Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | September 9, 2024

Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents

Whale and Price Movements

• A Whale Investor Signals Confidence
• ETH Price Drop Amid Whale Activity
• Toncoin Whales Drive Price Surge

Major Outflows and ETF Developments

• Crypto Products See Major Outflows
• US Bitcoin ETFs Experience Longest Outflow Streak

Key Corporate Moves and Partnerships

• Metaplanet's Strategic Bitcoin Acquisition
• Tether Invests in Agricultural Giant
• Woo X Launches New Social Trading Product
• QuickSwap’s Gasless Perpetual Exchange

Platform Updates and New Features

• Ether.fi Launches Gasless Crypto Credit Card
• Snapshot X Enables Gas-Free DAO Voting
• Phantom Wallet's Controversial Swap Fees
• SunPump Launches Ranking Feature Amid Whale Market Surge

Exchange and Trading Platform Developments

• Tokocrypto Secures Key Indonesian License
• North Korean Hackers Move Stolen ETH
• GRVT Secures $3.3B Monthly Trading Commitment

Legal and Regulatory News

• Kamala Harris Crypto Policy Criticized
• Latvia Prepares for EU MiCA Regulation

Blockchain Innovations and Ecosystem Growth

• Fractal Bitcoin’s Mainnet Launch Faces Criticism
• Sonic Labs Introduces Digital Wallet Credit Scores

Coin Trends and Market Sentiment

• Friend.Tech Token Suffers Major Drop
• Neiro's Massive Surge Among Meme Coins

Institutional Crypto Service Expansion

• BBVA Expands Crypto Services with USDC
• Binance Proof of Reserves Report

Privacy and Security Concerns

• Leaked Video Hints Monero’s Traceability

User Growth and Platform Milestones

• Catizen’s significant user growth and its impact on revenue

Notable Fundraising and Investments

• Major Crypto Funds Invest in Metaplex
• DRiP Raises $8M to Expand Solana-Based NFT Platform

A Whale Investor Signals Confidence

Bitcoin's price has breached the $56,000 level after a boring weekend. Key macroeconomic triggers like U.S. inflation data and the Fed's rate decision are closely monitored. Analysts believe that Bitcoin remains undervalued due to record-high network security, while whales have accumulated $157 million worth of BTC, signaling confidence. Short-term holders are still stressed as they are underwater in their positions, while analysts predict volatility due to upcoming events, including the Trump-Harris debate. A $60,000 target is seen as a critical level for bullish reversal, with whales fueling market stability.

ETH Price Drop Amid Whale Activity

ETH price remains 53% below its all-time high, partly due to interoperability issues and whale sell-offs. Vitalik Buterin’s sale of 760 ETH caused a 20% liquidity drop, leading to a 6% price decline in the past week. However, some whales are accumulating, with one purchasing 5,000 ETH for $11.46 million. Despite these moves, Ethereum’s price remains volatile, with a 6% weekly drop amid macroeconomic uncertainties and competition from other blockchains.

Toncoin Whales Drive Price Surge

Toncoin rose by over 7% today, as whales increased their holdings by 3%, now controlling 53.17% of the supply, according to Santiment data. Analysts suggest Toncoin could test $5.32 and potentially rise to $5.95. Reduced selloffs indicate long-term holding, and Telegram has significant exposure, holding $400 million in digital assets.

Crypto Products See Major Outflows

Crypto products saw a significant outflow of $726 million, matching the largest recorded outflow since March 2024. Bitcoin-based products had outflows of $643 million, while Ether also experienced a $98 million outflow. Uncertainty around potential interest rate cuts amid strong macroeconomic data has contributed to negative sentiment, impacting both the crypto and crypto stock markets.  

US Bitcoin ETFs Experience Longest Outflow Streak

US Bitcoin ETFs faced their longest outflow streak, with $1.2 billion withdrawn in just eight days, reflecting market risk aversion. Despite this, Bitcoin ETFs have attracted over 1,000 institutional investors, including BlackRock, with 661 institutional holders. Hedge funds and large advisors have increased their holdings, while 60% of US hedge funds now invest in Bitcoin ETFs.

Metaplanet's Strategic Bitcoin Acquisition

Metaplanet plans to acquire more Bitcoin, utilizing its 11th series of stock acquisition rights. The firm aims to exercise 540,000 warrants worth 299.7 million yen for Bitcoin purchases. Amid growing institutional demand following Bitcoin ETF approvals in the U.S., Metaplanet's strategic investments align with market sentiments and macroeconomic shifts, potentially impacting BTC prices.  

