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OKX plans Australian expansion, citing ‘huge appetite’ for crypto

The exchange’s chief marketing officer believes Australians are above the curve when it comes to crypto education and interest.

Seychelles-based crypto exchange OKX has signaled its intention to expand its crypto services to Australia, a country it believes is primed to take on the next wave of crypto adoption.

The trading platform explained in a March 29 statement that Australia would be a key growth market for the firm moving forward. The firm states it provides services to over 100 countries. In August 2018, OKXexpanded its operations into Malta, and last July, it secured a provisional license in Dubai.

“We see Australia as an indispensable part of this strategy and a key growth market. With such a strong uptake of crypto in Australia already, we’re committed to the local market and aim to build a strong local office,” the firm wrote in a statement.

Haider Rafique, the chief marketing officer of OKX, told Cointelegraph that the decision to expand “Down Under” was driven by Australians’ “huge appetite” for more crypto investment and trading products:

“What I’ve interestingly found over the last 5-6 years is that Australian retail investors certainly show a huge appetite for exploring crypto as an investment vehicle and also for trading. When I came to OKX, I certainly saw that in terms of web traffic and people from Australia trying to explore OKX services.”

Rafique believes Australians are above the curve in terms of crypto education, which he hopes will make OKX’s move into the market all the more smooth.

“They’re pretty familiar with crypto, the value of blockchain, the promise that it holds in the future, and I think from us as a company, it makes it really intriguing for us to extend our services in this market,” he said, adding:

“I think the value creation we can do for Australians will ultimately lift all boats.”

OKX Ambassadors Daniel Ricciardo and Scotty James with OKX CMO Haider Rafique at the Q&A session held in Melbourne on March 30. Source: OKX

A September survey from Australian crypto exchange Swyftx found that about 1 million Aussies are expected to enter into crypto for the first time within the next 12 months, which represents about 4% of the country’s population.

Rafique said he was also impressed with Australia’s crypto startup scene.

It is understood that the trading firm has not yet registered with AUSTRAC, the licensing regime required to offer cryptocurrency services in Australia.

OKX was not in a position yet to share where the Australian office would potentially be located or how large the team would be. OKX currently employs over 1,750 staff, according to LinkedIn.

Related: OKX latest proof of reserves reveals $8.9B in assets

OKX is in the process of applying for a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in Hong Kong too, Rafique confirmed.

The expansion plan into Australia and Hong Kong comes as OKX recently announced plans to cease its services to Canadians in June.

Magazine: Can you trust crypto exchanges after the collapse of FTX?

Switzerland preparing emergency measures for UBS’ takeover of Credit Suisse: Report

The emergency preparation will allow the takeover to proceed without the usual “six-week consultation period” with shareholders, according to people familiar with the situation.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and Switzerland’s financial regulator reportedly believe that the acquisition of investment bank Credit Suisse by UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, is the “only option” to prevent a “collapse in confidence” in Credit Suisse.

According to a March 18 Financial Times report citing three people familiar with the situation, Switzerland is preparing to use “emergency measures” to accelerate the takeover by UBS of Credit Suisse, in an effort to finalize the acquisition before “markets open on Monday.”

It was noted that the emergency measures set in place would allow the deal to proceed without a shareholder vote, bypassing the usual Swiss regulations that require a “six-week” consultation period for shareholders “to consult on the acquisition.”

The SNB and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) are reportedly working to “reach regulatory agreement” by Saturday night, having reportedly told international counterparts that “they regard a deal” with UBS as the “only option” to prevent a “collapse in confidence” in Credit Suisse.

Related: Let First Republic and Credit Suisse burn

It was noted that UBS intends to proceed with Credit Suisse’s plans to downsize its investment bank, with two of the people “briefed on the situation,” stating that the “combined entity will make up no more than a third of the merged group.”

UBS reportedly has “$1.1tn (trillion)” total assets on its balance sheet, while Credit Suisse has “$575bn (billion)” – a successful merge between the two Swiss banks would reportedly create one of “the biggest global systemically important financial institutions in Europe.”

This comes after American investment company BlackRock stated in a March 18 tweet that it “has no interest” in acquiring Credit Suisse.

Previously, the SNB and FINMA released a joint statement on March 15 stating that Credit Suisse met the “capital and liquidity requirements” imposed on systemically important banks.

The statement noted, if necessary, the SNB would provide Credit Suisse “with liquidity,” acknowledging that Credit Suisse had been “affected by market reactions in recent days.”

Switzerland preparing emergency measures for UBS’ takeover of Credit Suisse: Report

The emergency preparation will allow the takeover to proceed without the usual “six-week consultation period” with shareholders, according to people familiar with the situation.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and Switzerland’s financial regulator reportedly believe that the acquisition of investment bank Credit Suisse by UBS — Switzerland’s largest bank — is the “only option” to prevent a “collapse in confidence” in Credit Suisse.

