BTC is currently trading around $17,200 and ETH around $1,300. Notable gainers in the last 24 hours are AXS, CRO, and LTC. The global crypto market cap is ~$902B, down ~1.7% over the last day. DeFi Total Value Locked is ~$43b and BTC dominance is around 40%.
It’s a mixed start to the week for risk assets. U.S. equities are lower while China and Hong Kong equities are sharply higher behind a continued easing of its Covid zero policy. It’s a light week from a data perspective with most of the month’s prominent data releases coming next week.
Notable news includes: Pakistan introduced new laws to expedite its CBDC launch; a Chinese court said NFTs are virtual property protected by law; Circle terminated its SPAC agreement; Australian-based crypto exchange Swyftx cut ~35% of its headcount; Bybit is reportedly laying off ~30% of its work force in its second round of cuts; Gemini is reportedly trying to recover ~$900m lent to Genesis; Galaxy Digital acquired bankrupt crypto lender Celsius’ institutional self-custody platform GK8; Uniswap’s token surged after a ‘fee switch’ vote was proposed; the Opera crypto browser enabled instant NFT minting through a launchpad partnership; a tech sleuth extracted code hinting at the launch of a ‘Twitter Coin’; Bitcoin mining difficulty is expected to have its largest downward adjustment of the year; The Block’s Frank Chaparro released a two hour sit down with FTX’s SBF; Alameda’s ex-CEO Caroline Ellison was spotted at a NYC coffee shop on Sunday; and, the Red Cross revealed a blockchain-based aid distribution project.