Crypto markets remain sideways; Only Bitcoin has moved, XLM and BNB dropping, Monero rising slowly. Market Wrap Crypto markets have inched backup a little today as Bitcoin makes another push towards resistance in the mid $9.5ks. BTC is still clearly in the driving seat and altcoin gains are marginal in comparison. Total market capitalization is back above $285 billion and heading towards a new 2019 high.
Following a day or two of consolidation Bitcoin broke out again in a one hour spike sending it to an intraday high of $9,350. Since then gains have held as BTC hovers around its highest price for over a year. A huge wall of resistance lies just above this level so further consolidation here is likely for the coming days.
Ethereum has done nothing again, not even getting a gain off Bitcoin’s 2 percent pump. ETH remains stagnant below $270 and further losses appear imminent. There is still support at $260 which is holding but there has been very little momentum for Ethereum all week.
Altcoin Outlook The crypto top ten has done very little over the past 24 hours with most coins moving less than a percent in either direction. The biggest movement has come from Stellar dropping another 2 percent and looking extremely weak. BNB is also down by a similar amount.
Very little is going on in the top twenty during Asian trading today. Monero is the only altcoin gaining as it makes 3 percent to top $100. Losing 3 percent are Cosmos and NEO. Tezos has now dropped out of the top twenty dumping another 4 percent today.
FOMO: MaidSafeCoin Making It There are no major pumps going on at the moment but the top performing altcoin in the top one hundred is MAID getting 13 percent. Nothing much is driving it aside from the usual anti Facebook rhetoric that everyone in crypto already knows.
6/ Remember Cambridge Analytica! You can’t trust #Facebook with your data, why trust them with your money…
— Autonomi (@WithAutonomi) June 19, 2019
Egretia is the second best performer grabbing 8 percent today. Getting dumped is yesterday’s fake pump, Insight Chain, as INB drops 12 percent. Ardor is also falling back hard with a 7 percent loss on the day.
Total market capitalization 24 hours. Coinmarketcap.com Total crypto market capitalization has increased by $2 billion or so on the day. This is pretty much all Bitcoin as the daddy drives markets to $288 billion. BTC dominance is still over 57 percent as the altcoins remain asleep for now.
Market Wrap is a section that takes a daily look at the top cryptocurrencies during the current trading session and analyses the best-performing ones, looking for trends and possible fundamentals.
Unlike other industries, the crypto world is a very transparent one. As its core philosophy comes from the most popular blockchain-based projects such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, it’s no wonder that these projects are being developed in such open communities. Anyone willing to participate can join and propose their improvements and upgrades for networks. This was, after all, the vision of Satoshi, the original Bitcoin developer, who wanted complete transparency for blockchain technologies. In addition to the publicly available code, many crypto and blockchain projects have public ledgers of all their transactions along with whitepaper documents with detailed descriptions of their projects.
All this transparency is necessary since many projects are getting funding for development by conducting initial coin offerings (ICO). That means that somebody has to invest based only on ideas or by looking at a minimum viable product (MVP). After fundraising, projects have to continue informing their investors about their progress and maintain a good reputation.
Various crypto ratings to inform youAs an individual, it can be difficult to keep track of all projects out there, but luckily there are a lot of crypto rating sites that can help you make a decision on whether to buy or sell the various projects’ tokens.
Source: weisscrypto.com
One of the most famous ratings platforms is Weiss Crypto Rating, a reputable agency providing ratings for stocks and other assets on a global scale. They started to publish crypto ratings at the end of 2017 and currently they have 125 coins and tokens in their ratings.
Another well-known rating report is published by China’s Center for Information and Industry Development. It features 35 coins, with EOS leading the pack. Nobody knows their criteria, but some projects get a lower basic-tech score despite being more advanced than the other projects getting a higher score.
We can’t overlook Xangle, a disclosure platform for retail and institutional players. It contains information about listings, partnerships, new updates, and it gathers on-chain data from all available blockchains. It’s entrusted by such exchanges as Bithumb, and it has the reputation of keeping an unbiased stance toward all projects, so it’s a mark of high quality when any project gets a high score.
One of such projects is Max Crowdfund, which got a perfect score of 63/63 recently, being the first project to achieve this on Xangle. It scored so high because of their complete transparency, providing all information about their finances, management, and working practices.
“We wish that all companies would provide information so openly and transparently. Max Property Group should be the benchmark for disclosure in the blockchain space,” says Hae Min Park, Managing Director of Xangle.
Source: xangle.io
To provide such information, the team at Max Property Group had to go through a due-diligence process by Xangle. As a result, the Due Diligence Report will be available to all Xangle-partnered exchanges, which will help the project in the listing process.
There are several reputable projects reviewed by Xangle, such as Ardor, Aeternity, IOTA, Binance Coin, and Bancor, but none of them achieved a perfect score yet, unlike Max Crowdfund. With such a high score the company has set the bar very high, and it is to be seen whether other companies will follow this exemplary way of providing an insight in their operations and finances.
After the price of Bitcoin spiked in December 2017, the mantra for 2018 was “blockchain, not Bitcoin.” Industry pundits looked to enterprise adoption as the means of recovering the value in cryptocurrencies. During 2019, as blockchain entered the Gartner hype cycle “trough of disillusionment,” the focus shifted to the original use case – cryptocurrencies. The increasing availability of regulated derivatives via exchanges such as CME and Bakkt started to pique institutional interest.
Now, it seems that the pendulum is due to swing back to enterprise adoption in 2020. Even so soon into the new year, there have been several developments that indicate this could be the case. Tradelens, the blockchain platform developed by IBM and deployed by Maersk to manage its global shipping logistics, has made two significant strides. Firstly, the Port of Oman, the biggest in the Middle East, is now on board, joining over 100 others on the platform that manages more than 10 million shipping events each week. The value of Tradelens is proving so vital to the global shipping sector that US regulators have now given the nod to certain carriers co-operating on the system without the oversight of the Federal Maritime Commission.
The blockchain in telecoms market is also poised for significant growth over the coming years. A recently released market research report predicts that blockchain in telecoms will increase at a rate of over 80 percent CAGR between now and 2026.
Moves by industry players appear to be justifying this prediction. For example, telecoms giant Telefonica recently partnered with the Spanish Association of Science and Technology Parks to give around 8,000 firms access to its Hyperledger blockchain platform. Firms can experiment with the technology and issuing their own tokens.
“Big Tech Battle” for Enterprise Clients
Global consulting and research firm Everest Group is evidently predicting a surge in enterprise adoption. The company has published an in-depth report assessing twelve different blockchain-as-a-service providers in terms of their readiness for an upcoming “adoption wave.”
With a title making reference to the “Big-tech Battle,” it’s perhaps no surprise that big names such as IBM, AWS, and Alibaba Cloud appear among the twelve. However, Everest Group has also included Ardor, the open-source blockchain platform operated by Jelurida, which also operates Nxt and Ignis.
The executive summary of the report groups each participant into one of four categories, including leaders, niche, nascent providers, and visionaries. It puts Jelurida into the latter group. The report also mentions that Ardor is easy to use, which perhaps justifies its inclusion when other more well-known public blockchains such as EOS or Ethereum weren’t mentioned. After all, barriers to entry is one of the biggest challenges facing enterprise blockchain adoption, particularly for smaller companies.
Examining the trends in blockchain, it seems justified that we can expect that a surge on enterprise adoption is on its way. After all, the ICO boom saw a vast amount of hype, which was never going to sustain the industry by itself. Many predicted that 2019 would see a renewed focus on building, with the hashtag #BUIDL signifying the momentum on development.
