Animoca Brands to focus on creator economy, interoperability in 2024

December 12, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Sam Altman-linked Meanwhile Advisors creates BTC private credit fund

December 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

SEC discussing ‘key technical details’ with spot crypto ETF applicants: Report

December 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Cathie Wood’s ARK dumps 237K Coinbase shares at $140 per stock

December 6, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Cathie Wood’s ARK dumps 237K Coinbase shares at 0 per stock

Coin Telegraph

The latest Coinbase sale by ARK is one of its largest daily COIN sales in 2023, third only to two massive sales in July.

ARK Invest, one of the firms hoping to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) next year, is continuing to rake in the profits made from its large stash of Coinbase (COIN) stock.

On Dec.

The trading firm offloaded 201,711 Coinbase shares from the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) alone, with an additional 28,535 COIN and 7,326 COIN being sold by the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) and the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), respectively.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase's stock is posting new yearly highs in line with the bullish crypto market, surging 280% year to date (YTD), according to data from TradingView. COIN shares have also been rallying after rival exchange Binance and its former CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to money laundering and sanctions violations in the United States in November.

On Dec.

*Coinbase (COIN) 30-day price chart. Source: TradingView*

The latest Coinbase sale by ARK is one of its largest daily COIN sales in 2023, third only to the massive 478,356 COIN sale on July 14 and the 248,838 COIN sale on July 17.

In addition to aggressive Coinbase selling, ARK has also sold 168,127 Grayscale’s Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) shares.

ByBit sees BTC, ETH ‘flight’ of institutional investors to stablecoins – but not for long

December 4, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Cryptocurrency exchange ByBit has released its latest quarterly report revealing trading and holding trends of its institutional traders heavy in Bitcoin positive sentiment.

The cryptocurrency exchange ByBit released its 4th quarter report on Dec.

The report found that institutional traders had some 45% of their assets in stablecoins, with the remaining split 35% in Bitcoin (BTC), 15% in Ether (ETH) and only 5% in altcoins, which the exchange categorizes as anything other than the aforementioned digital assets.

The survey suggests that the “flight” to “safer assets,” like stablecoins, in a bear market “might explain this risk-averse asset allocation from traders.”

Nonetheless, institutional traders’ allocation of Bitcoin (BTC) did spike in September, which differentiated itself from the holding patterns of other types of users.

*Surge in institutional traders' BTC holdings in September 2023. Source: ByBit*

According to ByBit, the alignment of a surge in institutional (BTC) holdings with the prevailing positive market attitude toward Bitcoin can be correlated with “favorable lawsuit outcomes, fostering anticipation for the SEC's potential approval of a spot BTC ETF.”

On Dec. 4, (BTC) surged above $41,000 for the first time in 19 months, and the overall market cap for the digital asset passed $800 billion, overtaking the real estate company Berkshire Hathaway and now behind companies like Meta (formerly Facebook) and Nvidia.

UK House of Commons recommends further CBDC tests on viability, risks

December 4, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bank of England

The U.K. Parliamentary Committee fears that an official launch will demand a significant investment, adding that “It is not clear to us at this stage whether the benefits are likely to outweigh these risks.”

The United Kingdom Parliamentary Committee, House of Commons, has asked the Bank of England and Treasury to carry out further consultative work to determine the benefits of launching a digital pound.

The groundwork and tests related to the launch of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) incurred significant costs for the Bank of England and Treasury, according to a House of Commons Treasury Committee report.

“It is important that the Bank of England and Treasury keep control of these costs to avoid spending more than necessary on a digital pound that might not proceed to being built.”

The ongoing tests of an English CBDC highlighted numerous benefits concerning issuance, distribution and privacy, among others.

The committee asked England’s central bank to avoid speculating that “a digital pound can fix problems it can’t” and to ensure that a digital pound does not worsen the financial exclusion precedent set by the fiat economy.

While the Bank of England and HM Treasury see the need for a digital pound in the future, committing to build the infrastructure for one requires further preparatory work.

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KuCoin pledges $20K grant to TON Foundation for ecosystem development

December 1, 2023 Coin Telegraph

KuCoin pledges K grant to TON Foundation for ecosystem development

Blockchain

The funding will support TON ecosystem projects, research and development efforts, community-building and marketing activities.

KuCoin Ventures, the venture arm of Seychelles-registered crypto exchange KuCoin, will provide grants to The Open Network (TON) blockchain platform, including an initial $20,000, to support the growth and expansion of the TON ecosystem.

According to a Dec.

Ian Wittkopp, accelerator head at TON Foundation, said the grants from KuCoin aid them in continuing to support real-world blockchain solutions in payments and gaming within its ecosystem.

“Today’s partnership with KuCoin Ventures is an acceleration point in the momentum of mini-app development on the The Open Network… KuCoin Ventures’ efforts align with TON’s vision of a more accessible and decentralized digital future for everyone.”

Alicia Kao, managing director of KuCoin, attributed the move to the company’s belief in TON’s potential in the blockchain industry.

“This strategic alliance aligns with our mission of promoting further development of the crypto and blockchain industry through tighter cooperation.”

“We believe this signifies a fresh synergy between exchanges and the blockchain landscape, and we aspire that this joint effort will serve as a motivating example, spurring further similar ventures,” she added.

A KuCoin spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the partnership is in its first phase.

