nasdaq

Nasdaq to launch crypto custody services by end of Q2: Report

The service will reportedly be the exchange operator’s first major venture into the crypto industry.

Global securities marketplace Nasdaq is gearing up to launch its custody services for digital assets by the end of the second quarter of this year, according to Bloomberg.

As reported by Bloomberg, the exchange group has applied for a limited-purpose trust company charter from the New York Department of Financial Services, which would oversee the new business. Nasdaq’s senior vice president and head of Nasdaq Digital Assets, Ira Auerbach, reportedly disclosed this in an interview in Paris, stating that the group is committed to ensuring all necessary regulatory approvals and technical infrastructure are in place. 

Initially announced in September, the project will be the exchange operator’s first major venture into the crypto industry. The first step for Nasdaq’s digital assets division will be to safeguard Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), with plans to eventually build a broad suite of services for the group’s digital assets division, including execution for financial institutions, Auerbach reportedly shared. 

With traditional financial institutions stepping up to fill the gap left by bankruptcies in the crypto industry, Nasdaq’s entry could potentially be a game-changer for the sector. Its reputation and size in the global exchange market could help boost institutional investor confidence in the crypto market, paving the way for more traditional financial institutions to follow suit.

Related: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom

Nasdaq is set to join BNY Mellon and Fidelity as part of other large financial firms offering crypto safekeeping. 

In 2022, Cointelegraph reported that BNY Mellon, America’s oldest bank, had launched crypto services. The 238-year-old bank formed an enterprise digital assets unit in 2021 to develop crypto solutions and a platform to bridge digital and traditional asset custody.

Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom

Bitcoin paints Nasdaq green as NCI index marks 38% gain in January

The bullish rise of Bitcoin and other altcoins in January helped the Nasdaq Crypto Index to register its third-highest monthly gain.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) bullish surge in January has helped the Nasdaq Crypto Index to register its third-highest monthly gain, with a 38% surge. The cryptocurrency market started the year bullish, defying major bearish market outlooks. Bitcoin and a number of altcoins touched new multi-month highs as inflation cooled off. 

Nasdaq Crypto Index monthly price chart Source: Google

The Nasdaq Crypto Index (NCI) recorded its third-biggest monthly gain since its inception in February 2021. The crypto asset index was launched by Brazilian asset manager Hashdex in partnership with the Nasdaq stock exchange. The index consists of eight cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Chainlink (LINK), and Stellar (XLM), among a few others.

BTC has the highest weight in the index (69.8%), followed by ETH (27.08%). The other altcoins have a weight of less than 1%. Thus, the subsequent rise of BTC and ETH, which have surged over 35% in the past month, is also reflected in the index. The index weight refers to the share of stocks invested in a particular digital asset.

Related: Bitcoin bulls must reclaim these 2 levels as ‘death cross’ still looms

With a prolonged crypto winter throughout 2022, Bitcoin ended the year at around $16,500, with most altcoins also testing their yearly lows. Many market pundits had warned that the bearish sentiment might continue into the new year owing to the FTX saga unfolding daily. However, the crypto market showed resilience and started the year on a bullish note, registering a double-digit gain for the past month.

On Feb. 1, the Federal Open Market Committee press briefing announced an interest rate hike of 25 basis points. The United States Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, suggested that inflation has started to cool off in the world’s largest economy. The Fed raise worked wonders for the crypto market, with BTC briefly touching $24,000 and the crypto market cap rising by 4%.

Bitcoin aims for $25K as institutional demand increases and economic data soothes investor fears

Strong corporate earnings and investors’ anticipation of a Federal Reserve pivot are helping to cement the case for risk assets like Bitcoin.

Bitcoin (BTC) price broke above $22,500 on Jan. 20 and has since been able to defend that level, accumulating 40.5% gains in the month of January. The move accompanied improvements in the stock market, which also rallied after China dropped COVID-19 restrictions after three years of strict pandemic controls.

E-commerce and entertainment companies lead as the year-to-date market performers. Warner Bros (WBD) added 54%, Shopify (SHOP) rose 42%, MercadoLibre (MELI) climbed 41%, Carnival Corp (CCL) 35% and Paramount Global (PARA) managed a 35% gain so far. Corporate earnings continue to attract investors’ inflow and attention after oil producer Chevron posted the second-largest annual profit ever recorded, at $36.5 billion.

