☕️The Morning Cup: Poloniex launches Liquid Staking
Good morning, good day, and good evening. Welcome back to The Morning Cup. It’s your weekly recap of the latest in crypto news and your start to the week, no matter where you are. Don’t worry, we’ve selected just what you need to stay up-to-date, so you won’t spend time pouring through the news you don’t need, only the news you care about.
First up, we’ve got some big news…
🌊New Feature!
Liquid Staking is here
We are so excited to be able to announce the launch of Liquid Staking! WIth our flexible staking product, we’re able to give all of you a staking experience that is secure, easy-to-use, and with near-validator APYs. We’ve launched with Cosmos (ATOM), Polkadot (DOT), Near (NEAR), and Solana (SOL). Users will be able to stake while retaining the option of redeeming their funds to trade, deposit or withdraw their tokens anytime they want or continuing to earn daily rewards on the balance in their Earn account.
📈📉 Market Watch!
BTC trades flatly before touching $29K
Most of the last week saw a further flatlining of BTC before touching above $29K earlier today. However, it seems that voices among the bulls and the bears are equally loud as some think BTC may go to $25K while some say it is ready to retest $30K.
The top gainers for the last 24 hours on Poloniex are IYKYK/USDT, GENSLR/USDT, MUTE/USDT, USH/USDT, and RLTM/USDT.
🗞️ So, what happened?
💥The big story
🐸🐶Memecoin summer is upon us
It’s raining frogs and dogs out there! And we still may be in a crypto winter, but for right now, we can bask in what appears to be a memecoin summer. PEPE, a memecoin that takes its likeness from the memetic Pepe the frog cartoon, has hopped from around a $30,000 market cap to a staggering $86million. And with all this mememania, if you will, tons of other meme projects have been spun up to capitalize on this frog fever. With the likes of AIDOGE WOJAK, and others having their brief time in the spotlight, it seems there is a real appetite for memecoins right about now, though this might also be a needed reprieve (and welcome distraction) from the overall current market.
Although it’s fun to see coins pump out of nowhere, the question of whether this helps or hurts the industry remains. For one, it has the propensity of making it seem like gambling is the main use case of the industry, distracting from the real world solutions blockchain can provide. On the other hand, the phenomenon may make crypto a bit more approachable. After all, it’s pretty fun to see people having fun with and making money off of a frog coin.
Further spelling out the high degree of risk is the fact that the lion’s share of PEPE is held by a couple of addresses. According to a report via a Twitter thread by crypto analyst @Louround_, these whales “hold a token value superior to all the on-chain available liquidity.” This means that if one of them decides to sell everything off, the price of the coin would tank, leaving others that aped into PEPE in the dust. That’s the rub with memecoin’s however, so for now all we can do put on some sunscreen and sunglasses, because memecoin summer is here😎
Coinbase officially sues the SEC for clarity
Crypto exchange Coinbase has now sued the US Securities and Exchange Commission in order to get an answer on a 2022 petition concerning using existing SEC rulemaking to regulate the crypto industry. This comes after Coinbase was issued a Wells notice, which is a notice that precedes enforcement actions by the SEC.
This recent development is to be expected, as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has said in recent weeks that the issue of clear regulatory guidelines may have to come in the form of case law. In recent months, the SEC has more aggressively taken action against crypto exchanges such as Bittrex and Gemini. This spate of actions has caused outcry across the industry, with those within it calling the SEC’s action “regulation by enforcement, according to Fortune’s article on the recent news. This means that the SEC is signaling its intents and beliefs through lawsuits rather than coming up with clear, relevant regulatory framework.
Interestingly, Gary Gensler, the SEC Chair, asserts that existing laws are clear and apt to handle the burgeoning industry. He has also said, in congressional hearings, that it’s rather the case that the crypto industry has built itself up around non-compliance. It is the hope of many that these legal proceedings produce some sort of understanding, as Coinbase has garnered a reputation of working closely alongside regulators.
Binance.US walks away from Voyager deal
U.S.-based crypto exchange and sister exchange to Binance, Binance.US has, in a surprise move, talked away from a $1billion deal to buy now bankrupt crypto lender Voyager. The exchange cited the “uncertain regulatory climate” in its decision, which congruent with the back and forth we’ve seen between the SEC and many US-based Web3 companies. Most notably is the aforementioned news about Coinbase’s suit against the SEC.
This recent news leaves Voyager creditors able to recover 40%-65% of their holdings, allegedly in the original cryptocurrencies they had put in. Due to the unstable regulatory environment decried by many in the crypto industry, many companies, crypto and non-crypto alike, are exercising a higher degree of caution. Not only this, but Binance.US ‘s decision may also be due to the fact that the US Department of Justice had appealed the bankruptcy plan and sale to Binance, citing the now all-too-familiar issue of “unregistered securities”.
Voyager had gone bankrupt in July of 2022 after it failed to honor withdrawals from users, an event set up by the onset of the crypto winter. In the wake of this recent news, Voyager will proceed with its Chapter 11 process and plan to distribute cash and crypto directly to customers.
What’s happening here at Poloniex?
This is what Poloniex’s week looked like
Campaigns
Our recap of ongoing campaigns that YOU can get involved in!
📌 Join the RWA-themed Campaign to Share $20,000 with Your Friends
📌 MEME Token Carnival, Invite Friends to Share $50,000
📌 CFX, MASK, and ID Futures Trading Challenge: 20,000 USDT up for Grabs
The community megaphone📢
Highlights from the community
And that about covers it for this week! Curious about our campaigns or upcoming events? Give us a shout in our Telegram channel- https://t.me/PoloniexEnglish
Is there anything you’d want to see us cover in our newsletter? Make sure to comment on this Medium article! Just want to show your appreciation? Smash that clap button and give a round of applause👏
Thanks for spending some time with us as we went over what’s going on. And wherever you are, from the team here at Poloniex, good morning, good day, and good evening!
