Binance Entering the Japanese Market, 0VIX Protocol Loses $2 Million
Market Update
- Markets are mixed today following the release of March PCE data which came in slightly above expectations. The $SPY (+0.29%) is continuing yesterday’s march upwards, while the $QQQ (-0.19%) is down slightly. The market is looking forward to next week’s FOMC meeting, where it's expected the Fed will raise interest rates by another 25 bps. Crypto markets are cooling off after yesterday's large move upward. $BTC (-1.38%) is holding above $29k and $ETH (-1.51%) has fallen back below $1,900. Render ($RNDR) is outperforming today, rising 4.91% at the time of writing. Additionally, $RNDR has been the best performer in the top 100 coins over the last seven days, appreciating 29%, as the community has approved a migration to the Solana network.
- Binance plans to re-enter the Japanese market after acquiring Sakura Exchange Bitcoin (SEBC), a Japanese regulated crypto exchange. Binance made the acquisition in November of 2022 after it failed to obtain an independent Japanese license. SEBC will cease operations under its current name and re-open as Binance Japan. This is expected to occur as early as June. Users will have until May 28th to withdraw their funds. After the deadline, any remaining account funds will be automatically converted into Yen and sent to users’ bank accounts. Customers of Binance Japan will have to complete new KYC processes, even if they previously did so under SEBC. Japan is one of the first countries to develop a regulatory framework for crypto, and rules have become more friendly. One of the biggest industry names entering the market benefits Japan as Eastern countries compete to become digital asset hubs. This is a stark contrast to the anti-crypto sentiment from U.S. regulators.
- Another hacker has used a flash-loan to exploit a DeFi protocol. The latest victim is 0VIX Protocol, a lending protocol built on Polygon, which was exploited for nearly $2 million. The details of the hack are still being ironed out, but 0VIX tweeted that it is working with its security partners to investigate the situation. In the meantime, they are pausing markets and will communicate more details shortly. PeckShield provided some clarity on the situation, determining that a vulnerable oracle enabled the attacker to take a flash-loan, deposit into 0VIX, manipulate the price of GHST, and successfully withdraw collateral from lending pools. The hacker has already bridged most of the stolen funds to Ethereum mainnet, where they are attempting to swap into decentralized coins, preventing any centralized entity from freezing funds. 0VIX saw its TVL fall dramatically from $6.3 million to $1.63 million following the exploit.
Daily Technical Strategy
Mark L. Newton, CMT
Head of Technical Strategy
Please note that Mark is traveling Thursday & Friday. As a result, please find Wednesday's technical analysis re-posted below.
Wednesday's 14% gains in $ICE look to have solidified its recent lows as having been important support after the steep drop from $2.10 over the last couple of weeks. As shown below, ICE maintains very bullish structure and trends have grown more parabolic starting with the breakout above February highs in late March. Its pattern has shown a steady pattern of higher highs and higher lows in recent months, and despite a sharp 35% + drop in just under two weeks' time, no technical damage has occurred to the daily chart. Recent consolidation has helped to alleviate overbought conditions and creates an attractive entry zone from a risk/reward standpoint following such a steep runup over $2 into mid-April. Gains to multi-day highs are thought to lead to an upcoming test and breakout back over April highs, with resistance materializing at $2.37-$2.40 before consolidation gets underway in May. Overall, until/unless its recent uptrend line is breached, it pays to think that ICE can still push higher in the weeks ahead. However, evidence of deteriorating momentum and/or failure to regain April highs on this bounce would necessitate paying close attention to recent technical structure for any evidence of deterioration. At present, ICE 's daily chart remains technically attractive, despite Wednesday's 14% gains.
Daily Important Metrics
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All metrics as of April 28, 2023 11:43 AM
All Funding rates are in bps
Crypto Prices
| Symbol | Market Cap | Last Price | Daily Change | Year to Date | Relative to BTC YTD |
 BTC | $564B | $29,160 | ↑ 0.25% | ↑ 76% | |
 ETH | $227B | $1,885 | ↓ -0.51% | ↑ 57% | ↓ -19% |
 ADA | $14B | $0.4011 | ↓ -2.72% | ↑ 62% | ↓ -14% |
 DOGE | $11B | $0.0798 | ↑ 0.07% | ↑ 14% | ↓ -62% |
 MATIC | $9.2B | $0.9904 | ↓ -1.57% | ↑ 30% | ↓ -46% |
 SOL | $8.8B | $22.32 | ↑ 0.42% | ↑ 125% | ↑ 49% |
 DOT | $6.9B | $5.87 | ↓ -1.09% | ↑ 35% | ↓ -41% |
 LINK | $3.6B | $7.01 | ↓ -1.15% | ↑ 26% | ↓ -50% |
 NEAR | $1.7B | $1.89 | ↓ -1.22% | ↑ 49% | ↓ -27% |
Exchange Traded Products (ETPs)
| Symbol | Premium to Nav | Last Price | Daily Change | Year to Date | Relative to BTC YTD |
| GBTC | ↓ -38% | $16.14 | ↓ -1.82% | ↑ 95% | ↑ 19% |
| BITW | ↓ -58% | $10.69 | ↓ -1.02% | ↑ 99% | ↑ 23% |
| ETHE | ↓ -51% | $8.78 | ↓ -2.88% | ↑ 84% | ↑ 8.43% |
| BTCC | ↓ -0.07% | $5.36 | ↓ -1.92% | ↑ 77% | ↑ 0.71% |
News
REGULATION
Coin Telegraph Binance to re-enter Japan via acquired regulated exchange SEBC Although no official date is mentioned for the launch of Binance Japan, the notice stated that the exchange could star... |
Coin Telegraph Coinbase execs respond to SEC's Wells notice in person and on video Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong and chief legal officer Paul Grewal spoke about the company’s Wells notice from the S... |
MINING
CoinDesk Jack Dorsey's Block Snaps Up Bitcoin Mining Chip as Intel Winds Down Production Block's bitcoin mining products could come as early as early next year. |
CoinDesk Amid Bankruptcy, Core Scientific Signs Bitcoin Mining Hosting Contracts for Almost 18,000 Machines The miner signed deals with three firms to host rigs in sites where the Celsius Mining fleet was recently unplugged from. |
HIRING
CoinDesk Epic Games Alum Mike Seavers Will Join Web3 Giant Yuga Labs as CTO Mike Seavers will join the home of Bored Ape Yacht Club on May 22. |
PRODUCT UPDATES AND PARTNERSHIPS
Coin Telegraph Revolut taps Koinly for cryptocurrency tax reports Digital bank Revolut has partnered with Koinly to integrate cryptocurrency tax report services for users. ... |
HACKS, EXPLOITS, AND SCAMS
The Block Bitcoin scam sees US court impose record $3.4 billion fine on South African businessman Cornelius Johannes Steynberg of Mirror Trading International has been ordered to pay $3.4 billion in restitution and penalties for a bitcoin scam. ... |
CoinDesk DeFi Protocol 0VIX Loses Nearly $2M in Flash-Loan Exploit Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol 0VIX has lost $2 million in a flash loan exploit, according to on-chain data. |
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