USDC Stablecoin Issuer Circle Moves $8.7B to Repo Agreements Amid Risk of U.S. Default

Overnight repo transactions are effectively short-term collateralized loans. The borrower is selling a security – in this case, U.S. Treasurys – for cash, and agrees to buy back the collateral the next day for a slightly higher price. What’s really happening, though, is that big institutional investors with cash to spare are parking that with Wall Street dealers that need funding. Source

The Risks and Rewards of High-Frequency Crypto Trading

Often this involves arbitrage, where one asset has two different prices on separate exchanges. If, for instance, you can buy an asset for $10 on one exchange and nearly instantly sell it for $10.25 on another, you will have essentially secured a riskless profit. Doing so over and over can be highly profitable. Some of the more well-known names in HFT are Jump Trading, Citadel Securities, Virtu and Hudson River Trading. Source BitcoinCryptocryptoexchangeExchangesHighFrequencyRewardsRisksTrading CryptoX Portal

Ethereum Staking Needs Its (Honest) LIBOR

To fully achieve the promise of this innovation, a standardized benchmark can be produced by capturing and publishing the daily, annualized mean of on-chain rewards across all validators. It would be difficult to manipulate because of the inherent transparency, replicability and immutability of the blockchain –  in contrast, say, to the infamously manipulated LIBOR benchmark that powered traditional finance (TradFi) credit markets for years. Source

South Korean prime minister calls for disclosure of crypto holdings by high-ranking officials

South Korean Prime Minister Han Deok-soo is calling for the disclosure and registration of cryptocurrency assets by high-ranking public officials, a local news outlet has reported.  In a press conference held at the Sejong Government Complex on May 17, the prime minister reportedly emphasized the importance of including crypto assets in the property registration of high-ranking public officials. According to a Google-translated version of the report, Prime Minister Han told reporters that the issue of whether high-ranking officials should include digital currency in property registration “can be fully discussed and…

Ethereum dips as PEPE whales take profits

In the past week, ethereum’s price has seen a slight 4% dip, coinciding with PEPE whales taking profits, as the token dropped 20%. Over the past week, ethereum (ETH), the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has seen a slight downturn in its value. According to CoinMarketCap data, ethereum, which stood at $1,879 seven days ago, is now valued at $1,796, marking a 3.97% decrease in its weekly valuation. 7-day ETH chart | Source: CoinMarketCap Simultaneously, a different story has been unfolding in the case of PEPE, a relatively lesser-known…

US Secret Service has an NFT collection: Nifty Newsletter, May 10–16

In this week’s newsletter, read about the United States Secret Service’s nonfungible token (NFT) collection, and how Elon Musk’s tweet caused a surge in an NFT collection’s floor price. Check out how someone tried to sell an image for Bitcoin (BTC) months before the infamous Bitcoin Pizza Day, and learn about LG’s new patent for an NFT-trading TV. And don’t forget this week’s Nifty News, featuring the popular gaming franchise Assassin’s Creed revealing its “smart collectibles.”  Secret Service owns crypto, loves blockchain and has an NFT collection: Reddit AMA In…

Uniswap will deploy on Polkadot parachain Moonbeam

The Uniswap crypto exchange will soon be available on Moonbeam (GLMR), a parachain of Polkadot (DOT), according to a May 17 approved proposal on the exchange’s governance forum. The proposal was put forward by educational group Blockchain at Michigan. It passed with near unanimous support, with only a single UNI token being used to vote against it. 1/ @Uniswap – the most popular decentralized exchange by daily traded volume – is coming to Polkadot via the @MoonbeamNetwork parachain, increasing volume & liquidity across the ecosystem! pic.twitter.com/lKaceLv6ce — Polkadot (@Polkadot) May…

Price analysis 5/17: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA, DOGE, MATIC, SOL, DOT, LTC

Bitcoin and most major altcoins are selling off on rallies, proof that investor sentiment remains negative in the short term. The United States stock markets are trying to recover on reports that the debt ceiling talks are showing promise and a debt default may be avoided. However, the same enthusiasm is not seen in the cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin (BTC) slipped back below the $27,000 support on May 17, indicating that buyers are struggling to sustain the relief rallies. Institutional investors seem to be booking profits due to the macro uncertainty.…

LayerZero partners with Immunefi to launch $15M bug bounty

Cross-chain messaging protocol LayerZero and security platform Immunefi have teamed up to launch a $15 million bug bounty program.  The program offers a maximum reward of $15 million for anyone identifying a vulnerability at the highest severity level. According to its terms and conditions, rewards are based on the Immunefi Vulnerability Severity Classification System and paid according to vulnerability impact.  LayerZero is an omnichain interoperability protocol that allows developers to interact with contracts across blockchains. In bug bounty programs, ethical hackers are rewarded for finding and reporting application vulnerabilities and bugs.…