Happy Monday!
It’s looking like we’re heading for another Bitcoin rally — the top cryptocurrency surged again over the weekend, bringing it to about $30,000. Binance is losing market share as the US crackdown bites, Bored Ape NFTs plummet in price, and DeFi tokens see a rally.
But it seems few are actually trading Bitcoin
Bitcoin markets are at historically low volume and market depth, making this rally in the cryptocurrency different from past surges, wrote CNBC. “What is notable about this rally is that trade volumes overall are at multi-year lows,” Clara Medalie, director of research at research firm Kaiko, told CNBC. “Both volatility and volumes are at multi-year lows, and even a rapid increase in price is not enough to draw traders in.”
Bitcoin has soared about 75% this year, fuelled in part by a flurry of big finance moves into crypto, most notably BlackRock’s plan to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
Binance loses market share
Clobbered by regulatory scrutiny, Binance market share is near a one-year low, Bloomberg reported, citing Kaiko. The exchange’s share of so-called spot trading — or instant price trades that exclude derivatives — hovered at about 56% this month to June 19, and each of the two preceding months. That’s the lowest since August, when market share was at about 53.7%, Kaiko told Bloomberg.
Binance faces lawsuit and regulatory scrutiny in the US, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
Bored Apes plunge after Huang sells NFTs
Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs sunk to its lowest levels since November 2021 this weekend after Jeffrey Huang sold over 50 pieces in his collection.
Huang, also known as Machi Big Brother, sold 19 Apes alone on Saturday to the tune 651 Ethereum, which translated to around $1.2 million, according to data from NFT marketplace Blur. Some are blaming Blur for the fall in prices.
DeFi tokens skyrocket
The price of Uniswap, Aave, Compound and Synthetix’s native tokens surged by double digits on Saturday.
The news highlights a trend, noted by DappRadar, that has seen traders turn to DeFi following a recent resurgence in on-chain activity for many DeFi dApps, The Defiant reported.
BlackRock warns about crypto risk
The tokenisation of stocks, bonds and other traditional assets will happen, but it will be slower than expected, BlackRock’s Joseph Chalom said, DL News reported. Chalom, the head of Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships at the $8 trillion asset management firm, said counterparty risk is a concern among peers as they dip their toes into the sector.
What we’re reading around the web
How long will the dollar last as the world’s default currency? — Fortune
China’s yuan is now the most traded currency in Russia — Bloomberg
Defamation suits in crypto show Twitter is a speech minefield — ask Elon Musk — DL News
Correction: A previous version of this story suggested that Bitcoin was surging past $24,000. It is currently trading at £24,000, or $30,300.
