The Crypto War Reaches Coinbase
Now the SEC is suing Coinbase, one day after suing Binance. Here's how the suits are different and the market's reaction. Plus Louis Vuitton is launching $40,000 NFTs.
TylerD's Market Summary
GM!
Today's top news includes:
SEC suing Binance
Binance US assets frozen
Louis Vuitton dropping $40k NFTs
A new Opepen ATH
Atomic Hub launches Game Fest
🚨 First Binance, Now Coinbase
Gary Gensler and the SEC have had a busy week.
On Monday they formally sued Binance US and its CEO for alleged securities violations.
Then on Tuesday, they filed a similar suit against Coinbase on allegations of securities violations.
And then, after the crypto market rallied in defiance, they launched a court order to try to freeze all of Binance US's assets.
So what's coming today?
The Details
Here's the quick summary of the Coinbase lawsuit, where the SEC alleges:
Coinbase operated as an unregistered broker, exchange and clearing agency all at once
Coinbase and Coinbase Global are named, but not CEO Brian Armstrong
Coinbase's Prime, Wallet and staking products were the primary targets of the violations
Additionally, they named 13 tokens as securities in the suit, bringing the two-day total to 19 unique crypto tokens alleged as securities (there was some overlap).
Those tokens include SOL, ADA, MATIC, SAND, FIL, AXS, CHZ*, FLOW*, ICP*, NEAR*, VGX*, DASH* and NEXO* (*indicates it was not named in the Binance suit).
Gensler said the aim of the suit is to protect investors, stating "Coinbase’s alleged failures deprive investors of critical protections, including rulebooks that prevent fraud and manipulation, proper disclosure, safeguards against conflicts of interest, and routine inspection by the SEC."
Gensler went further on a Tuesday morning CNBC appearance, effectively stating that we have enough digital currencies with the Euro, USD and Yen and don't need anymore (i.e. crypto).
A striking statement, perhaps showing his true motives here.
Market Reactions
Starting with Coinbase's CEO Brian Armstrong, he tweeted a response, highlighting:
The SEC reviewed their business and allowed the IPO back in 2021
There is no path to "come in and register"
The SEC and CFTC have made conflicting statements on what is a security vs commodity
That Congress is introducing new legislation to fix this very situation
He also noted how the Coinbase suit is very different from the others as it's primarily focused on what is and is not a security.
The markets took the news surprisingly well.
BTC and ETH are up 4% and 3% on the day respectively. Other named coins held even or chopped.
$PEPE actually soared 25% on the news (perhaps because it could not be named a security).
General sentiment seemed to fall in 2 camps:
outrage against the SEC for an attack on broader crypto
relief that these lawsuits are now in the court hands and we should have some direction soon
But more negative news is coming in this morning.
Robinhood is suspending trading of the named coins. And that SEC request to freeze Binance US assets seems to have been granted.
We will see how that sentiment holds up as more potentially negative news pours in, and if the SEC has any more cards to play.
One thing feels certain though - we are in the end game for crypto. The future will be determined with the outcome of these key cases.
Game on.
👜 Louis Vuitton Dropping $40k NFTs
Louis Vuitton is making a splash with its newest NFT drop "Treasure Trunks," throwing a shot at Nike in the process.
In a recent earnings call, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault hinted that any NFTs they drop would likely be high dollar, stating:
"... it is not our objective to sell virtual sneakers at €10. We are not interested in that.”
They indeed aimed higher than €10, opting to launch the Treasure Trunks at €39,000 (~$41,600).
And lucky buyers will be rewarded with more than just a digital suitcase, as the physical product will be delivered to purchasers following the mint (and yes, that makes this a "phygital").
Treasure Trunks TLDR
Here are the primary details on the Treasure Trunks drop:
What: Digital LV-branded trunks, with physicals to come
When: registration opens on June 8, winners notified on June 14, sale opens June 16
How much: $41,600, in crypto or fiat
How many: only a few hundred (exact supply TBD)
Where: via a dedicated LV website (still to come)
Why: exclusive access to future products and experiences
Other Details
Another interesting aspect of this NFT is that it will be soulbound, meaning the buyer will not be able to trade it or transfer it down the line.
