Cryptocurrency World Digest for the week of 25/09/23

In our digest, we took a look at some important crypto industry news over the past week:

1. Bitcoin surpasses Visa in annual transaction volume
2. Coinbase owns 5% of all existing bitcoins
3. Bitcoin has surpassed $27k and its market share has reached 50%
4. Energy Ministry plans to raise tariffs for Russian cryptocurrency miners
5. Australian regulator files lawsuit against Bit Trade Pty
6. Bybit stops servicing UK clients

Now for more details. Reading time: 7 minutes.

1. Bitcoin was able to surpass the Visa payment system in terms of annual transaction volume, an important achievement for the decentralised cryptocurrency network. Although Bitcoin has yet to gain global adoption at the Visa level, its popularity and network activity continues to grow. Last year, some of the network activity was related to the Ordinals protocol, which allowed images and other data to be placed on the Bitcoin blockchain without the use of a separate token or sidechain. This led to an increase in NFT issuance fees on the Bitcoin blockchain and the creation of BRC-20 tokens. However, despite Bitcoin’s success, many crypto industry participants have expressed scepticism about NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain and highlighted the need for a “spam filter”. Despite these opinions, Bitcoin continues to attract attention and is overtaking Visa in terms of processed transactions. This demonstrates the growing demand for the cryptocurrency and its role in global payments.
2. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has turned out to be the largest bitcoin holder in the world. According to analytics platform Arkham Intelligence, Coinbase has almost 1 million BTC on its balance sheet, which is about 5% of the total number of bitcoins in circulation. This means that Coinbase owns more bitcoins than anyone else except Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin himself. The combined value of these coins exceeds $25 billion at current market prices. Analysts also noted that Coinbase uses about 36 million addresses to store and deposit bitcoins. Most of the coins are held in cold wallets, with the largest containing around 10,000 BTC. However, according to the exchange’s financial reports, there are still bitcoins that have not been identified and tagged. The news that Coinbase controls such a huge amount of bitcoins has sparked various reactions in the community. Some users see it as a reason to withdraw their BTC from exchanges, fearing possible withdrawal restrictions, while others point out the risks of storing assets in cold wallets. Bitcoin ownership isn’t just Coinbase attracting attention. MicroStrategy recently announced ownership of 152,800 BTC, making it the largest bitcoin holder among companies.
3. Bitcoin continues its recovery in the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin’s exchange rate exceeded the $27 thousand mark for the first time since September on 19 September 2023, and its share in the crypto market reached 50%. This happened after the price of the market leader fell at the end of August. Bitcoin’s capitalisation is $528.8 billion, and the total capitalisation of the crypto market has exceeded $1 trillion. Despite the growth, the bitcoin rate is still 17% below its June high. Other cryptocurrencies have not yet reacted strongly to bitcoin’s rise, but Solana (SOL) has shown similar growth dynamics. However, altcoins are experiencing a decline, while bitcoin’s market share exceeded 50% for the first time in two years. The total capitalisation of the crypto market is at $1.09 trillion, having added 4.7% in the last week. Overall, bitcoin continues to attract investors’ attention and remains an important player in the cryptocurrency market.
4. The Russian Ministry of Energy plans to significantly increase electricity tariffs for industrial cryptocurrency mining farms. The purpose of such a measure is to force mining centres to move to regions with a surplus of energy capacity. The Ministry of Energy’s proposal envisages a two to five times increase in electricity transmission tariffs for farms whose activities are carried out in regions with a shortage of energy. The new tariff regulation scheme being developed by the ministry envisages restrictions for farms, including a ban on connection to the power grid, low priority for connection in energy-deficient regions and the possibility of long-term disconnection from the grid. The possibility of complete isolation of mining farms from the Unified Energy System of Russia is also being considered. The Ministry, together with other agencies, is developing criteria for identifying mining centres and determining a special tariff. Checks will be carried out on the basis of electricity consumption schedules and analyses of Internet traffic and websites visited by companies. The authorities intend to adopt draft laws on mining and taxation of miners in the near future. It is expected that these measures may lead to a shutdown of the industry due to losses, farm owners report.
5. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has brought civil proceedings against Kraken-linked firm Bit Trade Pty for breaching margin trading requirements. ASIC accuses the company of failing to comply with its obligations to develop and distribute margin trading, as well as continuing to provide the product despite a termination notice. According to the document, more than 1,160 customers used the product and suffered losses of around AUD12.95 million ($8.35 million). ASIC is demanding public comment from Bit Trade, payment of a monetary penalty and injunctions against offering the product. ASIC deputy chair, Sarah Court, emphasised the importance of regulatory oversight to protect consumers in the cryptocurrency sector. Bit Trade has offered its margin trading product to Australian customers through Kraken since January 2020. A trial has yet to be scheduled.
6. Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit will stop serving UK clients from 8 October due to new rules for promoting digital assets coming into force. These requirements involve registration with the FCA, in whose register Bybit does not exist. The decision follows changes in legislation and previous assurances of maintaining a presence in the market in the long term. The company has also stated its intention to proactively embrace regulation and suspend services in the UK market. Bybit had already ceased services in Canada in May, but has entered new markets including Kazakhstan. From 1 October, new customers will not be able to open accounts on the exchange, and existing users will not be able to make new deposits and contracts. The decision to suspend operations in the region will allow the company to better comply with the rules set by the UK authorities.

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