The week in the crypto market was relatively stable for leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Bitcoin saw a modest 2.7% growth, reaching a two-month high at $28,000. Meanwhile, Ethereum lost 2.1% despite positive developments, including an asset tokenization trial supported by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the launch of nine Ethereum Futures ETFs in the U.S. Grayscale, a crypto asset manager, also announced its intention to convert its Ethereum trust into a spot ETF, following its previous victory against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in converting its Bitcoin trust.
In other news, the SEC lost an appeal in its lawsuit against Ripple, failing to overturn the ruling that selling XRP to retail consumers does not violate U.S. securities laws. Ripple also received a Major Payments Institution license from MAS. However, XRP experienced a 1.6% drop over the week. Among the few cryptocurrencies that saw notable price movements were Avalanche (AVAX) and Solana (SOL), both rallying around 15%. Furthermore, Coinbase obtained a Major Payment Institution license from MAS, demonstrating its efforts to expand globally due to regulatory uncertainties in the United States.
The week also featured other news, such as the British Treasury’s plan to launch a Digital Securities Sandbox by the end of the first quarter of next year, providing a controlled testing environment for innovative products. Additionally, Hong Kong’s police force and Securities and Futures Commission formed a joint task force to monitor illegal activities on crypto exchanges following the suspension of trading on the JPEX exchange, which was involved in a major financial fraud case defrauding victims of $182.9 million. Lastly, Starbucks and the Museum of Modern Art launched NFTs, demonstrating the mainstream adoption and integration of crypto assets into different industries.
