Rise of bitcoin and prospects
Bloomberg suggests that Bitcoin’s recent surpassing of the $42,000 mark signals the beginning of a possible “super cycle” that could push its value beyond $500,000. This phenomenon is interpreted as a harbinger of significant transformations in the global financial system. The expectation surrounding the approval of a Bitcoin investment fund (ETF) in the United States is one of the factors fueling this rise. Eric Balchunas from Bloomberg believes there is a 90% chance of this ETF being approved by January 2024. Regarding the recent market behavior, Fernando Pereira, an analyst at Bitget, observed that after a period of trading accumulation in November in the $37,000 range, there was intensive Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) buying by purchasers, depleting the available supply at this level. “After accumulating trades throughout November in the $37,000 range, Bitcoin buyers purchased all the available supply in this region and are accumulating until a new resistance zone appears and the number of bitcoins offered increases. In my analysis, I understand that the region between $43k and $45.5k will have a supply strong enough to stop the rise for some time. I believe that should be the peak of 2023,” said Pereira.
BlackRock receives $100,000 from investor for Bitcoin fund
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) obtained an initial capital investment of $100,000 for its proposed Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), as revealed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The investor committed to purchasing $100,000 in shares on October 27, 2023, receiving 4,000 shares at a unit price of $25.00 on the same day. This initial capital is essential for funding the underlying creation units of the ETF, enabling the trading of the shares on the open market.
Phoenix Group shares soar in Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange debut
On its first trading day on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, shares of Phoenix Group, specializing in cryptocurrency mining, saw a significant increase of 35%, reaching approximately $0.55 (2.03 dirhams). Initially offered at 1.50 dirhams in the November IPO, which raised 1.36 billion dirhams (about $368 million), the shares of the United Arab Emirates-based company surged 50%, reaching 2.25 dirhams. The IPO attracted demand 33 times greater than the supply. Phoenix Group offers cryptocurrency mining and hosting services and operates the M2 exchange, supported by its Ethereum token, MMX. Recently, the International Holding Company acquired 10% of Phoenix Group.
Robinhood registers a 75% increase in cryptocurrency trading volume in November
Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) reported a remarkable 75% increase in cryptocurrency trading volume in November compared to October, according to a recent document submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This significant increase in trading activity marks a notable shift in the platform’s recent performance, indicating renewed interest from Robinhood users in cryptocurrency trading.
Ark Invest sells more Coinbase shares and increases stake in Robinhood
Ark Invest, led by Cathie Wood, sold more than $1.4 million in Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) shares on Monday, transferring 10,218 COIN from two of its funds. This sale follows last week’s movement, when Ark sold $15 million in Coinbase shares during the period when COIN was on the rise. Coinbase’s shares are currently at $138.05, up about 70% over the past month and 286% year-to-date. Additionally, Ark Invest acquired more Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) shares, adding to the $3 million bought the previous week, coinciding with the launch of the stock trading app in the United Kingdom.
Large Ether holder inactive for five years transfers $90 million to Kraken exchange
A large Ether (COIN:ETHUSD) holder, who had been inactive for five years, transferred nearly $90 million in tokens to the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. The “whale” deposited 39,260 Ether in Kraken after receiving 47,260 Ether from a transaction in 2017. This movement may indicate an intention to sell or convert the tokens, increasing sell pressure in the market. Kraken has a market depth available of over $5 million, meaning a transaction of this size could significantly impact the market.
U.S. cryptocurrency industry spends record on lobbying in 2023
The U.S. cryptocurrency industry spent a staggering $18.96 million on federal lobbying in the first three quarters of 2023, surpassing the $16.1 million spent in the same period of 2022. Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) led the spending with $2.16 million, followed by prominent companies like Foris DAX, operator of Crypto.com, the Blockchain Association, and Binance Holdings.
Neutron acquires 25% of Confio in strategy to boost CosmWasm
Neutron, a smart contract platform on Cosmos, bought 25% of Confio, developer of CosmWasm. The investment, whose value was not disclosed, aims to promote CosmWasm and improve its technology in collaboration with Neutron, focusing on web3 areas such as zero-knowledge proofs. The ultimate goal is to establish CosmWasm as an alternative to the Ethereum Virtual Machine. This follows Neutron’s $10 million fundraising in June 2023, raising its current valuation to over $670 million since the mainnet launch, along with the adoption of the Cosmos Hub’s replicated security.
Hedera Blockchain and UN launch solution for carbon market
The UN introduced the Guardian and Managed Guardian Service, a solution for measurement, reporting, and verification in the carbon market, powered by the Hedera blockchain and the HBAR token (COIN:HBARUSD). This innovation aims to increase transparency and accessibility to carbon market data, eliminating centralized intermediaries. It’s a significant step in digitalizing and streamlining climate change mitigation methodologies. The UN is increasingly involved in blockchain-related collaborations, including the Algorand Blockchain Academy in partnership with the Algorand Foundation (COIN:ALGOUSD).
Societe Generale issues first digital green bond on Ethereum Blockchain
Societe Generale (EU:GLE), one of France’s leading banks, achieved a milestone by issuing its first digital green bond on the Ethereum blockchain. Valued at 10 million euros and maturing in three years, this bond symbolizes the bank’s commitment to environmentally responsible financial practices. Facilitated by its subsidiary Forge, the green bond aims to finance sustainable projects and businesses. This pioneering move also highlights the bank’s adoption of the Ethereum blockchain to increase transparency and efficiency, especially in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters, providing open data on the carbon footprint of bonds.
Security vulnerability affects NFT platforms, including OpenSea and Coinbase NFT
Thirdweb, a Web3 development platform, disclosed a critical vulnerability in an open-source code library impacting several NFT collections using its smart contracts. While the company did not specify the affected collections, OpenSea and Coinbase NFT confirmed that some of their collections were hit. They are working to mitigate security issues and migrate to contracts without known vulnerabilities, like DropERC20, ERC721, and ERC1155. The vulnerability has not yet been exploited in projects using Thirdweb’s contracts, but precautionary measures are being taken.
Riot Blockchain makes largest purchase of Bitcoin miners in company history
Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT) announced the purchase of 66,560 Bitcoin miners from MicroBT, totaling $290.5 million. This purchase is an expansion of Riot’s previous agreement with MicroBT and includes miners with a hash rate of 250 TH/s. The deployment will begin in the first quarter of 2024 and extend through the second half of 2024, with a goal of reaching a hash rate capacity of 38 EH/s when all machines are operational. The CEO of Riot highlighted that this is the largest hash rate order in the company’s history.
PYTH governance tokens launched by Pyth with support from major investors
Pyth, a low-latency Oracle service for blockchains, released PYTH governance tokens to over 90,000 wallets. The initiative, aiming to decentralize the platform’s governance, was driven by a funding round with participation from key industry players, such as Castle Island Ventures and Multicoin Capital. Pyth seeks to improve the efficiency and accuracy of data in oracles, differentiating itself from competitors like Chainlink (COIN:LINKUSD).
Curvance raises $3.6 million in initial funding with support from major DeFi names
Curvance, an emerging platform in the DeFi sector, secured an initial investment of $3.6 million, backed by over 20 organizations and renowned developers, including Offchain Labs (Arbitrum), Wormhole, and Sandeep Nailwal (co-founder of Polygon). Described as an “everything app” for DeFi lending, the project aims to overcome barriers between chains and protocols, supporting Ethereum and various layer 2s. Curvance plans to use the funds to expand operations, enhance security, and recruit talent, with the goal of facilitating access to DeFi.