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- Crypto Alpha, Week 25 2024
Crypto Alpha, Week 25 2024
All things Crypto, Web3 and Blockchain to keep you updated
TL;DR
Winklevoss Twins Donate $2M in Bitcoin to Trump
Standard Chartered Launches Bitcoin Trading Desk
Vitalik Buterin Introduces Key Ethereum Security Practice
SEC Ends Ethereum Investigation to Avoid Court Battle
3iQ to Launch First Solana ETP in North America
Mirror World Raises $12M to Build Solana Game Engine
DEGA Launches on Injective: GameFi Expansion Begins
Osmosis DAO Adopts Fee-Free Bitcoin Bridge via Nomic
Konami Launches Avalanche NFT Platform
Avalanche Ambassador DAO Launches Snowfort
Trump Pledges to Stop Biden's Crypto Crackdown
RFK Jr. Pledges to Pardon Silk Road’s Ross Ulbricht if Elected
And much more!
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Bitcoin Highlights of the Week
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of Gemini, donated over $2 million in Bitcoin to former President Donald Trump's campaign. They announced their contributions on social media, aiming to counter the Biden Administration's regulatory approach towards cryptocurrency, which they view as hostile.
Tyler Winklevoss criticized the administration for allegedly using government agencies to stifle crypto innovation and target businesses, citing "Operation Choke Point 2.0." He argued that these actions harm the American economy and stifle innovation in the crypto sector.
CleanSpark, a Bitcoin mining company utilizing clean energy, announced the acquisition of five mining facilities in Georgia through a $25.8-million deal. The acquisition, expected to close immediately, will add a combined processing power exceeding 3.7 exahashes per second (EH/s). The facilities vary in capacity, ranging from 8 to 15 megawatts (MW) of power, totaling 60 MW. CleanSpark anticipates its total hashrate will surpass 20 EH/s by the end of June.
The newly acquired sites come with interruptible-load power purchase agreements (PPAs), enabling them to offer load-balancing services to the local electrical grid. CleanSpark CEO Zach Bradford highlighted the positive impact of the acquisition on both the company and regional energy infrastructure, emphasizing the synergy between Bitcoin mining operations and local power resources.
After a year of development, Lava is unveiling its first two financial products—Lava Free Pay and Lava Exchange. Lava CEO Shezhan Maredia discussed with Bitcoin Magazine how these new tools aim to revolutionize digital dollar handling and Bitcoin access, enhancing the mobile self-custodial experience.
Lava Free Pay promises to streamline global payments by eliminating the need for intermediary steps and fees, such as those associated with converting to volatile currencies. This service offers seamless stablecoin integration within Bitcoin wallets, enabling free, instant, and global transactions. Lava’s innovation aims to make digital dollars more practical and accessible for everyday use, simplifying the user experience significantly.
Hashdex has filed a proposal with the SEC for a combined spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Nasdaq. The ETF aims to mirror the market capitalization-weighted proportions of 70.54% BTC and 29.46% ETH as of May 27, tracking the Nasdaq Crypto US Settlement Price Index passively rather than attempting to outperform it.
The ETF's strategy is designed to adapt if additional cryptocurrencies become eligible for inclusion based on specific criteria, such as being listed on U.S.-regulated digital asset or derivatives platforms. Custodianship for BTC and ETH assets will be managed by Coinbase and BitGo, ensuring the security of holdings through segregated accounts for individual shareholders.
Standard Chartered, a global banking giant, is set to launch a Bitcoin and ether spot trading desk, becoming one of the first major banks to directly offer such services. The new London-based trading desk, integrated within the bank's FX trading unit, is poised to meet increasing institutional demand for cryptocurrency trading.
Having maintained a positive stance on Bitcoin for years, Standard Chartered has worked closely with regulators to facilitate trading opportunities for its institutional clients. The bank's existing involvement in crypto includes offering custody services through Zodia Custody and investment in Zodia Markets, which caters to institutional Bitcoin and crypto trading.
Daily Alphas of the Week
Ethereum Highlights of the Week
Vitalik Buterin has advocated for implementing mixed-case checksum addresses in Ethereum to enhance network security. This proposal, detailed in ERC-3770, aims to mitigate risks associated with transaction errors and potential losses by requiring wallets to generate and validate checksummed addresses. By incorporating both uppercase and lowercase letters in Ethereum addresses, checksums can significantly reduce the likelihood of mistakenly inputting incorrect addresses during transactions.
Buterin emphasizes the importance of adopting checksum addresses across all Ethereum wallets, particularly those utilizing ERC-3770 standards. This practice aligns with EIP-55 guidelines, which specify the use of checksums to verify the accuracy of address inputs.
The SEC has decided to halt its investigation into whether Ethereum (ETH) should be classified as a security, marking a significant development in regulatory clarity for the cryptocurrency. This decision came as a surprise to many in the crypto industry on June 19, 2024, following the SEC's approval of spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Despite the SEC's approval of Ether ETFs, legal experts like Carol Goforth caution that this does not definitively classify Ethereum as a commodity. Goforth, a professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law specializing in securities regulation, explained that ETF approvals are independent of asset classification and do not determine whether the underlying asset—such as commodities—truly fits that classification.
