3Commas Weekly Crypto Industry Updates June 28, 2024

Let's discuss on the latest crypto news updates this week of June 28, 2024

Mt. Gox to finally start the repayments of 141,686 BTC to creditors

The Mt. Gox distribution is probably the last big unlock of BTC we will see enter the market. There is already a looming fear of uncertainty, but for context Blackrock has acquired 303K BTC since their ETF went live earlier this year - that's the equivalent of +2x Mt. Gox (141,686 BTC). 

Also, Fidelity has also acquired 174k BTC, 1.23x the size of Gox. Fidelity & Blackrock together is like 2.1 Michael Saylors entering the market in less than 165 days. 

Remember, it took Saylor (Microstrategy) 1207 days to get to where he is. The largest beneficiaries of the Mt. Gox sellers are the ETF issuers, Bitcoin DeFi and the new Bitcoin primitives.

Why does it matter?  Large releases of Bitcoins into the open market can cause the price to dive due to oversupply.

VanEck Files for Solana ETF in the US

VanEck, a prominent New York-based investment firm, has filed a proposal with the SEC to launch a spot Solana ETF (ExchangeTraded Funds). The filing, submitted on Thursday, June 27, 2024, marks the first attempt to create a Solana ETF in the United States.

This comes just a few days after 3iQ filed for Solana ETP (Exchange Traded Product) in Canada. VanEck explains that the reason behind the application is because Solana is the direct competitor of Ethereum with features that make it a digital commodity.

Why does it matter? If Solana ETF gets approved, it will likely have a positive effect on the solana token market and its ecosystem. 

Bitcoin activity drops to the lowest levels since 2010

Bitcoin wallets are making fewer transactions these days. 

This is evident with the numerous launch of celebrity memecoins which attract speculators away from more established cryptocurrencies.

In June, the weekly active wallet ratio dropped to a low of 1.22% while peaking at 1.32%. Meanwhile, the week of May 27 recorded 614,770 active wallets, the lowest figure since December 2018.

A declining active address ratio indicates a lack of buying and selling activity among holders, suggesting a phase of market consolidation. 

Why does it matter? This might be as a result of investors preparing to avoid being affected by the recent whale movements including the Mt.Gox news sell pressure.

Bolivia lifts ban on Bitcoin, authorizes crypto transactions through banks

The central bank of Bolivia, Banco Central de Bolivia, has lifted its ban on Bitcoin and crypto payments, allowing financial entities to conduct transactions with digital assets in a bid to modernize its payment system.

The new development marks the end of a ban on crypto use in the country since 2014. 

Nevertheless, companies are not required to accept them as payment and should not be treated as a legal tender. The Bolivian government does not recognize them and crypto transactions are to be done only through approved channels.

Why does it matter? The crypto market now has a more favorable environment for adoption in Latin America.

Major Crypto Projects to Unlock $755M in July

In July, crypto assets adding up to around $755 million from AltLayer, Arbitrum, Optimism and other projects will be released as their vesting period concludes.

Vesting data tracker Token Unlocks highlighted the large amount of crypto assets that will be released. This includes AltLayer (ALT), Xai (XAI), Aptos APT, Arbitrum (ARB), Optimism (OP), Sui (SUI), Immutable (IMX) and Starknet (STRK).

Why does it matter? If enough of the eligible investors decide to cash out their newly unlocked tokens, it will likely have a downward pressure on the prices of those tokens.