Crypto Finance | The Volume of Bitcoin-Collateralized Loans is Increasing Again

Weekly Crypto Finance Summary

In this article, we provide a brief overview of recent news from the world of crypto finance, covering updates from cryptocurrency service providers and exchanges, as well as a brief international market outlook. Let’s take a look at what happened over the past few days!

Binance Although CZ’s sentence officially ends on Sunday, September 29, according to a common practice in American prisons, inmates who are due for release on a weekend can leave as early as Friday.

Bybit Users of Bybit Crypto Academy have until September 30 to join the exchange's credit card promotion, which essentially pays users to request and try out its issued Mastercard. New cardholders can also participate in a separate promotion with additional valuable prizes up for grabs.

Revolut It seems that Europe’s regulatory clarity on crypto is providing fertile ground for stablecoins. Following in the footsteps of Ripple, PayPal, and BitGo, Revolut is also developing its own stablecoin, which is reportedly in an advanced stage of development.

Telegram Telegram, the messaging app widely popular among crypto enthusiasts with over 900 million users, has updated its terms of service. According to the new rules, the app will hand over users’ IP addresses and phone numbers to authorities if they present a valid legal request.

Kraken On Tuesday, Kraken announced the completion of its acquisition of Coin Meester B.V. (BCM), a key part of its European growth strategy. By acquiring one of the oldest and most well-known registered crypto brokers in the Netherlands, Kraken significantly expanded its presence in Europe, adding to its existing registrations as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) in France and Poland.

EigenLayer EigenLayer has announced that its tokens will become freely transferable and tradable from September 30, months after the EIGEN mainnet launched in June.

Market Recap Following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut last Wednesday, the crypto market showed signs of strength. On Monday morning, Bitcoin briefly moved above the 200-day moving average, a key level watched by many investors. If Bitcoin can maintain its position above this crucial long-term trend indicator for a few trading days, it could restore optimism among investors. WisdomTree Asset Management launched its WisdomTree Connect platform on September 18. Available on the Ethereum network, the platform aims to tokenize and manage real-world assets (RWA) for institutional investors. However, retail investors can also access WisdomTree’s tokenized products through the WisdomTree Prime app, which you can use on Android devices.

Further Developments A few years ago, a slang term, “baszatáska,” emerged on well-known Hungarian news portals to describe intense partying or activity. On Monday, the largest decentralized crypto exchange on the Avalanche blockchain, which had been operating under the name Trader Joe, rebranded itself to "Let’s Fucking Joe" (LFJ), embracing a similar spirit and signifying aggressive trading.

Last Thursday, at the Token 2049 event in Singapore, Bitmain unveiled its latest mining machine, the Antminer U3S21EXPH model, designed for large-scale Bitcoin mining, even in HPC data centers. This is the first ASIC miner to combine classic rack-modular AI/HPC data center solutions with Bitcoin mining technology, featuring direct liquid chip cooling.

Looking Ahead This week is expected to be busy in U.S. prisons, especially concerning the movement of inmates involved in crypto-related cases. Some are going in, others are coming out, and one might even bump into a celebrity—not necessarily something to be proud of.

SEC Criticism U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler faced sharp criticism over his approach to regulating cryptocurrencies during a congressional hearing. Republican Congressman Tom Emmer engaged in a heated debate with Gensler, particularly regarding the SEC’s handling of the DEBT Box crypto startup case.

Q4 Optimism With the fourth quarter ahead, there is renewed hope for a market rally, supported by historical statistics. As mentioned in our previous article, October and November have historically been Bitcoin’s strongest months, with average gains of 22.9% and 46.8%, respectively. While September has traditionally been Bitcoin’s weakest month (-3.5%), in 2024, BTC has held its ground surprisingly well so far.

Recent Events On Thursday, several major events unfolded: the largest stock market crash in history may have already begun; a SOL whale has resurfaced, preparing to sell; Coinbase-managed BlackRock BTC holdings are steadily growing; Warren Buffett continues to stockpile cash; and PayPal is now offering cryptocurrency purchases for business accounts.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on Tuesday announced its largest economic stimulus package since the pandemic, aimed at alleviating deflationary pressures and achieving growth targets. The measures include interest rate cuts, reductions in reserve requirement ratios, and new housing market support initiatives. However, experts warn that these steps alone will not be enough, and additional fiscal stimulus will be needed to restore economic confidence.

Bitcoin Tracker As of September 26, 2024, the Apollo Bitcoin Tracker reported that the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) held 362,191 BTC in custody with Coinbase, valued at over $23 billion. BlackRock’s massive Bitcoin holdings far surpass those of other spot Bitcoin ETFs. Grayscale holds 221,043 BTC, Fidelity holds 177,200 BTC, ARK Invest holds 45,864 BTC, and Bitwise holds 38,623 BTC. As of September 25, 2024, U.S.-based spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively held 917,251 BTC.