Strengths
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was Stacks, rising 13.25%.
- Rapper and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg has launched a new non-fungible token (NFT) collectible series that will evolve in utility as he goes on tour this summer. The NFT will grant holders access to behind-the-scenes content exclusive merch, art, and experiences, writes Bloomberg.
- Bitcoin’s share of the total crypto market is the highest in about 20 months, a sign of the cautious mood in digital assets and dominance of Bitcoin again, according to Bloomberg.
Weaknesses
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performer for the week was Polygon, down 4.07%.
- The native token of Binance has snapped a slide that stoked nervousness among digital-asset investors. BNB has gained about 8.5% over the past two days, whereas an index of the largest 100 coins is little changed, (but that gap is starting to narrow), writes Bloomberg.
- Israel-based social-trading platform eToro says it won’t allow U.S. customers to open new positions in a number of crypto tokens, including Algorand, Decentraland, Dash, and Polygon effective July 12, writes Bloomberg.
Opportunities
- Santo Spirits, the tequila company co-founded by Grammy award-winning musician Sammy Hagar and famed television chef Guy Fieri, is the latest brand to jump into Web3 to create a customer loyalty program built around NFTs, writes Bloomberg.
- Hong Kong regulators are planning a second meeting in less than two months to push banks to offer services to virtual-asset firms as the city seeks to become an international crypto hub. The top financial regulators have called a meeting on Monday to bring together banks, crypto platforms, and other industry participants, writes Bloomberg.
- Coinbase’s retail traders may be turning to Robinhood, according to one analyst. Mizuho securities analyst Dan Dolev argues that data from April indicates the firm may be losing market share in retail crypto transaction volume to Robinhood, writes Bloomberg.
Threats
- Delio, a South Korean digital-asset platform, said it has suspended customer deposits and withdrawals, becoming the second site offering high yield to investors to do so this week, according to Bloomberg.
- Criminal hacker groups have a new favorite to bilk innocent companies out of cryptocurrency. So-called ransomware gangs are deploying fewer strains of ransomware in favor of data theft, but still demand payment, writes Bloomberg.
- Crypto trading platform Abra was accused of securities fraud by a Texas regulator that filed an emergency cease and desist order against the company and CEO Bill Barhydt. The Texas state securities board alleged that Abra misled investors through sales of its Abra Earn and Abra Boost crypto interest accounts, writes Bloomberg.