More importantly, analysts expect Apple (AAPL) to post a mind-boggling $96 billion in earnings for 2022 on Feb. 2, vastly surpassing the $67.4 billion profit that Microsoft (MSFT) reported. Strong earnings also help to validate the current stock valuations, but they do not necessarily guarantee a brighter future for the economy.

A more favorable scenario for risk assets came largely from a decline in leading economic indicators, including homebuilder surveys, trucking surveys and contracting Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data, according to Evercore ISI’s senior managing director, Julian Emanuel.

According to the research from financial services firm Matrixport, American institutional investors represent some 85% of recent purchasing activity. This means large players are “not giving up on crypto.” The study considers the returns occurring during U.S. trading hours but expects the outperformance of altcoins relative to Bitcoin.

From one side, Bitcoin bulls have reasons to celebrate after its price recovered 49% from the $15,500 low on Nov. 21, but bears still have the upper hand on a larger time frame since BTC is down 39% in 12 months.

Let’s look at Bitcoin derivatives metrics to better understand how professional traders are positioned in the current market conditions.

Asia-based stablecoin demand approaches the FOMO region

The USD Coin (USDC) premium is a good gauge of China-based crypto retail trader demand. It measures the difference between China-based peer-to-peer trades and the United States dollar.

Excessive buying demand tends to pressure the indicator above fair value at 100%, and during bearish markets, the stablecoin’s market offer is flooded, causing a 4% or higher discount.

USDC peer-to-peer vs. USD/CNY. Source: OKX

Currently, the USDC premium stands at 3.7%, down from a 1% discount two weeks prior, indicating much stronger demand for stablecoin buying in Asia. The indicator shifted gears after the 9% rally on Jan. 21, causing excessive demand from retail traders.

However, one should dive into BTC futures markets to understand how professional traders are positioned.

The futures premium has held a neutral stance since Jan. 21

Retail traders usually avoid quarterly futures due to their price difference from spot markets. Meanwhile, professional traders prefer these instruments because they prevent the fluctuation of funding rates in a perpetual futures contract.

The three-month futures annualized premium should trade between +4% to +8% in healthy markets to cover costs and associated risks. Thus, when the futures trade below such a range, it shows a lack of confidence from leverage buyers — typically, a bearish indicator.

Bitcoin 3-month futures annualized premium. Source: Laevitas

The chart shows positive momentum for the Bitcoin futures premium after the basis indicator broke above the 4% threshold on Jan. 21 — the highest in five months. This movement represents a drastic change from the bearish sentiment presented by the futures’ discount (backwardation) present until late 2022.

Related: Bitcoin price is up, but BTC mining stocks could remain vulnerable throughout 2023

Traders are watching to see if the Fed broadcasts plans to pivot

While Bitcoin’s 40.5% gain in 2023 looks promising, the fact that the tech-heavy Nasdaq index rallied 10% in the same period raises suspicions. For instance, the street consensus is a pivot from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hiking campaign at some point in 2023.

Bitcoin derivatives and stablecoin demand exited the panic levels but if the Fed’s expected soft landing takes place, the risk of a recessionary environment will limit stock market performance and hurt Bitcoin’s “inflation protection” appeal.

Currently, the odds favor bulls as leading economic indicators show a moderate correction — enough to ease inflation but not especially concerning, as solid corporate earnings confirm.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Litecoin ‘head fake’ rally? LTC price technicals hint at 65% crash

LTC price could drop alongside riskier assets as macro analysts sound a bull trap alarm over this potential “head fake” recovery.

Litecoin (LTC) has rebounded by 130% to almost $100 after bottoming out near $40.50 in June 2022. The primary reasons include broadly improving risk-on sentiment and euphoria around Litecoin’s upcoming halving in August 2023.

However, technicals suggest that LTC may wipe out most of these gains in the coming months.

LTC price paints giant bear flag 

Litecoin stands to pare its gains mainly due to a giant bear flag on the weekly chart.

