Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | October 31, 2023
Crypto Market Update
Table of Contents
Market Trends and Analysis
- Unibot's $600K Exploit Tanks Memecoin Markets
- Bitcoin's Fifth Anniversary Fuels 'Uptober' Surge
- Messari's Deep Dive into XRP Ledger's Q3 Performance
- Starknet's Early Community Member Program Launch
Platform and Ecosystem Developments
- Injective Protocol Partners with Google Cloud
- MetaMask Adds Blockaid Security Alerts
- Vitalik Buterin on Ethereum's Scaling Solutions
- Celestia Mainnet Beta Goes Live
- Argent Shifts Focus to Ethereum Layer 2
Regulatory and Compliance Updates
- UK FCA Flags Bitfinex as Unauthorized
- Ex-FTX CEO SBF Faces Legal Troubles
Token and Asset Management
- Tether's Q3 Report Reveals Excess Reserves
- Uniswap Foundation Transfers $40M in UNI Tokens
- Ava Labs Proposes Astra Upgrade for Avalanche
Future Outlook and Speculation
- Solana's Integration with Google Cloud's BigQuery
- Circle Drops Support for Consumer Accounts
- Tokenized Treasury Market Sees Explosive Growth
- Bitget's Controversial Delisting of TokenFi
- Metaverse Tokens Soar Amid ETF Speculation
Unibot's $600K Exploit Tanks Memecoin Markets
Unibot, a Telegram bot for trading on Uniswap, suffered an over $600K exploit affecting various memecoins. The incident led to a 42.7% price drop in UNIBOT tokens within an hour. Unibot has paused its new router and promised compensation for lost funds. The hacker is converting the stolen memecoins into Ether. Security analysts at PeckShield and Scopescan were among the first to report the exploit.
Bitcoin's Fifth Anniversary Fuels 'Uptober' Surge
Bitcoin's fifth whitepaper anniversary fuels bullish sentiment, while nearly 40 million Bitcoin addresses are now in profit. Altcoins like Arweave and Solana are rising, and the U.S. government's early Bitcoin sell-off cost it $6 billion. The 'Uptober' narrative is strong, driven by potential U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF approval.
Messari's Deep Dive into XRP Ledger's Q3 Performance
Leading crypto analytics firm Messari has published an in-depth report on the performance of the XRP Ledger in Q3 2023. Key findings include robust growth in market capitalization and an increase in the number of accounts, while daily values for transactions and active addresses reached yearly lows. The report also discusses technical advancements and highlights a growing interest in decentralized trading on the ledger.
Starknet's Early Community Member Program Launch
The Starknet Foundation has launched the Early Community Member Program (ECMP) to reward early contributors to the Starknet ecosystem. A total of 50 million STRK tokens will be allocated for this initiative.
The program is open to all builders, technical and non-technical, and applications can be submitted between October 30 and November 23, 2023. Decisions will be announced on December 29, 2023, with STRK tokens expected to be tradeable from April 2024.
Injective Protocol Partners with Google Cloud
Injective Protocol, a Layer 1 blockchain for DeFi applications, recently integrated with Google Cloud's data exchange platform, CloudHub. This announcement, along with the growth of its ecosystem and the recent Bitcoin rally, contributed to a surge in the price of Injective's native token, INJ, before it retraced.
MetaMask Adds Blockaid Security Alerts
Web3 wallet MetaMask has partnered with Blockaid to integrate native security alerts into its browser extension. The feature aims to protect users from scams and hacking attempts without compromising privacy. MetaMask has over 20 million monthly active users, making it the most popular crypto wallet worldwide. The official launch is set for November.
Vitalik Buterin on Ethereum's Scaling Solutions
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin discusses the diverse approaches to scaling in the Ethereum layer-2 ecosystem. He mentions the emergence of EVM rollups, sidechain projects, and other scaling technologies. Buterin also highlights the different requirements of applications and the trade-offs between security and scalability. The Ethereum network is set to introduce EIP-4844 to increase data availability.
Celestia Mainnet Beta Goes Live
Modular blockchain Celestia has launched its mainnet beta and issued its native TIA token to 580,000 users. The blockchain aims to solve scalability and stability issues common with monolithic blockchains like Ethereum and Solana by using specific channels for speed and execution and data availability sampling. Celestia raised $55m in funding last year.
Argent Shifts Focus to Ethereum Layer 2
DeFi wallet developer Argent has decided to halt development of the zkSync Era account and shift its focus to the Ethereum Layer 2 network and zk-rollup Starknet. Starting on January 31, Argent will begin reducing support for zkSync Era alpha accounts.
The decision was made following user feedback, and Argent wants to concentrate on building products that enhance its ecosystem. Users are urged to transfer their zkSync Era assets as soon as possible. Argent's CEO, Itamar Lesuisse, believes that Starknet offers a strategy with a greater impact and potential.
