2023-11-28 12:32

The rare signal indicates that institutions have long exposure but not via spot, one observer said. The gap between prices for BTC and ETH's "next month" and "front month" futures surged last week to the highest since 2021. The so-called contango indicates bullish sentiment in the market. A rare pattern recently emerged in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's (CME) futures market tied to bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), signaling a strong investor inclination to go long or take leveraged bullish bets on the leading cryptocurrencies. A futures contract is a legal contract to buy or sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price at a specified future date, called the expiry date. Usually, futures markets are in contango, a term used to describe when the price of futures rises above spot, with further-out futures drawing higher than nearer-expiration futures. An increase in buying pressure often causes the contango to widen. BTC and ETH futures have recently experienced the same, with the so-called "next-month" contract trading at a notable premium to the "front month" contract, a rare occurrence since 2018, according to data tracked by K33 Research. The front month contract has an expiration date closest to the current date, while the next in line is called the next month contract. "It's telling of a very bullish sentiment on CME with a strong desire to add long exposure, leading yields premiums to surge," Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at K33 Research, told CoinDesk. The CME futures in consideration are sized at five BTC and 50 ETH, respectively. As of writing, December expiry contracts could be called the front month contracts while those expiring in January represent the next month contracts. November contracts expired Monday. The rolling weekly spread between next and front month BTC and ETH contracts recently widened to an annualized 1.5%, the first such instance since the bull market days of early 2021. The pattern has occurred only four times to date, with three of those seen during bull runs while one a couple of weeks before the coronavirus-induced crash of March 2020. According to Lunde, contango in both markets slightly narrowed on Monday but continued to signal a bullish sentiment. "Yesterday saw a considerable narrowing in the contango. 7,000 BTC worth of open interest was closed on the December contract, and for ETH, last week's build-up to an all-time high notional open interest was erased after seeing a pattern similar to BTC," Lunde said. "Yields premiums remain well into the double digits, i.e., CME's sentiment remains very bullish," Lunde added. Pear Protocol's founder Huf said that the recent widening of the contango stemmed from traditional market players taking bullish bets. "It indicates TradFi has a long exposure but not via spot - it's quite a vulnerable positioning - probably gets unwound on any spikes higher into a potential spot ETF approval," Huf told CoinDesk. Huf added that elevated futures premiums could see renewed interest in basis trades or cash and carry arbitrage. The strategy involves buying the cryptocurrency in the spot market and simultaneously selling futures. The strategy, one of the most preferred during the 2020-2021 bull run, allows traders to pocket the premium while bypassing price volatility. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/11/28/cme-listed-bitcoin-ether-futures-flash-a-rare-bullish-signal/

2023-11-28 12:00

The gaming and metaverse-focused firm declined to provide details of its investment. Gaming and metaverse-focused venture capital firm Animoca Brands has made an investment in the TON ecosystem and become the largest validator on the TON blockchain. Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands is assisting third-party gaming projects to build in the ecosystem by supporting TON Play, the network's gaming infrastructure project, according to an announcement on Tuesday. Animoca declined to provide details on the terms of its investment when contacted by CoinDesk. TON received the endorsement of Telegram as its blockchain of choice for Web3-related developments in September, giving potential TON-based projects a prospective target audience of the messaging app's 800 million users. Read More: Animoca Brands Courts $50M Investment From Saudi Arabia's NEOM https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/11/28/animoca-brands-invests-in-ton-network-becomes-largest-validator/

2023-11-28 11:55

The Ark Fintech Innovation ETF sold 43,956 COIN shares and bought $1.2 million worth of Robinhood stock on Monday. Cathie Wood's ARK Invest sold about $5.26 million of Coinbase (COIN) shares Monday as the crypto exchange climbed to a 19-month closing high. The Ark Fintech Innovation exchange-traded fund's (ETF) sale of 43,956 shares took place on the day COIN reached $119.77 on the Nasdaq market, the highest closing price since April 2022. The sale is the biggest since July 25, when the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF dumped more than 53,000 COIN shares, albeit at a lower price and for a lower total value. The Ark Fintech Innovation ETF also bought 143,063 shares of trading platform Robinhood (HOOD), a value of $1.2 million at Monday’s closing price, according to an emailed statement. It was ARK Invest's fifth HOOD purchase this month. ARK Invest often loads up on crypto-related shares when they have experienced a downward trend and sells them as they look more bullish to bank some profits. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/11/28/ark-invest-sells-526m-coinbase-shares-as-price-hits-19-month-high/

