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| 1 | | Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has started weighing the possibility of allowing institutional clients to hold collateral at a bank, according to a recent Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the issue. The new method would allow Binance's corporate customers to show bank deposits as collateral for margin trading in spot and derivatives exchanges. More: - The exchange evaluates Swiss-based FlowBank and Liechtenstein-based Bank Frick as potential intermediaries for the service.
- The sources underlined that the plans for the proposed service have not been finalized yet and could change completely.
- If the service is brought into use, a tri-party deal will lock up the institutional clients' cash in the bank.
- In return, Binance will lend the bank and the client stablecoins as collateral for margin trading.
- The bank will be able to invest the cash in money-market funds to generate interest, compensating for the cost of borrowing crypto from Binance.
Zoom Out: - The move came at a time when regulatory criticism increased around the crypto market that has the potential to create widespread and contagious risk in case of failure.
- The increased scrutiny has directed many crypto-related firms to use a middleman to make their ways of facilitating trading, asset custody, settling transactions, and offering credit closer to traditional finance.
- Binance is currently under increased pressure in several countries, including the U.S., by market regulators, mainly due to compliance issues.
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What the numbers say: A recent research from the crypto data website CoinGecko has examined the interest volume for the hashtag "#memecoin" on TikTok. The results have shown that the interest in meme coins among TikTok users reached an all-time high in May this year. The skyrocketed interest was attributed to the second meme coin rally that started with the launch of the PEPE coin in mid-April. The research has also pointed out that the previous peak was seen in November 2021, with the first meme coin rally having the wind of Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) at its back. However, the interest broke a record again this month after steady progress for more than a year, doubling the previous peak. Details: CoinGecko's report also revealed that the users between 18 and 24 years old were the ones who showed the most interest in meme coins, with a 56% rate. This age group was respectively followed by the ones between 25 and 34 and those over 35. Besides, Bulgaria, Norway, Estonia, Iceland, and Denmark have become the top five countries where TikTok users are most interested in meme coins, with interest levels 4.5 to 6.4 times higher than average. Relevance: Another CoinGecko report, which analyzed the total number of page view shares for the largest 15 meme coins by market cap, also recently indicated that the U.S. is leading the way in the meme coin craze, with a 23.58% rate. On the top three, India and the U.K. followed the U.S., with 20.31% and 16.35%, respectively. The analysis also revealed that these three countries host more than half of the meme coin fans. What it means: A meme coin is a type of cryptocurrency originating from an internet meme and mostly having some humorous characteristics. The first meme coin was DOGE, and it was created as just a parody of Bitcoin (BTC), though it later became enormously famous in its own right. Brands that should care: The second meme coin rally is also expected to pave the way for increased interest in meme coins on other social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter, in the near term. | | | |
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| 3 | | Dubai-headquartered crypto exchange Bybit has announced that it would exit Canada due to the recent regulatory developments in the country, halting all its operations. With the move, the company joined other crypto-related firms, including Binance, OKX, Deribit, Blockchain.com, dYdX, and Paxos, that withdrew from the Canadian market for the same reason. More: - Canadian users will not be able to open new accounts on Bybit as of May 31.
- Existing customers will be able to continue to deposit new funds, enter into new contracts, and increase their positions until July 31.
- The remaining positions will be liquidated after Sept. 30, though the investors will be able to withdraw their funds or reduce the existing positions after the closure date.
- The move came nearly three and a half months after the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published a notice requiring crypto exchanges to sign legally-binding commitments while waiting to be registered with the regulatory body.
- The pre-registration process confronts crypto exchanges with the risk of potential enforcement action if they do not comply with the new rules.
- The rules include investor limits, mandatory registrations, and a new stablecoin regulation that bans crypto exchanges from allowing users to buy or deposit stablecoins, which it classifies as a security, in the country without obtaining prior approval from the CSA after passing the due diligence checks.
- Bybit said it always primarily aims to operate in compliance with all relevant rules in Canada, but the new regulations made it infeasible.
Zoom Out: - On the other hand, several other crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken signed the pre-registration undertaking with the Canadian regulators to continue operating in the country, hinting at their intention to comply with the upcoming regulations.
