2024-03-04 15:56

The much-debated crypto firm hired an experienced Wall Street hand who handled regulatory policy in his last job and also worked for Goldman Sachs and Fidelity. Controversial crypto platform Prometheum continues to signal its seriousness about moving forward as the industry's sole U.S. special-purpose crypto broker-dealer, having now hired a chief financial officer with a Wall Street pedigree from the likes of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Albert Meo was Morgan Stanley's executive director for regulatory policy and boasts a long career in mainstream finance with firms that also include Fidelity Investments and Nomura. Prometheum's new CFO has also served on an advisory board at the securities industry's internal standards organization, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). He joins Prometheum as it's trying to navigate the first days of its crypto custody operations, which the company said will soon start with holding Ethereum's ether (ETH) for its customers, though it hasn't yet disclosed the names of any institutions that'll do business there. The ultimate goal is handling custody, trading and clearing of crypto securities in one place that's already fully registered and aims to be compliant with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules. It's in that theoretical compliance where Prometheum is at odds with the vast majority of other crypto-native firms, who have long claimed the SEC makes it impossible to legally trade digital assets under the agency's expectation that the sector follow existing securities laws. Most of the major crypto operations have fought or are still fighting the regulator in court over these questions, including the SEC's insistence that most of the digital assets being traded by the industry are securities. Prometheum's founders started the company under the assumption that it's possible and correct to follow the SEC's commandments and treat crypto as securities. "It’s an exciting juncture in Prometheum’s trajectory to be joining the firm," Meo, who is a certified public accountant, said in a statement. "The company's commitments to compliance and innovation are perfectly suited for my professional values and skills alike." Meo began his financial career as an accountant at Price Waterhouse about 40 years ago, according to his account on LinkedIn. His lengthy career has often put him in regulatory-reporting roles. His newest employer's critics have loudly declared that institutions won't do business there and that Prometheum's trading approach won't meet regulatory muster, so the coming weeks may test who is right about how the SEC and the wider securities sector will treat the crypto startup. Read More: Prometheum Earns Final Regulatory Nod to Try Hand at Fully-Compliant Crypto https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/03/04/prometheum-taps-morgan-stanley-exec-as-cfo-just-before-opening-doors/

2024-03-04 13:00

First came the literal redemption for failed stablecoin USDR. Now comes the metaphorical redemption as Tangible changes its name to re.al. Tangible has rebranded to re.al after its stablecoin, USDR, faltered last year. The rebranded layer-2 blockchain is expected to go live in two weeks. Can one of the most notorious flops in the real world-assets (RWAs) sector turn itself into a bedrock for one of crypto’s hottest financial products? Tangible DAO is betting on it. The U.K.-based project saw its stablecoin, USDR, falter in a liquidity crisis last year. Tangible is now setting its sights on two forms of redemption: first, a literal redemption of assets for holders of the sub-dollar stablecoin, and second, metaphorical redemption of the project itself through a pivot to becoming a platform for other RWAs to build on. Now operating under a new name, the “re.al” layer-2 blockchain will seek to offer a "full stack" experience for issuing and trading tokenized real-world assets, said CEO Jag Singh. He told CoinDesk that the Arbitrum-based network plans to go live in two weeks. Bullish projections envision the RWA market climbing past $10 trillion by the end of the decade. That may feel a bit off, given that the current total crypto market cap is one-fifth of that size. However, if believers of permissionless trading have their way, massive pieces of financial infrastructure will inevitably pivot on-chain. Tokenized trading vehicles for popular “real world assets” like real estate, stocks and commodities would follow suit. Where this trading takes place (if the migration takes shape at all) is an open-ended question. One likely home would be on networks like Arbitrum, Optimism and Polygon, so-called layer-2 networks that tie into the security of Ethereum but are faster and cheaper than the best-known smart contracts blockchain. But Singh, who has been working on real-world assets in crypto since 2021, thinks it’s more likely that a "highly specialized" layer-2 will win out. He said re.al chose to build using Arbitrum because it offers native support for an array of gas tokens – the asset users pay with to execute their transactions. The blockchain’s new governance token will pass revenue generated by projects building on re.al back to the token holders, he said. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/03/04/usdr-issuer-tangible-plans-to-redeem-itself-as-a-layer-2-for-real-world-assets/

