The latest moves in crypto markets, in context Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here. |
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Good morning, and welcome to First Mover. I'm Brad Keoun, here to take you through the latest in crypto markets, news and insights. (Lyllah Ledesma is at the NEAR protocol's conference in Lisbon.) In today's newsletter: - Price Point: The approach of the Ethereum Merge has lots of crypto types planning watch parties, but it looks like traders are betting on price declines. Bitcoin stabilized quickly Wednesday after its steepest price drop since mid-August. Yields on U.S. Treasury inflation-protected securities hit their highest since 2018.
- Market Moves: The "Jail Kwon" token represents the epitome of crypto-market ridiculousness. The price soared nearly 40-fold after a South Korean court issued an arrest warrant for the founder of Terraform Labs.
- Chart of the Day: Trading volume in ether is soaring as the Merge speculation intensifies.
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By Omkar Godbole and Bradley Keoun |
The Ethereum blockchain's Merge – its shift to a more energy-efficient "proof-of-stake" network, seen by many analysts and developers as a historic milestone for the growing industry – is finally here. Crypto types are throwing watch parties. According to ethernodes.org, the Merge is now about 17 hours away. CoinDesk's Sam Kessler and Sage D. Young just published a cheat-sheet on how to monitor the Merge as it unfolds. CoinDesk Special Coverage: The Ethereum Merge In the meantime, crypto markets appeared to stabilize somewhat following the biggest sell-off since mid-August; bitcoin plunged 9.9% on Tuesday after a hotter-than-expected U.S. Consumer Price Index report on inflation rekindled expectations of hawkish-for-longer Federal Reserve monetary policy. The CoinDesk Market Index was up slightly on Wednesday. As of press time bitcoin (BTC) was holding above $20,000. Ether (ETH), the native token of Ethereum, gained 1% to $1,590 as funding rates in the perpetual futures market went further into negative territory – an indicator that more traders are betting the price will eventually drop. The path of least resistance for the crypto market appeared to be on the downside, with real or inflation-adjusted bond yields rallying. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury inflation-protected securities, which are adjusted periodically to compensate for consumer-price increases, rose above 1%, the highest since 2018: |
Yields on the 10-year TIPS just hit their highest since 2018. (TradingView/CoinDesk) |
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'Jail Kwon' Token Surges 380% After Terra Founder's Arrest |
The crypto-markets spectacle of the day came from nearly 40-fold price rally in a meme coin named after Do Kwon, founder of the now-defunct Terraform Labs. The recently launched Jail Kwon (jkwon) token, the self-proclaimed home of the world's first educate-to-earn program, rose 387% to $0.000908, according to the crypto data and analysis firm Messari. The price surge came after a South Korean court issued an arrest warrant against Kwon, the primary developer of Terra's UST stablecoin, which crashed in May, destroying billions of dollars worth of investor wealth. "An arrest warrant has been issued for a total of six people, including Do Kwon, who are currently residing in Singapore," a spokesperson for prosecutors said on Wednesday. According to Bloomberg, they have been accused of violating the Capital Markets Act. |
The Jail Kwon token's rally offers the crypto-markets ridiculousness you didn't know you needed today. (TradingView/CoinDesk) |
The Jail Kwon token went live on BNB Chain early this month and is listed on decentralized exchange Pancakeswap under the ticker JKWON. The token's white paper says the project's mission is to combine Web3 with Web2 to deliver something unique to the crypto market and "leverage the social media relevance and presence of Do Kwon and the Luna crash along with our Educate-to-Earn protocol to drive the awareness of the token." The white paper adds that educating the community on crypto safety as the core fundamental of the token and Kwon's infamy would ensure a lifetime of "free marketing and spontaneous pumps." While the jkwon token rallied, Terra's luna and luna classic tokens plunged as investors withdrew millions from the Terra-based decentralized finance ecosystem. Read the full story here. |
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Ether Futures Volume Hits 3-Month High |
Ether trading volumes are surging as Merge-related speculation intensifies. (Skew) |
The aggregate daily volume rose to $61 billion on Tuesday, the highest since June 13, according to data tracked by Skew. Traders have been taking short positions in a bid to profit from or hedge against volatility that might stem from Ethereum's impending upgrade, dubbed the Merge. |
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Biggest Gainers Biggest Losers |
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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 Market Index is a broad-market index of digital assets, weighted by market capitalization. A full description of the methodology is here. |
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- DeFi Lender Compound Takes Bite of Institutional Crypto Loans Pie
Compound will take bitcoin as collateral against stablecoin loans made by institutions. - Ethereum's Biggest Mining Pool to Stop Offering Services for the Network
Ethermine will make the move once the Merge is completed, which is expected to occur on Thursday. - Binance CEO Zhao Says EU's Proposed Crypto Rules Are Fantastic, but Strict
Speaking at Binance Blockchain Week Paris, Changpeng Zhao also said the French city is probably "the financial hub for crypto" in Europe and a larger part of the world. - Russian Millionaire's Startup Plans Ruble Stablecoin Following DAI Model
The firm founded by Russian ex-banker Alexander Lebedev plans to introduce the coin on the Ethereum blockchain.
- Bitcoiner Bruce Fenton Loses Bid to Contest US Senate Seat in New Hampshire
Fenton faced a competitive primary, but ultimately garnered less than of the Republican primary vote.
- Terra's Luna, Luna Classic Tokens Plunge as South Korea Issues Arrest Warrant for Do Kwon
Terra-based decentralized finance products saw outflows of over $20 million this morning.
- Steep Drop in Bitcoin, Ether Causes Over $250M in Futures Losses
Bitcoin fell some 9% in the past 24 hours, the most among major cryptocurrencies, while ether dropped 6%, CoinDesk data shows. - Electrum Bitcoin Wallet Scam Suspect Is Arrested by Dutch Police
The 39-year-old is suspected of laundering tens of millions of euros obtained from malicious software using decentralized exchange Bisq and privacy coin monero, police say. - S. Korean Court Issues Arrest Warrant Against Terra Co-Founder Do Kwon
The warrant also includes five others, according to a report. - Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Edges to All-Time High
The bump in mining difficulty comes as hashrate remains strong, despite bitcoin's price edging downward.
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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. - Tim McCourt, global head of equity and FX products, CME Group
- Joe Orsini, vice president of research, Eaglebrook Advisors
- Cheyenne Ligon, U.S. regulatory reporter, CoinDesk
- Matthew Graham, founder and CEO, Sino Global Capital
- Margaux Nijkerk, Ethereum protocol reporter, CoinDesk
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Which institutes are most impacting the blockchain world? Tell us your thoughts in a five-minute survey. We're welcoming responses until Sept. 7. Take the survey here. |
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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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