Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | October 1, 2024

Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents

Crypto Market Updates

• Bitcoin Drops Amid Middle East Tensions
• U.S. Bitcoin ETFs See Strong Inflows
• FTX's Reorganization Plan Gains Creditor Support
• Robinhood Expands Crypto Services in Europe

Regulatory and Market Movements

• Gemini Exits Canadian Market Over Regulations
• Hashdex's Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF Progress
• Ripple Gains In-Principle License in Dubai
• Canary Capital Launches First US HBAR Trust

Exchanges and Platforms

• Binance Introduces Risk Warnings for Token Trades
• Coinbase Adds Proof of Reserves to cbBTC
• Uniswap Reports Increased Fee Revenue

Stablecoins and Token Developments

• Circle Expands USDC Operations in Australia
• Sui Surpasses $1 Billion in TVL
• Paxos Gold TVL Surpasses $500 Million
• Pike Finance Token Launch Faces Backlash

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Insights

• Arbitrum Reaches 1 Billion Transactions Milestone
• EigenLayer's Token Sees Market Volatility

Influencers and Opinions

• Vitalik Buterin Backs Polymarket's Hezbollah Section

Hack and Security Incidents

• Crypto Hacks Exceed $120 Million in September

Asset Accumulations

• Metaplanet Ups BTC Holdings Despite Market Dip

NFT and Web3 Updates

• Pos Indonesia Launches NFT-Linked Stamps

Bitcoin Drops Amid Middle East Tensions

Bitcoin dropped sharply to around $62,000 amidst tensions in the Middle East, triggering $250M in crypto liquidations, mainly from long positions. Iran's missile attack on Israel escalated geopolitical fears, affecting crypto and equities. Retail inflows remain steady but subdued, with institutional investors ("whales") accumulating Bitcoin. Historically, October is bullish, yet recent events cast doubt on this trend. Ethereum's price experienced volatility, dropping to $2,462 before reclaiming $2,500.

U.S. Bitcoin ETFs See Strong Inflows

On September 30, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $61.30 million in net inflows, led by BlackRock's IBIT with $72.15 million. Meanwhile, Ethereum ETFs experienced $823k in net outflows, with Grayscale's ETHE leading in outflows. Bitcoin ETFs' cumulative net inflow is $18.86 million, while Ethereum ETFs' cumulative net outflows total $527.79 million.  

FTX's Reorganization Plan Gains Creditor Support

FTX's reorganization plan received massive creditor support, with over 94% of dot com customer entitlement claims creditors voting in favor. Nearly all classes of creditors approved, including U.S. customer entitlement claims and dot com convenience claims. Most participating in the process ensures confirmation on Oct. 7, aiming to pay back creditors at least 118% of their claims.  

Robinhood Expands Crypto Services in Europe

Robinhood has expanded its cryptocurrency services in Europe, enabling users to transfer over 20 cryptocurrencies in and out of the app, supported by favorable EU regulations like MiCA. The move allows users more control over their assets amid US regulatory scrutiny. To encourage early participation, Robinhood offers a 1% bonus on deposited tokens.

Gemini Exits Canadian Market Over Regulations

Gemini, led by the Winklevoss twins, will exit the Canadian market by December 31, 2024, due to regulatory changes implemented by the Canadian Securities Administrators earlier this year. Users have until December 31, 2024, to withdraw all funds. Other major exchanges like Binance and OKX have also departed from the Canadian market in response to the new requirements.  

Ripple Gains In-Principle License in Dubai

Ripple has received in-principle license approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), enabling the provision of cross-border payment services for fiat and digital assets in the UAE. This move significantly strengthens Ripple's global presence, aligning with Dubai's forward-thinking regulatory approach. The company aims to access fast-growing crypto markets across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. 

Canary Capital Launches First US HBAR Trust

Canary Capital launched the first US HBAR Trust, sparking discussions of a potential Hedera ETF launch. The move, led by Steven McClurg, addresses growing institutional demand for crypto investment solutions. Speculations soar regarding a potential Hedera ETF, and similar discussions about ETF launches for Solana and XRP have also arisen amidst the broader market downturn.  

Binance Introduces Risk Warnings for Token Trades

Binance has implemented risk warnings and pop-up notifications for tokens undergoing significant tokenomics changes, enhancing transparency and user security. This new feature requires users to acknowledge pop-ups when trading affected tokens like AVA, CHZ, ENJ, IOTA, LSK, MTL, ORN, SLF, SXP, and VANRY. Binance's proactive approach aims to maintain platform integrity and guide users in their trading decisions.   

Coinbase Adds Proof of Reserves to cbBTC

Coinbase is adding proof of reserves to its cbBTC, addressing transparency concerns. The move aligns cbBTC with other Bitcoin wrappers like WBTC. Launched on Sept. 12, cbBTC has $250 million TVL and offers reimbursements for cybersecurity exploits. It is also overseen by NYDFS and plans to launch on Solana soon.  

