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- Crypto Alpha - Week 37 2024
Crypto Alpha - Week 37 2024
All things Crypto, Web3 and Blockchain to keep you updated
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TL;DR
Standard Chartered Launches Bitcoin Custody in UAE
UK Parliament Recognizes BTC & Crypto as Property
Ether.Fi Launches Visa Card with Crypto Collateral
Buterin Sets New Standards for L2 Networks
Wormhole Integrates World ID with Solana
FTX Still Holds $1B in SOL Tokens
Aura and Mycelium Network Partner to Empower Creators
Fina Card Now Supports Samsung Pass
ParaFi Tokenizes Fund on Avalanche
BitGo Launches WBTC on AVAX and BNB Chain
SEC Reassesses 'Crypto Asset Securities'
Venmo, PayPal Add ENS Domain Support
And much more!
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Bitcoin Highlights of the Week
MicroStrategy has acquired 18,300 BTC for $1.1 billion, bringing its total holdings to 244,800 BTC, valued at $14 billion. The purchase, made at an average price of $60,408 per BTC, was funded by selling 8 million shares. The firm, led by Michael Saylor, has invested $9.45 billion in Bitcoin at an average cost of $38,585 per BTC.
Since 2020, MicroStrategy has become the largest corporate Bitcoin holder. Its investment has paid off, with the BTC yield reaching 4.4% in Q3 and 17% year-to-date. The company continues leveraging stock sales and BTC yield to expand its holdings.
Sky (formerly Maker) plans to offboard Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) due to concerns over Justin Sun’s alleged control. BA Labs proposed this move, citing Sun's potential hidden influence through BitGlobal, involved in WBTC's restructuring. To minimize user impact, Sky will gradually increase liquidation thresholds before the complete offboarding by October 8, 2024.
Sky has $73M in WBTC collateral supporting 127M DAI, contributing $15M annually. The firm is exploring alternatives like Coinbase’s cbBTC and Threshold’s tBTC to replace WBTC, aiming for more secure and diversified collateral options.
Standard Chartered has launched digital asset custody services in the UAE, offering secure storage solutions for Bitcoin and Ethereum. Approved by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), this service is launched in partnership with Brevan Howard Digital. This move highlights the growing demand for regulated custody services and positions the UAE as a leader in digital asset adoption.
Bill Winters, Group CEO of Standard Chartered, emphasized that digital assets represent a significant shift in finance. The UAE’s favorable regulatory environment and innovation commitment have made it an attractive destination for digital asset businesses, underscoring Standard Chartered’s strategic expansion into this evolving market.
A solo Bitcoin miner struck it rich by mining block 860749, earning a $181,000 reward on September 10, 2024. The miner secured 3.125 BTC plus transaction fees, despite the high difficulty and dominance of large mining pools like FoundryUSA, which control over 50% of the network’s hashrate.
This rare solo success, akin to winning the lottery, is made possible by new, high-power mining rigs that enhance individual miners' competitiveness. While solo mining remains challenging due to the network's record hashrate, this win demonstrates that smaller miners can occasionally achieve significant rewards.
The UK Parliament has introduced the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill, marking the first legal recognition of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and carbon credits as personal property. This legislation aims to close the legal gap by providing protection against fraud and theft for digital asset owners and clarifying complex property disputes.
Justice Minister Heidi Alexander highlighted the bill's importance in keeping the law aligned with evolving technologies and maintaining the UK’s leadership in the global crypto sector. The new framework will enhance legal protections and attract more business to the UK's legal services industry.
Daily Alphas of the Week
Ethereum Highlights of the Week
Ether.Fi is launching a Visa credit card on September 16, allowing users to borrow against their crypto assets and earn 3% cash-back on all purchases. The card will operate on Scroll’s Layer 2 network, which enhances transaction efficiency and reduces or eliminates gas fees.
Available in countries like the UK, Hong Kong, and Germany (excluding the U.S. due to regulatory issues), the card offers a seamless way to spend fiat while leveraging crypto collateral. This launch aims to bridge traditional finance and DeFi, simplifying access to crypto-backed lending.
Vitalik Buterin will endorse only “Stage 1+” Layer-2 networks starting in 2025, focusing on enhanced security and decentralization. To qualify, networks must implement robust fraud-proof systems and decentralized governance.
