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BTC price surges amid banking contagion fears while Ethereum’s yearly gain hits 42.37%.

USDC temporarily ‘depegs’ from the US dollar while crypto firms receive support from major banks.

US inflation figures come in at expectations at 6% for February.

Australian 'Big Four' bank launches a stablecoin on Ethereum.

Over the weekend, the cryptocurrency industry was impacted by a liquidity issue at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). We are also closely monitoring the unfolding events related to Credit Suisse. The market reaction to the Tradfi instability caused the USDC stablecoin to temporarily depeg from the U.S. dollar. This has raised concerns about the stability of stablecoins and the potential impact on the wider crypto market.

As an Australian-based cryptocurrency exchange, BTC Markets wants to assure its clients that we have no exposure to SVB, Signature Bank, or any other affected institutions. We take a conservative approach to managing our business and client assets, prioritising the safety and security of our clients' funds.

We do not engage in risky practices such as lending client assets or holding debt in our business. We maintain complete segregation of client assets. Our business model is simple: no rehypothecation (a practice where entities use, for their own purposes, assets that have been posted as collateral by their clients), no debt, no co-mingled assets, and no proprietary trading (we never trade against our clients).

We understand the concerns raised by recent events and are committed to providing a safe and reliable platform for our clients to trade cryptocurrencies. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and take any necessary steps to ensure the security and stability of our platform.

: Japan will release its Balance of Trade report and the USA will also release its Building Permits Preliminary report, which gauges the health of the housing market and the broader economy.

: the European Central Bank (ECB) will announce its Deposit Facility Rate, which can influence the cost of borrowing and level of lending in the Eurozone. The ECB will also make its Interest Rate Decision, impacting the value of the Euro.

: the USA will release its Michigan Consumer Sentiment Preliminary report, which measures consumer confidence, a significant driver of economic growth.

 the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will release its Meeting Minutes, Germany will release its ZEW Economic Sentiment Index, and Canada will release its inflation rate report.

: the UK will release its inflation rate year on year report, which can impact investment decisions, interest rates, and consumer spending.

: the US Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision along with its latest economic projections. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will hold a press conference, where he is expected to provide further details on the Fed's decision-making process.

Over the weekend, the USDC stablecoin experienced a ‘depegging’ from the U.S. dollar, which was caused by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Circle, the issuer of USDC, reported that approximately $3.3 billion of USDC reserves were trapped in SVB, the largest bank by deposits in Silicon Valley.

d of 2022, and the combination of large, uninsured deposits and unrealised US Government Bond losses, resulted in a liquidity crisis once SVB started selling to meet depositor demands for cash. When the bank was unable to meet depositor demands, it was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation on Friday, to protect depositors. While the likelihood of any direct contagion effects on Australian banks is slim, the collapse of SVB could have an impact on the global technology sector, and its significance remains to be seen.

value after federal regulators announced on Sunday that all depositors with Silicon Valley Bank will have access to their funds and be fully compensated.

Consumer confidence has plunged to the lowest point in decades as indicated by the latest surveys from 

Westpac and National Australia Bank (NAB)

. The Westpac survey suggests that 74% of those polled are bracing for more rate hikes this year, following March's rate rise to 3.6%. Westpac is cautiously indicating that there could finally be a rate hike pause in April after ten consecutive rises.

For now, three of the big four banks expect Australia to reach a peak cash rate of 4.10%, with the Commonwealth Bank calling a peak of 3.85%. This week, Australian shares sank to a 10-week low, but 

 such as Australian Government Bonds, gold, and Bitcoin rallied as investors sheltered from worries about the banking crisis in the US.

Westpac's Chief Economist, Bill Evans, has highlighted RBA Governor Philip Lowe's recent remarks as a clear signal for potential rate hikes soon. However, after the December quarter's weak prints for wages growth and economic activity, along with a soft January inflation report, Governor Lowe has hinted at a possible pause in April. Mr Evans notes that upcoming data on employment, inflation, spending, and confidence will determine whether this pause eventuates.

Betashares' Chief Economist, David Bassanese, predicts that the recent chaos in the US may have a temporary upside for Australian homeowners, and the fallout in the next few days could encourage the RBA to pause at the April meeting.

The latest US inflation figures have garnered close attention from the global financial sector, with the consumer price index (CPI) recording a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 

. This figure, though marginally lower than the 6.4% YoY in January, continues to exert substantial pressure on the Federal Reserve's forthcoming interest rate policy decision, given the persistently high costs of food, shelter, and services that continue to keep inflation far above the central bank's 2% target.

Economists are divided on the future course of Fed interest rates, with some banks cautioning against potential rate cuts. On the other hand, 

maintains that the economy's cooling has partly reversed, as evidenced by recent data on jobs, consumer spending, production, and inflation.

