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

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Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents

Market Updates and Predictions

• Whale Manipulations Signal Entry Points Below $70K

Cryptocurrency Platforms and Projects

• Toncoin Overtakes ADA in Market Cap Race
• Proposal Sparks Debate in SushiSwap Community
• Solana Tackles Bugs to Relieve Congestion
• Ethena Labs Boosts User Rewards
• New Features for User Protection on Worldcoin
• STFIL Protocol Under Scrutiny by Chinese Authorities
• Base Tokens Plagued by Security Vulnerabilities
• Arkham Defends Token Movement Amid Rumors
• Polkadot's Community Chooses IndyCar Ambassador
• Chrome Extensions Compromise Crypto Investor's Wallet
• Fantom Considers Issuing Meme Coins for Safety
• Illuvium and Samsung's Gaming Partnership
• Gods Unchained Launches Dread Awakening Expansion
• Saga Mainnet Launches with Binance Support
• A16z Unveils Jolt for Blockchain Scalability
• HashKey Group Introduces Ethereum L2 Network
• Zeta Markets Announces Governance Token and Solana L2
• Mezo's Bitcoin Layer 2 Network Secures Funding
• Monad Labs Gains Major Funding for New Blockchain
• Runestone's "Dog" Meme Coin Airdrop

Regulatory and Legal Insights

• US Treasury Calls for Crypto Regulation
• Binance Seeks Global HQ Amid Regulatory Shifts
• Coinbase Wins in Court Over Token Sales
• Crypto.com Receives Approval in Dubai

NFT Platform

• Tensor Foundation's Successful TNSR Token Airdrop

Whale Manipulations Signal Entry Points Below $70K

Bitcoin's trajectory is marked by familiar whale manipulations as its price struggles below $70,000 for them to enter fresh long positions, with the CPI as a significant focus. The halving event draws near, fostering bullish sentiments among options traders, despite the reduced mining output's delayed market impact. The percentage of Bitcoin's supply inactive for over a year has hit an 18-month low, signaling a shift from previous holding patterns, likely due to profit-taking amidst the price surge. 

Analysts at Steno Research suggest the upcoming halving could trigger a "sell-the-news" scenario, potentially leading to a price dip post-event, akin to patterns observed in 2016. However, Bitfinex's analysis indicates a possible 160% price rally to $150,000 within 14 months post-halving, considering the unprecedented pre-halving all-time high, which introduces a mix of bullish optimism and market uncertainty.

Toncoin Overtakes ADA in Market Cap Race

Toncoin (TON) surpassed Cardano's ADA, becoming the ninth-largest cryptocurrency with a $23 billion market cap, following a 13% daily price increase and a 135% surge over the past month. Its rally was fueled by a $5 million Toncoin incentive for palm scanning identity verification, part of a broader $115 million community incentive program. 

In contrast, ADA saw a 15% decrease in the same period and little interest amid major blockchain upgrades. TON's distribution raised concerns due to over 60% being held by the top 10 holders. Meanwhile, a "high-risk vulnerability" in Telegram's media processing on the desktop application exposed users to potential attacks, though Telegram denied the vulnerability's existence.

Proposal Sparks Debate in SushiSwap Community

A proposal to restructure SushiSwap's DAO and treasury to improve efficiency and innovation has sparked controversy, with 66.2% of votes in favor as of April 9. Critics, including former contributor Naïm Boubziz, allege manipulation, citing liquidity movements and the use of a team wallet in voting. 

The plan includes transferring 25 million SUSHI tokens and other assets to "Sushi Labs" for development, aiming to compete against Uniswap and 1inch. Accusations of vote manipulation involve borrowing funds for increased voting power and simultaneous drafting of "signal" and "implementation" proposals. 

Solana Tackles Bugs to Relieve Congestion

Solana developers are set for an April 15 update to address network congestion caused by an "implementation bug" affecting QUIC protocol usage, as clarified by Mert Mumtaz of Helius Labs. This congestion has escalated transaction failures, leading to a stall in new project launches, including NFT and altcoin ventures like DuckCoin and Suit Up. The network's direct transaction processing system, vulnerable to spam, is being re-evaluated with software patches and system updates, including the adoption of dynamic priority fees in dApps to optimize transaction handling. 

Concurrently, projects have delayed launches awaiting resolution, while Coinbase users experience delayed SOL token transactions, indicating widespread impact. The April 15 patch aims to bolster network capacity and resilience, with additional features like enhanced transaction scheduling to mitigate bottlenecks.

