Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | August 31, 2023

Crypto Market Update

Written by Van

Table of Contents

Banking and Regulatory Updates

• Nexo Unveils EEA-Exclusive Crypto Mastercard
• Coinbase Lists PayPal's PYUSD
• US Inflation Data and Bitcoin's Response
• Swift Experiments with Chainlink Protocol
• Robinhood's Ethereum Stash Unveiled

Crypto Exchanges and Platforms

• Streamer's Costly Mistake
• Google Cloud and Theta Showcase Partnership
• StarkWare Addresses Zero-Balance Issue
• Binance Phasing Out BUSD
• PancakeSwap Jumps to Ethereum Layer-2

Blockchain and Tech Innovations

• LimeWire Enters the Blockchain with AI Studio
• Arbitrum Stylus: A Dev-Friendly Tool
• Optimism Adds USDC to its Arsenal
• Aerodrome Attracts Quick Capital

Country-Specific Developments

• Worldcoin's Rocky Rise in Argentina
• Maker Shakes Up the South Korean Market
• HashKey's Risky Bet on Second-Tier Altcoins

Market Trends and Analysis

• Ethereum's Bearish Signal Amid Positive News
• Ethereum Whale Makes a Splash
• Lufthansa NFT Loyalty Program Takes Off

Nexo Unveils EEA-Exclusive Crypto Mastercard

Nexo has introduced a crypto-powered Mastercard for citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA). The Nexo Card enables users to make debit transactions with stablecoins and credit transactions using major cryptocurrencies. It offers benefits such as cash back, interest on credit lines, and no monthly or inactivity fees. The card is insured by Ledger and Bakkt and is available for EEA citizens only.  

Coinbase Lists PayPal's PYUSD

Coinbase is adding support for PayPal's stablecoin PYUSD, with trading has begun on the exchange. Several other exchanges have already listed PYUSD, but its adoption has been slow so far. The current total supply of PYUSD is approximately 43 million tokens. It is unclear if Binance will list the stablecoin.

US Inflation Data and Bitcoin's Response

The US PCE data, a crucial measure of inflation, has been announced. The Core PCE Price Index remained at 4.2% annually, while initial jobless claims came in below expectations. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has expressed uncertainty about future inflation levels. Bitcoin couldn’t hold $27,000 and has dropped to $26,300 at the time of writing. 

Despite the wild swings in crypto coin prices, long-term bitcoin holders are steadfastly clinging to their investments. The 1+ Year HODL Wave reaching a peak of 69.2% and remaining elevated at 68.6%. Coin Days Destroyed (CDD) has fallen to March 6 lows, indicating reduced selling pressure. These metrics suggest resilience and optimism among long-term holders, potentially anticipating future market developments.  

Swift Experiments with Chainlink Protocol

Swift, the global financial messaging network, conducted an experiment with banks using Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP). The experiment demonstrated that traditional financial systems and emerging blockchain technologies can be securely connected for transactions, potentially facilitating interoperability between the two. Financial institutions are shown to be more inclined to integrate blockchain technology into their existing infrastructure rather than building new systems.

Robinhood's Ethereum Stash Unveiled

Recent findings by Arkham Intelligence reveal that Robinhood allegedly has the fifth-largest Ethereum wallet worldwide, holding approximately 1.493 million Ethereum worth $2.54 billion. This comes after Arkham previously identified Robinhood as the owner of the world's third-largest Bitcoin wallet. The wallet also contains other cryptocurrencies such as Shiba, Chainlink, and Avalanche. 

The disclosure raises questions about whether the funds belong to Robinhood or its users. The SEC's strict regulations on cryptocurrency custody are alluded to, and the article also discusses the concept of proof of reserves and Robinhood's introduction of Ethereum swaps.

Streamer's Costly Mistake

During a livestream, a Brazilian crypto streamer accidentally revealed his private keys and lost over $60,000. After filing a police report, the thief voluntarily returned $50,000. The streamer is taking measures to recover the remaining $10,000, and the incident serves as a warning to others.

Google Cloud and Theta Showcase Partnership

Decentralized video network project Theta has partnered with Google Cloud to showcase their collaboration at a conference in San Francisco. The project aims to demonstrate how Theta's edge network can support Google Cloud's infrastructure for AI use cases in video, media, and entertainment. 

The Theta-Google Cloud collaboration has made a noticeable impact on crypto price, particularly causing a surge in THETA altcoin value. However, it then went down following the broader market’s dump.

StarkWare Addresses Zero-Balance Issue

StarkWare, the company behind the Starknet blockchain, has agreed to restore access to users' crypto after complaints that their wallets were zeroed out following a tech upgrade. The issue affected users who did not update their Argent or Braavos wallets in time. StarkWare has now re-enabled the upgrade, but it may take a day for funds to reappear. Users were previously warned to upgrade their wallets.

Binance Phasing Out BUSD

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is phasing out support for the BUSD stablecoin, encouraging users to convert their holdings to another stablecoin called FDUSD by February 2024. Binance will suspend various BUSD-related services and delist trading pairs and contracts involving BUSD. Issuer Paxos had previously halted the minting of new BUSD tokens.