Morgan Stanley's US economist Ellen Zentner believes that services inflation remains too high for the central bank to lower rates. Nevertheless, investor sentiment has improved, as evidenced by the positive performance of global shares, primarily led by US bank shares. The latest inflation figures, in line with expectations, have further boosted investor sentiment.

While some market participants believe that the ‘Fed Put’ is back, the rising inflation scenario complicates matters. 

 also revised its expectations, stating that it no longer expects the Fed to raise rates this month.

The digital asset majors experienced a third consecutive week of negative performance, with Bitcoin declining to a low of US$19,549 on Friday. Despite this setback, Bitcoin recovered a significant portion of its losses and closed the week with a 1.93% loss. On the other hand, Ethereum demonstrated resilience by shrugging off Bitcoin's price performance, delivering a 7.78% gain, while XRP recorded a modest increase of 0.89%.

In terms of yearly gains, Bitcoin remains up by 10.53% and is currently trading at US$24,791. Ethereum, on the other hand, has exhibited significant growth with a yearly gain of 42.37% and is presently trading at US$1,702. XRP has a yearly gain of 10.56% and currently trading at US$0.3746.

Bitcoin's market capitalisation has declined by 0.29% on the weekly close, but its current dominance has surged to 45.13% following the recent price rally. The overall cryptocurrency market capitalisation incurred a slight loss of 0.55% last week. Nonetheless, the total market capitalisation has exceeded the trillion-dollar threshold once again, currently valued at US$1.066 trillion.

Flare has recently launched a new feature that allows for automatic claiming of Flare (FLR) tokens, referred to as "autoclaiming", for FTSO Delegation Rewards and FlareDrop Distributions without the need for user input. This function entails assigning an executor to claim rewards on behalf of the user, with a nominal fee charged for the service rendered.

Presently, two executors are available on Flare, developed by Bifrost Wallet and Flare Oracle, respectively. Each executor charges a fee of 0.4 FLR for every claim made. This functionality can be managed natively through their respective decentralised applications (dApps) or via the Flare Portal. Further, additional executors are expected to become available shortly.

It is crucial to note that this feature is 

, with technical details provided in the Flare Technical Documentation.

Flare (FLR) is a utility token for the Flare Network, a smart contract platform that utilises the Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA) consensus algorithm to allow for interoperability with the Ethereum network. This feature permits the execution of dApps and smart contracts, with the Flare Network seeking to make these features more accessible to the broader public by simplifying the technical aspects of the Ethereum network.

Bitcoin has experienced a substantial surge amid growing banking chaos across the global financial system. According to Tradingview, Bitcoin hit a high of USD$26,386 on Tuesday, marking a significant price increase during the trading week. The digital token has soared in price since the start of the year, reaching a nine-month high before consolidating at the US$24,300 level.

The banking chaos has prompted federal regulators to intervene in a bid to avoid a massive bank run, which has resulted in three banks failing within a week. As a result, people have become sceptical of traditional banking, which could be leading to a surge in Bitcoin's price. Bitcoin's rally is occurring as banks with cryptocurrency ties face tremendous pressure, and there is a looming risk of further bank failures.

 stated that Bitcoin's surge is the biggest one-day rise since the FTX turmoil, indicating that some investors believe DeFi solutions support the case for holding cryptocurrencies. Moving money into crypto offers root ownership and protection from bank failures.

National Australia Bank (NAB), one of Australia’s ‘Big Four’ banks, has recently completed its first intra-bank cross-border transaction using its own stablecoin via Ethereum. The transaction is part of a 

 (AUD)-backed stablecoin, which has showcased the potential to shorten cross-border transactions from days to minutes. This pilot program involved deploying stablecoin smart contracts for seven major global currencies and NAB intends to issue its stablecoin under the ticker “AUDN.”

The stablecoin will be managed as a liability on its books, and the firm plans to enable transactions for the Australian, New Zealand, Singapore, and US dollars, as well as the euro, yen, and pound sterling. Digital asset infrastructure provider Fireblocks and fintech platform Blockfold have assisted NAB with the smart contracts, direct custody of the tokens (alongside minting and burning), and the stablecoin was issued as an ERC-20 token.

NAB’s stablecoin transaction is a milestone for the bank, as it claims to be the world’s first major financial institution to process a cross-border stablecoin transaction via a public Layer-1 blockchain.

Although ANZ, another ‘big four’ Australian bank, became the first institution in the country to issue and conduct payment of a stablecoin linked to the nation’s dollar last year, also via Ethereum, it wasn’t cross-border. JPMorgan, alongside Singapore’s DBS Bank and others, executed foreign exchange transactions using tokenised deposits, a slightly different concept to stablecoins, as part of a 2022 pilot. The group used Ethereum Layer-2 network Polygon for the trades.

