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By Frances Yue

Hi! Welcome back to Distributed Ledger. This is Frances Yue, reporter at MarketWatch.

While the U.S. Securities and Commission recently took a slew of enforcement actions against crypto companies, it seems some financial institutions are still bullish on the industry.

In the past week, Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management and crypto asset manager 21Shares amended their application for a spot bitcoin exchange traded fund to include a surveillance sharing agreement, which was similar to that in BlackRock's filing earlier this month. The move could place the firm and 21Shares ahead of BlackRock in the competition of launching a spot bitcoin ETF, analysts said.

Meanwhile, the head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton, which manages over $1.4 trillion in assets, said in an interview that cryptocurrencies can become "regular parts of people's portfolios" once regulations become clear in the U.S.

For this installment, I talked to Matt Zhang, founder and managing partner at Hivemind, a Web3 and blockchain technology focused investment firm, to learn about his vision of cryptocurrencies' future.

Find me on Twitter at @FrancesYue_ to share any thoughts on crypto or this newsletter.

AI plus crypto?

While some market participants said the AI craze has lured some venture capital money away from crypto, Zhang, a former Citigroup Inc. (C) executive, said he thinks AI could be the next catalyst for the mass adoption of bitcoin.

Zhang said he expects AI and blockchains to be the two key pillars for the next generation of the Internet, which is often referred to as Web 3. Bitcoin could be used for transactions when AI agents interact with each other, with smart contracts eliminating the need for human intermediaries, Zhang noted.

"How do you open a bank account for AI?" Zhang said in an interview.

"AI will actually have intelligence, and it will be another participant in the economy. I think there could be a point when AI agents all make transactions to each other," said Zhang. To reduce the need of human intermediaries, "you are gonna have them using Internet native currencies, which is bitcoin."

Zhang also said he expects further consolidation in the crypto space in the future.

"Not every blockchain needs a native token that is tradeable," Zhang said. "For the past three years, almost every project had a token. Sometimes I don't know why they need a token. They don't even know what the token does."

"You should only issue a token when you have a well-capitalized business that has organic growth while the token is native to this business model," according to Zhang.

Zhang said he expects many cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin and ether to fade away in the next cycle, but tokens that actually have utilities may have the potential to become leading players.

Ark amends bitcoin ETF filing

Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management and crypto asset manager 21Shares amended their application for a spot bitcoin exchange traded fund to include a surveillance sharing agreement, which was similar to that in BlackRock's filing earlier this month.

The Cboe BZX Exchange Exchange, where the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF will be listed, expects to enter into a surveillance-sharing agreement with "an operator of a United States-based spot trading platform for Bitcoin," according to an updated filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.

ARK Invest and 21Shares originally filed their application two years ago.

The SEC approved several bitcoin futures-based ETFs in the past, but has yet to greenlight anything that is backed by bitcoin itself.

Read more here about why the amendment is important.

Crypto in traditional portfolios?

Cryptocurrencies can become "regular parts of people's portfolios" once regulations become clear in the U.S., according to Franklin Templeton.

While investors now can buy crypto directly, there are limited ways for them to include digital assets in traditional portfolios, said Sandy Kaul, head of digital asset and industry advisory services at Franklin Templeton.

Kaul said she is expecting more regulatory clarity from the U.S. regulators. While some regulators said existing laws are adequate for crypto, "they're not giving a pathway of how to use existing law, which makes people feel maybe existing law is not adequate. I think [regulators] they are leaving too much uncertainty in the system," noted Kaul.

If the SEC could clarify which crypto can be registered as U.S. securities, "we can include them in broader portfolios," said Kaul.

Read more about my conversation with Kaul here.

Crypto in a snap

Bitcoin gained 1.2% in the past seven days and was trading at around $30,512 on Thursday, according to CoinDesk data. Ether declined 2.6% during the same period to around $1,852.

