Coin360 Weekly Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | September 14 - September 20, 2024

Crypto Weekly Market Update

Table of Contents

Market Movements and Trends

• Crypto Weekly Recap

Stablecoin and Market Updates

• Revolut's USD Stablecoin Joins Growing Stablecoin Market

GameFi and Tap-to-Earn Developments

• GameFi and Tap-to-Earn Developments Dominate Telegram Leaks

Security and Hacking Incidents

• Genesis Creditor Loses $243M in Advanced Crypto Heist
• BingX Cyberattack Results in $45M Hot Wallet Loss

Solana and Blockchain Ecosystem Updates

• Solana Boosted by Smartphone, Finance, and Gaming Developments
• Growing Institutional Interest in Tokenized Real-World Assets

Regulatory and Legal Updates

• Terraform Labs to Wind Down After $4.47B Lawsuit Settlement
• Trump-Backed WLFI Governance Token Set for U.S. Investors

Crypto Exchange and Platform Developments

• Hilbert Group, Xapo Bank Launch Bitcoin-Denominated Credit Fund

Exploits and Controversies

• Banana Gun Bot Exploited, $1.9M Stolen from Users

NFT and Gaming Industry Updates

• Yuga Labs Launches Dookey Dash with $1M in Prizes
• DeGods NFT Collection Shifts to Hybrid Memecoin Format
• Doodles Honors Rubik’s Cube’s 50th Anniversary with NFT Collaboration
• Chiru Labs Acquires Anime.com to Expand NFT and Anime Presence

Crypto Weekly Recap

Bitcoin:

• Weekly performance: +7.97%
• U.S. spot BTC ETFs saw a $305.04M inflow, marking another positive week.
• BTC nearly hit $64,100, its highest since August 26.
• Last week, crypto products reversed with $436M inflows, led by Bitcoin at $436M.
• CryptoQuant reported a 19% drop in BTC deposit addresses as traders held in anticipation of a surge post-rate cut.
• BTC dropped to $57,600 on Monday, coinciding with a failed assassination attempt on former U.S. President Trump, but recovered soon after.
• BTC exceeded $61,000 on Tuesday, pushing dominance above 58%, its highest since March's ATH.
• Despite avoiding his own project, Trump advanced crypto adoption by making his first Bitcoin purchase at PubKey Bar in NYC. However, he’s currently behind Harris on Polymarket in terms of winning odds (48% - 51%).
• BTC broke $62,000 for the first time since mid-August after the Fed’s 50 bps rate cut announcement.
• BTC climbed to $63,000, further pushed by strengthening US jobs data, pulled back briefly, then rose again as BlackRock’s white paper highlighted Bitcoin’s hedge potential against monetary and geopolitical risks.
• On Friday, BTC surpassed $64,000 during the Asian morning after the Bank of Japan maintained rates, signaling positivity for risk assets. MicroStrategy's $1.01B note issuance and acquisition of 7,420 BTC for $458.2M at $61,750 per Bitcoin boosted sentiment.
• BTC failed to maintain this level, falling back below $63,000 at the time of writing.
• Bitcoin’s short-term holder supply hit multi-year lows, potentially limiting a breakout as demand from short-term holders remained weak. Despite this, only 8.4% of BTC investors are at a loss now.

Ethereum:

• Weekly performance: +7.43%
• U.S. spot ETH ETFs have seen outflows for 6 weeks in a row, with this week’s number totaling $29.13M. 
• Ethereum saw $19M in outflows from crypto investment products, unlike BTC.
• It began Monday with a low of $2,267 but rallied past $2,500, driven by bullish sentiment.
• Monday's bearish move, along with the market dump, partly stemmed from whale sell-offs.
• The ETH/BTC ratio dropped to its lowest since April 2021, falling below 0.0385 on Thursday as BTC outperformed.
• Institutional developments continued, with Hong Kong potentially launching an Ethereum ETF staking feature by year-end.
• Ether gained about 8% this year versus BTC's 40%, with Steno Research suggesting a potential surge after underperforming the broader market. The Federal Reserve’s rate cut boosted on-chain activity, benefiting Ethereum. Analyst Mads Eberhardt noted strong active addresses and bottoming transactional revenue in August.
• Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade will be split into two phases for risk management. The first phase includes EIP-7702 for wallet improvements, and the second will address the Ethereum Virtual Machine and PeerDAS.