NAB believes that elements of the future of finance will be blockchain-enabled, and it expects to support “select corporate and institutional clients” in transacting with digital assets by the end of the year. As the world of finance continues to evolve rapidly, NAB’s stablecoin pilot program is an important development for the Australian banking sector, which could lead to faster, more efficient, and secure cross-border transactions.

Ripples modernisation of cross border payments using XRP.

Cross-border payments using blockchain technology involve the use of a distributed ledger to facilitate transactions between parties in different countries. It allows for a secure and transparent record of transactions that can be accessed by all parties involved in the payment process.

Here are the steps involved in a typical cross-border payment using blockchain technology:

 The sender initiates a payment using a cryptocurrency, such as XRP, and sends it to the recipient's wallet address.


The transaction is validated by a network of nodes that confirm the sender has sufficient funds to complete the transaction.


The transaction is recorded on the blockchain:

 Once the transaction is validated, it is recorded on the blockchain, which serves as a ledger of all transactions.


The recipient's wallet address is credited with the cryptocurrency, which can then be converted into local currency if desired.


 The transaction is settled almost instantly, and the funds are available to the recipient without the need for intermediaries.

Cross-border payments using blockchain technology can provide faster settlement times, lower transaction costs, increased security, and transparency. They also have the potential to improve financial inclusion by providing access to financial services to individuals and businesses in underserved regions.

 operating worldwide that boasts a customer base of major banks and financial service providers. Within the Ripple ecosystem, XRP serves as a cryptocurrency designed to enable speedy exchange of diverse currencies.


Crypto firms continue to receive support from major banks.

Several of the biggest banks backing the crypto scene have recently collapsed, raising concerns about the fate of United States-based crypto firms. While it has been said that there is “nobody left to bank crypto companies,” there are still

Banks that have crypto clients include BNY Mellon, JPMorgan, Cross River, BCB Group, Customers Bank, DBS, OCBC, Mercury Bank, and Axos Bank.

BNY Mellon launched its digital custody platform for institutional clients in October 2022, and Circle (USDC) chose BNY Mellon as one of its custodians for its USD Coin reserves.

JPMorgan has processed over $430 billion in transactions through its Onyx Digital Assets platform, and it is exploring “deposit tokens” as an alternative to privately issued stablecoins and central bank digital currencies.

Cross River offers crypto solutions to fintech companies, and it has served clients both inside and outside of the crypto space.

BCB Group offers a custody solution for BTC and ETH wallets, and Customers Bank offers instant payments for business-to-business transactions and instant settlement for cryptocurrency trading firms.

DBS and OCBC offer their own custody platforms, and Mercury Bank offers banking services for Web3 startups, decentralised autonomous organisations, and funds.

Axos Bank offers access to multiple crypto-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and its digital payments alternative, TassatPay, which has processed over US$400 billion in transactions to date.

The situation surrounding banks, crypto and stablecoins is fluid, but there remain mainstream options for those working in the space.

ASIC's top 10 signs of a potential crypto scam.

 of top 10 signs of a potential crypto scam. Last week we focused on receiving an amazing ‘offer out of the blue’. This week we will be talking about scammers pressuring people into transferring crypto from their current exchange or wallet to another website.

With the rise in popularity of cryptocurrencies, scammers are getting more creative and ruthless in their attempts to steal them. One of the most common tactics used by scammers is to pressure clients into transferring their crypto from their current exchange or wallet to another website. In this blog post, we will discuss this type of scam and how to protect yourself online.

The scam usually starts with an unsolicited message or phone call from someone posing as a representative of a reputable exchange or wallet service. They may claim that your account has been compromised, or that they need to verify your identity or update your security settings. They will then ask you to transfer your crypto to another website or exchange for safekeeping.

However, once you transfer your crypto, it will be gone forever. The scammers will disappear with your hard-earned money, leaving you with no recourse.

So, how can you protect yourself from this type of scam? Here are some tips:

Be cautious of unsolicited messages or phone calls. Do not provide any personal information or transfer your crypto to anyone you do not trust.

Verify the identity of the person or organisation contacting you. Check their website and social media profiles for legitimacy.

Keep your crypto in a secure wallet or exchange. Choose a reputable provider with strong security measures.

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on your accounts. This adds an extra layer of security to your login process.

Stay up to date on the latest scams and security threats. Follow reputable news sources and blogs for updates.

BTC Markets will never cold call you or solicit the transfer of funds. We do not contact our clients unless they have an open support ticket via our platform.

Scammers are constantly looking for new ways to steal your crypto. By being vigilant and following the tips above, you can protect yourself from this type of scam and keep your crypto safe.

If you have any feedback on our newsletter or want to request specific content, please 

 via our platform and we will respond shortly.

 The information provided in this email is for general purposes only. It should not be construed as professional financial advice from BTC Markets Pty Ltd. BTC Markets is not a financial adviser, and you should consider seeking independent legal, financial, taxation or other advice to ensure that the information relates to your unique circumstances. BTC Markets is not liable for any loss caused, whether due to negligence or otherwise arising from the use of, or reliance on, the information provided directly or indirectly, by use of this information contained within this email. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. We note that we may, at any time, change the characteristics of the product. The information provided is intended for recipients in Australia. This information is not to be reproduced without permission.