A “bear flag” is a bearish continuation pattern that occurs when the price consolidates inside an ascending, parallel channel after undergoing a strong downtrend. It resolves after the price breaks below its lower trendline with a rise in trading volumes.

Litecoin has been painting a similar pattern since early June 2022. Previously, the LTC/USD pair had undergone a 70% price correction from $130 to $40.50. Thus, from the technical perspective, it would resume its downtrend course if its price breaks below the lower trendline.

LTC/USD weekly price chart featuring bear flag breakdown setup. Source: TradingView

As a rule, a bear flag breakdown move prompts the price to fall by as much as the previous downtrend’s length. Applying the same setup to Litecoin brings its bear flag downside target to nearly $30.50, or 65% lower than the current LTC price.

Litecoin price “head fake”?

As said earlier, Litecoin‘s price recovery has primarily occurred in line with similar moves across the risk-on market due to cooling inflation.

For instance, the Nasdaq-100 stock market index has risen approximately 15.50% between October 2022 and January 2023. Similarly, Bitcoin (BTC) has rallied by more than 50% since its November 2022’s low of around $15,500.

The weekly correlation coefficient between Litecoin and the Nasdaq-100 has been mostly positive at 0.35 on Jan. 27. Similarly, the correlation between Litecoin and Bitcoin is now around 0.21.

Litecoin’s weekly correlation coefficient with Nasdaq-100 and Bitcoin. Source: TradingView

But Mark Haefele, the chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management — along with other many other analysts — has noted that the ongoing risk-on rally could be a “head fake.” In simple words, the ongoing Litecoin rally, under the influence of its risk-on counterparts, could be short-lived. 

Independent market analyst Capo of Crypto also agrees, noting:

“The way the upward movement is happening, the way [higher-timeframe] resistances are being tested… it clearly looks manipulated, no real demand. Once again, the biggest bull trap I’ve ever seen.”

Bullish scenario for Litecoin

However, not everyone is bearish on risk assets such as Litecoin. Popular market analyst Rekt Capital sees Litecoin rallying toward $160 in the coming weeks, citing a monthly chart setup as shown below.

LTC/USD monthly price chart. Source: TradingView

Notably, the chart shows LTC‘s price undergoing a strong rebound move after testing a multiyear ascending trendline resistance inside the $40 to $50 area, which could qualify it for a further uptrend toward the $120–$160 range.

These upside targets have previously acted as supports and resistances. Breaking this key resistance could therefore invalidate the bear flag setup, which happens 54% of all time, according to research by veteran investor Tom Bulkowski.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Bitcoin miner Argo regains compliance with Nasdaq minimum bid price rule

Bitcoin mining firm Argo regained compliance with Nasdaq’s listing rule, which requires a company to maintain its common stock’s minimum bid price of $1 for 30 consecutive trading days.

Amid bullish action on cryptocurrency markets, Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Argo Blockchain has regained stock listing compliance with Nasdaq.

Argo officially announced on Jan. 23 that the company regained compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum bid price rule amid the share price recovery. 

The Nasdaq stock market listing qualifications department has informed Argo that it successfully met a requirement to maintain a minimum closing bid price of $1 for ten consecutive trading days. This requirement was met on Jan. 13, with Nasdaq confirming that it considers the matter closed.

The announcement comes about a month after Nasdaq notified Argo on Dec. 16 that the firm wasn’t compliant with Nasdaq’s minimum bid price requirement. The issue was due to Argo’s common stock failing to maintain the minimum bid price of $1 over the previous 30 consecutive business days, as required by Nasdaq’s listing rules.

Moreover, financial problems amid escalating energy costs and the falling Bitcoin (BTC) prices had forced the mining company to suspend trading on Nasdaq momentarily.

Argo’s American depositary shares (ADS) started trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol ARBK in September 2021. Debuting at a price of $15, ARBK shares have been gradually selling off, eventually tumbling below $1 in October 2022.

Related: Argo Blockchain sells top mining facility to Galaxy Digital for $65M

ARBK shares started recovering subsequently after Nasdaq warned the firm about becoming noncompliant in December. According to data from TradingView, Argo’s stock briefly reached $1 on Dec. 30 but failed to maintain the price. After retesting $1 on Jan. 3, ARBK stock has continued to be trading above the price level. On Jan. 20, the stock closed at $1.73.

