Issue #56

Market Overview

As of the time of writing (Monday 5pm), the total market cap of the crypto asset market is $US1.09T, down (-1.0%) from last week.

Below is the weekly performance of the top crypto assets. 

News Headline Highlights

• Robinhood, the US investing and trading platform, holds over $3 billion worth of bitcoin (BTC) that has been accumulated in 2023. The wallet now holds 118,300 BTC.
• Fenix International, the UK-based parent company of content subscription giant OnlyFans, has invested a portion of its working capital into ether, revealed during reporting season where they also disclosed over $1 billion for the first time.
• After only launching in May, Coinbase's offshore derivatives exchange has experienced surging volumes, reaching $300 million per day.
• U.S.-based crypto asset manager Grayscale has had the court verdict in their case against the SEC postponed for a third time by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Disctrict Columbia Circuit. The case is to determine whether or not the SEC has unjustly denied Grayscale the opportunity to convert their Bitcoin Trust into an ETF.
• Customers of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, faced troubles with fiat withdrawals in Europe last week due to issues related to Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) transfers.
• European crypto-related exchange-traded products (ETPs) experienced net inflows through June and July. The period of inflows reversed an almost three-month period of global ETP outflows.

 Crypto Asset Project Updates

• In an attempt to improve the testing environment and address supply challenges for ether on testnets, Ethereum core developers are planning to launch a new testnet called Holesky next month.
• Coinbase-backed Layer 2 Base and the Optimism network’s governance body have announced a revenue and governance sharing agreement. Base will contribute either 2.5% of its total sequencer revenue or 15% of its net profits, whichever is greater, to the Optimism Collective, and in return, will receive up to 118 million OP tokens ($175 million) over six years.
• Pepe, the third largest meme coin, had 16 trillion Pepe tokens ($15 million) stolen and transferred to crypto exchanges OKX, Binance, Kucoin and Bybit. The theft was allegedly orchestrated by three ex-team members who accessed the Pepe multisig wallet, later deleting their social accounts.

Regulation Station

• The UK took a major step forward in its goal of becoming a crypto hub when King Charles III granted the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSMB) the Royal Assent, formally making the bill an act of law.
• Former employee at the NFT marketplace OpenSea was ordered to spend three months behind bars after being convicted in the first-ever insider-trading case involving digital assets.
• FTX debtors revised the settlement proposal after objection from U.S. trustee. The latest proposal will see the debtors include the U.S. Trustee as a notified party and reduce the maximum settled value for claims covered by the procedures from the earlier $10 million to $7 million.

The Weekly Deal Room

• Coinbase has taken an equity stake in Circle, further solidifying the partnership between the two companies on USDC.
• Maple Finance, a decentralised credit marketplace, raised $5m in a strategic round led by Blocktower and Tioga.
• Raleon, a web3 engagement platform, raised $3.8m in a Seed Round led by Blockchange.B2C2, a crypto asset liquidity provider, acquired Woorton, a French market making firm.