“This partnership is just the beginning. We plan to leverage this collaboration for deeper cooperation and communication… We are making all the necessary preparations for this… collaboration.”

Besides supporting the expansion of the TON ecosystem, KuCoin seeks to replicate its success with other blockchain collaborations “to facilitate the transition of cryptocurrency from a niche interest to mass adoption.”

Bitcoin for Christmas: MicroStrategy buys another $600M

November 30, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

The firm reported it held 174,530 Bitcoin as of Nov. 29 — worth roughly $6.6 billion at a price of $37,726.

Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy purchased 16,130 Bitcoin (BTC) in November, bringing its total holdings to more than $6 billion.

In a Nov. 30 announcement, MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor said the company acquired the BTC for roughly $593.3 million — a price of $36,785 per Bitcoin. 29, MicroStrategy reported it held 174,530 BTC — worth roughly $6.6 billion at the time of publication — at a price of $37,726.

MicroStrategy has acquired an additional 16,130 BTC for ~$593.3 million at an average price of $36,785 per #bitcoin. As of 11/29/23, @MicroStrategy now hodls 174,530 $BTC acquired for ~$5.28 billion at an average price of $30,252 per bitcoin. $MSTR https://t.co/3XHhpIvsuA
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) November 30, 2023

The business intelligence firm has consistently purchased large volumes of Bitcoin since announcing it would adopt the cryptocurrency as its treasury reserve asset in August 2020. Saylor’s last announcement was in September, reporting MicroStrategy bought 5,445 BTC for roughly $147 million.

Cathie Wood’s ARK buys $1.5M SOFI shares as SoFi exits crypto

November 30, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Cathie Wood’s ARK buys .5M SOFI shares as SoFi exits crypto

Coin Telegraph

Cathie Wood’s ARK has been actively accumulating shares of SoFi, which announced plans to terminate crypto services by the end of 2023.

ARK Invest, a cryptocurrency investment firm founded by Bitcoin (BTC) advocate Cathie Wood, bought about $1.5 million of SoFi Technologies (SOFI) shares on Nov. 29, the day the latter announced its exit from crypto.

On Nov. 29, ARK bought 200,275 SOFI shares to allocate to its ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), according to a trade notification seen by Cointelegraph. The amount is worth $1.47 million, based on SOFI’s closing price on Nov. 29, or $7.35 a share, according to data from TradingView.

ARK’s latest SOFI purchase came on the day SoFi Technologies officially announced its decision to terminate cryptocurrency services by Dec. 19, 2023.

“After careful consideration, we’ve made the decision to discontinue our crypto services by the end of this year,” SoFi said, directing its customers to migrate their crypto holdings to the online crypto wallet Blockchain.com.

ARK has been actively buying SoFi shares throughout the year, buying a total of 1,772,991 SOFI for ARKF so far. ARKF’s SoFi exposure is worth around $13 million at today’s prices.

SoFi stock has seen some volatility in 2023, surging to $11.45 in July after starting the year at just $4.5. SoFi shares have been gradually declining since then, dropping below $7 in mid-November.

*SoFi Technologies (SOFI) shares’ year-to-date price chart. Source: TradingView*

In addition to buying SoFi, ARK has been actively buying Robinhood (HOOD) shares, bagging 221,759 HOOD on Nov. 29. Robinhood’s trading app allows one to buy and trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in the United States. The platform officially announced plans to expand its business into the U.K. on Nov. 30, without mentioning whether cryptocurrency would be part of the offering.

While buying SoFi and Robinhood, ARK has continued to sell the Coinbase (COIN) stock. On Nov. 29, ARK sold around 38,000 COIN shares from the ARKF ETF, totaling nearly $5 million.

ARK did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

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Crypto ownership in Canada slips in 2023, but average value of holdings rises

November 30, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Canada

Only 34% of Canadians still believe that crypto “will play a key role in the future,” but the number of those able to give a basic definition of digital currencies has risen slightly.

The number of crypto hodlers in Canada dropped slightly in 2023, but the average value of their holdings rose significantly. However, 77% of respondents regret investing in crypto assets, according to a survey published by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).

The OSC published its “Crypto Assets Survey 2023” on Nov. 29, conducted in partnership with Ipsos at the end of May. The survey interviewed 2,360 Canadians selected to reflect an accurate proportion of the country’s population by gender, age and region.

The survey results reflect a general pessimism toward crypto in the country’s population, which could be due to the period when the research was done. While the number of Canadians able to give a basic definition of crypto rose from 51% in 2022 to 54% in 2023, only 34% now believe that crypto “will play a key role in the future,” compared with 49% in 2022.

Fewer Canadians own crypto assets than a year ago, dropping from 13% in 2022 to 10% in 2023. These are most likely to be males aged 25–44 with a higher education diploma and a full-time job.

Despite the pessimism, 39% of respondents claimed their crypto portfolio is profitable, which is only slightly less than in 2022 (46%). And the average value of crypto portfolios rose dramatically from $52,975 in 2022 to $82,998 in 2023.

The most common reason for buying crypto remains consistent. In 2022 and 2023, respondents said crypto was a “speculative investment.” According to the survey, those who bought crypto as a “long-term investment” dropped from 29% to 20%.

The results of the Canadian survey match those of similar research conducted in France. Research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showed that 9.4% of the French population holds crypto assets, which is only marginally lower than those holding real estate funds, which is the most popular type of investment asset.

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Investments