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- Crypto Alpha, Week 24 2024
Crypto Alpha, Week 24 2024
All things Crypto, Web3 and Blockchain to keep you updated
TL;DR
Trump Urges US-Based Bitcoin Mining
MetaPlanet Acquires ¥250 Million More in Bitcoin
SEC Chair Anticipates Spot Ether ETF Approvals by Summer 2024
MetaMask Launches Pooled Staking for Ethereum Holders
Injective Integrates PYUSD, a Stablecoin by PayPal & Paxos
Akash Successfully Upgrades to Mainnet 12
Circle Launches Solana Programmable Wallets and Gas Station
Solana Labs Launches Customer Loyalty Platform 'Bond'
Avalanche Teams Up with TestMachine for Smart Contract Security
Ava Protocol Secures $10M for 'Super Transactions' Development
Biden Campaign Considering Bitcoin and Crypto Donations
Singapore Warns Businesses of Bitcoin Ransomware Risk
And much more!
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Bitcoin Highlights of the Week
Donald Trump reiterated his support for the Bitcoin mining industry after meeting with executives from U.S. crypto mining firms on Wednesday. In a June 11 post on his Truth Social platform, Trump emphasized his desire for “all the remaining Bitcoin to be MADE IN THE USA!!!” He claimed this would help the country achieve “energy dominance.”
Trump also argued that Bitcoin was the country’s “last line of defense” against a central bank digital currency (CBDC), despite Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stating in March that the U.S. was “nowhere near recommending or adopting a CBDC.” The meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida included Riot Platforms CEO Jason Les, public policy head Brian Morgenstern, CleanSpark executive chairman Matthew Schultz, and TeraWulf board member Amanda Fabiano, according to posts on X.
Itaú Unibanco, the largest bank in Brazil and Latin America, has launched Bitcoin and crypto trading through its investment app, Ion. Initially available only to select clients in December 2023, the app now allows all users to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum.
According to Itaú's digital assets head, Guto Antunes, the expansion was driven by strong demand from initial users in weekly surveys. Although specific user numbers weren't disclosed, the Ion app has been downloaded over 3.5 million times, indicating significant interest in crypto trading in Brazil.
Itaú developed its own custody solution for client wallets instead of using third parties, providing each user with a separate wallet for asset segregation. As the country's largest bank, Itaú's move into Bitcoin trading is expected to boost mainstream adoption, positioning the bank as a preferred gateway for Brazilians entering the crypto market.
Japanese hotel and services provider Metaplanet announced on X that it purchased an additional ¥250 million ($1.8 million) worth of Bitcoin. This purchase aligns with Metaplanet's strategy of accumulating Bitcoin, similar to MicroStrategy's approach.
As of June 11, Metaplanet holds around 141 Bitcoin, acquired for ¥1.45 billion at an average price of ¥10,278,391 ($65,000) per Bitcoin. The company adopted Bitcoin as its treasury reserve asset in April 2024, starting with an initial ¥1 billion purchase and has continued to buy more since then.
NiceHash, a prominent marketplace for Bitcoin hashing power, has teamed up with Marathon Digital Holdings to launch specialized firmware for ASIC miners available on its platform.
The newly introduced product, called NiceHash Firmware, incorporates Marathon's technology to optimize the performance and profitability of Bitcoin miners utilizing ASIC devices. Miners adopting this firmware can benefit from a competitive fee structure starting at 2%, which decreases to 1.4% when using NiceHash as their primary mining pool.
NiceHash Firmware aims to maximize miners' earnings by incentivizing the sale of surplus hashing power through its marketplace and enhancing the efficiency of ASIC machines.
Hidden Road, a prime brokerage supported by Citadel Securities, is expanding institutional access to digital assets through a partnership with Bitfinex.
Bitfinex announced on June 13 that it is integrating with Hidden Road, enhancing the brokerage's institutional offerings with new digital assets and security tools.
Through this collaboration, Bitfinex will assist Hidden Road in expanding or launching services such as derivatives trading, spot trading, peer-to-peer lending, over-the-counter (OTC) trading, margin trading, and more.
Bitfinex, the cryptocurrency exchange, is owned by iFinex, which also operates Tether, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin, Tether (USDT). Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, also serves as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Bitfinex.
Daily Alphas of the Week
Ethereum Highlights of the Week
SEC Chair Gary Gensler informed lawmakers that the Securities and Exchange Commission could finalize approvals for listing and trading spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) within the next three months.
During a June 13 Senate Banking Committee hearing on President Joe Biden’s 2025 budget requests for the SEC, Gensler indicated that the commission anticipates approving S-1 registration statements for asset managers "sometime over the course of this summer." Recently, the SEC approved 19b-4 filings from eight companies on May 23, but these ETF applications require additional S-1 approvals before they can commence trading on U.S. exchanges.
Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee pressed Gensler on the delay in approving Ether ETFs, questioning the SEC's approach to setting regulatory standards for the crypto industry.
Aethir, a decentralized provider of physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), has launched its decentralized cloud computing network on the Ethereum mainnet. Enterprises, data centers, cloud providers, and cryptocurrency miners can contribute their unused GPU resources to Aethir's GPU-as-a-service solutions network.
