After bitcoin fell as much as 75% from its peak, crypto markets appear to have “found a floor,” JPMorgan said in a note on Monday.
Bitcoin and ether have surged 36% and 102% from their mid-June lows, respectively, and the total market value of cryptocurrencies has reclaimed the all-important $1 trillion level, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Analysts at JPMorgan said there are two reasons driving the recent strength in the cryptocurrency market.
“What has helped, we think, has been more limited new contagion from the collapse of Terra/Luna,” JPMorgan said, referring to the stablecoin implosion that led to tens of billions of dollars in losses and sparked a leverage unwind that wiped out crypto firms like hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and crypto broker Voyager Digital.
“However, we think the real driver has been the Ethereum merge and positive data following the launch of the Sapolia testnet in early July and Ropsten testnet in June, indicating the merge is viable in 2022,” JPMorgan said.
The upcoming Ethereum event has been highly anticipated by investors. The merge is designed to transfer the Ethereum blockchain away from a proof-of-work network and instead to a proof-of-stake system, which is supposed to be faster and more efficient from an energy consumption perspective when mining.
A successful Ethereum merge later this year should help boost sentiment in the crypto markets, JPMorgan said. The merge is currently expected to take place in September, depending how the upcoming Georli testnet performs. That test is schedule for August 11 and is one of the last steps before the merge.
While ether sees a strong resurgence, there’s still a long way to go before it and the broader crypto market recover recent losses. Trading volumes in crypto continued to fall in July, and daily trading volumes in NFTs have collapsed 84% year-over-year, JPMorgan said.
Ultimately, the ongoing recovery of the cryptocurrency market could hinge on the upcoming Ethereum merge in the short-term as crypto investors look for a much-needed boost in sentiment.
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Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has watched his investment in SafeMoon (SAFEMOON) crash by over 94%, proving to crypto enthusiasts that he is, in fact, capable of hodling during the bear market.
The stock trader and media personality took to Twitter Monday to lament his $40,000 investment in the meme coin, which has fallen to just $2,370.94 after he didn’t withdraw a single token. “Still holding by the way,” Portnoy said. “Diamond hands.”
Portnoy claimed that he’s also being sued by SafeMoon, possibly for “trashing” the project on his show, but didn’t elaborate much further. In a separate tweet, Portnoy shared a screenshot of SafeMoon’s sales manager expressing displeasure with the Barstool frontman for giving the company “a bad look and unfair representation.” Portnoy “mentioned his SafeMoon losses on air but failed to mention he hasn’t upgraded his holdings to V2 yet,” the manager complained.
Portnoy is no stranger to cryptocurrencies, having bought Bitcoin (BTC) in August 2020 only to sell it one week later due to volatility. He later expressed regret over his lack of conviction and went on to make several additional bets on cryptos, which included SafeMoon.
As far as prices go, SafeMoon is down over 99% from its all-time high of $0.00001399 in April 2021, according to CoinMarketCap. The coin has a lifetime return on investment of negative 86%.
SafeMoon was audited in May 2021 by blockchain security firm HashEx. At the time, the firm identified 12 smart contract vulnerabilities, including a “temporary ownership renounce” that made it especially prone to a rug pull.
Pro Gamer DAO (PG DAO) is thrilled and proud to announce its strategic partnership with GuildFi, the interconnected Web3 ecosystem of games, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and residents.
PG DAO is extremely excited to partner with a like-minded team also consisting of experienced gamers whose vision is to create the best gamers experience for the current and future gaming audience.
GuildFi helps gamers discover games with high potential and helps game-makers connect with the right player bases for sustainability and long-term growth. The gaming guild acts as a scholarship aggregator and an all-inclusive platform while providing extensive tools that improve players’ success via boosting yields and compounding rewards and bonuses.
The community leaders of PG DAO consist of a unique group of hardcore, passionate gamers who appreciated and loved the development work of GuildFi in creating a seamless, all-inclusive platform dedicated to gamers and gaming communities.
Backed and incubated by Deuk Soteria Ventures, PG DAO was created by an elite, experienced group of pro gamers out of South Korea, a nation famously known for its extreme gaming culture. PG DAO’s ambition is to become the elite gaming community for gamers with the most extensive collection of resources. Most recently, PG DAO announced a partnership with League of Kingdoms, a top-tier gaming project with thousands of dedicated users.
That ambition is why it’s important for PG DAO to aggregate top-quality games and gaming NFTs. With this newly formed partnership, PG DAO and GuildFi will collaborate on actively bringing together more active platform users, community members and real gamers, contributing and joining hands to grow the ever-expanding crypto gaming ecosystem.
