Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | August 19, 2024

Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents

Bitcoin and Ethereum Market Updates

• Bitcoin Drops Amid Bearish Sentiment and Institutional Selling
• Ethereum's Gas Fees Drop as Ether ETFs See Outflows
• Bitcoin ETFs Inflow as Ether ETFs Face Outflow

Industry Expansions and Acquisitions

• Bitwise Expands in Europe with ETC Group Acquisition

Blockchain Innovation and Investment

• Gate.io and Abu Dhabi Launch $100 Million Blockchain Fund

Cybersecurity and Regulatory Actions

• WazirX Cyberattack Leads to $230 Million Loss, Investigation Ongoing
• ASIC Intensifies Crackdown on Crypto Scams in Australia

Altcoin Market Dynamics

• Solana Faces Record Outflows Amid SEC Concerns
• TRON's SunPump Boosts On-Chain Activity and Revenue
• Covalent Rebrands and Expands Into APAC Region
• Pump.Fun Nears $100 Million in Revenue on Solana
• Dogs Memecoin Trading Launch Set for August 23
• Catizen Partners with HashKey for Joint Airdrop

Stablecoins and Blockchain Integrations

• Tether Launches USDT on Aptos Blockchain

Token Upgrades and Protocol Launches

• Polygon to Transition from MATIC to POL Tokens
• ParaSwap Launches Protocol to Mitigate MEV Attacks
• Babylon to Launch Bitcoin Staking Mainnet in August

Trading and Market Activity

• SYS Token Surges After Binance Futures Contract Announcement
• SuperRare Sees Volatile Price Surge and Crash

Legal and Ethical Developments in Crypto

• BitConnect Victim Kidnaps Employees to Recover Losses
• Shaquille O’Neal’s Astrals NFT Lawsuit Partially Dismissed

Bitcoin Drops Amid Bearish Sentiment and Institutional Selling

Bitcoin dropped 3% at one point to $58,500 despite stock market gains, reflecting bearish crypto sentiment ahead of the Fed’s Jackson Hole speech. Concurrently, big institutions, like Ceffu and Wintermute, offloaded over $600 million in BTC to Binance, intensifying selling pressure. Meanwhile, global economic uncertainty is causing volatility, with markets swinging between recession fears and bullish hopes. Goldman Sachs reduced U.S. recession odds to 20%, citing stronger-than-expected retail sales and improving labor data, suggesting a potential 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed’s next meeting in September.

Ethereum's Gas Fees Drop as Ether ETFs See Outflows

Ethereum’s gas fees hit a five-year low due to increased Layer 2 activity, causing ETH supply to rise. Despite the launch of the first US spot Ether ETFs, Ether's price dropped 26%, influenced by a $420.5 million net outflow from the ETFs and a 60,555 ETH supply increase. Additionally, the overall market downturn, driven by macroeconomic factors and reduced investor risk appetite, further pressured Ether, pushing it to a five-month low of $2,587.

Bitcoin ETFs Inflow as Ether ETFs Face Outflow

Last week, Bitcoin ETFs experienced a $32.58 million net inflow, boosting investor confidence. BlackRock now manages $22 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, surpassing Grayscale's $20.7 billion. Conversely, Ether-linked ETFs saw a $14.16 million net outflow despite a 4% price recovery, reflecting mixed sentiments in the market.  

Bitwise Expands in Europe with ETC Group Acquisition

Bitwise has expanded its reach in Europe by acquiring ETC Group, a London-based issuer of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs). This move boosts Bitwise's assets under management to $4.5 billion and adds nine European crypto ETPs to its offerings. The acquisition aims to enhance Bitwise's global presence and product diversity in the burgeoning European market.

Gate.io and Abu Dhabi Launch $100 Million Blockchain Fund

Gate.io and the Blockchain Center in Abu Dhabi have launched a $100 million innovation fund aimed at advancing decentralized infrastructure and blockchain adoption. The initiative, named Falcon Gate Ventures, seeks to support Web3 builders globally, focusing on talent from the US, Asia, Europe, and the MENA region. This collaboration aims to scale high-potential blockchain projects and foster innovation in Abu Dhabi, establishing it as a key hub for blockchain technology.

WazirX Cyberattack Leads to $230 Million Loss, Investigation Ongoing

The recent cyberattack on WazirX, a major Indian crypto exchange, led to a $230 million loss, with Google's Mandiant confirming WazirX's laptops were secure. However, suspicions point to Liminal, WazirX's former partner, regarding the breach through their infrastructure. Liminal denies involvement, citing robust security measures. WazirX is now focused on recovering the stolen funds through various initiatives.

ASIC Intensifies Crackdown on Crypto Scams in Australia

Australia's financial regulator, ASIC, has intensified its efforts against crypto scams, dismantling over 600 fraudulent schemes in the last year. The crackdown, since July 2023, includes removals of 5,530 fake investment platforms and 1,065 phishing links. Deputy Chair Sarah Court highlighted concerns about AI-generated deepfakes used by scammers to deceive victims, contributing to significant financial losses. Despite challenges, initiatives involving AI for scam detection have been proposed, aiming to enhance investor protection in the crypto market.

