Crypto Scoop: Bitcoin Trades At $59,500 Amid Notable Developments In The Crypto Space

This week, the crypto space recorded notable milestones amidst crypto adoption and regulation across the globe. In this edition of the Crypto Scoop, we review the following:

• Price moves of top cryptocurrencies
• PYUSD and Base’s milestones
• Global crypto initiatives and regulation
• Elon Musk and Pavel Durov’s legal proceedings. 

Price Moves of Top Cryptocurrencies

While Bitcoin trades at $59,500 and Ethereum at $2,500, the crypto space reflects continued growth marked by a remarkable increase in the number of Bitcoin millionaires, which has more than doubled in the past year. According to the Crypto Wealth Report 2024 by Henley and Partners, there are now 85,400 individuals who hold over $1 million in Bitcoin, marking a 111% rise from 2023. The broader crypto space has seen a similar trend, with the total number of cryptocurrency millionaires climbing by 95% to 172,300. The wealthiest in the crypto world also expanded their ranks, with the number of centi-millionaires growing by 79% to 325 and six new crypto billionaires added to the ranks, bringing the total to 28.

As Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies see significant wealth accumulation, Cardano is poised to make a major leap in its development. The network’s highly anticipated Chang hard fork, set for deployment on September 1, 2024, will introduce a new on-chain distributed governance framework, further enhancing community participation in the network’s growth. Initially scheduled for August 27, the upgrade was postponed to ensure a smooth transition. This hard fork is expected to solidify Cardano’s position as a fully community-run network. Meanwhile, Shiba Inu’s Shibarium network continues to demonstrate resilience and growth. Despite a recent dip in daily activity, Shibarium has successfully processed over 6.5 million blocks and is approaching 420 million transactions. 

PYUSD and Base Celebrate Notable Milestones

The stablecoin market has reached an unprecedented market cap of nearly $170 billion, fueled by consistent growth over the past year. This milestone, reported by DefiLlama, marks the highest market cap for stablecoins, surpassing the previous peak of $167 billion set in March 2022. PayPal’s PYUSD has significantly contributed to this surge, quickly climbing the ranks to become the fifth-largest stablecoin with a market cap of $1 billion. Launched as a direct competitor to established giants like Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT, PYUSD has gained substantial traction relatively quickly. Its integration with PayPal's extensive user base and ecosystem has positioned it as a formidable player in the stablecoin market, driving further growth and adoption.
Simultaneously, Coinbase’s Base layer-2 network has achieved a significant milestone, surpassing 1 million daily active addresses. This growth has been primarily driven by the new "basenames" service, which has captured the attention of users and developers alike. On August 24, Base recorded a peak of 1.05 million daily active addresses, a 60% increase since the beginning of August. Although this number has slightly decreased to 1.03 million, the sustained growth highlights the network's expanding influence in the altcoin space.

Recent Developments in Global Cryptocurrency Regulation and Adoption

Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted approval in principle to two digital asset exchanges—Busha Digital Limited and Quidax Technologies Limited—marking their formal entry into the SEC’s Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program (ARIP). This initiative is designed to integrate firms that had already begun operations before the implementation of the Rules on Virtual Asset Service Providers in May 2022. In addition to these approvals, five other firms have been admitted into the SEC's Regulatory Incubation (RI) Program, allowing them to test their business models and technological innovations under close regulatory supervision.

Meanwhile, Australia has witnessed an unprecedented surge in the installation of Bitcoin ATMs, making it the fastest-growing market for these machines worldwide. From just 73 Bitcoin ATMs in September 2022, the country now boasts over 1,160 installations, positioning it as the third-largest market globally, behind the US and Canada. This rapid expansion reflects Australia's increasing embrace of cryptocurrency infrastructure. 

Across the globe in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has launched a pioneering sandbox initiative to test the use of tokenised assets in real-world scenarios. The Ensemble Project Sandbox is set to explore four major use case themes, focusing on promoting interbank settlement using tokenised currency and wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). This initiative represents a critical step in Hong Kong's efforts to position itself as a leader in the tokenisation market. The HKMA aims to develop innovative solutions that could reshape the digital financial sector by fostering collaboration among regulators, central banks, and industry players.

Musk's Dogecoin Lawsuit Dismissed while Telegram's Durov Faces Arrest in France

This week, Elon Musk and his electric vehicle company, Tesla, successfully defended themselves against a $258 billion lawsuit that accused them of manipulating the price of Dogecoin. The lawsuit, which was dismissed by Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleged that Musk's tweets, including claims that he would become the CEO of Dogecoin and send a Dogecoin on a SpaceX rocket to the moon, were intended to inflate the cryptocurrency's value artificially. However, Judge Hellerstein ruled that these statements were merely "aspirational and puffery" and that no reasonable investor could have taken them as factual assertions, thus dismissing the case.

In a parallel development, Telegram CEO and founder Pavel Durov was reportedly arrested in France on a range of charges, including terrorism, trafficking, conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering. Unverified reports claim Durov was apprehended upon landing at Le Bourget airport near Paris. The arrest has already had significant effects on the crypto market, with the price of the TON cryptocurrency, which is closely associated with Telegram, plunging by 16% following the news.