It’s now to be expected that 2020 would see the results of those efforts, meaning blockchain is now in a better state of enterprise readiness for 2020. Of the many use cases for blockchain touted throughout 2018, it seems inevitable that some of them will now start to bear the fruit that was initially promised
PANews reported on September 26th that, according to Blockworks , Genie founder Scott Gray launched the social trading app Share , securing $5 million in funding from investors including Coinbase Ventures , Collab+Currency , and Palm Tree Crypto. Share supports the three major public blockchains: Solana , Base , and Ethereum , providing real-time insights into users' on-chain transactions and allowing them to track wallets, view market trends, and trade tokens. Each wallet automatically generates a Share profile, allowing users to link multiple wallets and Farcaster accounts. Share will compete with similar products like Fomo and the social features of giants like Robinhood and Coinbase.
Ethereum’s treasury stocks are starting to exhibit early signs of a potential market reversal, sparking renewed optimism across the cryptocurrency landscape. This movement among treasuries often serves as a leading signal of shifting sentiment within the broader ETH ecosystem.
A Look At The Data Behind Ethereum On-Chain Recovery In a subtle shift that suggests the broader market may be stabilizing, Ethereum treasury stocks are beginning to flash early signs of reversal. Despite these encouraging signals, Ethereum remains well below its all-time high (ATH). Investor Ted Pillows pointed out on X that the institutional interest will only return once the charts show sustained momentum over several weeks.
Ted believes that for ETH to reclaim its ATH and hinges on capital inflow, it requires the same kind of large-scale liquidity injection the network experienced in July and August, which are critical to fueling the next leg higher.
SharpLink Gaming Inc., a prominent corporate holder of ETH, has reported strong compounding returns from its treasury strategy asset. In the past week alone, the company generated 451 ETH in staking rewards, which is utilized through both liquid and native staking. Since the launch of its ETH treasury strategy on June 2, 2025, SharpLink’s total cumulative ETH staking rewards have now reached an impressive 4,723 ETH.
Source: Chart from Ted Pillows on X According to the company, 100% continuous generation of yield is the amount of its ETH treasury, which is currently generating approximately $370,000 worth of ETH every day, showcasing ETH’s unique ability to generate yield while maintaining liquidity. SharpLink highlighted this as the reason the altcoin stands out as a superior treasury asset, which is productive, yield-bearing, and constantly compounding in value.
Despite the strong performance, the firm confirmed there were no new ETH purchases or stock buybacks over the past week, which means there won’t be a new press release for now. The company’s focus remains clear: “the asset is ETH, and the ticker is SBET,” SharpLink noted.
Ethereum Market Share Is Moving Exactly As Scripted Technical analyst Umair Crypto has noted that Ethereum dominance is currently at a critical juncture, having completed the first half of a projected move and now setting the stage for the second half.
This view anticipates a rejection from the current resistance area on the dominance chart toward the lower level for ETH Dominance, which will likely lead to a price correction where the next bounce for ETH will form. Umair concluded that the altcoin itself could experience a short-term correction once the move unfolds before reclaiming momentum for the next leg higher.
ETH trading at $4,488 on the 1D chart | Source: ETHUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com
Cross-chain transactions today feel like international travel before budget airlines – expensive, time-consuming, and filled with unexpected complications. You might start with ETH on Ethereum, but moving it to Cosmos for staking or to Solana for trading means dealing with complex bridges, waiting through lengthy confirmations, and accepting security risks along the way.
This fragmentation isn’t just annoying, it’s holding back the entire industry. With over $2 trillion in digital assets now spread across dozens of blockchains, we’re facing a reality where our technological ambitions have outpaced our infrastructure.
The Multi-Chain Future Has a Bridge Problem The crypto ecosystem has evolved beyond single-chain dominance. Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, Avalanche, and numerous L2s each offer unique capabilities and communities. While solutions like LayerZero and Cosmos IBC have improved connectivity, bridges remain the Achilles heel of cross-chain finance.
Consider the sobering statistics: over $2.5 billion has been stolen through bridge hacks. From Ronin’s $620 million exploit to Wormhole’s $320 million hack, bridges represent the single largest attack vector in crypto today. Why? Because most rely on centralized validators, multisigs, or external oracles that create single points of failure.
Even when bridges work as intended, the user experience is painful. Transfer USDC from Ethereum to Cosmos, and you’re looking at a 16-minute wait, enough time for market opportunities to appear and disappear. Add the liquidity fragmentation that forces users to bridge assets repeatedly, and it’s clear why cross-chain DeFi hasn’t reached its potential.
Rethinking Cross-Chain Transactions From First Principles Agoric approaches this challenge differently, having built for interoperability from day one rather than bolting it on afterward. The platform’s recently launched Orchestration API represents a fundamental shift in how cross-chain applications work.
The key innovation lies in how Agoric handles multi-step blockchain operations. Traditional smart contracts must execute within a single block, like trying to complete a complex process in one breath. Agoric’s contracts can persist across multiple blocks, responding to events and managing sequences of actions automatically.
This seemingly simple technical shift enables powerful real-world capabilities:
1. Security Through IBC, Not Bridges Agoric leverages the Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol (IBC), a thoroughly audited, trust-minimized protocol that’s moved billions in assets without a single security incident. Unlike traditional bridges that rely on centralized validators, IBC establishes direct chain-to-chain communication with security inherited from the underlying chains.
Native’s integration with Agoric’s Orchestration API streamlines Bitcoin transactions in Cosmos, removing the need for manual bridging or wrapping at the user level. Behind the scenes, Agoric Orchestration coordinates the necessary cross-chain workflows, enabling frictionless Bitcoin interactions across Cosmos applications.
2. Automated Cross-Chain Workflows Calypso’s implementation of Agoric’s Orchestration API transformed what was once a six-step staking process into a single click. For users, the complex sequence of bridging, swapping, and staking happens automatically in the background.
Fast USDC, another Agoric implementation, cut cross-chain transfer times from 16 minutes to just 2 minutes, a 90% improvement that makes DeFi opportunities accessible that would otherwise be missed during traditional bridging delays.
3. Developer-Friendly Tooling Agoric’s decision to use JavaScript for smart contracts means that 17 million developers worldwide can build cross-chain applications using a language they already know. This familiar async/await pattern is particularly powerful for orchestrating complex cross-chain operations.
Union’s integration with Agoric demonstrates this approach in action. Their implementation uses zero-knowledge cryptography for trustless bridging between chains, with Agoric handling the complex orchestration of cross-chain messages.
Real-World Applications Transforming Finance These technical capabilities translate to concrete use cases that are changing how users interact with blockchain:
Multi-Chain Lending and Borrowing Elys Network is using Agoric’s Orchestration API to create CEX-like experiences in DeFi. Users can borrow assets on one chain and repay on another without manually bridging. The platform handles LP management and derivatives trading across chains without requiring users to understand the underlying complexity.
Cross-Chain Treasury Management For DAOs managing treasury assets across multiple chains, Agoric enables automatic fund distribution without complex manual operations. Contributors can receive payments in their preferred tokens on their preferred chains through a single orchestrated transaction.
Interchain Gaming and NFTs The gaming industry particularly benefits from cross-chain asset transfers. Rather than relying on wrapped NFTs, games can use Agoric’s Orchestration API to enable smooth NFT transfers across chains, preserving ownership and utility. A sword earned on one chain can be seamlessly used in a game on another.
The Foundation Two key components make these capabilities possible:
BLD: Securing Cross-Chain Operations The BLD token is essential for securing Agoric’s proof-of-stake network, ensuring the reliability of long-running smart contracts and cross-chain transactions.
By staking BLD, validators and delegators help maintain network security and economic stability, which is particularly important for applications that require persistent execution across multiple blocks. This security model makes sure that complex processes, such as cross-chain lending, automated trading, and multi-step DeFi operations, can execute safely and predictably, even over extended timeframes.
IST: Stable Liquidity Across Chains IST (Inter Stable Token) provides a native, overcollateralized stablecoin designed specifically for cross-chain operations. Unlike bridged stablecoins that create security risks, IST offers native stability while enabling seamless movement through IBC.
