Crypto Flipsider News – MATIC Gains 27%, Citi Custodial Service, Binance Zero Fee, Canada Penalizes Exchanges, e-Commerce Looks to NFTs

Read in the Digest:

• Polygon (MATIC) Jumps 27% After Achieving Carbon Neutrality, Bitcoin Falls Back to $20k

• Citibank Partners with Metaco to Launch Crypto Custody for Institutions

• Binance.US Introduces Zero-Fee Bitcoin Trading, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) Discontinues Coinbase Pro

• Canada’s Ontario Securities Commission Bans KuCoin and Fines Bybit

• eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Acquires NFT Marketplace, Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) Launches Marketplace, and Token-gated Stores

Polygon (MATIC) Jumps 27% After Achieving Carbon Neutrality, Bitcoin Falls Back to $20k

Polygon (MATIC), the popular Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution, has achieved carbon neutrality, a balance between emitting and absorbing carbon.

The announcement has given MATIC a big price boost. Over the last 24 hours, MATIC has gained 27% to peak at $0.5121, a new 10-day high. Polygon’s rally makes MATIC the biggest gainer in the top 100 cryptos ranked by market cap over the last 24 hours.

The 24-hour price chart of Polygon (MATIC). Source: CoinMarketCap

On Polygon’s (MATIC) journey to carbon neutrality, the crypto has become a whale favorite. On-chain data shows that whales holding between 10k and 10m MATIC have increased their holdings by an average of 8.7%.

As MATIC rallied, the world’s biggest crypto, Bitcoin, recorded a dramatic trend change. Bitcoin, which traded as high as $21k on Wednesday, fell drastically, hitting an interday low of $19,848.08.

The 48-hour price chart of Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap

Bitcoin registered its decline just after Glasnode reported that whales had dumped over 50,000 BTC between June 20 and 21. Bitcoin is now picking up momentum, trading at $20,630 on the back of a 0.4% gain over the last 24 hours.

Flipsider:

• Popular crypto analyst Rekt Capital has predicted that if Bitcoin fails to sustain bullish pressure above the 200-week moving average, the price could drop lower.

Why You Should Care

The achievement of a carbon-neutral status by Polygon could inspire other crypto projects to do the same, reducing their impact on the environment.

Citibank Partners with Metaco to Launch Crypto Custody for Institutions

American banking powerhouse Citibank announced its partnership with Metaco, a Switzerland-headquartered cryptocurrency custody firm, to establish a crypto custodial service for institutional investors.

The partnership aims to merge Metaco’s technology and digital solutions with Citibank’s extensive custody network to form a platform that would allow customers to securely hold and settle digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC).

Citibank, which manages over $27 trillion in assets under custody, will integrate METACO’s bank-grade digital asset custody and orchestration platform and “harmonize” it into its existing infrastructure to develop its digital asset custody platform.

Flipsider:

• The crypto market crisis has led to the rapid devaluation of crypto firms and the demise of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.

Why You Should Care

The increasing digitization of traditional investment assets and new native digital assets led Citibank to launch the service.

Binance.US Introduces Zero-Fee Bitcoin Trading, Coinbase Discontinues Coinbase Pro

Binance.US, the American affiliate of the biggest crypto exchange, has announced that it will begin offering zero-fee Bitcoin (BTC) trading on its platform. Binance.US was already known for offering some of the lowest fees.

Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder explained that implementing zero-fee trading generates positive user sentiment for the exchange. Binance.US revealed that it would add more tokens to its free trading category over time.

Major Binance competitor, Coinbase, has announced its intention to suspend Coinbase Pro, an advanced trader-focused service, by the end of the year. Coinbase Pro will be replaced by Advanced Trading on the main Coinbase app.

All Coinbase Pro users will be migrated back to Coinbase. In addition, the new Advanced Trade option is now live for desktop Coinbase.com users, with mobile app integration expected in the coming weeks.

Flipsider:

• As Coinbase Pro users complain about the suspension of services against the backdrop of falling crypto prices, shares of Coinbase Global (COIN) have fallen more than 9% over the last 24 hours.

Why You Should Care

Crypto exchanges Binance.US and Coinbase are increasing the appeal of their services as they seek to gain a competitive advantage and attract more users.

Canada’s Ontario Securities Commission Bans KuCoin and Fines Bybit

Canada’s top financial regulator, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), has levied penalties on crypto exchanges, KuCoin and Bybit, for operating non-compliant platforms that allowed Ontario residents to trade unregistered securities.

In March, the OSC warned exchanges offering derivatives or securities trading in Ontario that they must contact the OSC or face enforcement action. The warning included an April deadline.

For failing to comply with Ontario securities law, the OSC slammed Bybit Fintech Limited (Bybit) with a $2,468,910 fine and an additional CAD 10,000 towards the OSC investigation cost.

The enforcement action against KuCoin was less friendly. The exchange received a CAD 2,000,000 fine and a further fee of $96,550.35 towards the OSC investigation costs. In addition, KuCoin was permanently banned from operating in Ontario, Canada.

Flipsider:

• Bybit was praised by the OSC for maintaining an open dialogue, providing requested information, and engaging in registration discussions.

Why You Should Care

With the increase in regulatory oversight, the approaches of KuCoin and Bybit could be representative of what exchanges get from regulators.

eBay Acquires NFT Marketplace and Shopify Launches Marketplace and Token-Gated Stores

eBay, one of the world’s oldest e-commerce platforms popular for auctioning, has made its biggest move yet into the world of digital collectibles with the acquisition of the NFT marketplace, KnownOrigin.

eBay, which started allowing NFT sales on its site last year, has acquired KnownOrigin to attract a new wave of NFT creators and collectors. The exact value of the deal concluded on June 21 hasn’t been disclosed.

Another leading e-Commerce platform, Shopify, has released some new crypto features allowing consumers and merchants to connect through their crypto wallets. A key highlight of the launch is token-gated stores.

Token-gated stores and brands can now release tokens and NFTs to their fanbase on Shopify. In addition, Shopify has an NFT feature allowing creators to directly mint and sell their NFTs from the blockchain and onto the online store.

Flipsider:

• The bearish market has led to the decline in the floor prices of NFT collections, with Bored Ape dropping by 25% in a day as Bitcoin fell under $20k.

Why You Should Care

E-commerce platforms eBay and Shopify have recognized the potential of NFTs as the future of digital arts and e-commerce.

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