Prices are accurate as of 11:00 AM AEDT, on 16/03/2023.

Weekly Crypto Wrap: 16th March 2023

Decentraland

Australia's economic growth slowed to 0.4% in Q4 2022.

Ethereum gas fees are increasing as the NFT market rebounds.

XRP proposes a cross-chain bridge to boost network and token utility.

Asset tokenisation is trending, with funding rounds led by PayPal, Morgan Creek, and a16z.

XRP’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) solutions for cross border payments.

The challenges with cross-border payments are widely acknowledged, particularly in Australia where businesses frequently need to process payments to suppliers situated outside the country. XRP functions as a bridge that connects conventional financial institutions with the emerging world of fintech. By utilising XRP, the transaction fees can be reduced, and same-day payments can be made, offering tangible advantages, and resolving roadblocks in the current payments system.

 uses XRP as a bridge currency, allowing funds to be sent from one currency and instantly converted into another currency on the other side of the transaction.

BTC Markets supports the use of ODL, as it provides liquidity to ease fund movement for our traders. When businesses use XRP for faster and cheaper cross-border payments, this drives volume through the exchange, providing a unique competitive advantage. The ODL integration with BTC Markets enables customers to convert fiat currency into XRP and then back into fiat currency on the other side of the transaction, with minimal transaction fees and settlement times.

US Manufacturing PMI report to be released which provides insight into the health of the manufacturing sector and can affect markets, as it reflects changes in employment, production, and new orders. Also, due out is the Japanese Consumer Confidence report, which is important for gauging consumer sentiment, and can have a significant impact on consumer spending and, ultimately, economic growth. Finally, the Eurozone unemployment and inflation rates will be released which are crucial indicators of the overall health of the Eurozone economy, with unemployment being a lagging indicator of economic performance and inflation being a leading indicator of changes in monetary policy.

 US Non-Manufacturing PMI data will be released. This report provides information on the state of the services sector, which makes up a significant portion of the US economy. The data can affect markets as it reflects changes in employment, production, and new orders in the services sector. Non-Manufacturing PMI is also used to forecast future economic activity, as the service sector is closely linked to consumer spending and can indicate the overall health of the economy.

 The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will release its interest rate decision. Australia’s January trade balance, exports, imports, retail sales data and China's trade balance to released. These reports will be closely watched by investors and analysts alike, as they provide valuable insights into the health of the Australian and Chinese economies and their respective monetary policies.

Fed Chair Powell testimony to US Congress. This is a highly anticipated event as it provides valuable insights into the future direction of the US economy and monetary policy.

Australia's economic growth slowed to 0.4% in the final quarter of 2022, down from 1.9% in Q3, due to the impact of rising interest rates on the property market and consumer spending. The Reserve Bank of Australia raised rates twice in the second half of 2022, contributing to a decline in housing and construction activity, which typically drives economic growth. The report showed that business investment grew 2.2% in Q4, but exports and household spending slowed.

 to continue to be moderate in 2023, with rising interest rates and global supply chain disruptions weighing on the economy. The RBA is expected to continue its gradual rate hike cycle in the coming months, with the official cash rate currently at 1.25%. The bank has also expressed concern about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the economy, as well as inflation pressures and wage growth.

US stock futures declined on Wednesday as

 for higher US interest rates following a month of losses in major averages. The Dow saw a 4.19% decline in February, turning negative for the year, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also experienced drops. These losses followed stronger-than-anticipated US economic data, which suggested the Federal Reserve would need to tighten policy further to control surging inflation.

Investors are now awaiting US manufacturing and construction data, as well as earnings reports from major companies. Wholesale inventories decreased by 0.4% from the previous month in January, the first decline in inventories since July 2020, while the US trade deficit in goods increased to US$91.5 billion in the same month.

The last trading week saw all digital asset majors decline, closing out the week in the red. Bitcoin lost 2.95% in value, Ethereum experienced a 2.29% drop, and XRP closed down 2.17%. At time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at US$23,592, reflecting a 42.60% gain on the year. Similarly, Ethereum is currently trading at US $1,657, a 38.58% gain on the year, and XRP is trading at US $0.3815, a 12.57% gain on the year.

The market capitalisation of Bitcoin witnessed a loss of 0.24% by the end of the week, resulting in a current dominance of 43.86%. The overall crypto market cap has also come off by 2.75% during the last trading week, with the total market capitalisation currently at US$1.04 trillion.