The Road Ahead The multi-chain future isn’t coming, it’s already here. The question isn’t whether assets will flow between chains, but how securely and efficiently they’ll do so. Agoric’s approach of building for interoperability from the ground up, rather than adding bridges as an afterthought, positions it uniquely in this landscape.
Recent partnerships demonstrate growing ecosystem support, with over 60 builders already exploring applications through the Early Access Program. Implementations like Fast USDC are already processing millions in daily volume, proving the technology works at scale.
For developers and DeFi users looking to participate in this multi-chain ecosystem, Agoric’s documentation provides comprehensive guides to building with the Orchestration API. The future belongs to those who can make blockchain’s borders invisible by delivering on the promise of truly open, connected financial systems that just work.
Dock.io (DOCK) is an interesting project that is trying give users control over their own digital credentials and professional achievements.
It is a decentralised exchange protocol that uses blockchain technology to create a transparent and secure credential sharing ecosystem. Think of it as a decentralised version of Linkedin that keeps control of the data entirely in the hands of the user.
Sounds interesting, but can Dock really achieve this?
In this Dock review I will give you everything that you need to know about the project including its technology, use cases and roadmap. I will also analyse the adoption potential of the DOCK tokens.
How Dock WorksSharing data on the Dock.io platform is a simple concept. Users upload whichever data they like to the platform and decide who can access that data.
They can connect with companies or applications on the platform and each of these relationships is recorded on the blockchain through a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain. This is a critical difference from the current centralized platforms, where users can control who views their data, but cannot control the platform's access to their data.
Use cases for Dock Technology
With Dock users can share their data in a public unencrypted way so that everyone on the platform can see the data. This is data that isn’t considered sensitive by the user such as their name, education, work history, etc. It’s crucial to know that once data is published publicly it remains public forever. There is no way to remove the data from the public realm.
It is also possible for users to encrypt their data to keep it private. Data is encrypted on Dock by default. Once encrypted only the user can decrypt or grant access to an application to decrypt the data. This means user data remains fully in control of the individual user.
The data itself can have a variety of formats, and the user community will be able to choose the data formats, according to the whitepaper. Some critics have questioned how well this will work, and have suggested that standardization of the data formats will be necessary. The platform has stated with the resume and work history data formats.
The solution being used by Dock is known as data format signaling, where the application's signal which data formats they will accept. The team believes that consensus over accepted data formats can be achieved through natural market equilibrium.
The Technical Side of DockThe Dock platform is built on the Ethereum blockchain and given the network congestion already seen on Ethereum there’s no way for Dock to store and retrieve resume data and the other data it is built to hold.
So, the Dock team is using the IPLD specification, which was created to help the open-source peer-to-peer Interplanetary File System (IPFS) perform content addressable data exchange.
Features of IPLD. Images via IPLD.io
The IPFS network is similar to a torrent network, but it stores hashed files rather than torrent files. These hashed files are stored in the collection of IPFS nodes, and any time a user needs to retrieve a file they do so by calling its associated hash from the blockchain. This lowers the overhead for the blockchain since it doesn’t need to store the data, just an associated hash.
While the platform is committed to the Ethereum blockchain, for now, the team has said that they will consider creating their own native, standalone blockchain in the future if it becomes necessary.
The Dock Data Sharing ModelDock data sharing is controlled by the tokenomics model of the platform, which is pretty unique in the world of decentralization and incentivization.
The first difference is the DOCK token denomination, which the team has said should be done in fiat rather than Ethereum like most projects. In fact, the ICO was valued in USD rather than Ethereum.
User data spread across apps. Image via Dock Official Blog
The reasoning for this is to encourage price stability. It’s well known how volatile cryptocurrency prices can be and the team believes that by using fiat to denominate the DOCK token they can avoid extreme price swings.
The other difference is the way Dock creates incentives, which is focused on applications rather than users.
Dock Application IncentivesThe Dock system has created incentives for applications to share data with each other via the DOCK tokens. Basically, if an application wants to acquire data from another application it needs to pay for that data.
This system also prevents applications from hoarding data because the sharing of data is involuntary. There is no way for an application to prevent another application from paying for its data. Only the user can create rules that prevent data from being shared. In this way, Dock prevents data hoarding from occurring on the platform.
Dock User IncentivesUnlike nearly every other decentralized platform with tokens, the Dock platform does not incentivize users to share their data. This was done intentionally and deliberately. The Dock team wants people to come to the realization that their data is far more valuable than they believe, and that any amount paid for their personal data isn’t enough. Instead, they want users to value their data for its own sake.
There’s another reason not to incentivize users for providing data, and that’s to avoid a flood of people spamming the platform with false information simply to collect rewards. Dock realizes this would be the fastest way to kill the platform, and they are avoiding it in any way possible.
Preventing user incentives in the Dock Protocol. Source: Dock Whitepaper
Moreover, the lack of incentives actually makes things clearer for users, who won’t have to worry about keeping up with micro-transactions and payments. All they have to focus on is making sure that their personal information is up to date.
Rather than offering small payments for valuable data, Dock is giving users complete control over their data and convenience. By keeping data all in one place users are easily able to control who can access their data, and they can maintain the data without having to go through the trouble of remembering all the different sites that have a profile for them. This keeps data always updated across the web and avoids scenarios where people are seeing data that are no longer up-to-date.
Dock Team & InvestorsThe Dock team consists of 16 members who are located across the globe, although the project is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The core team has worked on projects together in the past, with many coming from Remote.com.
The CEO and co-founder of the project is Nick Macario, who came to Dock with more than 10 years of experience in web and mobile application marketing. Most recently he was the co-founder and CEO of Remote.com.
Some members of the Dock. Team
The other co-founder and COO of the project is Elina Cadouri, who was also a co-founder and CEO for Outsource.com. She has over 8 years of experience in marketing research.
Dock has also received investments from a number of traditional and blockchain focused venture capital funds. These include the likes of Passport Capital, the Digital Asset Fund, Blockwater Capital and Connect capital among others.
When it comes to increasing adoption and awareness for a project, a large and enthusiastic community is essential. This is especially the case with Dock where the ecosystem relies on these users sharing their data.
Dock has a fairly large following on social media, which is typically a good sign for a blockchain project. Their Telegram group has almost 25,000 members, and their Twitter has 45,800 followers. They are even well represented on Facebook, with nearly 35,000 followers.
One disconnect is the project’s subreddit. While they have over 15,000 followers, there is almost no interaction. The Dock team is pretty much the only ones posting there, and the postings have very few and often no comments.
The DOCK TokenDock held their ICO in February 2018 and sold 30% of the 1 billion total supply for $0.08329 each, raising $20 million. The tokens weren’t released until April 2018 and soon after the DOCK token hit an all-time high of $0.242743 on May 4, 2018.
From there the bear market took over and the token sank throughout the rest of 2018, finally reaching a bottom on January 10, 2019, when the token hit $0.007543. It subsequently made it as high as 0.020441 in April 2019, but as of May 13, 2019, it has dropped back to $0.011445 and is roughly 90% off its ICO price.
Register at Binance and Buy DOCK Tokens
The DOCK token isn’t listed on too many exchanges, but it is on Binance and that’s where nearly all the trading in the token takes place. There’s also a tiny amount of trading on Huobi Global, KuCoin, and Gate.io.
This could create an issue from an exchange reliance perspective. Given that most of the BTC volume of DOCK is being traded on Binance, liquidity could fall off a cliff if there was ever a de-listing. While this is not likely, it is a concern that potential traders have to consider.
Once you have bought your DOCK, you are going to want to get it off the exchange if you intend on hodling them. Because DOCK is an ERC-20 token it can be kept in any ERC-20 compatible wallet, such as MetaMask or MyEtherWallet.