According to a March 18 Financial Times report citing three people familiar with the situation, Switzerland is preparing to use “emergency measures” to accelerate the takeover by UBS of Credit Suisse to finalize the acquisition before “markets open on Monday.“

The report notes that the emergency measures would allow the deal to proceed without a shareholder vote, bypassing the usual Swiss regulations that require a “six-week” consultation period for shareholders “to consult on the acquisition.”

The SNB and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) are working to “reach regulatory agreement” by Saturday night, having reportedly told international counterparts that “they regard a deal” with UBS as the “only option” to prevent a “collapse in confidence” in Credit Suisse.

Related: Let First Republic and Credit Suisse burn

It was noted that UBS intends to proceed with Credit Suisse’s plans to downsize its investment bank, with two of the people “briefed on the situation” stating that the “combined entity will make up no more than a third of the merged group.”

UBS reportedly has “$1.1tn [trillion]” total assets on its balance sheet, while Credit Suisse has “$575bn [billion]” — a successful merger between the two Swiss banks would reportedly create one of “the biggest global systemically important financial institutions in Europe.”

This comes after American investment company BlackRock stated in a March 18 tweet that it “has no interest” in acquiring Credit Suisse.

Previously, the SNB and FINMA released a joint statement on March 15 stating that Credit Suisse met the “capital and liquidity requirements” imposed on systemically important banks.

The statement noted, if necessary, the SNB would provide Credit Suisse “with liquidity,” acknowledging that Credit Suisse had been “affected by market reactions in recent days.”

Breaking: Bitcoin slips under $20K amid Biden budget, Silvergate collapse

The price of BTC briefly slipped under $20,000 on March 10, although at time of writing was hovering just above that level.

Bitcoin (BTC) briefly slipped below $20,000 for the first time in nearly two months, following the latest budget from United States President Joe Biden and the collapse of “crypto-bank” Silvergate.

The price of BTC dipped to $19,945 on March 10 before recovering to hover just above $20,000, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

Bitcoin had a stellar start to 2023 but fell as much as 5% in an hour on March 3 amid uncertainty at Silvergate. The price doesn’t appear to have been able to lift since.

Price chart of Bitcoin over the last seven days. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro

The announcement that Silvergate Bank, one of the key banks in the United States that services crypto firms, had entered into voluntary liquidation on March 8 has emerged as a possible strong headwind for the crypto industry.

Related: Bitcoin price drops to $20.8K as regulatory and macroeconomic pressure mounts

Meanwhile, a supplementary budget explainer paper on March 9 revealed that United States crypto miners could eventually be subject to a 30% tax on electricity costs under a Biden budget proposal that aims to “reduce mining activity.”

‘Binance is the crypto market:’ Arcane crowns the exchange 2022’s winner

Following the fallout of FTX, implementing zero fee BTC trading and some notable global acquisitions Binance’s market dominance has surged throughout 2022.

During a year plagued by crises such as the collapse of FTX and Celsius, data shows that crypto exchange Binance has emerged as the clear “winner” of 2022 according to Arcane Research.

A Jan. 3 report from Arcane highlighted that Binance saw its market dominance soar throughout 2022. As of Dec. 28 last year, it had captured 92% of the Bitcoin (BTC) spot market and 61% of the BTC derivatives market by volume:

“There are no other evident ‘winners’ of 2022 other than Binance when it comes to the crypto market structure and market dominance. No matter how you look at it in terms of trading activity, Binance is the crypto market.”

Binance’s BTC spot market dominance was 45% at the start of 2022 meaning that it more than doubled, while its share of the BTC derivatives market increased by almost one third.

Real BTC daily volume vs Binance spot volume vs Binance market share. Source: Arcane Research.

The “spot trading volume” is an indicator that measures the total amount of Bitcoin being transacted on spot exchanges on any given day.

The report suggests the increase in Binance’s BTC spot market dominance predated the fallout of the second largest exchange by volume FTX, and began to surge after it removed fees for certain trading pairs on Jul. 7, 2022.

The exchange also made some notable acquisitions to boost its global coverage in 2022 such as the Japanese trading platform Sakura Exchange BitCoin and Indonesian digital currency brokerage firm Tokocrypto.

Binance has been one of the few exchanges to increase the number of staff it employs over the year while its peers such as Kraken and Coinbase have been forced to lay off staff during the current crypto winter.

Related: Tribulations and triumphs: The biggest surprises in crypto of 2022

Looking ahead to 2023, Arcane predicted in a Dec. 30 report that Binance would implement trading fees again in 2023 which would lead to a “normalization of the market dominance.”

