Crypto markets rebounded last week after better than expected inflation data from the US.
Specifically, bitcoin finished the week up 8%, fueled by the news last Friday that Microstrategy added a further 18,300 bitcoin, approximately $1.11 billion to their holdings.
Microstrategy is now within the top five entities holding bitcoin with 244,800 bitcoin, approximately $14.6 billion at current market prices,writes eToro cryptoasset market analyst Simon Peters.
Focus this week will turn towards the Fed meeting, specifically on Wednesday where the Fed is expected to make a first cut to the Federal Funds rate since being lifted to multi-decade highs last year. More below.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Fed meeting and press conference
The Fed will conclude its latest meeting on Wednesday this week, when they are widely expected to announce the first cut to rates.
According to CME FedWatch, markets are slightly favoring a 25 basis point cut currently, rather than a more aggressive 50 basis point cut.
Markets will also be paying close attention to Fed Chairman Powell’s press conference for any clues regarding future monetary policy.
Crypto events
Token 2049, a premier crypto event where founders and executives of the leading Web3 companies and projects share their view on the industry, is taking place Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th September this week in Singapore.
Notable speakers include Vitalik Buterin (Co-Founder of Ethereum), Anatoly Yakovenko (Co-Founder of Solana) and Justin Sun (Founder of Tron).
Also in Singapore, Solana Breakpoint 2024, a global conference organised by the Solana Foundation, will be taking place on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st September, where we could hear about future developments of the Solana network, in particular progress of the much anticipated Firedancer upgrade.
EYE-CATCHING STORIES
UK Parliament introduces bill to clarify crypto’s legal status
The UK Parliament last week introduced the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill, meaning that for the first time in British history, digital assets such as cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens can be considered as personal property.
Previously, digital belongings were not definitively included in the scope of English and Welsh property law, leaving owners in a legal grey area if their assets were interfered with.
The new law will give legal protection to owners and companies against fraud and scams, while helping judges deal with complex cases where digital holdings are disputed or form part of settlements, for example in divorce cases.
Standard Chartered launches digital asset custody service in the UAE
Standard Chartered bank announced last week that it has launched a digital asset custody service in the United Arab Emirates after being granted a license by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
The custody service will initially support bitcoin and ethereum. Brevan Howard Digital, the dedicated crypto and digital asset division of global alternative investment management platform Brevan Howard, is confirmed as the inaugural client for the product.
The bank plans to broaden its scope in the coming months to encompass a wider range of digital assets, and is actively exploring opportunities to extend its custody services to other key financial hubs in its footprint markets, the press release went on to say.
CryptoPunks NFT worth $1.43 Million ‘sold’ for $23,000
According to a post on the social media platform ‘X’ by the pseudonymous smart contract developer @0xquit, a rare cryptopunk (#2386 to be precise) ‘sold’ well below market value last week, after a patient buyer cleverly capitalised on a buyout feature from a now defunct NFT fractional ownership platform.
Through the NFT fractional ownership platform Niftex, punk #2386 was fractionalised into 10,000 ERC-20 tokens back in September 2020 and spread out among a reported 257 holders.
After the platform shut down, the cryptopunk however stayed fractionalised and was locked away in an escrow smart contract.
Part of the functionality of the Niftex platform is that a fraction owner can make an offer for all of the other fractions. After 14 days if the offer is not countered, the fractionalisation is reversed and the NFT falls under ownership of the ‘triggerer’, the user who made the offer.
The unknown triggerer made a bid on 28th August of 0.001 ethereum per fraction (10 ethereum for all 10,000 fractions), approximately $23,000, which no other fraction holder successfully counterbid.
According to the cryptopunks site, punk #2386 now has a current bid of 605 ethereum, approximately $1.43 million, a near 6120% price increase.
Cryptomarkets receive boost as the Fed signal interest rate cuts