Tether Invests in Agricultural Giant

Tether has made a significant $100 million investment, acquiring a 9.8% stake in Latin American agricultural giant Adecoagro, marking its first foray into the agriculture sector, aiming to diversify its investment strategy beyond the digital economy. This strategic move reflects Tether's ambition to broaden its investment portfolio while maintaining dominance in the stablecoin market. 

Woo X Launches New Social Trading Product

Woo X has introduced a new social trading product with a counter trading feature, enabling users to hedge against lead traders for enhanced profit opportunities. The platform offers a fair profit-sharing model, improved risk management tools, and aims to address the challenges of existing copy trading models. This new approach prioritizes sustainable returns and aligns incentives for all users. 

QuickSwap’s Gasless Perpetual Exchange

QuickSwap's gasless perpetual exchange, QuickPerps Falkor, will provide Ethereum Layer 1 users with zero gas fees. With support for up to 50x leverage, it seeks to improve the trading experience by collaborating with Orderly Network. Additionally, QuickSwap's proposed token burn initiative aims to revamp its tokenomics and empower users through the QuickSwap DAO. 

Ether.fi Launches Gasless Crypto Credit Card

Ether.fi has partnered with Scroll for gasless transactions, introducing a crypto credit card. Expected to boost Scroll's TVL, CEO Mike Silagadze predicts significant growth. Scroll's ZK-rollup tech enables low-cost transactions, contrasting with Ethereum's gas fees. Ether.fi dominates restaking with $5.7 billion in TVL, contributing to the sector's $24 billion value.  

Snapshot X Enables Gas-Free DAO Voting

Snapshot X, an onchain protocol powered by Starknet, launched to enable gas-free onchain voting for DAOs. Utilizing STARK scaling and storage proofs for secure cross-chain voting, it eliminates gas fees and increases inclusivity. Its modularity and use of transaction relayer, Mana, streamline voting, marking a turning point in on-chain governance. 

Phantom Wallet's Controversial Swap Fees

Phantom, Solana's popular wallet, faces criticism for 0.85% in-app swap fees, generating over $30M in revenue. Community debate about Web3 revenue models arises, with supporters defending Phantom's right to generate income. While some question the fees, former team members and influencers argue that wallet providers have operational costs and contribute to Solana's success.  

SunPump Launches Ranking Feature Amid Whale Market Surge

SunPump has introduced a new Ranking feature to track crypto metrics, focusing on monitoring tokens like WHALE. WHALE's market value has spiked over 9,000%, with a market cap exceeding $8 million. SunPump has also initiated a buyback and burn project, repurchasing 161 million SUN tokens to reduce supply, in line with its goal of growth and stability.  

Tokocrypto Secures Key Indonesian License

Tokocrypto Exchange, a Binance subsidiary, has obtained the Physical Crypto Asset Trader (PFAK) license from Indonesia's regulatory agency, Bappebti. As the third exchange licensed in Indonesia, it holds a dominant 43% market share, with strategic backing from Binance. Tokocrypto's achievement signifies its commitment to leading the Indonesian crypto market.  

North Korean Hackers Move Stolen ETH

The North Korean entity responsible for the WazirX crypto exchange hack moved 5,000 stolen ETH worth $11 million to Tornado Cash, masking the transactions. The breach led to over $100 million in SHIB and $52 million in ETH losses. WazirX is restructuring after losing 45% of its reserves due to the hack.  

GRVT Secures $3.3B Monthly Trading Commitment

GRVT, a hybrid crypto exchange, secured a $3.3 billion monthly trading commitment from 16 market makers before its mainnet launch. Partnerships with key industry players and a focus on combining CeFi and DeFi technologies showcase GRVT's innovative approach. However, the volume, though significant, is notably lower than top exchanges like Binance.

Kamala Harris Crypto Policy Criticized

Vice President Kamala Harris’s policy statement outlined key priorities but made no mention of crypto, drawing criticism from stakeholders. With the upcoming election, there's limited time for her to make a significant statement on crypto policy. The debate might provide a platform to clarify her stance, but neither candidate discussed crypto in the last debate. Trump currently holds a 52% chance of winning the election, as per Polymarket. 

