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Crypto Market Dominance: Upbit Handles 80% Of South Korean Trading Volume
A recent report revealed that the South Korean exchange Upbit dominates the local crypto market with over 80%. Additionally, Upbit rose to fifth place in the top five global exchanges list.
Different platforms have unsuccessfully challenged the exchange’s dominance in the country, and the upcoming regulatory framework has affected them.
Upbit Enters The Top-Five Global Crypto Exchange ListNews media outlet Bloomberg reported on Upbit’s latest feat after eclipsing the Korean market. The reining Korean exchange holds over 80% of the country’s trading volume.
Upbit, the largest crypto exchange in South Korea, accounts for more than 80% of the trading volume in the country. The exchange has become one of the top five largest exchanges in the world in terms of trading volume, moving closer to Coinbase – BBG pic.twitter.com/f5jzHTBPIP
— NekoZ (@NekozTek) April 25, 2024
Notably, Upbit’s dominance level hasn’t been accomplished by other exchanges on any prominent crypto hub. According to official numbers cited by Bloomberg, over 6 million Koreans, around 10% of the population, traded cryptocurrencies in the first half of 2023.
The increase in volume during this bull run has propelled the exchange to the fifth spot among the global exchanges. Upbit’s $2.84 billion daily trading volume runs neck-and-neck with Coinbase’s $2.86 billion.
According to the report, South Korean exchange transactions accounted for almost a fifth of its banking partners’ total deposits last year. Similarly, altcoins account for 80% of Korean exchanges’ trading volume, while global platforms register a much smaller volume, with 50%.
Despite the looming shadow of Do Kwon and Terra Labs’ $40 billion meltdown, the Korean market continues to grow and become a market with the “keenest crypto traders with a taste for high-risk, high-reward tokens” in the world.
Moreover, recent reports revealed that the South Korean Won surpassed the American dollar as the leading currency for crypto trades globally in Q1,2024. The surge suggests a massive appeal and increasing popularity for crypto among South Koreans.
As a result, campaigns for the upcoming elections tried to attract voters, with candidates promising to work on regulations and taxes.
Does The New Regulatory Framework Favor Upbit’s Dominance?South Korean regulators will implement the Virtual Asset User Protections Act in July 2024. The new regulatory framework will implement stricter requirements and consequences on exchanges, including potential life sentencing for criminal acts.
Moreover, operators must “take steps to meet liabilities” after hacks or system failures. The requirements demand both significant “capital and manpower,” according to Nam Hyeon Joon, a spokesperson for Korea’s second-largest exchange, Bithumb.
The new regulatory landscape was “designed to protect investors” after the Terra Labs collapse, but it has affected smaller exchanges. Platforms like Huobi Korea, Cashierest, and Coinbit have shut down since the bill was passed last year.
Simon Seojoon Kim, CEO of the Venture Capital firm Hashed, believes that well-resourced crypto exchanges like Upbit will make it easier to meet the requirements. “For existing and new entrants, the cost of complying with these requirements could be substantial,” stated Kim.
Korbit Research analyst Min Seung Kim concurs with the sentiment, adding that the competition will be limited as trading remains “increasingly focused on the top exchange.”
Platforms trying to compete with Upbit’s dominance have gone into zero-fee campaigns. According to the report, Bithumb briefly challenged Upbit after reaching a market share peak of 39.2% in January. However, the share dropped by more than half after its promotion ended.
Ultimately, entering the South Korean crypto market continues to be difficult. As recently seen with Crypto.com, complying with the country’s regulatory requirements requires a defined strategy and vast resources.
Bitcoin Has “Plenty Of Time” Remaining In Bull Cycle, IntoTheBlock Explains Why
The market intelligence platform IntoTheBlock has pointed out a Bitcoin pattern that could suggest there is still plenty of time to go in the cycle.
Bitcoin Long-Term Holder Pattern Could Suggest Bull Market Isn’t Over YetIn a new post on X, IntoTheBlock discussed a pattern that the total holdings of Bitcoin long-term holders have generally followed during bull markets in the past.
