Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | September 12, 2023

Crypto Market Update

Written by Van

Table of Contents

Banking and Regulatory Updates

• Franklin Templeton Eyes Bitcoin ETF
• PayPal On and Off Ramps: Crypto Payments Made Easy
• Binance.US Clashes with SEC Over Legal Requests
• Former Celsius CEO Fights FTC Lawsuit

Crypto Exchanges and Platforms

• MetaMask Snaps: Consensys' New Customization Tool
• Bitget's $100M EmpowerX Fund: A Strategic Move
• Binance's Earthquake Relief Effort in Morocco
• Arbitrum vs. Optimism: The Battle of Market Caps
• CoinEx Hot Wallets Drained: $28M Lost

Security and Risks

• Vitalik Buterin's SIM-Swap Scare
• Midnight: IOG's Data Protection Sidechain on Cardano
• Pacific: Manta Network's Layer 2 Blockchain

Adoption and Market Trends

• LayerZero Partners with Google Cloud
• Small Bitcoin Investors Accumulate Amid Inflation
• Shiba Inu's Milestone: 3.58 Million Addresses

NFTs and Sports

• Milady Maker NFT Scandal: $1M Diverted
• Zach Wilson's NFTs Skyrocket on DraftKings

Franklin Templeton Eyes Bitcoin ETF

Global investment giant Franklin Templeton has filed a regulatory Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to seek approval for a Bitcoin ETF. The proposed ETF aims to provide investors with a regulated and accessible way to gain exposure to Bitcoin. 

If approved, it would join the growing list of cryptocurrency ETFs available to U.S. investors. However, the SEC's emphasis on investor protections and market surveillance means that the approval process could take several months.

PayPal On and Off Ramps: Crypto Payments Made Easy

PayPal has launched a new feature called PayPal On and Off Ramps, allowing web3 merchants in the United States to accept cryptocurrency payments. This integration enables wallets, dApps, and NFT marketplaces to connect with PayPal's payment platform, offering customers a convenient way to buy and sell crypto. 

Users can also convert their crypto into USD directly from their wallets to their PayPal balance. The feature is available on MetaMask, a popular crypto wallet and browser extension. 

Binance.US Clashes with SEC Over Legal Requests

Binance.US has responded to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), labeling the agency's requests as "unreasonable" and "unduly burdensome." Lawyers representing Binance.US argue that the SEC's motions may do more harm than good for its bidding. 

The legal team has also stated that there is a disconnect between the SEC's approach and the limited expedited discovery agreed upon in the consent order. They believe that the burden of depositions outweighs their potential benefit, and the requested discovery is disproportionate to the needs outlined in the consent order.  

Former Celsius CEO Fights FTC Lawsuit

Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky has filed a motion to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) suit against him, following a similar motion filed by co-defendant and Celsius co-founder Hanoch "Nuke" Goldstein. 

Both motions argue that the FTC did not allege a violation of an FTC rule and place blame on others at Celsius for the alleged misconduct. Mashinsky also faces a lawsuit from the Department of Justice, with his assets being frozen in August.

MetaMask Snaps: Consensys' New Customization Tool

Consensys has launched MetaMask Snaps, which allows for greater customization of MetaMask wallets. The new functionality enables interoperability with other layer-1 blockchains, including Bitcoin and Solana. 

Snaps also provide notifications for decentralized apps and can warn users about potential risks. Consensys plans to make Snaps permissionless in the future.

Bitget's $100M EmpowerX Fund: A Strategic Move

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has launched the $100m EmpowerX Fund, which will invest in regional exchanges, data analytics firms, media organisations, and other entities in order to expand and diversify its ecosystem. The fund is part of Bitget's strategy to create a comprehensive trading ecosystem for its 20 million global customers. 

Bitget has allocated the $100m from its strategic reserves and may increase this amount in the future. The fund follows the launch of Bitget's $100m Web3 Fund in April and the company's investments in the BitKeep wallet and crypto loans product.

Binance's Earthquake Relief Effort in Morocco

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has pledged $3 million in BNB tokens to support victims of the devastating earthquake in Morocco. Binance will distribute airdrops worth up to $100 in BNB to users in the highly impacted Marrakech region, aiming to help those most in need. 

This initiative follows a similar aid scheme Binance conducted during the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria earlier this year. Crypto donations have become a popular medium for providing assistance in times of disaster.  

Arbitrum vs. Optimism: The Battle of Market Caps

After a heavy sell-off in the crypto market, Arbitrum's market cap took a dip, falling below its rival project Optimism, and of course still far from reaching the Ethereum market cap. 