As noted in a Jan. 3 report from digital asset data firm CryptoCompare, removing fees allows exchanges to attract customers but they “must be wary to remain profitable” and “cannot employ this strategy for long periods of time without hurting their bottom line.”

Binance could also be subject to increased regulatory scrutiny in 2023 — particularly relating to its native token BNB (BNB) — as following the fallout of the FTX empire, there has been an increased focus on crypto regulations globally.

Analysis from Bitcoin advocate Nic Carter suggested while Binance’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has been vocal about his support for exchanges providing proof-of-reserves (PoR), the PoR provided by Binance was incomplete as “it only covers Bitcoin, which only represents 16.5% of their client assets.”

Kraken quits Japan for the second time, blaming a ‘weak crypto market’

The crypto exchange said it will deregister from Japan’s Financial Services Agency as a crypto asset exchange operator from Jan. 31.

Global cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has decided to pull its operations in Japan for the second time, citing a strain on its resources amid a “weak crypto market.”

In a Dec. 28 blog post, Kraken said it has decided to cease its operations in Japan and deregister from the Financial Services Agency by Jan. 31, 2023, which it said was part of efforts to “prioritize resources” and investments, stating:

“Current market conditions in Japan in combination with a weak crypto market globally mean the resources needed to further grow our business in Japan aren’t justified at this time.”

“As a result, Kraken will no longer service clients in Japan through Payward Asia,” it added.

Kraken’s Japanese-facing exchange is operated by its subsidiary Payward Asia Inc.

The same subsidiary company operated in Japan from 2014 to 2018, before pulling out in April 2018 so that it could better focus its resources on growth in “other geographical areas.”

In October 2020, the subsidiary decided to relaunch with a headquarters in Tokyo, offering spot trading on five major assets with plans to expand. The second iteration has now come to an end, with Kraken committing to allowing all affected clients to withdraw their funds from the exchange by Jan. 31, at the latest.

Users can withdraw crypto holdings to an external wallet, or convert their portfolio to Japanese yen and then transfer it to a domestic bank account. Withdrawal limits will be removed in January and there will also be a process to allow users to retrieve their staked Ether (ETH), which will be shared shortly.

Deposits will be disabled on Jan. 9, though trading functions will remain.

Kraken appears to have been focusing on cutting costs in recent months.

On Nov. 30, Kraken announced it had made one of its “hardest decisions” to cut its global workforce by approximately 1,100 people, equivalent to 30% of its headcount, amid difficult market conditions.

Related: Kraken cuts workforce by 30% in an effort to survive crypto winter

The exchange said lower trading volumes and fewer client sign-ups contributed to Kraken’s decision to cut down on expenses and that the changes were necessary “to sustain the business for the long-term.”

In the Japanese language version of the most recent announcement, Kraken added that its exit from the Japanese market will not have a material impact on Kraken’s overall business.

Volatility expected as $490M in ETH options expire shortly after the Ethereum Merge

The outcome of the Ethereum Merge will be a primary price drive that dictates whether ETH bears profit from this week’s $490 million options expiry.

Given the current state of the wider crypto market, some traders might be surprised to learn that Ether (ETH) has been trading in an ascending trend for the past 17 days. While the entire cryptocurrency market experienced a 10% decline on Sept. 13, Ether’s price held firm near the $1,570 support level.

Ether/USD price index. Source: TradingView

In less than 12 hours, the Ethereum network is scheduled to undergo its largest ever upgrade and the possibility of extreme volatility should not be ignored. The transition to a proof-of-stake network will be a game changer for multiple reasons, including a 98.5% cut in energy use and reduced coin inflation.

During an upgrade, there is always the risk of multiple malfunctions, especially in more complex systems like the Ethereum Virtual Machine processing. Even if the upgrade has been relatively smooth on previous testnet versions, it is impossible to predict the outcome of the decentralized applications and second-layer solutions plugged into Ethereum’s ecosystem.

That is precisely why the $490 million Ether options expiry on Aug. 16 will put a lot of price pressure on both sides, even though bulls seem slightly better positioned as Ether nears $1,600.

Most bearish bets are placed below $1,600

Ether’s failure to break the $2,000 resistance on Aug. 14 and its subsequent plunge to $1,420 on Aug. 29 gave the bears the signal to expect continuation of the downtrend. That becomes evident as only 12% of the put (sell) options for Sept. 16 have been placed above $1,600. Thus, Ether bulls are better positioned for the expiry of $490 million weekly options.

Ether options aggregate open interest for Sept. 16. Source: CoinGlass

A broader view using the 1.06 call-to-put ratio shows a relatively balanced situation with bullish bets (calls) open interest at $252 million versus the $238 million put (sell) options. Nevertheless, as Ether currently stands near $1,600, both sides have similar odds of moving the needle.

