Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | October 11, 2023
Crypto Market Update
Table of Contents
Banking and Financial Innovations
- JPMorgan's Blockchain Milestone with BlackRock and Barclays
- The Controversial Saga of Sam Bankman-Fried
- Bitfinex Owner iFinex Plans Major Share Buyback
- Xapo Diversifies with Stock and Ether Trading
Regulatory Updates and Legal Actions
- NASAA Backs SEC in Coinbase Legal Battle
- Tornado Cash Usage Plummets After US Sanctions
Market Trends and Price Analysis
- Bitcoin Price Swings and Market Dynamics
- Ethereum's Mixed Fortunes and Future Outlook
Crypto Exchanges and Platforms
- Galxe Promises Refunds After DNS Attack
- WOO Network Buys Back Shares from Bankrupt 3AC
- ApeCoin DAO's Costly Migration to Ethereum Layer-2
Blockchain Technology and Development
- Immutable Teams Up with AWS for Web3 Gaming
- Arbitrum Community Divided Over Lido DAO Proposal
- Web3 Foundation's Big Plans for Polkadot
- Stellar Partners with Certora for Smart Contract Audits
NFT News
- UK Committee Urges NFT Regulation for Artists
JPMorgan's Blockchain Milestone with BlackRock and Barclays
JPMorgan has conducted its first live blockchain-based collateral settlement transaction using its Onyx blockchain and Tokenized Collateral Network. BlackRock tokenized shares in one of its money market funds, which were then transferred to Barclays as collateral for an OTC derivatives trade.
The Controversial Saga of Sam Bankman-Fried
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, is under scrutiny for various financial dealings. Key revelations include his talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for potential FTX investment and his alleged ambitions to become the U.S. President. Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, testified against him, revealing manipulated balance sheets and a massive 47% stake in USDT minting.
Legal setbacks for SBF include a judge's refusal to consider the lack of crypto regulations as evidence. The unfolding drama raises concerns about centralization and transparency in the crypto world.
Bitfinex Owner iFinex Plans Major Share Buyback
Hong Kong-based iFinex, owner of crypto exchange Bitfinex, plans to buy back $150 million worth of shares to increase its control over the company. The offer was made to buy back 15 million shares at $10 each, representing about 9% of iFinex's outstanding capital. The buyback is a result of the company's positive performance in recent years. Bitfinex had suffered a hack that resulted in the loss of $71 million in bitcoin in 2016.
Xapo Diversifies with Stock and Ether Trading
Crypto bank Xapo has obtained a securities broker license and will begin offering trading of stocks, including Apple, to customers in Europe. The Gibraltar-based company will also enable customers to trade Ethereum's ether. Xapo aims to cater to an older demographic interested in long-term investing and diversified portfolios that include both stocks and cryptocurrencies. The company will also soon expand its offerings beyond bitcoin to include Ethereum.
NASAA Backs SEC in Coinbase Legal Battle
The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) is supporting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its legal actions against Coinbase. NASAA argues that while cryptocurrencies are not inherently fraudulent, the industry attracts fraudsters.
They also criticized Coinbase's interpretation of the Howey Test used to determine if a transaction qualifies as an investment contract. NASAA urges the court to reject Coinbase's argument against the SEC's interpretation of securities law.
Tornado Cash Usage Plummets After US Sanctions
The usage of crypto mixer Tornado Cash dropped by 90% following US sanctions, according to a report by TRM Labs. The US Treasury Department blacklisted Tornado Cash in August 2022, alleging it was used to launder money. The report states that while some illicit actors continue to use the service, overall volumes have significantly decreased since the sanctions were imposed.
Bitcoin Price Swings and Market Dynamics
Bitcoin's price is on a rollercoaster, dipping to around $26,600 due to U.S. inflation data and geopolitical tensions like the Hamas-Israel conflict. Despite the market jitters, long-term holders are stashing away about $1.35 billion in BTC each month.
Miners, however, are in a selling spree, offloading 20,000 BTC in the past week, the biggest since April. Market eyes are now on upcoming U.S. CPI data for further direction. Meanwhile, Asian stocks are surging, but European markets show a mixed bag, influenced by underperforming luxury stocks.
