tether

BTC becoming less volatile. Tether replaces commercial paper with U.S. Treasury bills. Polygon launches zkEVM public testnet. Chart of the Week: BTC Becoming Less Volatile BTC’s implied volatility, a widely used measure of risk gleaned from the derivatives market, has recently been falling. This is in stark contrast to the rising VIX, which measures implied volatility for the S&P 500 index (comprised of the largest U.S. equities). This could be implying less cautious sentiment for BTC compared to equities and is also potentially indicative of a typical consolidation phase given the low trading volumes as well. Crypto Fund Flow Tracker The aggregated exchange balance for BTC continues to hover around YTD lows. No significant movements were seen in OTC (over-the-counter) desks’ balance for BTC. OTC desks are typically used by larger investors. Crypto Derivatives Pulse BTC and ETH put-call ratios are at yearly lows. Implied volatilities (vols) dropped again over the past week and are at subdued levels. 1-month implied vol currently stands at 55.3% (vs. 59.3% a week ago) and 69.8% (vs. 73.0% a week ago) for BTC and ETH, respectively. BTC perpetual futures funding rates remain positive (longs pay shorts). ETH funding rates are still mainly negative (shorts pay longs). No notable movements in leveraged traders’ and asset managers’ net positions in CME Bitcoin futures over the past week.  Leveraged traders are typically hedge funds and various types of money managers, including commodity trading advisors and commodity pool operators. The traders may be engaged in managing and conducting proprietary futures trading, and trading on behalf of speculative clients. The asset manager category consists of institutional investors, including pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, mutual funds, and those portfolio/investment managers whose clients are predominantly institutional. Crypto Price Movements     Crypto News Highlights BNY Mellon, the world’s largest custodian bank and the oldest lender in the U.S., announced it has added crypto to its custody services. The bank will now be able to provide fund manager clients with keys storage for BTC and ETH, as well as other traditional bookkeeping services. Policymakers with the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs approved the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. MiCA aims to create a consistent regulatory framework for crypto among the European Union member states. Polygon (MATIC) launched its zero knowledge-EVM (zkEVM) public testnet. Polygon’s zero knowledge roll-up with EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) technology is a type of Layer-2 scaling solution for the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. EVM is the software that runs smart contracts on Ethereum. With zkEVM, developers won’t have to learn new programming languages and can transfer their smart contracts over from Ethereum easily. Tether, issuer of the stablecoin USDT, has reduced its commercial paper to zero, replacing them with U.S. Treasury bills, in an attempt to back its stablecoin with more secure reserves. An exploiter who says he is part of the group that drained US$114M from Solana (SOL) based decentralised crypto exchange Mango Markets, returned US$67M to the exchange. Catalyst Calendar             Disclaimer: The information in this report is provided as general market commentary by Crypto.com and its affiliates, and does not constitute any financial, investment, legal, tax, or any other advice. This report is not intended to offer or recommend any access to products and/or services. While we endeavour to publish and maintain accurate information, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information in this report nor do we adopt nor endorse, nor are we responsible for, the accuracy or reliability of any information submitted by other parties. This report is not directed or intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity who is a citizen or resident of, or located in a jurisdiction, where such distribution or use would be contrary to applicable law or that would subject Crypto.com and/or its affiliates to any registration or licensing requirement. The brands and the logos appearing in this report are registered trademarks of their respective owners. Author Research and Insights Team Get fresh market updates delivered straight to your inbox: Subscribe to newsletters   Be the first to hear about new insights: Follow us on Twitter Tags CRYPTO RESEARCH CRYPTOCURRENCIES MARKET PULSE MARKET UPDATES Source: crypto.com

