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- Crypto Alpha, Week 33 2024
Crypto Alpha, Week 33 2024
All things Crypto, Web3 and Blockchain to keep you updated
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TL;DR
S. Korea Pension Fund Buys $34m MicroStrategy Shares
Miner Capitulation Hints at Bitcoin Bottom
Aleph Zero Launches zkOS-Powered Ethereum Layer 2
Vitalik Donates $500K in Memecoins to Charity
Renzo Expands into Solana with Launch of ezSOL on Jito
OKX Introduces Solana 'Blinks' to Ethereum Chains
USDC ‘Tap-and-Go’ Feature Set for iPhone Launch
Cronos zkEVM Launches with Ethereum Bridge
Lamina1 Expands with Avalanche L1 and Activity Surge
Galaxy Digital Launches $26M AVAX Fund
Dubai Court Approves Crypto Salary Payments
SEC Subpoenas Crypto VCs, Expands Crackdown
And much more!
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Bitcoin Highlights of the Week
South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) invested $34 million in MicroStrategy shares, acquiring around 245,000 shares after the recent 10-for-1 stock split. This investment offers the NPS indirect exposure to Bitcoin, given MicroStrategy’s 226,500 BTC holdings. As the largest institutional investor in South Korea, with $777 billion in assets, the NPS joins other major global funds like Norway’s central bank and the Swiss National Bank.
MicroStrategy’s stock has nearly doubled this year as more institutions adopt it as a Bitcoin proxy. The company’s leveraged Bitcoin strategy, coupled with growing institutional interest, highlights Bitcoin’s emergence as a key treasury asset.
Goldman Sachs has revealed a $418.65 million investment across several U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. Their holdings include $238.6 million in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, $79.5 million in Fidelity’s FBTC, and $56.1 million in Invesco Galaxy’s Bitcoin ETF, along with smaller stakes in other funds. This diverse approach positions Goldman as the third-largest holder of IBIT.
Mathew McDermott, Goldman’s head of digital assets, called Bitcoin ETFs a “big psychological turning point.” The bank’s move coincides with Bitcoin’s recent recovery, trading at $60,890, marking a 7% weekly gain.
Over 1 million Bitcoin addresses now hold at least 1 BTC, indicating robust adoption. According to Bitcoin Magazine Pro, 1,012,650 addresses meet this threshold, removing a substantial portion of the 21 million total BTC from circulation. This trend highlights growing long-term confidence in Bitcoin, especially as institutions like MicroStrategy and U.S. Bitcoin ETFs collectively hold massive amounts of BTC.
The rapid increase in these addresses over the past two years reflects both retail and institutional accumulation. With only 21 million BTC available and 19 million already mined, the demand for securing Bitcoin’s limited supply continues to rise.
The SEC has approved the MSTX ETF, the first leveraged single-stock ETF targeting MicroStrategy. Issued by Defiance ETFs, MSTX offers 175% of MicroStrategy’s daily returns, amplifying exposure to Bitcoin due to the company’s substantial holdings of 226,500 BTC.
This leveraged ETF allows investors to gain enhanced access to Bitcoin’s market moves within an ETF structure. However, it carries heightened risks due to leverage and its concentration on a single stock. As the first ETF of its kind, MSTX’s success hinges on investor demand and MicroStrategy’s continued role as a Bitcoin proxy.
Bitcoin miners have ramped up their network hashrate to a record 627 exahash per second, despite recent price drops and tightening profit margins. This increase follows a miner capitulation event on August 5, when outflows spiked to 19,000 BTC as prices hit $49,000, marking the highest outflow since March. Miners sold to cover costs as margins shrank to 25%.
Historically, miner capitulations have aligned with local Bitcoin price bottoms, as seen in early 2023. The renewed hashrate expansion indicates positive miner sentiment, suggesting a possible price rebound as BTC hovers above $61,000.
Daily Alphas of the Week
Ethereum Highlights of the Week
An early Ethereum ICO participant has transferred 48,500 ETH, valued at $154 million, to OKX. On-chain data reveals the whale initially received 1 million ETH during the 2015 ICO at a price of $0.311 per coin. Despite this recent movement, the whale still holds over 680,000 ETH, with 345,000 ETH staked and 287,000 ETH retained in the original address.
The transfer occurs as Ethereum sees a 10% price recovery over the past week. Additionally, Ethereum gas fees have reached a five-year low, significantly dropping compared to previous highs, signaling a notable shift in network activity.
