Market Buzz
Bitcoin trading above Rs 24 lakh
Major cryptocurrencies traded in the red early on May 26 as the global crypto market cap decreased 0.59 percent to $1.26 trillion over the last day. On the other hand, the total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours rose 2.03 percent to $70.78 billion. The total volume in DeFi stood at $7.50 billion, 10.60 percent of the total crypto market 24-hour volume. The volume of all stable coins was $621.49 billion, which is 86.87 percent of the total crypto market 24-hour volume. Bitcoin traded above Rs 24 lakh. The market dominance of world’s largest cryptocurrency rose 0.18 percent to 44.76 percent over the last day, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Big Story
Fed VC says growth in digital assets highlights need for regulation
Lael Brainard, Vice Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, has said that growth in new digital assets, plus the pressures some of these assets have recently felt “highlight the need for better regulatory guardrails around these instruments”. His comments came in a testimony prepared for the House Financial Services Committee hearing on May 26.”The recent turmoil in crypto financial markets makes clear that the actions we take now — whether on the regulatory framework or a digital dollar — should be robust to the future evolution of the financial system,” he stated. (Bloomberg)
Invest
Andreessen Horowitz raises $4.5 billion crypto fund, the largest of its kind
Sagging crypto prices and the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin are no deterrent for venture capitalists who still see a lot of promise in the industry. In the latest example of that commitment, Andreessen Horowitz on May 25 said that it had raised a $4.5 billion crypto fund, the industry’s largest to date. The firm is dedicating $3 billion to venture investments and $1.5 billion to seed investments. The fund, the fourth crypto-dedicated investment vehicle for Andreessen Horowitz, brings its total digital-asset-focused efforts to $7.6 billion. It has backed some of the biggest names in blockchain, including crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc., nonfungible-token marketplace OpenSea, NBA Top Shot creator Dapper Labs and Sky Mavis, the developer of NFT game Axie Infinity.
Policy Hawk
Advertising watchdog catches violations in crypto ads by influencers
Ever since the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) came out with guidelines to advertise virtual digital currencies in April 2022, it has processed violations in as many as 29 advertisements. Manisha Kapoor, CEO and Secretary General, ASCI, says that these violations pertain to social media influencers not having disclosed that the posts were paid promotions by crypto companies as well as direct ads by crypto companies. Kapoor refused to divulge the names of the social media influencers who have been pulled up by ASCI because “the hearings and appeals process are still ongoing”, she adds. ASCI’s guidelines for advertisements of virtual digital assets (including cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens and so on) came into effect on April 1