June 24, 2022

The latest moves in crypto markets, in context

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Good morning, and welcome to First Mover. I'm Lyllah Ledesma, here to take you through the latest in crypto markets, news and insights.

Price point: Altcoins outperform bitcoin for a second day. Axie Infinity's AXS is up 14% after announcing it's going to reimburse those affected by the Ronin network $600 million exploit.
Market Moves: Coinbase has launched its first crypto derivatives product for retail traders. The company is hoping to capitalize on a market that is $3 trillion in volume worldwide.

This newsletter was produced by Parikshit Mishra. Please let us know what you think of First Mover by replying to this email.

Price Point

Altcoins outperformed bitcoin (BTC) for a second day as Polygon's MATIC and Axie Infinity's AXS posted gains above 15%.

Bitcoin is up 1.6% on the day, trading at around $20,900. Traders are looking at this weekend as another testing period for the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin price chart over the last 24 hours. (Messari)

Polygon's MATIC is among the top performers on Friday, rallying 18% on the day. MATIC was trading at $0.58 at press time.

The uptick comes as the protocol launched a product for allowing more private voting in decentralized autonomous organizations and announced it has partnered with KlimaDAO (a decentralized collective of environmentalists, developers and entrepreneurs) as part of an environmental initiative. Read more on that here.

Although MATIC is outperforming the rest of the crypto market, it is worth noting that it's 80% down from its all time high of $2.90 that was reached in December 2021.

Also surging on Friday is play-to-earn Axie Infinity's AXS token. This comes after the Ronin development team, which is funded by Axie Infinity creators, Sky Mavis, tweeted Thursday it plans to reopen its bridge next week.

In March, Ronin, the Ethereum-linked sidechain suffered a $600 million hack. The network witnessed a loss of over $625 million in USDC and ether (ETH).

The team has promised to reimburse all users who were affected by the exploit after the reopening of the bridge.

It is not clear whether AXS' price surge is related to the news, since the announcement happened Thursday and the price increase began early Friday morning.

The token peaked at $17.30 after trading at around $14 on Thursday.

AXS 24 hour price chart. (Messari)

Bitcoin (BTC)

See the latest price here

Ether (ETH)

See the latest price here

Market Moves

By Aoyon Ashraf

Coinbase Launches First Crypto Derivatives Product Aimed at Retail Traders

Coinbase Derivatives Exchange, formerly known as FairX, is launching its first crypto derivatives product this month, hoping to attract more retail traders.

The CFTC regulated futures exchange will launch its derivatives product, Nano Bitcoin futures (BIT), on June 27, according to a statement sent to CoinDesk. "The crypto derivatives market represents $3T in volume worldwide and we believe that additional product development and accessibility will unlock significant growth," the statement said.

Coinbase said it's also awaiting regulatory approval on its own futures commission merchant (FCM) license to offer margined futures contracts for its clients.

The launch comes at a highly volatile period in the crypto market, set off by the dramatic collapses of Terra's LUNA, crypto lender Celsius and crypto fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC). Bitcoin's price has fallen about 56% this year, while Ethereum's native token ether is down roughly 70%.

Coinbase bought FairX earlier this year, to launch crypto derivatives products. FairX launched its futures exchange platform in May 2021 after receiving regulatory approvals in late 2020.

Futures contracts are smaller in size, require less upfront capital than traditional bitcoin futures products and can be used as a hedge for trading strategies for both institutional and retail traders. "At 1/100th of the size of a Bitcoin, it requires less upfront capital than traditional futures products and creates a real opportunity for significant expansion of retail participation in US regulated crypto futures markets," according to the statement.

However, not everyone sees derivatives as a product suitable for retail traders.

Read the full story here: Coinbase Launches First Crypto Derivatives Product Aimed at Retail Traders

The SEC wants to hear from investors, like you.

As part of Grayscale's filing to convert Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (Symbol: GBTC) to an ETF, the SEC provides a 240-day review period for anyone to submit comments for consideration.If you support the conversion, write to the SEC by clicking here - you have until the end of June to submit your thoughts.

Your submission matters because:

We can level the playing field. To date, the SEC has only permitted Bitcoin Futures ETFs, while rejecting "physically-backed" or Spot Bitcoin ETFs.

The choice should be yours. If you've been waiting for the familiarity and protections of a Bitcoin ETF, we believe you should not be forced into a Futures-based product simply because it's the only one that exists.

You can help take GBTC to the next level, conversion to an ETF. It's already the world's largest Bitcoin fund and regularly reports to the SEC on a voluntary basis as an SEC-reporting company.

Learn more here.

This information should not be relied upon as investment advice or a recommendation regarding any security. Visit here for important disclosures.

Crypto Prices

The following are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 digital assets over the past 24 hours:

Biggest Gainers

Asset	Ticker	Returns	DACS Sector
Polygon	MATIC	+18.0%	Smart Contract Platform
XRP	XRP	+13.6%	Currency
Stellar	XLM	+8.8%	Smart Contract Platform

Biggest Losers

There are no losers in CoinDesk 20 today.

Sector classifications are provided via the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive, and standardized classification system for digital assets. The CoinDesk 20 is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges.

Latest Headlines

Convex Finance Sets Up New URLs After Website Address Is Hijacked
At least five wallets were affected in the front-end exploit. No funds on verified contracts were exploited.
Digital Toy Platform Cryptoys Raises $23M From a16z, Dapper Labs, Mattel
The company recent secured a partnership with toy manufacturing giant Mattel to transform some of its most famous products into playable avatars, which can be sold as NFTs.
THORChain Mainnet Goes Live on Seven Networks; RUNE Spikes
The much-awaited network went live after nearly four years of development.
Harmony Ropes in FBI After Losing $100M in Exploit; ONE Token Slumps
Developers said they are working with national authorities and forensic specialists to identify the culprit.
Coinbase Launches First Crypto Derivatives Product Aimed at Retail Traders
Coinbase Derivatives Exchange hopes to capitalize on a market that is $3 trillion in volume worldwide and provide hedging options for traders.

What to watch:

And check out the CoinDesk TV show "First Mover," hosted by Christine Lee, Emily Parker and Lawrence Lewitinn at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time.

Raghu Yarlagadda, co-founder and CEO, FalconX
Nikhilesh De (taped), managing editor policy, CoinDesk
Jack Lu, co-founder and CEO, Magic Eden

Take the Crypto Work Survey

The latest U.S. jobs data is showing a massive shift of people in jobs, thought to be pandemic-driven, as workers seek better pay and flexibility. Technological innovations, particularly blockchain-based smart contracts, are also changing the way people earn money and organize. Together, these trends are changing the concept of work. CoinDesk is seeking your input to gain insights about the Future of Work.
Help CoinDesk gain insights into the working world of crypto by filling out our anonymous Crypto Work Survey by June 27. Take the survey.

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.