Vitalik Buterin has donated over $500,000 worth of animal-themed memecoins to the Effective Altruism Funds’ Animal Welfare Fund. On August 14, Buterin transferred 200 ETH, valued at $532,398, to the charity. He encouraged the memecoin community to direct their tokens to charities and promoted more effective public goods funding in 2024.
The donation follows a high-profile sale of Neiro Ethereum (NEIRO) tokens, which led to a 60% price drop but later surged by 200%. Buterin's action highlights his criticism of celebrity memecoins and his support for projects with tangible societal benefits.
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Restaking protocol Symbiotic has launched its devnet on Ethereum's Holesky test network ahead of a planned mainnet in Q3. Competing with EigenLayer, Symbiotic supports multiple ERC-20 tokens for securing third-party protocols.
The platform distinguishes itself with slashing features to enforce node operator integrity, attracting projects like Ethena and LayerZero. After raising $5.8 million, Symbiotic hit $1 billion in total value locked within a month. Full mainnet deployment is expected later in Q3 following security audits.
EigenLayer will soon introduce Permissionless Token Support, allowing any ERC-20 token to be used as a restakable asset. This update will enable application-specific validators (AVSs) to incorporate various ERC-20 tokens into their security models, expanding their partnership opportunities and enhancing token utility.
The feature, currently in testing, will first be implemented by EigenDA and is expected on the EigenLayer web app by Q3. This move could diminish Symbiotic's competitive edge in restaking, potentially affecting their launch timeline and market position.
Aleph Zero has launched its Ethereum-compatible layer-2 solution on the mainnet, integrating Arbitrum Orbit technology and zkOS privacy tools. This new layer aims to enhance blockchain privacy and transaction speed, reducing block times to 250 milliseconds. The solution utilizes Aleph Zero’s Substrate-based WASM layer 1 for data availability and the AZERO token for gas transactions.
The mainnet, developed with rollup-as-a-service provider Gelato, will support Ethereum-compatible applications and feature zkOS privacy tools in Q4. Aleph Zero also announced a $50 million funding program to support developers and advance blockchain adoption.
Solana Highlights of the Week
Renzo, originally focused on Ethereum, is expanding into Solana’s liquid restaking sector by launching its new token, ezSOL, in partnership with the Jito Foundation. Set to debut next month, ezSOL will be backed by JitoSOL, enabling users to benefit from Jito’s MEV-enhanced validator network. This launch marks Renzo’s first Solana integration and positions it as the inaugural liquid restaking protocol on Jito’s platform.
The partnership aims to optimize staking returns, offering a capital-efficient derivative for Solana-based DeFi strategies. Renzo’s expansion into Solana comes amid fluctuations in the Ethereum restaking sector, where it remains a top-three player with over $1.3 billion TVL.
Marginfi has launched The Arena, a new lending and leverage trading platform in the Solana DeFi ecosystem. The platform allows users to create isolated, customizable banks for any token with any collateral, separate from the main liquidity pool. This setup reduces market impact and provides instant leverage trading options for Solana tokens through flash loans and swaps.
Starting with 15 tokens, The Arena plans to shift toward permissionless listings, encouraging broader community participation. The launch provides Solana traders with a more efficient and seamless tool, positioning The Arena as a key player in Solana’s growing DeFi landscape.
Bybit now enables deposits and withdrawals of PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin on the Solana network. The exchange's latest move highlights the growing adoption of PYUSD, which has recently surpassed 500,000 transactions. According to DefiLlama, over 54% of PYUSD’s liquidity is on Solana, with the rest on Ethereum.
The stablecoin is currently the sixth-largest by market cap, experiencing a 30.7% growth. Bybit’s Web3 head, Emily Bao, emphasized the market demand for a regulated and secure stablecoin like PYUSD. Launched in August 2023, PYUSD is backed by U.S. dollar deposits and Treasuries through a partnership between PayPal and Paxos.
OKX is expanding its wallet capabilities by integrating Solana’s blockchain links, known as "Blinks," into Ethereum-compatible chains. This innovation allows users to perform on-chain transactions via shareable URLs directly on webpages. Developed by the Solana Foundation and Dialect, Blinks facilitate seamless interaction with smart contracts, such as purchasing NFTs on social platforms without leaving the site.
OKX’s multi-chain wallet will feature zero-fee Blinks, enhancing user convenience. The company is collaborating with partners across the Solana and Ethereum ecosystems to ensure comprehensive support for these transactions. This move follows the introduction of Ethereum’s "Frames" by Farcaster earlier this year.
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