📈 Spot trading volume across crypto exchanges increased in August, with the Crypto.com Exchange ranking as the top crypto exchange with USD support

Spot trading volume across crypto exchanges increased in August, with the Crypto.com Exchange ranking as the top USD-supported crypto exchange. Qatar released a regulatory framework for digital assets

Quick Take

• Spot trading volume across crypto exchanges increased in August, with the Crypto.com Exchange ranking as the top USD-supported crypto exchange. Qatar released a regulatory framework for digital assets
• US spot Ethereum ETFs saw a US$91 million net outflow last week (past five trading days), while spot Bitcoin ETFs had a weekly net outflow of $882 million.
• On the macro side, Canada reduced interest rates by 0.25% to 4.25% last week, the third consecutive cut this year. The US released a mixed jobs report. Unemployment rate decreased 0.1% to 4.2% in August, in line with expectations; however,  nonfarm payrolls expanded to 142,000 in August, higher than 89,000 in July but lower than Dow Jones’s consensus of 161,000, suggesting a labour market slowdown. The latest CME FedWatch Tool showed a 100% probability of a September rate cut in the US. 
• Notable updates: Sky (formerly MakerDAO) and Aave shared details about a partnership called ‘Sky Aave Force’, Polygon Ecosystem Token’s (POL) Polygon Miden alpha testnet v4 went live on 6 September; the Crypto.com App listed Neiro Ethereum (NEIROETH).
• Notable events in the coming week: ECB interest rate decision, US presidential debate and Consumer Price Index

Weekly Market Index

Price and volatility indices decreased by -7.82% and -32.60%, respectively. The volume index increased by +0.69% last week. This coincided with a broader decrease in the equities market with concerns of a US labour market and economy slowdown. 

Chart of the Week

Monthly spot trading volumes across cryptocurrency exchanges increased to $1.2 trillion in August, 7% higher than July 2024 and 179% higher than August 2023, according to the Block. 

The Crypto.com Exchange was the leading crypto exchange with USD support by spot trading volume in August, claiming the title for the second consecutive month.

Weekly Performance

BTC and ETH decreased by -7.0% and -9.4%, respectively, in the past seven days. Price action for most other selected top market capitalisation tokens was also down. AVAX (+1.6%) and OP (+1.0%) increased while ATOM (-16.7%) led the drop.

Key categories were all down in market capitalisation in the past seven days. The Layer-1 (L1) category led the drop.

News Highlights

ETFs and Funds

• Australian asset manager Monochrome applied to list the Monochrome Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Cboe Australia. The ETF is in partnership with Vasco Trustees, and the companies expect a decision by the end of September. 
• Libre, a joint venture between WebN Group and Nomura’s Laser Digital, is bringing tokenised investment funds to Aptos. Funds deployed include the Brevan Howard Master Fund, Hamilton Lane’s Senior Credit Opportunities Fund, and BlackRock’s ICS Money Market Fund. 

Regulations

• Qatar Financial Center’s regulators released a regulatory framework for digital assets. The rules include legal recognition of property rights in tokens and underlying assets, as well as smart contracts. It also sets a framework for asset tokenisation. 
• Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) released plans for a tax code overhaul in fiscal year 2025, including provisions that can potentially lower crypto tax rates. FSA wrote in the document that it is necessary to consider whether crypto assets should be treated as financial assets for tax filing. 

Adoption

• The fourth-largest bank in Switzerland, Zurich Cantonal Bank, is now offering trading and custody services for BTC and ETH. Customers can trade crypto 24/7 through the bank’s eBanking and mobile banking platforms. 
• Travel marketplace Skyscanner integrated with crypto-native travel platform Travala. This enables Travala to access Skyscanner’s 110 million monthly users and helps Skyscanner reach potential customers who prefer alternative payment methods, including cryptocurrencies.  

Others

• German industrial company Siemens AG issued a €300 million digital bond on blockchain rails. This is part of a European Central Bank trial, with major German financial institutions invested in the bond. 
• Japan’s three major banks, MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho, will trial a cross-border stablecoin transfer platform in a pilot test named Project Pax. The stablecoins used are issued by Progmat, a blockchain startup backed by the three banks, SBI Holdings, and Japan Exchange Group. 
• Bitcoin infrastructure developer Blockstream launched series three of its security token, Blockstream Mining Note 2 (BMN2). It provides exposure to the Bitcoin hash rate operated by the company’s North American mining facilities. 
• Brazil’s Central Bank selected 13 participants for the second part of the pilot of its central bank digital currency (CBDC). Visa and Santander were among the participants, and were selected to optimise the foreign exchange market and work on a project related to automobile operations, respectively. 
• Chainlink announced a partnership with South Korean blockchain financial technology firm Suhoio to explore asset tokenisation and central bank digital currencies (CBDC) across Asian markets, including South Korea, Japan, and Thailand. The partnership will focus on implementing Chainlink’s cross-chain interoperability protocol for financial firms in South Korea. 

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