Cryptocurrency roundup for December 22

Australia-based cryptocurrency exchange Swyftx has been compelled to renege on a planned 1.5 billion Australian dollar ($1 billion) merger deal with superannuation fund platform Superhero, The Australian Financial Review reported on Tuesday.
> The transaction was first disclosed in June by both parties.
> The agreement was to establish a large wealth management firm that would manage investments totaling $1 billion in direct shares, superannuation, and cryptocurrency for up to one million Australian clients.

Retail Investors Now Hold The Largest Share of Bitcoin Supply: Report

Retail investors currently hold about 17% of the total circulating quantity of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), according to recent public blockchain data compiled by analytics company Glassnode.
> Will Clemente, an analyst at Reflexivity Research, tweeted in response to the data, saying it was “Not perfect yet, but solid for a 12-year-old asset and definitely trending in the right direction,”
> “Bitcoin's supply disperses over time, while fiat's holder base concentrates to whales over time,” Clemente added.

Coinbase Stock Drops to New Low, Down 87% Since Start Of 2022

• The price of Coinbase's stock has dropped to its lowest level since the business went public last year, with dropping a whopping 87.04% to $35.00 from $268.15 on December 21, 2021, according to Yahoo! Finance.
  > While tech stocks have suffered losses in 2022, Coinbase stands out as a publicly traded company with a focus on cryptocurrencies—a small group that also includes Block Inc. (previously Square), Core Scientific, and Riot Blockchain.
  > Even though COIN is declining, Cathie Wood, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager of Ark Invest purchased an additional 297,000 shares of Coinbase Stock last week for a total cost of $11.9 million.
  

• Paxful Marketplace Removes ETH: Was it a Smart Move or a Flop?

• • Global peer-to-peer trading platform Paxful has banned trading in Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) from its market.
    > “We finally kicked Ethereum off our marketplace. 11.6m humans safer. Integrity over revenue. Who is next?” Ray Youssef, CEO of Paxful said.
    > Youssef explained that this provides individuals some time to settle trades and potential issues.
    > A snapshot of the newsletter that was delivered to Paxful users indicates that ETH trades will be stopped on Thursday.
    > In April 2021, Paxful announced support for ETH, stating at the time that “Ethereum gives users a different chance to claim their stake in the crypto world.”