2024-03-04 09:44

Bitcoin-based collections traded more volume than Ethereum collections in the past 24 hours, which shows network adoption as bitcoin prices inch closer to highs. Bitcoin NFT collections traded the most volumes in the past 24 hours at $35 million compared to Ethereum-based assets, indicating a surge in demand for Bitcoin-based assets. NodeMonkes artwork was imprinted on Bitcoin in February 2023, but launched in December last year. Digital pictures of pixellated comic monkeys on the Bitcoin blockchain became the most-traded Ordinals collection in the past 24 hours as a bitcoin (BTC) rally shows no signs of slowing. Called NodeMonkes, the collection crossed over $11 million in sales volumes, Cryptoslam data shows, setting an all-time high on Monday. The project went live in December 2023 at an initial listing price of nearly $9,000. The collection claims to be the first 10,000-count profile picture collection on Ordinals, a way to inscribe text, data and art on individual fragments of bitcoin. While NodeMonkes launched in December 2023, the actual artwork was imprinted on Bitcoin in February last year, before other early collections such as Bitcoin Frogs and Space Pepes. Such an aspect gives the collection a sense of exclusivity and rarity in the eyes of investors. One such “monke” sold for over $1 million worth of bitcoin earlier Monday. The floor price – or the minimum price of a certain piece – is at least $52,000, while owners of monkes deemed to be rarer have set a listing price of as high as $65 million. As such, Bitcoin-based collections traded the most volumes in the past 24 hours at $35 million compared to the usual leader, Ethereum (at $22 million) – indicating a surge in demand for Bitcoin-based assets. Some observers expect such Ordinals activity to continue in March. “Ordinal inscriptions have been heating up immensely and should be a major focal point of March,” shared Mark Wilson, a representative at meme coin project Dogelon Mars, in a Telegram message. “The Runes protocol will also be highly anticipated as we approach April and the halving.” Bitcoin crossed the $65,000 mark earlier Monday, adding nearly 5.4% in the past 24 hours. The CD20, a broad-based liquid index of various tokens, jumped nearly 5.8%. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/04/bitcoin-nft-nodemonkes-sells-for-1m-as-btc-inches-towards-69k/

2024-03-04 09:28

Most bitcoin addresses bought coins at prices lower than the going market rate, according to IntoTheBlock. The average BTC acquisition cost of most addresses is less than the cryptocurrency's going market rate. The surge in the so-called "in the money" addresses has bullish implications. Bitcoin's (BTC) recent bullish momentum has most bitcoin-holding blockchain addresses sitting on unrealized gains on their investments. More than 97% of BTC addresses are now "in the money," according to data tracked by analytics firm IntoTheBlock. That's the highest proportion since November 2021, when the largest cryptocurrency by market value hit a record high around $69,000. An address is said to be in the money when BTC's going market rate is above the address' average BTC acquisition cost. In other words, most holders acquired their BTC below the cryptocurrency's current price of about $65,000. The data has bullish implications for the market, according to IntoTheBlock. "Given the substantial percentage of addresses in profit, the selling pressure from users attempting to break even no longer has a significant effect," IntoTheBlock said in a newsletter published Friday, when BTC traded near $62,000. "For newcomers entering the market to purchase coins, they are essentially buying from existing users who are already realizing a profit," IntoTheBlock said. Bitcoin has risen 54% this year, extending 2022's 154% gain, mainly due to strong inflows into the U.S.-based spot exchange-traded funds approved in January. Wall Street's embrace of the spot ETFs has skewed demand-supply dynamics in favor of the bulls, opening the doors for a rally that could propel it toward a new record high. The CoinDesk 20 Index, a gauge of the broader crypto market, has risen 37.8% this year. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/04/bitcoin-rally-leaves-more-than-97-of-addresses-in-profit-blockchain-data-show/

