Markets

With the launch of MiCA, are cryptocurrencies entering the age of regulation?

Published

10 months ago

1 July, 2024

With the launch of MiCA, are cryptocurrencies entering the age of regulation?

Crypto and Web3 companies have been asking for more regulatory clarity for years.

And now, with the News Sunday (June 30) that the European Union landmark Cryptoasset Markets Act (MiCA) new regulatory requirements for stablecoin issuers have been implemented, and observers are wondering if the “Wild West” days of the digital asset sector are behind us.

After all, the digital asset and cryptocurrency industry shows no signs of slowing down as we approach the second quarter of the 21st century. Having stricter disclosure requirements, regular audits of crypto companies, and more robust capital reserve requirements will help build trust and transparency across the market — and the EU’s implementation of the MiCA provision for stablecoins puts the EU at the forefront of crypto regulation.

Stablecoin issuer Circle already announced on Monday (July 1) that it had secured a Electronic Money Institution (EMI) License, becoming the first global stablecoin issuer to obtain the necessary license to issue dollar and euro-pegged stablecoin tokens within the EU boundaries, under the MiCA framework.

“Achieving MiCA compliance through our French EMI license is a significant step forward, not just for Circle, but for the entire digital financial ecosystem in Europe and beyond,” Circle’s Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy Dante Disparte said in a declaration. “As digital assets become increasingly integrated into the mainstream financial landscape, it is essential that we establish robust and transparent frameworks to foster trust and adoption… building a more inclusive and compliant future for internet finance.”

Of the top 10 stablecoins by market cap, only USDC is currently MiCA compliant.

There are no more shortcuts or workarounds for cryptocurrency companies

“Today’s announcement from Circle is an important milestone in the continued development of the internet financial system, with one of the world’s largest economies establishing clear regulations that make stablecoins legal tender and ushering in a new phase in the development of the cryptocurrency market as a mainstream infrastructure for payments, finance and commerce,” Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a Monday Post on X (formerly Twitter), noting that MiCA marks “the beginning of the growth and mainstream adoption phase” of the digital asset.

The idea of witnessing major global laws enshrining stablecoins into the financial system of the world’s third-largest economy is something that would have been inconceivable just 10 years ago.

What this also means is that there will be no more regulatory shortcuts and shortcuts for crypto and Web3 companies — at least not in Europe.

As Amias Geretypartner in QED Investorstold PYMNTS last June, “The crypto community believed and had a real conviction that what they were doing was so new that existing laws could cannot be applied. And in the history of financial services, there has basically never been a group of commercially successful people who had that conviction… once you have that conviction, then you start looking for excuses not to deliver.”

But now, with the implementation of MiCA on Sunday, the era in which the cryptocurrency sector chose to base itself outside regulatory havens while seeking open access to global markets is over.

“Looking to the future, I hope that ESMA [the European Securities and Markets Authority] works collaboratively with industry to help companies comply, rather than regulating through enforcement actions like fines or penalties,” Eleanor Gaywood, chief strategy officer at Coincover, told PYMNTS.

The EU wasn’t the only major global economy to recently launch a cryptocurrency-focused framework.

On Friday (June 28), the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released new regulations around tax reporting requirements for the sale and exchange of digital assets. The regulations aim to help taxpayers file accurate returns and pay taxes already owed under current law.

Decentralized platforms that do not hold their own assets will be exempt from IRS regulations, while other custodial cryptocurrency platforms will need to report transactions to the IRS starting in 2026.

“These final regulations will implement Congress’ bipartisan directive to ensure that digital asset owners receive the information they need from brokers to file their taxes more accurately, easily, and cost-effectively, and that the IRS has the information it needs to address the tax evasion risks posed by digital assets,” an IRS spokesperson wrote in a statement provided to PYMNTS.

See more at: B2B, B2B Payments, circle, crypto regulation, cryptocurrency, EMEA, European Union, IRS, IRS, Cryptoasset Markets Act, MICA, News, PYMNTS News, regulations, stable coins, USDC

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FinCrypt Staff

We are the editorial team of FinCrypt, where seriousness meets clarity in cryptocurrency analysis. With a robust team of finance and blockchain technology experts, we are dedicated to meticulously exploring complex crypto markets with detailed assessments and an unbiased approach. Our mission is to democratize access to knowledge of emerging financial technologies, ensuring they are understandable and accessible to all. In every article on FinCrypt, we strive to provide content that not only educates, but also empowers our readers, facilitating their integration into the financial digital age.