Dock Development & RoadmapDetermining exactly how much work is being done on a blockchain project is sometimes tricky. However, one of the quickest methods to estimate this is to take a look at the coding activity in their public code repositories.
Hence, I decided to jump into the public GitHub for Dock.io and see how many code commits the developers were pushing through. There are 12 repos in total in their GitHub but below are the commits for two of their most active.
GitHub Commits in the past 12 months
As you can see, there is not that much activity in these repos. The last public commit to their plasma Cash repo was back in February. The rest of the 12 remaining repos are similarly barren.
Of course, there is always the possibility that the developers are coding on the project in private repos. Yet this is less than optimal from a transparency perspective as their community is not able to monitor the progress of the project.
Having said this, the team is keeping the community up to date with developments through their official blog. They release monthly updates with a breakdown of what was achieved by the team over the past month.
For example, in their April update they went over some work that they have done on their wallet as well as progress that has been made on the platform. They also gave an outline of what we could expect in the coming months.
There was no timeline given for these updates so it will be interesting to see how long it takes before the next big technology roll-out.
ConclusionDock has an impressive long-term vision for the shape of the user data economy that’s going to grow exponentially now that blockchain technology has become available. The success or failure of the platform is going to depend on how quickly it can attract major partners and how quickly it can grow.
On the growth front, the platform already claims over 1 million registered users in just over a year, which is pretty impressive when you consider users don’t receive any incentive for sharing data.
Obviously the slow rate of development in the project's GitHub could be an area for concern. Hence, we will be keeping an eager eye on project announcements and code commits to their repos over the coming months.
We’ve also talked about the risks associated with the lack of standardization in data formats. This could also hinder growth for Dock, although the team believes that as the user base grows the data format issue will take care of itself through natural market equilibrium. If this doesn’t occur users could leave the platform due to a lack of convenience.
And of course, when discussing personal privacy issues there is always related regulatory risks. In the European Union, we already have the GPDR, which is the strictest data protection regulation so far. It’s possible other countries could follow the lead of the EU.
Dock has said its platform fully complies with the principles of GPDR, but that isn’t legally binding and regulators could take issue with the platform as it grows in size and influence.
Prom, a popular modular ZkEVM L2 that offers interoperability across diverse chains, has recently announced an exclusive integration. The platform has reportedly integrated ARPA which is an Ethereum-based well-known permissionless network that intends to provide a privacy-preserving, secure, and fair blockchain forum. The company disclosed the news of this integration on its official X account.
Prom Integrates ARPA Into the Ecosystem
We’re thrilled to introduce another infrastructure partner in our ecosystem, meet @arpaofficial, a permissionless threshold BLS signature network.
ARPA builds a verifiable on-chain randomness oracle, Randcast, which is now live on… pic.twitter.com/RMoapemuip
— Prom (@prom_io) May 24, 2024 Prom Unveils Its Latest Integration of ARPA to Offer a Secure and Privacy-Preserving Forum It expressed its enthusiasm in a recent X post. As per the company, ARPA has now entered the list of its infrastructure partners. With this integration, Prom has reportedly onboarded ARPA onto its ecosystem. While providing details, the firm noted that ARPA developed Randcast (a certifiable randomness oracle on the chain). According to Prom, the respective project is currently live on several ecosystems.
The respective ecosystems take into account Redstone, Base, Optimism, and Ethereum. In addition to this, it is also moving forward toward the other chains. The platform added that it targets the inclusion of additional builders in the Web3 gaming sector. Keeping this in view, the latest integration plays the role of a remarkable achievement. It indicates that the firm is continuously pursuing its journey to revolutionize the gaming sphere in Web3.
The Integration Intends to Provide a Resilient Infrastructure for a Better Experience Apart from that, Prom brought to the front that infrastructure secures a critical position in every ecosystem. It added that the resilient infrastructure products offer several benefits in the Web3 realm. In this way, the respective projects strengthen this sector. The platform reportedly pays significant attention to this factor.
The platform pointed out that, in line with the vital contribution of a resilient infrastructure, it intends to boost it. It asserted that the firm pursues new opportunities to enhance the exchange across the products. The respective exchange within its ecosystem will reportedly get substantial contributions from the team of ARPA.
AUTHOR
Umair Younas is a cryptocurrency-related content writer linked with this work since 2019. Here, at Blockchainreporter, he serves as a news and article writer. He is a crypto, blockchain, NFTs, DeFi, and FinTech enthusiast. He has strong command over writing authentic reviews about brokers and exchanges and he has collaborated with our education team to write educational content as well. He has a dream to raise awareness among people about digital currencies. His works are well-researched and brimmed with information hence they provide fresh insights. Stay tuned to his posts if you want to stay up-to-date with the crypto-verse.
Zero-knowledge (ZK) rollups have grown in popularity as scaling solutions for the Web3 ecosystem since the pioneer ZK-oriented payment solution, zkSync, was launched in June 2020. Today, there’s over $4.5 billion locked across various ZK rollups, but even more intriguing, we have zkEVM Layer 2 chains such as Prom that have gone beyond scaling the Ethereum ecosystem alone.Privacy Security Simplicity and Compatibility
So, why are ZK rollups gaining traction in the DeFi realm? Of course, the primary reason for the adoption of this type of infrastructure in DApp building is the value proposition in solving Ethereum’s scalability issue. But there’s more to it; while ZK rollups do not enjoy as much liquidity as optimistic rollups, their technical design is more focused on privacy, a feature that most Web3 users seek.
ZK Vs Optimistic Rollups At the core, both types of rollups are designed to reduce the workload on Ethereum’s blockchain by performing transaction execution off-chain and then submitting the data as a batch on-chain. This makes the Ethereum blockchain more scalable, as several transactions can be submitted in a single batch as opposed to relying solely on Ethereum nodes, which have to process every transaction sequentially.
The difference, however, lies in the approach by which off-chain transactions are verified and added to Ethereum’s main network.
In optimistic rollups, all transactions submitted on the Layer 2 chain are assumed to be valid unless challenged and proven to be false through fraud proofs. ZK rollups, on the other hand, rely on ZK proofs (ZKP) to prove the validity of all transactions submitted on the L2.
While both approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, several aspects stand out. For example, the transaction finality on optimistic rollups could take up to 7 days, which is the challenge period for submitted transactions. This is not the case for ZK rollups, which have instant transaction finality as all transactions have to go through a ZKP validity proof at the time of submission.
Below are a few other comparison factors:
PrivacyWhen it comes to privacy, ZK rollups are more secret; this is because ZKP cryptography allows several parties to prove the validity of a statement without necessarily revealing what is encoded within the statement itself.
This means that if party A were to send funds to party B through a ZK rollup chain, the only information that needs to be verified is that party A submitted a transfer transaction on the blockchain and party B is the recipient. Anything more, such as the amount of funds transferred, remains concealed.
As for optimistic rollups, all the data is broadcasted on-chain for fraud-proof verification by actors (verifiers) who may deem the information invalid, which means no privacy for the transacting parties.
SecurityNaturally, ZK rollups are considered to be more secure than their optimistic counterparts. This is because every transaction in a ZK rollup is verified through ZKP validity proofs before being submitted to the main Layer 1 chain.
However, with optimistic rollups, only transactions that are disputed are subjected to fraud proofs. This means that there is a higher likelihood of fraudulent transactions passing off as valid executions if no one disputes them within the 7-day window before a transaction is finalized.
Simplicity and CompatibilityAs for ease of use, optimistic rollups carry the day. ZK rollups are more technical and not as compatible with multiple smart contract operations in comparison to optimistic rollups. This explains why there’s more liquidity locked across optimistic rollups ($31.6 billion), coupled with the fact that the top four leading rollup ecosystems are all optimistic. Arbitrum One leads the pack, followed by Base, OP Mainnet, and Blast.
zkEVM Rollups Are Gaining Traction Despite their complexity which has been a major hindrance to mass adoption, it is arguable that ZK rollups will soon give optimistic rollups a run for their money. This was Vitalik Buterin’s prediction at the ETH Seoul Event in 2022 where he emphasized that ZK rollups will win in the long run, mainly because of their transaction finality compared to optimistic 7-day window.
