Strengths
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was Ethereum Name Service (ENS), rising 28.62%.
- MicroStrategy bought approximately $786 million in Bitcoin with the proceeds raised from the sale of convertible notes. The company acquired 11,913 Bitcoin between April 27 and June 19, according to a filing Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange commission. The purchases raise the company’s overall holdings to 226,331 Bitcoin, which are valued at about $14.9 billion.
- The tax charges brought by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria against Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla have been dropped. The FIRS agreed to revise the charges so that it serves only Binance through its local representative, writes Bloomberg.
Weaknesses
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performer for the week was LayerZero, down 11.54%.
Bitcoin touched a one-month low as outflows from digital-asset investment products and the prospect of higher-for-longer U.S. borrowing costs sapped the cryptocurrency market, reports Bloomberg. The largest digital asset fell as much as 3.2% on Tuesday reaching a level last seen in mid-May, as well as crossing its 50-day moving average.
- The Bloomberg Galaxy DeFi Index of digital coins involved in decentralized finance fell 6.1% this week. The index fell to 856, as of Friday, down from 911 a week earlier. The Galaxy Bitcoin Index declined 5.5% during the same period while the Ethereum Index dropped 7.8%, writes Bloomberg.
Opportunities
- An exchange-traded fund (ETF) investing in Bitcoin listed on Australia’s main stock market for the first time ever, adding to a wave of similar launches this year in the U.S. and Hong Kong. As reported by Bloomberg, the VanEck Bitcoin ETF debuted Thursday on the exchange operated by ASX Ltd.
- Tether Holdings has created a new synthetic dollar that is backed by gold. The token was created on the company’s new Alloy by Tether platform and will trade as a USDT via smart contracts on the Ethereum Mainnet blockchain, writes Bloomberg.
- Deutsche Telekom, the German-based telecommunications provider that ranks as the largest in Europe, will soon mine Bitcoin according to remarks made by the head of one of their subsidiaries, Bloomberg reports.
Threats
- The UK’s financial watchdog and London police arrested two people in connection with an alleged illegal cryptocurrency exchange worth more than $1.3 billion. The Financial Conduct Authority said Thursday the pair were released on bail and the investigation is ongoing. The suspects’ offices were raided, and police seized devices in searches of two London properties, writes Bloomberg.
- A local Chinese bank uncovered an embezzlement and money laundering scheme involving its two former executives, a former shareholder, and other suspects, using cryptocurrency to launder funds, writes Bloomberg. The report noted that the illegally converted funds amounted to 1.8 billion yuan.
- Venezuelan activists and policy analysts are calling for tougher sanctions and investigations into how President Nicolas Maduro’s government is using cryptocurrencies to get around international restrictions. The U.S. reinstated gold and oil sanctions on May 31 after Maduro failed to honor an agreement to allow fairer elections, according to Bloomberg.