The main topic is the launch of Coinbase's layer-2 blockchain Base's mainnet to the public on August 9. Key points include:
- Base has been operating on the testnet since late February and launched its "builder only phase" in mid-July.
- Users can start bridging their funds onchain to mint NFTs and experience Base.
- Base will kick off its Onchain Summer initiative, partnering with consumer brands like Coca-Cola and Atari.
- Base has seen over $68 million worth of ether bridged to the network and over $200 million in trading volume and transactions.
- The blockchain is partnering with Prop House to offer grants to builders building on Base.
- Onchain activity is growing quickly.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is acquiring a minority stake in Circle Internet Financial, dissolving their partnership and bringing the stablecoin USD Coin fully in-house, while also adding native support for USDC on six additional blockchains, bringing the total to 15.
Coinbase may be misrepresenting itself as an exchange and could be violating state money transmitter licenses, according to allegations made by ChainArgos' CEO and General Counsel. The company argues that Coinbase is legally an over-the-counter (OTC) broker rather than an exchange operator, and it may be in violation of its licenses with its Ethereum platform, Base.
Coinbase's new Base blockchain, which operates as a layer-2 network atop Ethereum, has gained significant traction with its application Friend.tech attracting over 100,000 users and generating $25 million in fees, pushing its total value locked past $200 million and its transactions per second above Ethereum and rival layer-2 projects Arbitrum and Optimism.
Coinbase Assets will suspend trading for six cryptocurrencies, including BarnBridge, DerivaDAO, Jupiter, Multichain, Ooki, and Voyager, due to falling short of the exchange's listing standards, resulting in price plunges for the delisted assets.
Coinbase is in talks with major Canadian banks to gain support for the crypto industry in Canada as it faces regulatory uncertainty in its home country, aiming to have the banks participate in the crypto economy in the near future.
Bitcoin remains on track for a massive bull cycle despite recent price decline, as indicated by broader indicators of its price patterns and the use of logarithmic growth curves. The 200-week moving average is seen as less significant as a key price support level for Bitcoin, and the analyst is also looking for an entry point for Ethereum.
Summary: Despite economic challenges such as inflation and interest rate increases, investors should consider Coinbase Global, Tesla, and PayPal as growth stocks with long-term potential in the event of another bear market.
Coinbase plans to list PayPal's stablecoin, PYUSD, signaling the convergence of traditional finance and the crypto economy and potentially challenging Tether's dominance in the stablecoin market.
Summary: Coinbase and Circle have dissolved the Centre Consortium due to regulatory clarity issues surrounding stablecoins, with Coinbase taking an equity stake in Circle and Circle assuming enhanced responsibilities for the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin; Binance.US partners with MoonPay to use Tether (USDT) as its new "base asset" for transactions, while Binance faces challenges with fiat withdrawals in Europe; Shopify now accepts USDC payments on its platform, and Solana Pay plans to add additional altcoins; China launches a blockchain-powered data exchange with over 300 participating enterprises.
Bitcoin's recent surge in value may be attributed to a $10 billion investment by whales, Robinhood's involvement in a $3 billion Bitcoin purchase, and JPMorgan analysts predicting an end to the crypto bear market.
Bitcoin's velocity has decreased to a 3-year low, potentially suggesting that whales are holding onto their positions rather than transferring ownership to new investors. Meanwhile, select altcoins like Toncoin, Monero, Mantle, and Quant are showing signs of strength and could present short-term trading opportunities depending on Bitcoin's next move.
Long-term holders of Bitcoin are continuing to accumulate the cryptocurrency despite recent market volatility, indicating a bullish outlook for the future, according to analysts from Bitfinex. However, newer long-term holders who acquired their positions during the bear market are showing more unease and have exited their positions during price drops.
Crypto-related stocks soar as the chances of fund companies offering Bitcoin ETFs increase, though Coinbase Global faces obstacles.
Coinbase's stock experienced a significant surge after a federal judge ruled in favor of Grayscale in their SEC dispute, leading to hopes of a potential Bitcoin ETF and increasing the value of COIN by over 15%.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong shares his top ten ideas for the future of cryptocurrency, including concepts like decentralized stablecoin, on-chain reputation, on-chain ads, and more, encouraging developers to build them during the current bear market.
The market cap of USD Coin (USDC) has been decreasing rapidly, reaching a two-year low due to a loss of trust after the banking crisis earlier this year and a drop in activity in the DeFi sphere, while its competitor Tether continues to rise in market cap; however, Coinbase remains bullish on USDC's future and aims to expand its adoption.
Some altcoins like OKB, Ocean Protocol (OCEAN), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Toncoin (TON) show potential for bullish trends in September, with OKB potentially hitting a new all-time high at $72.10. However, a breakdown in the support areas could result in bearish trends for these cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase has launched a crypto lending service for institutional investors in the US, aiming to capitalize on failures in the crypto lending market.
The lack of clear crypto regulations in the US has caused significant issues for the industry, leading to collapses and a weakening of America's position as a financial hub, according to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. He emphasizes the need for clear rules that recognize the innovation potential of the technology while protecting consumers. Armstrong also highlights the potential benefits of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and Coinbase's role as custodian in many ETF applications.