Altcoins:

• Mashinsky sought testimony from six witnesses while facing a 115-year sentence.
• Coinbase CEO denied claims of selling ‘paper Bitcoin’ to BlackRock.
• Deutsche Digital Assets launched the first-ever Bitcoin macro ETP.
• Hedera donated its entire codebase to the Linux Foundation.
• EigenLayer introduced Bitcoin restaking incentives.
• Stacks integrated Bitcoin into the Aptos network with sBTC.
• Dark Angels hacked $75 million in Bitcoin, the largest ransomware attack to date.
• Google Cloud rolled out a Blockchain RPC service for Ethereum and other networks.
• ICP's ckBTC token bridged to Cosmos via Osmosis.
• Binance founder CZ set for release on September 29, as confirmed by the US Federal Bureau of Prisons.
• BitGo introduced a token management service for crypto foundations.
• Flare Network upgrade to Flare Time Series Oracle v2 to improve performance.
• Chainlink's CCIP became live on ZKsync Era Mainnet.
• Delta Prime lost $6 million after an admin mishandled a private key.
• Flyfish Club's NFT sale violated securities laws, leading to a $750K fine by the SEC.
• Singapore’s largest bank introduced crypto trading for institutional investors.
• IoTeX partnered with Polygon Labs to enable cross-chain DePIN liquidity.
• Binance denied responsibility in the $230M WazirX hack, urged user repayments.
• Wintermute announced a predictions market with TRUMP and HARRIS tokens.
• dYdX prepared to add perpetual futures to prediction markets.
• Trust Wallet debunked TWT delisting rumors as FUD.
• WalletConnect to airdrop 185 million WCT with its native token launch.
• A new AI infrastructure fund backed by BlackRock and Microsoft was introduced.
• 1inch launched a cross-chain swap feature.
• BNB Chain partnered with major CEX, wallets, and bridges for gas-free transfers.
• Io.net partnered to reduce AI model training costs by 30%.
• Phantom improved user experience with optional usernames and secure transfers.
• Switzerland’s SIX announced plans to launch a cryptocurrency trading platform in Europe.
• Sky completed its rebrand by launching new dApp and tokens.
• Finnish police searches for Hex founder Richard Heart for tax evasion and assault.
• Accounts on X were hacked to promote scam Solana memecoins.
• Moody’s identified DePIN as a promising infrastructure approach.
• Global banking giants joined Project Agora to improve cross-border payments.
• Bitget signed an eight-figure deal with LaLiga.
• Silvergate Capital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware.
• HNT dropped after backlash against the Helium v3 proposal.
• Rari Capital settled with the SEC over unregistered offerings.
• DZ Bank offered crypto trading to clients through a partnership with Boerse Stuttgart offered.
• WazirX struggled to recover funds 60 days post-hack.
• Worldcoin tested facial recognition tech for its World App.
• UNKJD Soccer collaborated with Puma for exclusive in-game content.
• Aave’s community opposed offboarding WBTC amid restructuring plans.
• Crypto.com received full approval from Bahrain’s authorities.
• Decentraland’s X account was hacked to promote a fake MANA airdrop.
• ConsenSys vowed to continue fighting after the judge dismissed the SEC lawsuit.
• Coinbase’s cbBTC became the third-largest wrapped BTC token in one week.
• The SEC requested a 4-month extension for fact discovery in the Coinbase case.
• Judges questioned the CFTC and Kalshi over the legality of US election markets.
• Nosana announced plans to launch its mainnet in January 2025.
• Jupiter acquired Coinhall and SolanaFM to expand DEX services.
• BlackRock modified its Coinbase custody deal to require 12-hour withdrawals.
• Aethir and Filecoin teamed up to expand GPU resources and improve security.
• Arthur Hayes recorded a 36% loss after selling PENDLE tokens.
• Prominent Listings:
  • Binance: First Neiro on Ethereum (NEIRO), Turbo (TURBO), Baby Doge Coin (1MBABYDOGE)
  • Upbit: Nervos Network (CKB), cat in a dogs world (MEW)
  • Coinbase: ZetaChain (ZETA), Aleo (ALEO)
• Fund & Fundraising:
  • Dragonfly: $500M - 4th fund (plan)
  • Borderless Capital: $100M DePIN fund
  • CertiK Ventures: $45M Web3 investment plan
  • TON: $30M
  • Drift: $25M
  • Chromia: $20M data and AI fund
  • Hemi Labs: $15M
  • Permissionless Labs: $10M
  • Yellow Network: $10M
  • CUDIS: $5M
  • Sorted Wallet: $1.5M
  • One Trading: undisclosed