Tether presented a report yesterday that included its financial data for the final quarter of 2022. Notably, the largest stablecoin issuer in the world for the cryptocurrency market has just made public its first profit announcement. $700 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 Tether stated that the company achieved a net profit of $700 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 and that all of the money was kept on the balance sheet to boost the reserve. The previous quarter was highly successful for the company because it took advantage of the US Federal Reserve's hike in interest rates, which increased the yield on bonds that Tether also owns. Tether earns money through a variety of commissions, including a $1,000 withdrawal fee (with a $ 100,000 minimum withdrawal threshold), investments in digital tokens and precious metals, and loans to other organizations, according to experts. Tether is the creator of USDT As I mentioned before, Tether is the creator of USDT, the largest stablecoin in the world by market capitalization. However, as history demonstrates, this is not always the case. Stablecoins are digital tokens that are entirely backed by the equivalent value of reserve assets. Many lawmakers have long been concerned that the Tether token is not completely protected one-to-one with the corresponding amount of reserves. When terraUSD (LUNA), the supposedly algorithmic stablecoin, dropped to zero dollars in May last year, USDT momentarily lost its bound. Tether clarified that this was a product of USDT trading volatility and not a reflection of its capacity to pay back investors' funds. Read next: Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey Comments New Twitter's Owner| FXMAG.COM Tether has declared that all commercial securities have been withdrawn  The fact that Tether formerly held the majority of its assets in commercial instruments in the form of unsecured short-term corporate debt, raising the possibility of a liquidity crisis, is another cause for concern. Since then, Tether has declared that all commercial securities have been withdrawn from its balance sheet and have been replaced with US Treasury bills. On which, incidentally, the corporation made good money, as we can see from the report. Tether announced yesterday that it had increased the amount of US government debt obligations once more, bringing the total to more than 58% of its assets. The technological state of bitcoin  Regarding the technological state of bitcoin right now, it is still under a lot of pressure. The bulls' immediate target is to defend the $21,700 level after missing $22,500. Only after the return and consolidation around $22,580, which will reinstate the positive trend with the possibility of updating $23,350 and $24,000, will it be feasible to discuss the restoration of the buyers' initiative. The $25,034 level will be the farthest target, where significant profit-taking and a rollback of bitcoin may take place. The $21,700 level will need to be protected if the pressure on the trading instrument continues because a breach would be a blow to the asset. This will put pressure back on bitcoin and create a direct path to $20,740. The first cryptocurrency ever created will "drop" in this location along with $19,770 if this level is broken. The breakdown of the nearest resistance at $1,604 is what ether buyers are concentrating on. This is going to be sufficient to establish a foothold at the current highs and keep the bullish trend going. However, the market will not be significantly altered as a result. The amount will only be returned to the ether with the possibility of growth to a maximum of $1,758 if there is a consolidation over $1,690. The $1,819 area will be further off target. While keeping pressure on the trading instrument, the level of $1,534 will be in play, just below which $1,410 is seen. If it succeeds, the trading instrument will rise to a minimum of $1,320. It will be very difficult for bitcoin owners below $1,260.   Relevance up to 08:00 2023-02-11 UTC+1 Company does not offer investment advice and the analysis performed does not guarantee results. The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade. Read more: https://www.instaforex.eu/forex_analysis/334758

Bitcoin had a smooth climb on Wednesday, only to plunge into the abyss. The top cryptocurrency soared to $28.9K immediately after the Fed's comments but tanked almost 8% from its high of $26.6K after Yellen's remarks. It was a panic sell-off following the stock indices, whose losses were triggered by the Treasury head saying that full deposit insurance was not on the table. The fact that BTCUSD has already recovered more than half of its losses suggests that cryptocurrencies are distancing themselves from the stock market's problems. Comments from top financial officials disrupted a nice short-term technical picture - a triangle forming. However, a sell-off at the end of the day allowed the market to let off steam and clear local overbought conditions. The return of buyers on the dip below $27,000 and near previous local lows suggests that the market remains bullish. XRP jumped 20% on the increased likelihood of a settlement in the SEC case against Ripple. In a similar case involving the sale of the VGX token to the Binance.US exchange, a judge rejected the SEC's request that the token is a security. This precedent hasn't gone unnoticed by Ripple's lawyers. CNBC reported that Swiss banks are facing an enormous flood of US cryptocurrency banking requests, citing insiders Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal says that ideal conditions are now in place for bitcoin to take its place alongside gold as a true safe-haven asset. BTC could reach $50K within a year amid the banking and economic crisis in the US, Pal suggested. Cryptocurrencies do not meet stated use cases and pose general risks to investors and financial stability, according to the president's annual economic report to Congress. Claims that crypto assets are an effective means of savings and payment do not stand up to scrutiny, the report's authors say. CNBC reported that Swiss banks are facing an enormous flood of US cryptocurrency banking requests, citing insiders. This has been influenced by Switzerland's decision to accept digital assets as a legal part of the financial system and create a "Crypto Valley" region with tax incentives for core companies. Telegram added support for Tether (USDT) transfers. Users can now send leading stablecoins to each other directly in Messenger chats.

