Coin360 Weekly Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | April 6 - April 12, 2024

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Crypto Weekly Market Update

Table of Contents

Crypto Market and Regulatory Updates

• Crypto Weekly Recap
• Uniswap Faces SEC Action, UNI Price Tumbles
• Toncoin Surpasses Cardano in Market Cap Amidst Growth
• MarginFi CEO Resigns, DeFi Sector Faces Turmoil
• Pac Finance Update Triggers Massive Liquidations

Emerging Crypto Trends and Platform Developments

• Memecoins Surge in Market Cap, Scam Risks Persist
• EigenLayer Debuts on Ethereum, Raises Systemic Concerns
• Friend.Tech Preps for Major Update, Eyes Growth
• dYdX Experiences Outage After Protocol Upgrade
• SushiSwap Moves Toward Centralized Labs Model
• SEC Closes Investigation into Dapper Labs
• StepN Announces $30 Million Airdrop on Solana
• PUPS Leads NFT Sales, Plans Transition to Rune Token

Crypto Weekly Recap

Bitcoin

• Bitcoin's price surged to $72,000 early this week but fell to around $66,000 later.
• Volatility spiked following new U.S. CPI data, with BTC briefly dipping to $67,813 before recovering over $70,000. Despite a 60% inflation reduction, the U.S. President delayed interest rate cuts, altering market expectations for a July rather than June rate cut.
• Hong Kong is set to approve Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, potentially starting trades by month-end, but BTC prices stayed still, then dropped later in the day. Coinbase trading showed Bitcoin prices $70 lower than Binance, contributing to a market dip. Geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran also caused Bitcoin and gold prices to drop significantly today.  
• Discussions continued about the Bitcoin halving's pricing effects.
• Analyst Rekt Capital noted a developing "clear Re-Accumulation Range" for Bitcoin, warning that the post-halving period could extend up to five months, potentially disheartening investors.
• As Bitcoin halving nears, fundraising for new Bitcoin L2 projects and BTCfi services is increasing. The Bitcoin L2 liquidity war is about to take off, according to KuCoin Research: Merlin Chain leads with a $2.6 billion TVL amidst potential liquidity challenges highlighted by Stacks’ Nakamoto upgrade and the introduction of sBTC.

Ethereum

• Before the BTC sell-off, the crypto market was green with a total market cap above $2.7 trillion.
• ETH briefly surpassed $3,700 before falling to $3,200.
• Despite underperforming compared to BTC, ETH faced analyst skepticism about a spot ETF approval in May, with a fourth consecutive week of outflows totaling $22.5 million.
• Ethereum whales accumulated significantly, evidenced by large withdrawals and bullish sentiment in Ether options, with $3.3 billion in notional options set to expire, two-thirds being bullish calls between $3,700 and $4,000. The ether put-call ratio stood at 0.45, indicating a slight bullish advantage over bitcoin.
• JP Morgan analysts gave a 50% probability of the SEC rejecting a spot Ethereum ETF, noting ongoing investigations into Ethereum-related companies.
• Despite uncertainties, the Ethereum network advanced with new features like re-staking and liquid re-staking. The forthcoming Pectra upgrade aimed to enhance crypto wallets with capabilities like transaction bundling and a social recovery feature, although it raised security concerns.

