Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | October 7, 2024

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Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents

Crypto Market Updates

• Bitcoin's Surge Raises Hopes, Sparks Caution
• Ethereum Proposal Aims to Boost Throughput
• Crypto Investment Products Face $147M Outflows

Regulatory and Legal Developments

• US Government Targets $2.67M Stolen by Lazarus Group
• Binance Rejects 86% of Israeli Wallet Freeze Requests
• EigenLayer Suffers $5.6M Hack

Exchange and Platform News

• Binance’s Moonbix Kicks Off Token Giveaway
• Bitget's BGB Token Experiences Flash Crash
• Hong Kong to Issue More Crypto Exchange Licenses
• 21.co and Crypto.com Boost Bitcoin Liquidity

Country-Specific Updates

• Bahrain's First Bitcoin-Linked Fund Launched
• UAE Exempts Crypto from VAT by 2024
• Metaplanet Buys 108.8 BTC as Reserve Asset

Altcoins and Memecoins

• Neiro and OM Hit New All-Time Highs
• HBO Documentary Sparks Bitcoin Creator Speculation

Donations and Philanthropy

• Vitalik Buterin Donates 100 ETH to Legal Fund

Funding and Investment

• Solana Projects Secure $173M Funding in Q3
• ZachXBT Accuses Influencer of Memecoin Promotion
• Infinex Raises $65.3M Through NFT Sale

NFT Market Insights

• NFT Weekly Sales Hit $84.9 Million

Bitcoin's Surge Raises Hopes, Sparks Caution

Bitcoin once surged to $64,445 today, with analysts confirming a bullish “higher-low” pattern and pointing to a potential rally. However, concerns about a "leverage-driven pump" suggest caution. Despite Bitcoin’s 30% decline in Q3, it leads 2024's asset performance with a 49.2% year-to-date increase. Optimism for Q4 is supported by political support and rising global M2 money supply. Polymarket betting reflects changing political sentiment, with Trump’s odds boosted to 53.8% after Musk’s endorsement. 

Ethereum Proposal Aims to Boost Throughput

On October 7, an Ethereum proposal, EIP-7781, suggested reducing slot times from 12 to 8 seconds, increasing throughput by 50% but possibly requiring more validator resources. Meanwhile, Ethereum's price rose 1.2% after a "bull post" by Vitalik Buterin on social media. This brief surge spiked ETH to $2,476 before a corrective sell-off, with Ethereum's dominance rising to 13.86%. The altcoin's underperformance in recent months compared to Bitcoin and Solana prompted Buterin's ironic "Ethereum is good" posts.

Crypto Investment Products Face $147M Outflows

In the past week, crypto investment products experienced $147 million in outflows, following three weeks of significant inflows totaling nearly $2 billion. Bitcoin led outflows with $159 million, while multi-asset products saw $29 million in inflows, marking their 16th straight week of positive flows. Countries like Canada and Switzerland also showed bullish trends.

US Government Targets $2.67M Stolen by Lazarus Group

The US government filed complaints to seize over $2.67 million in digital assets stolen by North Korean Lazarus Group hackers, targeting funds from the 2022 Deribit and 2023 Stake.com hacks. This represents a small portion of attacks attributed to the group, including a $235 million WazirX hack. FBI warned of social engineering scams.  

Binance Rejects 86% of Israeli Wallet Freeze Requests

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, rejected 86% of Israeli military requests to freeze Palestinian and other crypto wallets due to insufficient evidence. Only 14% were linked to illicit activities, avoiding potential disruptions to legitimate transactions. Binance conducts independent investigations, collaborates with law enforcement, and emphasizes transparency and fair practices in politically sensitive regions. 

EigenLayer Suffers $5.6M Hack

EigenLayer reported a $5.6M hack due to an email compromise involving an investor's token transfer. A hacker sold 1.67 million EIGEN tokens on decentralized exchanges, converting them to stablecoins. Despite fears of insider trading, EigenLayer assured no protocol risk, emphasizing that the attack didn't exploit on-chain functions or the protocol itself. A portion of the stolen funds was frozen with the help of centralized exchanges, and investigations continue.

Binance’s Moonbix Kicks Off Token Giveaway

Binance's Moonbix is running its first promotional campaign, featuring giveaways of DOGS and NOT tokens from October 7 to 16. Players can participate by completing missions, with rewards totaling 145,000,000 DOGS and 15,000,000 NOT tokens. Additionally, new Binance Spot users have the opportunity to receive 2,900 DOGS in token vouchers. 