Bitcoin is down 1.3% over the past week, finishing around $27,800. Ethereum lost 2.7% to $1760. Other leading altcoins from the top 10 showed mixed dynamics: from a decline of 8.2% (Polkadot) to a growth of 13.6% (XRP). Total crypto market capitalisation, according to CoinMarketCap, fell 1.4% to $1.16 trillion over the week. Bitcoin had updated 9-month highs to around $28,900 but corrected in the second half of the week. As a result of another recalculation, bitcoin's mining difficulty rose by 7.56%. The figure renewed its all-time high at 46.84 T. The average hash rate was 335.23 EH/s. Correlated metrics have increased by more than 30% since the beginning of the year. JPMorgan bank said the US banking crisis has opened up opportunities to increase market share for some crypto exchanges Tether technical director Paolo Ardoino said the company has about $1.6 billion in excess reserves to support its stablecoin USDT. In his view, amid the banking crisis and global economic uncertainty, bitcoin may well surpass its previous record high of $68,000. The Fed's board of directors has once again rejected Custodia Bank's application for membership, indicating that the bank's business model does not meet the goals set out in the Federal Reserve Act. Read next: USD: Santa Zvaigzne-Sproge summarises Federal Reserve meeting | FXMAG.COM JPMorgan bank said the US banking crisis has opened up opportunities to increase market share for some crypto exchanges by offering banking services to cryptocurrency firms and investors. German securities processing giant Deutsche Wertpapier Service Bank AG (dwpbank), which manages 5.3 million customer accounts for various banks, has launched wpNex, a bitcoin trading platform. Nasdaq, the operator of the stock exchange of the same name, has announced plans to launch cryptocurrency storage services by the end of the second quarter of 2023.

Russians Evade Sanctions Using Tether, OTCs Transparency International's Russian branch found that Russians are using Tether to move money to the West, evading sanctions and KYC requirements. Despite being cut off from the SWIFT international payments network, at least eight OTC brokers in Moscow can sell stablecoins for cash, which can then be exchanged in the UK for pounds sterling without KYC paperwork. The process involves buying USDT stablecoin in Moscow and selling it for cash in London, with no registration or identity verification needed. dwpbank's wpNex Enables Crypto Trading Access Deutsche WertpapierService Bank (dwpbank) has launched wpNex, a platform enabling over 1,200 affiliated banks to offer Bitcoin trading to retail customers. The platform integrates crypto trading into the online banking experience, allowing users to see their crypto holdings alongside traditional securities. MLP Banking AG and DZ Bank are among the first institutions to offer the service, potentially prompting other German banks to cater to growing demand for convenient crypto trading access. Read the second part: Senator Elizabeth Warren's Digital Assets Anti-Money Laundering Act, Ethereum Shapella upgrade and more| FXMAG.COM  