PG DAO will bootstrap its extensive player base to participate on the platform GuildFi provides, allowing members access to other guilds’ scholarships and gaming tools created specifically to enhance players’ performance while maximizing their rewards.
Ken Ko, core team member of PG DAO, said: “With an extensive gaming community established in Korea, we always welcome various opportunities to develop our decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) ecosystem and to further grow our community.
“Therefore, partnering with a robust and top-tier platform like GuildFi will benefit our DAO in both yield earnings and in-game profit.”
Jarindr Thitadilaka, project lead of GuildFi, said: “Collaborating with a community-driven guild such as PG DAO enables multiple synergies to be achieved.
“With GuildFi at the forefront of the Thai gaming community and PG DAO anchoring the Korean-gaming community, it enables us to bring forward more platform users, community members and active gamers in the Web3 gaming ecosystem.”
FZE, a subsidiary of crypto exchange FTX, has been awarded Dubai’s first Minimal Viable Product (MVP) license, allowing full operation of the exchange in the region.
Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) issued the operating license to FZE under the MVP program, which according to Helal Saeed Almarri, the director general of Dubai WTC Authority, is designed for secure and sustainable growth in Dubai. For now, the FTX FZE exchange’s operations are in the test phase and will be focused on providing various crypto services.
According to FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, the newly licensed exchange will operate under a model incorporating regulatory oversight and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) compliance controls catering to Tier 1 international financial markets. In addition, Almarri revealed that the exchange’s operations will be used as a regulatory trial for future commercial services using virtual assets.
“The MVP Phase, exclusive to select, responsible international players like FTX, will allow VARA to prudently structure guidelines and risk mitigation levers for secure commercial operations,” said Almarri.
With the license, FTX FZE has been approved to deploy regulated crypto derivatives products and trading services to qualified institutional investors. In addition, the exchange can also act as a clearing house, operate a nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace, and provide custodial services across the region.
Back in March 2022, FTX was the first to receive Dubai’s virtual asset exchange (VAX) license soon after the regulators signed off the virtual assets law and established the Dubai VARA. Crypto exchange OKX also received a provisional license from Dubai’s regulatory authorities to provide additional services to local investors and financial services providers.
Dubai, and the rest of the UAE, have been taking steps towards cryptocurrency adoption at a fast pace this year. The emirates went a step further on its bet for innovation earlier this year with the launch of Dubai Metaverse Strategy.
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US crypto exchange FTX is continuing to acquire and expand in the crypto space, with reports emerging that the exchange is in talks to acquire Bithumb. The exchange has also backed a slew of crypto firms, including the likes of Voyager Digital and BlockFi.
Rumoured Bithumb Acquisition
According to several reports, FTX is in talks to acquire South Korea’s second-largest exchange, Bithumb. The companies have reportedly been in talks for the past few months, sources close to the matter revealed. The source declined to come on record due to the confidential nature of the dealings. While FTX has not commented on the matter so far, A spokesperson from Bithumb stated that they could not comment on anything at this stage.
While there is no official confirmation, if the deal is successful, the Sam Bankman-Fried-led exchange could gain a strong foothold in one of the most important markets in the crypto ecosystem.
Acquisition Spree Despite Crypto Downturn
Sam Bankman-Fried, in an earlier interview, had stated that he plans to spend billions on the acquisition of other firms in the crypto space. The crypto exchange is reportedly looking to raise further funds after spending significantly during the bear market. The company had carried out significant acquisitions and bailouts, which were a result of the bear market spawned by the collapse of the UST.
Both FTX and FTX.US are looking to raise funds at the same $32 billion valuation that was made in January 2022 for the primary platform and $8 billion for its American subsidy. Both arms of the exchange have already raised $400 million each.
Sam Bankman-Fried also revealed that FTX had set aside a few billion dollars to continue supporting crypto projects if their collapse could have a significant impact and destabilize the crypto industry. However, he stated that he believed the worst of the liquidity crunch and bear market was over and that things could get better from here on.
He also stated that he believed the current crypto downturn is good for the industry in the long term since it has eliminated the majority of leverage in the industry.
“I think what we’ve seen so far might be healthy. You know to the extent that what it is doing is flushing out some of the leverage that had to get flushed out. Flushing out some of the players that just were not capitalized well enough, you know. I think that could ultimately end up being moderately healthy for markets.”
Bithumb’s Market Share In South Korea
Upbit dominates the crypto market in South Korea. However, Bithumb is in a relatively strong position, holding the second largest market share among crypto exchanges in the country at 13%. The exchange was founded in 2014, has a daily trading volume of $569 million, and supports over 188 coins and 290 trading pairs.
However, Bithumb’s executives are also facing criminal charges for fraud to the tune of 100 billion won. The lawsuit resulted in the indictment of several company executives, including the exchange owner.
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