Decentraland's 2nd Metaverse Fashion Week

Decentraland (MANA) is set to host its second annual 

 next month, featuring global brands showcasing their digital wearables. The event, running from March 28-31 in Decentraland's Luxury District, will see Dolce & Gabbana and Tommy Hilfiger return with new collections, while Coach, Adidas and DKNY will debut their digital wearables on the popular metaverse platform.

This year's focus is on open metaverses and Web3 interoperability, with Decentraland collaborating with digital fashion company UNXD, metaverse platform Spatial and augmented reality firm OVER, to put on the event. Its "Future Heritage" theme emphasises traditional fashion houses taking their first steps into Web3.

As part of the event, brands will host immersive digital experiences on and off the runway. For example, Dolce & Gabbana will showcase works from its Future Reward digital design competition, Tommy Hilfiger will release new wearables daily alongside AI-powered products, DKNY will open its pop-up art gallery and restaurant DKNY.3, and Adidas will feature its first series of digital wearables for holders of the ‘Into the Metaverse’ non-fungible token (NFT) collection.

Decentraland's inaugural Metaverse Fashion Week was held in March 2022, with brands such as Estée Lauder and Forever 21 participating. NFT-native brands and fashion houses teamed up to bring pop-ups, fashion shows, and digital experiences to test their footing in Web3.

Bitcoin ordinals are a type of non-fungible token (NFT) that are unique digital assets issued on the Bitcoin blockchain. They are created by 

 about the token's ownership and attributes into a Bitcoin transaction output script, which serves as a proof of ownership.

Ordinals have a fixed supply of 210,000, which represents the maximum number of Bitcoin blocks that can be mined, and each ordinal corresponds to a specific block height. They are considered a valuable collectible for Bitcoin enthusiasts and are traded on various marketplaces. With the increasing popularity of NFTs, ordinals have become an exciting way for people to participate in the Bitcoin ecosystem beyond just buying and holding the cryptocurrency.

Ethereum gas fees are slowly climbing as NFT market rebounds.

The recent surge in NFT trading activity across Ethereum's network appears to be driving a return to form in the platform's fee market. 

 firm, has reported that the median price for gas powering Ethereum transactions has risen from roughly 10 to 20 gwei over the past nine months to 38 gwei this month, indicating a rise in network activity.

, which in this case is being driven by the growing activity in Ethereum's NFT market. Specifically, the gas used by Ethereum NFT transactions has risen by 97% for two months straight, with much of the activity being attributed to the popularity of the NFT marketplace, Blur. 

Other factors driving NFT activity include the launch of new projects by the industry's biggest names. However, Ethereum's network adoption rate remains low, with the recent revival in NFT activity being driven primarily by existing NFT users.

The competition between OpenSea and Blur is also constricting cash available to many NFT projects that relied on secondary royalties for revenue, according to Doodle CEO Julian Holguin in an interview with Decrypt.

XRP proposes cross-chain bridge to boost network and token utility.

XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ripple development lab RippleX have proposed a new standard for a 

 that would enable interoperability between different networks. The proposed standard would allow tokens from one blockchain to be locked in an account on the XRP Ledger while an equivalent number of tokens is issued on another blockchain.

This potentially could increase the use cases and adoption of the XRP Ledger. The proposal defines how transactions can be made on the XRP Ledger to ensure the movement of tokens between XRP Ledger and associated sidechains and ensures the movement of tokens in a secure and efficient manner.

Asset tokenisation is shaping up to be crypto’s theme of the year.

Blockchain technology is disrupting traditional financial institutions as more legacy companies are embracing digital assets. Tokenisation, the process of representing ownership and other rights on a blockchain-powered asset, is being adopted rapidly across various blockchain ecosystems. This year, more than 

 tokenisation to increase the efficiency of transactions. Bob Ras, co-founder of XRP protocol Sologenic, said that the traditional method of buying, selling, and trading company shares is outdated. These legacy methods involve restrictions such as limited market hours and slow settlement times, making the cost of continuing to rely on them excessive.

Ras suggested tokenising assets like Tesla or Microsoft stock and enabling them to be traded 24/7 on-chain, allowing investors to trade a fraction of the tokenised stock. This would be much cheaper because blockchain can foster transparency and auditability immediately without relying on trusted third parties. Ras predicted that the value of tokenised assets could grow to trillions of dollars over the next few decades.

Several corporations have announced asset tokenisation projects, including 

Goldman Sachs with its Digital Asset Platform

 built using a private blockchain stack called Canton. The platform enables the issuance, registration, settlement, and custody of digital assets, and the European Investment Bank collaborated with Goldman Sachs for its first digital bond. Hamilton Lane, a global investment manager, also t

 via the Polygon blockchain, with a minimum investment of $20,000. In February, Hong Kong's government issued its first tokenised 

 worth $100 million, and German manufacturing giant Siemens issued its first 

 on Polygon. DeFi infrastructure firm Swarm Markets launched tradable, DeFi-compatible stocks and bonds on Polygon this month.