Revolut's USD Stablecoin Joins Growing Stablecoin Market

In the week's stablecoin developments, Revolut plans to introduce a compliance-first U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, reflecting the growing competition in the crowded stablecoin ecosystem. Circle expands USDC to Sui blockchain, Brazil, Mexico, and Ethereum's Layer 2 Soneium. BitGo to launch USDS stablecoin rewarding liquidity providers. CEX.io integrates Stellar for USDC cash services with MoneyGram. 

BNB Chain enables gas-free stablecoin transfers to boost mainstream adoption. The TON and Curve Finance collaboration aims to streamline stablecoin trading. TrueX Exchange debuts with stablecoin trading and sets PYUSD as default. Monerium launches the first euro-backed stablecoin, EURe, on Noble blockchain. Stablecoins have gained systemic importance, accounting for about 50% of all onchain transaction volumes and expanding non-crypto use. Societe Generale's Crypto Unit shifts Euro stablecoin to Solana for improved performance.  

GameFi and Tap-to-Earn Developments Dominate Telegram Leaks

Various updates in the GameFi and Tap-to-Earn sectors on Telegram should be noted this week. Binance's Moonbix, a P2E mini-game leaked on Telegram, enables players to pilot spaceships and gather in-game items to earn cryptocurrency. Although Binance apologized for the leak, users have to complete a KYC process and link their Binance accounts to participate. 

Hamster Kombat is preparing for Season 2 and a token airdrop, dedicating 60% of its total token supply to the player community. Additionally, TON Blockchain secured $30 million for Tap-to-Earn and GameFi. On the other hand, Catizen introduced an airdrop pass program, aiming for long-term player engagement and transparent token distribution, amidst community concerns. Furthermore, Flappy Bird's crypto reboot on TON faced controversy due to the original creator denying involvement.  

Genesis Creditor Loses $243M in Advanced Crypto Heist

After conducting an advanced social engineering operation, a $243 million cryptocurrency heist targeted a Genesis creditor and culminated in multiple arrests. The attackers pretended to be Google and Gemini support staff, gaining access to personal and exchange accounts, ultimately stealing a substantial amount of Bitcoin. 

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT identified the culprits as Greavys (Malone Iam), Wiz (Veer Chetal), and Box (Jeandiel Serrano), leading to their arrests in Miami and Los Angeles. Through collaboration with law enforcement and crypto forensic investigators, over $9 million has been frozen, and $500,000 returned. This case demonstrates the importance of robust security measures in the digital asset space and the efficacy of blockchain analysts in combating illicit crypto activity.  

BingX Cyberattack Results in $45M Hot Wallet Loss

BingX, a Singapore-based crypto exchange, incurred a massive loss of $45-$52 million in a recent cyberattack on its hot wallets across 11 blockchains. Initially downplaying the incident as a "minor asset loss," the company later acknowledged the breach following intense scrutiny. With $26.7 million in assets drained from an Ethereum wallet, the total loss was estimated at approximately $44.7 million. 

Despite reassurances from BingX's Chief Product Officer, Vivien Lin, about securing the majority of funds in cold wallets, concerns persist. This breach adds to a series of targeted attacks on centralized crypto exchanges in Asia, raising security apprehensions in the industry.  