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Markets

Crypto Markets Rebound as Spot Bitcoin ETFs Attract Massive Inflows

Published

9 months ago

17 July, 2024

FinCrypt Staff

Crypto Markets Rebound Ahead of Early Ethereum ETF Approval

This week saw $722 million worth of Bitcoin spot ETF inflows, including the largest daily inflow in a month.

Cryptocurrency markets rallied on Wednesday, driven by inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) is up 3% over the past 24 hours to last change hands at $65,200, according to CoinGecko. Ethereum (ETH) is up 2% and is trading at $3,471. Solana (SUN) and Polkadot (POINT) increased by 4%.

Bitcoin spot ETFs saw $422 million in daily inflows on Tuesday, the highest in the past 30 days, according to Far side data, . The all-time record for a single day was $1.05 billion on March 12.

Among Tuesday’s top contributors, BlackRock’s IBIT led with $260 million in inflows, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC with $61 million. This week has already seen more than $722 million in inflows.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap, Worldcoin (WLD) led with a 28% increase, followed by Helium (HNT) with 20% and Lido DAO (LDO) with 15%.

Worldcoin, a decentralized identity project led by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, announced is extending the lockups for early investors and team members. This means that tokens will be gradually released through 2029, instead of the original 2027 plan. Token unlocks are generally seen as a negative because they increase supply and early investors can sell their tokens for profit.

Meanwhile, XRP, the token of the XRP Ledger network, jumped 8% after the CME and CF benchmarks introduced new indices and reference rates for XRP.

U.S. stocks faced a downturn on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average both fell 2%.

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Markets

Altcoins on the cusp of a major breakout – WLD, AR, and INJ prices could surge by 20% in the coming days

Published

9 months ago

17 July, 2024

FinCrypt Staff

Altcoins on the cusp of a major breakout – WLD, AR, and INJ prices could surge by 20% in the coming days

Crypto markets appear to have been taken over by the bulls as major tokens have surged above their crucial resistance zone. Bitcoin surged above $65,000 while Ethereum was above $3,500, and XRP, which had remained passive for quite some time, surged over 40% in the past few days to hit $0.6. The uptrend has been captured in most altcoins, with Worldcoin (WLD), Arweave (AR), and Injective (INJ) leading the rally. Here’s what to expect for these tokens in the coming days.

Worldcoin (WLD) Price Analysis

O Worldcoin Price has been trading inside a descending wedge since it marked a new ATH near $12 in the final days of Q1 2024. The recent price action helped the price break out of the upper resistance of the wedge, breaking above the crucial resistance zone between $2.21 and $2.39. Market sentiments have changed, but technicals suggest that the bulls may remain passive for a while, which could offer some room for a bearish pullback.

The price broke out of the wedge with a significant increase in volume, but the current volume suggests that the bulls have taken a step back. Meanwhile, the RSI is about to reach the upper boundary, which could attract bearish forces. Additionally, the DMI has undergone a bullish crossover, but the decline in the ADX suggests that the rally may remain consolidated above the gains. Therefore, the WLD price is expected to maintain a horizontal consolidation between $3 and $3.3 and trigger a fresh rally to $4.4 during the next bullish rally.

Arweave (AR) Price Analysis

Arweave formed a strong base around $25, which helped the rally trigger a recovery during the bearish attack. Mt. Gox and German terror forced the price to fall below $20. However, the recent price action has brought the altcoin within the bullish range and raised expectations of maintaining a decent uptrend for a few more days.

AR price has hit one of the major resistances around $30 to $31.5, which could act as a strong base once overcome. The buying volume is slowly increasing, which could keep the bullish hopes for the rally high. Moreover, the supertrend has just flashed a buy signal, indicating a clean reversal of the trend. Therefore, AR price seems primed to maintain a healthy uptrend and rally above $40. However, if the bulls maintain a similar trend, making new highs above $50 may not be a tedious task for the bulls.

