The SOMA.finance Weekly Wrap-up #53
SOMA.finance
A Revolutionary Multi-Asset DEX & Issuance Platform for Tokenized Equities, Digital Assets, and NFTs
The SOMA.finance Weekly Wrap-up #53
In This Issue
Market Overview
Consolidation remains the name of the game in the cryptocurrency markets as Bitcoin continues to trade near support at $30,000 while the gains for certain altcoins were overshadowed by losses in others, resulting in an overall decline in the total crypto market cap.?
This was the first week in a while where there were no major developments within the ecosystem to cause a significant price movement or spike in volatility, which gave trades time to review their holdings and rebalance their portfolios in preparation for a bull run in the market.?
Analysts have begun to discuss the topic of the Bitcoin halving with greater frequency as the market has entered a period of time where BTC price has historically started to steadily climb higher in preparation for the network to undergo a reduction in the number of new tokens minted with each finalized block. The current consensus estimate is that the next halving will occur on April 26, 2024, and it will see the block reward decline from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.?
The price of Bitcoin fell under pressure early in the week as the momentum generated by the recent spot BTC ETF filings and the judgment that XRP is not a security faded away, allowing the economic realities of high inflation and additional interest rates to creep back into the awareness of investors. BTC hit a low of $29,620 on Tuesday and closed the Thursday daily candle at $29,900.?
At the time of writing, the total cryptocurrency market cap stands at?$1.2 trillion, a decrease of?4.76%?over the past week. The DeFi market cap currently stands at?$49.9?billion with a 24-hour trading volume of?$3.88 billion, which is?10.5%?of the total crypto market volume.
Crypto News
Crypto, Nationalized?- Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency (CFTRA), also known as Bappebti, announced it is moving forward with its plan to launch a national cryptocurrency exchange, and expects to debut the platform in the coming weeks. Didid Noordiatmoko, acting head of Bappebti, said that trading on the exchange would be offered through an integrated application, which the CFTRA has already tested, and the regulator plans to restrict all cryptocurrency transactions so that they can only take place using the national exchange. Indonesia trade minister Zulkifli Hasan has been informed of the decision, and if there are no objections or additional instructions, Bappebti will sign the permit, which will give licensed traders one month to join the exchange.
Reevaluating the Landscape?- Stock exchange operator Nasdaq (NDAQ) announced that it is halting its plans to launch a crypto custody service due to the uncertain regulatory conditions in the United States. The firm originally planned to launch its custody service by the end of the second quarter, but Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman said those plans have been put on hold for the time being while speaking during the company’s Q2 results call. She said the company remains committed to developing its digital asset business, they just want to ensure that they have the necessary licenses and approval from regulators to avoid any fines or enforcement actions. Nasdaq will continue to closely monitor the market for potential regulatory developments in the coming months.
Baby Steps?- On Monday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accepted the recently filed spot Bitcoin ETF applications and opened the public comment period to get feedback before conducting their official review. On Wednesday, the applications for BlackRock, Fidelity, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, and WisdomTree were published in the U.S. Government’s Federal Register, moving them one step along in the lengthy review and approval process. Once an application is published in the official journal, the SEC has a window of up to 240 days to approve or deny it.?
And?in the World of Laws and Regulations…
Consistency is Important?- The Financial Stability Board (FSB), an international organization that monitors the global financial system, released its finalized global regulatory framework for crypto-asset activities in an effort to “promote the comprehensiveness and international consistency of regulatory and supervisory approaches.” The guidelines are intended to be implemented by members of the G20 under the principle of “same activity, same risk, same regulation,” the FSB said. To help aid countries in establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets, the FSB provided a set of high-level recommendations for the regulation, supervision, and oversight of crypto in general, as well as revised high-level recommendations related to the regulation of “global stablecoin” arrangements.
Bipartisan Regulation??- A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced the Crypto Asset National Security Enhancement Act of 2023, which looks to require DeFi protocols to abide by the same rules as other US-regulated financial intermediaries. The text of the bill requires that anyone who “controls” a DeFi protocol must take measures to prevent money laundering by conducting know-your-customer (KYC) checks before granting a user access to the platform. The operators would also be mandated to report any suspicious activity and ensure that all parties subject to sanctions by the U.S. government are not able to utilize its services. For protocols without an identifiable controller, anyone who invests more than $25 million in developing the protocol would be held responsible for fulfilling these duties.
Ready to Call a Truce??- Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn, the judge presiding over the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple Labs, has ordered both parties to determine three mutually convenient dates for a potential settlement conference “if they believe it to be productive at this time.” The call for a settlement conclave was recommended “In light of Judge Torres’s recent decisions on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment,” Netburn wrote. The order presents an opportunity for both parties to resolve the conflict without proceeding further in court, which can help save time and money. While a settlement conference can potentially lead to a mutually agreed-upon compromise, it is important to note that the judge’s suggestion does not guarantee an imminent resolution to the case. The parties must first decide if they believe a settlement conference would be productive at this stage.