- WAGMI
- Posts
- Crypto Alpha, Week 29 2024
Crypto Alpha, Week 29 2024
All things Crypto, Web3 and Blockchain to keep you updated
In partnership with
TL;DR
Mt. Gox Transfers $6 Billion in Bitcoin
BlackRock's Fink Acknowledges Bitcoin as Digital Gold
SEC Grants Preliminary Approval for ETH ETFs
Vitalik Buterin Warns Against Pro-Crypto Candidates
Ether ETFs Pave Way for Solana ETFs
Solana Co-Founder on Effective Airdrop Design
Synternet Launches with Interchain Integration
Brev.dev Acquired by NVIDIA
Avalanche Eyes Top 10 with Potential 200% Surge
AUSD Announces Expansion to Avalanche
Court Orders Arrest of Doctor Over Binance Exec's Health
China Eyes Reversal on Bitcoin Ban
And much more!
Premium Content of the Week
Sponsor of the Week
Protect your bitcoin with cold storage that you control and get access to trading, inheritance, loans, and IRAs - all backed by the best support in the industry.
Take control of your bitcoin in the safest way possible with Unchained's multisig vaults. Buy Bitcoin directly to cold storage and avoid exchange risks with Unchained's Trading Desk. Roll over an old 401k or IRA into Bitcoin with the industry's best IRA product, keeping control of your keys.
Bitcoin Highlights of the Week
Mt. Gox's rehabilitation trustee transferred approximately $6 billion worth of Bitcoin to new wallets, advancing efforts to repay creditors from the 2014 hack. On-chain data reveals that around 95,870 BTC were moved in two transactions, with the first 47,000 BTC valued at nearly $3 billion. These funds are part of the $9 billion owed to creditors. Kraken confirmed receipt of these funds, informing creditors to expect distribution within 7-14 days.
Despite market fears of potential price drops from immediate liquidations, most creditors are expected to hold their coins. The reimbursement marks a significant step in resolving one of Bitcoin's most notorious incidents, showcasing the community's resilience and commitment to transparency.
An open-source collaboration between StarkWare and L2 Iterative has verified the first zero-knowledge proof on Bitcoin's testnet, marking a significant milestone. Spearheaded by Weikeng Chen, this project involved moving computations for zero-knowledge proofs to Bitcoin's network using the OP_CAT script.
StarkWare’s Eli Ben-Sasson highlighted the importance of this development, calling it a step towards closing the technology gap between Bitcoin and advanced cryptographic tools. Chen, despite challenges, remains optimistic about future innovations, emphasizing the need for a cohesive vision to attract talented developers to Bitcoin's ecosystem.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, previously a skeptic, now recognizes Bitcoin as "digital gold" and a legitimate financial instrument. In a CNBC interview, Fink highlighted Bitcoin's potential for uncorrelated returns, especially during economic instability and currency debasement. He noted Bitcoin's value for individuals in countries facing economic challenges.
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust has become the largest Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, with inflows surpassing $18 billion this year. Following Fink's comments and other positive developments, Bitcoin's price surged, reversing recent negative trends and rising above $60,000.
Craig Wright has issued a legal disclaimer on his website, stating he is not Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. This follows a ruling by the UK High Court of Justice, influenced by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), which provided substantial evidence debunking Wright's claims. The disclaimer acknowledges Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper and does not hold its copyright.
In 2023, Wright sued several Bitcoin developers for copyright violations, asserting he was Satoshi. COPA's evidence and expert testimonies revealed Wright's forgeries and metadata tampering. The court ruled against Wright, leading to his assets being frozen and recommending a perjury investigation by the Crown Prosecution Service.
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust saw significant investor interest, attracting $260 million on July 16, contributing to a total of $422.5 million in net inflows for US spot Bitcoin ETFs, marking the eighth consecutive day of positive inflows. This surge represents the strongest trading day since June 5. Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF followed with $61.1 million and $29.8 million, respectively.
BlackRock's Bitcoin holdings now exceed $20 billion, bolstered by a recent purchase of 4,004 Bitcoin and a 3% price rise since Monday. This milestone comes shortly after CEO Larry Fink acknowledged Bitcoin as a "legitimate" financial instrument. Bitcoin's price has risen 13.1% over the last week, currently at $65,470, following concerns over German government Bitcoin sales and Mt. Gox repayments.
Daily Alphas of the Week
Ethereum Highlights of the Week
The SEC has reportedly granted preliminary approval to BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and VanEck for their spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This approval is contingent on the submission of final offering documents by the end of the week, with trading potentially beginning on July 23.
Other applicants, including Fidelity, 21Shares, Grayscale, Bitwise, and Invesco Galaxy, are also expected to launch their Ether products simultaneously. The SEC's approval process has involved feedback and amendments to the S-1 filings, with final instructions for submission by July 16. Analysts predict significant inflows into the Ether ETFs, potentially attracting up to $15 billion in the first 18 months.