ARBK’s 30-day price chart. Source: TradingView

Argo is not the only publicly-listed Bitcoin mining firm that has been struggling to maintain its share prices above $1. On Dec. 15, the Canadian Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms received a similar warning from Nasdaq over its Bitfarms shares (BITF).

Unlike ARBK, Bitfarms’ shares have not recorded enough growth to comply with Nasdaq’s listing rules yet. After breaking above $1 on Jan. 12, BITF tumbled below the threshold again on Jan. 18. According to Nasdaq’s requirements, Bitfarms has to have its shares trading above $1 for at least 10 days before June 12, 2023.

Bitcoin price surge: Breakthrough or bull trap? Pundits weigh in

Bitcoin nearly broke its record for the longest streak of daily green price candles this month, but many believe its recent surge could be short-lived.

While Bitcoin (BTC) has experienced a strong price pump to kick off the new year, many industry pundits are not convinced the cryptocurrency will continue its upward trajectory — at least in the short to mid-term. 

The impressive price surge — which saw BTC experience 14 days of consecutive price increases earlier this month — has called on many to consider whether the surge marks a significant “breakthrough” or is indicative of a “bull trap.”

Speaking to Cointelegraph on Jan. 23, James Edwards — a cryptocurrency analyst at Australian-based fintech firm Finder — said the argument for a “bull trap” is stronger, warning the recent surge could be “short-lived.”

He stated that while the BTC price moved upwards over the weekend, the NASDAQ Composite and the S&P 500 also made similar rallies:

“This suggests to me that the rally in crypto is not unique, and instead part of a wider market uplift as inflation figures stall and a risk-on appetite appears to return to investments. So Bitcoin is just enjoying the effects of positive sentiment that originated elsewhere. This is likely to be short-lived.”

Edwards added that cryptocurrency markets still have some “significant hurdles to clear before a new bull market can begin.”

Among those obstacles, he mentioned include the continued fallout over FTX’s collapse and the recent Chapter 11 filing by Genesis on Jan. 19.

“As such, we’re going to see further sell-offs and downsizing as crypto firms adjust their balance sheets and dump tokens onto the market to cover debt and try to stay afloat,” he explained.

In a statement to Cointelegraph, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Commodity Strategist Mike McGlone wasn’t confident in the BTC price trajectory either, citing recessionary-like macroeconomic conditions as too big of a barrier for BTC to overcome.

“With the world leaning into recession and most central banks tightening, I think the macroeconomic ebbing tide is still the primary headwind for Bitcoin and crypto prices.”

The sentiment was also shared among some on Crypto Twitter, with cryptocurrency analyst and swing trader “Capo of Crypto” telling his 710,000 Twitter followers on Jan. 21 that BTC’s push past resistance looks like “the biggest bull trap” he has ever seen:

However, not all industry pundits were as bearish.

Cryptocurrency market analysis platform IncomeSharks appeared bullish, having shared a “Wall St. Cheat Sheet” chart with its 379,300 Twitter followers on Jan. 22 making a mockery of the bears who think the latest price movements are indicative of a “bull trap.”

Sem Agterberg, the CEO and co-founder of AI-based trading bot CryptoSea, also recently shared a flood of posts expressing positive sentiment toward BTC price action to his 431,700 Twitter followers, suggesting that a “BULL FLAG BREAKOUT” toward $25,000 may soon be on the cards.

Meanwhile, others have refrained from making a forecast on the price, likely given the unpredictability of crypto markets.

Related: Bitcoin price consolidation opens the door for APE, MANA, AAVE and FIL to move higher

At the time of publication, Bitcoin was priced at $22,738, while the Crypto Fear and Greed Index was at “Neutral” with a score of 50 out of 100.

The cryptocurrency managed to break out of the “Fear” zone on Jan. 13 — which was then scored at 31 — after the BTC price increased for seven consecutive days.

Market sentiment of Bitcoin expressed on a 0-100 “Fear & Greed Index” scale. Source: Crypto Fear & Greed Index.

Crypto mining stocks surge to yearly highs after Bitcoin bounces back

The surge in crypto mining stocks was a relief for the industry after a crippling year, where public crypto miners incurred $4 billion in liabilities.