It is also interesting to observe that at the time there were no fundamental developments in ZK rollups beyond the Ethereum blockchain.
“At the moment, ZK technology is complicated to build. There's a lot of mental challenge, especially in doing all this safely and ensuring it's all correct. We have actually started to see zkEVM implementations that are almost ready to scale with Ethereum transactions; that is amazing,” - noted Vitalik.
Fast forward to 2024, modular zkEVM Layer 2’s like Prom have already launched their testnet, hitting 100,000 active wallets within two weeks. This zkEVMrollup is powered by Polygon and leverages the Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge (zkSNARKs) technology, which reduces Web3 transaction costs significantly.
Other EVM-compatible rollups such as Consensys' Linea are also making headlines in the DeFi sector. This rollup’s mainnet was launched in August 2023, but within a few months, it has grown to a TVL of over $1.1 billion, touting a 30-day transaction count of 17.69 million.
These two examples are just a glimpse of the developments currently taking place in the ZK rollup space, but what’s more intriguing is the fact that innovators are no longer limiting themselves to scaling the Ethereum blockchain. zkEVM chains are becoming more and more popular by the day, a signal that the foundational principles of ZK rollups — privacy and security — are set to transform a larger part of the Web3 ecosystem.
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With the new year just one day away, crypto analyst Alex Wacy (@wacy_time1) shared an overview of what he calls the best altcoins heading into 2025. The analyst, who has amassed an audience of over 190,000 followers on X, highlighted several projects that he believes have the potential to dominate in the potential coming altseason.
Best Altcoins In 2025 He begins with Render (RNDR), describing it as a decentralized GPU rendering platform for AI, metaverse, and creative content. He maintained that “Render is poised to become a key player in the virtual future,” pointing to its $3.66 billion market capitalization as evidence of investor confidence.
Following closely is Virtual, an AI-driven avatar initiative that is pegged at $3.41 billion in market cap, with Wacy touting Virtual as “the growth leader in 2024 in the virtual avatar sector” and predicting increasing adoption for metaverse, gaming, and social media applications.
Wacy also turns his attention to SEKOIA, mentioning its focus on identifying and mentoring emerging AI talent. Although smaller in scale at a $94 million market cap, this autonomous AI investment agent uses advanced pattern recognition and quantifiable predictions to gain a foothold in a competitive space.
Next in line for the best altcoins in 2025 is Pengu, which he calls “the official coin of Paddy Penguin, a major force in crypto.” Its substantial community and cultural traction reflect a hefty $2.28 billion market valuation, and its omnipresence in ETF ads combined with over 90 billion visits appear to confirm its cult-like following.
The list of best altcoins continues with Clearpool (CPOOL), a Decentralized Capital Markets Ecosystem valued at $341 million that provides insured loans to institutional borrowers in the DeFi arena through a dynamic interest model. The analyst noted that Clearpool’s approach to decentralized lending could offer a unique avenue for strategic investors.
He also spotlights Bittensor (Tao), a project intent on decentralizing AI solutions through an open ecosystem, weighed at $3.48 billion, and Hyperliquid (HYPE), a decentralized perpetuals exchange living on its own L1 with a $9.23 market cap. He describes Hype’s vision as “a high-speed, low-cost, transparent solution for perpetual futures,” though he advises caution, remarking that prospective investors should “research to understand its risks and potential.”
Io.net, which sits at $397 million, is categorized as a decentralized GPU network that reduces costs for AI developers, while CFG (Centric) aims to bridge DeFi with real-world assets. This $162 million project focuses on stable returns generated from real fiat value rather than solely leveraging volatile crypto.
Akash Network (AKT), valued at $746 million, is labeled by Wacy a “supercloud” that transforms cloud computing through a decentralized marketplace, and Ethena (ENA), at $2.69 billion, provides a synthetic dollar protocol on Ethereum, touted as “a crypto-native, bank-free solution for money.”
Wacy’s list also featured Helium (HNT) with a $1.13 billion market cap, identified for its decentralized IoT network, and Griffain in the Solana ecosystem, with a $211 million market cap, delivering scalable DeFi solutions for token swaps while upholding transparency.
The analyst also highlights Grasso (GRASS) in his list of the best altcoins for 2025 and its $683 million market cap, describing its decentralized data collection network for AI training as both functional and user-friendly. VitaDAO (VITA) is in Wacy’s focus because of its community-governed DAO funding longevity research. Its compact $54 million market cap appears poised for growth as members actively engage in decision-making and ownership, signifying a communal approach to biotech research in crypto.
Spectral, carrying a $194 million market cap, offers on-chain agents for easier application creation and includes a syntax tool that transforms natural language into Solidity. ETIGEN, or Energy Layer, at $170 million, extends novel concepts of restorative energy on Ethereum, and ONDO, with an impressive $2.83 billion market cap, aims to open up institutional-grade DeFi services and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.
Wacy further singles out AIXTB, at $377M, which monitors crypto-related discussions via a proprietary engine to uncover high-sentiment opportunities, and Ether.fi (ETHFI), priced at $446M, which supports non-custodial ETH staking and DeFi integration. Throughout his breakdown, he underscored the cyclical nature of the crypto market, stating that these best altcoins “could see significant growth in 2025” once capital flow rotates away from Bitcoin and into high-potential altcoin narratives.
His overall thesis hinges on what he perceives as a predictable pattern in every major market cycle. “Altcoins typically pumping when BTC Dominance starts a strong downtrend,” the analyst wrote. He cited the example from 2021, when Bitcoin’s dominance fell from around 73% to 40%, triggering a monumental rally for altcoins like SOL, ADA, and DOGE.
Pointing out that current BTC dominance is about 55%, which he calls a “significant resistance zone,” he predicts a swift drop to 40% if a breakdown occurs. “As I mentioned before, my bet for the altseason is in the spring of 2025,” he said, while admitting that he also shares the common sentiment of disbelief that surrounds every cycle. “That’s okay, it means the market is doing a good job of ‘smoking people out.’ Patience friends, patience always pays off,” he concluded.
At press time, the Bitcoin dominance (BTC.D) stood at 58.02%.
Bitcoin dominance, 1-week chart | Source: BTC.D on TradingView.com Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
StraitsX will launch XSGD and XUSD on Solana in early 2026, targeting on-chain FX, cross-border settlement, and AI-driven payments with x402 support.
Summary
StraitsX will deploy its SGD- and USD-pegged stablecoins XSGD and XUSD on Solana in early 2026, making it the first L1 to host both assets natively. The launch targets on-chain FX, instant SGD–USD swaps, and cross-border settlement, leveraging Solana’s high throughput and low fees plus liquidity pools on CEXs and DEXs. Both stablecoins will support the x402 payment standard to enable machine-to-machine and AI-agent micropayments in what StraitsX calls the emerging “agentic economy.” StraitsX announced a partnership with the Solana Foundation to deploy its Singapore dollar-backed stablecoin (XSGD) and U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin (XUSD) on the Solana blockchain, with an initial rollout targeted for early 2026, according to a company statement.
The collaboration will make Solana the first Layer 1 blockchain to host both XSGD and XUSD simultaneously, StraitsX said. The company stated the integration is designed to support on-chain foreign exchange use cases and real-time cross-border settlement, utilizing Solana’s high throughput and low transaction costs.
The deployment aims to enable near-instant swaps between SGD and USD without traditional intermediaries, according to the announcement. StraitsX said the launch will facilitate instant currency conversion and settlement for businesses and developers operating on-chain, allowing users to move between SGD and USD within a single ecosystem.
