Yesterday in Crypto - Issue #34

Read time: ~7 minutes

🚀 What's Happening?

The amount of Bitcoin held on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges has dropped to just 2 million, the lowest level since January 2018. This is a significant development that has caught the attention of market analysts.

🔍 Quick Refresher

• Bitcoin is a digital currency that operates without a central authority.

• Centralized exchanges are platforms where you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies, but they are controlled by a single entity.

• Liquidity refers to how easily an asset can be bought or sold in the market without affecting its price.

🤔 Why Is This Important?

When Bitcoin is removed from exchanges, it often indicates that holders are moving their assets to private wallets for long-term storage, suggesting a bullish sentiment. It could also mean that people are increasingly using decentralized platforms or engaging in peer-to-peer transactions.

📊 Market Implications

This decrease in Bitcoin holdings on exchanges could lead to increased volatility due to lower liquidity. It also could make it more challenging for large investors to buy or sell significant amounts of Bitcoin without impacting the market price.

🌐 Global Perspective

The dwindling numbers are not just a localized phenomenon; they reflect a global trend. This could be a sign of growing maturity in the Bitcoin market or a shift towards decentralized financial systems.

🚀 What's Happening?

Binance, a global cryptocurrency exchange platform where you can buy, sell, and trade various digital currencies, is planning to significantly expand its list of supported cryptocurrencies in Japan. Currently, the platform supports a limited number of tokens, but aims to increase this to a whopping 100 different cryptocurrencies.

📈 Why Does This Matter?

This move is a big deal for crypto enthusiasts in Japan, as it provides them with a broader range of investment options. It's also a strategic move for Binance to capture more market share in a country that has stringent regulations around crypto.

🔍 Regulatory Landscape

Japan is known for its strict crypto regulations, which makes this expansion a bold move for Binance. The company seems confident in navigating the regulatory landscape, which could set a precedent for other exchanges.

🌐 Global Impact

While this is specifically targeted at the Japanese market, the ripple effects could be felt globally. An expanded offering in a regulated market like Japan could boost confidence in the crypto space at large.

🚀 What is Lido?

Lido is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that aims to solve one of the most pressing issues in the staking world: liquidity. When you stake your assets in a blockchain network, they usually get locked up, making them unusable for other financial activities. Lido offers a way to stake your assets while still having them available for other uses. Miss our Intro to Liquid Staking? Click HERE and scroll down to get caught up.

🛠 How Does It Work?

In simple terms, when you stake your assets like Ethereum through Lido, you receive staked derivatives in return, often referred to as stETH. These stETH tokens represent your staked Ethereum and can be traded, sold, or used in other DeFi protocols, providing you with liquidity that you wouldn't have if you staked Ethereum the traditional way.

💡 Unique Features

• Liquid Staking: Lido allows you to stake assets like Ethereum and receive liquid tokens in return.

• Decentralized: Being a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization), Lido is governed by its community.

• Cross-Chain: Lido is not limited to just one blockchain. It aims to bring its liquid staking solution to multiple networks.

📊 Tokenomics

The native token of Lido is LDO. It serves multiple purposes including governance, where LDO token holders can vote on proposals to update the protocol. Here’s the distribution:

🤔 Why Should You Care?

Lido offers a unique solution to a problem that many crypto enthusiasts face: how to earn staking rewards without losing liquidity. With Lido, you can have your cake and eat it too! Not interested in liquid staking your own tokens? Exposure to the market through LDO may allow you to benefit from increased liquid staking adoption.

🌐 Ecosystem and Partnerships

Lido is part of a growing DeFi ecosystem and aims to integrate with multiple blockchains to expand its reach and utility. They offer LSDs for Solana, Polkadot, Kusama, Polygon, and soon, Cosmos ATOM.

📈 Market Watch

Lido has been gaining attention as more people recognize the value of liquid staking. institutions and whales are all about maximizing their yield, and Lido is poised remain the leader in the space.

That’s all for today. We’ll see you tomorrow.

“Bitcoin is a hedge against the traditional financial system and a beacon of hope for economic empowerment.”

– Tyler Winklevoss, CEO, Gemini