Uniswap Reports Increased Fee Revenue

Leading decentralized exchange Uniswap reported a significant increase in fee revenue following a fee hike in April 2024, generating $52.75 million between April 1 and Sept. 30. Despite legal scrutiny, it remains dominant in the DEX market, posting a total volume of $8.1 billion over the past seven days. The fee adjustment has sparked controversy and may support legal expenses amid regulatory scrutiny from the SEC.  

Circle Expands USDC Operations in Australia

Circle expanded USDC in Australia with MHC Digital, exploring potential Australian dollar-pegged stablecoins. EURC, Circle's euro-based stablecoin, doubled its supply since August, reaching a $75M market cap and displacing cEUR. Over 62% of EURC activity is on the Aerodrome DEX, with 42% of the supply on Base and 49% on Ethereum.

Sui Surpasses $1 Billion in TVL

Sui has reached $1 billion in TVL, surpassing Litecoin in market cap, securing a spot in the top 25 cryptocurrencies. Its rapid growth includes exceeding $1 billion TVL, with reported daily net inflows topping all other chains. Strategic integrations, such as USDC stablecoin and the Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol, have improved liquidity and cross-chain transactions, contributing to Sui's success. It happened as Mysten Labs unveiled the decentralized storage protocol Walrus, set to operate as an independent Delegated Proof-of-Stake Network, governed by its native token WAL. Walrus aims to enable Web3 applications with decentralized storage, utilizing the Sui coordination layer and the Red Stuff data encoding algorithm.

Paxos Gold TVL Surpasses $500 Million

Paxos Gold (PAXG) reached a noteworthy milestone, surpassing $500 million in total value locked (TVL) after its launch. With a current TVL of $504 million, each PAXG token, backed by one ounce of gold, provides stability and blockchain advantages. Traditional finance investors seeking cryptocurrency exposure are drawn to such gold-backed tokens, contributing to increased partnerships between traditional finance and the crypto industry. Furthermore, this success may prompt the tokenization of more real assets, facilitating the merger of traditional and digital finance, while also offering a secure haven for investors amidst crypto market volatility.  

Pike Finance Token Launch Faces Backlash

Pike Finance's token launch met with dissatisfaction due to only $10,000 in initial liquidity, causing a 90% price drop. Despite raising $6.5 million in presale, investors expressed dismay over the insufficient allocation of liquidity. The team's plan to bolster liquidity over months was revealed after the token generation event. This comes after facing two hacks, resulting in a $1.9 million loss and no official response from the project.

Arbitrum Reaches 1 Billion Transactions Milestone

Arbitrum has surpassed 1 billion transactions since its August 2021 launch, leading in Layer 2 protocols with a $2.5 billion TVL, exceeding Base's $2.2 billion. Despite facing decentralization challenges, its optimistic rollups technology eases Ethereum's network burden. Vitalik Buterin sets stringent decentralization standards, with support promised only to those meeting his "Stage 1" criteria from 2025.  

EigenLayer's Token Sees Market Volatility

EigenLayer’s EIGEN token began trading with a market cap of $7.1 billion, stabilizing at $4.24. Justin Sun transferred 5.24 million EIGEN tokens worth $21.5 million to HTX, suggesting a potential sell-off. Major traders deposited EIGEN tokens on Binance, with HashKey Capital transferring 496,013 EIGEN ($2.05 million) and a linked wallet depositing 253,947 EIGEN ($1.06 million). 

Despite some selling, others are seen accumulating, with two whales purchasing 702,324 EIGEN ($2.86 million). Approximately 200 million tokens are in circulation following two stakedrops. The token, designed as a “Universal Intersubjective Work Token,” enables staking for third-party networks.  

Vitalik Buterin Backs Polymarket's Hezbollah Section

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin supports Polymarket's Hezbollah betting section, stating it is a valuable news feature, countering concerns of trivializing war events by emphasizing the perspective from traders and viewers. He stressed its role in providing accurate predictions amid misleading social media content, aiding in maintaining sanity.  

Crypto Hacks Exceed $120 Million in September

In September 2024, cryptocurrency hacks surpassed $120 million, with centralized exchanges BingX and Indodax accounting for over half of the losses. Overall, there was a 61.7% decrease in losses compared to August, with WazirX's $235 million hack remaining the largest. Decentralized entities were also impacted, including Penpie, Delta Prime, Truflation, and Bedrock.  

Metaplanet Ups BTC Holdings Despite Market Dip

Metaplanet bought 107.9 BTC at $64,168 per bitcoin, increasing its holdings to 506.7 BTC. With a $33 million investment, it's slightly down since adopting BTC. Its stock rose 1.72% following the news.