2023-12-29 09:08

“These coins, often inspired by internet culture and humor, go beyond mere utility assets,” the foundation said. The Avalanche Foundation, whose grants and investments help support the development of the Avalanche blockchain ecosystem, is considering buying meme coins as part of a drive that recognizes the distinct niches of the cryptocurrency market after a surge in tokens such as bonk (BONK) almost single-handedly kickstarted activity on the Solana network earlier this month. The selection process for the collection will be based on criteria such as the number of holders, liquidity thresholds, project maturity, principles of a fair launch and overall social sentiment, among other factors, the foundation said in a post on X. "The Avalanche Foundation intends to start using Culture Catalyst to recognize and encourage the culture and fun symbolized by meme coins by purchasing select Avalanche-based meme coins to create a collection," it said. "This move complements the Avalanche Foundation's ongoing engagement across the Avalanche ecosystem, including NFTs, RWAs, and other types of cryptoassets, broadening its portfolio to embrace a more complete spectrum of possibilities." Several Avalanche-based meme coins, including COQ, husky (HUSKY) and shibx (SHIBX), have gained as much as 25% in the past 24 hours, with the majority of these gains coming after Avalanche’s post, data from CoinGecko shows. Meme coins are often considered a scammy part of the market among blockchain purists, but the success of this niche – led by the likes of dogecoin (DOGE) and shiba inu (SHIB) – could be starting to change the stigma associated with investing in such tokens. In early December, a sudden surge in the price of bonk helped spur volumes on Solana-based decentralized exchanges (DEXs) ahead of Ethereum, the usual leader. Solana Saga phones sold out as they doled out BONK rewards to their owners, despite sales being moribund as recently as October. The meme-coin frenzy spread to the Avalanche network in mid-December with the rise of hen-themed Coq Inu (COQ) and dog tokens such as kimbo (KIMBO). The riches followed: A single trader apparently acquired just over $450 worth of COQ shortly after its issuance and the amount has since ballooned to over $2.5 million, CoinDesk reported last week. There is a cultural aspect to the sector's appeal, Avalanche said. “These coins, often inspired by internet culture and humor, go beyond mere utility assets; they represent the collective spirit and shared interests of diverse crypto communities,” the post read. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/12/29/avalanche-foundation-to-purchase-meme-coins-as-part-of-culture-drive/

2023-12-29 07:19

Net outflows from exchanges are often taken to represent investors' intention to hold coins for long-term. On-chain activity continues to support the bullish case in bitcoin. On Wednesday, just over 28,000 BTC worth $1.19 billion left centralized exchanges, the largest single-day outflow in BTC terms since Dec. 14, 2022, according to data tracked by blockchain analytics firm Glassnode. Net outflows from exchanges are often taken to represent investors' intention to take direct custody of coins or preference for a long-term holding strategy. The Nasdaq-listed Coinbase, which is the custodian for nine of the 12 proposed spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S., alone saw an outflow of over 18,000 BTC on Wednesday, per analytics firm CryptoQuant. (Almost a day after this story was initially published, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on X regarding this statistic: "This is false. Way off from our internal data.") That has the crypto community on social media platform X speculating about institutional activity ahead of an expected ETF launch in early January. The overall BTC balance in wallets tied to centralized exchanges has dropped to 2,327,025 BTC, the lowest since April 2018. Other things being equal, fewer coins on an exchange mean weakening supply-side pressures and potential for price appreciation. Bitcoin changed hands at $42,700 at press time, up 158% on a year-to-date basis, CoinDesk data show. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/12/29/bitcoin-worth-1b-leaves-exchanges-in-largest-single-day-outflow-in-12-months/

2023-12-28 17:11

The largest cryptocurrency trading venue added 40 million accounts to 170 million. Crypto exchange Binance's user base grew 30% in 2023, CEO Richard Teng said Thursday, signaling strength as the world's largest cryptocurrency trading venue tries to look past November's settlement with U.S. regulators and the departure of founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao. In Binance's end-of-year report, Teng said "net inflows have been very robust, while new users continued coming in steadily" following Zhao's guilty plea, which also saw Binance agree to pay $4.3 billion for violating U.S. banking laws. Growth was not limited to Binance's exchange products. Binance Pay, Binance Earn and its peer-to-peer platform all saw increases. There's also strong interest from "institutional investors," according to Teng. Overall, Binance added 40 million accounts to 170 million. The company reported spending $213 million on compliance in 2023. It boosted its surveillance of wash trading on the exchange and NFT marketplaces, created an in-house case management system for transaction monitoring and subjected itself to a security audit, completed this month. The expenditure was already a 35% increase from 2022, and the bill for next year will almost certainly be far larger: The exchange has agreed to pay for a U.S. government-approved compliance monitor for the next five years. In 2023, Binance's regulatory liaison team processed nearly 60,000 requests from law-enforcement agencies globally and gave 120 training sessions. "This organization is built to last – not years, but decades," Teng wrote. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/12/28/binance-user-base-grew-30-this-year-expanding-even-after-us-legal-settlements/