Solana Faces Record Outflows Amid SEC Concerns

Solana faced significant financial challenges as $39 million exited Solana funds, marking record outflows due to declining meme coin activity. Concurrently, Solana ETFs filed by VanEck and 21Shares were removed from Cboe’s website, raising concerns about potential SEC disapproval. Solana’s price dropped below $150, struggling at $140 with increased bearish pressure. Meanwhile, Bitcoin saw $42 million in inflows, highlighting the contrast in investor sentiment between Solana and Bitcoin during this period.

TRON's SunPump Boosts On-Chain Activity and Revenue

TRON's SunPump platform boosted the network's on-chain activity by 124%, launching over 5,500 meme coins and generating $257,779 in revenue. SunPump drove a single-day revenue spike of $133,000 and increased TRX trading volume by 71.56%, pushing TRX to $0.1388. TRON's robust liquidity, second only to Ethereum, positions it as a leader in meme coin markets, with predictions of a billion-dollar meme coin emerging soon.

Covalent Rebrands and Expands Into APAC Region

Covalent (CXT), in Messari’s Q2 2024 Summary, rebranded to enhance its modular data infrastructure for AI applications and expanded into the APAC region with $5 million in funding. The protocol addresses Ethereum’s data availability issues post-Dencun upgrade through its Ethereum Wayback Machine (EWM), ensuring long-term data access. Covalent’s CXT token replaced CQT, with significant stakeholder engagement and network growth observed in Q2, including increased operator participation and financial rewards. The protocol supports over 3,000 API customers, enhancing blockchain data accessibility for AI and decentralized applications.

Pump.Fun Nears $100 Million in Revenue on Solana

Pump.Fun, a memecoin generator on Solana, is set to exceed $100 million in total revenue soon, with current earnings at $94.5 million. Since its January launch, the platform has facilitated over 1.8 million memecoin deployments, leveraging Solana's low fees. Despite rapid growth, criticisms arise over the quality and longevity of its meme projects.

Dogs Memecoin Trading Launch Set for August 23

DOGS memecoin, scheduled for trading on August 23, targets the Telegram community, distributing 81.5% of tokens without restrictions. With a total supply of 550 billion tokens, the project emphasizes community involvement, allocating 73% of tokens to early Telegram users. The team reserves 10% of tokens, gradually releasing them, and 8.5% for exchange liquidity. Airdrop claims are open until August 21 for exchanges and August 23 for non-custodial wallets.  

Catizen Partners with HashKey for Joint Airdrop

Catizen, a Telegram-based game, has announced a partnership with HashKey Group for a joint airdrop. This collaboration follows HashKey Group's earlier investment in developing the TON ecosystem. As a result, TON's price has shown an increase following this announcement.

Tether Launches USDT on Aptos Blockchain

Tether Holdings has launched its USDT stablecoin on the Aptos blockchain to leverage its advanced infrastructure, promising lower transaction costs and enhanced scalability. The move aims to broaden access to digital assets globally, benefiting from Aptos' rapid growth in user base and transaction volume. This integration marks a strategic expansion for both Tether and Aptos in the blockchain ecosystem.

Polygon to Transition from MATIC to POL Tokens

Polygon is preparing to switch from MATIC tokens to POL tokens on September 4 as part of its Polygon 2.0 upgrade. POL will serve as the primary token for gas fees and staking within Polygon's Proof-of-Stake network. The transition aims to enhance network efficiency and integrate POL into projects like AggLayer. MATIC has seen slight price movement amid the news, trading at $0.418 with a market cap of $4.16 billion.

ParaSwap Launches Protocol to Mitigate MEV Attacks

ParaSwap has launched ParaSwap Delta, an intent-based trading protocol aimed at mitigating MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) attacks prevalent in crypto transactions. These attacks, such as sandwich transactions, have recently accumulated nearly $17 billion in profits for attackers. ParaSwap Delta allows users to define their trading intentions upfront, reducing exposure to such exploitations. This initiative responds to the growing concerns over MEV's impact on transaction fairness and efficiency within decentralized finance (DeFi).

Babylon to Launch Bitcoin Staking Mainnet in August

Babylon, backed by Paradigm, is set to launch the first phase of its Bitcoin staking mainnet on August 22. Led by Stanford professor David Tse, the project aims to introduce staking to Bitcoin, allowing holders to lock up to 1,000 BTC initially. Supported by 200+ "finality providers," Babylon seeks to enhance Bitcoin's utility through this development.

SYS Token Surges After Binance Futures Contract Announcement

SYS token surged 50% following Binance Futures' announcement of a new SYSUSDT Perpetual Contract with up to 50x leverage. Launched on August 19, the contract aims to enhance trading flexibility, though caution is advised due to recent volatility in similar listings like RARE and SYN. SYS recorded a notable increase in trading volume amid heightened market interest.

SuperRare Sees Volatile Price Surge and Crash

SuperRare cryptocurrency saw a dramatic 175% surge over seven days, driving its market interest from $3 million to $114 million. However, a subsequent 31% crash followed as the price peaked at $0.34 before dropping to $0.205. Technical indicators suggest bearish sentiment, posing risks of further declines amidst recent volatility.

BitConnect Victim Kidnaps Employees to Recover Losses

Shailesh Babulal Bhatt, arrested by the Indian Directorate of Enforcement, kidnapped two BitConnect employees to recover losses from the Ponzi scheme's collapse. He extorted $125 million, including 2,091 bitcoins, 11,000 Litecoins, and cash. Bhatt used accomplices to buy properties and assets with the ransom. The ED is investigating under India’s PMLA, with founder Satish Kumbhani still evading authorities.