integrating the network into Opera gives users a more accessible path into the Web3 ecosystem.
https://www.coindesk.com/web3/2023/05/19/crypto-browser-opera-integrates-layer-1-blockchain-multiversx/
- Biggest Movers: XRP Extends Bull Run, Jumping 5% on Thursday
Xrp, formerly ripple, was once again a big mover in cryptocurrency markets, climbing by as much as 5% on Thursday.
Following a low of $0.4389 on Wednesday, XRP/USD rose to a peak of $0.4713 earlier in today’s session.
As a result of this surge, the token moved to its strongest point since April 30, when price was above $0.4800.
From the chart, it appears that this latest rise comes as the relative strength index (RSI) moved beyond a key resistance level at 55.00.
At the time of writing, price strength is at the 55.71 mark, with the next visible ceiling at the 61.00 point.
If bulls were to take the RSI to this point, there is a good chance that XRP could recapture the $0.4800 level.
https://news.bitcoin.com/biggest-movers-xrp-extends-bull-run-jumping-5-on-thursday/
- MicroStrategy Looking at Bitcoin Ordinals for App Development, Says Michael Saylor
MicroStrategy co-founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said the company isn’t just aware of Ordinals, it’s interested in how the protocol that’s set Bitcoin’s community abuzz could lead to software innovation.
In an interview at Bitcoin 2023 in Miami, Saylor exclusively told Decrypt that the software firm is looking at Ordinals and assessing its potential in terms of application development.
Often used to create NFT-like assets on top of Bitcoin, Ordinals launched in January, and the protocol—while not embraced entirely by the Bitcoin community—has created a new wave of experimentation with crypto’s oldest coin.
- Alleged BlackRock Wallet Address Withdrew $1.2M Worth PEPE: On-Chain Data
PEPE’s rise has ignited renewed investor interest in memecoins as a whole, and the frenzy continued even as bitcoin’s 2023 rally stalled.
A wallet bearing the name of investment giant BlackRock withdrew 1.27 trillion PEPE (which is worth around $1.98 million) from Binance to four addresses on May 18th.
According to Lookonchain’s data, these four addresses use the same Binance deposit address as blackrockfund3.eth.
On April 21, BlackRock Fund purchased 1T PEPE (worth around $244K at that time) at an average price of $0.0000002431 and sold the entire stash (worth $2.63 million at that time) at an average price of $0.000002627 on May 5, profiting 10x, i.e., approximately $2.39 million in the process.
The on-chain platform speculated that the four addresses were most likely created by the American investment company.
While it’s not unusual for prominent market players to embrace memecoins, many in the community were skeptical of BlackRock’s participation in the frenzy primarily because it is the world’s largest asset manager.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7564188
- Coin Cafe ordered to repay $4.3M in fees that ‘wiped out’ investors’ Bitcoin accounts
Cryptocurrency trading platform Coin Cafe has been ordered to repay $4.3 million to its users after allegedly charging “exorbitant and undisclosed fees” for storing Bitcoin on the platform — leading to some accounts being drained entirely of its funds.
Based in Brooklyn, Coin Cafe initially filed an application for a virtual currency license with the New York State Department of Financial Services in July 2015; however, it was only approved in January this year.
Despite the seven-and-a-half-year application process, Coin Cafe was allowed to operate throughout but was flagged as putting “investors at risk,” as it didn’t uphold its obligation to register with the Office of the Attorney General for New York — which all New York broker-dealers are required to do so..
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coin-cafe-undiclosed-bitcoin-fees-fined-new-york
