Last week, we saw the S&P Dow Jones unveil indices based on the leading three digital assets - further mainstreaming cryptoassets by bringing them to the trading floors of Wall Street. The sector also demonstrated it is becoming a focal point of interest for traditional banks, with Goldman Sachs and Citi currently exploring ways to enter the space (more on that below).

While these headlines signal greater maturity in the space, they also contrast oddly with other key crypto news. The number of memecoins that have recently emerged and are skyrocketing has been extraordinary to watch, but is a sign of a very frothy market.

The Shiba Inu Coin (SHIB) has been receiving a lot of attention lately – in part due to the rising popularity of Dogecoin - and has soared over 1,600% during the past seven days. As for Dogecoin, after reaching an all time high on Friday, its price dropped sharply on Saturday night at around the time Elon Musk referenced the cryptoasset during his SNL debut. The 'self-meme cryptoasset' has since recovered slightly, aided in part by the news last night that Musk’s SpaceX would be sort of be literally sending DOGE to the actual moon, which in retrospect, was pretty obvious...

One last key thing before we dive into other highlights and top stories from last week. Copper is proud to be nominated for Europa’s ‘Hottest FinTech StartupAward’, and we would be grateful for your support by voting for us here. It only takes a second, and every vote counts. Thank you.

This week's top stories

Goldman Sachs doubles down on crypto with derivatives, trading team

Last week, Goldman Sachs announced a far-reaching digital assets strategy that involves offering Bitcoin derivatives to clients as well as opening a dedicated trading desk for cryptocurrency. The derivatives that Goldman offers to clients would be non-deliverable and settled in cash, which means that Goldman would never have to custody Bitcoin, nor work out an arrangement to deliver it to its clients. Meanwhile, the trading desk will be led by Mathew McDermott and will report to Rajesh Venkataramani, the bank’s London-based head of GCEM Foreign Exchange Options Trading. Read more

Citi weighs launching crypto services after surge in client interest

Citigroup, one of the world’s largest currency trading banks, is considering taking its first steps into cryptocurrency markets after a surge in interest from clients. The group is the latest banking giant to consider pushing into the new markets according to Itay Tuchman, its global head of foreign exchange. Tuchman said the bank had not yet decided whether it would offer its clients cryptocurrency-related services, but he said that trading, custody and financing were all under consideration. Read more

SpaceX accepts Dogecoin as payment to launch ‘DOGE-1 mission to the Moon’ next year

Elon Musk’s SpaceX will launch the “DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon” in the first quarter of 2022, with the company accepting the meme-inspired cryptocurrency as payment. Geometric Energy Corporation announced the dogecoin-funded mission on Sunday, which SpaceX’s communications team confirmed in an email to reporters. The mission’s financial value was not disclosed. DOGE-1 will fly a 40 kilogram cube satellite as a payload on a Falcon 9 rocket, with Geometric Energy Corporation saying its payload “will obtain lunar-spatial intelligence from sensors and cameras on-board with integrated communications and computational systems.” Read more

In case you missed it..

⚡️Square revenue more than triples, driven by Bitcoin sales.

⚡️Grayscale becomes ‘crypto sponsor’ of NFL team New York Giants.

⚡️Thailand mandates ‘in-person' KYC for crypto traders.

⚡️WisdomTree launches a physically-backed Ethereum ETP in Europe.

⚡️Ebay exploring crypto payment options and NFT auctions.

⚡️Ethereum prices soar, making Vitalik Buterin youngest crypto billionaire.

⚡️CME launches micro Bitcoin futures.

⚡️BNB market cap broke above $100bn for the first time.

⚡️Sources: PayPal has held exploratory talks about launching a stablecoin.

⚡️Digital Dollar project to launch 5 CBDC pilots in the coming months.

⚡️Auction giant Sotheby’s to accept BTC and ETH as payment via Coinbase.

⚡️Ether options trading volume surpassed that of Bitcoin's for the first time on Deribit.

⚡️$2.2bn Bitso becomes first crypto unicorn in Latin America.

⚡️Swedish crypto broker Safello's IPO oversubscribed by 1,240%.

⚡️Goldman Sachs leads $15m Series B funding round for Coin Metrics.

⚡️Galaxy Digital to acquire BitGo for $1.2bn.

⚡️US banks to allow Bitcoin trading in 2021, says NYDIG execs.

⚡️Latin American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre discloses treasury Bitcoin buy.

⚡️Coinbase to close San Francisco headquarters to go ‘remote’.

⚡️Norway’s minister of climate Sveinung Rotevatn is a Bitcoin ‘hodler’.

⚡️Iran Central Bank bans trading of foreign-mined Bitcoin.

⚡️Court orders Kraken to provide IRS data on user transactions higher than $20k.

⚡️Turkish government to track crypto transactions over $1,200.

⚡️VanEck files for Ethereum ETF with SEC.

⚡️NYDIG hires CFO of Bridgewater Associates.

⚡️MasterCard poll: 40% of surveyed will use cryptocurrencies within the next 12 months.

⚡️Canadian publicly-listed payment company Nuvei to acquire crypto payments processor Simplex for $250m.

⚡️Gemini now lets you earn interest on your Dogecoin.

⚡️Binance US plans massive hiring spree to compete with Coinbase.

From Copper

Who will win the Blockchain Wars: Binance Smart Chain vs Polkadot vs Ethereum

Ethereum is having its day in the sun at the moment with ether (ETH) breaching fresh all time highs above $4k. But there are multiplying threats to its prominence as the second-largest cryptoasset on the market. Read more

The Future of Cybersecurity Virtual Conference: 12 - 13 May 2021

The ongoing pandemic has propelled cybersecurity as the number one issue across all industry verticals.

Learn how to defend against a multitude of online threats from our CISO Jake Rodgers - keynote speaker at the Future of Cybersecurity Conference, taking place this Wednesday and Thursday. Jake will be speaking at 12pm BST on Wednesday. Register here to attend