Share this article
First Mover Americas: Meme Coin Indexes Are Here
The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for April 10, 2024.
Apr 10, 2024, 12:01 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
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.
Latest Prices
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Top Stories
Crypto exchange WOO X has introduced a set of index perpetual contracts linked to meme coins, the top 30 cryptocurrencies and layer-2 (L2) tokens in partnership with market maker Wintermute and index provider GMCI. WOO X closed a $9 million funding round in January with participation from Wintermute and Amber. The firm is offering traders GMCI’s MEME index, which includes top meme coins like SHIB, PEPE and DOGE, and an L2 index that monitors scaling tokens like MATIC, IMX and OP, the companies said. Indexes are widespread in traditional finance, allowing traders to monitor and – through linked products – gain exposure to a broad range of securities. The new products will soon be complimented by a copy-trading option, as well as on-chain U.S. Treasury bills, WOO X Chief Operating Officer Willy Chuang said.
Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of digital asset investment manager Grayscale, sees outflows from the company's bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) reaching an equilibrium, Reuters reported. Sonnenshein said the selling connected to settlements of bankrupt crypto companies like FTX is "largely behind us," according to the report, citing an appearance on a Reuters podcast. When the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved spot bitcoin ETFs in January, Grayscale's product (GBTC), which had already existed for several years as a trust, experienced significant outflows as existing investors likely sold their shares to buy into one of the new funds. Another reason for the outflows was GBTC's comfortably higher fees compared to its competitors. Sonnenshein said last month that he expects the fund's fees to decrease over time.
Blockchain venture studio Thesis unveiled Mezo, a Bitcoin layer-2 network, from stealth with a $21 million fundraising round led by Pantera Capital. Mezo is a "permissionless Bitcoin economic layer that leverages a neutral smart contract infrastructure" to offer a wide range of applications for users, Thesis said. It is designed to amplify the Bitcoin blockchain’s infrastructure and provide cheap and fast transactions by allowing users "to access applications that use Bitcoin for everything, enabling a thriving circular economy," the venture firm said. Mezo will go live with support from Thesis’ bitcoin-backed Ethereum token tBTC, which allows users to get bitcoin into Ethereum’s decentralized-finance (DeFi) ecosystem. “Our goal with Mezo is to extend the Bitcoin network to bring 25% of the world’s economy on-chain – roughly in line with the size of the U.S. economy today,” Matt Luongo, CEO of Thesis and founder of Mezo, said in a release.
Chart of the Day
- The chart shows bitcoin's hourly realized volatility since the spot exchange-traded funds began trading in the U.S. three months ago.
- Prices are considerably more volatile between 14:00 UTC (10:00 ET) and 18:00 UTC (14:00 ET).
- Volatility was more evenly scattered in three months before ETFs began trading.
- Source: Amberdata
Trending Posts
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
How a 'perpetual’ stock trick could solve Michael Saylor’s $8 billion debt problem
The bitcoin treasury firm is using perpetual preferreds to retire convertibles, offering a potential framework for managing long-dated leverage.
What to know:
- Strive upsized its SATA follow on offering beyond $150 million, pricing the perpetual preferred at $90.
- The structure offers a blueprint for replacing fixed maturity convertibles with perpetual equity capital that removes refinancing risk.
- Strategy has a $3 billion convertible tranche due in June 2028 with a $672.40 conversion price, which could be addressed using a similar preferred equity approach.
Top Stories