The Bitcoin (BTC) price rebound to a multi-month high has also positively affected mining stocks. Many crypto-mining stocks recorded their best monthly performance in a year. The surge in mining stocks also relieved the troubled miners who had to sell a significant chunk of their mined coins to boost liquidity in 2022.

Bitfarms — one of the top BTC mining firms — registered a 140% surge in the first two weeks of January 2023, followed by Marathon Digital Holdings with a 120% surge. Hive Blockchain Technologies saw its stock value nearly double in the same period, while the MVIS Global Digital Assets Mining Index is up by 64% in the first month of the new year.

The Luxor Hashprice Index, which aims to quantify how much a miner might make from the processing power used by the Bitcoin network, has increased by 21% this year. This partly reflects larger rewards due to an increase in the price of Bitcoin.

The bull run in 2021 prompted several mining companies to go public while others invested heavily in equipment and expansion. However, a prolonged crypto winter in 2022 exposed the vulnerabilities and lack of proper structuring in many of these mining firms.

Related: Samsung investment arm to launch Bitcoin Futures ETF amid rising crypto interest

The 2021 bull market saw a significant increase in borrowing by the Bitcoin mining industry, which had a negative effect on their financial standing during the ensuing bear market. Public Bitcoin miners owe more than $4 billion in liabilities, while the top 10 Bitcoin mining debtors collectively owe nearly $2.6 billion. By the end of 2022, leading BTC miners such as Core Scientific filed for bankruptcy.

Liabilities of public Bitcoin mining companies. Source: Hashrate Index

The BTC price surge in January has helped struggling crypto mining stocks reach new yearly highs, but it also helped Bitcoin-based exchange-traded funds outperform most of the traditional equity ETF market.

Crypto investment firm CoinShares debuts trading on Nasdaq Stockholm

CoinShares’ stock was previously listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market, an alternative stock exchange for small and medium-sized companies.

Major cryptocurrency investment firm CoinShares has debuted trading on Nasdaq Stockholm, the primary securities exchange of the Nordic countries.

CoinShares officially announced on Dec. 19, the first day of trading on Nasdaq Stockholm’s main market, with CoinShares’ stock starting trading on the exchange under the ticker CS.

The latest trading debut marks a change of listing venue for CoinShares’ stocks. Previously, CS shares were traded on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market, an alternative stock exchange for small and medium-sized companies in Europe. CoinShares first went public by listing its shares on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market in March 2021.

According to the latest announcement, there is no offering or issuance of new shares in connection with the CoinShares’ shares being admitted to trading on Nasdaq Stockholm.

“Shareholders of CoinShares do not need to take any action in connection with the change of listing venue,” the company noted.

According to CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti, the change in trading venue aims to emphasize the company’s commitment to developing the firm into the “leading full-service digital asset investment and trading group.” He stated:

“We believe the change in listing venue will allow us to benefit from increased visibility and investor exposure while supporting our ambition to grow our market share.”

Nasdaq’s head of European listings Adam Kostyál expressed confidence in the “increased opportunities” of the uplisting. “We look forward to seeing the company’s further growth and development supported by increased investor visibility and international exposure within the cryptofinance community,” Kostyál added.

CoinShares’ initial public offering was conducted in March 2021 at a fixed price of 44.9 Swedish kronor (SEK), or $5.3 per share. According to data from TradingView, CS stock surged to an all-time high of 115 SEK, or $11, in April 2021 and has been gradually decreasing since.

Related: Nasdaq warns Bitcoin mining firm Bitfarms about share price deficiency

At the time of writing, CS shares trade at 21 SEK ($2), down about 2% since the trading debut on Nasdaq Stockholm.

CoinShares stock all-time price chart. Source: TradingView

CoinShares’ change of trading venue comes amid the ongoing cryptocurrency market crisis triggered by the failure of the FTX crypto exchange.

As previously reported, CoinShares has not been significantly impacted by the FTX contagion due to the company’s limited exposure to the FTX exchange. CoinShares said that its overall exposure to FTX amounted to $31.5 million, assuring that the firm’s financials remain strong.

