ProBit Bits — ProBit Global’s Weekly Blockchain Bits Vol. 7
Crypto Decoupled from US Stocks in May as More Users are Likely to Join Space in 3 Years
Intotheblock data shows that Bitcoin’s correlation with U.S. stocks reached its lowest level since March 25 as it moved from 0.91 to below 0.65 in May.
Meanwhile, according to a report by The Economist, 13% of respondents to a survey now indicate that they use cryptocurrencies as a form of digital payment while 60% expect to buy, hold or sell NFTs within the next three years.
About 3,000 people who used a digital payment within the last 12 months were interviewed for the report.
PayPal Connects Crypto Customers to Other Wallets, Exchanges, and Applications
PayPal has started supporting the native transfer of crypto assets (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, or Litecoin) into, within, and outside of its platform to other wallets and exchanges. The new functionality comes as a result of users’ consistent demand for it, according to the company.
The news comes following the global payment giant’s statement that it had become the first company to convert a conditional Bitlicense into a full Bitlicense after it was granted approval by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
PayPal is one of the top U.S. online payments platforms that allow users to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies, with services for U.S. consumers to pay millions of online merchants globally with cryptocurrencies rolling out last March.
ETH, BNB Ceding Market Dominance to Bitcoin
Bitcoin’s share of the crypto market is rising. As of June 6, the dominance of the world’s top cryptocurrency has reached a new high of about 47.5% since last year with resistance near 49.5%, data from crypto analytics firm Glassnode indicates.
The company attributes the rise to the loss of market share by two top-5 altcoins — Ether (ETH) and Binance coin (BNB).
Ethereum’s market cap dominance dropped to 17.74% — a new low since October last year — after having held onto a 17–22% market share for the past year with dominance and price now hovering at the support level.
BNB faces a similar predicament and has continually lost ground to Bitcoin as well, particularly following an ongoing SEC investigation into whether sales of BNB during a 2017 ICO represented unregistered securities.
Russia Getting Serious About Crypto for Payment?
In yet another clarification, the Central Bank of Russia has made it clear it is not against the use of cryptocurrencies in international transactions, but specifically on the home front due to the risks for retail investors.
About a fortnight earlier, the country’s Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov’s remarks suggested a reverse pivot from the central bank’s stance on a full-on crypto ban. In March, a lawmaker said they were considering accepting Bitcoin as payment for Russia’s oil and gas exports following sanctions on their country for invading Ukraine.
With the war ongoing, sanctions remain in effect on Russia, the world’s biggest exporter of natural gas as well as the second-largest supplier of oil.
A Case of What is Good for the Goose is Not Good for the Gander
After it was first introduced in 2019 as a Litecoin Improvement Proposal, the highly-anticipated Mimblewimble Extension Block (MWEB) privacy feature upgrade was officially activated on the Litecoin network on May 19.
The protocol gives users the option to send confidential transactions that will conceal their identity and the transaction amount. The upgrade has been praised particularly for its privacy properties, garnering support from projects like blockchain analytics provider Elliptic.
However, not all crypto-related businesses are thrilled by the upgrade.
LTC was quickly delisted across 5 South Korean exchanges as a result of the MWEB upgrade. The exchanges reached a consensus that the inability to ascertain transaction information due to the upgrade represented a potential breach of the Specific Financial Information Act which requires them to provide verifiable transaction records.
The Wake of Terra’s Collapse Continues to Reverberate
Terraform Labs continues to get caught up in the crosshairs of the Korean government which set up a digital asset committee to forestall a similar collapse in the future. The proposed committee would integrate different departments including those specifying listing standards, monitoring the market, and spotting questionable transactions.
In another vein, a paper published in the Chinese state-run media Economic Daily used the meltdown to urge the government to introduce regulatory measures that would reduce the risk of stablecoins and their use for illegal and criminal activities.
On the Singaporean side, overall sentiment remains mixed. The Deputy Prime Minister, Heng Swee Keat, noted at the Asia Tech X Singapore Summit that many investors lost savings in the Terra UST debacle.
However, while warning retail investors to steer clear of cryptocurrencies for their highly risky nature, he did recognize the crypto space’s potential to transform finance.
Global Benchmark for Bank Regulations Readies Another Paper on Crypto Exposures
The Basel Committee, which sets the global standard for the prudential regulation of banks, says it has moved to the point of issuing a second consultation paper in June on how banks’ exposures to crypto-assets should be treated.
The announcement follows a May 27 meeting where several issues were discussed including the importance of having a global minimum framework for banks to mitigate risks from crypto-assets based on recent developments.
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