However, the fundamentals of both projects remain unchanged, with consistent transaction numbers and daily addresses interacting on both platforms. The total value locked in DeFi applications on Arbitrum is more than 2.5 times that of Optimism.

CoinEx Hot Wallets Drained: $28M Lost

CoinEx, a platform often scrutinized in cryptocurrency charts, has allegedly seen a staggering $28 million in crypto drained from its hot wallets. The ongoing exploit has affected wallets holding 4,946 ETH and 354,762 TRX. CoinEx has not responded to requests for comment.

Vitalik Buterin's SIM-Swap Scare

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, revealed that the recent hack to his social media account was due to a SIM-swap attack. The incident highlights the vulnerability of Twitter's account recovery system and the risks associated with using phone numbers for authentication.

Midnight: IOG's Data Protection Sidechain on Cardano

Input Output Global (IOG) has announced that it will soon launch its data protection sidechain, Midnight, on the Cardano blockchain. Midnight leverages zero-knowledge (ZK) technology for secure data safeguarding. 

IOG aims to surpass existing privacy-coin projects and provide enhanced data protection for developers creating decentralized applications. The development process will be made accessible and collaborations are underway with the Hyperledger consortium. Users staking on the Cardano network may receive DUST tokens in addition to ADA.

Pacific: Manta Network's Layer 2 Blockchain

Manta Network has launched Pacific, a Layer 2 blockchain for zero-knowledge-enabled apps. The network has been developed using a modified version of Optimism’s OP Stack by Caldera and utilizes data availability solution by Celestia to reduce data fees. The mainnet launch follows a successful testnet phase with over 150,000 wallet addresses participating.

LayerZero Partners with Google Cloud

LayerZero, a cross-chain messaging protocol, has partnered with Google Cloud to improve its infrastructure. Google Cloud will serve as the default oracle provider for LayerZero, facilitating the verification of transactions sent across blockchains. 

While developers can choose other providers, selecting Google Cloud will allow the platform to veto potential attacks and enhance security. LayerZero supports multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, BNB, and Avalanche.

Small Bitcoin Investors Accumulate Amid Inflation

On-chain analysis shows that small Bitcoin investors, known as shrimps, are accumulating BTC and buying the dips, indicating growing adoption and education in the crypto space. Shrimps have accumulated 1.35 million BTC, representing 6.9% of the supply. The percentage of addresses in profit is testing a historical support level, which could initiate a new uptrend and potentially signal the start of a cryptocurrency bull market. 

Economists forecast a 0.6% rise in the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August, suggesting that such inflation could impact crypto coin prices. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, is expected to have decreased to a year-over-year rate of 4.3% in August. Bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency market have been affected by higher interest rates and inflation expectations.

Shiba Inu's Milestone: 3.58 Million Addresses

Shiba Inu, a player in the cryptocurrency charts, has set a new milestone with a record 3.58 million total addresses. It continues to attract new users with upcoming developments, such as ShibaSwap 2.0 and the TREAT reward token. The large transaction volume for Shiba Inu has increased by 299%. The price of SHIB has seen a 0.65% increase in the last 24 hours.

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

Rollbit Coin RLB (+19.91%)

Toncoin TON (+10.19%)

Bitcoin Cash BCH (+9.71%)

Losers:

NEAR Protocol NEAR (-3.85%)

Stellar Lumens XLM (-3.04%)

Tezos XTZ (-2.92%)

NFT Market Map

Milady Maker NFT Scandal: $1M Diverted

Milady Maker, an NFT project on Ethereum, has been exploited by a developer who diverted approximately $1 million in fees from the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) Remilia Corporation. The attacker also took control of social media accounts. 

Milady NFT creator Charlotte Fang has identified the individuals involved and intends to take legal action. The reserves and user assets are reportedly unaffected. The floor price of a Milady NFT currently stands at 2.86 ETH, down 15% in the past 24 hours.  

Zach Wilson's NFTs Skyrocket on DraftKings

Backup quarterback Zach Wilson's fantasy football NFTs surged in value on DraftKings' Reignmakers after New York Jets' starter Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending ankle injury. Wilson's NFTs reached a high of $555 on secondary markets. The incident highlights how NFTs can capitalize on the changing fortunes of athletes and teams in sports. 

DraftKings' NFL Reignmakers allows participants to assemble a roster of NFL players and compete for cash prizes, digital packs, and NFTs. The platform has generated over $206 million in total sales and $527,000 in sales in the past day.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.