The “long-term holders” (LTHs) refer to investors who have been holding their coins for longer than a year (as defined by IntoTheBlock; other analytics firms use a different cutoff) without having sold or moved them on the blockchain.
Statistically, the longer an investor holds onto their coins, the less likely they become to sell at any point. As such, the LTHs, who hold for significant periods, are considered the unyielding section of the market.
The LTHs also display this resilience in practice, as they rarely sell despite whatever may be going on in the wider market. Recently, however, these investors have been participating in a selloff.
Given that this event isn’t exactly a common one, it can be something to note. Below is the chart shared by the analytics firm that shows the trend the combined holdings of the investors in this cohort have followed over the last few years.
As the graph shows, Bitcoin LTHs accumulated during the 2022 bear market and the 2023 recovery rally, but recently, their holdings have turned towards the downside.
Something to keep in mind is that a one-year delay is naturally attached to buying from this group, as only investors who have held for at least a year can be part of the cohort.
This means that when the LTH holdings go up, it doesn’t suggest that buying is happening in the present but rather that it occurred a year ago, and these coins have matured enough to qualify for the cohort.
However, the same doesn’t apply to selling, as the coins’ age instantly resets back to zero as soon as these investors remove them from their wallets. As such, the recent downtrend would reflect a selloff that is happening in the present.
“Data indicates that these seasoned holders initiated their sales in January and accelerated in late March,” notes IntoTheBlock. Interestingly, the chart highlights that a similar pattern was observed during the last two bull runs.
It would appear that these HODLers tend to start selling when the Bitcoin bull run starts properly and continue to sell beyond the top. Going by this pattern, the intelligence platform suggests, “there is plenty of time remaining when compared to previous cycles.”
BTC PriceAt the time of writing, Bitcoin has been floating around $64,400, which is up over 1% in the past week.
Bitcoin Accumulating, On Course Of Breaking $74,000 Despite Bear Scare: Analyst
Bitcoin remains shaky when writing, down 13% from its all-time high. However, despite the short-term uncertainty, one analyst on X remains bullish on the world’s most valuable coin, citing current developments from a technical perspective.
Is Bitcoin Inside A Wyckoff Re-accumulation Phase?Taking to X, the analyst believes Bitcoin might be forming a Wyckoff Re-accumulation pattern on the daily chart. This means the coin could consolidate in a trading range before catapulting higher in the days ahead.
Technically, the Wyckoff Re-accumulation pattern identifies a phase when it is assumed that big players, primarily whales, are quietly buying at a discount. Price action remains muted and inside a defined range whenever they do this.
Currently, Bitcoin prices are inside a zone marked by support, at $60,000 on the lower end and all-time highs, at around $74,000 on the upper end.
Though the momentum remains bullish, bulls’ failure to edge higher or dump below the psychological level suggests that some big players might be deliberately keeping prices at spot rates.
This preview considers the failure of bears to confirm losses of April 13. Even though BTCUSDT prices are still trapped inside this bear bar, it is clear that bulls flew back to support prices.
The only time sellers will be in control is if prices collapse below April 13 lows and $60,000 at the back of increasing volume. As it is, buyers have a chance and are trending inside a broad range, capped at $73,800.
Is BTC Preparing For Gains?Though optimism exists, the leg up would be sparked by technical but most fundamental factors. Following last weekend’s Halving on April 20, the network’s daily emissions have decreased by 50%. With a reduced supply, the resulting scarcity could drive prices higher, assuming demand remains.
However, whether this spike will occur in the next weeks or months remains to be seen. Once halving occurs, Bitcoin usually breaks previous all-time highs, in this case, $73,800. If this historical printout is respected, BTC could soar to fresh all-time highs by the end of the year.
Increasing institutional adoption via spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will drive a big part of this expected. As of April 24, Lookonchain data shows that GBTC decreased 538 BTC while BlackRock and other spot ETF issuers added 569 BTC.
