Circle widens the scope: Circle’s USDC stablecoin is natively launching on six new blockchains, including Base, Optimism, and Cosmos via the Noble network. The launch is part of Circle’s plan to improve the utility of USDC by bringing the stablecoin to more blockchains as a native token.
Market Spotlight
Note: Market prices captured in USD at the time of sending. Explore more on Crypto.com/Price.
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News Snaps
Deutsche Bank to Offer Bitcoin
The US$1.3 trillion asset manager Deutsche Bank will offer Bitcoin and crypto custody services in partnership with Taurus. This will make the bank the largest partner for crypto custody services in Germany.
Crypto.com Kicks Off APAC Hackathon
Calling all crypto enthusiasts, builders, and entrepreneurs in APAC — the Crypto.com APAC Hackathon has launched! Learn more about the Hackathon and how you can get involved here!
US$17.7 Trillion Behind Bitcoin ETFs
Earlier this week, Franklin Templeton joined this growing list with an application for a Bitcoin fund. The assets under management of the companies behind all pending Bitcoin Spot ETFs now total US$17.7 trillion — as some in the space highlighted the weight of the proposals.
Crypto Adoption Leading in Central and Southern Asia
The latest Global Crypto Adoption Index from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis shows that Central and Southern Asia are leading the world in crypto adoption. India is cited as leading grassroots adoption, and six out of the top 10 countries with the highest adoption rates are based in Asia.
Crypto at Fair Market Value
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has recommended recording crypto at fair market value on corporate balance sheets, possibly removing significant impairments but adding to volatility. The FASB is the organization that sets accounting and reporting standards for companies that follow US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
JPMorgan Crypto Payment System
JPMorgan is reportedly exploring a blockchain-based digital payment and settlement system. The company developed much of the infrastructure for the project, which requires a digital deposit token, but can’t move ahead until getting the go-ahead from US regulators.
What’s Ahead
G20 Moves International Crypto Framework Along
The upcoming framework will automatically exchange information about crypto transactions between jurisdictions on an annual basis — affecting users in G20 countries. The group members attended a two-day summit in Delhi earlier this week and decided on a 2027 startdate for the framework.
Chart of the Week
Developments continue in the stablecoin area, with recent highlights including the launch of PayPal’s own stablecoin, PYUSD, and Visa rolling out support for USDC payments on the Solana blockchain.
Decentralized stablecoins have innovative stability mechanisms, typically making use of over-collateralized DeFi protocols and algorithms; however, centralized stablecoins currently dominate the market share.
In our latest monthly feature Research report, we explore the decentralized stablecoins landscape, how they compare to centralized stablecoins, and upcoming projects.
Read the report: Decentralised Stablecoins
Research & Insights
Monthly Feature Article | Innovative Stablecoins: Exploring Novel Stablecoin Protocols
Decentralized stablecoins have gained traction due to the drawbacks of centralized ones, including counterparty risks, lack of transparency, and centralization concerns. However, traditionally, maintaining stability and decentralization can impact capital efficiency. New designs are highly anticipated to address this challenge.
In this report, we selected several innovative projects and analyzed new stablecoin designs that are emerging in the market.
Key Takeaways:
- The Reserve protocol is a platform that enables the permissionless creation of asset-backed, yield-bearing, and over-collateralized stablecoins on Ethereum. The over-collateralization is not required on minting stablecoins (RToken), but is provided by Reserve Rights (RSR) holders, who possess the option to stake their RSR tokens.
- RAI is a free-floating asset backed only by ETH. Unlike other stablecoin projects with a pegged-asset design, RAI is designed to maintain a stable value but is not pegged to any fiat currency.
- Ethena is a platform that provides infrastructure to build crypto-native yield-bearing stablecoins that are not reliant on the banking system. One of the core products of Ethena is USDe, a delta-neutral, yield-bearing stablecoin. However, Ethena relies on centralized exchanges to execute short perpetual trading on ETH.
Read our latest research that explores selected innovative stablecoin projects in greater detail, exclusive to our Private members.
Check out Innovative Stablecoins: Exploring Novel Stablecoin Protocols.
Product Picks
LTC Contracts Are Now Available on UpDown Options for US Users
UpDown Options are the first CFTC-regulated crypto derivatives product that gives users the tools to capture value in all market conditions, allowing them to maximize profit and minimize losses, trade with lower costs, and hedge against price dips. US users can trade BTC, ETH, or LTC on four available contracts, depending on their risk appetite. For more details, visit the blog here.
Steadily Build Your Portfolio Across 75+ Tokens With Recurring Buy USDC and USDT have been added to the Recurring Buy feature in the Crypto.com App. Users can now apply the Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) strategy for over 75 tokens with Recurring Buy. Find out more here.
Crypto Level Up
Bitcoin’s Potential as a Store of Value
A store of value refers to an asset that can retain its purchasing power over time and be readily exchanged for something else. Through the years, Bitcoin (BTC) has increasingly shown its potential as an asset that can achieve these. Here’s why.
1. Durability
Because BTC is a digital asset, it does not suffer from wear and tear or degradation over time. As long as the Bitcoin network is operational, BTC will continue to exist.
2. Portability
BTC is stored digitally and can be quickly sent anywhere in the world. It’s much more portable compared to physical stores of value like gold and silver.
3. Scarcity
BTC’s current supply is capped at 21 million coins. This makes it a scarce asset, much like how there’s only a limited amount of gold that can be mined underground.
4. Liquidity and Utility
BTC’s liquidity and utility have improved, becoming legal tender in El Salvador and the Central African Republic. It’s also accepted as a form of payment at several merchants.
5. Fungibility and Divisibility
Every bitcoin is interchangeable with each other, which makes it fungible. Furthermore, one bitcoin can be divided into 1/100,000,000th of a unit, making it divisible, as well.
Find Out More About Bitcoin as a Store of Value.
CryptoIRL
One of the Lion’s most enjoyable recreational activities is going for a walk along a harbor — @durham1314 taking the Crypto.com Jade Green Visa Card for a stroll to see the boats.
Hashtag #CryptoIRL with your Crypto.com Visa Card on your social profiles to get featured! Your 15 minutes of fame in the #CROFam awaits you!
Decoder
Long
In the cryptocurrency market, going long means buying a cryptocurrency and holding it in the hope that its value will increase, allowing you to sell it at a profit.
There are several types of long options strategies that traders can use:
- Long Call: Buying a call option to profit from an upward price movement.
- Long Put: Buying a put option to profit from a downward price movement.
- Long Straddle: Simultaneously buying a call and put option to profit from significant price volatility.
- Long Strangle: Similar to a straddle, but with different strike prices for the call and put options.
Long Butterfly: Combining long and short options to profit from limited price movement within a specific range.
This Week in Crypto History
Satoshi Nakamoto Statue Unveiled in Hungary
On September 16, 2021, a statue depicting Bitcoin’s anonymous founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, was unveiled in Budapest, Hungary. Located in Graphisoft Park, it’s meant to represent a ‘general human figure’ because Nakamoto’s identity has never been revealed.
It took a total of four months for the statue to be created across several locations in Hungary. Additionally, the team received US$10,000 in cryptocurrency donations to fund this project. Naturally, Nakamoto was invited to view the statue but it is unknown if they took Hungary up on the invitation.
That’s it for this week’s Snapshot. Want more? Find out what’s trending in the crypto world.
