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First Mover Americas: Musk's X Obtains Payment Licenses in Several U.S. States
The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for August 30, 2023.
Updated Aug 31, 2023, 12:56 p.m. Published Aug 31, 2023, 12:56 p.m.
This article originally appeared in First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.
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X, the Elon Musk-owned social media platform formerly called Twitter, has obtained payments licenses from several U.S. states in recent months, including a currency transmitter license in Rhode Island earlier this week. While Musk has hinted at supporting crypto on the platform – even briefly switching out Twitter's bird logo to dogecoin's dog before its rebranding to X last month – the licenses allow for broader payments services to be offered. Musk has said that he plans for X to expand beyond social media posts, to eventually become an 'everything app.' The money transmitter licenses obtained since June from Arizona, Maryland, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri and New Hampshire indicate the tech billionaire may have plans to support payment processing nationwide similar to Venmo or PayPal, a company he co-founded. The Rhode Island license, while essential for permitting payments, is also a requirement for offering crypto services.
Bitcoin’s average trade size on most exchanges jumped to its highest point since June following Grayscale’s court victory Tuesday over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to data from Kaiko, the average trade size for bitcoin on crypto exchange Kraken increased to above $2,000 after Tuesday’s ruling from around $850 the day prior. Other exchanges saw similar action. The last time bitcoin’s average trade size was higher was back during June's bull run, said Kaiko. “This could suggest large traders are more active,” said Kaiko analyst Dessislava Aubert.
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said it will "gradually" end support for its BUSD stablecoin, removing it from spot and margin trading pairs, and users have been asked to convert their BUSD into other assets by February next year. "As Paxos has halted minting of new BUSD, Binance will gradually cease support for BUSD products," said the announcement from the exchange. "Please be assured that BUSD will always be backed 1:1 by USD." In the more immediate future, Binance is delisting BUSD as a loanable asset on Sept. 6 and will cease withdrawals of Binance-peg BUSD tokens via BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon and Tron on Sept. 7. BUSD's 24-hour trading volume is just under $900 million, according to data by CoinMarketCap.
Chart of the Day
- The chart shows the daily price action and trading volume for shares in ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, trading under the ticker BITO on the NYSE.
- On Tuesday, BITO jumped nearly 7.3%, registering its biggest single-day gain since March 13. Trading volumes rose to $800 million, the highest since its debut on Oct. 19, 2021.
- BITO likely drew strength from the spot ETF optimism triggered by asset manager Grayscale's legal victory over the U.S. SEC.
- A spot-ETF is considered a better product that futures-based ETFs due to the latter's vulnerability to rollover costs.
- Source: TradingView
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Japan’s Higher Rates Puts Bitcoin in the Crosshairs of a Yen Carry Unwind
A stronger yen typically coincides with de-risking across macro portfolios, and that dynamic could tighten liquidity conditions that recently helped bitcoin rebound from November’s lows.
What to know:
- The Bank of Japan is expected to raise interest rates to 0.75% at its December meeting, the highest since 1995, affecting global markets including cryptocurrencies.
- A stronger yen could lead to de-risking in macro portfolios, impacting liquidity conditions that have supported bitcoin's recent recovery.
- Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated a high probability of a rate hike, with officials prepared for further tightening if their economic outlook supports it.
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