Nasdaq warns Bitcoin mining firm Bitfarms about share price deficiency

Bitfarms has an initial period of 180 calendar days to have its shares trading above $1 for at least 10 days before June 12, 2023.

The Canadian Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Bitfarms is facing compliance challenges over its listing on Nasdaq due to the ongoing cryptocurrency winter.

Bitfarms received a warning notification from Nasdaq on Dec. 13 because the company’s share price has stayed below $1 for 30 consecutive working days.

Announcing the news on Dec. 14, Bitfarms said that it has an initial period of 180 calendar days to regain compliance with the requirements from Nasdaq.

In order to regain compliance, Bitfarms’ shares should close at $1 per share for a minimum period of 10 consecutive days at any time before June 12, 2023. In such an event, the Nasdaq staff will provide written notification to Bitfarms that it has achieved compliance, the announcement notes.

The 180-day period is not the final limit, however. Bitfarms noted that it will have a chance to extend the compliance period further even after June 12, stating:

“If the company does not regain compliance with Rule 5550(a)(2) by June 12, 2023, the company may be eligible for an additional 180 calendar day compliance period.”

The company stressed that the Nasdaq letter is only a notification and has no immediate effect on the listing or trading as the Bitfarms shares (BITF) will continue to trade on the exchange.

Bitfarms also noted that the company remains to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the latest notice from Nasdaq has no impact on the firm’s compliance status with such listing or its business operations.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Bitfarms debuted stock trading on Nasdaq in June 2021, just a few months after going public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in April.

After reaching an all-time high at roughly $6 in December 2021, the Bitfarms stock has been gradually selling out on Nasdaq, in line with the ongoing cryptocurrency bear market.

Related: BTC difficulty drops by the biggest margin since 2021

Bitfarms’ stock on Nasdaq one-year chart. Source: TradingView

According to data from TradingView, Bitfarms’ shares dropped below $1 in late October 2022 and have not retested the $1 price mark since. Bitfarms’ stock closed at $0.54 on Dec. 13, seeing a 7.6% increase over the day.

Bitfarms is one of many cryptocurrency mining companies facing major issues due to the ongoing crisis in the market. In June, the firm was forced to sell about $62 million worth of self-mined Bitcoin in order to reduce its debt. A number of other mining firms, including Argo Blockchain, Core Scientific and Riot Blockchain, also opted to sell their Bitcoin amid tough market conditions.

On Dec. 12, Argo Blockchain said that it has been considering selling its assets in order to avoid filing for bankruptcy.

Crypto exchange Coincheck plans Nasdaq listing in July 2023

The company’s financial statements showed a decline in operating revenue and income due to the crypto bear market.

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck has confirmed plans to pursue a public stock offering in the United States through Nasdaq — a move that would give the company access to the country’s lucrative capital markets. 

In documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 28, Coincheck’s majority owner, Monex Group, confirmed that it is proceeding with Nasdaq listing procedures through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Thunder Bridge Capital Partners IV. If all goes according to plan, Coincheck’s Nasdaq listing will take place on July 2, 2023.

Coincheck said the SPAC merger would allow the exchange to expand its crypto-asset business and gain direct access to U.S. capital markets. The technology-rich Nasdaq is one of the world’s largest stock exchanges by volume and market capitalization.

As reported by Cointelegraph, Coincheck announced its public-listing ambitions in March of this year. At the time, the value of its merger with Thunder Bridge Capital was reported to be $1.25 billion.

According to Coincheck’s financial statements, the company has 1.75 million verified accounts, representing 27% of Japan’s crypto trading market share. However, the company reported a loss in trading volume due to the crypto bear market. Total operating revenues declined by roughly half quarter-on-quarter.

Related: Bitcoin weak hands ‘mostly gone’ as BTC ignores Amazon, Meta stock dip

Several crypto-oriented companies have expressed a desire to go public through SPAC agreements. In April, Bitcoin (BTC) mining company PrimeBlock announced it would go public via a $1.25 billion SPAC. In August, blockchain cloud infrastructure provider W3BCloud unveiled an identical price tag for its SPAC merger. Stock and crypto exchange eToro had plans for a $10 billion merger before terminating the agreement over the summer.