Circle Ends USDC Support on Tron

The Breakdown First Five - Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Welcome back to The Breakdown First Five — the 5 most interesting and/or important stories in bitcoin, crypto, and markets to start your day.

5. ETH Reclaims $3k

Ethereum is back at $3000 for the first time in 21 months. The Dencun upgrade and rampant ETF speculation are providing a nice tailwind for the trailing major. Tuesday’s price action flushed out $32M in shorts, the largest liquidation in over a month. No news on the ETF front other than more updated filings, the latest coming from VanEck on Friday. May 23rd is still the only deadline that matters, the final date to approve or deny VanEck.  

4. Binance Slams the Door in Nigeria

Binance is enforcing government dictated exchange rates in Nigeria as the Naira collapse turns ugly. The Naira is down 40% since the beginning of the year, with politicians blaming currency speculators and mentioning Binance by name. Tether selling has been banned, while buying is only available at the approved rate. Peer to peer trading of crypto has been shut down entirely.  Other exchanges are still open business but it's not clear for how much longer. 

3. Deaton Takes On Warren

Crypto Lawyer and Marine veteran John Deaton has launched his campaign for the Massachusetts Senate seat, the same one currently occupied by Elizabeth Warren. Deaton took aim at Warren, saying she has failed in her mission and only “gives lectures and plays politics.” Deaton made his name by giving a voice to XRP holders with a pivotal amicus brief in the Ripple case. He says he will bring that same fight to Washington for Massachusetts voters. 

2. VanEck’s Volume Surprise

The VanEck Bitcoin ETF saw a massive and unexplained spike in volume,leaving analysts puzzled. The ETF saw 23 times its average daily volume across thousands of individual traders. The best guesses were a new network of advisors had passed compliance and were now allowed to flood in or high frequency traders attacking the spread. Once the trading settled it turns out only $5.9M worth of inflows were added on $400M in volume, adding to the mystery.

1. Circle Exits Tron

Circle has announced that they are no longer supporting USDC on Tron, effective immediately. Minting USDC tokens on Tron has already been halted but redemption or transfer to another chain will be available for 12 months. Retail customers have been directed to centralized exchanges to redeem. Tron hosts only 1% of circulating USDC, but the surprise exit has triggered rampant speculation on what Circle thinks is coming.