The top crypto exchanges in the world are dominating the market, with the eight largest platforms accounting for over 91% of market depth and 89% of trading volume, according to crypto insights firm Kaiko. Binance remains the leading exchange, with a market share of 64.3% in 2023, but liquidity is concentrated within a few exchanges, leading to concerns about decentralization. Altcoin liquidity has also suffered due to regulatory issues in the US, with Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitstamp holding the majority of altcoin liquidity.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed in an interview that the exchange is interested in developing the next generation of stablecoins, including the concept of flatcoin, which would be backed by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or purchasing power rather than a fiat currency.
Coinbase has reportedly earned a $1 million profit from the $73 million Curve exploit in July, but has refused to refund victims, highlighting the tension between the decentralized nature of blockchain finance and the lack of recourse for crypto theft.
Coinbase's layer-2 network, Base, achieved a new daily transaction record, surpassing its previous high since its launch in August, but still trails behind Polygon and BSC in terms of overall transactions.
Coinbase's layer 2 blockchain Base has achieved a record-high number of daily transactions driven by the decentralized social network platform Friend.tech, while the sale of tokens held by bankrupt exchange FTX will not cause a market shock due to controlled liquidations, according to Coinbase.
Bitcoin trading volumes on Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, have plummeted by 57% amid lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny, while competitor Coinbase has seen a 9% increase in volumes over the same period.
Coin Metrics' latest report shows that Coinbase's revenues have diversified away from trading fees, now accounting for 77% of total revenues, as other business lines like subscription fees and wallet services contribute an increasing share. However, Coinbase's growth is limited due to its high trading fees and dependence on the U.S. market, making its future uncertain.
The volatility in Bitcoin remains low, similar to the stability in US stock and bond markets, and is expected to continue after the Federal Reserve rate decision.
The filing from FTX's bankruptcy estate reveals that Sam Bankman-Fried's father, Joe Bankman, was paid a $200,000 salary by FTX's US division but expected to receive $1 million annually.
Binance's Bitcoin trading volumes have decreased significantly due to lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny, while Coinbase's volumes have increased.
TON coin has replaced Solana's SOL token as the 10th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase holds almost 1 million Bitcoin, worth over $25 billion, with its largest cold wallet containing around 10,000 BTC.
Coinbase, the U.S. cryptocurrency exchange operator, may invest more elsewhere if the U.S. cannot get crypto regulation right, raising questions about whether the U.S. is still the primary hub for crypto innovation and development.
Coinbase's blockchain, Base, has quickly become a major player in the Ethereum-based layer-2 chain space, hosting numerous decentralized projects and seeing a high volume of transactions and new addresses, with the goal of bringing a billion users on-chain within this decade. The company aims to drive mainstream adoption by reducing costs, improving user experience, and developing better identity infrastructure, and believes that blockchain technology is moving from a speculative phase to one focused on utility for everyday people.
Coinbase is leading a major lobbying effort in Washington D.C. to garner support for new regulations in the cryptocurrency industry.
Coinbase has obtained regulatory approval to offer perpetual futures to retail customers outside the U.S., marking its entry into the largest market in the cryptocurrency industry.
Investors are expected to shift from traditional bond investments to Bitcoin as a hedge against US dollar debasement, according to Bloomberg Intelligence crypto market analyst Jamie Coutts.
Bitcoin surged to a two-month high, reaching $28,451, and crypto-related stocks, including Coinbase and Riot Platforms, also saw significant gains.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is opposing Coinbase's motion to dismiss a lawsuit, arguing that the exchange knew the cryptocurrencies it sold were securities under the Howey test, while Coinbase maintains that the assets are not securities and are not within the SEC's jurisdiction.
Coinbase's third-quarter report could be negatively impacted by a shortage of crypto traders, according to Mizuho.
Deep-pocketed crypto investors are moving hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin and other digital assets to Coinbase and unknown wallets, according to data from whale-surveying platform Whale Alert.
Coinbase, the top US crypto exchange, is focusing on international markets due to regulatory uncertainty in the US and aims to bring a billion people into crypto.
Coinbase is facing a legal battle with federal regulators over its operation as an unregistered securities exchange, with three new legal filings supporting the SEC's argument that it has the authority to regulate cryptocurrency under existing laws.
Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange, argues that a proposed IRS rule to define crypto brokers and regulate tax payments will threaten the industry and invade Americans' privacy.
Coinbase's spot trading volume has dropped by over 50% in Q3 2023, indicating a shift in interest in cryptocurrency trading, while gaining market share as competitor exchanges face increased regulatory scrutiny.
Coinbase's spot trading volume dropped by 52% in Q3 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 due to Bitcoin's stagnant price and trading range, but a breakout may be imminent with an upside bias due to the lack of a dip below $25,000 in recent months.
Coinbase's trading volumes in the US have weakened more than expected, falling around 17% sequentially and 52% YoY, which could put its consumer take rate at risk due to increased competition and regulatory challenges, according to a research report by Berenberg.
