Ether ETFs gaining traction, Messi endorses memecoin, and other top crypto news: Hodler’s Digest, July 7-13

Top Stories This Week

• VanEck and 21Shares send amended Ether ETF filings to SEC – Asset managers VanEck and 21Shares amended their S-1 forms for their prospective Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on July 8. While a specific launch date was not given in either of the amended filings, experts suggested a July launch window for the Ethereum ETFs.
• Lionel Messi promotes WaterCoin on Instagram – Soccer sensation Lionel Messi made waves this week by promoting WaterCoin on his Instagram stories. The Solana-based memecoin claims to be a charity project focusing on water conservation and water-related issues, with purported plans to become a full-fledged ecological coin in the future. Note that investing in memecoins can carry substantial risk; always do your own research before making any investment.
• Bitcoin transfer fee drops to 2020 lows – The average Bitcoin transfer fee dropped to 2020 lows on July 7, when the metric hit $38.69. This quantitative measurement is determined by dividing miner profits by the total transactions successfully posted to the blockchain. According to recent data from CryptoQuant, the Bitcoin hashrate drawdown also reached December 2022 levels in July, suggesting that mining operations are capitulating.

Goldman Sachs to launch 3 new tokenization products this year: Report

Goldman Sachs is getting ready to launch three tokenized products this year for the United States and European markets. Matthew McDermot, Goldman’s global head of digital assets, explained that Goldman has plans to create an institutionally focused marketplace for the exchange of tokenized real-world assets (RWA), though details on the plans remain scant. The investment bank is just one of the latest institutions to show interest in the growing RWA tokenization industry in the United States.

FDIC nominee Goldsmith Romero says banks can custody digital assets

During a nomination hearing on July 11, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) chair nominee Christy Goldsmith Romero told US lawmakers that banks should be able to custody crypto. Her answer came in response to a question from Senator Cynthia Lummis of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. This was the only outright mention of digital assets during the closely watched hearing to nominate positions in several federal regulators in the United States.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $58,192, Ether (ETH) at $3,132, and XRP at $0.46. The total market cap is at $2.15 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

• Top three altcoin gainers of the week are Notcoin (NOT) at 45.33%, Mantra (OM) at 37.23%, and Celestia (TIA) at 30.36%.
• Top three altcoin losers of the week are Dogwifhat (WIF) at -19.71%, Brett (Based) (BRETT) at -9.33%, and Flare (FLR) at -7.33%.

Most Memorable Quotations

“Ethereum has unique strengths as a robust base layer, including some that are not even held by Bitcoin.”

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum

“If the Commission moves forward with its proposed amendments, a reviewing court […] is certain to conclude that the Commission’s interpretation of the Exchange Act stretches the statutory text too far.”

“Although [Trump] has recently had a change of heart on cryptocurrency, you [President Biden] still have an opportunity to provide the regulatory clarity that voters are calling for.”

“Things that many of us who have been in the industry have become used to, paying for gas, having a native token. […] That’s not a normal sort of set of logic when you’re trying to pay for a cup of coffee.”

Chintan Turakhia, senior director of engineering at Coinbase

“Nothing gets the SEC to act faster than shilling a memecoin.”

David Chung, founding director at Creo Legal

“AI and memecoins captured the spotlight [in 2024], pushing GameFi down the pecking order.”

Russell Bennett, CEO of Metacade

Prediction of the week

Bitcoin price faces major ‘summer of 2021’ style correction despite BTC whale buying – Bitcoin may be in for a Summer 2021-style correction, according to a recent report from CryptoQuant. Analysis of the Profit & Loss metric reveals the index is sticking close to its 365-day moving average. This suggests a potential return to the downside despite whales continuing to accumulate the coin in the face of selling pressure from the German government and the Mt. Gox reimbursement plan. CryptoQuant’s Bull-Bear indicator also shows signs of breaking below the neutral line, suggesting that bears are gaining control of the market and portending a steeper correction. Moreover, Bitcoin’s price continues to trade under or around the 200-day simple moving average — yet another sign of Bitcoin’s current price weakness.

FUD of the Week

• Paxful co-founder Schaback faces 5 years jail, admits AML failure – Paxful co-founder and former chief technology officer Artur Schaback now faces five years behind bars after the entrepreneur accepted a plea deal with the United States Department of Justice. Schaback pleaded guilty to a failure to comply with Anti-Money Laundering regulations and implementing Know Your Customer provisions. He will also pay $5 million in fines and step down from Paxos’ board of directors. Schaback’s sentencing is set for Nov. 4, 2024.
• German gov’t $354M BTC sell-off: Yet more volatility incoming? – The German government is prepping to sell an additional $342 million in Bitcoin, placing even more sell pressure on the decentralized digital asset. Market participants are patiently waiting for the German government to offload all of its Bitcoin holdings, as Bitcoin continues to trade below the 200-day exponential moving average. The $9 billion Mt. Gox reimbursement also has investors spooked.
• Compound Finance site potentially breached — ZackXBT – On July 11, 2024, pseudonymous onchain sleuth ZackXBT warned users that Compound Finance’s website suffered a breach. According to the blockchain detective, visitors to Compound’s website are being redirected to a phishing site that poses a high-security risk. The website exploit has since been confirmed by a member of the Compound Finance team, who warned users to stay away from the site for the time being.