Synopsis
- Fee War – Latest on the Bitcoin ETF
- BUSD slips and tumbles
- Japanese e-commerce giant, Mercari to embrace BTC
- Biggest winner and loser of the week
Key Observations
Analysis
Latest on the spot ETF
Major players in the cryptocurrency space are gearing up in anticipation of the potential approval of Exchange-Traded Funds. Here’s what we know of the fee war, which has everyone rushing to win over investors.
- Grayscale dropped its fees from 2% to 1.5%.
- BlackRock slashed its fees from 0.3% to 0.2% for the first 12 months, or until $5B volume is hit based on which they achieve first.
- Ark Invest lowered its fees from 0.8% to 0.25%, and zero fees for the first 6 months, or until $1B volume is hit.
- Meanwhile, Bitwise and Invesco Galaxy have also waived fees for the first 6 months.
This “fee war” is expected to heat up as institutions are heavily optimistic about the inflow of money once the approval comes in. The crypto total market cap has passed the GDP of Australia and Spain after soaring over $1.7T. Bitcoin is also nearing the $1T market cap after recording a new monthly high of $920B.
BUSD’s tragic downfall
Binance’s stablecoin(BUSD) has experienced a notable decline, dropping out of the top five stablecoins. BUSD’s circulating supply fell below 1B tokens, marking a level not seen since December 2020.
Figure 2: Market cap of BUSD over the years
This downturn is a far cry from its peak supply of 23.45B. The decrease in BUSD’s market presence is attributed to various factors. The most famous of them was the SEC classifying BUSD as a security during a case against Binance.
Additionally, regulatory restrictions prompted BUSD issuer Paxos to cease further minting, leading to changes within the crypto community. Binance also stopped supporting BUSD withdrawals, directing users to exchange their BUSD for FDUSD manually.
Despite these challenges, both Binance and Paxos remain committed to supporting BUSD through the ongoing transition, which is set to conclude later this year.
Crypto gains momentum in Japan after Mercari announcement
Figure 3: Mercari to embrace Bitcoin payments
Mercari, one of Japan’s leading e-commerce platforms, is gearing up to enable users to make purchases on its flea market app using Bitcoin (BTC). They should be able to accept Bitcoin payments through Melcoin, Mercari’s Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange subsidiary. This strategic decision reflects Mercari’s response to the surging popularity of cryptocurrencies in Japan, with the goal of offering users an innovative and seamless payment option.
Despite displaying item prices in Japanese yen, users will now have the added flexibility of settling transactions with Bitcoin. With a user base of approximately 22 million monthly users, Mercari aims to leverage the burgeoning crypto market to enhance the overall user experience.
Top gainer of the week: Stacks (STX) up by 44.43% ⬆️
Opinions:
Technical analysis: STX has reclaimed a multi-monthly high after the recent rally. Stacks is expected to witness a possible correction, and the support level of 1.72 seems like a possible destination if current levels fail to hold.
Oscillator indicators: 3 bearish, 7 neutral, 1 bullish
Moving average indicators: 0 bearish, 1 neutral, 14 bullish
Biggest loser of the week: Filecoin (FIL) down by 23.07% ⬇️
Opinions:
Technical Analysis: FIL has seen a huge dump resulting from the sell pressure exhibited recently. We anticipate FIl to trace back to resistance at 6.15 before moving further up. If current levels give into the sell pressure, we can also see FIL testing support levels at 5.3.
Oscillator indicators: 2 bearish, 8 neutral, 1 bullish
Moving Average indicators: 5 bearish, 1 neutral, 9 bullish
Conclusion
The cryptocurrency market was marked with important events. The markets recovered, with Bitcoin touching $47k after 2022. Institutions are embroiled in a fee war as BUSD is shown the door. Mercari’s decision to drive Japan’s crypto exposure by accepting Bitcoin as payment rounds up this week’s highlights.