-Frances Yue

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06-29-23 1649ET

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Why AI could lead a lot more people to pay with bitcoin - Morningstar

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Historically, the crypto markets have suffered from weekend volatility. This weekend is no exception. A massive amount of Bitcoin options are slated to expire today, according to crypto market analysts, marking the largest bulk expiry in months. Derivatives trading fever has recently risen in response to many ETF registrations, but will speculators get burned? Crypto Read more

Historically, the crypto markets have suffered from weekend volatility. This weekend is no exception. A massive amount of Bitcoin options are slated to expire today, according to crypto market analysts, marking the largest bulk expiry in months. Derivatives trading fever has recently risen in response to many ETF registrations, but will speculators get burned?

On June 30, approximately $4.8 billion in notional value Bitcoin options contracts will expire. It is the most significant batch expiry of BTC options contracts in several months, which may cause some market volatility. The put/call ratio is 0.56, which means that there are nearly twice as many call (long) contracts as put (short) contracts.

The ratio is derived by dividing the number of put (short) contracts by the number of call (long) contracts. Because more derivatives traders trade long contracts than short contracts, values less than one are considered bullish.

In addition, the maximum pain threshold is $26,500. The price with the most open contracts is the maximum pain threshold. It is also the price at which the most losses will be incurred upon the expiration of the contract. Adam Cochran, a partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, remarked that market volatility may be forthcoming.

Additionally, there are approximately $2.3 billion worth of Ethereum options with a notional value that expire on June 30. Similar to these, the put/call ratio is 0.58. The contracts maximum pain point is $1,700.

Since Bitcoins big rise on June 21, crypto markets have remained stagnant. The current market capitalization, which is $1.23 trillion, represents a daily increase of 2.4%.

Nonetheless, for the second time this year, the BTC price has been unable to surpass resistance at current levels. At the time of writing, the asset was trading 2% higher on the day at $30,758. Ethereum had gained 2.2% and was changing hands for $1,844 during the morning of June 30.

As Asia markets opened on Friday in Hong Kong, bitcoin was trading sideways, largely unaffected by the news that financial services behemoth Fidelity Investments resubmitted an application for a spot bitcoin ETF or by surprisingly robust U.S. economic data.

Fidelity joined Blackstone, Invesco, and WisdomTree in filing spot BTC ETF applications with the SEC, which has been happening in the past two weeks. These initiatives have encouraged investors and pushed up crypto prices.

Ether, the second-largest crypto by market value, was recently traded at $1,844, essentially unchanged from Wednesday at the same time. SOL, the token of the Solana smart contracts platform, has risen by more than 14% in recent days.

Following in the footsteps of Ethereums Liquid staking token (LST) mania, crypto traders on the Solana blockchain have leveraged their SOL token derivatives in pursuit of high yields via a convoluted re-leveraging process. The emergence of this trend follows Drift Protocols Tuesday release of a new service, Super staking, which bundles the entire cycle into a single click operation.

The U.S. equity markets largely disregarded positive economic data a revised 2% increase in GDP and a decline in weekly unemployment claims that suggested inflation would remain problematic and offered potential support for the Federal Reserves plans to increase interest rates twice more in 2023. In the past year, such monetary hawkishness has repeatedly unnerved asset markets.

At the Fourth Conference on Financial Stability hosted by the Banco de Espana, Fed Chair Jerome Powell expressed central bank ambiguity regarding the appropriate inflationary treatment in the coming months, despite indicating in recent weeks that the Fed would raise interest rates in the coming months.

Nonetheless, inflation pressures continue to run high, and the process of getting inflation back down to 2 percent has a long way to go [] We see the effects of our policy tightening on demand in the most interest ratesensitive sectors of the economy, particularly housing and investment. It will take time, however, for the full effects of monetary restraint to be realized, especially on inflation.

Despite having a reputation for volatility, a particular bitcoin metric has consistently increased, demonstrating bitcoin investors confidence in the asset as well as their propensity to hold BTC.

Bitcoin is at an all-time peak, according to data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, despite enduring a bear market that drove the price from a high near $70,000 in 2021 to about $16,000 at the beginning of 2023. Bitcoin is currently valued at approximately $30,000.

However, more than 55% of the bitcoin supply has not moved since 2021, reflecting a 10% decline during the period.