If Ether price remains below $1,600 at 8:00 am UTC on Sept. 16, only $27 million worth of these call (buy) options will be available. This difference happens because there is no use in the right to buy Ether at $1,600 or $1,700 if it trades below that level on expiry.

Bears could pocket a $100 million profit

Below are the four most likely scenarios based on the current price action. The number of options contracts available on Sept. 16 for call (bull) and put (bear) instruments varies, depending on the expiry price. The imbalance favoring each side constitutes the theoretical profit:

  • Between $1,400 and $1,500: 33,000 calls vs. 2,600 puts. The net result favors bears by $100 million.
  • Between $1,500 and $1,700: 29,600 calls vs. 29,000 puts. The net result is balanced between bulls and bears.
  • Between $1,700 and $1,800: 49,200 calls vs. 3,800 puts. The net result favors bulls by $80 million.
  • Between $1,800 and $1,900: 81,400 calls vs. 700 puts. Bulls increase their gains to $145 million.

This crude estimate considers the call options used in bullish bets and the put options exclusively in neutral-to-bearish trades. Even so, this oversimplification disregards more complex investment strategies.

Macroeconomic turmoil might have helped ETH bears

Ether bulls need to sustain the price above $1,500 on Sept. 16 to balance the scales and avoid a potential $100 million loss. However, Ether bulls were unlucky on Sept. 12 after the United States stock markets fell by $1.6 trillion on Sept. 13 due to a hotter-than-expected inflation report.

There’s absolutely no way to predict the outcome of Ethereum Merge, let alone its price impact. However, analysis suggests these three indicators should be watched by traders during the Merge event.

One can never guess the consequences of unexpected delays or even the positive impact of a smooth transition because investors could have priced in the Merge in advance, triggering a “sell the news” event. Consequently, both bulls and bears still have a shot on the Sept. 16 weekly options expiry.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.

SOL price trending toward yearly low as Solana TVL drops $870M in three days

DeFi contagion fears and bearish technicals mean additional downside pressure on Solana price.

Solana (SOL) tumbled on June 16 amid a broader retreat across the top cryptocurrencies, led by the Federal Reserve’s 0.75% interest rate hike a day before.

Solana price rebound fizzles

Notably, SOL/USD plunged nearly 17% to $30 a token, wiping out almost all the gains from the day before. The SOL price volatility liquidated almost $10 million worth of contracts in the past 24 hours across multiple crypto exchanges, data from Coinglass shows. 

SOL liquidation record since May 17. Source: Coinglass 

The latest declines come as an extension to SOL’s broader correction, where it dropped by more than 90% after peaking out near $267 in November 2021. SOL also fell to its lowest level since July 2021 near $25.

In addition, a higher interest rate environment and the collapse of high-profile crypto projects like Terra have strengthened SOL’s downside prospects. 

SOL paints “ascending triangle”

Solana’s pullback move on June 16 began after testing a horizontal trendline resistance near $34 that constitutes what appears to be an “ascending triangle” pattern.

Ascending triangles are continuation patterns, i.e., they tend to send the price in the direction of their previous trend. As a rule, breaking out of a triangle pattern in a bearish market, for example, sends the price down by as much as the structure’s maximum height.

If SOL breaks below its ascending triangle’s lower trendline then the bearish profit target will come below $22.50, as shown in the chart below.

SOL/USD four-hour price chart featuring “ascending triangle” pattern. Source: TradingView

Solana’s downside target is about 25% below June 16’s price and could be achieved by the end of June. Nonetheless, if SOL bounces after testing the triangle’s lower trendline as support, it would eye the $34–$36 range as its interim upside target.

Massive SOL exit

Over 27 million Solana tokens have exited its smart contract ecosystem since June 13.

The total value locked (TVL) inside Solana smart contracts dropped to 74.65 million SOL (~$2.25 billion) on June 16, down 27% in the last three days, according to data tracked by DeFi Llama. That amounts to nearly $840 million of withdrawals from the ninth-largest blockchain ecosystem by market cap.

Solana TVL performance since April 2021. Source: DeFi Llama

Solend, a lending platform functioning atop the Solana ledger, witnessed a 26.5% decline in its TVL in the last three days and was holding 9.66 million SOL (~$290 million) as of June 16. Nevertheless, it remains the leading platform by TVL within the Solana ecosystem.

Related: Liquidity provider asks platforms to freeze 3AC funds to recover assets after litigation

The outflows indicate that depositors do not want to keep their SOL locked in DeFi protocols, a sentiment common across the sector after Terra, an “algorithmic stablecoin” project, collapsed last month.

Therefore, Solana’s path of least resistance remains skewed to the downside in the near term, particularly with no improvement in terms of macro and fundamentals. 

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.