Tokenisation has the potential to significantly improve transparency, auditability, and efficiency, and to grant access to traditional markets to individuals who may not otherwise have such access. Transactions done at scale using tokenisation can make markets far more efficient, said Daniela Barbosa, Executive Director of Hyperledger Foundation.

Crypto funding rounds led by PayPal, Morgan Creek, and a16z.

Investment in privacy, security and decentralised communication technology is increasing, with US$254m being committed to the cryptocurrency ecosystem in the past week, up from US$183m the previous week. According to 

, 25 companies received funding, with a focus on decentralised finance, gaming and blockchain infrastructure firms. Chain Reaction, an Israeli semiconductor and blockchain privacy firm, secured US$70m in a series C funding round led by Morgan Creek Digital.

Here Not There received US$25.5m in series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, and Chaos Labs secured US$20m in funding co-led by PayPal and Galaxy Digital. 

The investments are important for the development of blockchain technology, allowing individuals to have more control over their data and communications. They will also improve security measures in the blockchain and DeFi space as the ecosystem continues to grow.

Mitsubishi and Fujitsu venture into the metaverse.

A group of Japanese technology, manufacturing, and finance firms, including Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, and Mizuho, are collaborating to create an infrastructure for an open metaverse called RYUGUKOKU, which will expand the “Japan Metaverse Economic Zone.”

 has reported the project aims to provide corporations with a framework for tapping into Web3 marketing, work reform, and consumer experience initiatives. RYUGUKOKU will serve as a virtual world to connect users to different Web3 services created by companies and government agencies. It will implement "Auto-Learning Avatars," which will provide personalised metaverse experiences, and "Pegasus World Kit," which will allow users to create gamified metaverse experiences.

The platform will also include "Multi-Magic Passport" to facilitate interoperability within the metaverse space. The move comes as Japan aims to integrate Web3 technology into its national agenda. In October, Prime Minister Fumio Kishia said the country would be investing in digital transformation services, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse. In November, the country's Digital Ministry laid plans to create a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) to help government agencies enter Web3.

Australian government looks to regulate Web3!

Web3 is a new way of building the internet that uses blockchain technology to create a safer and more transparent online experience. It allows apps to work directly with each other without needing middlemen, such as Google and Meta, giving users more control over their online interactions.

If you are in Web3, make sure your voice is heard and 

 to the ‘Treasury consultation paper’ today. The industry needs to advocate for transformational policy changes and new laws that will enable everyone to work, bank, game, recreate, trade, and thrive in Web3. The deadline for submission is March 3rd, and the decisions made by policymakers can make or break the future of Web3 in Australia.

We’re excited to announce that dark mode display theme is coming to the mobile app. The feature will be included in the upcoming release and will be available for download via the App Store for iOS and the Google Play Store for Android.

Dark mode uses light text on a dark background, providing a good viewing experience in low-light environments, while also emitting less blue light and using less energy, which can help prolong battery life.

Beware of scams targeting cryptocurrency users.

ASIC’s has a great resource which outlines the ‘Top-10 best ways to spot a crypto scam’.

According to ASIC’s investigators, the signs of a likely crypto scam could be the following:

You see a celebrity advertisement that is a fake.

A romantic partner you only know on-line asks for money in crypto.

You get pressured into transferring crypto from your current exchange to another website.

You’re asked to pay for a financial service with crypto.

The app you’re using or directed to isn’t listed on the Google Play Store or Apple Store.

You need to pay more to access your money.

You are ‘guaranteed’ returns, or free money.

Strange tokens appear in your digital wallet.

The provider withholds investment earnings ‘for tax purposes.'

Weekly Crypto Wrap: 2nd March 2023

Polkadot

 is currently at 27/100 in the Fear zone, up 7 points from this time last week. The index reached a high of 29/100 on Wednesday and a low of 20/100 on Friday.


We are excited to announce that multi-chain protocol, Polkadot will be listed on BTC Markets. Post only orders, deposits and withdrawals will be available on the 6th December, with the market going live around midday on the 7th December.

Polkadot is a multichain protocol which enables cross-chain transfer of data and assets and is currently the 11th largest crypto asset by market capitalisation. Polkadot is a multichain network, which means it can process a variety of transactions on several different chains in parallel, resulting in improved scalability. This next generation protocol enables interoperability across blockchains, meaning different blockchains and systems can communicate, and exchange information passed between one another... learn more about DOT.

The digital asset markets have continued to consolidate in a tight trading range and market participants have maintained a general ‘one day at a time’ approach. After nearly two weeks of disconnected correlation with the broader global financial markets, the digital asset majors have once again returned to significant positive correlation with the Nasdaq and S&P equities indices.

Global markets started the week off to a soft open, broadly pulling back amidst concerns that the Chinese government would further tighten Covid 19 restrictions, resulting in potential supply chain disruption. Leading into the end of the week and the start of December, the broader markets rallied in a move to the upside.

