Weekly recap: crypto market swing, BTC hash rate drop, Binance ban in the UK

Crypto market in numbers

The cryptocurrency market lull continues. There haven’t been any significant changes in key indicators over the past week.

A decrease in crypto interest rates is also confirmed by Bitcoin and Ethereum on-chain indicators – in June they fell significantly compared to previous months.

According to the Fear and Greed Index, the crypto market remains in the “Fear” zone for a month and a half already.

Over the past week, EXM has seen solid growth (+11%), with its price consolidating above the 9 cent mark.

Gainers of the week (25th June – 1st July 2021)

Losers of the week (25th June – 1st July 2021)

Most traded coins (24th – 30th June 2021)

Top crypto market driving factors

Bitcoin (BTC) and the overall crypto market

▼ 24.06.2021 – CryptoQuant: the amount of stablecoins held on exchanges hits an all-time high, reaching the $16.7 billion mark.

▲ 24.06.2021 – on June 21st and 23rd, an unknown Bitcoin whale bought 4,106 BTC, increasing the balance to 115,120 BTC ($3.8 billion).

▼ 25.06.2021 – JPMorgan: the anticipated Grayscale Share sale is likely to become a new source of pressure on bitcoin. BTC fair value is seen in a range between $23,000 to $35,000 in the medium term.

▲ 27.06.2021 – JPMorgan: the crypto market appears to “be beginning the process of healing”. In the short term, however, analysts expect further price decline before capitulation.

▼ 28.06.2021 – BTC fund outflows continue to slow down. Last week Bitcoin saw minor outflows of only $1.3 million. In general, negative sentiment remains prevalent for the seventh consecutive week.

▲ 28.06.2021 – CoinShares: multi-digital asset investment products continued to buck the negative trend with inflows of $6 million last week, which suggests that investors continue to favour digital assets but are keen to diversify.

▼ 28.06.2021 – Santiment: the social sentiment indicator, BTC futures funding rate, as well as a low number of active addresses, show the signs of the Bitcoin bear market.

▲ 28.06.2021 – El Salvador distributes a Bitcoin airdrop worth $135 million for its citizens. The airdrop is expected to increase the number of BTC holders by 2.5%.

▲ 28.06.2021 – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Morgan Stanley purchases over 28,000 shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, equivalent to around $1.3 million at the time of buying.

▼ 28.06.2021 – Glassnode: miners leaving China are putting pressure on bitcoin price.

▼ 30.06.2021 – JPMorgan’s global market strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou: “Institutional interest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has dried up and even turned negative in May 2021. It’s probably close to flat at the moment.”

Ethereum (ETH)

▲ 24.06.2021 – The Ethereum London hardfork has been successfully deployed on the Ropsten test network. On 30th June and 7th July, the upgrade will be released on the Gorelli and Rinkeby testnets.

▼ 27.06.2021 – Santiment: Ethereum keeps bearing the brunt of the negative sentiment.

▲ 28.06.2021 – A former hedge fund manager and CNBC’s host, Jim Cramer, announced his return to the crypto market but moved from Bitcoin to Ethereum.

▼ 28.06.2021 – CoinShares: Ethereum has seen record outflows of $50 million over the past week.

▲ 29.06.2021 – Santiment: the Ethereum address activity has surpassed Bitcoin for the first time in history.

▲ 29.06.2021 – Global investment firm, Skybridge Capital, launches a private Ethereum fund on 1st July. The firm also plans to file with the SEC to launch Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Ethereum Classic (ETC)

▲ 28.06.2021 – Media: Ethereum Classic (ETC) is expected to undergo the Magneto hardfork on 21st July.

Dogecoin (DOGE)

▲ 24.06.2021 – Dogecoin co-founder, Billy Markus, broke his promise and re-invested in DOGE.

▲ 28.06.2021 – Elon Musk’s supported Dogecoin developers’ proposal to change the network fee structure and increase its decentralisation.

▲ 27.06.2021 – Cardano reaches a new milestone with total staking addresses surpassing the 650,000 mark.

