Crypto Market Pulse (21/08/2023)

PayPal introduces Cryptocurrencies Hub. Europe gets its first BTC ETF. CME Group launching BTC reference rates for the Asia Pacific region.

Weekly Market Index

Last week’s crypto market prices decreased by -10.88%. Volume and volatility rose by +39.57% and +152.05%, respectively.

Chart of the Week

Telegram trading bots have recently gained attention with the fully diluted valuation of associated tokens rising significantly in the past two months, although prices have dipped along with the general crypto market in the last week. However, there has been some debate around potential security issues that warrant extra scrutiny.

Weekly Performance

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) prices fell -10.7% and -8.6%, respectively, in the past seven days. Price action for other selected top-cap tokens was also negative.

Selected key categories were also down on market cap change in the past seven days.

News Highlights

• PayPal, which recently launched the dollar-backed stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD), updated its terms and conditions to introduce Cryptocurrencies Hub — a feature that allows users to hold and interact with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in their PayPal account.
• Europe has its first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) as London-based Jacobi Asset Management last week announced the product’s listing on Euronext Amsterdam. 
• Derivatives marketplace CME Group is launching Bitcoin reference rates for the Asia Pacific region, in what is seen as a sign of growing institutional interest in crypto from Asia.
• Mastercard is partnering with Ripple, Consensys, and other blockchain companies on a central bank digital currency program. The company’s CBDC Partner Program was announced last week.

Recent Research Reports

• Research Roundup Newsletter [July 2023]: We present to you our latest issue of Research Roundup, featuring trending market insights in July, charts of the month, and our latest research exploring real-world assets.
• Crypto Market Sizing Report H1 2023: Global crypto owners reached 516 million by the first half of 2023.
• Real-World Assets: Bridging Real-World Value to DeFi: Real World Assets is a promising application for blockchain technology that is gaining traction. We explore notable projects like Centrifuge, Ondo, Tangible, and Toucan.
• Alpha Navigator: Quest for Alpha [July 2023]: Risk assets continued their positive price action in July, although BTC dipped slightly. Macro calendar is quiet up until mid-August when we have the US CPI and release of FOMC minutes.

Recent University Articles

• What Is Ethereum’s EIP-4844 Update? How Proto-Danksharding Can Reduce Gas Fees: Learn about Ethereum’s Cancun-Deneb upgrade, a major protocol update to reduce gas fees and enhance scalability through Proto-Danksharding.
• What Is OP? A Guide to Optimism’s Native Token: In this introductory guide, we explore Optimism’s OP token — what it is, how it works, and how to get involved in this exciting ecosystem.
• What Is Arbitrum (ARB)?: ARB is the Arbitrum blockchain’s native governance token. Learn about its features and tokenomics in this article.

Catalyst Calendar

Author

Research and Insights Team

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