Solana Boosted by Smartphone, Finance, and Gaming Developments

Solana's Seeker smartphone was unveiled as a rewards-driven upgrade. Franklin Templeton plans to launch an on-chain mutual fund on Solana, while Citibank explores its network for money transfers. An early version of Jump Crypto’s Firedancer validator, Frankendancer, launched on Solana’s mainnet, boosting SOL’s price. Sky Ecosystem, formerly MakerDAO, proposed expanding its USDS token to Solana using the Wormhole bridge. 

Stacks-based sBTC, a Bitcoin derivative, is also coming to Solana, promising faster transactions and expanded utility. Reown (formerly WalletConnect) introduced its Solana Appkit to enhance ecosystem development with tools like wallet integration and token swaps. Worldcoin's World IDs authenticated on Solana via Wormhole, bridging Ethereum to Solana for state roots deployment. These developments emphasize Solana’s growing influence across mobile, DeFi, and institutional finance sectors.

Growing Institutional Interest in Tokenized Real-World Assets

Growing institutional interest in tokenized assets and bridging TradFi and DeFi was strengthened. WisdomTree launched WisdomTreeConnect, an Ethereum platform for tokenizing RWAs, aiming to enhance B2B opportunities. It bridges traditional and DeFi, offers multi-chain trading, and supports fiat-to-crypto conversions. 

Hedera launched its Asset Tokenization Studio to promote real-world assets (RWAs) on-chain, while Securitize and Wormhole partnered to enhance cross-chain RWA transfers for institutions, including BlackRock, boosting institutional tokenization. Meanwhile, SingularityDAO partnered with Cogito Finance to integrate tokenized RWAs like U.S. Treasury Bills, green bonds, and AI sector funds into its AI-powered DynaVaults v2, providing new investment opportunities in decentralized finance. 

Terraform Labs to Wind Down After $4.47B Lawsuit Settlement

Terraform Labs has received court approval to wind down operations in bankruptcy after settling a $4.47 billion lawsuit with the SEC. US Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon approved the plan, signaling the end of the bankruptcy proceedings initiated in January. Co-founder Do Kwon and the company were found liable for defrauding investors by $40 billion, prompting the settlement. 

Kwon is set to pay $110 million, transfer assets to the bankruptcy estate, and prepare for liquidation. The SEC's collection of the settlement amount hinges on Terraform covering all losses during liquidation, which could reach between $184.5 million and $442.2 million for crypto purchasers and stakeholders.  

Trump-Backed WLFI Governance Token Set for U.S. Investors

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), backed by Donald Trump’s family, is set to launch a governance token, restricted to accredited U.S. investors, with 63% of the supply set for sale. WLFI aims to simplify DeFi and promote U.S.-based stablecoins, with Scroll co-founder Sandy Peng joining its advisory board alongside high-profile figures. Following Trump’s interview, Trump-themed meme coins, like MAGA and TRUMP, saw sharp price increases, with gains of up to 68%, despite his lack of detail regarding WLFI. 

Hilbert Group, Xapo Bank Launch Bitcoin-Denominated Credit Fund

The Hilbert Group and Xapo Bank collaborated to launch the BTC-denominated credit fund, with an initial investment of 3000 Bitcoins, currently valued at $175 million. The fund, managed by Hilbert Capital, offers Bitcoin investors a high-quality institutional-grade yield and is intended for global availability by Xapo Bank, subject to regulatory approval. 

Both companies expressed enthusiasm, expecting to exceed Hilbert’s anticipated $200 million target for 2024. The Hilbert Group, a Swedish public company listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market, specializes in algorithmic trading strategies and is dedicated to fulfilling the demands of institutional investors by providing operational infrastructure and risk management.  

Banana Gun Bot Exploited, $1.9M Stolen from Users

On September 19, 2024, it was reported that the Telegram-based Banana Gun bot was exploited, resulting in the theft of $1.9 million in digital assets (536 ETH and some Solana-based assets) from at least 36 users. The Banana Gun team confirmed no vulnerabilities in their backend, suggesting the exploit may have occurred through Telegram. The bot was paused for investigation, and users were advised to move their assets to new wallets. Despite the incident, less than 10 users were affected, and the Banana Gun bot remains a major player with $6.7B lifetime volume.