Trading volume of meme coins surges. Visa experiments with smart contracts on Ethereum Goerli testnet. Tether plans to use profits to buy BTC for stablecoin reserves. Chart of the Week Meme coins have been one of the dominating narratives in the last two months, reflected in the surge in trading volume – up 779% compared to in January.     Weekly Market Index Last week’s crypto market prices were flat at -0.95%. Volume and volatility dropped by -25.68% and -57.16%, respectively.     Weekly Performance Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) were both flat at -0.6% and +0.4%,respectively,in the past seven days. Other selected top-cap tokens mostly showed slight decreases.     Artificial Intelligence was the best performing category in the past seven days.     News Highlights Visa is experimenting on Ethereum’s Goerli testnet with smart contracts aimed at transaction-free payments with the help of account abstraction. The aim of these contracts is to simplify user interaction with the Ethereum network by eliminating the need for end-users to hold ETH, for “gas” fees or letting users pay with any token. Tether said it will allocate up to about 15% of realized profits to purchase bitcoin (BTC) for its stablecoin reserves. The company also reported US$1.48 billion in net profit for Q1 2023 and US$1.5 billion in BTC holdings. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) began the pilot programme for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), called the e-HKD. The programme will explore potential use cases in six categories, including full-fledged payments, programmable payments, offline payments, tokenised deposits, settlement of Web3 transactions and settlement of tokenised assets. Read next: Epic Games and Lego Group are collaborating to build a metaverse. Ubisoft is partnering with Reality Labs to create a NFT collection| FXMAG.COM Recent Research Reports                 Monthly Research Roundup (April 2023): In this issue, we feature trending market insights, and our latest research reports take a closer look into Bitcoin’s expanding ecosystem, specifically Layer 2s, DeFi, and NFTs. Alpha Navigator: Quest for Alpha [April 2023]: Asset classes were generally flat in April, with cryptocurrency outperforming other assets. The US Federal Reserve could be on the cusp of ending its interest rate hike cycle. Bitcoin’s Expanding Ecosystem: Layer-2, DeFi, NFT: The landscape of the latest projects building on top of Bitcoin is expanding beyond payments. It now includes Layer-2 scaling solutions and key application categories like DeFi and NFTs. Recent University Articles                 What Is the BRC-20 Token Standard for Bitcoin?: Learn about the BRC-20 token standard for the Bitcoin blockchain and the tokens that have been minted on it so far. What Are ERC-20 Tokens? All About Ethereum’s Most Important Token Standard]: ERC-20 is a token standard for fungible tokens on Ethereum. Learn what it is and how cryptocurrencies can be minted with it. Ethereum vs Ethereum Classic — What Is the Difference?: They may share the name, but Ethereum and Ethereum Classic are different in many ways. Here’s a comparison of both chains. Catalyst Calendar           We’re all ears. Your feedback has always helped us provide insightful crypto market trends. Tell us how we can improve this newsletter further by taking a quick survey below (it will only take less than a minute). Thank you! Take our survey now Disclaimer The information in this report is provided as general market commentary by Crypto.com and its affiliates, and does not constitute any financial, investment, legal, tax, or any other advice. This report is not intended to offer or recommend any access to products and/or services. While we endeavour to publish and maintain accurate information, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information in this report nor do we adopt nor endorse, nor are we responsible for, the accuracy or reliability of any information submitted by other parties. This report is not directed or intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity who is a citizen or resident of, or located in a jurisdiction, where such distribution or use would be contrary to applicable law or that would subject Crypto.com and/or its affiliates to any registration or licensing requirement. The brands and the logos appearing in this report are registered trademarks of their respective owners. Nothing in this report is intended to suggest that NFTs are investment products, nor securities, nor anything similar or “financial” of any description. NFTs are to be reserved for fun only and NOT with any expectation of “value”, “profit”, “yield” or “investment”. You are also aware that NFTs are not a store of value, are not a generally accepted medium of exchange, and are considered very illiquid and volatile. Authors Research and Insights Team Get fresh market updates delivered straight to your inbox: Subscribe to newsletters   Be the first to hear about new insights: Follow us on Twitter Tags CRYPTO RESEARCH MARKET UPDATES Source: Crypto Market Pulse (22/05/2023)