UK FCA Flags Bitfinex as Unauthorized
Bitfinex, a cryptocurrency trading platform, has been added to the UK Financial Conduct Authority's warning list of unauthorized firms. The FCA stated that individuals should avoid dealing with Bitfinex, as the firm is not authorized to provide financial services in the UK.
Bitfinex has responded by blocking certain website pages for visitors from the UK to comply with the FCA's rules on crypto asset promotions. Firms promoting crypto asset services must ensure their promotions are approved by the FCA or an authorized person to comply with the regulations. Failure to comply can result in criminal charges.
Ex-FTX CEO SBF Faces Legal Troubles
SBF, former FTX CEO, is in hot water over alleged misuse of $8 billion in customer funds and questionable ties with the Bahamian government. While he claims it was all "risk management," key FTX staff have pleaded guilty. The trial is nearing its end, with SBF facing up to 115 years in prison.
Bankrupt FTX moved approximately $156 million worth of assets, including Ethereum and Solana. Google's $2 billion investment in Anthropic raised FTX creditor's claim to over 50 cents on the dollar.
Tether's Q3 Report Reveals Excess Reserves
Tether has reported $3.2 billion in excess reserves backing its stablecoin, USDT, in its Q3 attestation. The report, signed off by BDO Italy, disclosed $86.4 billion in assets in reserves as of September 30, including exposure to US Treasuries and secured loans. Tether's market capitalization is now $84 billion. The company's new CEO, Paolo Ardoino, has pledged to provide real-time data on reserves in the future.
Uniswap Foundation Transfers $40M in UNI Tokens
The Uniswap Foundation, the firm behind Ethereum's largest decentralized exchange, Uniswap, has transferred over $40 million worth of its UNI tokens to crypto exchanges including OKX, Kraken, and FalconX. The tokens could potentially be sold on the open market. Additionally, whales have accumulated large amounts of the decentralized oracle Tellor token, with its price increasing by over 18% in the last 24 hours.
Ava Labs Proposes Astra Upgrade for Avalanche
Ava Labs has proposed the Astra Upgrade for Avalanche subnets, aiming to improve their independent operation from the main blockchain. The upgrade simplifies tasks for subnet validators and shifts validation from a staking model to a rent-based model. The goal is to enhance the operation of subnets within the Avalanche network.
Solana's Integration with Google Cloud's BigQuery
Solana has been integrated into Google Cloud's BigQuery, allowing for enhanced blockchain analytics and data accessibility. This move aims to benefit developers, enterprises, and individual users by facilitating complex queries on transactions, NFT minting, and wallet activities.
On the financial front, Solana's SOL token outperformed other top crypto assets with a 50% gain in October and is up over 250% year-to-date. The blockchain's future looks promising, especially as it hosts its annual conference, Breakpoint, and continues to attract new experiments for growth.
Circle Drops Support for Consumer Accounts
Circle, a stablecoin issuer, is discontinuing support for consumer accounts and will no longer allow them to mint stablecoins like USDC and EURC. Users will need to turn to other platforms for these services. Tether, Circle's rival, still supports individual accounts but has a minimum limit of $100,000. Tether remains the largest stablecoin issuer in the market.
Tokenized Treasury Market Sees Explosive Growth
The tokenized Treasury market for US Treasuries has grown nearly seven-fold in 2023, reaching $698 million from around $100 million at the beginning of the year. Existing protocols and new entrants have contributed to this expansion, with platforms like Ondo Finance, Maple, and Backed experiencing significant growth.
Ethereum has overtaken Stellar in the value of Treasury tokens on-chain, indicating a diversifying blockchain landscape. Additionally, permissionless yield-bearing stablecoin alternatives have emerged as a new avenue for tokenization. The market for tokenized assets could reach $10 trillion by the end of the decade, according to predictions.
Bitget's Controversial Delisting of TokenFi
Bitget delisted TokenFi (TOKEN), accusing its team of market manipulation and an unclear vesting schedule. TOKEN's price was $0.01806395, up 258% in 24 hours. Bitget also initiated a TOKEN buyback plan. In response, Floki claimed Bitget listed a "fake version" of TOKEN against their request, resulting in millions worth of trades.
This has left Bitget with a $10 million shortfall, as most of TOKEN's supply is locked in Floki's staking pool. Both sides have conflicting narratives, adding complexity to the situation.
Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers
Gainers:
THORChain RUNE (+6.57%)
Arweave AR (+6.56%)
XDC Network XDC (+6.31%)
Losers:
Render Token RNDR (-7.53%)
Mina MINA (-6.12%)
Axie Infinity AXS (-6.02%)
NFT Market Map
Metaverse Tokens Soar Amid ETF Speculation
Speculation about the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF has driven the wider crypto market upwards. Gaming and metaverse tokens, including Gala (GALA), AXS, ApeCoin (APE), MANA, and SAND, experienced significant gains over the past week, outperforming major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