Ethena Labs Boosts User Rewards

Ethena Labs has increased user rewards by 50%, leading to a 14% surge in the value of ENA tokens. The reward boost is available to users who lock in at least 50% of their ENA holdings for a minimum of seven days. Additionally, Frax Finance allocated $250 million of USDe to a new liquidity pool, aiming to create one of the deepest pools in the DeFi space.  

New Features for User Protection on Worldcoin

Worldcoin, spearheaded by Sam Altman, has introduced new features to bolster user data protection and age verification. Users can now unverify their World IDs by deleting their iris codes permanently. Additionally, in-person age verification checks have been implemented to ensure access only to individuals above 18 years old. Worldcoin remains under the scrutiny of privacy and security bodies while navigating international operations.  

STFIL Protocol Under Scrutiny by Chinese Authorities

The liquid staking protocol STFIL reported that its team members are under investigation by Chinese authorities, with 2.5 million FIL tokens worth about $23 million transferred to an unknown address. Additionally, the platform experienced unexplained protocol upgrades amidst the investigation. Community members are concerned about recovering their funds, while the Filecoin token maintains strength.  

Base Tokens Plagued by Security Vulnerabilities

An investigation by Cointelegraph Magazine revealed that 90.8% of the 1,000 recently launched Base tokens had security vulnerabilities, with 16.9% suspected of malicious intent. The most common issue was the lack of locked liquidity, making these projects susceptible to rug pulls. Coinbase emphasized the permissionless nature of Base but did not specifically address the security concerns.  

Arkham Defends Token Movement Amid Rumors

Arkham accuses competitors of spreading false rumors amid token movement scrutiny. Arkham transferred 25.2m ARKM tokens, defending it as per tokenomics. The firm clarified movements and addressed concerns about vesting wallets. Despite a recent selloff, ARKM maintains a $2.047 billion fully diluted market cap and received investment from Binance Labs.

Polkadot's Community Chooses IndyCar Ambassador

Polkadot's groundbreaking use of blockchain technology led to the selection of IndyCar racing star Conor Daly as their brand ambassador for the Indianapolis 500, with a resounding 95.8% community vote. This decentralized approach signifies a shift from traditional sponsorship methods, emphasizing transparency and community engagement. Polkadot also noted a record-breaking 600,000 active addresses on their network.

Chrome Extensions Compromise Crypto Investor's Wallet

A crypto investor, "Sell When Over," lost $800,000 due to two malicious Chrome extensions that compromised their browser. The incident involved a keylogger targeting specific crypto wallet extensions, leading to the theft of $500,000 from multiple wallet applications. The compromised extensions were identified, and the stolen funds were reportedly transferred to two exchanges.  

Fantom Considers Issuing Meme Coins for Safety

Fantom co-founder Andre Cronje has proposed issuing meme coins on the Fantom network to address risks associated with such tokens. The plan involves allocating tokens for team expenses, marketing, and liquidity pool support, with a focus on fair distribution and investor safety. This move demonstrates a departure from previous approaches to meme coins within the blockchain industry.  

Illuvium and Samsung's Gaming Partnership

Illuvium, a leading blockchain gaming company, partners with Samsung to merge physical and digital realms for enhanced user experiences. The collaboration aims to bridge technology, expand engagement, and set new gaming industry standards. Illuvium's token (ILV) briefly rose on the news, currently priced at $133. Samsung's blockchain interest grows with this strategic move, signaling future tech-entertainment integration opportunities.  

Gods Unchained Launches Dread Awakening Expansion

The new expansion pack, Dread Awakening, for the Ethereum NFT card game Gods Unchained, features a crossover with Immutable’s mobile RPG, Guild of Guardians. The expansion introduces 148 new cards minted on Immutable X and a "cosmic horror" theme with new mechanics. Both games leverage web3 gaming and the Ethereum blockchain for true interoperability.  

Saga Mainnet Launches with Binance Support

The Saga mainnet has launched alongside the SAGA token on Binance, following a Binance Launchpool campaign that attracted $13.4 billion in staked assets. The network's focus on scalability, gaming, and cross-chain compatibility is emphasized, and plans for additional airdrops and rewards for SAGA token stakers have been outlined.  