An eventful calendar of economic news and several important economic drivers occurred during the week.

Onshore in Australia, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released retail trade data relating to monthly and quarterly estimates of turnover and volumes for retail businesses. The data indicated that the October 2022 seasonally adjusted estimate for retail businesses fell 0.2% month-on-month and rose 12.5% comparatively to October 2021.

In unprecedented gesture, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe apologised to the general public for the central bank’s previous guidance. Throughout 2020 and nearly all of 2021, the RBA provided ongoing indication that interest rates would remain low until 2024. Acting on this message, nearly 300,000 Australians took out loans and mortgages upwards of six times their income. In his apology, Lowe stated, “I’m sorry that that happened. I’m certainly sorry if people listened to what we’d said and then acted on that.”

In the United States, Federal Chair Jerome Powell addressed the U.S. economic outlook, inflation, and the labour market at The Brookings Institute Hutchins Centre in Washington, DC. Fed Chair Powell commented, “today I am going to offer a progress report on the FOMC’s efforts to restore price stability to the U.S. economy for the benefit of the American people. That report must begin by acknowledging the reality that inflation remains far too high. My colleagues and I are acutely aware that high inflation is imposing significant hardship, straining budgets, and shrinking what pay checks will buy. This is especially painful for those least able to meet the higher costs of essentials like food, housing, and transportation. Price stability is the responsibility of the federal reserve and serves as the bedrock of our economy.” Powell continued, “Given our progress in tightening policy, the timing of that moderation is far less significant than the questions of how much further we will need to raise rates to control inflation, and the length of time it will be necessary to hold policy at a restrictive level.”

Powell implied that the Federal Reserve would slow the pace of interest-rate increases in December’s meeting, however, he emphasized that borrowing costs will need to remain restrictive in order to beat inflation. The market responded positively to Powell’s remarks, likely due to his comments being perceived as less hawkish than originally priced-in.



Bitcoin continued to trade in a range between US$16-17.5k and Ether between US$1-1.3k. At the end of the November trading month, BTC was 16.2% lower at US$17,167 and ETH closed 17.7% lower at US$1294.

Bitcoin dominance by market capitalisation closed the month 0.69% lower, leaving Bitcoin at 40.2% dominance by market cap. With total crypto market cap closing 15.6% lower in November, we’re now seeing US$820.8 billion in the crypto markets

On-chain insights platform Glassnode released a recent update which highlighted that while Bitcoin has been trading below the cost-basis for the broader market, participants have been widely accumulating. Particularly, the cohort of entities holding less than one Bitcoin have reached an all-time-high of balance increase, accumulating an equivalent to 6.3% of the entire Bitcoin supply. According to Glassnode, long-term holders and smaller entities are taking advantage of lower prices and soaking up buys into otherwise capitulating price-action.


European Central Bank President, Christine Lagarde, called for 

 around crypto in the wake of recent market events.

The EU Commission’s previous proposal “Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation,” or 

, was presented to address innovation, competition, and mitigation of risks relating to digital asset markets. Originally introduced in 2020, MiCA is expected to pass in early 2023 and anticipated to be implemented in 2024.

In this week’s hearing of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, Lagarde reiterated her stance that there needs to be a more robust version of MiCA (MiCA II) which would include additional legislation and further provisions. Lagarde reinforced Europe’s position as a leader in the regulation of digital assets and highlighted EU Central Bank digital payment alternatives via the digital euro which is in the pipeline.




The Reserve Bank of India has announced plans to pilot the first digital rupee, a retail focused central bank digital currency. The pilot encompasses select locations in a closed user group which includes both customers and merchants and is intended to provide a real time stress-test of the entire digital rupee process including creation, distribution, and overall retail usage. Based on learnings from the initial testing phase, future iterations would be designed, implemented, and re-tested in subsequent pilot series. The RBI suggests that the digital rupee will make the inter-bank market more efficient by reducing transaction costs and “pre-empting the need for settlement guarantee infrastructure or for collateral to mitigate settlement risk.”

According to the 

 from the Reserve Bank of India, “the digital rupee would be in the form of a digital token that represents legal tender. It would be issued in the same denominations that paper currency and coins are currently issued. It would be distributed through intermediaries, i.e., banks. Users will be able to transact with the digital rupee through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones / devices. Transactions can be both Person to Person (P2P) and Person to Merchant (P2M). Payments to merchants can be made using QR codes displayed at merchant locations. The digital rupee would offer features of physical cash like trust, safety and settlement finality. As in the case of cash, it will not earn any interest and can be converted to other forms of money, like deposits with banks.”




As Bitcoin prices have continued to trade at lower levels, miners have faced pressures of increased cost of production and diminishing returns on the short-term. According to on-chain analytics platform, CryptoQuant, “Bitcoin difficulty is really high for miners so that means; costs are getting higher and doing business in this kind of environment is getting harder. That's why miners do not work in full force. If they have efficient, new generation mining machines, they put them into work but that's all. Inflation is high and people feel the effect of living costs, bitcoin price is declining, mining cost and difficulty is getting higher.”