2024-03-04 08:44

The largest cryptocurrency is now just 5% away from its 2021 high in U.S. dollar terms, having already reached records in other currencies. Bitcoin (BTC) crossed the $65,000 mark in European morning hours on Monday, inching closer to its lifetime peak of $69,000 set in November 2021 as the value of bullish bets rose to a record. Now at around €61,000, bitcoin has added the euro to the many local currencies in which it's already moved to a record high. The largest cryptocurrency has added over 6% in the past 24 hours, while the broad CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), a measure of the biggest cryptocurrencies, rose 5.6%. Bitcoin is now just 5% away from its record in terms of U.S. dollars. Further gains may be in the offing, signs from the futures market indicate. Open interest, or the number of unsettled futures bets, rose to an all-time high of $27 billion, data from Coinglass show. Rising interest is a sign of new money entering the market. Market capitalization also reached a record $2.8 trillion, crossing the $2.7 trillion level set in November 2021, data from multiple sources show. Over $60 million in shorts, or bets against, higher bitcoin prices were liquidated in the past 24 hours, likely contributing to the surge in prices as losing positions were covered. Euphoric sentiment, institutional buying demand, and historical gains linked to bitcoin’s halving event are putting the asset on track to cross its lifetime highs of $69,000 in March, some traders previously told CoinDesk. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/04/bitcoin-tops-65k-inches-closer-to-lifetime-peak/

2024-03-04 07:59

Meme tokens are seen as a way to bet on the growth of a blockchain, as they are considered more retail-friendly and easier to understand for new investors. The frog-themed token’s trading volumes reached lifetime highs of $3.6 billion. Its gains surpassed those of other meme tokens like Shiba Inu, Floki, and Dogecoin, even as developers of these tokens introduced ecosystem upgrades. Pepecoin (PEPE) surged as much as 60% in the past 24 hours to extend weekly gains to over 370% amid a meme coin rally sparked by the likes of dogecoin (DOGE) and bonk (BONK). Trading volumes for the frog-themed tokens jumped to lifetime highs of $3.6 billion, CoinGecko data shows, as a risk-on environment likely fueled outsized bets on riskier assets, such as altcoins and meme coins. Gains of the frog-themed pepecoin were significantly higher than meme tokens shiba inu (SHIB) and dogecoin – even as developers of some of these tokens introduced ecosystem upgrades. DOGE gained 170% over the past week, while SHIB gained 200%. Meanwhile, the broader CoinDesk 20 index (CD20) has gained 14%. Meme coins first appeared to come into focus in late February as bitcoin, ether and Solana’s SOL jumped more than 10%. Non-serious tokens are seen as a way to bet on the growth of a blockchain, as they are considered more retail-friendly and easier to understand for new investors. Meanwhile, futures products tied to PEPE saw unusually large liquidations since Friday, suggesting short covering – or traders exiting bearish bets on the meme coin’s price – might be exaggerating the size of the gain. “Traders and investors are pumping meme coins to satisfy a hunger for quick flips as bluechip tokens and coins take a breather in their recent surge in prices,” said Nick Ruck, COO of ContentFi Labs. Futures contracts tracking PEPE had more than $50 million of liquidations. This may have contributed to the price spike as short positions – or bets that PEPE would fall – were settled. Only bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and dogecoin futures liquidations have been greater in the past 24 hours, data shows. As such, funding rates in perpetual futures tied to PEPE futures remain negative, indicating the dominance of bearish positions in the derivatives market. A negative funding rate indicates that shorts are dominant and are willing to pay longs to keep their bearish bets open. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/04/pepecoin-becomes-biggest-meme-coin-gainer-as-doge-shib-rally-eases/