2023-11-28 10:25

The European Parliament's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection wants the bloc to take the lead on shaping virtual worlds according to EU values. European Union lawmakers want the 27-nation bloc to take the lead on shaping the metaverse in order to reduce technological dependencies on other countries and support EU businesses. The call was part of a report by the European Parliament's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection on opportunities, risks and policy implications of virtual worlds. The metaverse is a collection of virtual worlds forming an imagined future internet that is a shared, interactive and potentially immersive digital environment. The committee adopted the report on Tuesday with 31 votes in favor and two against. The committee's work follows the European Commission's plans for the metaverse published in July. The EU executive body didn't propose any laws to cover the virtual worlds but said supervision of the metaverse needs new standards and global governance. The commission's strategy on Web4 and the metaverse defines virtual worlds as "persistent, immersive environments based on 3D and extended reality (XR) technologies." The committee report notes that, so far, metaverse projects have been developed by "a few companies based outside the EU, which have the necessary resources and financial capabilities" and calls for the EU to take a leading role instead. "Europe cannot afford to lag behind in the next digital revolution nor can we repeat past mistakes," said Pablo Arias Echeverría, the rapporteur shepherding the initiative through the parliament. "As we step into Web 4.0 with the development of virtual worlds, we have to lay a foundation, rooted in strong EU digital rules, guiding principles and values. Europe has to lead this transition, placing citizens at the heart of our digital future!” The lawmakers call for "fostering a level playing field to bolster European businesses" and creating a suitable policy framework engaging other countries. "Risks related to mental health, data protection, consumer protection, cyberviolence need to be addressed," a statement on the report said. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/11/28/eu-lawmakers-call-to-reduce-tech-dependency-on-other-countries-with-metaverse-strategy/

2023-11-28 09:16

The former BitMEX CEO said the record-breaking penalties imposed on Binance represent an institutional bias against the transformative impact of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Binance and its founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao have been treated the way they have been in the U.S. because the crypto exchange – and other centralized exchanges – represent a threat to the traditional American-led global financial system, former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes argues in a new essay posted on his Substack account. Last week, Binance and its founder were criminally charged for violating sanctions and money-transmitting laws, agreeing to pay $4.3 billion in fines and prompting Zhao to step down as CEO. Zhao was determined by a court to be a flight risk and must remain in the U.S. until his sentencing early next year. Compared with penalties given out to large traditional financial institutions, those handed out to Binance and CZ are "absurd" and highlight "the arbitrary nature of punishment at the hands of the state," Hayes wrote. "Did Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein get the same treatment as GS under his reign helped Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and financier Jho Loh steal more than $10 billion," Hayes wrote, referring to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd. (1MDB) scandal that was uncovered in 2015. Goldman Sachs ended up being fined $2.9 billion in 2020. "No, Lloyd got to retire with his stock options intact, and GS was not deemed criminally responsible," he continued, also pointing out that CEOs of major banks weren't prosecuted for the 2008 financial crisis. Hayes argues that the treatment of CZ and Binance is indicative of resistance against decentralization and the blockchain revolution, which, he said, directly challenge state power. "The state powers centralization, and collaboration is achieved through threats of violence," he wrote. "A problem for the financial and political establishment was that the intermediaries facilitating flows into and out of the industrial revolution named blockchain were not run by members of their class." Hayes himself is no stranger to state prosecution. In February 2022, he pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act because he willfully failed to implement an anti-money laundering (AML) program at the exchange. Later that year, he was sentenced to two years of probation. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/11/28/us-treatment-of-cz-binance-is-absurd-arthur-hayes/

2023-11-28 05:45

Kronos Research was hacked in mid-November via stolen API keys, with the attacker making off with $25 million. Taipei-based cryptocurrency trading and investment firm Kronos Research has opened doors for negotiations with a hacker who made off with $25 million of the firm's treasury early this month. In a message to the hacker, Kronos said, send back 90% of the stolen funds, and we'll drop this matter, Etherscan show. Last week, the Taiwanese trading and VC firm reported via a post on X that an unauthorized entity gained access to its API keys. Onchain experts ZachXBT and Lookonchain later confirmed that the attacker made off with $25 million, mostly in stablecoins. "At present, we can confirm that the losses are about $26 million in crypto assets, and despite it being a sizable amount, Kronos remains in good standing. All losses will be covered internally, and no partners will be affected," the firm later posted on X. Public, on-chain negotiations between hackers and their victims have become increasingly common. Recently, the attacker behind an exploit of KyberSwap signed one of the transactions that pilfered funds from the decentralized exchange, stating that they would begin negotiations when they were "fully rested." KyberSwap offered them a 10% bounty to return stolen funds. In August, Curve Finance offered hackers a 10% bounty in exchange for the return of the stolen crypto, also negotiated via transaction signing. Over $1.2 billion has been stolen from Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols this year, according to DeFiLlama. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/11/28/crypto-trading-firm-kronos-research-offers-10-bounty-to-hacker/