Weekly Crypto Market Update

Market Momentum

Last week, we saw a solid rise in bitcoin price towards yearly highs against the US Dollar. BTC price topped near the $8,950 level and recently corrected lower to $8,450. Last week was also very positive for altcoins, LTC (+22.5%) and EOS (+24%), however this morning we experienced a correction in the charts as losses begin to accelerate during Asian trading today. This has knocked $7 billion off the total crypto market capitalization as it slides back towards $265 billion.The top-10 major digital assets are all down by 1-6% except XRP (+1%) in the last 24h, over the past week, however, markets are still up by almost 7%.

Figure 1. The performance and market capitalisation of top-30 cryptocurrencies (by Mkt Cap)

Source: coinmarketcap.com, as of 29th of May 2019 as of 09:00 AMBST.

Figure 2. Worst performing digital assets* (7 days)

Source: coinmarketcap.com, *) MktCap>=$50m

Figure 3. Mkt Cap of worst performing digital assets*

Source: coinmarketcap.com, *) MktCap>=$50m

Figure 4. Best performing digital assets (7 days)

Source: coinmarketcap.com, Mkt Cap >=$50m

Figure 5. Mkt Cap of best performing digital assets

Source: coinmarketcap.com, Mkt Cap >=$50m

Figure 6. Top-30 digital assets by Mkt Cap valuation

Source: Coinmarketcap.com, NKB Research *as of 29th May 2019, 10:30 BST

Crypto Market News

Institutional & Retail Investors Mark Record Volumes on Derivatives
Bitcoin derivatives are working out to become crypto's "new thing" for 2019, as trading on CME, the only regulated futures venue as of now, has hit an all-time-high two months running. BitMEX is also enjoying much of the same due to recent volatility, while Deribit options may have found a more institution-based audience.

Stablecoins Hit All-time High with over $4 Billion
Stablecoins have hit an all-time high with over $4 Bn tokens representing the Greenback now on the blockchain. While Tether dominance remains, new stablecoins that have come into the market recently have gained significant momentum. And trading volumes have already beaten that of last year's record in less than 5 months, with 2019 set to dwarf the now infamous bear market in comparison.

AT&T Now Accepts Crypto for Payments
AT&T will now accept online bill payments through BitPay, a respected cryptocurrency payment processor. AT&T becomes the first major U.S. mobile carrier to provide a cryptocurrency payment option to customers.

Telegram to Launch TON Network in Q3 2019
Encrypted messaging service Telegram will purportedly launch its Telegram Open Network (TON) in the third quarter of 2019, after raising $1.7 bn in 2018.

Facebook Plans to Launch GlobalCoin in 2020
The social media giant wants to start testing its cryptocurrency, referred to internally as GlobalCoin, by the end of this year.The social networking site, which owns WhatsApp and Instagram, is hoping to disrupt existing networks by breaking down financial barriers, competing with banks and reducing consumer costs.

Coinstar Expands Bitcoin Buying Service to 21 States
Supermarket kiosk network Coinstar has further expanded its bitcoin-buying service, adding around 100 new outlets and growing U.S. coverage to 21 states and the District of Columbia. Individualscan buy bitcoin with cash at over 2,200 locations.

Yahoo Japan-BackedCrypto Exchange Taotao Launches This Week
A new crypto exchange platform of which Yahoo Japan owns a major stake, is about to launch after over a year in development. The exchange will be offering a mobile app alongside its online platform, and will offer trading in bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) at launch.

JP Morgan Adds New Privacy Features to Quorum
JP Morgan has built an extension to the Zether protocol, a fully decentralized, cryptographic protocol for confidential payments, compatible with ethereum and other smart contract platforms and designed to add a further layer of anonymity to transactions.

SECURITY TOKEN NEWS

Russia’s Central Depositary to Launch Security Token Blockchain
Revealed exclusively to CoinDesk, the Moscow Exchange Group subsidiary chose Switzerland as the jurisdiction to incorporate D3ledger (Decentralized Digital Depository), a project that’s been in the works since 2017.

At launch in June, D3ledger will track ownership of several assets: a security token representing unregistered shares in a small healthcare company; sora, a cryptocurrency developed by Japanese tech provider Soramitsu; and the top two cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, bitcoin and ether, along with any ERC-20 token that runs on the ethereum blockchain.

SIX Stock Exchange is Working on a Swiss Franc Stablecoin
SIX, the Swiss national stock exchange group, is working on creating its own “stablecoin” – a cryptocurrency pegged to the Swiss franc – to facilitate transactions on the SIX Digital Exchange (SDX).

Regulatory news

Israeli Court Rules Bitcoin is an Asset
An Israeli central district court reportedly ruled in favor of the country’s tax authority Monday, recognizing bitcoin as a financial asset and not a currency. Profits on its sale in Israel are therefore subject to capital gains tax.

FINRA approves Grayscale Ethereum Trust forRetail
Asset management firm Grayscale ($1.9bn AUM) has secured approval from FINRA to list eligible shares of its Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), making it the first publicly quoted security tied to the second-largest cryptocurrency, the firm said. 

Bitcoin May Be LegallyOwned in China
According to a Council Member at theBank of China Law Research, Sa Xiao, Chinese can legally own Bitcoin. Xiao even considers the occasional exchange of bitcoins between individuals as legal.

European Union Officially Suggests Use Cases for Bank-Issued Digital Currency
European Central Bank official Vitas Vasiliauskas discussed the advantages of adopting a central bank digital currency (CBDC) at a conference on Monday, saying it could positively impact financial stability.

• Regulators Set to Adopt New Rules for Crypto Exchanges

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is set to finalize new international standards for regulating cryptocurrency firms next month.

• Those standards are widely expected to subject crypto exchanges, wallet providers and others to the “travel rule” long followed by correspondent banks.

• Industry representatives say this requirement would be onerous if not unworkable for crypto businesses, and bad for user privacy.

• FATF “recommendations” aren’t legally binding, but countries that don’t follow them get blackballed in the global economy.

NYSE Arca Seeks Rule Change to List ETF Backed by Bitcoin and T-Bills
NYSE Arca has formally applied to the SEC for a rule change that would let it list shares in a proposed bitcoin trust.