Inflow has reduced, but assuming prices pick up, it is likely that more users will be keen to add BTC to their portfolios. This, as a result, could drive prices higher.
First Time In 71 Days: BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF ‘IBIT’ Registers Zero Inflows
In a noteworthy development for the Bitcoin (BTC) market, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, under the ticker name IBIT, has experienced a significant shift in trading dynamics.
After an impressive streak of 71 consecutive days of inflows, IBIT recorded zero inflows during Wednesday’s trading session, marking the first time in nearly three months.
Turning Point For BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF?IBIT had emerged as a frontrunner in the race among Bitcoin ETFs, securing the top spot in inflows and trading volume. However, this recent halt in inflows signals a potential turning point for the fund, albeit falling just short of claiming the record for consecutive inflow days.
Eric Balchunas, an ETF expert at Bloomberg, highlighted the significance of IBIT’s 71-day streak of inflows, noting that it is close to a record and underscoring its formidable performance since its launch.
By comparison, Balchunas points out that even the popular gold ETF, GLD, experienced an impressive three-day streak of inflows during its initial launch phase.
Nonetheless, BlackRock’s absence of inflows on Wednesday was not exclusive; eight other Bitcoin ETF issuers also reported zero inflows.
Notably, Fidelity, a strong contender in the ETF race and the runner-up in inflows since trading began in January, and Cathy Wood’s Ark Invest were the only managers to record inflows during Wednesday’s session, with $5.6 million and $4.2 million, respectively.
On the other hand, Grayscale, one of the largest BTC holders in the world, continued to experience outflows, with a staggering $130 million outflow on Wednesday alone.
According to Farside data, Grayscale’s ETF GBTC has witnessed outflows totaling $1.2 billion in April alone. These outflows have exerted downward pressure on Bitcoin’s price, which has declined by 4.2% in the past 24 hours, currently trading at $62,990.
Declining Demand And Negative Funding RateIn different developments within the Bitcoin market, bullish traders have shown signs of reducing their positions in the world’s largest cryptocurrency as two significant factors that propelled its growth begin to diminish.
According to Bloomberg, the Bitcoin funding rate, which represents the premium paid by traders to open new long positions in the perpetual futures market, turned negative on April 19 for the first time since October 2023.
This shifting funding rate indicates a moderation in demand for Bitcoin following the launch of several US spot Bitcoin ETFs on March 15, when the token reached record highs of $73,700.
Bitcoin funding rates reached a three-year high in March, indicating an overheated market. However, as of Tuesday, they fell below zero, suggesting a decreased desire among traders to open long positions.
Julio Moreno, the Head of Research at CryptoQuant, stated that this trend reduces traders’ willingness to enter new long positions.
Analyst Vetle Lunde from K33 Research noted that the 11-day streak of neutral-to-below-neutral funding rates is unusual. A flurry of leveraged bets has promptly followed past dips in funding rates.
Lunde suggests that the extended duration of the current perpetual discount may indicate further price consolidation in the market.
Furthermore, open interest in the Chicago-based CME Group’s Bitcoin futures market has decreased by 18% from its record high. This decline reflects a wavering interest among US institutions in cryptocurrency-related exposure and hedging.
As the cryptocurrency market seeks fresh catalysts, attention is now turning to Hong Kong, where a new set of spot Bitcoin ETFs is set to debut. The market is eagerly observing whether these ETFs can generate even a fraction of the demand their US counterparts enjoy.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Robinhood Lists Shiba Inu For New York Users, Moves 3 Trillion SHIB
In a recent development, crypto trading platform Robinhood has listed Shiba Inu (SHIB) for its New York users. The trading platform also drew attention to itself, having moved a significant amount of Shiba Inu tokens between its crypto wallets.
