Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Bitcoin plunges below $55,000, ether under $2,400 amid Jump Crypto moves, US election uncertainty

Bitcoin plunged to its lowest level since February, while ether traded down below $2,400 on Sunday night EST amid a broad crypto market selloff, as investors reacted to various news events, including macroeconomic updates, Jump Cryptos asset movements and the increasing odds of Kamala Harris winning the upcoming U.S. election against pro-crypto Donald Trump.　　Bitcoin dropped below $54,000 at one stage tonight before making a modest recovery to trade at $54,698, its lowest level since February, according to The Blocks crypto price page. Ether also fell to its lowest level since February, losing 19.45% to trade at $2,333 at the time of writing.　　Among other top 10 crypto tokens by market cap, BNB dipped 12.88% and XRP dropped 13.38%. The entire crypto market is down 10% in the past day, The Blocks data showed.　　“Unlike previous times, this market feels ETH-led, instead of BTC-led,” Justin dAnethan, head of APAC business development of crypto market maker Keyrock, told The Block. “This of course comes as ETH ETF trade and large investors unwind their ETHE (Grayscale ETH Fund) positions.”　　Min Jung, an analyst of Presto Research, said that the decline in bitcoin and ether can be attributed to several factors.　　“First, the payroll numbers released last Friday

2024-08-05Deep Dive

This Week's Noteworthy Events(Aug.5, 2024-Aug.11, 2024)

Major Token UnlocksMode (MODE) will unlock approximately 185.3 million tokens at 10:59 AM UTC on August 5, representing 14.25% of the current circulating supply, valued at approximately $3.7 million.Heroes of Mavia (MAVIA) will unlock approximately 1.15 million tokens at 12:00 AM UTC on August 6, representing 3.64% of the current circulating supply, valued at approximately $1.75 million.Hashflow (HFT) will unlock approximately 13.62 million tokens at 12:00 AM UTC on August 7, representing 3.11% of the current circulating supply, valued at approximately $2.2 million.Immutable (IMX) will unlock approximately 32.47 million tokens at 12:00 AM UTC on August 9, representing 2.11% of the current circulating supply, valued at approximately $41.6 million.Xai (XAI) will unlock approximately 35.88 million tokens at 9:30 AM UTC on August 9, representing 6.9% of the current circulating supply, valued at approximately $9.2 million.Fox Reporter: Harris Campaign Team to Meet with Crypto Industry Leaders in Washington on Monday　　Forbes journalist Eleanor Terrett disclosed on X that California Congressman Ro Khanna will host another meeting in Washington this Monday, attended by crypto industry leaders, Democratic politicians, and representatives from the Harris campaign team.OKX to Launch DOGS/USDT Futures Trading on August 5　　OKX will launch pre-market trading for the DOGS/USDT futures on August

2024-08-05Deep Dive

Monad to Launch Testnet: What Early Ecosystem Opportunities Exist?

Monad is a Layer 1 blockchain platform that promotes the concept of a “Parallel EVM” , accelerating Ethereum transactions through pipelined execution and supporting up to 10,000 transactions per second.　　According to public information, Monad has raised a total of $244 million in funding, with its latest valuation reaching $3 billion.　　Monad Labs was co-founded in 2022 by Keone Hon, James Hunsaker, and Eunice Giarta. Keone and James previously worked at Jump Trading for eight years. During their time at Jump, Keone managed a high-frequency trading (HFT) team, while James built an ultra-low latency trading system handling billions of dollars in daily trading volume across major futures markets.　　The three founders realized that fundamental optimizations to Ethereum and its core component—the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)—could help overcome some of the challenges Ethereum has faced since its inception, including limited processing capacity, high transaction fees, and restricted scalability. Recently, Monad announced the upcoming launch of its testnet, opening up numerous opportunities for participants within the ecosystem.　　As the ecosystem grows, Monads ecosystem news highlighted three successful funding projects: Kuru, aPriori, and Kintsu. Lets explore the opportunities these projects present for users in the ecosystem.Kuru　　Kuru is a decentralized order book exchange on Monad, notable for receiving

