OpenSea's Shipwreck: Exec Exodus and NFT Market Woes
Good morning, everyone! It’s Thursday, October 3rd, 2024, and I’m Matt with your Daily Crypto News. Just straight to the headlines.
OpenSea's Leadership Exodus Continues
It’s been a rough year for OpenSea, the once-dominant NFT marketplace. Several high-profile executives have left the company in recent months. Former CEO Shiva Rajaraman moved to Uber, and Jeremy Fine, Head of Business and Corporate Development, joined OpenAI. Earlier, Justin Jow, VP of Finance, departed, and top developer Oage went to Uniswap Labs.
The company has been hit hard by a 95% decline in NFT sales since 2022 and increasing competition from rivals like Blur and Magic Eden. In addition, the SEC is investigating whether the NFTs sold on OpenSea are unregistered securities, and a class action lawsuit has been filed against the company by its users. Things are looking uncertain for OpenSea’s future.
SEC Appeals Ripple Decision
Speaking of the SEC, they’ve filed a notice to appeal their four-year case against Ripple. Last year, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that while Ripple violated securities laws in its institutional sales of XRP, sales to retail customers did not. The SEC is challenging this ruling in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing it contradicts decades of precedent. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse responded on X (formerly Twitter), stating that the SEC lost on everything that matters. This legal battle is far from over.
Taiwan Tightens Crypto Regulations
Taiwan is introducing stricter anti-money laundering (AML) regulations for virtual asset service providers (VASPs). These new rules come into effect in January 2025 and include criminal liabilities for non-compliance, including up to two years in prison and fines of up to NT$5 million (~$155,000 USD).
VASPs will have until September 2025 to comply, with additional requirements for management qualifications, transaction security, and customer asset protection. These changes aim to bring Taiwan’s crypto industry more in line with traditional financial institutions.
MetaPlanet Continues Bitcoin Accumulation
The Japanese investment firm MetaPlanet, dubbed the "MicroStrategy of Japan", continues to make strategic moves in Bitcoin. MetaPlanet recently earned $1.4 million by selling Bitcoin options, bringing their total holdings to around 530.7 BTC (~$32.4 million).
Their strategy? Leveraging Bitcoin’s volatility to generate additional yield while maintaining cash-secured positions to minimize risk. MetaPlanet’s aggressive Bitcoin accumulation aligns with their decision to adopt Bitcoin as a Strategic Treasury Reserve asset earlier this year.
Bitcoin ETF Outflows, Ethereum ETF Inflows
Yesterday, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF saw outflows of $92 million, led by ARKB with $60.2 million in outflows, followed by Grayscale and BlackRock’s iBit. The total trading volume across Bitcoin ETFs was $1.66 billion, a pullback from the previous day’s $2.53 billion.
On the other hand, Ethereum ETFs had $14.5 million in inflows, with BlackRock’s ETH-A leading the way. However, trading volume for Ethereum ETFs has dropped as global geopolitical tensions rise.
Geopolitical Tensions Impacting Markets
There’s increasing concern over geopolitical tensions, particularly with the ongoing dock worker strike on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard and escalating conflicts in the Middle East. These factors are adding uncertainty to the markets, with many wondering how it will impact both traditional and crypto assets in the coming weeks. Let me know your thoughts on the dock strike or these geopolitical events at Matt@DailyCryptoNews.net.
Crypto Prices
Bitcoin (BTC): $60,312 – down 0.75% in 24 hours, down 6.37% in 7 days
Ethereum (ETH): $2,345 – down 3.5% in 24 hours, down 10.5% in 7 days
Binance Coin (BNB): $540 – up 0.2% in 24 hours, down 9% in 7 days
Solana (SOL): $136 – down 10.3% in 7 days
XRP: $0.52 – down 10.5% in 24 hours
Dogecoin (DOGE): $0.103 – down 0.6%
Toncoin (TON): $5.25 – down 1.75%
The total market cap is at $2.08 trillion, down 2.2% in 24 hours. Bitcoin accounts for $1.19 trillion, and Ethereum for $282.4 billion.
That’s our show for today! Sarah will be taking over tomorrow with Asia Focus and on Monday while I’m out of town. And hey, if anyone can get me into the Comedy Cellar in NYC for the Friday night 8:45 PM show, hit me up. Otherwise, I’ll be standing in line hoping for a spot!
You can always email me at Matt@DailyCryptoNews.net, and until Tuesday, happy hodling everyone!