The latest moves in crypto markets, in context By Lyllah Ledesma, CoinDesk reporter Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here. |
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Happy Thursday! Here's what you need to know today in crypto: |
- Elon Musk's social media platform X has obtained money or currency transmitter licenses in seven U.S. states.
- Bitcoin's average trade size on most exchanges jumped to its highest point since June.
- Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said it will "gradually" end support for its BUSD stablecoin.
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X, the Elon Musk-owned social media platform formerly called Twitter, has obtained payments licenses from several U.S. states in recent months, including a currency transmitter license in Rhode Island earlier this week. While Musk has hinted at supporting crypto on the platform – even briefly switching out Twitter's bird logo to dogecoin's dog before its rebranding to X last month – the licenses allow for broader payments services to be offered. Musk has said that he plans for X to expand beyond social media posts, to eventually become an 'everything app.' The money transmitter licenses obtained since June from Arizona, Maryland, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri and New Hampshire indicate the tech billionaire may have plans to support payment processing nationwide similar to Venmo or PayPal, a company he co-founded. The Rhode Island license, while essential for permitting payments, is also a requirement for offering crypto services. |
Elon Musk (Daniel Oberhaus/Flickr) |
Bitcoin's average trade size on most exchanges jumped to its highest point since June following Grayscale's court victory Tuesday over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to data from Kaiko, the average trade size for bitcoin on crypto exchange Kraken increased to above $2,000 after Tuesday's ruling from around $850 the day prior. Other exchanges saw similar action. The last time bitcoin's average trade size was higher was back during June's bull run, said Kaiko. "This could suggest large traders are more active," said Kaiko analyst Dessislava Aubert. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said it will "gradually" end support for its BUSD stablecoin, removing it from spot and margin trading pairs, and users have been asked to convert their BUSD into other assets by February next year. "As Paxos has halted minting of new BUSD, Binance will gradually cease support for BUSD products," said the announcement from the exchange. "Please be assured that BUSD will always be backed 1:1 by USD." In the more immediate future, Binance is delisting BUSD as a loanable asset on Sept. 6 and will cease withdrawals of Binance-peg BUSD tokens via BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon and Tron on Sept. 7. BUSD's 24-hour trading volume is just under $900 million, according to data by CoinMarketCap. |
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Market Insight: Bitcoin Holdings on Exchanges Dwindle to 2M |
The number of bitcoin (BTC) held in addresses tied to centralized exchanges slid to the lowest level in more than five years, partially reflecting a growing market sophistication. The so-called exchange reserve dropped 4% to 2 million BTC ($54.5 billion) this month, the fewest since early January 2018, according to on-chain data analytics service CryptoQuant. The decline represents both positive and negative developments, including the rising popularity of services like crypto custodian Copper's ClearLoop, which allows users to trade without moving funds to centralized exchanges. |
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- The chart shows the daily price action and trading volume for shares in ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, trading under the ticker BITO on the NYSE.
- On Tuesday, BITO jumped nearly 7.3%, registering its biggest single-day gain since March 13. Trading volumes rose to $800 million, the highest since its debut on Oct. 19, 2021.
- BITO likely drew strength from the spot ETF optimism triggered by asset manager Grayscale's legal victory over the U.S. SEC.
- A spot-ETF is considered a better product that futures-based ETFs due to the latter's vulnerability to rollover costs.
- Source: TradingView
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Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments. |
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Musk's X Obtains Payment Licenses in Several U.S. States