12 May 2023
Happy Friday! The Weekly Market Highlights is an initiative from the Binance Research team to round up the week, summarizing key market events and views from the team.
🔎 Macro / TradFi
PayPal has disclosed US$943M of customer crypto holdings in Q1, a 56% increase over the previous quarter. This includes US$499M of Bitcoin, US$362M of Ether, and the rest in Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. This comes in the same week as MetaMask becomes the first web3 wallet to allow users to purchase ETH via PayPal.
US CPI inflation fell to its lowest level since April 2021 to 4.9%, reflecting the efforts of the continuous rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
A number of major tech and finance companies, including Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, and Deloitte, are working on a new privacy-enabled interoperable blockchain network aimed at institutional assets (Canton Network).
Major asset manager, Franklin Templeton (~US$1.4B in AUM), is planning to launch their second blockchain fund, aiming to target institutional investors.
The Bank of England raised interest rates for a record 12th successive time, with the base rate now at 4.5%. This is the highest level since 2008.
🔎 Crypto
L1/L2:
Chiliz Chain went live on mainnet. This is a L1, EVM-compatible, Proof of Staked Authority chain aiming to cater to leading sports brands and web3 sports dApps.
The number of transactions on the Litecoin chain hit an all-time high, with over 584,000 on 10 May (more than twice the previous high). This comes as the Bitcoin network experiences record high fees due to the rising popularity of BRC-20 tokens.
Worldcoin’s new World App (launched earlier this week) will migrate from Polygon to Optimism.
DeFi:
MakerDAO has launched a new lending platform (Spark Protocol) to boost their stablecoin DAI’s capabilities. Spark will allow users to borrow or supply Ether, stETH, DAI and sDAI (a new yield-bearing form of DAI).
MetaMask is now allowing US users to purchase ETH via PayPal, becoming the first web3 wallet to do so.
Tether released its Q1 2023 assurance report, showing 85% of reserves in cash & cash equivalents, with 15% split between assets like BTC, short-term bonds etc. Excess reserves reached an all-time high at US$2.44B, up US$1.5B from last quarter.
NFT:
NFT brand Pudgy Penguins has raised US$9M in a seed round. The company will use the funds to further build their IP and brand across both digital and physical platforms.
Notable collection, Moonbirds, has partnered with Spotify for an exclusive pilot to bring token-gated features to the music streaming platform. Holders will be able to access a special Moonbirds playlist by connecting their wallet to the app.
Others:
Binance VIP & Institutional launches Capital Connect, a new self-service platform to connect institutional investors and high net worth clients with crypto funds and investment managers.
Decentralized wallet developer, Odsy Network, raises US$7.5M at a US$250M valuation
Financial media company, Blockworks, Raises US$12M at US$135M Valuation
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About Binance Research: Binance Research is the research arm of Binance, the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange. The team is committed to delivering objective, independent, and comprehensive analysis and aims to be the thought leader in the crypto space. Our analysts publish insightful thought pieces regularly on topics related but not limited to, the crypto ecosystem, blockchain technologies, and the latest market themes.
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