Price Analysis of Injective (INJ)

Injective price has been showing sharp strength since the beginning of the year and hence, the recent turnaround is expected to revive a good uptrend going forward. The bears engulfed the rally to a large extent, but the recent price action suggests that the bulls have regained their dominance. Therefore, INJ price is expected to maintain a strong uptrend with a bearish interference on the way down.

INJ price has surged above the lower support zone and has registered consecutive bullish candles. Although the volume is below the required levels, the OBV is maintaining a sharp uptrend. Furthermore, the Ichimoku cloud lead span B is heading towards the lead span A and a healthy crossover indicates the start of a new uptrend. However, INJ price may be out of the bears’ reach once it secures the resistance zone between $30.77 and $32.12, which seems to be on the horizon.

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Markets

Ethereum at $3.5K, Exchange Supply Hits 34-Month High

Published

9 months ago

17 July, 2024

FinCrypt Staff

Ethereum at $3.5K, Exchange Supply Hits 34-Month High

Ethereum (ETH) supply on exchanges has hit a 34-month high as the asset’s price surpassed the $3,500 mark.

ETH has risen 2.3% over the past 24 hours and is trading at $3,490 at the time of writing. The second-largest cryptocurrency — with a market cap of $419 billion — briefly touched an intraday high of $3,517 earlier today.

ETH Price, Whale Activity, RSI, and Exchange Supply – July 17 | Source: Santiment

Ethereum’s daily trading volume also increased by 7.6% to reach $19.8 billion.

According to data provided by Santiment, the supply of Ethereum on exchanges has reached $19.52 million ETH. This level was last seen in September 2021, when the asset was trading around the same price.

On the other hand, data from the market intelligence platform shows that the number of whale transactions has fallen by 12% in the last day — falling from 8,730 to 7,629 unique transactions per day.

The move shows that the supply of Ethereum on exchanges has been increasing with small deposits rather than large transactions from whales.

Additionally, the ETH Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently hovering at the 60-mark, per Santiment. The indicator shows that Ethereum is slightly overbought at this price point, but it may not be in a critical position due to its large market cap.

One of the main drivers of Ethereum price increase is ETH spot expectations ETFs in the US Investment products are scheduled to start trading on July 23rd.

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Markets

Bits + Beeps: How to Play the ‘Trump Trade’ in Cryptocurrencies After the Assassination Attempt

Published

9 months ago

17 July, 2024

FinCrypt Staff

Bits + Bips: How to Play the ‘Trump Trade’ in Crypto After the Assassination Attempt

Also, how much will the Fed cut rates (and when)? What will be the inflows into ETH ETFs? And what is the near future for Bitcoin?

Posted on July 17, 2024 at 12:00 PM EST.

Listen to the episode at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Capsules, Source, Podcast Addict, Pocket molds, Amazon Musicor on your favorite podcast platform.

In this episode of Bits + Bips, hosts James Seyffart, Alex Kruger and Joe McCann, joined by guest Jack Platts, dive into the market reaction to the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, analyzing how this event will influence the 2024 US presidential election and the cryptocurrency markets.

They also cover potential rate cuts: Could there be a cut in July? How big could the September rate cut be? Could the decision be influenced by the upcoming election?

They also give their predictions on what percentage of BTC ETF inflows the ETH ETFs will reach, and James talks about what he expects for Grayscale’s ETHE (hint: his outlook would be positive for ETH).

Finally, they delve into what’s next for Bitcoin as the German government runs out of BTC and Mt. Gox distributions begin. Just now?

Program Highlights:

Whether Trump’s shooting decided the election and whether the event caused a “flight to safety”
How election markets are becoming a place to watch election probabilities and whether cryptocurrencies “lean right”
Whether rate cuts will occur in July or September and by how much they will cut: 25 bps or 50 bps
How Joe sees the relationship between global liquidity cycles, rate cuts, and the potential rise of Bitcoin
What are the new updates about Ethereum ETFs and their expected launch?
Why Solana Hasn’t Performed Significantly Better Since Trump News
What Market Breadth Indicates About the Current Market Rally and the Impact of Rates on Small Caps
Everyone’s predictions on ETH ETF inflows and how much outflow we’ll see on Grayscale’s ETHE
What’s Next for BTC After German Government Exits Bitcoin and Mt. Gox Giveaways Starting This Week