Robinhood Lists Shiba InuRobinhood made this known in an X (formerly Twitter) post by informing New York State residents that Shiba Inu was now available for them. The trading platform also revealed that it had listed Avalanche (AVAX) and Compound (COMP), which these users could also trade now alongside Shiba Inu.
Before now, Robinhood already made Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Dogecoin (DOGE), Chainlink (LINK), and Aave (AAVE) available to its New York customers. Last year, the platform had to delist Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and Polygon (MATIC) after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) branded them as securities.
That move led to a drop in the crypto platform’s trading volume. Therefore, it wouldn’t be surprising if Shiba Inu and the two other tokens were strategically listed to shore up the gap left by the delisted tokens. SHIB, on its part, records an impressive daily trading volume, and Robinhood may be looking to tap into some of it.
Besides, Shiba Inu’s popularity among Robinhood’s users is evident as the meme coin was well received in several other states where trading was already enabled. This positive response further underscores SHIB’s potential to succeed in the New York market.
Robinhood Moves 3 Trillion SHIBOn-chain data shows that Robinhood moved 3 trillion Shiba Inu tokens just hours before it announced that the meme coin was now available for trading to its New York customers. This transaction is likely to have been facilitated to meet the requests bound to pour in following the announcement.
Robinhood could also have made the transaction simply to meet the existing demand from its customers in other states where Shiba Inu trading was already enabled. The trading platform is known to occasionally make whale transactions involving the meme coin. NewsBTC once reported how Robinhood accumulated 332 billion SHIB in a go.
Despite only majorly serving the US market, Robinhood has built a formidable relationship with Shiba Inu. Data from Etherscan shows that a Robinhood-linked wallet is currently the fourth-largest holder of the meme coin. Meanwhile, data from the on-chain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence shows that the trading platform holds over 42 trillion SHIB across all its wallets.
At the time of trading, Shiba Inu is trading at around $0.00002523, down over 6% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin, Dogecoin Top Holder Profitability Ahead Of Cardano & Ethereum: Details
On-chain data shows that Bitcoin and Dogecoin have managed to top the charts regarding holder profitability. Here’s what the ranking looks like.
Bitcoin & Dogecoin Are Among Coins With Highest Investor Profitability RatioIn a new post on X, the market intelligence platform IntoTheBlock talked about how holder profitability compares between some of the top layer-1 networks in the sector.
Here, holder profitability refers to the total percentage of investors or addresses on a given cryptocurrency network that are currently carrying some net unrealized gains.
This metric works by going through the transaction history of each address on the blockchain to find the average price at which it acquired its coins. If this average cost basis for any holder is less than the current spot price of the asset, then the investor is assumed to be holding profits.
The indicator sums up all such addresses and finds what percentage of the total they make up for. Naturally, the investors with their cost basis higher than the current price are counted under losses instead, and those with the two being equal are considered to be just breaking even.
Now, here is what the holder profitability looks like across six top coins: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), Avalanche (AVAX), and Tron (TRX).
As the graph shows, Bitcoin is currently the number one cryptocurrency in terms of holder profitability, with 86% of its addresses in the green. Tron is second with 85%, while Dogecoin is third with 83%.
These assets have beaten Ethereum in this metric despite the asset being the second largest in the network based on the market cap. Though, at 81% profitability, ETH isn’t too far behind.
The situation looks much worse for the Avalanche and Cardano investors, with the latter network being especially dire. 63% of AVAX investors are in profit right now, so at least most of them are in the green, but the same can’t be said about ADA, as just 35% of holders float above water.
Generally, the investors in profits are more likely to participate in selling at any point, so the risk of mass selloffs can increase as holder profitability increases.
Coins like Bitcoin and Dogecoin have profitability at high levels, but this isn’t uncommon for bull markets. Profitability can stay even more extreme in such periods, so the current levels may be slightly cooled off.
Like how tops have historically been more probable to form at extreme profitability levels, bottoms can occur when a low percentage of the investors are in the green, as profit-sellers exhaust at this stage.