Latvia Prepares for EU MiCA Regulation

Latvia's central bank is actively preparing for the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation by offering free pre-licensing consultations for crypto-asset service providers. This proactive approach aims to help local companies comply with the new MiCA framework, positioning Latvia as an attractive hub for crypto businesses within the EU.

Fractal Bitcoin’s Mainnet Launch Faces Criticism

Fractal Bitcoin launched its mainnet on September 9,with unique aims to boost Bitcoin’s scalability with a 20-fold throughput increase and less than 30 seconds of block confirmation time. It faced criticism for pre-mining half of FB tokens, introduced Cadence Mining, merged with Bitcoin every third block, 13.6 million transactions and attracted 1.5 million unique addresses. It also introduced support for OP_CAT smart contracts. The network struggled with controversies surrounding its codebase and token supply. Bitcoin's scaling solutions ecosystem displayed a growing competitive landscape with various networks and TVL statistics.  

Sonic Labs Introduces Digital Wallet Credit Scores

Sonic Labs plans to introduce credit scores for digital wallets to target the $11 trillion unsecured lending market. They have developed a scoring model without requiring KYC, processing over 54 billion transactions and achieving a remarkable finality of 720ms. This breakthrough places Sonic ahead in blockchain technology and market access.  

Friend.Tech Token Suffers Major Drop

Friend.Tech's token dropped 28% to $0.0593 before recovering after relinquishing control of its smart contracts. Machi Big Brother, a crypto influencer, reportedly lost $16 million after a $17 million bet on Friend.Tech, with the token down 80% weekly. Friend.Tech's market cap fell to $6.66 million, and total value locked plummeted by 93.4%.

Neiro's Massive Surge Among Meme Coins

Neiro on Ethereum has surged 233% in the past 7 days and 1,062% within a month, breaking into the top 25 meme coins by market cap after listings on Binance, Crypto.com, HTX, and OKX. With a market cap of $161 million, it surpasses rivals on Ethereum and Solana. Meme coin influencer SlumDoge encouraged unity, aiming to bridge the Dogecoin and Shiba Inu communities.  

BBVA Expands Crypto Services with USDC

Spanish bank BBVA expanded its crypto services in Switzerland by adding Circle's USDC stablecoin, joining Bitcoin and Ethereum. This allows institutional clients and those using the NewGen account to trade, custody, and convert USDC in real-time. Partnering with Metaco's Harmonize platform enhances security and speed for trading operations. BBVA aims to offer simple access to tokenized products and mitigate cryptocurrency volatility for its clients. Moreover, the integration of USDC in Turkey through Garanti BBVA Digital Assets adds to the bank's global crypto service expansion, aiming to create a more diversified and secure crypto trading experience for both institutional and retail clients. 

Binance Proof of Reserves Report

Binance's 22nd Proof of Reserves Report, as of September 1, reveals user holdings: 605,000 BTC (down 1.27%), 4.486 million ETH (down 4.58%), and 22.11 billion USDT (up 4.34%). Despite fluctuations, Binance maintains significant Bitcoin custody. It came as the exchange announced the launch of the RPLUSDT USD-Margined perpetual contract with up to 75x leverage, boosting the RPL price up.

Leaked Video Hints Monero’s Traceability

A leaked Chainalysis video suggests that Monero transactions may be traceable despite its privacy-preserving nature. The leaked video hints at the firm's ability to track XMR transactions and associated IP addresses. Although the implications raise concerns, investors need not panic, as Monero transactions remain untraceable for most, except for Chainalysis.

Catizen’s significant user growth and its impact on revenue

On September 7, Catizen reported 800,000 paying users and topped Telegram’s revenue charts, with a total user base of 34 million and an ARPPU of $33. It happened as OKX announced the plan to list Catizen's CATI token on September 20 for trading against USDT, attracting high trading volumes. The pre-market futures campaign offers users leverage and a 50,000 CATI reward pool.

Major Crypto Funds Invest in Metaplex

Several prominent crypto funds, including Pantera Capital, ParaFi Capital, and others, recently bought a significant amount of Metaplex (MPLX) tokens from Wave Digital, sourced from the FTX estate. The bought tokens originate from a pool of 72.6 million, with only 7.5 million remaining before full unlock on September 19. MPLX has substantial potential, serving as critical infrastructure for Solana, attracting investments at discounted rates. The interest in MPLX showcases growing support and investment in Metaplex's ecosystem.