7-Day Market Moves

📉Over the past 7 days, BTC has seen a minor fall of 0.62%, despite the excitement around recent slew of spot Bitcoin ETF applications, including BlackRock’s.

📈On the other hand, ETH maintained a decent weekly gain of 2.03%.

ALTS: Most of the other big players on the chart saw some red, except for Polygon’s Matic with a weekly rise of 5.99%. They also unveiled a new-and-improved version of their token, named Pol, promising more security, scalability, and ease of use.

🖼️ The big picture: The total crypto market cap dipped slightly by 0.49% to $1.21 trillion in the last 24 hours. Trading volume, however, surged by 42.52% to $35.54 billion.

Macro highlights: BoA Corp. and Morgan Stanley are expected to report earnings today, following positive quarterly results from JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup. Also, the Feds, expected to meet on July 26, is predicted to raise interest rates by 25 bp, up from the current 5% to 5.25%, as part of its continued efforts to curb inflation.

Eyes on the price(s)

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Bitcoin made a move for $30,250 but didn't get there, staying below the key $30,500 mark. After hitting a high near $30,447, it dropped below $30,000, and hit a low of $29,669 for the week. It's now fighting back and is slightly below $30,300, with $30,200 as the next small hurdle.

ETH also tried to rally above $1,950 but couldn't. It hit a high near $1,943 and then dropped below $1,900, hitting a low of $1,875 for the week. The coin is now making a new push, breaking above $1,890 and $1,900.

For both Bitcoin and Ethereum, if they can't break their respective hurdles, they could drop further. Bitcoin's next safety net is at $29,850 and Ethereum's is at $1,890.

Listings

Binance listed 4 new trading pairs and delisted 6.

Ongoing IDO/ICO

Upcoming IDO/ICO

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Racing to the ETFs

TL: DR

• The SEC is reviewing a Bitcoin ETF application from BlackRock.
• Other funds like Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust and VanEck are also under SEC review.
• Despite the lag in U.S, Canada has already okayed three Bitcoin ETFs.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given an initial thumbs-up to BlackRock's application for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), following similar recognition for Bitwise's proposal. This signals the start of the official review process, indicating that the SEC may be warming to the idea of a Bitcoin ETF and its market impact.

If you don’t know, ETFs are investment funds that track specific indexes and are traded on exchanges, much like individual stocks. In the context of cryptocurrencies, these ETFs mirror the value of one or more digital tokens. BlackRock, a major player in the TradFi, entering the race to launch a Bitcoin ETF is a big deal. The company's application includes an agreement for "surveillance-sharing" with Coinbase.

There are other contestants: The SEC has also announced its ongoing review of several other applications, including those from Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, WisdomTree, VanEck, and Invesco Galaxy. This flurry of applications is viewed as a positive for the crypto industry, as it increases the chances of a Bitcoin ETF finally getting the green light. Meanwhile, across the border, Canada has already approved three significant funds: Purpose Bitcoin, 3iQ CoinShares, and CI Galaxy Bitcoin.

Our take: Who knows, maybe the first U.S. Bitcoin ETF could be just around the corner.

In other news,

• National Australia Bank (NAB), has blocked some payments to “high-risk” crypto exchanges.

Current, Savings or Crypto?

TL: DR

• Gnosis launched Gnosis Pay and Gnosis Card to enhance crypto transactions.
• Gnosis Card, a Visa-certified debit card, allows stablecoin online purchases.
• Gnosis Pay boosts transaction efficiency.
• These products stem from Gnosis's partnerships with SaltPay and Safe

Gnosis, an Ethereum offshoot, just introduced two new products: Gnosis Pay and Gnosis Card. They're designed to connect crypto wallets with traditional online payment systems, aiming to make crypto transactions faster and less expensive.

The Gnosis Card is a Visa-certified debit card tied directly to an on-chain self-custodial wallet. This allows users to make online purchases using stablecoins through the Visa payment system. Gnosis Pay is a layer 2 solution for the Gnosis chain, focusing on improving transaction speed and cost. Stefan George, the co-founder of Gnosis, says that even though crypto is used for payments, the user experience remains unchanged.

Gnosis Card is the outcome of a collaboration between Gnosis and SaltPay. The goal is to bridge the gap between crypto and traditional finance. Gnosis also continues to work closely with Safe, a separate entity it spun off last year.

In other news,

• Chainlink introduces cross-chain protocol linking blockchain to TradFi.

Winter Comes for House Binance

TL: DR

• Despite bear market growth strategy, Binance CEO confirms layoffs, disputes reported numbers.
• Wall Street Journal reports Binance could cut a third of its 8,000 workforce.
• Employee benefits axed.

Over the weekend, CZ confirmed  that Binance is indeed downsizing its workforce. However, he disputes the numbers suggested by recent media reports, asserting they are "way off."

A Wall Street Journal report suggested that Binance was shedding over 1,000 jobs, with a potential third of its workforce at risk. Before the layoffs, Binance reportedly had around 8,000 employees on its payroll. Interestingly, the news broke on the same day Binance celebrated its sixth anniversary.

The downsizing news strikes a peculiar note given CZ's past remarks about leveraging bear markets to expand Binance's team and develop new products. He notably mentioned at last year's Web Summit that such periods make it easier to hire talent and grow.

Even with its deep pockets, Binance seems to be following industry norms, adjusting to the new landscape by downsizing. According to an internal email, employee perks like mobile phone reimbursement and fitness incentives will be suspended, effective June 19.

BTW

• Binance now supports lightening network.

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