Going by this, Cardano’s low profitability (and also Avalanche’s, to a degree) may be a positive sign for the price, as it suggests there could be notable potential for a rebound.
BTC PriceBitcoin has retraced the recovery it had made earlier in the week as its price has now slid down towards $63,200.
Shiba Inu Burn Rate Sees Massive 2,076% Spike In 24 Hours
In an interesting turn of events, the Shiba Inu burn rate has received a massive boost in the last day. This is a welcome change to the slow momentum which the burn initiative had recorded over the last week, proving that the SHIB community is coming back to the table to burn more tokens.
Shiba Inu Burn Rate Picks UpThe Shiba Inu burn was an initiative that begun over a year ago as community members worked to reduce the supply of the meme coin. With a large supply of over 500 trillion, it has posed an hindrance to the coin’s growth, making a rally to $1 an impossible feat at this point. So, in an effort to increase its value, SHIB community members began sending tokens to a burn address.
Since the burn began, there have been steady burns carried out almost daily. Sometimes the burns moved into the billions as the initiative surged. In recent times, participation has been less than encouraging as only small amounts of tokens made it to the burn address each day. However, that is beginning to change as Shiba Inu holders ramp up their burns.
According to the Shiba Inu burn tracking website, Shibburn, the total number of SHIB tokens burned in the last day came out to more than 40 million, one of the highest in recent days. This figure represents a 2,076% jump in the burn rate compared to the prior day.
The burns came from a total of eight wallets with the largest burn in one go being 20 million. Other notable burns include a 16.86 million burn, as well as two burns coming in above 1 million. This has now brought the weekly burn rate to 446.9 million.
How Many SHIB Has Been Burned So Far?Despite the Shiba Inu burn initiative now being in place for more than a year already, there are still more tokens in circulation compared to the burn figure. This also includes the substantial burn carried out by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin who burned around 40% of the supply that was sent to his wallet in 2021.
Out of the total 999,982,361,420,479 SHIB supply, 410,726,050,797,386 SHIB has been burned, which accounts for around 41% of the supply. This still leaves a majority circulating supply of 582,878,431,527,615, with 6,395,517,674,998 staked xSHIB.
These figures put in perspective just how slow the Shiba Inu burn has been going and why there would be a need to ramp up the burn rate if there is to be any meaningful shift in the supply, something that could help in the price recovery.
At the time of writing, the SHIB price is trending low at $0.000025 after falling 8% in the last day. This has brought its market cap down to $14.77 billion but it continues to maintain its position as the 11th-largest cryptocurrency in the space.
Crypto Influencer ‘Jay Mazini’ Receives Seven-Year Jail Sentence And $10M Asset Seizure
In a Brooklyn federal court, a crypto-influencer on social media sites such as Instagram, Jebara Igbara, also known as “Jay Mazini,” was sentenced to 84 months for wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Igbara’s schemes resulted in substantial financial losses to unsuspecting investors, amounting to millions of dollars.
Social Media DeceptionAccording to the investigation, operating under the popular Instagram account name “Jay Mazini,” Igbara utilized his social media presence to portray a false image of wealth.
Igbara posted videos in which he appeared to distribute large sums of cash to various individuals as gifts. However, it was revealed that behind this “facade,” Igbara was running multiple fraudulent operations, defrauding investors of at least $8 million.
Igbara has been ordered to forfeit $10 million as part of the sentencing. The exact amount of restitution owed to the victims will be determined later. Breon Peace, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, stated:
The prosecution of Igbara unmasked him as a fraudster who used his social media popularity to con investors out of millions of dollars. Shamefully, he targeted his own religious community, taking advantage of their trust in him so he could spend and gamble their hard-earned money. Hopefully today’s sentence will influence fraudsters, like this defendant, to think twice about the consequences before they victimize investors for their own benefit.
False Promises And Fake Crypto SchemesPer the investigations conducted by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, from 2019 to 2021, Igbara maintained a significant social media presence on Instagram, amassing nearly one million followers.