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Crypto market braces for weekend volatility with $5B BTC options ... - Cryptopolitan

The distributed ledger, Hedera, continues to gain momentum in the market due to a host of upgrades and the addition of new services. Hedera operates as a fourth-gen network that supports full smart-contract programmability. Here's how the network has remained a competitive option for Dapp developers and traders alike.

Hedera added EVM support to its network. This decision falls in line with the growing trend of new systems to include some form of Ethereum developer onboarding. The upgrade added full support for Solidity and Vyper programming languages. Both are popular coding languages used in the Ethereum ecosystem.

Hedera seeks to court Ethereum's development to its advanced platform via this maneuver. The protocol empowers users to create more immersive and helpful dapps. It accomplishes this task by improving performance and lowering costs. Additionally, Hedera offers a major upgrade to Ethereum such as immediate finality, fixed fees, and upgraded security.

Source Hedera Homepage

The developers leveraged the open-source JSON-RPC Relay codebase to create ERC-20-compatible token services and assets. Currently, Hedera users can create on Hedera using the HIP-206, HIP-358, HIP-376, and HIP-514 token standards. These new token standards fall in line with ERC-20 standards.

This year saw Hedera focus on the growing identity token market. These advanced blockchain assets can save users and firms time and money by eliminating the extremely wasteful and outdated verification systems in use today. Hedera will place efforts on supporting the two most popular identity token types in the market today, KYC tokens and Badges.

KYC/KYB Tokens are like digital IDs. These systems are usually required to participate in regulated markets or hold tokens that service these industries. In most instances, users will need to provide all of their info and get approval to receive a KYC token.

These tokens leverage 3rd party service providers to verify your ID. This style of digital ID is more popular than ever and has also found use in proving that someone is human and not a bot. This style of ID token differs from Badge tokens which operate more like a resume of sorts.

Badge tokens are another digital ID system growing in popularity. Hedera uses badge tokens to help track the reputation of users. A developer could create badge tokens that look to their many accomplishments. These accomplishments can include things like the users actions, history, or reputation.

Badge tokens currently serve a vital role in many systems. They are often used to confirm that a person has the level of experience they claim. The cool thing about Hedera badge tokens is that you can point them to any information that highlights your accomplishments and reputation.

The integration of badge tokens can help several blockchain-related platforms. Badge tokens are commonly used to show that a node has been working with a network for some time and has met its service requirements. In this way, it is like an online resume and ID in one.

The real advantage of blockchain ID systems is that they prevent the user from the need to share sensitive information with third parties. This strategy is much safer than leaving your complete data with every organization that requires it. A digital token ID offers zero-knowledge confirmation of your identity to third parties which improves your long-term safety considerably.

Hedera conducted a major network upgrade to its security model this year. The HSCS Security Model v1 was effective but left some attack vectors open and was a bit slower in terms of transaction throughput. The version 2 upgrade to the Hedera security model brings along with it some major improvements in network performance.

The new update supports the latest Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) changes following the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade. The streamlined deployment offered by this maneuver has helped improve onboarding. To accomplish the task, the system now executes all smart contract transactions using the Besu EVM.

The platform leverages a Hedera-optimized Virtual Merkle Tree state to improve smart contract execution. The newest upgrade speeds up contract executions by seconds and improves security. Notably, the upgrade does add a few steps to the creation process, but the delays pale in comparison to the added security obtained through the maneuver.

Hedera has entered the AI race with its latest plans. The network recently released a toolset and directions on how to integrate the Hedera blockchain and ChatGPT functionalities. ChatGPT is the world's best-known conversational AI tool. The system has gained international notoriety over its capabilities and ease of use.

The popularity and capabilities of the ChatGPT AI have made international headlines and created a lot of hype. Hedera developers can now create Dapps that leverage the system's advanced capabilities via seamless integration. The new protocol opens the door for a host of AI-assisted blockchain features.

According to company documentation, the team has already put forth a system that uses ChatGPT to gather real-time data from the Hedera blockchain. Additionally, the AI could assist in a variety of network actions. For example, the system could help in tracking the platform consensus via the ability to timestamp and order events for specific software use cases.