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, cautioned voters against supporting political candidates solely based on their pro-crypto stance. In a blog post, he emphasized that such candidates might only be making superficial promises and urged consideration of broader issues like privacy, internationalism, and immigration.
The post sparked varied reactions, with Messari CEO Ryan Selkis labeling Buterin as "politically naive" and suggesting that Buterin's idealism overshadowed practical political understanding. Buterin’s warning comes amid increasing support for crypto by Republicans and Donald Trump. Some in the crypto community, like Bitwise’s Jake Chervinsky and Coin Center’s Peter Van Valkenburgh, agreed with Buterin’s broader view on political alignment.
Sponsor of the Week
Trade Smarter with these Free, Daily Stock Alerts
It’s never too late to learn how to master the stock market.
You’ll receive daily trade alerts sent directly to your phone and email detailing the hottest stock picks.
The best part? There’s no cost to join!
Expert insights will be at your fingertips instantly.
BlackRock has settled on a 0.25% annual fee for its forthcoming spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF), outlined in its S-1 registration filed on July 17. The fee will be calculated daily based on the fund's net asset value and paid out quarterly in US dollars or in-kind.
Initially, the fee will be reduced to 0.12% for the first 12 months or until the fund reaches $2.5 billion in assets. Competitors like Franklin Templeton, Bitwise, and VanEck have proposed fees ranging from 0.19% to 0.21%, with some offering fee waivers to attract initial investments. Regulatory approval is expected by July 22, with trading slated to begin on July 23 across major exchanges.
Former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith's prison term has been reduced by seven months, now set to end in January 2025 following his guilty plea for violating US sanctions on North Korea. Judge Kevin Castel of the Southern District of New York approved the reduction from 63 to 56 months in a July 16 court filing.
Griffith initially gained attention for speaking at a North Korean crypto conference in 2019, advocating for crypto's potential to bypass sanctions. Despite acknowledging his rule infractions in prison, the judge cited Griffith's hardships and reduced public threat as reasons for the sentence reduction, balancing it against the need for deterrence in similar cases.
The SEC has greenlit Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust and ProShares Ethereum ETF for trading on NYSE Arca, pending final S-1 filing approvals. Grayscale is progressing towards converting its Grayscale Ethereum Trust into an ETF, with plans to distribute shares to existing ETHE fund holders.
Meanwhile, eight spot Ether ETFs await final SEC clearance, with preliminary approval granted to three issuers for potential listing by July 23. ProShares, filing later than its peers, will not be among those expected to list immediately.
Solana Highlights of the Week
The imminent launch of the first spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has opened doors for more crypto ETFs, including potential Solana-based ETFs. Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas suggests this move will likely lead to an influx of additional crypto ETFs, with the first spot Ether ETFs potentially starting to trade by July 23.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has instructed issuers to submit final filings by July 16, signaling an official launch date. Balchunas anticipates combined crypto ETFs with exposure to multiple cryptocurrencies following soon after the Ether ETFs. He asserts that this development will significantly impact the market, predicting the introduction of ETFs with mixed Bitcoin and Ether exposure.
Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko has shared his rule for effective airdrop distribution: avoid complaints and reward genuine power users. His advice comes as Sanctum, built on Solana, faces backlash over its recent token allocation favoring active contributors over capital investors.
Sanctum's strategy, aiming to reward genuine engagement, sparked community dissatisfaction, leading to an acknowledgment from the company and plans to address the concerns by allowing additional submissions and considering long-term commitments. Sanctum’s new airdrop approach offers recipients a choice between immediate token claims or waiting for a potential bonus of up to 100% after six months.
Sponsor of the Week
Join the Biggest Cosmos Trading Competition on Demex!
Solana meme coin developer Mikol, who suffered third-degree burns during a stunt to promote his TruthOrDare (DARE) token, is planning a world tour and aiming to climb Mount Everest. After nearly two months of recovery, Mikol shared on the 'What’s the Meta?' podcast that he and his team intend to stream their journey to Everest's base camp.
The tour will involve various stunts in different countries to engage with the community and boost the project's visibility. Despite his traumatic incident, Mikol is committed to his project and plans to launch a decentralized app where users can earn DARE tokens by completing dares.
Hours before the FBI identified Thomas Matthew Crooks as the gunman in the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, over 1,000 Solana meme coins, were created referencing the incident. The Pump.fun platform facilitated the rapid minting of Trump-related tokens, with some mistakenly identifying an innocent man, Mark Violets, causing significant confusion. Among these, the token TSHOOTER reached a $200,000 market cap.
As the situation developed, Bitcoin’s price surged, reflecting Trump's perceived pro-crypto stance. However, the Crooks-related tokens lost value as clarity emerged, showcasing the volatile and reactionary nature of the crypto market during real-time events.
Subscribe to WAGMI Premium to read the rest.
Become a paying subscriber of WAGMI Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.
Already a paying subscriber? Sign In.
A subscription gets you:
- • No Ads
- • Weekly News Summary
- • Weekly Market Summary
- • Weekly Airdrop Summary