Weekly Market Review - May 19th

Marco Muscio

We compile the top news stories weekly within the crypto, blockchain, metaverse, and NFT space. The weekly wrap-up covers everything from BTC & ETH updates, recent investments, developments of exciting new projects, and other relevant topics.

Here is everything you need to know from May 13th to May 19th

📈 Weekly BTC and ETH Overview

Bitcoin's price has consistently fallen in the past week, and there might be more decline ahead. However, according to analysts, the downward trend is not as strong as expected, and multiple support levels can help stabilize the market.

Analysts also say there's a chance of a positive rebound. Yet still an opportunity for the price to drop further toward the $25,000 support level before bouncing back up. Ethereum (ETH), on the other hand, reached the 100-day moving average at $1.7K after a consolidation phase, sparking uncertainty. It faces crucial levels at the $1.748K moving average and $1.6K support region. A potential rally toward $2.1K resistance depends on the moving average preventing further decline.

At the time of writing, BTC is trading at 26,8K, down 1.9% in the last 24 hours. Similarly, ETH is trading at 1.80K, down 1.1% in the previous 24 hours.

🗞️ Top Market News

Ripple announces new CBDC (central bank digital currency) platform: It will allow central banks, governments, and financial institutions to issue digital currency. The platform is an upgraded version of Ripple's Private Ledger, initiated in 2021 to issue CBDCs. Read more here
Payment giant Visa announces testing for ERC-20 payments using ERC-4337 account abstractions. On May 17, Head of Crypto Cuy Sheffield tweeted about the deployment of Visa's first paymaster smart contract on the ETH Goerli testnet. Read more here
Wormhole and Borderless Capital reveals new $50M Cross-Chain Ecosystem Fund, with over twenty blockchain teams and VCs joining the initiative. The fund has been backed by Jump Crypto, Aptos Labs, Polygon Ventures, Solana Foundation, Algorand Foundation, GSR, Arrington Capital, Sei Foundation, CLabs, Optimism, Moonbeam Foundation, and Circle. Read more here
Tether (USDT) to invest up to 15% of its profits into Bitcoin to transition away from U.S. government debt. By the end of Q1 2023, Tether held $1.5B in $BTC, roughly 2% of its reserves. The majority, approximately 85%, was held in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term deposits. This announcement follows Tether's recent report of $1.5B in net profit for Q1 2023. Read more here.

🚀 New Project Developments

Opera browser integrates the Layer 1 MultiversX. The integration will enable users to connect to the MultiversX ecosystem, including transacting with its native tokens, and accessing MultiversX-based NFTs and Dapps.
Coinbase reveals a new zero trading fees subscription service. The new membership, called Coinbase One, will also boost staking rewards and priority support. It will cost a monthly fee of $29.99 and be launched in 35 countries. Read here
Fusionist to launch Beta test with ACE token Airdrop as reward on May 22nd. Players compete for the Astral Access whitelist NFT through tasks, earning a game Steam beta test access code. The beta test runs until June 8th. Testers and early adopters receive an $ACE token airdrop, the native token of Fusionist's blockchain, Endurance. Read more here.
LayerZero Labs announces partnership with Immunef. The partnership will initiate a bug bounty program worth $15 million. The program is specifically designed for LayerZero's protocol. It establishes it as the most substantial bug bounty initiative in the cryptocurrency sphere, surpassing the previous record held by MakerDAO's $10 million program. Read more here.
MetaMask allows U.S. users to buy Ethereum (ETH) via PayPal. MetaMask is the first Web3 wallet to integrate PayPal for U.S. users to buy Ethereum ($ETH) directly. The integration allows easy transfer of $ETH from PayPal to MetaMask. Users can add $ETH to their MetaMask wallet using a PayPal balance, linked bank account, or debit card. Read more here.

🔍 More Featured Stories…

The EU's landmark cryptocurrency legislation, aimed at unifying regulations, faced delays but has now received final approval. The MiCA proposal harmonizes crypto laws among EU member states and requires identification for all transactions. The recent report confirms the green light from the European Union, signed off by finance ministers. Read more here.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman calls for AI to be regulated during a Senate hearing. During the hearing, Altman told legislators he was worried about the potential impact on democracy and how AI could be used to send targeted misinformation during elections - a prospect he said is among his "areas of greatest concerns. Read more here.