Delay in Mt. Gox settlement impacts crypto market
Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD), Ethereum (COIN:ETHUSD), and other altcoins such as BNB (COIN:BNBUSD), XRP (COIN:XRPUSD) faced declines, following the decision of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox to extend the deadline for their payments until October 31, 2024. Some investors anticipated that this movement could reverberate through the market, with possible influences on valuations. The extension was approved by the Tokyo District Court and is not the first change to the deadline. Some compensation for creditors may occur later this year.
Private sale of OP tokens by Optimism founders
The layer-2 Optimism blockchain team sold 116 million of its OP (COIN:OPUSD) tokens for $157 million to seven different buyers in a private, scheduled event, as announced on its governance portal. These tokens come from an unallocated section of the OP token treasury, which still holds around $1.25 billion worth of tokens. These buyers now have the right to delegate tokens for involvement in blockchain governance. The OP value is down -5.76% at the time of writing, trading at $1.31.
Ethereum value falls against Bitcoin after transition to proof of stake
So far in 2023, Ether (COIN:ETHUSD) has experienced 36% price growth, but is still trading at a value 66% lower than its peak in November 2021. On September 20, it reached its all-time high low in relation to Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) in 14 months, causing concerns among investors. The Ethereum community remained hopeful with improvements to the protocol, resulting in a significantly reduced issuance rate and exceeding staking expectations, even after the price decline. Investors are now looking for new catalysts to reverse Ether’s downward trend.
Venmo introduces PayPal USD stablecoin: Adoption progresses slowly
Since September 20, PayPal’s (NASDAQ:PYPL) mobile payments platform Venmo has made the PayPal USD (COIN:PYUSDUSD) stablecoin available to select users, with plans for full expansion in the following weeks. PYUSD, backed by US dollars, facilitates transfers between Venmo and PayPal at no additional cost. Although it has received approval from the NYDFS and is available on several exchanges, adoption of PYUSD has been slow, facing stiff competition and potential regulatory complications, remaining in 19th place by market capitalization among stablecoins.
Development of the AstroPepeX token by integrating ChatGPT into Ethereum network
An Ethereum developer known as CroissantETH integrated ChatGPT into a custom application via the OpenAI API, resulting in the creation of the ERC-20 AstroPepeX (APX) token. Modeled based on data from the most traded tokens on Uniswap, APX has achieved a market cap of approximately $3.5 million, with over 2,300 registered holders. The token, generated completely by ChatGPT without human intervention, has been promoted and listed on several exchanges, including Poloniex, and has links to social networks and a Telegram community group.
New Ethereum standard, ERC-7512, seeks to increase transparency in DeFi
Ethereum developers have introduced ERC-7512, a new standard for smart contracts that seeks to improve transparency and facilitate access to audits for DeFi protocols. Proposed by Richard Meissner, co-founder of Safe, along with other notable developers, the standard aspires to establish an on-chain representation of audit reports, enabling users to obtain pertinent audit information, such as the auditors involved and verified standards, directly from the blockchain. The proposal generated intense discussions about its implementation among the developer community.
Alpha: New social token project on the Bitcoin network challenges Friend.tech
The recently introduced Alpha project is creating an innovative social token environment on the Bitcoin network, similar to the famous Ethereum platform, Friend.tech. This new system allows users to capitalize on their online presence and content production through social tokens, but with structural differences, being mainly based on the Bitcoin blockchain and using Polygon for data storage. Punk3700, one of the co-founders, explained that Alpha seeks flexibility, efficiency and security for decentralized applications, promoting a community-centric development approach. He emphasized that these features allow for a significant reduction in transaction costs, benefiting users and encouraging the creation of valuable content.
Binance faces criticism after spending nearly $1 million on Ethereum gas fees
A wallet associated with Binance consumed approximately 530 Ether, equivalent to about $843,797, in gas fees in a single day, as evidenced by Etherscan. On September 21, the Ethereum network gas fee fluctuated between $0.17 to $11.2 per transaction. This significant gas spend was attributed to the “Binance 14” wallet, raising questions about the platform’s technical capabilities and generating criticism of Binance’s security and technology practices, especially amid its ongoing legal disputes and controversies.
Tether ventures into artificial intelligence with strategic partnership and robust investment
Stablecoin issuer Tether (COIN:USDTUSD) is expanding into artificial intelligence via Northern Data Group’s (CHIX:NB2D) subsidiary Damoon. Damoon acquired $427 million worth of GPUs from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA). The chips will bolster the Taiga cloud service, available later in the quarter. Tether, criticized for lack of transparency, ventures beyond stablecoins, and ensures that the investment does not impact the reserves of your stablecoins.