Altcoin

• FTX estate liquidated $1.9 billion SOL amid market buzz.
• A Binance exec pleaded not guilty to charges in Nigeria.
• Arthur Hayes offloaded 237K GMX after 2 years, revealing his profit.
• DeFi firm 1inch introduced a Web3 debit card in partnership with Mastercard and Baanx.
• Ether.Fi inked a $500M restaking deal with RedStone Oracles.
• Tensor Foundation distributed $150 million in TNSR token.
• Crypto.com won a full license in Dubai, expanding its reach to institutions.
• Illuvium and Samsung partnered to enhance user engagement and immersion.
• Worldcoin tightened privacy checks, enabling users to unverify World ID.
• Paradigm led a $225M funding round for new L1 Monad.
• Saga Mainnet launched alongside its token on Binance.
• The US Treasury urged congressional action against crypto-linked illicit finance.
• Venture firm A16z released Jolt, a 'Zero-Knowledge Virtual Machine'.
• Zeta Markets unveiled governance token and Solana’s first L2 scaling solution.
• Fantom's focus on boosting its meme coin ecosystem fueled bullish interest.
• Arkham's ARKM Token tumbled amid market skepticism and controversy.
• Queensland’s CCC aimed to modernize confiscation laws for crypto assets.
• DFINITY Foundation launched Olympus on the Internet Computer.
• Bittensor (TAO) soared towards a new ATH after Binance listing.
• NEAR hired artificial-intelligence engineers as part of its AI roadmap.
• Circle’s USDC Stablecoin landed on zkSync Layer 2 Rollup.
• DePIN Platform Uplink raised $10M led by Framework Ventures.
• Voyager Digital rallied $484 million in recovery efforts.
• Bitfinex Securities introduced El Salvador’s first tokenized debt for a new Hilton hotel.
• Kraken ended Monero trading in Ireland and Belgium.
• Web3 developer Community Labs pledged $35M for Arweave ecosystem accelerator.
• Pepe Coin spiked on Coinbase plan to list perpetual futures.
• PancakeSwap enabled limit orders through Orbs partnership.
• Montenegro court cleared Do Kwon’s extradition.
• ATOR partnered with peaq to enhance DePIN privacy.
• Thai Crypto Exchange Bitkub might be valued as high as $3B in IPO.
• Ondo spiked as Ondo Finance tested conversions from BlackRock's fund to USDC.
• FTT soared after SBF's appeal.
• Berachain raised $100M in expanded funding.
• VeChain and Neo rallied as proxy bets on Hong Kong ETF approval.

Uniswap Faces SEC Action, UNI Price Tumbles

Uniswap, a prominent decentralized exchange, faces an imminent SEC enforcement action, triggering a 20% drop in UNI token price. Industry leaders voice their support for Uniswap, condemning the SEC's approach and advocating for regulatory clarity. Uniswap Labs vehemently defends its operations and commitment to blockchain innovation despite the challenges. This unfolding dispute not only impacts UNI's price but also serves as a pivotal moment in determining how DeFi entities are regulated in the US, shaping the future landscape of the crypto industry and highlighting the resilience of Uniswap amidst legal uncertainties.  

Toncoin Surpasses Cardano in Market Cap Amidst Growth

Toncoin (TON) has recently surged in value, surpassing Cardano (ADA) to become the 9th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. This rise was fueled by significant increases, with TON seeing a 135% surge in the past month, contrasting ADA's 15% decline. Telegram's integration with TON and the introduction of a self-custody TON wallet within the messaging app signal sustainable growth. However, concerns about token distribution, potential corrections, and a recent security vulnerability in the Telegram Desktop app have raised caution. Despite these challenges, TON's resilience and ties to Telegram indicate a potential for further growth, with a notable 38% price increase in the last 48 hours.  

MarginFi CEO Resigns, DeFi Sector Faces Turmoil

MarginFi faced significant upheaval with CEO Edgar Pavlovsky's abrupt resignation, causing a DeFi exodus. Despite assurance of operational stability, internal disputes emerged, triggering criticisms from industry peers like Solend and SolBlaze. The fallout led to a $261 million outflow and a TVL drop from $811 million to under $500 million. Competitors like Solend and Kamino capitalized on the turmoil, offering airdrops and attracting substantial inflows. MarginFi's resilience was tested as it navigated challenges, aiming to restore trust and user confidence post-crisis, amidst a volatile DeFi landscape.  

Pac Finance Update Triggers Massive Liquidations

The recent liquidation crisis at Pac Finance on the Blast Ethereum layer-2 network involved a sudden change in the liquidation threshold, leading to $26 million in user losses, mainly affecting one user who lost $23.9 million. The unannounced shift in the loan-to-value ratio triggered mass liquidations within 6 seconds after an update by Pac Finance. The incident highlighted the challenges faced by DeFi protocols, with Aave founder Stani Kulechov attributing the issue to a lack of understanding of the codebase, emphasizing the risks associated with forking and insufficient knowledge of software parameters in decentralized finance projects.  