Stablecoin leading crypto infrastructure push Both stablecoins will support the x402 payment standard, enabling machine-to-machine payments, automated transactions, and AI-agent micropayments, the company said. StraitsX described this functionality as positioning the stablecoins for use within the emerging “agentic economy,” where software agents and machines transact autonomously.
StraitsX plans to collaborate with centralized and decentralized exchanges to establish liquidity pools for XSGD and XUSD on Solana, stating that liquidity provisioning will be prioritized to ensure efficient foreign exchange swaps and settlement at scale.
The Solana expansion follows previous issuance of XSGD on Ethereum, Polygon, and Coinbase’s Base Layer 2, extending the stablecoin’s multichain presence.
StraitsX operates as a Major Payment Institution licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The company reported its stablecoins have processed more than $18 billion in cumulative on-chain transaction volume to date. The firm stated the Solana deployment aims to combine regulatory-grade stablecoins with high-performance public blockchain infrastructure for use cases including cross-border payments, foreign exchange settlement, programmable finance, and AI-driven transactions.
Ethereum gaming platform Immutable announced Tuesday that it has partnered with Marblex, the blockchain gaming arm of South Korean gaming giant Netmarble, with the parties collaborating to migrate the Marblex ecosystem and its top games to Immutable zkEVM.
Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds, A3: Still Alive, and Meta World: My City will migrate from layer-1 Klaytn blockchain to Ethereum layer-2 network Immutable zkEVM, which is powered by Polygon’s zkEVM scaling tech.
"This is one of the most significant partnerships we've made to date,” said Immutable co-founder and President Robbie Ferguson, in a release. “South Korea is an exciting hub of developer activity in Web3 gaming, and Marblex and Netmarble are pioneers here."
The alliance will also include an "Ecosystem Boost Program," offering up to $20 million in support for developers to attract new titles to Marblex and Immutable.
"To maximize the reach of these experiences and ensure scalability for both existing and upcoming titles, partnering with a proven leader in Web3 gaming was crucial,” said Marblex CEO Hong Jin Pyo, in a release. “That's why Immutable and their industry-leading zkEVM chain was the right choice."
Back in January, Marblex said that it would work with layer-1 blockchain network Saga to support its future games, with Saga also aiding with user acquisition. But Saga’s network is designed to launch dedicated chains, and can be used to support games and apps launched on other blockchain networks.
It’s not immediately clear whether the Immutable migration will impact those plans with Saga. Decrypt’s GG asked an Immutable representative for clarification, but did not receive an immediate response.
Editor’s note: This article was written with the assistance of AI. Edited and fact-checked by Andrew Hayward.
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Ethereum Layer-2 (L2) network Base, incubated by Coinbase, has unveiled its product roadmap for the second quarter (Q2) 2025.
It indicates a bold slate of performance upgrades, enhanced privacy features, and broader support for developers.
Base Q2 Roadmap: Speed, Privacy, and Builder AdoptionIn a detailed post on X (Twitter), Base’s development team outlined key objectives for the quarter. The roadmap reaffirms Base’s commitment to building in the open. It also lays the groundwork for scaling its role as a core pillar of the on-chain economy.
The plan to achieve 200ms effective block times on the mainnet is among the most eye-catching. The move could dramatically increase throughput and improve user experience.
Additionally, Base aims to scale blockspace from 30 to 50 Mgas/s and reach “Stage 1 decentralization.” Notably, they are key milestones in both performance and network security.
Privacy is also a central focus. Base is working to implement privacy-preserving on-chain account verification. This initiative reflects the growing importance of identity and privacy in a blockchain environment where transparency and pseudonymity often clash.
Beyond scaling and privacy, the roadmap details efforts to enhance its developer toolkit, notably expanding usage of the Base MCP (Modular Crypto Platform) tooling. This includes increasing weekly active apps built on OnchainKit and MiniKit and launching new Base Appchains on the mainnet.
The Base MCP tooling is part of a broader push to enable developers to go from “Idea to App, App to Business,” as described by the team. However, it is worth noting that MCP protocols have come under scrutiny recently due to a critical security flaw, raising concerns about their current implementations.
BeInCrypto recently reported on vulnerabilities that, if left unpatched, could expose user data or funds. This suggests that Base’s teams must prioritize security alongside growth.
“This risk comes from using a ‘poisoned’ MCP. Hackers could trick Base-MCP into sending your crypto to them instead of where you intended. If this happens, you might not notice,” Superoo7, head of Data and AI at Chromia, highlighted.
Base’s community-centric ethos is evident in its continued support for builder programs like Base Batches, Buildathons, and the Builder Rewards initiative. The team emphasized that these initiatives will support developers technically and economically, creating viable paths to earning a living by building on-chain.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also weighed in, endorsing the roadmap with a simple but affirming statement. This highlights Coinbase’s continued backing of the Layer-2 solution, which has become a standout in the ecosystem.
Base Blockchain Leads Net Flows Across DeFi BridgesBase has emerged as a top performer in 2025, leading the market in net flow over the past three months. On total inflow metrics, data on Artemis Terminal shows it is second, after Ethereum (ETH). This traction reflects growing user confidence and adoption across DeFi, gaming, and NFT verticals.
Base blockchain leads net flows across DeFi bridges. Source: Artemis TerminalStill, the network has not been immune to controversy. Only hours ago, Base faced backlash after a meme coin, allegedly promoted by insiders, triggered a trading frenzy and abrupt collapse. As BeInCrypto reported, this raised accusations of a pump-and-dump scheme.
While Base distanced itself from the coin in question, the incident raises concerns about transparency and ethical boundaries on the platform.
“This wasn’t a meme coin. This wasn’t a token launch. Base didn’t drop a coin to pump bags or flip the market. This was a content coin — and that distinction matters,” Base developer Charis posted on X.
As Base moves into Q2, it stands at a crossroads. On the one hand, it is armed with performance upgrades and developer momentum. On the other hand, it faces heightened scrutiny.
If successful, its roadmap could further cement Base’s place as a foundation of the next-generation internet. However, the pressure to balance innovation, security, and trust has never increased.
Chromia has officially collaborated with TAC, the purpose-built Layer-1 network that aimed to resolve Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility with The Open Network (TON). This partnership will provide an infrastructure through which Telegram Mini Apps (TMAs) can perform their blockchain capabilities in a more enriched manner involving TAC bridging technology and even Chromia layers of data decentralization.
📢We are proud to announce a NEW integration and partnership with @TacBuild! 🥳
TAC is a purpose-built Layer-1 network designed to bridge the gap between EVM and The Open Network.
🗨️ Acting as a translator between the two systems, TAC allows developers to deploy EVM… pic.twitter.com/g6HKzBC4gJ
— Chromia | Power to the Public (@Chromia) June 23, 2025 This merging will enable developers employing TAC to implement EVM Johnson-based wise contracts in Telegram’s ecosystem. Such contracts are completely within TON architecture and avoid the restrictions that EVM-based dApps are frequently subject to on Telegram. Chromia extends further by natively enabling such applications to store their application logic, user activity, and metadata on Chromia subchains, allowing them to decentralize and verify their app backends.
Enhanced Functionality for Telegram Mini Apps Telegram Mini Apps have become an object of high potential as an interface to provide Web3 experiences to users. However, Telegram’s support of native TON wallets and tokens has already been a problem for Ethereum-based applications. TAC does away with this problem by acting as a translation layer, thereby allowing cross-compatibility between Ethereum-based protocols and the TON ecosystem.
Chromia collaborates with TAC to add decency to Mini Apps, including storage and execution of logic. The majority of TMAs are now working with centralized cloud solutions to perform essential operations, and that reduces transparency and trust. Chromia enables developers to transfer such elements to a decentralized context, favouring a secure and transparent experience to the user.