A16z Unveils Jolt for Blockchain Scalability

A16z, a venture capital firm, released Jolt, a zero-knowledge virtual machine (zkVM) designed to enhance blockchain scalability and security. Powered by zero-knowledge cryptography, Jolt processes and verifies data while maintaining privacy and speed, claiming to be "10x" faster than its closest competitor. The technology can be integrated into zkEVMs for blockchain applications, offering significant off-chain computational benefits.  

HashKey Group Introduces Ethereum L2 Network

HashKey Group introduced HashKey Chain, an Ethereum layer 2 (L2) network leveraging ZK-proof technology for scalability and developer incentives. The network, powered by HashKey Cloud's infrastructure, aims to create an open, scalable, and borderless "Ecosystem Chain." With a testnet launch in six months and a mainnet rollout in a year, the company anticipates significant growth and global expansion.  

Zeta Markets Announces Governance Token and Solana L2

Zeta Markets, a top decentralized derivatives platform on Solana, has launched its governance token, Z, and plans to airdrop 100 million Z tokens to the community. It also revealed the first Layer 2 scaling solution for Solana, aiming to enhance scalability. Zeta's commitment to decentralization and innovation signals its pivotal role in Solana's DeFi ecosystem.  

Mezo's Bitcoin Layer 2 Network Secures Funding

Mezo, a Bitcoin layer 2 network, emerged from stealth after securing a $21 million funding led by Pantera Capital. It aims to create a permissionless Bitcoin economic layer using a neutral smart contract infrastructure to facilitate various applications. This network allows Bitcoin owners to hold their tokens and earn a yield, amplifying the Bitcoin blockchain's infrastructure for faster and cheaper transactions.  

Monad Labs Gains Major Funding for New Blockchain

Paradigm is leading a $225 million funding round for Monad Labs, a new layer-1 blockchain network aiming to rival Solana. The network is designed for faster speeds and lower costs than Ethereum, reaching up to 10,000 transactions per second. This investment comes amid a significant increase in VC interest in crypto firms, signifying a positive trend in crypto VC funding.  

Runestone's "Dog" Meme Coin Airdrop

The Runestone project is set to airdrop the exclusive "Dog" meme coin to holders of Runestone inscriptions during the upcoming Bitcoin halving. Holders will receive three meme coins through successive airdrops. The project has garnered significant attention with a notable total trading volume of 41.6 BTC since its launch in March.  

US Treasury Calls for Crypto Regulation

The Deputy Secretary of the US Treasury urged Congress to equip the government with tools to combat crypto-linked illicit finance and terrorism. He highlighted cases of terrorist groups using cryptocurrencies and proposed three reforms. Meanwhile, the EU introduced regulations on crypto payments, and the IRS seeks private-sector assistance to address the complexities of the crypto sector.  

Binance Seeks Global HQ Amid Regulatory Shifts

Binance is reversing its stance on being a decentralized entity without an official HQ, with CEO Richard Teng revealing negotiations with multiple jurisdictions for a global headquarters, considering factors like product suite value and regulatory environments. This move marks a departure from previous claims of not needing a physical headquarters. Teng also highlighted past inadequacies in compliance controls but sees a path forward to overcome these challenges. 

Concurrently, Binance's Head of Financial Crime Compliance, Tigran Gambaryan, faces deteriorating conditions after being transferred to an infamous Nigerian prison following his arraignment on money laundering charges, further complicating the exchange's regulatory challenges.

Coinbase Wins in Court Over Token Sales

A U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Coinbase, establishing that its cryptocurrency sales do not violate the Securities Exchange Act, a significant win for the sector. This pertains to token trading between October 8, 2019, and March 11, 2022. Despite plaintiffs claiming Coinbase sold unregistered securities, violating laws in California, Florida, and New Jersey, Coinbase argued these did not constitute securities transactions. While the Court acknowledged potential liability under the Securities Act, it dismissed claims under the Exchange Act for lack of evidence. 

The interpretation of varying user agreements played a crucial role. Separately, an appeals court partially revived a 2021 lawsuit against Coinbase for facilitating unregistered securities trading, upholding that plaintiffs couldn't rescind transactions without evidence of a specific contract. This development follows the SEC's claims against Coinbase's staking program as offering unregistered securities, with ongoing legal proceedings.

Crypto.com Receives Approval in Dubai

Crypto.com has obtained a full operational approval from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in Dubai, allowing it to cater to institutional investors. This makes it the first global crypto exchange authorized to operate with fiat currency in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE's favorable regulatory framework and low-tax environment have attracted crypto firms to the region.