Global CRYPTO News

​Coin Center urged the US Congress to clarify the taxation of cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrency legal center Coin Center has asked US lawmakers to establish clearer rules for regulating digital assets, including their taxation.
In a letter to U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden and Senator Mike Crapo, Coin Center listed a number of criteria that the U.S. government should take into account when developing regulations for the crypto industry.

Coin Center mentioned the virtual currency tax fairness bill previously presented to Congress. According to this bill, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should exempt traders from paying taxes for making cryptocurrency transactions. These measures will encourage the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method. Thus, transactions with digital assets should be considered similar to transactions when buying foreign currencies, the letter notes.

“Forcing ordinary people to meticulously collect information about other people and report it to the government without a warrant violates the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. And requiring politically active organizations to create and make public lists of their benefactors, and then provide this information to the government, violates the First Amendment to the Constitution, ”said the Coin Center.

In addition, the non-profit organization has proposed revising the IRS definition of a broker to exclude cryptocurrency miners and node operators from this category. The department's powers to prosecute alleged tax evaders should also be limited, the Coin Center noted.

The legal center cited as an example the situation when the IRS received data from the Coinbase crypto exchange about users who might not have been involved in any tax violations.

“If regular bitcoin trading results in trader data being no longer private, this will have serious consequences for bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem,” Coin Center experts concluded.

Last year, the Coin Center condemned the actions of the US Treasury Department for blocking the Tornado Cash cryptocurrency mixer. However, recently the court dismissed the lawsuit of users against the Ministry of Finance, considering that the department did not exceed its powers.

​Bitcoin whale rocked the market by buying over $3 billion

An unknown person has accumulated over $3 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) tokens since May, making it the third largest BTC address in the world.

According to data from BitInfoCharts, this wallet started accumulating in mid-May and became the largest non-crypto exchange bitcoin holder by the end of June.

Since its inception, this portfolio has refrained from being sold. The Bitcoin address in question received varying amounts of BTC: its initial transaction in May included 0.25 BTC, while its last deposit was 6,600 BTC.

It currently holds 118,300 BTC, which is equal to $3,087,545,354.

Ranking third in the world in terms of the largest addresses, it is inferior to the cold wallets of Binance and Bitfinex. It is likely that this relatively new address belongs to another crypto exchange that is reorganizing its BTC reserves.

Analyst firm Santiment previously highlighted the continued activity of Bitcoin whales during the recent cryptocurrency market downturn.

Despite significant price drops, significant transactions involving BTC worth $1 million or more continue to occur, suggesting that whales remain active even if the number of large wallets remains unchanged.

​Bitcoin price rises to $30,200. Is this the start of a rally?

Bitcoin traders reacted to the growth of the asset with bullish forecasts. However, will the price be able to overcome the key resistance?

According to the cryptocurrency screener Cryptovizor, which determines the BTC / USD rate based on the results of trading on spot exchanges, on August 8, Bitcoin peaked at $30,284 during the American stock market session.

Before this increase, there was a fall of $28,628. The rapid price change affected the expectations of market participants.

“This is indeed a higher low, bitcoin continues to maintain a bullish chart structure,” popular trader Jelle wrote on X (i.e. tweeted).

He expressed hope that Bitcoin will break through the resistance at $32,000.

The day before, the head of trading firm Eight, Michael van de Poppe, drew attention to the importance of the $29,700 level. He wrote: “The Bitcoin party will start when we break the $29,700 mark. Until then, it’s just consolidation.”

At the time of writing, BTC/USD is trading at $29,820, according to Cryptovizor.

Today, the trader stated: “Bitcoin is close to the party.” And added:

"The start of a bull market never looks like the start of a bull market."

Despite the optimism of colleagues, the popular trader and analyst at Rekt Capital turned out to be more restrained. Analyzing the Bitcoin chart on the weekly timeframe, he admitted that breaking the $29,250 level (the black line on the chart) is a good sign, because it allows you to count on growth to the resistance area in the $29,900 - 30,100 zone.

This time, BTC surged to $30,200. The bearish signal is that there is a strong pullback that could close below $29,250. However, if BTC falls to $29,250 to confirm it as support, it will turn bullish. signal.

​MicroStrategy bitcoin investment strategy: the result of almost three years

MicroStrategy stock and the price of Bitcoin outperformed all major investment asset classes.

The software company MicroStrategy, whose shares are traded on Nasdaq under the ticker MSTR, has summed up the results of investing its corporate funds in bitcoins. MicroStrategy has been investing in Bitcoin since September 2020. MicroStrategy shares and the price of bitcoin have outperformed all major investment asset classes (key stock indexes, bonds, and investment commodities) from then to now. So, during this time, the share price of MicroStrategy increased by 245%, and the price of bitcoin rose by 145%.

In particular, since the beginning of this year, MicroStrategy securities have risen in price by 168.87%, and the price of bitcoin has increased by 75.48%. During the same period, the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 stock indices rose by 34.4% and 17.72%, respectively.

MicroStrategy currently has 152,800 BTC on its balance sheet, which is equivalent to about $4.57 billion and represents about 0.8% of the current #1 cryptocurrency supply.

It is curious that, despite such a success in the price of bitcoin and MicroStrategy shares, the company’s direct investments in bitcoins so far give a small minus (-2.3%) or $111 million. This is due to the fact that the company purchased bitcoins at different prices.

By the way, on July 31, MicroStrategy again invested in #1 cryptocurrency, acquiring 467 BTC at an average price of $30,385, spending $14.4 million on this purpose. The company also stated that it intends to sell $750 million worth of its own shares from its corporate balance sheet, and use the proceeds to invest in bitcoins.

​Mark Yusko is confident that Bitcoin will easily reach the price of $ 300,000

Mark Yusko, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency hedge fund Morgan Creek Digital, remains confident that the price of Bitcoin (BTC) will hit six figures.

In an interview with Wolf of All Streets, Yusko said that if bitcoin is perceived as the digital equivalent of gold, it could potentially reach the same market capitalization as the precious metal. As a result, in the future, it will be 887% of current levels at a BTC price of $300,000.

"$300,000 is so easy for me that it's not even worth arguing about. Because bitcoin is better than gold as a store of value, unit of account, more portable…

If I had a bar of gold and I wanted to break it in half and send you half, but I'm not strong enough to do it.

Secondly, I couldn't shove it into the computer to send it to you. But if I want to send some bitcoins, it only takes a couple of buttons."

At the same time, the expert added that the market capitalization of gold at $ 12 trillion, approximately half consists of jewelry that is not used as a monetary base. Accordingly, bitcoin will have to reach only $ 6 trillion in order to displace gold in leadership among the savings assets.

​SEC Accepts Seven Applications for Spot Bitcoin ETF

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially accepted several applications from companies seeking to register Bitcoin spot EFT.
The first SEC officially accepted the application from the race favorite Blackrock, then from the Valkyrie company. Later, the regulator confirmed applications from Bitwise, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity and Invesco. The confirmation has already appeared in the Federal Register.

The SEC has previously rejected dozens of bitcoin spot EFT applications, stating that these proposals do not meet anti-fraud standards and do nothing to protect investors. But the Nasdaq stock exchange said they would solve these problems with the help of Coinbase, the largest US cryptocurrency exchange.

Brokerage Bernstein recently published a report saying that the likelihood of a spot Bitcoin ETF being approved by the regulator is quite high. However, according to brokers, the SEC may refuse, citing the unreliability of the product.

Former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton says regulators will find it “hard to resist” approving a bitcoin spot ETF. He believes that first the SEC will have to make sure that the product is able to prove its effectiveness in the market.

​Michael Saylor: Bitcoin is hope for Argentina

The co-founder of MicroStrategy said that the economy of this Latin American country can only recover thanks to cryptocurrencies, in particular bitcoin.
“Bitcoin is the hope for Argentina,” Michael Saylor tweeted.

And he posted a picture that shows the official exchange rate of the dollar to the local peso and the unofficial one, which is twice as high as the official one.

Sailor has regularly stated that traditional money in its current form is already dying. He cited the recent failures of American banks as an example, and also mentioned the devaluation of the national currency in Argentina.

Earlier, the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) announced that it was seeking to mitigate the financial risks that digital asset transactions could create.

Now in Argentina there is a demand for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies - investors are trying to protect themselves from inflation and make a profit. Against this background, in the fourth quarter of last year, the volume of P2P transfers doubled and reached a new record. Argentina is the leader in the penetration of cryptocurrencies in Latin America.

The National Commission on Values ​​of Argentina (CNV) recently approved the Bitcoin Futures Index as part of a strategic innovation program. The index will be the first such product in Latin America.

​Ripple wants to be licensed in the UK

Ripple is aiming to get into the registry of UK cryptocurrency companies.

Sandy Yang, Ripple's European managing director, told DL News that she "very recently" applied to register as a cryptocurrency asset firm with the UK Financial Conduct Authority and to be licensed as a payment institution in Ireland.

Ripple rises in price after a US judge ruled on July 13 that sales of the XRP cryptocurrency are not investment contracts, which increased the value of the token by about 60%.

Investors took this decision as a sign that the cryptocurrency may not fall under the traditional rules for trading stocks and bonds.

Yang said the decision was "a huge win" and "positive for [the company's] growth in the US."

She added: "We didn't turn our backs and say, 'Let's stop hiring in the UK.' Our strategy and growth plans are unchanged and working.

“We are in the process of applying to register our crypto assets in the UK and license payments in Ireland. All of this is a massive investment with the goal of further exponential growth in this region.”

Ripple has increased its UK and European workforce by around 75% over the past 18 months and now has more than 100 employees in its offices in London, Dublin and Reykjavik.

“I am very excited to see the momentum… The UK is starting to deliver on its promises and is trying to become an investment hub for the crypto space.”

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has previously threatened to move the business outside of the US if the SEC lawsuit is not resolved in the company's favor.

In 2020, he suggested that the firm move to the UK.

“We made significant investments long before the SEC filed the lawsuit, because we are looking at demand, we are looking at opportunities, and APAC is a very strong market, EMEA is obviously a very strong market. Our growth around the world will continue.”

​Former Alameda chief knew about multi-billion dollar deficit long before FTX collapsed

In March 2022, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison reported in a memo about a $10 billion deficit in FTX that collapsed in November. This is stated in court documents.

In August of that year, company executives calculated that the bitcoin exchange owed more than $8 billion to customers, which it “could not repay.”

According to the case file, the new management of FTX is currently trying to recover "millions of dollars" in cash and withdraw more than $1 billion from allegedly fraudulent transactions.

Earlier, Ellison and the CTO of the exchange, Gary Wang, pleaded guilty to charges related to the collapse of FTX and agreed to cooperate with the investigation. The ex-head of Alameda Research spoke about manipulating the price of the FTT utility token.

Allison also admitted to knowingly defrauding creditors. According to her, she "knew it was wrong." The head of Alameda, along with former head of FTX Sam Bankman-Freed, hid agreements from investors and forged financial statements.

At the same hearing, FTX co-founder and exchange CTO Gary Wang said he was "sent" to make changes to the platform's code that gave Alameda special privileges.

In November 2022, the new CEO of the exchange, John Ray, said that the company had absolutely no control over the movement of funds and reliable financial information.

Recall that in March 2023 it became known that Bankman-Fried received $ 2.2 billion from FTX and Alameda Research

The US Attorney's Office charged Bankman-Fried with 13 criminal offenses. He pleaded not guilty to any of the counts.

​😳😳US presidential candidate Patrick Riley: "XRP will overtake BTC in terms of capitalization"

The US presidential candidate from the Republican Party suggested that when the XRP cryptocurrency trades at $11, the coin will overthrow bitcoin from the first place in the cryptocurrency rating.
Patrick Riley tweeted that Bitcoin has been dominating the market for too long. And the question is not whether this will happen, but when, the politician argues. The candidate invited subscribers to guess when this "seismic shift" would occur.

One of the commentators wrote: such events have never happened before, so it is very difficult to make even an approximate forecast - when this will happen and whether it will happen at all. Bitcoin proponents were quick to write that no altcoin would surpass Bitcoin in terms of market capitalization.

Riley reminded all those who disagreed that in 2017, XRP was able to bypass the ether. The politician made it clear that after the partial victory of Ripple in a lawsuit with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), nothing prevents XRP from “moving bitcoin”.

Another commenter argued that even if XRP can rise to $11, BTC will not stand still and will make a huge jump. In response, Riley wrote that by that time, few people will follow bitcoin. During the discussion, some XRP supporters supported Riley, joking that when XRP overtakes BTC, skeptics will find comfort in Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who strongly supports the first cryptocurrency.

​Growth in the US slowed down. Bitcoin reacted to growth

The news is being updated
The growth of consumer prices in the US in annual terms in June slowed down from 4% to 3%, which was below the forecast of 3.1%. Bitcoin jumped to the $31,000 mark, increasing the daily growth rate to 1%.

On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.2% twice as fast as in May, but were better than economists' expectations (0.3%).

Growth in core inflation, which does not take into account food and energy prices, amounted to 4.8% in annual terms and 0.2% in monthly terms. The previous figure is 5.3% and 0.4% respectively.

Analysts had forecast figures at the level of 5% y/y and 0.3% m/m.

​Approval of Bitcoin ETF in the US will open the market access to $ 30 trillion

This is the approximate amount of assets controlled by US investment companies that have applied to launch funds.
Approval of applications for the launch of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States will give the Bitcoin market access to $30 trillion in capital, Bloomberg Senior Analyst Eric Balciunas said in an interview with Cointelegraph.

This is the approximate amount of assets controlled by US investment companies that have submitted applications for the launch of such products to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Among them are BlackRock, Fidelity, Invesco, Bitwise, ARK Invest, WisdomTree, 21Shares, VanEck and Valkyrie.

According to Balciunas, older investors and financial advisors often invest with ETFs. Exchange-traded bitcoin funds will provide access to cryptocurrency without the need to purchase it directly.

The analyst believes that the involvement of BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, is enough to increase the chances of such products being approved from 1% to 50%.

Cryptocurrency trading volumes rose in June for the first time in three months. The optimism of crypto traders is connected precisely with the filing of an application by BlackRock to open a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The total volume of spot and derivatives trading on centralized exchanges increased by 14% to $2.71 trillion.

​Bitcoin ETF Approval and Halving Will Push Bitcoin Price to 😳$100,000😳

Having survived the harsh crypto winter of 2022, Bitcoin (BTC) has come out of hibernation and is performing well. At the moment, the leading cryptocurrency is preparing for a significant breakthrough, which consists in breaking the resistance level at $ 32,000.

The renewed momentum is fueled by growing hype around the possible launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States, which could make BTC a major asset among institutional investors.

Financial analyst and managing director of Midas Touch Consulting Florian Grummes believes that the potential approval of the Bitcoin ETF could be one of two key factors that will play the role of a powerful catalyst for the price of BTC and raise it to $100,000 by the end of 2024.

On June 15, BlackRock, one of the largest investment companies in the world, filed an application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a spot bitcoin ETF. Several other well-known financial companies from the world of traditional finance followed suit, including Invesco, Valkyrie, Fidelity Investments and WisdomTree.

The SEC considered the content of these documents insufficient, citing a lack of details about the proposed product. BlackRock corrected these deficiencies and resubmitted the application.

Grummes himself believes BlackRock will eventually get approved, but no one knows how long it will take. If agreed, “we can definitely expect a lot of both institutional and retail purchases in this market,” the expert added.

Moreover, Grummes believes that the expectation and hype around the Bitcoin ETF alone is already capable of pushing the price of BTC to $49,000.

Grummes explained that the nearly $50,000 mark represents the corrective level seen in the previous bear market.

The second factor that can lead to a new bull run for bitcoin, Grummes considers halving, which should take place in the network of the flagship cryptocurrency tentatively in April 2024.

It is especially worth noting his words that before the halving and the possible appearance of an ETF, Bitcoin should again fall to $ 25,000-30,000.

"Halving will change everything, and along with the potential launch of Bitcoin ETF, the market is definitely in for drastic changes, and then there is a good chance that we will see a figure of $ 100,000 next year,” the financial expert added.

However, to reach this milestone, Bitcoin must first break through the $69,000 resistance level, which is the all-time high for the cryptocurrency.

​Changpeng Zhao: “When they take bribes in cash, bribes are to blame, and when they take crypts, then crypts”

The head of Binance again criticized regulators in the US and Europe for harassing his cryptocurrency exchange, saying that the problem with bribes is in the bribes themselves, and not in the currency through which they are made.
“When bribes are given in cash, the problem is the bribes; when bribes are made in crypto, the problem is in crypto,” Changpeng Zhao tweeted.

Last week, the Binance administration filed a petition in the US District Court as part of the proceedings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), insisting that it violated securities laws. However, the district judge did not consider the claim of Binance, but immediately rejected the petition. The judge explained this decision by the absence of the need to repeat the obligations of both parties to comply with the rules of ethics, because this does not affect the case.

Recently, EU authorities have begun to suspect that Binance's subsidiaries in Ireland and Malta may be carrying out illegal activities. In particular, investigators fear that Binance could fake its accounts and transactions, as well as mix income from different countries so as not to raise questions from regulatory and tax authorities. The exchange is also suspected of money laundering and tax evasion.

This Tuesday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) raided Binance's offices as part of an ongoing investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange's activities in the country. Binance, in turn, said that it is "cooperating with local authorities" and "focused on compliance with local regulatory standards in order to serve users in Australia in full compliance with them."

​Two teenagers arrested in Canada after stealing $4.2 million in cryptocurrencies

Two 17-year-old residents of Hamilton, Canada, have been charged after stealing $4.2 million in cryptocurrencies from a US citizen through phishing. This is reported by local media.

The investigation began in June 2023. According to the case file, the teenagers pretended to be the support service of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and tricked the victim into transferring $4.2 million in Ethereum and bitcoins to them.

Some of the stolen funds were used by the defendants to buy the nickname @zombie on Instagram.

According to the police, in total, the detainees had more than $13.4 million in cryptocurrencies.

They were charged with stealing more than $5,000 and possessing property or property proceeds from crime.

According to Beosin experts, in the first half of 2023, the crypto industry lost about $655.6 million as a result of hacks, scams and rug pull.

Recall that at the end of June, the Huobi bitcoin exchange eliminated a data leak that reportedly put users' assets at risk since June 2021.

​Santiment: Verge capitalization tripled in 48 hours

Santiment reports: The capitalization of the Verge (XVG) cryptocurrency has grown by 209% in 48 hours. The Verge blockchain is focused on privacy.

The capitalization of the Verge (XVG) cryptocurrency increased by 209% in 48 hours. This is reported by analysts at Santiment.

Verge is a blockchain focused on privacy. He proposes to improve the original Bitcoin blockchain. The mission of Verge is to create a fast and efficient crypto payment network.

Santiment comments:
Verge's market cap has more than tripled (+209%) in just 48 hours, and it's no surprise that it's a top trending asset in crypto. XVG is seeing huge bullish sentiment as our AI explains. But watch out for FOMO (fear of missing out).

​Ripple to Host First Policy Summit in Thailand
Ripple will host a Thailand Policy Summit, Bangkok on July 5th. Organized in partnership with TRM Labs, the event represents Ripple's efforts to further strengthen its presence in the Southeast Asian market.

Brooks Entwistle, Senior Vice President of Accounts and Managing Director of Ripple in Asia Pacific and the Middle East and North Africa (APAC & MENA), shared his expectations for the summit in a recent tweet.

The tweet provides a glimpse into the vibrant atmosphere surrounding the event, and the Ripple team made a strong impression by lighting up the façade of The W Bangkok Hotel in Silom, Bangkok.

Thai Policy Summit
The Ripple x TRM Labs Summit in Thailand brings together key industry players, regulators and policy makers to discuss developments in blockchain and digital asset regulation globally and what is needed to drive growth and innovation in the sector in Thailand.

The event will also feature speakers from the public sector, including Archari Suppiroy, Director of Payment Systems, and Bunrit Pongrasamiroy, Senior Analyst of Payment Systems. Both persons represent the Bank of Thailand.

The agenda of the summit will be devoted to discussing global regulatory developments regarding blockchain and digital assets, with a focus on the Thai market.

Ripple is expanding
Notably, the Thailand Political Summit is part of an extensive effort being made by Ripple to strengthen its position and increase visibility in the global market. Ripple also wants to host its important Ripple Swell event in Dubai this November.

It is worth mentioning that Ripple recently received a principal license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore as part of its global expansion goal. The San Francisco-based firm also announced plans to expand in Europe as the MiCA regulation aims to bring clarity to market regulation.

​Ripple to Host First Policy Summit in Thailand
Ripple will host a Thailand Policy Summit, Bangkok on July 5th. Organized in partnership with TRM Labs, the event represents Ripple's efforts to further strengthen its presence in the Southeast Asian market.

Brooks Entwistle, Senior Vice President of Accounts and Managing Director of Ripple in Asia Pacific and the Middle East and North Africa (APAC & MENA), shared his expectations for the summit in a recent tweet.

The tweet provides a glimpse into the vibrant atmosphere surrounding the event, and the Ripple team made a strong impression by lighting up the façade of The W Bangkok Hotel in Silom, Bangkok.

Thai Policy Summit
The Ripple x TRM Labs Summit in Thailand brings together key industry players, regulators and policy makers to discuss developments in blockchain and digital asset regulation globally and what is needed to drive growth and innovation in the sector in Thailand.

The event will also feature speakers from the public sector, including Archari Suppiroy, Director of Payment Systems, and Bunrit Pongrasamiroy, Senior Analyst of Payment Systems. Both persons represent the Bank of Thailand.

The agenda of the summit will be devoted to discussing global regulatory developments regarding blockchain and digital assets, with a focus on the Thai market.

Ripple is expanding
Notably, the Thailand Political Summit is part of an extensive effort being made by Ripple to strengthen its position and increase visibility in the global market. Ripple also wants to host its important Ripple Swell event in Dubai this November.

It is worth mentioning that Ripple recently received a principal license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore as part of its global expansion goal. The San Francisco-based firm also announced plans to expand in Europe as the MiCA regulation aims to bring clarity to market regulation.

​Bitcoin Price Stopped at $31,500, Correction Coming

For almost two weeks now, the price of bitcoin has been trading in a tight range with little sign of a breakout, but a closer look at price action points to a possible sharp correction.

The price of Bitcoin has formed a clear Wyckoff distribution pattern, and there are several distinct parts to this setup: the local top formed on June 21st, which is the Initial Supply where the selling took place.

After the formation of the Initial Supply, the bulls pushed the price of bitcoin to form a buying climax. As investors take profits after this surge, there was a pullback that formed an automatic reaction.

An unsuccessful attempt at another rally led to the formation of a secondary test. Now a failed selloff forms a Sign of Weakness. What follows is a classic sign of early bull manipulation or trapping due to upthrust over a buying climax. This phase is followed by the Upthrust after distribution phase, which are two places where the smart money offload their assets.

Therefore, after the Upthrust after distribution, the asset undergoes a steep correction.

With the price of bitcoin trading around $30,500, investors should expect two scenarios - a sudden sell-off from the current position, or a surge to a high of $31,500 followed by a correction. In both cases, the bear target is $28,138, which is the midpoint of the 27 percent gain seen between June 15 and 23.

In some cases, the decline could push the price of bitcoin towards the 62% retracement level at $27,331 or the 70% retracement level at $26,760. Overall, BTC can be expected to fall from 8.66% to 15% in the coming days.

​Cryptocurrency trading volumes up amid optimism due to BlackRock Bitcoin ETF

Despite this, turnover on spot and derivatives trading on centralized exchanges remains at a minimum over the past 3.5 years
Cryptocurrency trading volumes rose in June for the first time in three months. The optimism of crypto traders is associated with the filing of an application by the BlackRock management company to open a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), Coindesk reports, citing CCData data.

The total volume of spot and derivatives trading on centralized exchanges rose by 14% to $2.71 trillion, according to the company's report.

“Increased volatility following the SEC lawsuit against Binance US and Coinbase, as well as a positive outlook in the market after the filing of spot Bitcoin ETFs by companies such as BlackRock and Fidelity, contributed to increased trading activity last month,” CCData explained.

Spot trading volumes remain at historically low levels, the second quarter being the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2019.

One of the largest investment companies in the world, BlackRock, is about to launch an exchange traded fund (ETF) for bitcoin. This is an important move for the market due to the reach of BlackRock, and also because the fund will allow investors to buy bitcoin in the form of ETF shares from a regular brokerage account.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company is asking to be allowed to trade cryptocurrencies through the iShares Bitcoin Trust mechanism. This will be a spot fund, that is, when buying its shares, the actual purchase of coins on the market will be carried out. In addition, it will make it easier for institutional investors, including pension funds, to own cryptocurrencies. As of the end of March, BlackRock had over $9 trillion under management.

​The head of BlackRock praised the prospects of bitcoin in the global asset market

What happened?
The head of the investment company BlackRock, Larry Fink, admitted that bitcoin will become part of the global asset market. In a conversation with the former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, he noted that the first cryptocurrency attracted the attention of many people, but the volume of transactions with it in comparison with other markets is still very small. At the same time, he believes that in the future BTC may join the global market.

CNBC material

What else did Fink say?
According to the CEO of BlackRock, the existence of a digital currency has an impact on the US dollar. It lies in the fact that fiat is losing its relevance, but not for Americans, but for international holders of dollar assets.

BlackRock is the largest investment company with $10 trillion in assets under management. In mid-June, the media reported that she was preparing to apply to register a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. It is not yet known whether it will be spot or futures.

A number of other large financial institutions have already applied to register Bitcoin spot ETFs, including Valkyrie, WisdomTree, Invesco and Bitwise. Against the backdrop of these news, the BTC rate for the first time in two months crossed the $30,000 mark, and on June 26, 11:20 Moscow time, it is traded on Binance at $30,365, having decreased by 1.6% per day.

Experts from the Singaporean financial company QCP Capital doubted the imminent launch of spot bitcoin ETFs in the United States. In their opinion, this will be prevented by the tough position of the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Gary Gensler regarding cryptocurrencies. At the same time, it is the SEC that considers applications for registration of such products.

​This week will see the largest expiration of BTC options this year, with 145,000 contracts with a notional value of $4.5 billion expiring on June 30.

The Put/Call Ratio (PCR) is holding at 0.52 with open interest of 95k for calls and 49k for puts. positive mood and bidders expect price growth.

The maximum pain for BTC is at $25,000. This is the price at which the largest number of option holders will suffer losses.

Predicting how the market will behave on such a day is quite difficult. However, the expiration dates of large derivatives markets often lead to an increase in the volume and volatility of the underlying assets as traders rebalance positions or close them. Extra care on this day definitely does not hurt.

​Italy launches trials of central bank digital currency

The Bank of Italy has launched field trials of the state cryptocurrency, developed with the support of the financial technology company R3.

The CBDC test program, called Project Leonidas, will involve 18 Italian commercial banks and the Italian Banking Association. These entities will use the same network for interbank money transfers. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of applications based on blockchain technology in the field of financial stability and customer security.

Work on the "Project Leonid" began last year after employees of the Milano Hub, an innovation center of the Bank of Italy, decided to find application for distributed ledgers in the financial industry. Specialists received 57 applications from 81 enterprises to create a central bank digital currency and began to study them.

As part of their upcoming experiments, banks are likely to test R3's Corda network. CBDC will be issued on this blockchain for transactions. Connecting Corda to the existing financial infrastructure will be the responsibility of NTT Data Italia, an information technology firm.

​The total amount of liquidations on the crypto market over the past 24 hours has exceeded $140 million.

Most of the liquidations - more than $89 million - were shorts, and bitcoin became the record holder for liquidations ($56 million). The largest order of $3 million was filled by Binance.

​Cryptocurrency Litecoin (LTC) is predicted to rise to $ 5,000-10,000

A supporter of the Litecoin (LTC) cryptocurrency, Shang Belew, predicted that LTC would rise to $5,000-$10,000. In his opinion, the price of the altcoin will retest the key resistance zone at $90-100 and head up.

Most likely, digital silver will only reach the $5,000-10,000 zone when Bitcoin (BTC) hits its high during the next halving-related bull cycle.

On the afternoon of June 25, LTC was trading at $89.94, according to CoinMarketCap, recording a daily loss of 2.58%. However, the weekly performance of the altcoin remained positive at 16.74%.

From a technical standpoint, the price of LTC has been rejected by the main resistance level at $90.95. However, during the trading session the day before yesterday, the cryptocurrency was able to overcome this mark and rise to a high of $93.80. At the same time, it was not possible to close the daily candle above the main resistance point.

Despite this, the technical indicators on the daily LTC chart suggested that its price would continue to rise in the next 24-48 hours. The 9-day EMA line was bullish above the 20-day EMA line.

In addition to this, the daily RSI was in neutral territory, which indicated that the LTC price had potential for growth before it moved into the overbought zone.

If the bullish technical flags are confirmed, then LTC price could turn the aforementioned $90.95 resistance level into support. On the other hand, over the next 48 hours, the price of LTC may again deviate from the resistance level, which will lead to a correction to support at $83.88.

​Well-known trader Ton Weiss does not rule out the rise of Bitcoin to $ 55,000

"I highly doubt we will crash in the next 12 hours, so the next candle will be a green star candle and hopefully this will lead us to a new swing high.

… the moving averages are moving into bullish territory and the weekly chart is now in full bullish mode based on Consensio."

The Consensio trading system uses three different moving averages to determine an asset's momentum and position sizing.

Looking at the chart, the trader expects Bitcoin to rally towards its original $34,000 target. If Bitcoin exceeds its original target, Weiss suggests that BTC could rise to $55,000.

And while Weiss is optimistic about BTC, in his opinion, the Bitcoin daily chart indicates that a consolidation period is just around the corner:

"The daily chart is at the top of the MRI (Momentum Reversal Indicator), so the last 24 hours has been a good time to lock in your profits.

We have just started a new candle. I'm looking for a one to four candle retracement, but that retracement could certainly be a consolidation and I'm leaning more towards consolidation.

I think we will hold around $30,000 but be careful with the S&P 500… The daily S&P 500 actually tends to fall another 5% or so, maybe 3%, to the 4275 area, so what… it could lower bitcoin a bit."

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​Bitcoin Forecast: What's Next

Members of the crypto community gave a forecast of the bitcoin rate against the backdrop of a fall in cryptocurrency after the publication of the Fed's decision and the comments of the head of the regulator on action plans. The opinions of netizens on how BTC will behave further have diverged. For example, the popular crypto blogger Karl Runefelt (Carl From The Moon) allowed the coin to drop to $20,000.

His bitcoin forecast is based on the theory that the BTC rate is “tending” to the “gaps” that form on the BTC futures chart of the CME exchange. Trades are conducted from Monday to Friday. Crypto exchanges, in turn, operate 24/7. In the event that, due to trading on cryptocurrency exchanges, the BTC exchange rate changes significantly over the weekend, trading on the CME opens from a new “height”. The difference between the opening and closing prices of trading forms the very "gap".

The prospects for a further decline in BTC were also seen by analyst Peter Brandt. Doctor Profit analyst agreed with him. He noted that bitcoin’s approach to breaking the weekly MA200 curve means that the coin is at risk of moving into bear territory.

Analyst K A L E O, a popular analyst in the crypto community, has adjusted his Bitcoin forecast amid the behavior of the cryptocurrency. Previously, he assumed that within the bear market, investors would be able to see BTC at $40,000. The new forecast for the K A L E O bitcoin rate includes a possible movement of the coin in the range of $20-30 thousand. In his microblog, he shared the expected trajectory of BTC.

Bitcoin exchange rate forecast from K A L E O.
Recall that earlier the editors of BeInCrypto launched an experiment. We asked experienced analysts and a neural network to give a bitcoin forecast for the end of 2023 and at the time of the halving. We will sum up the first results of the experiment in December. Save the article in your browser bookmarks to be the first to know the results.

​Forecast of the bitcoin exchange rate and the reasons for the fall of the cryptocurrency

Bitcoin fell amid the publication of the Fed's decision on the key rate and the speech of the head of the department, Jerome Powell. The regulator, as expected by most market participants, left the rate unchanged - in the range of 5-5.25%. The pause was preceded by a series of increases in the metric, which started in March 2022 amid rising tensions in the geopolitical arena.

The refusal of the next Fed rate hike is a positive signal for the stock market and the crypto industry that follows it. Unfortunately for investors, the US regulator has made it clear that the pause may be temporary. It may be followed by new decisions to raise rates. The potential for further growth of the metric reduces the attractiveness of investing in high-risk assets such as cryptocurrency. As a result, bitcoin, followed by other coins, reacted with a fall to the next decision of the Fed on the rate and forecasts of the regulator.

Recall that the crypto market is also under pressure from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The regulator sees signs of securities in many popular coins. In addition to cryptocurrency issuers, two of the largest crypto exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, also came under SEC pressure.

Earlier, the editors of BeInCrypto understood the possible consequences of the war between the crypto community and the Commission.

​Solana allows fork due to pressure regulator.

The SEC named Solana as a security in lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase. Influential members of the Solana community are proposing a fork. It will help you avoid litigation and problems arising from FTX.

The US Securities Commission - SEC - is putting pressure on the crypto market. The regulator filed a lawsuit against the leading exchanges - Binance and Coinbase. Companies are accused of selling unregistered securities. The department names several coins as securities. One of them is Solana (SOL).

At the time of publication, Solana's result is as follows:

- over the past 7 days, the SOL rate has fallen by 27%;
- over the past 24 hours, the SOL rate has increased by 7%.

Observers admit: the SEC may file a lawsuit against Solana following the example of Ripple.

The community believes that launching a fork of Solana will help avoid persecution. The poll on whether to fork SOL was created by author Degen Picks. So far the results are mixed. The idea was supported by user Abracadabra, the founder of HGEABC. He reminds: Ethereum is a fork of Ethereum Classic, and ETH clearly looks confident.

The fork will also solve the FTX bankruptcy problem. The FTX exchange was one of the main holders of SOL. The new fork will get a new set of rules. In particular, the rules can prescribe a ban on the issuance of new tokens to FTX addresses.

​Hong Kong is preparing to launch a stablecoin.

Hong Kong intends to become one of the leaders in digital finance and Web 3.0 development. To do this, the region is preparing to launch its own stablecoin — a cryptocurrency pegged to the fiat currency rate in a ratio of 1:1. Such a token has stability, security and transparency thanks to blockchain technology.

This was stated by Chen Haolian, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Financial Services and the Treasury of Hong Kong, at the fintech forum. He said that public consultations have been held on the launch of the stablecoin and it is planned to create a regulatory framework by the end of next year. He also said that the Hong Kong government is actively involved in the virtual asset value chain and successfully issued tokenized bonds earlier this year.

Tokenized bonds are securities converted into a digital token using blockchain technology. A security token is backed by a real asset and pegged to its value. Such tokens have a number of advantages over traditional bonds, such as lower fees, faster trading and higher liquidity.

The Hong Kong stablecoin will be backed by the Hong Kong dollar and will allow residents and businesses in the region to make payments and transfers digitally easily and quickly. In addition, the stablecoin contributes to the integration of the cryptocurrency ecosystem with the traditional financial system and increase Hong Kong's competitiveness in the global market.

Chen Haolian also said that over the past five years, the number of financial technology companies in Hong Kong has increased exponentially, and now there are more than 800 of them providing a variety of services, including virtual banking, virtual insurance and virtual asset trading.

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​Solana Rally Sees FTX's Holdings Grow to $3.3B, Setting Claims Market on Fire

A rally in the price of cryptocurrencies such as Solana (SOL), which is currently trading at $78, has set the market for FTX bankruptcy claims on fire, according to specialists at distressed firms dealing in crypto.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the boss of FTX, which suddenly spiraled into bankruptcy last year, had championed the Solana project, and the exchange holds a sizable clutch of 55.8 million SOL tokens, according to CoinGecko.

Those SOL holdings, the majority of which (42.2 million) are locked up and not immediately tradable on the market, had been pegged at a market value of $1.16 billion earlier this year. The tokens are worth around three times that amount now, over $3.3 billion.

This hike in the value of the FTX estate’s crypto holdings would catapult its recovery into 100% re-pay, leaving distressed firms scrambling to buy claims at 60-70 cents on the dollar, according to Thomas Braziel, CEO of 117 Partners.

“The market for claims has gone red hot,” Braziel said via email. “Everything that was off the table is now on the table in terms of issues with claims, such as KYC/ AML being not verified. In the beginning it was super picky; now it’s whatever we can touch that we can figure out, we will do.”

Vladimir Jelisavcic, founder and manager of Cherokee Acquisition, agreed that competition for FTX claims has been “exceptionally keen” lately.

“The dramatic price increase is driven by Solana and anticipation of the amended plan that should be filed by December 16,” Jelisavcic said via email.

​SEC Rejects Bitcoin Exchange Coinbase!

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler announced that they rejected the petition submitted by Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the USA, to establish cryptocurrency rules and regulations.

“I was pleased to support this decision by the SEC for three reasons.

First, existing laws and regulations also apply to crypto securities markets.

Second, the SEC is also addressing crypto securities markets through rulemaking.

Third, it is important for the SEC to maintain discretion in determining its own rulemaking priorities.”

​OKX Wallet Adds 50x Leverage Trading with GMX Integration

OKX is a famous Web3 technology leader. It has announced its latest updates on December 13, 2023. OKX Wallet now integrates with GMX, a perpetual swap DEX. OKX Wallet users can trade BTC, ETH, and AVAX with up to 50 times leverage through this connection.

GMX Integration Boosts OKX Wallet Trading Options
GMX expands OKX Wallet customers’ trading options and boosts its utility. OKX Wallet, a Chrome and Firefox browser add-on, lets users access GMX. Simple steps allow customers to access the perpetual swap DEX’s broad trading choices. This requires downloading the web extension, creating an OKX Wallet, and linking it to GMX.

OKX Wallet’s Discover platform, which hosts over 5,500 DApps, DEXs, blockchain games, NFTs, and other tools, gives users access to GMX. The Discover platform integration gives consumers a centralized and intuitive environment for cryptocurrency-related activities.

OKX, a global pioneer in Web3 technology, offers a variety of products for different skill levels. OKX Wallet is the most secure, adaptable, and resilient cryptocurrency wallet across the globe. It allows users to engage with over 80 blockchains while maintaining complete monetary management. The wallet uses Multi-Party Computation (MPC) to improve security. It also enables wallet recovery without seed phrases.

OKX Platform Offers 70 Protocols across 10 Blockchains
OKX’s Web3 DeFi platform allows users to earn and stake assets across 70 protocols on over 10 blockchains for a strong decentralized financial experience. Users can participate in decentralized financial activities in many ways on this platform.

The OKX Wallet’s inclusion of GMX shows the company’s commitment to a healthy, user-focused cryptocurrency ecosystem. OKX expands users’ trading possibilities, increasing digital asset industry diversity, accessibility, and inventiveness. As users explore and use the integrated features, this strategic move should benefit the cryptocurrency ecosystem. As OKX continues to impact Web3 technology, its role in shaping the future of cryptocurrency becomes more vibrant.

​Here's Why Bitcoin (BTC) And Crypto Market Falling Today

The cryptocurrency market has continued to face a downturn today, leaving investors on edge as Bitcoin and other major cryptos experience a dip. Meanwhile, several factors might have potentially contributed to this decline, as investors are treading with a cautious eye on economic indicators and the looming Federal Reserve meeting.

So, let’s take a look at the potential factors that might have triggered the recent crypto market selloff.

Potential Reasons For The Recent Dip

U.S. CPI Data As Fed’s Decision Looms
Investors are treading carefully as the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data reveals a cooling inflation rate of 3.1% in November. Meanwhile, the latest data also showed that on a monthly basis, the inflation rose 0.1%, while the core CPI surged 4% on an annual basis.

Despite this dip, anticipation grows ahead of the Fed’s meeting starting today, December 13, as the inflation remained above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target range. Now, the market eagerly awaits insights into the Fed’s stance on potential rate hikes, a decision with far-reaching implications for global financial markets, including cryptocurrencies.

While the CME FedWatch Tool showed that there are 98.2% chance of the Fed keeping the interest rate unchanged at their upcoming gathering, the investors seem to be waiting on the sideline before putting any further bets. In addition, the rate-cut decisions by the central bank are also something that the market eagerly anticipates.

Profit Booking and Economic Health

Another factor contributing to the market’s recent slump could be profit booking by investors seizing recent gains from the notable rally in the crypto market. Notably, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major cryptocurrencies reached yearly highs in the past weeks, as the risk-bet appetite of the investors grew due to the absence of any negative catalysts in the market.

In addition, the market participants seem to be seeking clarity on the nation’s economic health, with the U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) data set to be released later today. This key economic indicator may influence market sentiment as investors weigh their bets in the digital asset space.

In a climate where uncertainty prevails, market participants closely monitor these developments, understanding that each piece of data has the potential to sway the crypto market either way.

​Vivek Ramaswamy: “My policy will guarantee a bright future for cryptocurrency”

US presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswami said that in his political course he does not forget about cryptocurrencies, which will give freedom to Americans.

“15 years ago, US taxpayers were forced to bail out big banks by acting as intermediaries between them and big government. It poisons the proper functioning of capitalism,” wrote Vivek Ramaswamy.

The cryptocurrency movement began as an alternative to “this shame,” he added.

“The policies I released this month ensure a bright future for cryptocurrency and provide economic freedom for Americans seeking an alternative to centralized finance,” the presidential candidate said.

He said that such freedom rests on three pillars - freedom of coding, freedom of financial independence and freedom from regulatory violations.

“Using policies like this as a framework will allow us to free American innovators from an administrative state that persecutes and blocks innovation,” he added.

Ramaswamy calls Bitcoin “the way out of the broken financial infrastructure” created by the US Federal Reserve (Fed). He also assures that, as the future President of the United States, he intends to fight to ensure that the dollar remains the reserve currency of the world, without interfering with the development of Bitcoin.

In May, at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami, Ramaswami announced he was collecting campaign donations in BTC. The presidential candidate later spoke out against the digital dollar, calling it a threat to the freedom of American citizens.

​The Bank for International Settlements commented on the anonymity of CBDC

Representatives of the Tourbillion project and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) announced the results of a joint study. Experts have concluded that users can maintain privacy when making payments with central bank digital currencies.

Payment options have been explored where retail customers do not have to share personal information with third parties, including the retailer. However, the user's identity will be disclosed to his credit institution. This is necessary in order to discourage potential tax evasion.

Given the fact that the implementation of CBDC is being actively studied by various jurisdictions, the confidentiality of this tool has become one of the key issues. BIS emphasized that the ability to maintain anonymity is a key requirement for most users, but this situation is quite difficult to solve. The main challenge is ensuring technological security and privacy.

The situation in the world is such that attitudes towards blockchain technologies may differ significantly depending on the jurisdiction. It is noteworthy that at the moment Japan has set a clear vector for itself, within which the country intends to take a leading position in the Web 3.0 industry. The local government is systematically easing the way it regulates digital assets.

This position is very different from South Korea, where the government has committed to tightening oversight. It is noteworthy that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida strongly supports blockchain technologies and digital assets.

​BitcoinSistemi: Three whales are selling three altcoins.

Large traders sell MEME, LRC and LINK cryptocurrencies.

Three major players are selling three altcoins. The observation was shared on BitcoinSistemi.

A whale with short address 0xd4e on Coinbase accumulated LRC coins from February 1st to March 9th. On average, he bought coins for $0.35. The investor sold the coins for $0.21. A total of 5.7 million LRC was spent with an estimate of $1.2 million.

Keith 0x432 exchanged 2.5 million MEME for 33.2 ETH. Although the deal is valued at a rather modest $65,000, the user is one of the main holders of MEME. The trader is left with $2.4 million worth of MEME. The potential profit from their sale is estimated at $390,000.

On the topic of meme coins: SHIB rate increased 5% this week

Keith 0x604 sold all his LINK - more than 62,000 coins. Keith accumulated coins on November 12 on Uniswap and FixedFloat. The investor's loss was $179,000.

​BTC rate could reach $732,000

Analysts from Twitter have studied the possibility of the price of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) moving strongly upward. They noted that, according to the model, which helped predict the peak value above $60,000, the next peak in quotations will be around $732,000 for the digital coin.

The researchers tried to understand how realistic this estimate is. They studied a model for predicting future BTC Stock-to-Flow (S2F) prices from researcher Plan B. His market analytics methods have been repeatedly criticized and found to be ineffective. However, another expert, Greg Cipolaro, attempted to modify the S2F model and obtained much more accurate results.

Bitcoin reached $65,000 in April 2021 and then $68,000 in November 2021, while the specialist predicted it to reach $60,000 and slightly higher. His analytical model is based on price targets for the supply reduction after the Bitcoin halving. However, many argued: the Chipolaro mechanism turned out to be true by pure chance and this is just a coincidence that will not happen for the 2nd time in a row.

The $732,000 mark is about 1,800% higher than current levels. From the Black Thursday low of $3,800 to the 2021 high of $69,000, a difference of approximately 1,600% was recorded. Therefore, achieving such a high level at the next price peak seems unrealistic for now. This is especially noteworthy given the fact that Bitcoin is already trading at more than double its local 2022 lows.

According to data as of the evening of November 18, 2023, the rate of the digital coin BTC reached $36,685. The total capitalization was $717.09 billion. Daily trading volumes were $15.41 billion.