Real-World Use Case: XOOB Launches with TAC and Chromia XOOB is the first Telegram Mini App that needs the ChromiaTAC stack. The app has a gamified PvP and play-to-earn service. Interaction is done through $USDT deposits on the TON network, which are passed through TAC to DeFi protocols like Morpho and Euler. These deposits create yield associated with the system that players and developers share.
Chromia subchains hold all the gameplay data and financial flows and they all have the full insight about the transactions and user interactions. This protocol illustrates that decentralized systems can fit with ease on familiar platforms such as Telegram. The design of XOOB is a perfect example of how this collaboration can enable scalable, user-friendly and trustless Web3 applications
AUTHOR
Crypto journalist with years of experience providing in-depth analysis and news on blockchain and decentralized finance. With a keen eye for detail, Shahzaib delivers insightful articles that explore the latest trends, market movements, and innovations within the crypto and blockchain ecosystem. His work focuses on educating readers while offering expert commentary on the evolving landscape of digital assets, DeFi protocols, and the broader impact of blockchain technology.
As the cryptocurrency world continues to experience volatile price movements, attention turns to analysts’ comments and which cryptocurrencies they focus on. During the period when Bitcoin fell from $70,000 to $58,500 and then recovered slightly, a famous market follower predicted a rise for an altcoin while painting a pessimistic picture for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Analyst’s Altcoin EmphasisAn analyst closely followed in the cryptocurrency world made statements suggesting that a low-volume artificial intelligence (AI) token could rise. Cryptocurrency analyst Michaël van de Poppe made significant statements on X.
He indicated that there could be a rise for Covalent (CQT), which ranks 346th in market value and is lagging in market volume.
CQT has returned to November 2023 levels. There has been a sharp correction since the peak in February. We expect Covalent’s price to rise significantly since its latest updates.
CQT is trading at $0.1549 after a 3.83% drop at the time of writing. CQT’s market cap is $124 million, while its trading volume remains below $1 million after a 21% drop in the last 24 hours.
Bitcoin (BTC) was also reviewed by Van de Poppe, who suggested a possible drop before a rise in the leading cryptocurrency.
This will likely be the case for Bitcoin. Preferably, we scan the $60,000 region where the bullish divergence started. A reversal could occur from next week with the approach of the Ethereum ETF (exchange-traded fund) listing.
BTC experienced a 1.8% drop in the last hour and is now finding buyers at $60,695. The market cap has fallen below $1.2 billion, while the 24-hour trading volume is at $23.4 billion after a 3% rise.
How Much is Ethereum?Lastly, the analyst reviewed Ethereum (ETH) and suggested that ETH could move upward against BTC (ETH/BTC).
Technically, ETH is holding a very important level for support. I think we will continue to drift upward from here. If it can reach 0.06 BTC ($3,690), then I assume we will see a major breakout and Altcoin strength for the rest of the year.
ETF is continuing to find buyers at $3,379 after a 2.11% drop in the last 24 hours.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Token unlock involves releasing tokens that were previously blocked under fundraising terms. Projects carefully schedule these releases to avoid market pressure and prevent a drop in token prices.
However, factors like lack of liquidity or early investor profit-taking can significantly impact an asset’s dynamics. Although next week lacks major unlocks, these three upcoming events are still worth noting.
Immutable (IMX) Unlock date: August 9 Number of tokens unlocked: 32.47 million IMX Current circulating supply: 1.54 billion IMX Immutable is a Layer-2 solution for scaling NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. In September 2021, the project raised $12.5 million during the IMX token sale on the CoinList platform in just one hour. In March 2022, it closed a $60 million investment round and secured an additional $200 million from investors, including ParaFi Capital, Declaration Partners, and Tencent Holdings.
On August 9, the circulating supply of IMX will increase by 32.47 million tokens. These newly unlocked tokens will be allocated to the development of the project and the broader Immutable ecosystem. The crypto community is discussing the IMX’s unimpressive performance, attributing it largely to the frequent unlocks.
“Look at the historical data. $IMX last bull market had a higher price but lower MC. Now it has a higher MC but the price is way less. This is due to supply unlocks,” one X user wrote.
Read more: Layer-2 Crypto Projects for 2024: The Top Picks
IMX Unlock. Source: token.unlocksXai (XAI) Unlock date: August 9 Number of tokens unlocked: 35.88 million XAI Current circulating supply: 519.82 million XAI Xai is the world’s first Layer 3 solution designed specifically for AAA gaming. Utilizing Arbitrum technology, Xai prioritizes simplicity and ease of use by removing the complexities of wallet management. This approach makes blockchain integration a seamless part of the gaming ecosystem.
On August 9, the project will unlock 35.88 million XAI tokens, distributing them among the team, investors, reserve, and ecosystem.
Read more: The 6 Best Cryptocurrency Powered Games in 2024
XAI Unlock. Source: token.unlocksEthena (ENA) Unlock date: August 11 Number of tokens unlocked: 14.89 million ENA Current circulating supply: 1.80 billion ENA Ethena is a synthetic currency protocol built on Ethereum. It provides a native cryptocurrency solution independent of traditional banking, and also offers global users a dollar-denominated savings instrument called the ‘Internet Bond.’
The ENA token enables holders to vote on governance proposals. On August 11, the project will unlock almost 15 million ENA dedicated to ecosystem development.
Read more: What Is Ethena Protocol and its USDe Synthetic Dollar?
ENA Unlock. Source: token.unlocksOther next-week cliff unlocks include dYdX (DYDX), Hashflow (HFT), and Moonbeam (GLMR), with a total value exceeding $60 million. Although many consider token unlocks bearish, a well-planned schedule can strengthen a project’s long-term viability. Aligned with milestones and development progress, unlocks will motivate team members, boost community engagement, and promote ecosystem growth.
Token unlock involves releasing tokens that were previously blocked under fundraising terms. Projects carefully schedule these releases to avoid market pressure and prevent a drop in token prices.
However, factors like lack of liquidity or early investor profit-taking can significantly impact an asset’s dynamics. Here are three major unlocks to watch next week.
Taiko (TAIKO) Unlock date: September 5 Number of tokens unlocked: 12 million TAIKO Current circulating supply: 63.09 million TAIKO Taiko is a decentralized Layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum, leveraging ZK-Rollup technology. The protocol operates in a permissionless manner, allowing community members to participate in network operations
On September 5, Taiko will unlock a substantial portion of its TAIKO tokens, representing 19% of the current circulating supply. The project will distribute the newly released tokens to participants in the Trailblazer program.
Read more: Layer-2 Crypto Projects for 2024: The Top Picks
TAIKO Unlock. Source: token.unlocksImmutable (IMX) Unlock date: September 6 Number of tokens unlocked: 32.47 million IMX Current circulating supply: 1.57 billion IMX Immutable is a Layer-2 solution for scaling NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. In September 2021, the project raised $12.5 million during the IMX token sale on the CoinList platform in just one hour. In March 2022, it closed a $60 million investment round and secured an additional $200 million from investors, including ParaFi Capital, Declaration Partners, and Tencent Holdings.
On September 6, the circulating supply of IMX will increase by 32.47 million tokens. These newly unlocked coins will be allocated to the development of the project and the broader Immutable ecosystem.
Read more: What Is Immutable?
IMX Unlock. Source: token.unlocksMode (MODE) Unlock date: September 6 Number of tokens unlocked: 500 million MODE Current circulating supply: 1.3 billion MODE Mode Network is a modular Layer-2 network focused on DeFi, built on Optimism’s Bedrock upgrade. The network features a unique contract revenue-sharing incentive at the protocol level, where both DApps and users that contribute to the Mode blockchain receive a portion of the network sequencer’s profits.