- In June 2022, Bybit was fined by the Ontario Securities Commission in Canada over violating securities laws and operating unregistered crypto asset trading platforms.
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| 4 | | German automotive giant Mercedes-Benz's Web3 arm, Mercedes-Benz NXT, has announced that it would launch an NFT collection dubbed Maschine. The 1,000-piece generative art collection will go on sale on June 7 through a Dutch auction. More: - The carmaker's NFTs, designed by Dutch artist Harm van den Dorpel, were developed in collaboration with digital art-focused decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) Fingerprints.
- The NFT collection built on the Ethereum blockchain is inspired by automotive concepts.
- The NFTs in the collection mimic a wheel in motion, exploring the themes of velocity and perception.
- Mercedes-Benz NXT said it plans to ultimately release three core NFT collections developed by the creative studio 0xNXT, starting with Maschine.
- The unit will also include additional projects in its NFT ecosystem.
Zoom Out: - The German car manufacturer launched Mercedes-Benz NXT, focusing on digital collectibles and virtual experiences, earlier in May as part of its plans to build a dedicated and long-term presence within the Web3 community.
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| 5 | | The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has released new guidelines for financial institutions dealing with virtual assets, including crypto and NFTs. The new guidance is expected to enter into force by July. More: - The guidelines will apply to various financial institutions, including banks, financial services providers, payment processing companies, exchange houses, brokers, agents, and insurance companies in the region.
- The move came nearly two months after the global financial crimes watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), included the UAE in its gray list involving regions where increased monitoring is required.
- At the time, the UAE said it was committed to working closely with the FATF.
- Hence, the new guidance grounds the FATF's standards regarding anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.
- The central bank's guideline also covers the risks associated with virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, discussing due diligence requirements for regulated financial institutions while contacting the clients and counterparties from the crypto market.
Zoom Out: - FATF's moves mostly accelerate the regulatory efforts regarding the crypto industry in many countries.
- Most recently, Japan announced that it would start implementing stricter anti-money laundering rules for crypto and adopt the FATF's Travel Rule as of June 1, shortly after the agency found the country's anti-money laundering measures insufficient.
- The Travel Rule requires crypto exchanges to share information on senders and recipients, including the names, addresses, and account information, with the recipient platform and legal authorities when they process a transfer worth more than $3,000.
- The rule has come under fire by the crypto community many times since it contradicts the industry's characteristics related to anonymity.
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| 6 | | Japan's largest airline, All Nippon Airways (ANA), has launched an aviation-themed NFT marketplace dubbed ANA GranWhale NFT Marketplace in collaboration with its subsidiary, ANA Neo. The platform debuted with an NFT collection created by aerial photographer Luke Ozawa. More: - The collection, released on May 30, includes the NFT version of Ozawa's first digital photo.
- One of the NFTs in the first collection will be sold with a positive film at an auction, referring to the development of photography technology.
- The standard NFTs in the collection were put up for sale for 100,000 yen (~$715).
- The 1,574-item second collection will be released on June 7 with a price tag of 7,870 yen (~$56) for each and depict the first Boeing 787 plane operated by ANA.
- The company also plans to expand its NFT ecosystem with new collections in the future.
Zoom Out: - ANA is currently Japan's largest airline, with $12.2B in revenue in the latest fiscal year.
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- Blockchain data analytics platform Nansen has reduced its headcount by 30%, citing a brutal year for the crypto market.
- Find Satoshi Lab, the firm behind the popular Web3 game STEPN, has launched an AI-powered tool that allows users to turn their selfies into NFTs on the Solana blockchain.
- El Salvador, where Bitcoin became legal tender in 2021, has appointed the author of The Bitcoin Standard, Dr. Saifedean Ammous, as an economic advisor to its National Bitcoin Office.
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 | Staff Writer | | Doga is a tech and science editor who has been writing news for nearly 10 years. She worked for leading tech platforms and mainstrem media channels as an editor and presenter throughout his career. Then, she carried her know-how to more than one platform. She is a part-time cat lover and binge-watcher, and also fond of science, space, and emerging tech. She always has a story to tell. She is a bit addict to the laughter and -unfortunately- the '90s culture. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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