Bitwise has updated its Form S-1 filing with the SEC for its forthcoming spot Ether ETF, revealing that Pantera Capital Management has expressed interest in investing up to $100 million in the ETF upon its launch. However, the filing clarifies that these expressions of interest are non-binding and do not guarantee the exact amount Pantera will ultimately invest.
The revised filing represents a crucial step in the approval process required before the spot Ether ETF can begin trading publicly. SEC Chair Gary Gensler has indicated expectations for the ETF to debut "sometime over the course of this summer," underscoring the anticipation and regulatory milestones involved in bringing such financial products to market.
Bitwise has launched its inaugural spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) advertisement, offering enthusiasts the opportunity to mint the 39-second clip as a non-fungible token (NFT) on the Ethereum blockchain. The proceeds from these NFT mints will go to Protocol Guild, a funding mechanism established by Ethereum core contributors and the actors featured in the ad.
The commercial, styled around Ethereum's continuous operation compared to traditional finance's downtime, draws parallels reminiscent of Apple's iconic Mac vs. PC campaign from the early 2000s. It features a dialogue between a representative of Ethereum and a character symbolizing "Big Finance," portrayed as settling in for the night after managing global transactions worth billions.
BEVM, with support from Bitman, has launched a relay chain on the OP Stack that utilizes Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) as gas, enhancing the interoperability between Ethereum and the BEVM network. This development aims to facilitate seamless asset transfers and establish a critical bridge for token movements, crucially supporting future compatibility with ZK-Rollup technology.
BEVM-Stack has initiated a testnet event to demonstrate these functionalities, marking a substantial advancement in transaction efficiency and utility expansion within decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems. Leveraging WBTC's liquidity for gas payments underscores the initiative's strategic approach to enhancing transactional capabilities across blockchain networks.
Solana Highlights of the Week
Digital asset manager 3iQ has filed for a Solana exchange-traded product (ETP), named QSOL, on Canada's Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). If approved, this would mark the first Solana ETP listed in North America. The product aims to provide shareholders with exposure to Solana (SOL) and potential staking yields from the network, estimated between 6-8%.
3iQ's preliminary prospectus was submitted to securities regulatory authorities across Canadian provinces and territories, excluding Quebec. Coinbase Custody and Tetra Trust will serve as custodians, with Coinbase Custody offering exclusive institutional staking infrastructure for the fund.
Teleport, a new rideshare service built on the Solana blockchain, has debuted with 857 drivers in its initial city. Solana co-founder Raj Gokal lauded this venture, emphasizing its potential to succeed where other services have struggled. Teleport utilizes the Trip protocol, which ensures a fairer fare distribution by taking only a 15% cut compared to Uber’s 44%.
Gokal’s endorsement of Teleport underscores the significant impact blockchain technology can have on the rideshare industry. By leveraging Solana's capabilities, Teleport promises to transform the traditional model, providing more equitable financial benefits to both drivers and passengers.
Mirror World CEO Chris Zhu highlights the lack of infrastructure for game developers on Solana, noting the absence of features like cross-chain swaps and crypto on- and off-ramps that are common on other blockchains. To address these challenges, Mirror World Labs raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Bitkraft, Galaxy Interactive, and Big Brain Holdings to advance the development of their gaming rollup, Sonic, which launched in March.
Despite Solana's growing popularity, Zhu emphasizes the need for custom features like privacy, instant settlements, and asset transfer rules tailored for gaming applications. The funding aims to enhance Solana's gaming SDK, designed to onboard GameFi developers and provide the necessary tools for building games on the blockchain.
Bitget Wallet has rolled out its new "Smart Money" feature on Solana through Bitget Swap, leveraging advanced AI to monitor over 100,000 influential addresses in real-time. This tool enhances user trading insights by tracking professional investors' strategies directly within the app, spanning Solana, Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and others.
The introduction of cross-chain transaction support aims to enrich trading opportunities and deepen user engagement on the Solana blockchain, which has seen significant growth in the DeFi and meme coin sectors, with its Total Value Locked (TVL) surpassing $5 billion.
The MEV sandwich bot known as "arsc" on Solana has quietly generated approximately $30 million in profits over the past two months through maximal extractible value (MEV) attacks. This bot executes MEV sandwich attacks by manipulating transaction prices to buy tokens at discounted rates from unsuspecting users and selling them at higher prices within the same block.
Ben Coverston from MRGN Research noted that arsc has deliberately maintained a low profile while accumulating substantial wealth from Solana network participants. Key wallets associated with arsc include one holding over $19 million in SOL tokens and USDC, primarily used for cold storage, indicating strategic financial management in its operations.
Cosmos Highlights of the Week
DEGA has integrated with Injective, marking Injective's entry into the gaming sector. This collaboration introduces new opportunities for developers within the Injective ecosystem to create games. The integration includes cross-community events, airdrops of exclusive Elements & Characters, and other joint initiatives.
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