Another major reason why the AI integration has so many people excited in the Hedera community is the promise of an upgraded Hedera Token Service protocol. The integration would make it much easier for the average user to mint and manage NFT tokens without the need to program smart contracts.

ChatGPT developers can use the system to improve development features like API integration and smart contract services. Notably, the protocol will make it possible for Solidity programmers to enter the ecosystem. Solidity is the programming used by Ethereum. Its the most widely used blockchain programming language in operations today.

Everything about Hedera demonstrates the level of research and market understanding the developers behind this project obtained. The network is fast and highly programmable. Additionally, the constant focus on improving the systems makes it one of the most interesting options for Dapp developers to consider.

To learn more about this project, make sure to check out our Investing Guide HERE.

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What's New With Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR)? - Securities.io

Ethereum (ETH) Price remains below $2,000 despite a resounding 15% rise in the global cryptocurrency market cap (TOTAL CAP). Are institutional investors overlooking Ethereum amid the Crypto ETF rave?

On-chain data and general market sentiment suggest that crypto derivates traders appear to be favoring Bitcoin ETF over ETH alternatives. How could this impact ETH price?

Fluctuating user activity is one of the key factors that has slowed down the ETH price rally in recent weeks. According to IntoTheBlock, ETH has not been able to maintain steady growth in Transaction Volume despite renewed interest among institutional investors.

The chart below shows how ETH Transaction Volume fluctuated wildly in June 2023. At the monthly peak on June 5, 3.98 million ETH were transferred among Ethereum users. Since then, it formed a series of zig-zag patterns before it reached 1.86 million ETH again on June 28.

Transaction Volume provides a picture of real-time changes in economic activity carried out by network participants. When it rises, it puts upward pressure on the price of the underlying token.

Over 20% of Ethereums circulating supply is currently staked in smart contracts. Most investors are more interested in generating passive income from their ETH than utilizing it in daily transactions.

This has played a pivotal role in ETH price stagnation in recent weeks. If the Transaction Volume remains in a downtrend, ETH price could face more headwinds in the coming weeks.

Furthermore, Ethereum also appears to be losing ground to Bitcoin in the battle for investors attention. Reports show that institutional investors are showing a preference for Bitcoin ETF over similar ETH funds.

On-chain data corroborate this report, as ETH Social Volume has dropped significantly in recent weeks.

As of June 29, ETH Social Volume is down 86% to 1,655 from its recent high of 11,959 on June 7.

Social Volume tracks the volume of mentions of a project across relevant crypto media channels. When it drops significantly, as seen above, it indicates that investors are paying less attention.

In summary, fluctuating transaction volumes and lag in social sentiment could see ETH prices continue to move at a relatively slow pace.

Given the aforementioned factors, the ETH price will likely consolidate around $1,900 in the coming days. As seen below, 2.3 million investors that bought 1.52 million ETH at the average price of $1,908 could slow down the rally.

If ETH scales that zone, it will face another major resistance around the $2,000 mark. At that zone, 660,000 that bought 26 million ETH could look to book some profit.

Still, ETH could fall into a downtrend if the price slips below $1,800. However, the buy-wall from 3.39 million investors that bought 11 million ETH at the average price of $1,803 could offer support.

But failure to hold that support line could otherwise trigger a further drop toward $1,700.

In line with the Trust Project guidelines, this price analysis article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice. BeInCrypto is committed to accurate, unbiased reporting, but market conditions are subject to change without notice. Always conduct your own research and consult with a professional before making any financial decisions.

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Ethereum Price Remains Below $2,000 Despite Bitcoin Rally - BeInCrypto

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Newer and better cryptocurrencies get added to the list every day, making crypto sports betting more enthralling and rewarding for betting enthusiasts.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dogecoin have slowly made their way to the world of sports betting, and it is being widely accepted as a payment method in thousands of crypto casinos and sportsbook sites. Cryptocurrencies are changing the entire landscape of online gambling and sports betting, making it much easier for gamblers and bettors to place bets and get payouts in the fastest and cheapest way possible.