Chainlink and Arbitrum integrate to enhance development of Inter-Blockchain dApps
The Oracle Blockchain Chainlink network has collaborated with Ethereum’s layer-2 scaling protocol, Arbitrum, to accelerate the development of cross-chain decentralized applications (DApps). They revealed the introduction of the Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) on Arbitrum One on September 21st. This launch provides software creators with access to Chainlink solutions utilizing Arbitrum’s efficient and cost-effective scaling capabilities, with the aim of exploring a wide range of applications from tokenization to blockchain gaming. Arbitrum’s optimistic rollup technology and Chainlink’s CCIP protocol seek to deliver faster, more cost-effective transactions, promoting innovation and growth in the blockchain ecosystem. The native tokens of Chainlink and Arbitrum are (COIN:LINKUSD) and (COIN:ARBUSD), respectively.
Leadership change at Near Foundation
Marieke Flament, who was heading the Near Foundation as CEO, decided to resign from her position. Chris Donovan will take on the role of CEO in his place. During Flament’s time, the Near Foundation has seen significant growth, growing from 50,000 to 3 million daily users and significantly expanding its presence and partnerships in the digital and cryptocurrency ecosystem, including collaborations with giants like Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) , Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alibaba (NYSE:BABA). Flament’s departure was not justified for specific reasons.
Binance may withdraw stablecoins from the European market due to new legislation
Due to the implementation of the Markets in Crypto Assets Act (MiCA) in Europe, Binance may remove stablecoins from the European market by June 2024, as stated by an executive during a hearing with the European Banking Authority. Marina Parthuisot, Binance’s legal representative in France, expressed concerns about the potential impact of this withdrawal on the European market compared to other regions, as the regulation could significantly affect the use of cryptocurrencies in Europe.
Galaxy Digital plans European expansion in the face of regulatory advancement
Galaxy Digital, led by Mike Novogratz, is outlining plans for European expansion, leveraging the progressive regulation of cryptocurrencies in the region. Leon Marshall, former head of sales and now European executive president of the company, will lead the operation, aiming to solidify its presence in a market that has been favorably adopting digital assets.
eToro expands crypto services in Europe after regulatory approval
Trading platform eToro is expanding its crypto services footprint globally after gaining significant regulatory approval in Europe. The company obtained Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) registration granted by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on September 21. This registration will allow eToro to provide regulated crypto services to all European Union countries under the eToro Europe Digital Assets entity once the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) is applied in December 2024.
Union Bank of the Philippines advances in cryptocurrency services
Union Bank of the Philippines has obtained a license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, becoming the country’s first bank authorized as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP). It will offer, through its application, a platform that allows cryptocurrency trading and digital and banking asset management. Edwin Bautista, president of the bank, sees this development as a revolution in the Philippine banking sector, meeting the growing demands for digital innovations and improvements in customer-bank interaction.
Balancer recovers domain after DNS attack and considers change for greater security
Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Balancer said it has regained control over its domain following a domain name service (DNS) attack that resulted in a loss of around $240,000. The compromise occurred through a targeted social engineering attack on EuroDNS, leading to consideration of a switch to a more secure domain registrar and abandonment of the .fi TLD. Balancer has advised other platforms to consider similar changes to prevent future security breaches.
Whale loses millions and scams multiply
A cryptographic “whale” suffered a sophisticated phishing attack, losing around $4.46 million in Tether (COIN:USDTUSD). The transfer occurred from the Kraken exchange wallet to an address identified as fraudulent by Blockchain security company PeckShield. This is not an isolated case, with Scam Sniffer highlighting an alarming total of US$337 million diverted in scams, affecting more than 21,953 people. Experts warn of the need for robust security measures and skepticism towards unsolicited offers.
Advancement in Web3 games: Proof of Play raises US$ 33 Million
Proof of Play, led by Farmville mastermind Amitt Mahajan, has raised $33 million in funding to develop Web3 games. This venture also involves Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear as an advisor. The initiative included investments from industry icons such as Chris Dixon and Naval Ravikant, as well as renowned companies such as Zynga and Firebase. The objective is to overcome barriers in Web3 games, with the Pirate Nation game already in beta, promising an immersive and innovative experience without the need for prior knowledge in blockchain.
Significant devaluation: Most NFTs lose value on the market
A recent report revealed that 95% of top NFTs have experienced a decline in value, with many now worth next to nothing. This study, highlighted by Rolling Stone on September 20, was carried out by dappGambl, analyzing 73,257 NFT collections. The research indicated that 69,795 of these collections would not be able to raise a dollar in the current market, being considered “completely worthless” and held by around 23 million investors. This discovery provoked varied reactions in the digital asset space, with many investors expressing concerns and disappointment at this marked devaluation.