Despite the short-term headwinds that many miners are currently experiencing, firms like Greenidge and Arkon Energy have 

, leading at the forefront of sustainable practices like vertically integrated green Bitcoin mining, electricity sovereignty, and regional diversity when it comes to site location.

In recent response to a successful fundraising round, Arkon’s CEO, Josh Payne stated, “in a period in which the largest bitcoin miners in the world are struggling with high costs and over-leveraged balance sheets, the ability of Arkon Energy to attract capital highlights its unique value proposition. Distressed cycles produce winners and losers and Arkon is well positioned to be a winner.”




ConsenSys, the Ethereum software company behind next-generation applications like MetaMask and Infura, initiated a 

 which created quite the stir among privacy-minded crypto users. The revised policy update notified users that the firm would formally collect IP and Ethereum wallet addresses.

In their official media release, ConsenSys stated, “we believe in transparency and want to ensure all users know what we are collecting and how it is being used...as more users are exploring non-custodial ways to hold their crypto assets, the updates to our policy were made in an effort to educate users about how MetaMask works, including highlighting its use of Infura as the default RPC provider in MetaMask and users’ ability to use their own Ethereum node as an alternative to the default RPC provider.”



 reorganisation this week. BlockFi’s client update addressed the matter, stating, “our team has explored every strategic option and alternative available to us, and has remained laser-focused on our primary objective of doing the best we can for our clients. These Chapter 11 cases will enable BlockFi to stabilize the business and provide BlockFi with the opportunity to consummate a reorganisation plan that maximises value for all stakeholders, including our valued clients. Rest assured, we will continue to work on recovering all obligations owed to BlockFi as promptly as practicable.”

We've been nominated for 'The Blockies!'


We are excited to announce that BTC Markets has been nominated for two 

 for 2022. The nominations include ‘Digital Currency Exchange of the Year’ and our CEO, Caroline Bowler has been nominated for the ‘Blockchain Leader of the Year’ award.

‘The Blockies’ recognises leadership and excellence in the blockchain industry and community. Australia’s blockchain sector continues to grow and flourish as individuals break new ground in technical advancement, regulation consultation, community building and new business ideas.

It’s been quite a year of growth and innovation for our sector and it’s time to celebrate the achievements of individuals and businesses that continue to contribute to the Australian blockchain industry ecosystem.




Last week, we advised you about the launch of our Trust Pilot online review program. We want to ensure we are collecting and responding to your feedback effectively. Email invitations will come from 

, where you can rate your experience with BTC Markets and provide feedback. We understand the concern about not clicking on unsolicited emails, so we wanted to prepare you for the Trust Pilot email. This is an image of what the email will look like.


Due to market conditions, we have temporarily paused the launch of Solana on our platform. Once more clarity around the status on Solana is known, we will issue an update.




Scams are on the rise in Australia, and some of them are targeting BTC Markets clients. We want to remind you of the importance of safe online practices, so you can avoid falling victim to these scams.


The most common scams right now include fake websites and social media posts that attempt to steal your personal information. Scammers may pose as representatives from companies that you interact with such as BTC Markets, and they use these fake sites to trick you into handing over your personal information. These sites often look like real websites with logos and addresses that make them appear like they're legitimate.

You should never give out your personal information or provide credit card information over email or social media messenger chats. We have a dedicated page on how to '

', which we encourage you to read. Being informed and taking simple measures is the best action you can take to protect yourself and your account while online. The Australian government’s ‘

’ website provides the latest information on how to recognise, avoid and report scams.




BTC Markets is the exchange of choice for traders and investors who are serious about account security, market liquidity, and cutting-edge technology. You’ll benefit from our industry-leading uptime of 99.99% and multiple best-in-class API integrations. You can trade with confidence knowing that you are protected by institutional-grade security practices and onshore custody of your assets.



Disclaimer: The information provided in this email is for general purposes only. It should not be construed as professional financial advice from BTC Markets Pty Ltd. BTC Markets is not a financial adviser, and you should consider seeking independent legal, financial, taxation or other advice to ensure that the information relates to your unique circumstances. BTC Markets is not liable for any loss caused, whether due to negligence or otherwise arising from the use of, or reliance on, the information provided directly or indirectly, by use of this information contained with this email.
Prices are accurate as of 10:00 AM AEDT, on 01/12/2022.

This Week in Crypto: 1st December 2022

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 is currently at 20/100 in the Extreme Fear zone, returning to the same level from this time last week. The index reached a high of 24/100 on Sunday and a low of 20/100 today.

We understand that in the current environment clients are seeking authoritative information regarding how we manage customer assets and our own business.

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