Bitcoin Price: US$ 27,694.40 (-0.05%)
Ethereum Price: US$ 1,900.59 (+0.17%)
ProShares’ Bitcoin Futures ETF, known as BITO, has been underperforming Bitcoin (BTC) this year due to hidden costs associated with rolling futures contracts every month. This cost, known as “contango bleed,” has been exacerbated by BTC’s price rebound. According to K33 Research, BITO has risen 47% year-to-date, trailing behind BTC’s 60% gain. Additionally, Binance Australia experienced issues with banking and halted Australian dollar bank transfers, leading to a 20% discount on Bitcoin trading on their platform compared to other exchanges. This discount resulted in traders selling their BTC/AUD pairs. Meanwhile, Render Network’s native cryptocurrency RNDR has defied the broader crypto market lull and rallied alongside technology stocks this month. It has gained 6.5%, reaching a 13-month high, while Bitcoin and the total market value of cryptocurrencies have experienced declines. The convergence of key narratives such as integrations with the Apple ecosystem, Metaverse involvement, AI integration, and 3D rendering capabilities has contributed to RNDR’s positive performance.
Transaction volumes on the Cardano-based decentralized exchange (DEX) Minswap have experienced a significant increase driven by trading activity in meme coins. The volumes on Minswap surged from $1 million at the beginning of May to $18 million recently, with meme coins such as SNEK and BANK contributing to the boost. The surge in volumes could potentially impact the value of Minswap’s native token, MIN. In another development, the release of over $587 million worth of Ethereum scaling protocol Optimism’s tokens into the market led to a 7% decline in OP token prices. This unlocking of tokens held by early contributors and investors will nearly double the circulating supply. Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm, has acquired Transpose, a Web3 data and infrastructure company. The acquisition aims to enhance Chainalysis’ data insights and support the vision of a new financial system powered by blockchains.
A group of AI industry leaders and researchers, including executives from Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI, have issued a warning that artificial intelligence technology poses a potential risk of human extinction. They likened the risks associated with AI to those of pandemics and nuclear wars, emphasizing the need to prioritize the mitigation of such risks globally. However, the signatories did not provide further details regarding their concerns. In other news, blockchain analytics firm Nansen Research has announced a reduction in its workforce by 30%. CEO Alex Svanevik acknowledged the difficulty of this decision and expressed support for the affected employees. Job cuts have been prevalent in the crypto space, including exchanges, payment companies, and Web3-related organizations. Additionally, the backing of Circle’s USDC stablecoin for MakerDAO’s DAI has decreased to 23.6%, down from 50% last August. As reliance on USDC decreases, DAI’s collateral composition includes real-world assets and other stablecoins like Gemini’s GUSD and Paxos’s USDP, exposing it to similar risks as USDC. Ethereum and Lido’s Staked Ethereum also contribute to DAI’s collateral.
Bybit, a cryptocurrency exchange, has decided to exit the Canadian market due to regulatory developments, following in the footsteps of Binance. Bybit cited the regulatory environment in Canada and stated that it would no longer accept account opening applications from Canadian residents. In other news, a possible 30% excise tax on energy usage by cryptocurrency mining and other proposed crypto-related tax measures are not included in the current US debt ceiling deal. The deal focuses on caps on non-defense federal spending and still requires votes in the House and Senate. Furthermore, stablecoin issuer Tether has announced its entry into bitcoin mining and energy production in Uruguay. Tether aims to leverage the country’s renewable energy capabilities and contribute to sustainable and responsible bitcoin mining. Uruguay’s high percentage of electricity generation from renewable sources makes it an attractive location for such operations.
Source:
https://coindesk.com
https://decrypt.co
https://theblock.co
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