Ethereum's Mixed Fortunes and Future Outlook
Ethereum is facing a mixed bag of challenges and opportunities. Gas fees have hit a new low due to decreased DeFi and NFT activity, while Ethereum whales have sold off 12M ETH in the past year. User retention is low, with only 7% continuing to use Ethereum after a year.
Analysts predict that Ether will continue to underperform against Bitcoin. However, Standard Chartered forecasts a potential surge to $8,000 by 2026, citing Ethereum's dominance in smart contracts and emerging uses in gaming and tokenization.
Galxe Promises Refunds After DNS Attack
Web3 platform Galxe has announced that it will refund over $396,000 to over 980 users who were impacted by a DNS attack on its site. The platform has also promised to compensate users with an additional 10% from its treasury. The attack occurred when hackers redirected visitors to Galxe's website to a malicious phishing site, compromising user funds.
Galxe has assured users that only those who authenticated transactions on the phishing site were impacted. It also stated that users who believe they were affected but are not listed or have discrepancies in their loss valuation can contact the support team for rectification.
WOO Network Buys Back Shares from Bankrupt 3AC
Taiwan-based liquidity provider WOO Network has agreed to repurchase shares and tokens it sold to bankrupt hedge fund Three Arrows Capital in 2021. WOO will cancel shares purchased by 3AC in the Series A fundraise and repurchase 20 million WOO tokens, worth approximately $3.4 million. WOO raised $30 million in its Series A. The move clears uncertainty related to 3AC from the WOO ecosystem.
ApeCoin DAO's Costly Migration to Ethereum Layer-2
Polygon Labs proposed ApeCoin DAO transition to Ethereum Layer-2 faces cost concerns. The migration would cost $200k annually, leading some to question the need for payment when cheaper options are available. The proposal includes choosing an implementation partner and estimating a 16-week migration process.
Immutable Teams Up with AWS for Web3 Gaming
Blockchain gaming company Immutable has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate the adoption of Web3 gaming. The collaboration aims to overcome challenges in scalability and accessibility by leveraging AWS's cloud infrastructure and providing support for developers. However, Western game developers remain skeptical about Web3 gaming, while Asian gamers are more open to its potential.
Arbitrum Community Divided Over Lido DAO Proposal
The Arbitrum community is opposing a proposal by Lido DAO to secure a $4 million grant to launch on the Arbitrum network. The opposition is due to concerns about the grant's size and Lido's centralization. The decision is nearly evenly split, with 48.3% in favor and 47.4% against. There are currently 95 active proposals on Arbitrum DAO's Snapshot page, asking for a total of 100.2 million ARB tokens worth over $80 million.
Web3 Foundation's Big Plans for Polkadot
The Web3 Foundation plans to allocate millions in grants to support development and projects on the Polkadot ecosystem. However, Polkadot's token price has fallen significantly, losing 93% since its peak. Despite this, the ecosystem continues to grow, with increased development activity and the emergence of top DeFi parachains.
Stellar Partners with Certora for Smart Contract Audits
The Stellar Development Foundation has partnered with security firm Certora to conduct security audits on its upcoming smart contracts platform, Soroban. The platform, which leverages WebAssembly, aims to provide developers with a mechanism to deploy smart contracts on the Stellar blockchain. The audits are intended to ensure the security and integrity of the platform and its codebase. The mainnet launch of Soroban is expected in early 2024.
Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers
Gainers:
WEMIX WEMIX (+2.45%)
Frax Share FXS (+2.28%)
Rollbit Coin RLB (+1.84%)
Losers:
IOTA MIOTA (-5.47%)
Tezos XTZ (-5.14%)
Trust Wallet Token TWT (-4.90%)
NFT Market Map
UK Committee Urges NFT Regulation for Artists
The U.K. parliamentary committee has called for action to protect artists' intellectual property rights in relation to NFTs. They recommend a code of conduct for NFT platforms and urge the exclusion of sports fan tokens from measurements of fan engagement.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