Presenting himself as a prosperous investor and businessman, he also incorporated elements of his Muslim faith into his posts to portray himself as devout and trustworthy.
Videos on Igbara’s account showcased him distributing cash to unsuspecting individuals in grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and even to a woman he encountered at the airport who had lost her purse.
Igbara’s fraudulent activities primarily revolved around a company named Halal Capital LLC, through which he perpetrated an investment fraud scheme.
Igbara promised investments in stocks, electronics resale, and personal protective equipment sales by soliciting funds from members of the Muslim-American community in New York.
Igbara operated a Ponzi scheme, using most of the funds for personal expenses, luxury vehicles, and gambling. To maintain the illusion of legitimacy and keep investors engaged, he executed a second fraudulent scheme by offering to pay above-market prices for various crypto assets on his social media accounts.
Victims would then receive manipulated images of wire transfer confirmations, falsely indicating that Igbara had sent payment for the promised crypto when, in fact, he had stolen the funds.
IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Fattorusso described Igbara as a “crypto con man” who not only created a false online persona to deceive victims into investing in his schemes but also exploited his Instagram presence as evidence of his success.
Fattorusso highlighted that Igbara callously scammed the New York Muslim community out of millions, spending and gambling away their money “without remorse.”
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
BONK Sees Bullish Prospects As Community Votes Yes To Massive Burn
BONK, a Solana meme token, recently went on a surge that saw it pushing weekly gains above 70% after community members voted in favor of a burn proposal. Recent market dynamics have seen the value of BONK, along with the majority of meme coins falling in April. BONK, in particular, witnessed a 70% plunge in trading volume earlier in the month, a direct consequence of the waning interest at the time.
However, the recent conclusion of the Bitcoin halving event has seen BONK surging in the past week. Interestingly, this surge was intensified after a recent announcement of BONK burns and a listing on Revolut.
BONK Rallies After Burn VotesAccording to a social media post by the BONK Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), members of the BONK communities voted in favor of burning 278 billion BONK tokens to mark a historic event for the crypto. As a DAO, anyone who holds BONK tokens can participate in decision-making by voting on proposals.
The BONK DAO community proposal to BURN 278,393,137,215B BONK has passed via council vote.
With almost 5% of the supply in https://t.co/UN7NfId560 we are excited to integrate Armada and Realms to allow for community governance and voting with that BONK in the future! pic.twitter.com/N3D8fjneEP
— BONK DAO (@bonk_dao) April 24, 2024
The DAO noted that the proposal received over 418 billion votes in favor of the burn, which represented 99.9% of votes received. Interestingly, these tokens presented for burning were from the revenue received by the BONK DAO for BONKBot since its launch.
In another announcement, the BONK team announced on social media the listing of BONK on the Revolut app. This listing meant BONK will now be easily available to Revolut users in the European Union and other eligible countries. Although it is still only a meme coin, more exchange listings are likely on the horizon. Each new exchange brings greater access, visibility, and legitimacy to BONK.
In reaction to the announcement, the BONK price went on a 40% price surge from $0.00002011 to $0.00002829 in less than 24 hours, one of its biggest price increases this year.
What’s Next For BONK?Looking forward, the overwhelming amount of votes in favor shows the current sentiment among BONK holders. With over 99% of BONK holders voting in favor of a massive coin burn, it’s clear the community has faith in this meme coin’s future. While the voting and Revolut announcement led to a price surge for BONK, the crypto has since reversed and is now on an 8% correction in the past 24 hours.
At the time of writing, BONK is trading at $0.00002463, meaning the 278 billion tokens slated for burns are worth approximately $6.85 million. The crypto, however, is still up by 78% in the past seven days and is currently leading the meme coin market and Solana-based cryptocurrencies in terms of gains. DOGE, SHIB, PEPE, WIF, and FLOKI are up by 2.5%, 13.1%, 50%, and 20% respectively in the same time frame.
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