Crypto Flipsider News – Mixed Market for Bitcoin as Fed Tipped to Hike Interest Rates; SEC Crypto Division Expanded; Coinbase Behind Goldman’s Bitcoin-Backed Loan; Axie Infinity All-Time Sales Top $4 Billion

05/04/2022

4 minutes read

2022.05.04 18:06

Read in the Digest:

Bearish sentiment and high volatility expected for Bitcoin ahead of Fed meeting – BTC indicator at historic low.

The SEC almost its doubles crypto division to fight crypto-related crime.

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) collaborates with Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) for first Bitcoin-backed loan.

Axie Infinity (AXS) all-time sales surpass $4 billion.

Bearish Sentiment and High Volatility Expected for Bitcoin Ahead of Fed Meeting – BTC Indicator at Historical Low

For what feels like an infinite length of time to Bitcoin bulls, the price of BTC has been unable to break free from bearish pressure. Over the last week, Bitcoin has continued to trade sideways, opening the week at $39,300, and trading at $39,554 as of this writing.

The one week price chart for Bitcoin. Source: Tradingview

With the Fed expected to hike interest rates by 50 basis points (0.5 percentage points), marking the first half-point rise in 22 years, sentiment towards Bitcoin and most other markets remains bearish.

As Bitcoin continues to move sideways, Bitcoin traders are calling for a new wave of hype to break Bitcoin out of its current level. Experts believe that the market could remain lukewarm until something exciting happens around its leading asset.

Flipsider:

Although Bitcoin remains down, the Stochastic indicator has reached a historic low that was last seen during the 2015 bear market bottom. Following the previous instance, the price of Bitcoin skyrocketed from $200 to above $20,000.
In addition, CoinShares reported the biggest Bitcoin outflows since June 2021. Between April 23rd and 29th, investment products saw net outflows of $120 million, bringing total outflows during the four-week run to $339 million.

Bitcoin’s price across a 3-day timeframe: Source: Tradingview

Why You Should Care

The increasing bullish signals around Bitcoin could see the crypto create a bottom, and reclaim short term highs above $40k.

The SEC Almost Doubles Its Crypto Division to Fight Crypto-Related Crime

The U.S. Security and Exchange Commission announced on Tuesday that it will be increasing the number of staff members in its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit to ensure better protection for crypto investors against fraud and cybercrime.

The expansion will see the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, a division of the SEC, increase in number by 20 to reach a total of 50. The aim is to fight the rising number of threats associated with modern digital currencies.

According to reports, included among the 20 new hires are investigative staff attorneys, trial lawyers, and fraud analysts. The team will be tasked with cracking down on threats to crypto investors to ensure “fair and orderly markets despite critical challenges.”

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The move has been criticized by Hester Peirce, who asked why a regulatory agency is positioning to lead the charge in enforcing crypto?

Why You Should Care

The SEC hopes to assume a better position to curtail crime in the nascent crypto industry by nearly doubling its size.

Coinbase Collaborates with Goldman Sachs for First Bitcoin-Backed Loan

A recent report has revealed Coinbase, the United States’ largest cryptocurrency exchange, as the mystery firm taking on Goldman Sachs’ first Bitcoin-backed loan, announced in late April.

Speaking on the partnership with Goldman Sachs, The head of Coinbase Institutional, Brett Tejpaul, stated that: “Coinbase’s work with Goldman is a first step in the recognition of crypto as collateral which deepens the bridge between the fiat and crypto economies.”

Coinbase, which holds 4,487 Bitcoin, worth around $170 million as of today’s prices, took out a loan of an undisclosed amount from the Wall Street bank. The loan was collateralized by Coinbase’s Bitcoin holdings.

By offering Bitcoin-backed loans, Goldman Sachs is looking to bolster its strategy of contributing more to crypto adoption. While Bitcoin and crypto-backed loans are not new, they are becoming increasingly popular among Wall Street investment banks.

Flipsider:

The CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, has predicted that crypto adoption will reach 1 billion users within a decade.

Why You Should Care

The Bitcoin-backed loan issued by Goldman Sachs is expected to deepen ties between the crypto and tradfi world.

Axie Infinity (AXS) All-Time Sales Surpass $4 Billion

Moving on from last March’s hack, Axie Infinity, the popular play-to-earn blockchain game and digital collectibles platform created by Sky Mavis, has reached a new milestone in the non-fungible token (NFT) space.

On-chain data shows that Axie Infinity has attained a total sales volume of roughly $4.07 billion as of April 30th, 2022–the highest sales of any NFT collection. In addition to this, weekly statistics show that Axie Infinity has processed $19,815,670 in sales through the ‘Ronin’ blockchain alone.

NFT collections ranked by all-time sales volume. Source: Cryptoslam

In terms of sales, Axie Infinity, which launched in 2018, is the largest NFT platform on the market, ranked ahead of CryptoPunks and Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC).

Axie Infinity’s records continue as it reportedly has over 2.5 million unique owners – more than any other NFT collection. The game’s native token, AXS, has increased by in value some 2,500% over the last year.

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