Market Update

April PCE data mostly met expectations with a slightly cool reading in Core MoM data (0.2% vs. 0.3% exp.), causing rates to roll over. The US10Y has declined 1.02% to 4.51%, and the DXY has decreased 0.20%. Despite rates and the dollar rolling over, risk assets are selling off in the last trading day of the month. The SPY 0.09%  has fallen to $520 and the QQQ has dropped to $444. BTC is trading in the high $66,000s, while ETH is roughly flat on the day, showing some relative strength amid excitement surrounding the ETF launch. Reports yesterday stated that the SEC asked issuers to submit S-1 amendments by the end of day today. Multiple issuers have already submitted amendments, showing that both parties are moving quickly to launch the new product. It is expected that there will be another round or two of comments and amendments before they are declared effective.

Terraform Labs and Do Kwon Reach Settlement With SEC

Terraform Labs and founder Do Kown have reached a tentative settlement with the SEC surrounding fraud charges contributing to the collapse of Luna and UST in 2022. The SEC accused Do Kwon of misleading investors about the stability of its algorithmic stablecoin, which led to the loss of over $40 billion in value for investors. Terraform Labs and Kwon were found guilty of civil fraud charges in April, after which the SEC sought a $5.3 billion penalty to settle the case, along with banning Kwon from dealing in crypto assets. The settlement was announced yesterday without disclosing the terms or details. The Judge asked both parties to submit settlement paperwork by June 12th. Do Kwon is currently on bail in Montenegro, expecting extradition to the U.S. or South Korea as he faces criminal charges in both countries. Following the news, the LUNA token surged upwards of 38% before quickly retracing about half the move.

Mastercard Debuts Crypto Credential Product

Payments giant Mastercard has gone live with Crypto Credential, its peer-to-peer blockchain payments network. Crypto Credential completed its first pilot transactions, allowing users to transfer digital assets using their Crypto Credential “alias” instead of the typical long blockchain address. Crypto Credential assures that a user has met verification standards and that the recipient’s wallet supports the transferred asset, removing the complexity of worrying about sending the right asset across the proper chain. If the recipient’s wallet does not support an asset, Mastercard will notify the sender and not allow the transaction to proceed, protecting users from potential loss of funds. Crypto Credential is enabled on the Bit2Me, Lirium, and Mercado Bitcoin exchanges, enabling cross-border payments within the LATAM and European regions. Traditional payment players like Mastercard and Visa continue to dive into the digital asset space, recognizing the additional utility blockchains and digital currencies they can bring to the sector.

Technical Strategy

Despite the consolidation that’s gripped the Crypto market in recent weeks, not dissimilar from Equities, Bitcoin’s consolidation is now reaching an attractive area of support which likely represents a good risk/reward for BTC. Technically speaking the area at $65.5k -$66k lines up with the ongoing uptrend for BTC from early May lows, along with representing former swing high peaks from 5/6, both of which are important technical levels to cushion the short-term decline. Daily BTC chart shows the mild ABC consolidation pattern that started on 5/20 but has done little to no real damage to the current trend. Unless BTC undercuts $64k, this pullback should be buyable for a push back to new all-time highs in June. Any evidence of TNX breaking 4.50% next week should serve as a technical catalyst for Bitcoin to bottom and start to turn higher. Key resistance lies near $72k, but when broken, it’s likely that BTC begins its ascent up to the mid-$80’s into mid-to-late June.

