Crypto Scoop: Bitcoin ETF Agitations Sparks Price Fluctuations

This week, we see a rollercoaster price fluctuation among top cryptocurrencies amid new updates and milestones. In this edition of the Crypto Scoop, we review the following: 

• Bitcoin’s price rollercoaster ride. 
• Ethereum’s transaction fees decrease 
• Binance discontinues support for BUSD
•  Shibarium’s launch

Bitcoin's Rollercoaster Ride: Bitcoin ETF Agitations  Sparks Price Fluctuations

The prices of top cryptocurrencies were on a rollercoaster this week. Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a dip below $26,000 on Monday, briefly touching $25,886. At the same time, other major tokens like XRP, ADA, and SOL followed suit with losses of up to 2.2%.

The crypto landscape quickly shifted as Bitcoin surged by nearly 8% on Tuesday, almost surpassing $28,000. This rally was triggered by a federal appeals court's decision, which instructed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reevaluate its rejection of Grayscale Investments' GBTC-to-ETF conversion attempt. 

Despite the SEC's prior disapproval of all such applications, this development raised hopes for a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. However, the excitement seemed short-lived as the SEC extended the deadline for approving or denying six ETF applications by 45 days, citing the need for further evaluation. Bitcoin took a slump back to $26,000

Amid the dramatics of the week, Robinhood, the investment and trading platform, has been revealed as the third-largest holder of Bitcoin (BTC), with holdings valued at more than $3 billion in a single wallet. This accumulation occurred over several months, with Robinhood transferring approximately 118,300 Bitcoin from various smaller wallets. 

Meanwhile, regulators granted  X (formerly Twitter) a currency transmitter license in Rhode Island. This approval allows X to engage in financial activities related to fiat and crypto assets, including custody, transfer, and exchange of digital currencies. Dogecoin experienced a 5% price surge following this news.

Jamie Coutts, an analyst from Bloomberg Intelligence, highlighted the potential for stablecoin adoption to soar once regulatory challenges in the U.S. are resolved. Coutts noted that stablecoin usage could surpass that of Bitcoin as more companies, such as PayPal, integrate these assets into their payment systems, signalling a significant shift in the cryptocurrency market's dynamics.

Ethereum's Daily Transaction Fees Drop to Lowest in 8 Months

Ethereum, the world's largest programmable blockchain and the platform behind the second-largest cryptocurrency, ether (ETH), has become more cost-effective. Daily transaction fees on Ethereum dropped to their lowest level in eight months, totalling 1,719 ETH ($2.8 million) on Sunday, as South Korea-based blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant reported. This figure marks an 89% decline from the year's high of 16,720 ETH seen on May 5.

Despite the recent downturn in cryptocurrency markets, more than 680,000 ETH has been added to liquid staking derivatives protocols in less than a month. Lido Finance, a prominent liquid staking platform, has seen its supply increase by 5.94%, rising from 7.91 million to 8.38 million ETH since July 29. At the time of writing, Ethereum trades above $1,600.

Meanwhile, Solana-based automation startup Clockwork, backed by Multicoin Capital, is ceasing operations. Founder Nick Garfield announced that the team is discontinuing active development of the protocol and will shut down its infrastructure on October 31. Clockwork's technology aims to facilitate payroll payments and other routine transactions through smart contracts on blockchains. According to Garfield, the decision to shut down is primarily due to limited commercial prospects and a desire to explore new opportunities.

Binance Announces Plans To Discontinue Support For Native Currency, BUSD

Crypto exchange Binance has revealed plans to discontinue its support for BUSD, its native stablecoin, gradually. This decision comes in response to Paxos stopping the issuance of new BUSD tokens.

While assuring users that BUSD will always maintain a 1:1 peg to the US dollar, Binance has announced that it will delist BUSD spot and margin trading pairs. Specific dates for these actions have not been provided in the statement.

However, it's important to note that not all services and products utilising Binance's native stablecoin will be affected. Deposits and withdrawals of BUSD tokens through Ethereum will remain unaffected, along with deposits on Polygon, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and Tron. Binance intends to gradually phase out BUSD's support in various products and services, with a detailed plan for execution.

Shibarium's Final Launch Triumphs with External Support

Shibarium has celebrated a successful launch, and one key figure outside their immediate team played a pivotal role in this achievement. Shibarium is a metaverse and NFT-focused layer 2 blockchain within the Shiba Inu ecosystem. The Shibarium ecosystem upgrade will enable users to link NFTs to physical items, providing proof of ownership and authentication for these assets. 

In an exciting development, Shibarium's relaunch garnered remarkable success, boasting over 65,000 wallets and processing 350,000 transactions before the official announcement on August 28th.

Shytoshi Kusama, the lead developer and co-founder of Shiba Inu, expressed his gratitude to the Polygon team for their unwavering support. Kusama specifically recognised Sandeep Naiwal from Polygon, whom he referred to as the project's lifeline during an unexpected challenge. Without hesitation, Naiwal provided the necessary resources to address the situation, reinforcing the project's strategic decision to fork Polygon.

This collaborative effort has propelled Shibarium towards a promising new phase.