Crypto Week at a Glance: What Moved the Markets

It’s been another tough week for crypto tokens, which have been trading in a narrow band around $20,000 all week, the longest time they’ve dipped below that level since the market was rocked by turmoil in July. Investors continue to debate the implications of higher borrowing rates for riskier assets after the Fed Chairman’s hawkish comment. Bitcoin is down around 60% this year and some other tokens have lost even more.

Other cryptocurrencies, including Polkadot and Dogecoin, also declined. However, Ether was rising in anticipation of a breakthrough software upgrade to its blockchain.

Here’s a weekly roundup of all the notable stories from the crypto space:

1. Meta rolls out NFT functionality to Instagram and Facebook

Instagram and Facebook users can now post their NFTs on the platform, according to a recent announcement from Meta.

This comes after a Meta update in early August which indicated that they were expanding the 100 countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Americas that are part of their Instagram NFT project. Additionally, the social media giant turned Metaverse supporter, announced on Monday that users will be able to upload collectible digital assets by connecting their NFT wallets to Facebook or Instagram.

2. California State Assembly Passes Crypto Regulation Bill Pending Governor’s Approval

A recently approved law that will require digital asset exchanges and other crypto businesses to apply for a license to operate in the state is expected to be signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom.

The Digital Financial Assets Act, also known as California’s “BitLicense”, is modeled after the BitLicense Act implemented in 2015 in New York. If Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signs it, the California law will go into effect in January 2025.

“While the novelty of cryptocurrency is part of what makes investing exciting, it also makes it riskier for consumers because cryptocurrency businesses are not properly regulated and don’t have to follow good many of the same rules that apply to everyone else,” Assemblyman Timothy Grayson (D-Concord), the bill’s sponsor, said in an earlier statement.

One of the conditions is a restriction on trading stablecoins by California-licensed companies until 2028, unless the stablecoin is issued by a bank or has a license from the California Department of Privacy. finance and innovation.

3. Crypto.com accidentally sent an Australian woman Rs 56 crore instead of a refund of Rs 5,400
While processing a $100 AUD (5400 INR) refund, cryptocurrency trading company Crypto.com accidentally transferred $10.5 AUD (56 crore INR) to an Australian woman’s account and, shockingly, the error went undiscovered for seven months.

In February, the company won permission to freeze Manivel’s Commonwealth Bank account after filing a complaint in the Supreme Court of Victoria. However, most of the money had already been transferred to other accounts, which were then frozen.

The money, according to evidence presented in court, was used to buy a four-bedroom house in Craigieburn, north Melbourne, for A$1.35million in February. After that, ownership of the property was transferred to the name of Manivel’s Malaysian sister, Thilagavathy Gangadory. Gangadory has not responded to communications from Crypto.com’s attorneys, so efforts to serve him with the freezing orders have been unsuccessful to date.

4. Big ETH Traders Set for Volatility Spike As Ethereum 2.0 Merger Approaches

Some people consider placing directional bets on the price of an asset, whether hedged or not, to be the most exciting trading technique in the financial markets. The next update to Ethereum, the cryptocurrency’s parent blockchain, known as Merge, does just that.

The big whales appear to be using the long choke options trading method, which ignores the direction the cryptocurrency is moving and instead seeks to take advantage of the level of price volatility.

In anticipation of the upcoming merger on September 15, Ethereum miners have strengthened their positions since May 2021, which is four years. This shows extremely strong conviction of Ethereum miners as they add to their balance through mining despite near unprecedented revenue in fees.

According to Griffin Ardern, a volatility trader at crypto asset management firm Blofin, “block traders have also started speculating on an increase in ether volatility,” pointing to major choke trades that crossed the books on a major crypto options exchange Deribit

5. Indonesia plans to create a “crypto-stock exchange” by 2022

According to a senior official on Wednesday, August 31, the Indonesian government plans to open a “cryptocurrency” exchange by the end of 2022 as part of measures to protect consumers despite growing interest in digital currencies.

Authorities originally planned to open the Crypto Stock Exchange in 2021. “We will ensure that all necessary requirements, procedures and measures have been taken,” Indonesian Deputy Minister of Commerce Jerry Sambuaga said. noting that the delay cannot be attributed to any significant issues.

6. OpenSea experienced a 99% drop in daily volumes.
The hype of the NFT bubble bursting has become a reality. With trading volume on OpenSea, billed as the world’s largest non-fungible token (NFT) market, plummeting 99% in just under four months, what was once a raging market led by FOMO during the 2021 crypto bull market is now barely a drip.

Data collected by DappRadar shows that while OpenSea processed a record $2.7 billion in NFT transactions on May 1, the market saw just $9.34 million on Sunday. On Sunday, the company had 24,020 users, nearly a third less than in May, when it reached its peak in transactions.

7. Japan is set to overhaul the existing corporate crypto tax in a bid to incentivize startups seeking tax breaks
Japan may reevaluate its current cryptocurrency corporate tax rates to keep businesses in the country. Japanese diplomat Taira Masaaki confirmed the tax review on Twitter.

A tax reform proposal for 2023 is being considered by the Financial Services Agency (FSA), and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry may exempt cryptocurrency companies that create their tokens from pay taxes on unrealized gains.

According to Yomiuri, company assets are taxed based on market value at the end of the tax period, which means startups that issue their own tokens must pay taxes on unrealized gains for all tokens. to which they can cling. The possible tax reduction aims to motivate entrepreneurs to stay in Japan.

(Shivam Thakral is the CEO of BuyUCoin)