2024-08-01Deep Dive

ZKX Protocol Shuts Down After Raising Millions

According to a statement released by co-founder Eduard Jubany Tur on Wednesday, the decentralized finance trading platform ZKX Protocol has ceased operations due to insurmountable economic challenges.　　Tur pointed out that maintaining and attracting a token-incentivized DeFi community has become increasingly challenging. “In recent months, the number of threats and abuses has surged, with persistent hacking and scams,” he added.　　“We deeply regret announcing the shutdown of the ZKX Protocol. Despite our best efforts, we could not find an economically viable path forward for the protocol,” Tur said.　　Effective immediately, all markets on ZKX have been delisted, positions have been closed, and funds have been returned to users trading accounts. Users can transfer their funds from trading accounts to self-custody accounts on Starknet.　　According to the statement, users can withdraw funds via the Starkway Bridge. The protocols sunset period will continue until the end of August, with vesting and distribution continuing after September 1.　　The decision was made following a period of declining user engagement and trading volume, which severely impacted ZKXs revenue streams. Tur stated, “Our user engagement was very low, with only a few people mining STRK and ZKX rewards. Consequently, trading volume plummeted, and daily revenue barely covered a small portion of

2024-07-31Deep Dive

On-Chain Data: Which Tokens Are Held by Top-Tier Industry Institutions?

We classify venture capital firms into different levels based on factors such as industry influence, capital holdings, and ROI. We selected a few top institutions and examined the on-chain data to see which tokens they currently hold.A16Z　　a16z (Andreessen Horowitz) is a top-tier investment firm in blockchain and cryptocurrency, renowned for its substantial funds, successful investments, and industry influence.　　Founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, a16zs crypto portfolio includes leaders like Coinbase, Dapper Labs, and Uniswap.　　In 2021, a16z launched its third crypto fund worth $2.2 billion, underscoring its commitment to this sector. Their strategy involves identifying high-potential startups and providing capital, resources, and strategic guidance to help these companies achieve their growth goals.　　According to on-chain data, a16zs peak holdings value reached over $3.2 billion in May 2021. Currently, a16z holds tokens worth $510 million, mainly $UNI, $OP, and $COMP, with $UNI holdings exceeding $460 million.Pantera Capital　　Founded in 2013, Pantera Capital focuses on early-stage investments in blockchain technology and digital currencies, managing various funds including Bitcoin, early token, and ICO funds. In April, Panteras assets under management reached $5.2 billion.　　Successful investments include Bitstamp, Circle (issuer of USDC), Bakkt, and Polkadot. Panteras team, led by founder Dan Morehead, combines investment and

2024-07-30Deep Dive

This Week's Noteworthy Events(July.29, 2024-Aug.4, 2024)

Senator Lummis to Propose Bill for U.S. Treasury to Purchase 1 Million Bitcoin　　Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis will introduce a bill this week requiring the U.S. Treasury to purchase 1 million Bitcoin over five years, worth approximately $68 billion at current prices. In an interview with The Block, Lummis said this move aims to combat the devaluation of the U.S. dollar.　　“Bitcoin is a great store of value. Over the past four years, it has an average annual growth rate of about 55%. In the same period, the dollar has devalued, and we have seen an increase in inflation,” said Senator Lummis. Lummis has been a long-time supporter of Bitcoin, reportedly purchasing her first Bitcoin in 2013 and has been at the forefront of pushing for cryptocurrency legislation. (The Block)CME and CF Benchmarks to Launch New Crypto Reference Rates and Real-Time Indices on July 29　　CME Group and crypto benchmark index provider CF Benchmarks announced plans to launch new reference rates and real-time indices for XRP and ICP starting July 29. The benchmarks will be calculated and published daily by CF Benchmarks, using pricing data from major cryptocurrency trading platforms that are part of the CME CF benchmark reference rate and real-time index

2024-07-29Deep Dive

The Web3 Carnival: Bitlayer Summer Carnival Kicks Off

This month-long grand carnival offers users substantial rewards, including IDO (ETH) whitelists, USDT prize pools, token/NFT airdrops, and more.　　The event features at least 20 in-depth gaming tasks, supported by four types of reward distribution methods: prize pool lottery, game ranking, customization, and FCFS. Participating project parties will deploy on the Bitlayer chain and set up corresponding tasks, inviting Web3 users to join, complete quests, and earn rewards. Tasks include following social media, interacting with specific contract addresses on Bitlayer, holding assets on Bitlayer, and more.　　Running from July 26 to the end of August, this carnival is not only a “wealth celebration” in the Web3 field but also a synergy and integration of Bitcoin ecosystem, GameFi, SocialFi, and community across technology, liquidity, and user dimensions. By integrating quality project assets, NFTs, and users, the carnival is expected to attract over 100,000 users from various fields, engaging in game achievements, on-chain interactions, and social behaviors to support their favorite projects, communities, and ecosystems, earning significant rewards in return.01Web3 Carnival Gala　　Bitlayer, one of the hosts of the carnival, is a leader in Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions. Following the completion of an $11 million Series A financing on July 23, Bitlayer has emerged as