Market picture The announcement of the debt ceiling deal triggered a natural spike in interest in Bitcoin on the expectation of increased retail interest in risk assets as institutional investors in Europe and America head off for a long weekend. Bitcoin traded as high as $28.4K at the start of Monday's Asian session but fell back to $27.8K by the beginning of European trading. Meanwhile, the top cryptocurrency has been rising daily since the 25th, pushing back from support at $25.8K, near the 200-week moving average. This move looks like an exit for speculators. However, the market's attention may shift to more market-heavy issues, such as slowing economic growth and high-interest rates. The bulls are now trying to get Bitcoin back above its 50-day moving average, which would signal a return to a medium-term uptrend.   The ability to close above $28.15 at the end of the day could attract more buyers to Bitcoin, while staying lower would be a reason to sell on the upside.   News background Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero said she is ready to regulate the crypto industry with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Users of cryptocurrency exchange Tornado Cash have sued the US Treasury Department for imposing sanctions on the service, claiming that banning open-source software violates the US Constitution.ECB board member Fabio Panetta assured that the regulator would not have access to the personal data of digital euro holders (CBDC). He noted the need to balance ensuring privacy and combating money laundering and terrorist financing. High profitability enables stablecoin issuer Tether to venture into new business areas, according to the company's CTO Paolo Ardoino. Tether made a net profit of $1.48 billion in the first quarter, double that of the previous period.

Market picture Cryptocurrency market capitalisation fell 1.8% over the last 24 hours to $1.136 trillion. After failing to build on Wednesday's gains, the cryptocurrency market came under pressure during the Asian session on Wednesday morning as sellers moved into defensive assets.   Bitcoin plunged to $27K, losing more than 2.7% since the start of the day and erasing all of Sunday's gains. Technically, the selling intensified after the pair failed to break above the 50-day moving average, which turned from support to resistance in May. Market participants should now brace for another test of local support around $26K.   According to CoinShares, investments in crypto funds fell by $39 million last week, the sixth consecutive week of outflows. Bitcoin investments were down $12 million, and Ethereum investments were down $6 million.   Weekly trading volumes remain low, at 58% of this year's average, which also mirrors the broader crypto market, with trading volumes at just 38% of this year's average, CoinShares noted.     New background According to Dune Analytics, the number of Bitcoin Ordinals-based tokens issued on the network has surpassed 10 million. Approximately 200,000 tokens are being issued daily, including NFTs.   US presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. reiterated his support for Bitcoin and said that the SEC should not have people who oppose cryptocurrencies.   Crypto exchange BKEX said it had suspended customer withdrawals while a police investigation into possible money laundering by several users is underway.   Major stablecoin issuer Tether announced plans to invest in mining capacity in Uruguay, South America.   Renowned cryptocurrency analyst Michaël van de Poppe believes that Litecoin is gearing up for a "pre-halving rally" that will begin in early August.

Crypto Industry News: El Salvador recognized BTC as legal tender in 2021. According to the authorities, this has led to increased interest in the country in terms of tourism. Added to this is the renewable energy development program at Metapan, which aims to use solar and wind energy to power bitcoin miners. Now it turns out that Tether is one of the investors in the mentioned renewable energy project. As part of it, Volcano Energy, a 241 megawatt (MW) renewable energy center, was created in Metapan.   It is expected to generate 169 MW of solar energy and 72 MW of wind energy. The energy produced will power the BTC mines in El Salvador. Tether estimates that the park's computing power will exceed 1.3 exahash per second. This would mean that Volcano Energy would be one of the largest cryptocurrency mines in the world. Tether's chief technology officer, Paolo Ardoino, said the investment fits into a broader vision.   The company wants to invest in the production of renewable energy, as well as in mining infrastructure. Volcano Energy CEO Josue Lopez added that "over 52% of bitcoin is currently issued sustainably." It is not known exactly how much Tether invested.   The total cost will be USD 1 billion. Technical Market Outlook: The ETH/USD pair has bounced back above the level of $1,839 and is trading above the 50 and 100 MA. The next target for bulls is seen at the level of $1,913 and then possibly at the last swing high located at $1,928. The intraday technical support is seen at the level of $1,839 and $1,822. The strong and positive momentum on the H4 time frame chart supports the short-term bullish outlook for ETH.     Weekly Pivot Points: WR3 - $1,962 WR2 - $1,919 WR1 - $1,894 Weekly Pivot - $1,877 WS1 - $1,851 WS2 - $1,834 WS3 - $1,791   Trading Outlook: The Ethereum market has been seen making lower highs and lower low since the swing high was made in the middle of the August 2022 at the level of $2,029. This is the key level for bulls, so it needs to be broken in order to continue the up trend. The key technical support is seen at $1,368, so as long as the market trades above this level, the outlook remains bullish.  