Memecoins Surge in Market Cap, Scam Risks Persist

In the first quarter of 2024, the market cap of memecoins surged to $56 billion, with notable gains from Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and dogwifhat, as per IntoTheBlock. This resurgence in interest occurred despite high interest rates and no stimulus checks, indicating a shift in investment behavior towards cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, a new class of memecoins tied to cultural themes like politics and consumer brands is emerging as highly profitable. These 'culture coins' have shown significant gains, such as the Boden and Doland Tremp coins, suggesting a move towards assets that resonate with specific community values. However, the rapid proliferation of memecoins is accompanied by substantial risks. Approximately 91% of new Base memecoins have security vulnerabilities, with around 17% being outright scams like honeypots or rug pulls. Similarly, a study by Blockaid highlighted that about 50% of recent Solana pre-sales were scams, exploiting investors through social-engineering tactics and luring them into malicious contracts.

EigenLayer Debuts on Ethereum, Raises Systemic Concerns

EigenLayer has launched on Ethereum's mainnet with $12 billion in user deposits, introducing a "restaking" service alongside EigenDA, a data-availability (DA) service aimed at enhancing blockchain security. Even before its launch, EigenLayer attracted massive inflows due to its innovative pooled security technology, which allows protocols to borrow Ethereum's security. Despite its potential, concerns over the new model's systemic risks have been voiced. EigenLayer's launch is initially limited, with plans to expand features, including in-protocol payments and slashing, later this year. The protocol has raised significant funding, including $150 million from Andreessen Horowitz, fueling its rapid growth and popularity in liquid restaking. Meanwhile, the liquidity of EigenLayer's Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRTs) is under scrutiny as they become integral to the DeFi ecosystem, with liquidity concerns raised following potential withdrawals, as per Kairos Research. As the largest collateral asset in major money markets, LRTs' stability is crucial, but risks associated with liquidity shortfalls could pose significant challenges.

Friend.Tech Preps for Major Update, Eyes Growth

Friend.Tech's resurgence is marked by an upcoming Version 2 (v2) release, with significant investments and a rise in daily fees. The platform's total value locked (TVL) increased to $40 million, with over $8 million added last week alone. The v2 launch, anticipated post-April 20, aims to expand Friend.Tech's reach, drawing a broader audience and potentially introducing a FRIEND token. Historically, the platform peaked with over $1.3 million in weekly fees, with user engagement driven by exclusive group chats offering trading insights and seed-funding deals. Security issues and waning novelty contributed to a decline, but recent developments suggest a potential revival in user engagement and platform growth.

dYdX Experiences Outage After Protocol Upgrade

On April 8, the dYdX protocol faced a significant outage shortly after an upgrade to its v4.0.0 protocol, halting block production for the first time since its migration from Ethereum to Cosmos. This upgrade included enhancements like conditional order improvements and community-enabled slashing but led to unexpected disruptions. Meanwhile, the dYdX community voted to stake 20 million tokens (worth about $60 million) using Stride’s staking service to boost network security. This proposal, supported by 91% of voters, aims to enhance economic security and stake diversity, potentially increasing governance participation across its decentralized platform. Despite the outage, the dYdX token price increased by 3.06%, with a market cap of approximately $1.45 billion.

SushiSwap Moves Toward Centralized Labs Model

SushiSwap's decision to transition to a "Labs model" based on a signal vote with 62% support indicates a shift towards a less decentralized structure. The proposal establishes Sushi Labs to manage operations, receive a 25 million SUSHI token grant, and exclusive airdrops. Community feedback reveals concerns about treasury stability, voting power manipulation, and revenue allocation. SushiSwap's "head chef," Jared Grey, defends the move, citing legal threats and market share recovery as motives. Revenue decline despite a bull market adds urgency to the transition towards a model that could streamline operations and address financial challenges. The upcoming implementation vote on April 17 will be crucial for the project's future.