PancakeSwap Jumps to Ethereum Layer-2

Decentralized exchange PancakeSwap is expanding to the Ethereum layer-2 network Base, following its expansion to four other Ethereum rollups. The move is aimed at bringing more accessibility and functionality to PancakeSwap users and driving mass adoption of DeFi. Base already hosts Uniswap, SushiSwap, and 1inch, among others.

LimeWire Enters the Blockchain with AI Studio

LimeWire has partnered with Polygon Labs to launch the LimeWire AI Studio, allowing users to create music and visual art directly on the blockchain using artificial intelligence. The platform aims to empower emerging artists and give them control over their rights and royalties. 

LimeWire's native token, LMWR, saw an 18.8% boost following the announcement before retracing. However, the current version of the AI Studio only has partial functionality, with audio and video tools yet to be launched.

Arbitrum Stylus: A Dev-Friendly Tool

Blockchain developer Offchain Labs has introduced Arbitrum Stylus, a tool that enables smart contract development on Arbitrum's Layer 2 network using multiple programming languages such as Rust, C, and C++. 

The tool allows developers to write smart contracts in languages that can be converted to WebAssembly (WASM), making it more accessible for a wider range of developers. Offchain Labs plans to extend support to any programming language that can be converted into WASM in the future.

Optimism Adds USDC to its Arsenal

Ethereum-based blockchain protocol Optimism has partnered with Circle to integrate the USDC stablecoin into its ecosystem. The move is expected to increase liquidity and demand for Optimism's native token, OP. The integration may have a positive impact on the price of OP in the future.

Aerodrome Attracts Quick Capital

Aerodrome, a platform developed by Velodrome and Base developers, has attracted over $150 million in just 24 hours since its launch. The platform aims to support the Base ecosystem by providing liquidity, onboarding new projects and tokens, and offering rewards to users who provide liquidity, conduct swaps, or participate in governance. 

Users can lock their AERO tokens for different durations to earn veAERO tokens, granting them more voting power. VeAERO tokens are represented as NFTs that can be traded on NFT marketplaces.

Worldcoin's Rocky Rise in Argentina

Cryptocurrency project Worldcoin has seen a surge in demand for its World ID verification in Argentina, with 9,500 Argentinians verifying their identity in a single day in August. The World App also temporarily became the top app in Argentina's app store. 

Amid regulatory hurdles in Argentina and Kenya, Worldcoin's native token has seen a significant dip, making it a focus point on cryptocurrency charts. Despite the growing popularity, the price of Worldcoin's native token has declined by 48.3% in the past month.

Maker Shakes Up the South Korean Market

Decentralized lending protocol Maker (MKR) has seen a 11% surge in the past 24 hours, making it one of the best-performing altcoins. It has also entered the South Korean market with its innovative protocol, SparkLend, which offers a 5% stable rate for borrowers. 

MKR has consistently ranked as a top performer among altcoins. It adheres to the principles of decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and has gained support from the community.

HashKey's Risky Bet on Second-Tier Altcoins

Hong Kong-based crypto firm HashKey Capital is launching a fund focused on second-tier cryptocurrencies, aiming to capitalize on their high-reward, high-risk nature. The fund will diversify into altcoins, deviating from the traditional Bitcoin-centric approach. 

However, investing in altcoins has proven risky in the past, with their volatile prices contributing to the closure of several crypto hedge funds. HashKey Capital aims to raise $100 million for the fund while keeping some holdings in cash to mitigate risks. The success of this bet on altcoins remains uncertain. 

Ethereum's Bearish Signal Amid Positive News

The bearish trend in the Ethereum market cap is evident as the crypto's price failed to break out above the $1,950 mark. However, positive news about the Ethereum blockchain, including Robinhood's expansion into DeFi and increased ETH staking, suggests long-term holders are still optimistic. 

Asset manager Fidelity has published a report stating that Ethereum's price is linked to network usage, with increased adoption leading to higher prices. The report also discusses Ethereum's deflationary properties and its transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. 

Fidelity estimates the price of one ETH token to be $2,090 based on assumptions about network fee growth. Ethereum has seen a slight change in its price recently, with a 2.5% change in the past day and a 7% drop in the previous month. 

Ethereum Whale Makes a Splash

A dormant Ethereum whale holding 12,087 ETH worth $20.7 million recently transferred its entire holdings to Binance. The whale accumulated most of its ETH in 2017 and 2018, spending around $22.3 million to purchase them. It made a total profit of approximately $43 million from its ETH transactions.  

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

Maker MKR (+11.05%)

dYdX DYDX (+4.47%)

IOTA MIOTA (+1.69%)

Losers:

XDC Network XDC (-11.57%)

Rollbit Coin RLB (-7.69%)

Filecoin FIL (-7.39%)

NFT Market Map

Lufthansa NFT Loyalty Program Takes Off

Lufthansa has launched a nonfungible token (NFT) loyalty program on the Polygon Network. Passengers can turn their trips into NFTs and earn rewards such as flight upgrades and lounge access. The Uptrip app allows users to scan their boarding passes and mint NFTs, with over 20,000 sign-ups and 200,000 NFT trading cards minted so far. Other airlines, including Emirates, have also expressed interest in Web3 technologies.  

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.