▲ 30.06.2021 – Germany-based travel site, GetYourGuide, has announced that it now accepts Dogecoin as a payment method.

Chainlink (LINK)

▲ 25.06.2021 – Santiment: Chainlink panic selling is coming to an end.

Chiliz (CHZ)

▲ 26.06.2021 – The Portuguese Football Federation has announced the launch of an official fan token on Socios.com, Chiliz fan engagement and rewards app.

Polkadot (DOT)

▲ 29.06.2021 – USDC stablecoin will become available on the Polkadot blockchain platform in the upcoming months.

Stellar (XLM)

▲ 29.06.2021 – Stellar is to award 12 million XLM, equivalent to $3,2 million, to promising Stellar-based projects. The initiative will be held each year over the course of several rounds.

Tezos (XTZ)

▲ 29.06.2021 – USDC stablecoin will become available on the Tezos blockchain in the upcoming months.

Tron (TRX)

▲ 29.06.2021 – USDC stablecoin will become available on the Tron blockchain in the upcoming months.

Wirex (WXT)

▲ 24.06.2021 – Digital payments platform, Wirex, has announced a partnership with Fireblocks. This will allow users to get easier access to the complex DeFi space.

Crypto market trends

Regulation

? U.S. Representative Bill Foster believes that a trusted third party, such as the court, should use a “cryptographic backdoor” to reverse BTC transactions. He also noted that the ransomware issue is potentially deadly for Bitcoin’s reputation before Congress.

? Bank of France governor, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, has called on the European Union to promptly establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies to avoid the erosion of EU monetary sovereignty and weakening of the EUR. He has also stressed that they have only one or two years to do this.

? The Central Bank of Tanzania is working to lift the ban on digital assets introduced in November 2019.

Exchanges vs regulators

? Regulators around the world are introducing clear requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges. This leads to the restriction on activities of crypto platforms that operate under these jurisdictions.

? Cryptocurrency exchange Binance says it will no longer serve users in the Canadian province of Ontario following the Ontario Securities Commission’s allegation that Bybit, Poloniex, and Kucoin exchanges fail to comply with the province’s securities laws.

Binance has received a warning from Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) for operating in the country without a license.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned Binance from undertaking any regulated activity in the UK. Platform users are no longer able to withdraw and deposit pounds via the UK’s Faster Payments. Meanwhile, thanks to a temporary registration from the FCA, EXMO allows its traders to easily buy crypto in GBP, USD, EUR and other fiat currencies. Follow the link to find out how to buy crypto with GBP.

? Britain’s Natwest Group has placed limits on the daily amount users can send to cryptocurrency exchanges.

? As per the requirements of regulatory bodies, crypto exchange, Huobi, is banning clients from 10 countries from trading derivatives. In the UK, the restriction applies only to retail investors. The exchange has already prohibited 11 countries from providing crypto transactions and related services.

? Amid China’s tightening crackdown on crypto, OKCoin exchange has closed its Beijing-based office. BTCChina has completely exited from crypto-related businesses.

? The global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog FATF urged to accelerate the implementation of crypto rules. Currently, 58 of the 128 FATF jurisdictions have implemented the revised FATF standards.

Acceptance of cryptocurrencies

? El Salvador will buy $135 million worth of bitcoin and provide every citizen with $30 worth of bitcoin for free.

? Congressman Carlos Rejala said that Paraguay isn’t going to make bitcoin legal tender but plans to introduce effective pro-crypto regulation.

? The billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego said that Banco Azteca is getting ready to “be the first bank in Mexico to accept Bitcoin”. In response, Mexican financial regulators stated that bitcoin is not legal tender and is prohibited from being used by the country’s financial institutions.

? Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis called to consider BTC a great option for long-term and retirement savings.

? In July, the Bank of Russia will conduct research to assess the risks of using cryptocurrencies.

? In India, investments in crypto grew by 19.900% from about $200 million to nearly $40 billion over the past year. Now more than 15 million Indians are exposed to cryptocurrency.

? HIPS Payment Group to allow 50,000 EV charging stations throughout Europe to accept crypto payments.