Bitget's BGB Token Experiences Flash Crash

Bitget's BGB token suffered a 52% flash crash, dropping to $0.54 from $1.14 before rebounding. Users affected by the crash will be fully compensated within 72 hours. Chief analyst Ryan Lee attributed the catalyst to "overall market sluggishness." The exchange pledged to release a compensation plan within 24 hours and provides insights into flash crashes in cryptocurrency. 

Hong Kong to Issue More Crypto Exchange Licenses

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission intends to issue more crypto trading platform licenses by year-end. Following the approval of HKVAX as a crypto exchange, the regulator plans to approve more applicants from the "deemed-to-be-licensed" list and expects notable progress by the end of the year, including the issuance of licenses in batches.

21.co and Crypto.com Boost Bitcoin Liquidity

The recent collaboration between 21.co and Crypto.com aims to enhance Bitcoin liquidity for Wrapped Bitcoin (21BTC) in the ETP market. By leveraging Crypto.com's robust liquidity and competitive fees, the partnership will facilitate more favorable trading conditions for both retail and institutional investors, marking a significant advancement in digital asset management. 

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Bahrain's First Bitcoin-Linked Fund Launched

The National Bank of Bahrain collaborated with APR Digital to launch the GCC's first Bitcoin-linked investment fund, offering direct Bitcoin exposure to accredited investors. Hisham AlKurdi, NBB's Group Chief Executive, emphasized the fund's innovation, combining digital asset exposure and capital protection, showcasing the bank's commitment to secure wealth management investments in enhancing cryptocurrency adoption.

UAE Exempts Crypto from VAT by 2024

The UAE has exempted cryptocurrency transactions from VAT starting November 15, 2024, under Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2024. Key points include VAT exemption for virtual asset transfer and conversion, eased conditions for zero-rated goods exports, modifications to VAT regulations for exported services, and explicit exemptions for managing investment funds and virtual asset transactions retroactively from January 1, 2018. 

Metaplanet Buys 108.8 BTC as Reserve Asset

Japanese investment adviser Metaplanet (3350) has purchased an additional 108.8 BTC, worth around 1 billion yen ($6.7 million), bringing its total holding to 639.5 BTC. With almost 6 billion yen spent on bitcoin, the company adopted it as a reserve asset in May to hedge against Japan's native currency volatility. Metaplanet also engages in selling bitcoin put options to acquire additional BTC.  

Neiro and OM Hit New All-Time Highs

Neiro surged by 50% to its new all-time high, hitting over $0.0018, with a $770 million market cap, soaring more than 66K% since August. Meanwhile, OM also reached an all-time high of $1.47, driven by the MANTRA Chain Mainnet launch, despite a negative funding rate. 

HBO Documentary Sparks Bitcoin Creator Speculation

Ahead of the October 8th, 2024 HBO documentary revealing Bitcoin's creator, speculations point to Len Sassaman. Traders flocked to Solana memecoins, like $SASHA, inspired by Sassaman's cat, soaring to a $49M peak before dropping to $13M. Meanwhile, $LEN achieved a $3.6M valuation. The reveal and speculation stir market and identity debates.

Vitalik Buterin Donates 100 ETH to Legal Fund

On October 7, 2024, Vitalik Buterin donated 100 ETH to Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm's legal fund, raising total support to 327 ETH ($785,000). Previously, he sold 10 billion MOODENG tokens for 308.69 ETH ($762,000) after mentioning it online, boosting its price by nearly 500%. He donated 260 ETH ($642,000) to anti-airborne-disease tech.

Solana Projects Secure $173M Funding in Q3

According to Messari Research, Solana projects secured a staggering $173 million in private funding in Q3 2024, hitting the highest quarterly total since Q2 2022. Notably, September alone contributed $103 million, underscoring renewed investor confidence. The funding surge reflects dynamics in investor behavior post-FTX crash, showcasing Solana's resilience and growing appeal in the blockchain ecosystem. 

ZachXBT Accuses Influencer of Memecoin Promotion

ZachXBT accused crypto influencer Ansem of promoting “hundreds” of low-cap memecoins, leading to price manipulations. Besides that, he revealed assisting a Coinbase customer to recover $275,000 from a social engineering scam; $5 million in total was stolen. Chainalysis noted a rise in stolen crypto, with funds inflows doubling to $1.58 billion.