2023-12-28 16:39

Binance, KuCoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global and Bitfinex are the nine exchanges. The Indian government has issued compliance show cause notices to nine offshore crypto exchanges under its Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it announced on Thursday. The notices were issued by India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) which falls under the nation's Finance Ministry. Binance, KuCoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global and Bitfinex are the nine exchanges. The government has also taken the first steps to block the URLs of "said entities that are operating illegally without complying with the provisions of the PMLA in India." The government didn't provide a specific timeframe or the consequences of not adhering to the notice as there are no crypto-specific precedents for such action in the country. The action appeared imminent after the government's written declaration from earlier this month that as many as 28 domestic crypto service providers registered themselves with the FIU. That number has already gone up to 31. In March, India’s Finance Ministry mandated that crypto businesses will have to register with the FIU, the country's anti-money laundering unit, and comply with other processes under the PMLA. This meant crypto businesses became legally obligated to perform verification processes such as Know Your Customer (KYC). "The obligation is activity-based and is not contingent on physical presence in India," the FIU said. "However, several offshore entities though catering to a substantial part of Indian users were not getting registered and coming under the Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) framework." Read More: India Won't See Crypto or Web3 Bill for Another 18 Months, Senior Lawmaker Tells CoinDesk https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/12/28/india-issues-compliance-show-cause-notices-to-9-offshore-exchanges-including-binance-and-kucoin/

2023-12-28 16:02

Bitcoin could fall to as low as $32,000 next month if an ETF is approved. Bitcoin (BTC) is expected to correct to as low as $32,000 next month following the potential approval of a spot ETF, according to data provider CryptoQuant. In what is being described as a potential "sell the news" event, CryptoQuant said in a note to CoinDesk that trader's unrealized profits are currently lingering at a level that historically precedes a correction. "Sell the news" is a well-known term in capital markets, it describes how asset prices, leverage and sentiment run up in the lead up to a bullish event only for prices to tumble shortly after. This is because astute traders capitalize on the over-crowded long trade, trapping those with leverage and forcing them to close or get liquidated as price goes against them. An ETF being approved is perceived as a bullish event as it will open up inflows to bitcoin from institutions, thus creating consistent buy pressure. "Short term Bitcoin holders are experiencing high unrealized profit margins of 30%, which historically has preceded price corrections (red circles)," CryptoQuant wrote in the note. "Moreover, short term holders are still spending Bitcoin at a profit, while rallies usually come after short-term losses are realized." CryptoQuant added that bitcoin price may decline to as low as $32,000, which is the the short-term holder realized price. Capriole Investments said that "conservative portfolio management" makes sense in the lead up to the potential approval of a spot ETF. "With Bitcoin up over 60% since ETF mania began a few months ago, and with every man and his dog on X.com expecting an approval on or around 10 January, we must start to anticipate much larger volatility events (up/down) in this region. Risk today is substantially higher for long Bitcoin positions than it was just a few weeks ago," Capriole wrote in a blog post. In bitcoin's history, "sell the news" events are common, in 2017 BTC topped out at $20,000 after the CME listed BTC futures, and in 2021 the world's largest cryptocurrency peaked again, hitting $65,000 after Coinbase completed its IPO before losing ground in the following months. Bitcoin is currently trading at $42,450 having began the year at $16,000. Daily trading volume remains steady at $80 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/12/28/bitcoin-etf-approval-tipped-to-be-sell-the-news-event-cryptoquant/

2023-12-28 13:26

Crypto is captured in an asset-regularization regime included in a wide-ranging bill that's facing mounting backlash from citizens. Declaring domestic and foreign crypto holdings could win Argentines a favorable tax rate and legalize the use of those assets in the country, regardless of their origin or where they are held, under controversial draft bill by newly elected President Javier Milei. The asset regularization program is part of proposed wide-ranging economic and political reforms. Crypto markets broadly welcomed Milei's November presidential win after he praised bitcoin (BTC) during his campaign. His omnibus bill though is already facing heavy backlash and protests in the country shortly after its introduction on Tuesday. Cryptocurrencies are among assets ranging from cash to property captured under the proposed regularization regime, with reduced penalties for early declaration. For instance, citizens who declare their crypto holdings before March 31 will be subject to a tax rate of only 5%, a level that increases to as high as 15% by Nov. 30. The concessions apply to "cryptocurrencies, crypto assets and other similar goods, regardless of who has been their issuer, who is their owner or where they were deposited, guarded or stored," according to the draft bill. Argentina's decades-long economic woes, from sky-high inflation to currency instability, have previously prompted the country to target billions of dollars in cash or assets held abroad by citizens through amnesty programs. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/12/28/argentinas-milei-proposes-incentives-for-declaring-domestic-foreign-crypto-holdings-in-draft-bill/