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The crypto market started this week with a brief pullback, erasing some of the previously registered gains. While some expressed concern regarding the sharp crash, some analysts said the tumble signals a potential deleveraging phenomenon.
Furthermore, John Todaro, senior research analyst at Needham & Company, believes Bitcoin’s latest upward movement could be the start of a new cycle. “So that actually gives us confidence that we’re still a little bit early innings, that there’s a lot of capital that has a cushion,” he said.
Here is a brief recap of the week’s most essential crypto stories:
KuCoin Settles With New York for $22 Million
KuCoin has settled with the New York Attorney General’s office. As part of the settlement, the exchange has agreed to exit the New York market and pay $22 million in fines.
The company will refund around 150,000 New York customers using $16.7 million of that total sum, and $5 million will go directly to the state.
Attorney General James Secures More Than $22 Million from Cryptocurrency Platform for Operating Illegally (NY.gov)
Bitcoin is at the Start of a New Cycle
Bitcoin’s upward move could be the start of a new cycle, according to John Todaro, senior research analyst at Needham & Company. “There seems to be a lot of retail investor sentiment that’s been sidelined. There hasn’t been the hype and excitement that you’ve seen kind of mid to late cycle of the last crypto rally.
“So that actually gives us confidence that we’re still a little bit early innings, that there’s a lot of capital that has a cushion,” he said.
Bitcoin’s bounce ‘still early innings’ (Fox Business)
HTX Sees Massive Outflows After Series of Hacks
Justin Sun’s crypto exchange HTX has suffered $258 million in net outflows since resuming operations after suffering from a series of hacks.
The funds left the exchange between its Nov. 25 restart and Dec. 10, DefiLlama data show, a sign that last month’s security incident unsettled some clients.
Crypto Exchange HTX Hit by $258 Million Outflow After Hack (Bloomberg)
Former Terraform Labs CEO is Yet to be Extradited to U.S., South Korea
Montenegro has decided to take a more cautious approach regarding the extradition of Do Kwon, the former CEO of Terraform Labs. The country initially intended to extradite Kwon to the United States, where he is wanted for charges in his home country of South Korea. Kwon is currently facing legal charges in both South Korea and the United States.
Former Terraform Labs CEO won’t be extradited to the U.S., South Korea yet: Bloomberg (BNN Bloomberg)
S&P Gives USDT Low Score in New Ranking
S&P, famous for its credit ratings, has introduced a system for evaluating stablecoins. Tether’s USDT, the most popular stablecoin, scored 4 (meaning “constrained”). The second-largest stablecoin, Circle Internet Financial’s $24 billion USDC, got a 2 (“strong”), the best rating any stablecoin got.
S&P Global Ratings Launches Stablecoin Stability Assessment (PRNewsWire)
$2.4 Billion Will Flow Into Spot Bitcoin ETFs in First Quarter
VanEck expects the U.S. to approve the long-awaited spot Bitcoin ETF in early 2024 and that the product will see inflows in the billions during the first months after its approval.
“As debt levels are more concerning at the sovereign than corporate or household levels, we expect more than $2.4 billion will flow into newly approved U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs in Q1 2024 to keep the bitcoin price elevated,” the company wrote.
VanEck Says $2.4B Will Flow Into Spot Bitcoin ETFs in 1Q (ETF.com)
Galaxy, DWS, and Flow Join Hands to Introduce Stablecoin
Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm, DWS, is forming a new venture with Michael Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital and Flow Traders to jointly issue a euro-denominated stablecoin.
DWS Group officially announced on December 13 the plan to form AllUnity as part of a new partnership between DWS, Flow Traders, and Galaxy to launch a “fully collateralized” euro stablecoin.
DWS, Flow Traders, and Galaxy announce the intention to launch AllUnity (DWS)
Has Ethereum Become Deflationary?
Ethereum has seen a net reduction in supply since the Merge upgrade. Approximately 889,990 ETH were minted during this period, while 1,205,101 Ether were burned.
This has resulted in a net supply decrease of 315,110 ETH, equivalent to a reduction of 0.210% in annualized percentage terms.
Is Ethereum Deflationary? What The Merge Meant for ETH (Techopedia)
Tech Headlines of the Week: Apple is Worth an Entire Stock Market
Coinbase Introduces Spot Trading on International Exchange
Coinbase has introduced spot crypto trading on its international exchange. The platform will allow institutional international investors to trade both Bitcoin and Ethereum against the USDC stablecoin. The exchange, which started in May, previously offered derivatives.
Coinbase International Exchange to launch spot markets (Coinbase)
The Bottom Line
The crypto market started the week with a brief pullback. Although the sharp crash raised concerns among some observers, several analysts interpreted it as a possible indication of a deleveraging trend.
In other news, crypto exchange KuCoin settled with the New York Attorney General’s office, agreeing to exit the market and pay $22 million in fines.
Furthermore, Justin Sun’s crypto exchange HTX has seen $258 million in net outflows since resuming operations after suffering from a series of hacks.