Mark Rydon, co-founder of Aethir, highlighted the significance of the mainnet launch, stating: "By establishing a scalable framework to redistribute idle computing resources, we aim to foster innovation in AI, machine learning, and cloud gaming. On the mainnet, reputable enterprises can participate in the Aethir network, enhancing access to GPU resources."
MetaMask has launched a new staking service that allows users to pool their funds and stake Ethereum (ETH) with enterprise-grade validators operated by ConsenSys, a blockchain software company. This service enables MetaMask wallet users to stake their ETH without needing to meet Ethereum's minimum requirement of 32 ETH, which is currently valued at approximately $112,000.
Through MetaMask's staking pool, users can contribute less than the required amount of ETH and still earn staking rewards for helping secure the network.
What is ETH staking? With Ethereum's transition to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, the network relies on validators to process transactions, store data, and add blocks to the Beacon Chain, replacing the previous mining model.
Polygon, a leading Ethereum Layer 2 scaling protocol, has advanced community ownership and governance by launching the Polygon Governance Hub. Enhancing Community Governance on Polygon Developed by the Aragon Project, renowned for creating Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), the Polygon Governance Hub offers a comprehensive governance solution. This includes protocol governance contracts and a community-driven interface.
The main objective of the Polygon Governance Hub is to foster community engagement and integrate their perspectives into the ecosystem continually. It emphasizes decentralization through three governance pillars: protocol governance, smart contract governance, and community treasury governance. The hub currently consolidates interfaces for protocol and smart contract governance.
Amid concerns over meme coins, Vitalik Buterin has outlined key areas where cryptocurrencies are poised to make significant advancements. His vision focuses on technological innovations that aim to enhance the utility and accessibility of digital currencies, particularly through zero-knowledge (zk) technology. This innovation could transform digital identity, credentials, and online interactions.
Buterin also emphasized progress in peer-to-peer cross-border payment systems, highlighting reduced transaction fees and improved user experiences that make international transactions quicker and more cost-effective. These advancements are crucial for reshaping global commerce.
In addition, Buterin sees promise in decentralized social networks, which promise greater user control over data and enhanced privacy.
Solana Highlights of the Week
Circle has announced the integration of Solana blockchain into its Web3 services, introducing features like programmable wallets and gas stations. This rollout will occur in two phases, as outlined in a June 12 announcement. Initially, Circle will focus on programmable wallets, enabling developers to automate asset management based on predefined rules. Additionally, the integration includes sponsored transaction fees through Circle's gas station feature.
In the second phase, Circle plans to add support for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and program interactions via the Smart Contract Platform on Solana. This expansion aligns Solana with other major blockchains already supported by Circle, such as Ethereum, Polygon, and Avalanche.
Solana Labs has introduced Bond, a novel platform enabling traditional brands to harness blockchain technology for enhanced customer engagement. Bond is a blockchain-based customer loyalty platform designed to bolster long-term customer loyalty for brands. Solana Labs assures that brands need not possess blockchain expertise to utilize Bond, as it will be accessible through a straightforward application programming interface (API).
According to Solana Labs, Bond addresses critical issues in current loyalty programs, particularly the disconnect that occurs when products are resold or gifted, thus losing connection with the original customer. Unlike other recent blockchain-focused initiatives by Solana Labs, such as Solana Mobile, Bond does not prominently feature cryptocurrency.
In the realm of meme coins, DADDY and MOTHER are making waves with their recent price surges and celebrity endorsements. DADDY, backed by Andrew Tate, experienced a meteoric 500% rise after Tate publicly supported it, aiming to outpace MOTHER, another meme coin. Despite hitting an all-time high of $0.36, DADDY retraced to $0.25, sparking controversy over alleged insider purchases and Tate's significant holdings.
Meanwhile, MOTHER, launched by Iggy Azalea, saw a staggering 700% increase over the past month, reaching a peak of $0.23 before settling around $0.16. Criticism from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin highlighted concerns over the trend of celebrity-driven meme coins, contrasting it with more substantive blockchain initiatives like Stoner Cats.
Helio, a crypto payments platform, unveiled a major upgrade to its Solana Pay plugin for Shopify on Thursday. This enhancement now enables millions of Shopify merchants to accept payments in hundreds of cryptocurrencies. The updated plugin features expanded token support, enhanced loyalty programs, and seamless integration, significantly bolstering the functionality of Solana Pay.
In an interview, Helio CEO Stijn Paumen highlighted that Solana Pay's strength lies in its ability to facilitate ultra-fast payments secured by blockchain technology, directly settling transactions between merchants and customers without intermediaries.
TipLink, a user-friendly wallet specializing in seamless digital asset transfers, introduced its Wallet Adapter and TipLink Pro distribution platform on June 11th. With $6 million in seed funding from Sequoia and Multicoin last year, TipLink aims to democratize Web3 technologies.
The Wallet Adapter marks a significant advancement by bridging traditional web users to decentralized applications (dApps). It simplifies access by integrating with Google logins, eliminating the need for complex seed phrases, browser extensions, or app installations. Users can now interact with dApps directly through their web browsers, employing a streamlined interface akin to Apple Pay on mobile for signing transactions.
Cosmos Highlights of the Week
On June 11, 2024, Mande Network officially announced the imminent launch of its Mainnet, scheduled for June 14, 2024, at the Dymension RollApp event. With the genesis block unlocked, the network is set for full operation, marking a significant milestone in blockchain innovation.
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