? Soros Fund Management, the private investment business of billionaire, George Soros, is reportedly trading bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. According to some media sources, the firm is also in discussion to acquire a private stake in leading blockchain-based enterprises.

? According to Forbes, 650 US-based banks will soon be able to offer crypto trading services and bitcoin purchases to about 24 million customers as a part of the partnership between enterprise payments giant NCR Corporation and digital asset management firm New York Digital Investment Group.

Big business

? Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, and Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, have agreed to discuss Bitcoin on The B Word event aimed at encouraging companies and institutional investors to adopt BTC. After a similar conference in December 2020, which Musk attended, Tesla announced that it had bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin.

? According to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Morgan Stanley Europe Opportunity Fund has purchased more than 28,000 shares of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust – equal to about $1.3 million around the time of the filing. Morgan Stanley analysts say that the crypto market is ready for the arrival of large players.

? Leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz (known a16z), announces the launch of a new $2.2 billion crypto fund.

? Citigroup, a huge financial conglomerate, announced the creation of a cryptocurrency department that will become part of the company’s asset management division.

? Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to create a bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF).

? Global investment firm Skybridge Capital launches a private Ethereum fund on 1st July. The company also plans to file with the SEC to launch Ethereum ETF.

CBDC and stablecoins

? Bank of France governor, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, has called on the European Union to hastily establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies to avoid the erosion of EU monetary sovereignty and weakening of their official currency.

? Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren paid attention to Tether becoming one of the world’s largest US commercial paper market investors. Rosengren called Tether one of the “new disruptors” to short-term credit markets and raised concerns about the lack of regulation of stablecoins.

? The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is not planning to introduce a digital franc. SNB’s chief economist, Carlos Lenz, stated that the existing payment system works well while blockchain-based decentralisation is inefficient for state-controlled digital currencies.

? Central Bank of the Russian Federation announced the formation of the first pilot group consisting of 12 banks that will test the digital ruble.

? The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law “On Payment Services”, which, among other things, determines the general principles for issue and management of the central bank digital currency (CBDC).

? Stablecoins have surpassed the $100 billion market cap. According to The Block, the number has more than tripled since the start of the year. USDT remains the most popular stablecoin. However, its market share has dropped from 75% to 60% since the beginning of the year. Messari analysts suggest that USDT’s share of the stablecoin supply on Ethereum is likely to fall below 50% for the first time in the coming weeks.

? Tether’s (USDC) market cap exceeded $25 billion last week. USDC’s market share has grown from 14% to 23% since the beginning of the year. In the coming months, USDC will become available on ten new blockchain platforms.

Mining

? Following China’s crackdown on cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin’s mining hash rate plunges to its lowest levels since July 2019 – down by almost 50% from its peak values. Block generation time has almost doubled to 24 minutes – the slowest time since 2010. Ethereum network hash rate has dropped by 20% over the past few weeks.

? According to The Block, Bitcoin mining revenue dropped by 42% in June to approximately $839 million. In the previous five months, bitcoin miner earnings were over $1 trillion.

? Cryptocurrency mining equipment prices in China have dropped by almost 50%. Mining machines are selling like scrap metal.

? Major Bitcoin mining companies have signed a “​crypto climate accord” (CAA) aimed at achieving net-zero emissions from the crypto industry by 2030. This should significantly lessen environmentalists’ criticism concerning the negative impact of BTC mining on the environment.

EXMO news

Inactive account fee is cancelled. We’ve updated our User Agreement – starting from 1st July 2021, EXMO will no longer charge an inactivity fee.

Elon Musk’s unique birthday achievement is added. EXMO users who bought at least 200 DOGE on 28th June received the unique achievement DOGE-father.

IntoTheBlock Analytics is now available on EXMO. IntoTheBlock’s dashboards cover on-chain data, trading signals for cryptocurrencies including crypto market sentiment, as well as the price correlation of coins with bitcoin in real time.

That’s all for this week! Follow EXMO on YouTube, Twitter and Telegram to stay tuned to the main events and trends in the crypto market.