Buterin’s move aims to elevate Ethereum scaling standards, ensuring that only secure and resilient projects receive support. While a grace period may be allowed for promising new projects, the emphasis will be on tightening criteria. By the end of 2024, Buterin expects several Zero-Knowledge rollups to meet these higher standards, reflecting his commitment to advancing Ethereum’s scalability with greater rigor.
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Coinbase has launched cbBTC, a Bitcoin-backed investment product, on Ethereum and Base. Each cbBTC is backed 1:1 by Bitcoin held by Coinbase, allowing users to provide Bitcoin as liquidity or collateral in DeFi protocols, supported from launch by platforms like Aerodrome and Curve.
Bitcoin sent to Coinbase addresses on Ethereum or Base will automatically convert to cbBTC and can be converted back to BTC when returned to Coinbase. Available in the U.S., U.K., EEA, Singapore, Australia, and Brazil (excluding New York State), cbBTC aims to challenge existing wrapped Bitcoin products and enhance DeFi liquidity while leveraging Coinbase’s trusted reputation.
Friend.tech, a Web3 social media platform, is under scrutiny for alleged rug pulling after the team transferred control of the project’s smart contracts to Ethereum’s null address, making future changes impossible. This move caused a 26% drop in the FRIEND token's value within 24 hours.
Criticism intensified following claims that the team had sold $52 million worth of Ether and that the token price had plummeted 95% since launch. Despite the controversy, the Friend.tech team announced on September 10 that they have no plans to discontinue the application, maintaining that the changes only affect fee structures, not functionality.
ARPA Network will soon begin issuing native ARPA token rewards for restakers, a significant step for EigenLayer's restaking protocols. Expected to start by September or October, this initiative marks the first time EigenLayer’s third-party services will reward restakers with native tokens.
EigenLayer, which has amassed nearly $14 billion in restaked value, already supports restaking with wrapped ETH through its in-house service, EigenDA. The new rewards program aims to boost participation and security for ARPA’s network, leveraging EigenLayer’s infrastructure to offer additional yield on staked tokens.
Solana Highlights of the Week
Wormhole has integrated Worldcoin's World ID with Solana, marking the first time World ID has been merged with a non-Ethereum protocol. This integration aims to enhance cross-chain identity verification and build trust in decentralized applications by leveraging Worldcoin's biometric system on Solana.
The integration is currently undergoing an audit by Ackee and is expected to complete soon. This move highlights Worldcoin's strategy to expand beyond Ethereum and underscores Solana’s growing influence in the crypto space. The integration led to a brief spike in Worldcoin’s token price and gains for both Solana and Wormhole’s tokens.
FTX still possesses over $1 billion in Solana (SOL) tokens amid its ongoing bankruptcy liquidation. Current data indicates that 7.06 million SOL, valued at approximately $945.7 million, remains staked. FTX and its affiliate, Alameda Research, have unstaked around 530,000 SOL in the past three months, with ongoing sales potentially impacting SOL’s market valuation.
The continued liquidation coincides with Solana's declining decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes and recent scrutiny from federal authorities. Analysts caution that if SOL’s price falls below $126, it may face further declines, exacerbating existing market volatility.
The popular Solana NFT collection, Claynosaurz, is set to enter the mobile gaming arena through a new partnership with Gameloft. This collaboration will see the creation of a mobile game blending "choose your own adventure" elements with location-based gameplay similar to Pokémon Go, available on both Android and iOS.
Initially launched in 2022, Claynosaurz has amassed over 350,000 followers and will also release long-form video content alongside the game. The project aims to seamlessly integrate Web3 elements into traditional gaming, offering players digital assets with tangible value while enhancing user experience.
Step Finance has launched a new Solana Portfolio Data API aimed at addressing the data needs of institutional investors and major crypto firms. This API provides real-time insights into wallet positions, transaction histories, and asset values on Solana, targeting Tier 1 exchanges and DeFi projects.
Developed from years of data compilation and direct collaboration with Solana projects, the API offers extensive coverage and scalability, crucial for handling high volumes of data. This move aligns with the rising institutional interest in Solana, evidenced by recent ETF filings and significant investments, highlighting the growing need for reliable, compliant data solutions.
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