Market picture The crypto market has climbed 2% in the last 24 hours to 1.04 trillion. It took a continuation of the Nasdaq rally and a dollar weakening by more than 1% from its intraday high to revive demand here. Demand also came after Tether's USD peg was restored, although the exchange rate was still 0.1% lower than 7 and 30 days ago. The cryptocurrency's fear and greed index rose from 41 to 47, back into neutral territory. As expected, bitcoin found support on the dip below $25,000, leaning on external positivity and short-term oversold conditions. However, the move is still in a downtrend and will remain so until the price breaks above previous local highs - now at $27.3K. Targets for the current downtrend stay in the $23.6K area. Ethereum has exhausted most of its corrective potential, as it has breached the 200-day moving average at $1630 and briefly touched oversold territory on the daily RSI.     Tether's USDT stablecoin has moved away from parity with the US dollar. The coin's weighted average exchange rate fell to 0.9958, according to CoinMarketCap. "The markets are nervous these days, so it's easy for attackers to take advantage of the general sentiment. We at Tether are as ready as ever," said Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino.     News background Investment giant BlackRock is preparing to file for a Bitcoin ETF. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has previously rejected almost all applications to register cryptocurrency ETFs. Apple has rejected a new version of its non-custodial Zeus wallet app for the Lightning Network on the App Store. Cryptocurrency broker Floating Point Group (FPG), which has $50 billion in assets under management, reported a hack and halted trading, deposits and withdrawals. Damage is tentatively estimated at $15-20 million. The total number of subscribers to Reddit's leading cryptocurrency communities, r/Bitcoin and r/Ethereum, reached a new record high of 7 million users. More than 364 thousand people subscribed to the BTC section between 4 and 11 June. The SEC's litigation with two major cryptocurrency exchanges has likely piqued the community's interest.  

Market picture The crypto market has gained another 3.9% in the past 24 hours, reaching a capitalisation of $1.18 trillion. It has diverged from the stock indices, which have fallen sharply in the previous days due to expectations of a rate hike. Bitcoin has surged more than 15% in two days, revisiting the area of April highs just above 30k. However, this is where the recovery has paused. Bitcoin needs to consolidate a bit before it can resume its ascent. Moreover, there are doubts that the cryptocurrency rally will continue soon, as the stock indices create a challenging environment for risk-sensitive assets across the board. The technical targets for the BTCUSD correction are the 29.3 and 28.5 levels, 76.4% and 61.8% of the latest rally, respectively. If the decline is halted at either of these levels, we could expect new multi-month highs soon.     News background The official launch of the new crypto exchange EDX Markets boosted Bitcoin’s rise. The project is backed by financial giants Citadel Securities, Fidelity Investments and Charles Schwab. The market also reacted positively to BlackRock’s application to the SEC for a spot bitcoin ETF, filed last week. Grayscale Investments’ GBTC bitcoin fund saw its trading volume increase five-fold to $80 million after BlackRock’s filing with the SEC. Following BlackRock, three other major investment firms - WisdomTree, Invesco and Bitwise - also applied for a spot bitcoin ETF. Fed chief Jerome Powell said the regulator considers payment stablecoins as money and therefore has to regulate their issuance. He said it would be a “grave error” to allow large amounts of private funds to be created without oversight. Stablecoins and DeFi projects could be the following targets of the SEC’s crackdown, according to investment bank Berenberg. After suing major exchanges, the SEC may now go after the issuers of the two largest stablecoins, Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC).