The Rimo newsletter is created by our experts in collaboration with our partners dedicated to blockchain technology and crypto ventures; for startups and enterprises seeking to develop solutions in the Web3.
Follow us on social media to stay informed on the industry.
Find us on LinkedIn to share ideas with the community of professionals in Web3
NEWS
BTC Decoupling
Less than six months away from its 15th birthday, Bitcoin seems to have entered a phase of adolescence. Much like angry teenagers striving for acknowledgment and independence by moving out of their parents’ home, BTC has separated from some of its next-of-kin
Recent data shows that the 90-day rolling correlation between Bitcoin’s price and the U.S. stock markets, particularly Nasdaq and S&P 500, has reached its lowest level in two years, indicating that Bitcoin’s performance is no longer dependent on stock market sentiment.
What this could mean for the crypto community, is that Bitcoin could potentially display unprecedented freedom in its future price formation and be less dependent on traditional entities in the finance and technology sectors.
That impressive performance is undoubtedly supported by the filing of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from major financial institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity with the top cryptocurrency up 25% since BlackRock’s filing on June 15.
But with this new independence comes great responsibility – value storage and protection, cross-border capital transfers, micro-payments, and even NFT art are all prospective career paths for this young asset. It’s the beacon of revolution in personal financial independence that the community should look up to – much like a teenager wanting the world to be a better place.
The Global Crypto Roundup
- Fed Hits the Brakes
- UAE Seizes Miner Opportunities
- Standard Chartered Bank makes predictions on Bitcoin
- XRP’s landmark win
- The EU putting crypto on the map
- ARK Invest sells Coinbase shares
- SEC accepts Valkyrie Bitcoin ETF proposal for review
- Grayscale’s moment of truth approaching
- JPMorgan executed the first live trade with tokenized JPY and SGD on the Polygon
- WisdomTree introduced nine digital funds on the Stellar or Ethereum
- Hong Kong’s central bank issued a $100 million tokenized green bond
- Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken collaborating to launch solbond, a blockchain-based platform for digital bonds
- Société Générale FORGE obtains first PSAN approval
- Gensler asks for more than $100M to regulate crypto
- 88% of institutional investors are optimistic about cryptos
- NFT Market Witnesses Historic Liquidation Event
Fed Hits the Brakes
The US Federal Reserve policymakers have decided to take a breather this month and are holding on raising interest rates at their June meeting. But there is a slight catch: the Federal Open Market Committee is also predicting a mild economic recession towards the end of 2023. A gradual recovery would follow it and it would be neither “deep nor prolonged,” reports say.
This hesitation to continue raising interest rates to counter inflation showcases the difficulties the US central bank faces in bringing it down to the desired 2% level – a hawkish, overly aggressive approach could put pressure on consumers, leading to personal credit and mortgage defaults. And that could really break things up economically, so we best land softly this time.
UAE Seizes Miner Opportunities
The Middle East continues to put in efforts to establish itself as a global crypto hub. This week, we focus on the telltale signs the United Arab Emirates could potentially become a go-to Bitcoin mining destination:
- The UAE boasts over 30 free trade zones and a growing contribution to the Bitcoin mining hash rate.
- Marathon Digital and Zero Two established two mining sites with a combined capacity of 250 MW.
- UAE’s mining capacity is ~4% of Bitcoin’s global hash rate at around 400 MW.
- Focus on renewable energy sources places the UAE in a competitive position for future mining growth.
- The country’s zero-tax policy in free trade zones provides significant advantages for miners.
Standard Chartered Bank makes predictions on Bitcoin
Standard Chartered Bank has made an intriguing prediction regarding the future price of Bitcoin. According to their analysis, Bitcoin has the potential to experience a surge of $50,000 within this year and could reach an impressive $120,000 by the end of 2024.
The bank attributes this potential price increase to a shift in behavior among Bitcoin miners. Standard Chartered believes that miners will adopt a strategy of hoarding their coins, thereby restricting the available supply in the market. This change in approach has reportedly been encouraged by the recent surge in Bitcoin’s price.
In April, Standard Chartered had already forecasted that Bitcoin could reach $100,000 by the end of 2024, signaling their belief that the “crypto winter” had come to an end. However, one of the bank’s prominent foreign exchange analysts, Geoff Kendrick, now suggests that there is a 20% potential for further upward movement in their prediction.
XRP’s landmark win
Christmas time in 2020 holds avid memories for some in the global crypto community. It was then that the SEC took the first major action against an established crypto project, Ripple, and its native token XRP. Many were quick to declare the event “the end of crypto,” while others remained blissfully unaware of the legal abyss that would follow in the next two and a half years.
Until July 2023, when Judge Analisa Torres of the Federal District Court ruled in favor of Ripple and XRP.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty shared the news and expressed their emotions on Twitter, sparking celebratory threads from XRP enthusiasts. Congressman Tom Emmer chipped in, which was nice of him, crypto enthusiast Adam Cochran put out a thread breaking down the news, and Michael Saylor tuned in to congratulate.
With the (market) celebrations underway, here are the key takeaways from the decision:
- Judge Torres’ ruling is a victory for the digital assets space as it sets a precedent in saying that the sale of XRP to the public is not to be considered a security.
- The SEC will most likely appeal the decision, meaning that the final ruling is yet to be presented, but the judge’s decision certainly carries weight.
- This development is another step for the digital assets industry in its endeavor to establish cryptocurrencies as a new, separate asset class.
The EU putting crypto on the map
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has introduced a detailed regulatory framework for crypto firms in the EU, under the Markets in Crypto Assets law. Guidelines include handling complaints, managing conflicts, and stablecoin reserve requirements. ESMA initiated a consultation process till September 20, inviting industry insights to balance innovation and consumer protection. This EU initiative indicates progress in creating a regulated and flourishing crypto environment, boosting investor confidence, digital asset adoption, and regional industry growth.
ARK Invest sells Coinbase shares
ARK Invest, led by CEO Cathie Wood, has recently made significant reductions in its positions in Coinbase (COIN) shares, selling $26.23 million worth of shares over the past week. This marks the third sale in the last seven days, raising questions about Wood’s outlook for COIN’s share price.
SEC accepts Valkyrie Bitcoin ETF proposal for review
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently given its approval for the review of Valkyrie’s Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) proposal, marking another positive development for Bitcoin. This comes shortly after the acceptance of BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF proposal on July 13.
Valkyrie promptly resubmitted its long-standing Bitcoin ETF proposal on June 21, following BlackRock’s notable submission. Notably, Valkyrie has chosen the ticker symbol ‘BRRR’ for its ETF, referencing a popular meme associated with money printing.
In a similar move to BlackRock, Valkyrie updated its filing on July 5 to include Coinbase, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, as a “surveillance-sharing” partner. This connection between the two ETF applications could have potential implications for their fate.
Grayscale’s moment of truth approaching
The elephant that is Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is still in the room. Why might it be an elephant in a room, some may ask? Mainly because it’s this huge pile of fractionated Bitcoin, in all 625,000 coins and close to $19 billion of it.
Due to the lack of approval, GBTC has functioned like a closed-end fund, meaning it didn’t redeem shares, leading to discounts of over 40% compared to its actual Bitcoin value. And here is where it gets interesting as of lately that discount has been shrinking to reach 25% for its lowest reading since May 2022.
Grayscale’s CEO, Michael Sonnensheim shared for Bloomberg, that the company’s attorneys expect a decision on the matter “by the fall at the latest”, though, just to keep us all on our toes, it could be delivered by the court “any day”.
Société Générale FORGE obtains first PSAN approval
SG-Forge, a subsidiary of the French banking group Société Générale, has officially become the first company to obtain PSAN approval from the AMF. This is the highest level of regulatory certification currently possible for operations on digital assets, including a civil liability insurance policy providing guarantees to its customers and capital requirements. It is also an important milestone for the development of the Euro CoinVertible (EURCV) recently deployed by the company on Ethereum.
Gensler asks for more than $100M to regulate crypto
Noted SEC director Gary Gensler has requested an additional $109 million in funding to continue regulating the crypto sector. An increase that would raise the total enforcement budget to $1.4 billion. At the same time, an additional grant request of $393 million for “technology costs” related to monitoring financial networks has also been made… The story between the SEC and cryptos is just beginning.
88% of institutional investors are optimistic about cryptos
According to a survey of 200 institutional investors conducted by Binance Research, 88% say they are confident about the cryptocurrency sector over the next decade. When it comes to the next 12 months, the same metric is more nuanced, although it proves optimistic at 63.5%. Better still, half of them plan to increase their exposure soon.
NFT Market Witnesses Historic Liquidation Event
Cirrus, the leading NFT lending platform, recently witnessed an unprecedented event in the NFT market. Over the past month, a record-breaking wave of liquidations has hit the market. In just 96 hours, a staggering 1,244 liquidations occurred, surpassing any previous numbers. It’s worth noting that this figure does not include forced sellers who proactively sold their collateral to settle their loans before reaching a negative equity situation.
RIMO.DIGITAL 
One thought on “XRP’s win against the SEC”