Investing.com – Retail investors have returned to crypto markets after a lull in April, leading popular cryptocurrencies such as and Ether to hit multi-week highs, according to JPMorgan strategists.
The JPMorgan report also highlighted that Bitcoin's 14-day average daily trading volume amounts to $28.9 billion, up from $20.7 billion. Over the past two weeks, Bitcoin's average daily trading volume increased by 12.0%, while Ethereum trading volume increased by 86.4%. Trading volumes increased by 39.2%.
Furthermore, the trading volume growth of major cryptocurrencies, excluding Binance USD, has been strong over the past six months and year. A JPMorgan analyst noted: “The substantial increase in Bitcoin and Ethereum trading volumes highlights growing investor interest and market activity in these leading cryptocurrencies.”
On May 30, Franklin Templeton President and CEO Jenny Johnson spoke at the Consensus 2024 conference in Austin, highlighting the benefits of blockchain accounting technology. Johnson emphasized its potential to provide a single “source of truth” for reconciling data between systems, which could help reduce costs and administrative workload. Johnson noted: “Blockchain technology can streamline our processes and significantly reduce administrative burdens.” The company is actively involved in the blockchain space and runs 30 validator nodes on 12 different blockchains.
Grayscale Investments announced on May 20 that CEO Michael Sonnenshein would step down after a decade at the crypto asset manager. Peter Mintzberg, currently global head of strategy for asset and wealth management at Goldman Sachs, will take over as CEO on August 15. Until then, CFO Edward McGee will serve as lead CEO. Sonnenshein reflected on his tenure, saying, “Leading Grayscale has been an extraordinary journey and I am confident in Peter’s vision for the future.”
On May 20, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a $2 billion settlement with bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Genesis to reimburse defrauded investors. Genesis, which neither admits nor denies the allegations, is prohibited from operating in New York. The settlement establishes a fund for victims, including 29,000 New York residents who invested more than $1.1 billion through the Gemini Earn product. “This settlement ensures that victims are compensated and holds Genesis accountable,” James said.
Institutional cryptocurrency lending company Maple Finance unveiled a new lending platform called “Syrup” on May 28, along with a rewards token of the same name. Syrup promises users 15% returns when depositing stablecoins on the platform. A Maple Finance representative highlighted: “Syrup is designed to deliver attractive returns while maintaining security and reliability.”
The global crypto market has seen a 12% increase since May 15, 2024, with a market capitalization of $2.53 trillion as of June 1, 2024. The top five cryptocurrencies by market capitalization are Bitcoin, Ether , Tether and, JPMorgan report. concludes.
