BTC Subdued Below $23,000, ETH Just Under $1,600

Despite the pullback in major US equities on Friday and a modest drop from weekly highs, major cryptocurrencies remain on course to post substantial weekly gains. Bitcoin is on course to have gained around 9.5%, which would mark its strongest week since March. Ethereum, meanwhile, stands to gain over 18%, which would mark its best week since last August.

Analysts said that last week’s announcement of a date for Ethereum’s so-called “Merge” from a proof-of-work to proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, which is now tentatively scheduled for September, gave ETH a substantial boost. Alternative.me’s Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index, often reffered to gauge of crypto market sentiment, was last at 31/100 and in a state of Fear.

Crypto Winter: Nexo Deposits in Decline

Crypto lending platform Nexo has, thus far, seemingly weathered the crypto winter storm well. While many of its rival firms including Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, Vauld, Babel Finance and more have been forced to halt withdrawals and, in some cases, declare bankruptcy, Nexo has projected strength and signaled a willingness to scoop up rivals.

But according to data posted by an accounting firm that Nexo contracts to provide attestations on its reserves, the lending platform has suffered substantial withdrawals in recent months. According to reporting by CoinDesk, Nexo’s customer liabilities were down to $3.9 billion as of Thursday from $6.9 billion on 12 May. Given Bitcoin’s approximate 20% decline since then, some of this drop can be explained by the broad downside in cryptocurrency prices.

SEC Needs to Prove Crypto Tokens Are Securities in Coinbase Insider Trading Case

Speaking on CoinDesk TV on Friday, a legal expert said that the US Securities and Exchange Commission will first need to prove that some of the cryptocurrencies listed on Coinbase’s exchange are cryptocurrencies before it can pursue insider securities trading charges against one of the exchange’s former product managers.

US law enforcement arrested Coinbase’s former product manager and one of his associates on charges of leaking information about which cryptocurrencies will soon be listed on the exchange, allowing them to profit from the official announcement. The SEC opened a parallel case against the former Coinbase product manager, accusing him and his associates of securities fraud.

But that assumes that the tokens that they profited from insider trading on are securities. The SEC claims that nine of the 25 tokens involved in the insider trading scheme are securities. Coinbase claims not to allow any securities to trade on its platform and the SEC is not charging Coinbase.

Texas Republicans Push to Protect Right to Use Crypto in State’s Bill of Rights

The Texas Republican party has called for the inclusion of a new clause in the state’s Bill of Rights that would protect the right of citizens to own, hold and use whatever medium of exchange they like, including cryptocurrency. “The right of the people to own, hold and use a mutually agreed upon medium of exchange, including cash, coin, bullion, digital currency or scrip, when trading and contracting for goods and services shall not be infringed,” reads part of the clause that Texan Republicans want to see added.

Republican officials, including the state’s Senator Ted Cruz, are pushing to further solidify the state’s status as a crypto-friendly hub.

Crypto Will Have 1B Users by 2030, BCG Report Says

The global adoption of cryptocurrency will reach 1 billion by 2030, according to the findings of a report published on Friday by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in tandem with Bitget and Foresight Ventures. BCG compares the current adoption curve of crypto technology to that of the internet’s early adoption and, as a result, concludes that there is “plenty of growth to come”. According to the report, just 0.3% of individual wealth is stored in crypto versus around 25% in global equity markets.