- Terraform Labs, known for creating the Terra/Luna ecosystem, made its first major acquisition after Do Kwon’s departure.
- The SEC has postponed its decision on the Hashdex Nasdaq Ethereum ETF until January 2024. This ETF is designed to include both spot ether and futures.
- The Polygon network saw an increase in daily transaction volume based on the large-scale issuance of “PRC-20” tokens. This increase led to daily transactions surpassing 6 million from 2.89 million.
Last week was generally calm for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investors. What can investors expect in the coming week?
What Happened in the Market Last Week?
This week was dominated by five major crypto story headlines. Besides another decision delay by the SEC, major asset managers applied for Ethereum ETFs. Terraform Labs, a company known for developing the Terra blockchain, made its first significant acquisition after Do Kwon’s departure. Jump Trading continued its trend of distancing itself from crypto by spinning off Wormhole as an independent company. Lastly, South Korea’s pension fund made a multi-million dollar investment in Coinbase shares, and Polygon-based tokens similar to Ordinal gained attention.
Latest Updates on Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs
Two major asset management firms, BlackRock and Fidelity, both applied for spot Ethereum ETFs with the SEC. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust aims to reflect the price of Ethereum and relies on Coinbase. Fidelity’s application highlighted the importance of such ETFs for U.S. investors, claiming investors are seeking riskier exposure.
Meanwhile, the SEC postponed its decision on the Hashdex Nasdaq Ethereum ETF until January 2024. This ETF is designed to include both spot ether and futures. The SEC’s delay indicates the need for further consideration of the proposal and related issues, affecting a decision on Hashdex’s bitcoin futures ETF application.
Do Kwon in Jail, Terraform Labs Makes Acquisition
Terraform Labs, known for developing the Terra blockchain, made a significant move by acquiring Pulsar Finance, a cross-chain portfolio management and analytics startup. This acquisition happened during a period when Do Kwon, the founder, is in jail, facing ongoing legal disputes, including significant charges by the SEC for selling unregistered securities.
Chris Amani, appointed as CEO in place of Do Kwon, emphasized the strategic importance of the Pulsar acquisition, stating that it would contribute to Terraform’s technology stack and facilitate the launch of cross-chain applications. Established in 2021, Pulsar supports various tokens, DeFi positions, and NFTs by tracking 96 networks and over 700 protocols.
South Korea’s Pension Fund Invests in Coinbase
The National Pension Service (NPS) of South Korea, with $755 billion in assets, the world’s third-largest pension fund, made a $19.9 million purchase of Coinbase shares. This is the first time the $755 billion pension fund, which had $755 billion in assets under management in June, added exposure to crypto-related securities to its investment portfolio.
While NPS has a policy regarding direct investments in crypto assets, it had previously indicated potential interest in investing in crypto exchanges.
Jump Trading Spins Off Wormhole Amid Focus Shift
Jump Trading announced the transformation of its cross-chain protocol Wormhole into an independent business unit. This strategic move took place during a period when Jump Trading’s crypto division, Jump Crypto, witnessed a 50% reduction in staff from its 2022 peak. Jump Crypto had scaled down its crypto market activities due to U.S. regulatory uncertainties and severed its long-term partnership with Robinhood.
Jump Crypto had previously intervened to swiftly recover $323 million worth of ETH lost in a major hack on Wormhole earlier in 2022, one of the largest attacks in DeFi history. Jump Crypto was also affected by events such as FTX crypto exchange outages and the collapse of Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin.
Polygon Sees Increase in Transactions with Ordinal-Like Tokens
The Polygon network experienced an increase in daily transaction volume based on the large-scale issuance of “PRC-20” tokens. This increase led to daily transactions surpassing 6 million from 2.89 million and resulted in a significant increase in gas fees, reaching over 7,000 Gwei before stabilizing.
Despite a temporary increase in transaction fees, Polygon’s fees remained significantly lower than those on the Ethereum mainnet, highlighting how effective and cost-efficient Polygon is for blockchain transactions.
Developments for the Coming Week
Next week does not feature any events on the economic data front that could impact Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. However, the FED FOMC meeting minutes to be announced on Tuesday could create volatility for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Investors should closely monitor this development.
On November 23, Thursday, U.S. markets will be closed for Thanksgiving Day. During this period, there may be a slowdown in the cryptocurrency markets, and volatility may decrease. Apart from these developments, BLUR has announced a significant announcement. The voting for Cosmos (ATOM) will conclude on November 26. If the proposal for ATOM is accepted, the inflation rate will be reduced from 14% to 10%.
Important developments of next week ⚡️#US #CBRT #Bitcoin #BTC $BTC $AVAX $BLUR $ATOM pic.twitter.com/V7QXxvfSsw
— COINOTAG NEWS (@coinotagen) November 19, 2023