2024-07-26Deep Dive

BTC Staking Track: Liquidity Released from BTC

BTC has long been positioned as digital gold, recognized for its rarity, while ETH is widely used for its functionality and utility. Bitcoins development has always been limited by on-chain performance and functionality support. Since its issuance, ETH has steadily increased its market value by relying on ecosystem development.　　The earliest Bitcoin scaling solutions mainly focused on increasing block size and introducing off-chain scaling technologies like the Lightning Network. Each solution had its pros and cons, sparking extensive discussions and controversies within the Bitcoin community. Eventually, Segregated Witness and the Lightning Network became the primary scaling directions for Bitcoin, while the block size increase solution resulted in alternative coins like Bitcoin Cash through hard forks.　　After the emergence of Ordinals and Rune, the powerful wealth effect attracted a large number of active on-chain users, bringing the topic of BTC scaling back into the spotlight. Despite addressing the need for asset issuance, BTC, using a non-Turing complete language, still cannot meet more extensive computational needs. After Ethereums DeFi Summer, the community began to look forward to the possibilities of innovating by unlocking Bitcoins liquidity.　　Under these two factors, many BTC-based protocols have emerged, aiming to bring value to other ecosystems with BTC and provide

2024-07-26Deep Dive

Unlock High Returns with Minimal Investment: Your Guide to Airdrops!

The Impossible Triangle of Airdrops　　The “Impossible Triangle” has always been present in the blockchain industry. In the scalability race, there is the impossible triangle of decentralization, security, and scalability. From a financial perspective, the value of cryptocurrencies being relatively stable, widely circulated, and decentralized is an impossible triangle. The rapid growth of crypto projects, decentralization, long-term value, and fast growth form another impossible triangle.　　In the crypto industry, airdrops are seen as an attractive investment method. Participants can gain high returns with minimal costs. However, airdrops also have an impossible triangle: high returns, low cost, and certainty.High Returns: The core attraction of airdrops lies in their potential high returns. Participants have the chance to receive tokens from emerging projects that may significantly appreciate in value after listing. Especially when market sentiment is high, airdropped tokens can quickly double or more in value.Low Cost: Compared to other investment methods, early airdrops require little to no financial investment or low wear and tear on funds. Participants only need to meet certain conditions, such as holding a specified number of tokens, following social media accounts, or completing simple tasks. However, since the “point system” became popular, user costs have gradually increased.Certainty: While high returns

2024-07-24Deep Dive

This Week's Notworthy Events (July 22, 2024—July 28, 2024)

Binance to Delist BOND, DOCK, MDX, and POLS Tokens on July 22　　Binance announced that it will stop trading and delist all spot trading pairs for BarnBridge (BOND), Dock (DOCK), Mdex (MDX), and Polkastarter (POLS) at 11:00 AM (UTC+8) on July 22, 2024. Deposits for these tokens will no longer be credited to accounts after 11:00 AM (UTC+8) on July 23, and withdrawal support will end at 11:00 AM (UTC+8) on October 22. The specific trading pairs to be removed include BOND/BTC, BOND/USDT, DOCK/BTC, DOCK/USDT, MDX/USDT, POLS/USDT. USDⓈ-M BONDUSDT perpetual contracts will not be affected, and users can continue trading.Russian Duma Committee Expected to Hold First Reading on Crypto Mining Regulation Bill on July 23　　The Russian State Duma Financial Markets Committee has recommended that the lower house pass a bill regulating mining activities at its first reading. The bill, introduced by a group of representatives from various factions led by Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Financial Markets Committee, is expected to be reviewed in the session on July 23. The bill, which was reintroduced to the Duma in April 2024, is a revised version of the one first proposed in November 2022. It stipulates requirements for individuals and legal

2024-07-22Deep Dive

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