Crypto Biz: Massive inflows to exchanges amid market turbulence

The market downturn on Aug. 5 led to the price of Bitcoin plunging 10% in less than two hours, from $58,350 to $52,500. The volatility, however, drove massive inflows into centralized exchanges (CEXs). 

Binance, for instance, recorded $1.2 billion in net inflows in 24 hours as traders reacted to a sharp drop in cryptocurrency prices. According to DefiLlama’s CEX Transparency dashboard, inflows into Bybit, Crypto.com and OKX increased by $301.4 million, $107.8 million and $97.7 million, respectively.

Inflows could be attributed to transfers from external wallets, fiat deposits and trading activity. Binance CEO Richard Teng credited positive flow amid market stress as a sign of “strong investor confidence.”

In other news, Ripple Labs was found liable to pay a $125 million civil penalty for violating United States securities laws in a case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2020. The SEC previously argued that the firm should pay a maximum civil settlement of $2 billion. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse suggested the ruling was a “victory.”

This week’s Crypto Biz also examines Hong Kong’s crypto exchange-traded fund market, Morgan Stanley’s green light for Bitcoin (BTC) funds, Xapo Bank’s license in the United Kingdom, and Core Scientific’s billionaire deal with CoreWeave.

Hong Kong virtual bank Mox Bank launches crypto ETF trading

Hong Kong’s Mox Bank, a virtual bank under Standard Chartered, has launched a crypto ETF trading service, allowing customers to directly trade spot Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) ETFs. The bank also plans to expand its crypto offerings, including allowing direct purchases and trading of crypto assets through a partnership with a licensed exchange. Spot crypto ETFs were approved and began trading in Hong Kong on April 30 as part of the country’s efforts to position itself as a crypto hub for the Far East.

Morgan Stanley advisers can officially pitch Bitcoin ETFs

Morgan Stanley, the largest wealth manager in the US, now allows its 15,000 financial advisers to recommend Bitcoin ETFs to clients. Initially, advisers will suggest Bitcoin ETFs from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund. Until now, the largest financial advisory firms, known as wirehouses, have been hesitant to embrace spot Bitcoin ETFs. Continued uptake by leading advisory platforms could spur a surge of inflows from advisers into spot BTC ETFs, Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital assets research, told Cointelegraph.

Xapo Bank debuts interest-bearing Bitcoin, fiat accounts in the UK

Xapo Bank has officially entered the United Kingdom market after successfully obtaining a banking license. According to Xapo Bank, it is now the only licensed bank in the UK that offers a combined interest-bearing United States dollar and Bitcoin banking account. Xapo customers can send funds of up to 1 million British pounds ($1.28 million) and make payments to UK-based wallets and bank accounts. The Bitcoin account yields 1% without staking, lending or locking up assets.

Core Scientific shares climb 12% after CoreWeave expands GPU hosting deal

Core Scientific’s stock price jumped over 12% in the first hours of trading on Aug. 6, following the expansion of a billion-dollar deal with artificial intelligence cloud provider CoreWeave. According to an announcement, CoreWeave is increasing its hosting deal with Core Scientific and seeking additional resources for its Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs). Bitcoin miner Core Scientific will modify its infrastructure to supply approximately 112 incremental megawatts to CoreWeave’s GPUs. The deal expansion comes nearly 60 days after Core declined a buyout offer from CoreWeave.

A recent survey from law firm Barnes & Thornburg revealed that 84% of US investors believe private investment in cryptocurrency will rise over the next 12 months, and more than half (59%) said they are more likely to invest in crypto funds than a year ago.

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