Strengths
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was Core, rising 140%.
- A pair of Goldman Sachs Group and BlockTower Capital alumni have launched a new digital-asset investment firm focusing on areas including derivatives, tokenization of real-world assets, entertainment, gaming and social. Miami-based Neoclassic will invest in both private and public markets in crypto, writes Bloomberg.
- PayPal Holdings’ Xoom cross-border money transfer service now allows customers to send funds abroad using dollars converted from Paypal USD stablecoin, reports Bloomberg, the latest sign of crypto’s encroachment on international remittances.
Weaknesses
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performer for the week was WormHold, down 29%.
- Lithuania, which established itself as a hub for financial-technology startups over the past decade, will weed out many of the crypto companies operating there when it starts awarding licenses next year. While some 580 crypto asset firms are registered in Lithuania, the number expected to pass the hurdle for obtaining full permits will be much lower, according to a central bank board member, writes Bloomberg.
- Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, CIO of Goldman Sachs wealth management, told the Wall St Journal in an interview this week that despite all the recent hype around Bitcoin ETFs, her firm isn’t buying into it, reports Bloomberg.
Opportunities
- Micheal Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital is in the early stages of raising a new venture fund, with most of its targeted $100 million expected to come from outside investors, writes Bloomberg.
- Bhutan’s investment arm and Bitdeer Technologies Group are planning to ramp up their Bitcoin mining operation to help offset the revenue impact of an upcoming event known as the Halving. The partnership between Druk Holding and Bitdeer aims to invest in boosting Bhutan’s mining capacity sixfold through the introduction of cutting-edge hardware, writes Bloomberg.
- Blockchain developer Ripple Labs plans to introduce its own dollar-denominated stablecoin, joining a long list of upstarts in a corner of crypto assets long-dominated by Tether Holdings. Ripple’s stablecoin will start trading later this year, writes Bloomberg.
Threats
- The legal and compliance head for phony cryptocurrency OneCoin was sentenced to four years in prison for her role in the $4 billion fraud scheme, becoming the latest scam participant to end up behind bars. Irina Dilkiska was sentenced in New York, according to Bloomberg.
- Bitcoin dropped the most in almost two weeks, writes Bloomberg, weighed down by cooling demand for dedicated U.S. exchange-traded funds and ebbing bets on looser Federal Reserve monetary policy. Bitcoin fell as much as 7.4%, the biggest intraday decline since March 19.
- A ratio that compares the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum hinted at a possible waning of risk appetite in crypto, reports Bloomberg. The ratio scaled 20 this week and reached the highest level since April 2021. This pattern could be a very early signal of FOMO, according to QCP capital.