Daily Important Metrics Crypto Size Bullish signal is tied to the crypto market growing Market cap 2.55T +$24B (0.96%) BTC Dominance 52.86 % (-0.16%) Stablecoins Increase in circulating stablecoins is a Bullish signal In Circulation +$112B (0.03%) In Exchanges +$20B (-0.64%) BTC Metrics A decrease in Bitcoin on exchanges is bullish, indicates investors are moving coins to cold storage # BTC Exchanges +$2.3M (-1.07%) Funding Rates Positive funding rates indicate traders are Bullish Aggregate +1.0823 (0.1564) Binance +0.9952 (0.0003) Bitfinex -0.0209 (-0.0001) Bitmex +1.3408 (0.3324) ByBit +1.0000 (-0.1125) Deribit +0.3048 (0.2469) Huobi +1.0000 (1.0000) Kraken +0.7991 (-0.7573) Mean +1.0823 (0.1564) OKex +0.9466 (0.3221) Sentiment BMI : 33 (0.00%) Futures A positive spread between Futures Prices and Spot Prices is Bullish CME Price $68,365 (0.70%) Spot Basis +$124 (0.18%) Volume 494,714 (18.54%) Open Interest 273,281 (-2.70%) Options all exchanges Higher open interest change in a bull market is bullish for the sector Volume 18,657 (19.01%) Open Interest 286,657 (1.27%) Vol. Put/Call Ratio 0.5839 (-23.83%) OOI Put/Call Ratio 0.5033 (2.56%) All metrics as of 2024-05-31 16:19:52 All Funding rates are in bps Crypto Prices Symbol Market Cap Last Price Daily Change Year to Date Relative to BTC YTD BTC $1.33T $67,347 -1.67% 59.46% ETH $451B $3,753 -0.65% 64.93% 3.43% SOL $76B $165 -1.97% 62.40% 1.84% DOGE $236,466 $0.0002 15.08% -99.73% -99.83% All prices as of 2024-05-31 11:49:30 Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) Symbol Prem. to Nav Last Price Daily Change Year to Date Relative to BTC YTD BITW -32.38% $36 -2.31% 55.19% -2.68% ETHE -1.13% $35 -0.33% 80.06% 12.92% News Quick Bits Decrypt.co Terra Coins LUNA and LUNC Rise After Do Kwon SEC Settlement News Terra founder Do Kwon and Terraform Labs reached a tentative settlement with the SEC in their civil fraud case Thursday. Market Data The Block Ether options open interest concentrates at $5,000 calls for end-of-June expiry Open interest in ether options is concentrated at $5,000 calls expiring at the end of June, analysts said. Dose of DeFI The Block Proposal to cap EOS supply at 2.1 billion approved, says EOS Network Foundation CEO EOS Network Foundation’s CEO said a community proposal to cap the EOS supply at 2.1 billion tokens was approved. Crypto Infrastructure Bitcoin.com Circle Officially Launches in Brazil, Partners With Latam Giants BTG Pactual and Nubank Circle, the company behind USDC, the second-largest stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market, has announced its official launch in Brazil. The company inked an alliance with BTG Pactual, the largest investment bank in Latam, to provide onboarding and distribution services for Brazilian companies. Circle also partnered with Nubank, a leading digital neobank. Circle Partners With BTG […] Regulation Bitcoin.com SEC Commissioner Proposes Joint US-UK Digital Securities Sandbox U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce has proposed a joint US-UK digital securities sandbox. She noted that the U.S. and UK are ideally positioned for this initiative, emphasizing that this collaboration would benefit innovators, regulators, and consumers in both countries. Hester Peirce Pushes for US-UK Collaborative Financial Sandbox U.S. Securities and Exchange […] CryptoPotato SEC to Pay $1.8 Million in Fees Following Dismissal of Case Against Debt Box The SEC filed a lawsuit against Debt Box in July 2023, alleging an illegal cryptocurrency scheme valued at $50 million. Product Updates and Partnerships CryptoSlate Mastercard launches Crypto Credentials system to simplify crypto transactions Mastercard launched Mastercard Crypto Credential on May 29, enabling users to send and receive crypto using simplified aliases instead of complex blockchain addresses, according to a press release. Mastercard Crypto Credential verifies interactions among consumers and businesses on blockchain networks, ensuring users meet verification standards and confirming the recipient’s wallet supports the transferred asset. The […] The post Mastercard launches Crypto Credentials system to simplify crypto transactions appeared first on CryptoSlate. Investment Products The Block SEC told spot Ethereum ETF issuers to get first round of draft S-1 forms in by Friday: sources BlackRock and VanEck have already handed in their amended S-1 forms, with the rest of the issuers still to go. The Block Grayscale files amended registration statement for its spot Ethererum fund Grayscale is the latest issue to update its registration statement for its proposed Ethereum fund, adding language on the treatment of ether.