Though they do mention future NFTs that Trunk owners will be able to purchase (i.e. "keys") will be tradeable.
The Vogue announcement article also references the fact that Pharell is the new men's creative director at LV, so it will be interesting if he plays a role (and is Doodles x LV coming?).
Treasure Trunks are the first drop of a larger new project from LV called "Via," which has the aim "to act as an elite pathway towards products and experiences that are inaccessible to others."
An elite digital product with a physical counterpart, exclusive access and experiences (all tied to an NFT that can't be resold on secondary) - it definitely feels like a luxury product launch.
Now we'll see how the market responds...
🚚 What else is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
Trading volume jumped to nearly 20k ETH on Tuesday, but it was mostly wash trading in the BAYC collection as whales take advantage of a new loophole on Blur allowing NFTs in Blend loans to be sold with 0% fees
Opepens saw a new ATH sale of 30.69 ETH on an R001 x/4
Fidenza #545 sold for a whopping 625 ETH ($1.17M) yesterday evening in what marks the 5th highest Fidenza sale of all time in ETH terms
Art Blocks founder Snowfro minted 17 new Squiggles last night to supporters in the community and those who have made meaningful contributions
CyberBrokers unveiled its Version Beta Missions, introducing competitive faction gameplay in the unexplored realms of Paradigm Lost
Pixelmon owners will soon be deciding whether Kevin, the most memed character from their ecosystem, should undergo an on-chain evolution, with a vote starting June 8 and lasting til June 18
🌎 Around Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
The crypto market jumped on Tuesday as buyers rallied after the Binance and Coinbase news; BTC +4.5% to $26,840; ETH +3.2% to $1,870
The SEC filed a motion to freeze all of Binance US's assets yesterday, following up its lawsuit against the leading cryptocurrency firm for securities violations
AtomicHub, WAX's leading web3 marketplace, will launch its inaugural AtomicHub Game Fest, a week-long event featuring 7 web3-powered games on the WAX blockchain
🚀 NFT Total Volume
BAYC (14,574* ETH, 46.8 ETH Floor)
Azuki (1,521 ETH, 17.57 ETH)
MAYC (1,244 ETH, 9.96 ETH)
DeGods (512 ETH, 9.28 ETH)
Sproto Gremlins (297 ETH; 0.67 ETH)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase
Sproto Gremlins (84%, 0.67 ETH Floor)
Distortion Genesis (76%, 1.29 ETH)
ENS Maxis (38%, 0.11 ETH)
Pixelmon (26%, 0.73 ETH)
Habibiz (22%, 0.17 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming NFT Mints and Reveals
Today is a busy day of drops, mostly in the art sector.
Mercedes is launching their inaugural NXT NFT "Maschine" with artist Harm van den Dorpel in partnership with Fingerprints DAO which should see some major demand.
Art Blocks Curated is back with "Neural Sediments" fresh off a well-performing Curated drop just a couple weeks back.
And then Curated artist Emily Xie (Memories of Qilin) is partnering with LACMA and Cactoid Labs for her "Interwoven" drop happening today as well.
Not sure if there's enough liquidity in the market to propel all 3 of these, but we shall see.
If you want more, see the full list of today's drops from Swizzy's daily mint monitor.
Memes by 6529 (11:00 a.m. ET); 0.06529 ETH
Mercedes Benz NXT "Maschine" (12:00 p.m. ET); Dutch aution
AB Curated: Neural Sediments (1:00 p.m. ET); Dutch auction
Emily Xie "Interwoven" (TBD)
Enjoy this write-up? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email tyler.warner@luckytrader.com.
For all volume and floor price data, see Lucky Trader's Project Rankings page.
For all upcoming mints, see Lucky Trader's Project Schedule page.