Crypto sports betting sites do not need any third party to manage or hold funds, making the transactions more secure, affordable, and faster than traditional payment methods. Additionally, crypto sports betting sites offer anonymity and privacy to the bettors, which can be essential factors for those who want to keep their betting activities private.

In this article, we will see how crypto sports betting is not only about Bitcoin, the first crypto introduced in the betting industry, but how crypto will shape this sector as the best alternative to other payment methods.

The future of crypto sports betting is shining brighter than ever with the introduction of newer cryptocurrencies and the improvement of blockchain technology. Numerous top crypto sports betting sites allow punters to bet on their favorite sporting events using a wide range of tokens. The entire process of creating an account, depositing funds, and withdrawing winnings using crypto is much more secure, efficient, and faster than any payment method in the world.

One of the greatest benefits of Bitcoin sports betting is that it is highly convenient, allowing players to place their bets anywhere in the world, anytime. It is an excellent option for those residing in countries where gambling or betting is illegal but would like to bet on their favorite teams. Another reason why the future of crypto sports betting is inevitably great lies in the use of blockchain technology which eliminates all risks of identity theft and fraud.

Overall, crypto sports betting has excellent advantages over traditional payment methods, and it is incredibly convenient, secure, fast, and inexpensive to use crypto for betting.

The first ever cryptocurrency that disrupted the entire online betting industry was Bitcoin which provided a secure, decentralized, and transparent way of making transactions. It allowed bettors to make payments without intermediaries like payment processes or banks. It offered faster, less costly, and simpler transactions than any fiat-based payment method. Bitcoin also enhanced the anonymity and privacy of online betting since the transactions are decentralized and pseudonymous, which allows players to wager or bet anonymously.

Building around the success of Bitcoin, many new cryptocurrencies entered the online betting industry and gave rise to thousands of crypto sports betting sites, all providing distinctive features and addressing the limitations of Bitcoin. One such example is Ethereum, which pioneered the concept of blockchain technology and smart contracts. The self-executing smart contracts operate on the ETH blockchain and are used to allow transactions on crypto sports betting platforms without using any intermediary. Crypto or Bitcoin sports betting has created many new opportunities for sports bettors, including decentralized gambling, betting, and prediction markets where punters can participate without any centralized operator.

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are the most popular digital currencies within and outside the sports betting industry. However, other choices are available to betting enthusiasts, such as Ripple (XRP). Ripple is a relatively new currency that focuses on delivering low-cost and fast cross-border transactions on crypto sports betting sites. The distinct consensus algorithm of Ripple, along with its distribution network, makes it one of the best choices for crypto sportsbooks who want to streamline their payment processes and simultaneously reduce transaction costs. The technology offered by Ripple also has great potential to streamline, secure, and accelerate international transactions within the crypto sports betting industry, thus benefiting both sportsbooks and players.

Litecoin (LTC) is also a major crypto, popularly known as silver to Bitcoins gold, that provides faster transactions than Bitcoin and is being used by crypto and Bitcoin sports betting sites at an exponential rate. Other newer cryptocurrencies, such as EOS, DASH, and Zcash, are being utilized in the online betting space, offering special features, including enhanced privacy, increased scalability, and quicker transactions.

If you are interested in betting on sports using crypto like Bitcoin, be sure to check out the bitcoin sportsbook available in your country. This is a great way to enjoy the benefits of cryptocurrencies, such as security, anonymity, and fast transactions, while also betting on your favorite sports teams and players.

In conclusion, with developments and advancements in blockchain technology and crypto, the sports betting industry is undergoing great transformation, shaping the industrys future in creative and thrilling ways. However, the explosion of Bitcoin sports betting sites also means that bookmakers and players should remain cautious about the risks involved in this new technology. The value of digital assets continues to be highly volatile, and despite the exponential growth, the regulatory and legal landscape still remains uncertain. Nevertheless, the rise of the crypto sports betting industry grants excitement and opportunity for all parties involved in the sporting world.

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Beyond Bitcoin: The diversity of cryptocurrencies in sports betting - BusinessCloud