This current unlocking event involves 500 million tokens, nearly 40% of the circulating supply. Despite this, no additional unlocks are scheduled for more than six months. However, the community remains skeptical about this tokenomics design.
“For the coming week, there are 4 unlocks at more than 2% but we will especially have to watch $TAIKO which will unlock 19% of its supply on September 5 and $MODE on September 6 which will unlock 38.46% of its supply. Super tokenomics,” one X user commented.
Read more: Optimism vs. Arbitrum: Ethereum Layer-2 Rollups Compared
MODE Unlock. Source: token.unlocksOther next-week cliff unlocks include dYdX (DYDX), Liquity (LQTY), Hashflow (HFT), and Ethena (ENA), with a total value exceeding $77 million. Although many consider unlocks bearish, a well-planned schedule can strengthen a project’s long-term viability. Aligned with milestones and development progress, unlocks will motivate team members, boost community engagement, and promote ecosystem growth.
Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed
The highest standards in reporting and publishing
Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
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In a research report released on July 18, 2024, Thor Hartvigsen, a crypto researcher, strongly cautioned against the investment strategy of purchasing high-beta altcoins within the Ethereum ecosystem as a leveraged tactic, particularly with the forthcoming launch of the spot Ethereum ETFs in the United States.
Hartvigsen’s analysis titled “ETH Beta – a Recipe for Disaster?” provides an analysis of whether buying ETH-correlated altcoins, commonly referred to as ‘ETH betas,’ constitutes a good investment strategy. These assets, including tokens like OP, ARB, MANTA, MNT, METIS, GNO, CANTO, IMX, STRK (all L2’s), MKR, AAVE, SNX, FXS, LDO, PENDLE, ENS, LINK (all DeFi) PEPE, DOGE (all memes), SOL, AVAX, BNB and TON (alternative L1’s) are traditionally viewed as offering leveraged exposure to movements in Ethereum’s price, assuming a higher volatility relative to Ethereum itself.
The report dissects several critical areas: price performance comparison between these altcoins and Ethereum, their correlation and beta coefficients relative to Ethereum, and their risk-adjusted returns measured by the Sharpe ratio. The researcher highlights the inherent risks and inefficiencies in banking on these altcoins for enhanced Ethereum exposure.
Why Buying ‘Ethereum Beta’ Altcoins Is Generally A Bad Idea Discussing price performance, Hartvigsen points out, “The TOTAL3 (altcoin market cap) against the ETH market cap is at around 1.48. Since 2020, this chart has only been this low on a few rare occasions, signaling the outperformance of ETH against most alts.” This historical context sets a grim precedent for those hoping for altcoin outperformance concurrent with Ethereum’s growth. The researcher elaborates that despite periodic recoveries at these levels, the overarching trend has been one of decline—a troubling signal for altcoin investors.
“Notably, not a single L2 token has outperformed ETH YTD, with the best performing token, GNO, up 34%, whereas ETH has seen a 44% gain. Worst performers include MANTA, STRK, and CANTO, all down more than 60% this year,” Hartvigsen stated. With regard to the top alternative L1’s, AVAX is the only one down on the year vs ETH. “Of the 8 DeFi tokens in this basket, 3 have outperformed ETH, namely PENDLE (+254%), ENS (+163%) and MKR (+78%). The remaining 5 are all down on the year with FXS as the worst performer down 73%,” the researcher added.
Meanwhile, memecoins have been the best bet this year so far. “This can also be seen in the performance of the largest Ethereum-native memecoins. PEPE is the largest gainer of the sample, up +708% while SHIB is up 74% and DOGE 31%,” according to Hartvigsen.
The correlation section of the report digs deeper into the relationship these altcoins have with Ethereum. “The sample of altcoins has not been chosen at random but consists of tokens usually assumed to be correlated with the performance of ETH,” Hartvigsen explains.
He further notes that “Correlation between ETH and ETH is obviously perfect and therefore is 100%. The alts most correlated with ETH are GNO, SNX, METIS, AAVE, and ARB.” However, despite some tokens showing a decent correlation with Ethereum, the researcher cautions that these do not necessarily guarantee similar performance outcomes, especially in this crypto cycle.
Correlation to ETH | Source: X @ThorHartvigsen In terms of beta, which measures the volatility of an asset compared to the market, the findings are telling. “From this analysis, it’s clear that only a few alts have a high beta coefficient in relation to ETH, namely PEPE, METIS, ENS, and PENDLE,” Hartvigsen states. This suggests that while certain altcoins exhibit higher volatility and thus potential for greater returns relative to Ethereum, they also carry a proportionately higher risk.
Altcoin beta relative to ETH | Source: X @ThorHartvigsen The calculation of the Sharpe ratio, which provides a measure of risk-adjusted return, brings another dimension to the analysis. Hartvigsen remarks, “The Sharpe ratio calculations underscore the volatility-adjusted returns of these altcoins, which have varied significantly. This is critical as investors often overlook the increased risk these ‘ETH beta’ assets carry.”
Wrapping up his findings, Hartvigsen offers a clear verdict: “Buying these altcoins as a way to get leveraged exposure to Ethereum is, in my opinion, a foolish game as you’re taking on a lot of additional risk you might not be aware of. If you’re looking for leveraged ETH exposure, simply putting on a 2x ETH long on e.g., Aave is more sensible.” He emphasizes that such a strategy ensures a 100% correlation and a beta value of 2, without the unnecessary complications.
At press time, ETH traded at $3,439.
ETH rises above the 0.618 Fib, 1-week chart | Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com Featured image created with DALL·E, chart from TradingView.com
Ruholamin Haqshanas is a contributing crypto writer for CryptoNews. He is a crypto and finance journalist with over four years of experience. Ruholamin has been featured in several high-profile crypto...
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September 12, 2024
The Vega Protocol community has voted to retire its Layer 1 (L1) blockchain and the associated VEGA token.
The decision marks the end of the Vega chain’s operations, which were focused on facilitating derivatives trading on a decentralized platform.
The unanimous governance vote triggered the automatic shutdown of trading activities on the Vega blockchain, the project said in a recent blog post.
Vega Shuts Down L1 Chain Due to Lack of TractionThe protocol launched its first on-chain markets after the release of its alpha mainnet in 2023.
However, the lack of substantial traction in its current form as an application-specific blockchain (app chain) led to the community’s decision to discontinue the project.
The Vega team explained that the network did not achieve the growth and interest required to sustain it as a viable platform.
Consequently, the project will now focus on maintaining the core software rather than continuing with the blockchain and token in their present state.
“We are proud of the software we have built, but unfortunately, the chain and token did not gain the momentum needed to ensure sustainability,” said Barney Mannerings, co-founder of Vega Protocol.
He further emphasized that the resources would now be allocated to supporting other initiatives based on Vega’s core technology.
One such initiative is Nebula, a decentralized exchange that will utilize the Vega software.
Nebula operates independently from the Vega Protocol and will have its own token, NEB.
The on-chain vote to retire the Vega chain has officially passed.
As a result, the Vega chain no longer supports trading on any markets. The chain is expected to cease operations after a “ramp-down” period, during which validators are incentivised to maintain node operations,…
— Vega Protocol (@vegaprotocol) September 11, 2024 As a gesture to the existing VEGA token holders, the Nebula team plans to offer NEB tokens to them, providing some continuity of value within the ecosystem.
“We believe the future of our software lies in open-source development, where projects like Nebula can build upon it,” Mannerings added.
As part of the shutdown process, the Vega chain will enter a “ramp down” phase, during which validators will maintain nodes to ensure users can withdraw their funds.
Validators to Keep Vega Running Until Oct. 27The core team said that validators have committed to keeping the chain operational until at least October 27, 2024, allowing users a window of opportunity to safely move their assets off the network.
The team also issued a warning to users to remain vigilant for updates regarding the chain’s status.
“If the chain halts, assets may become stuck on the bridge, and we will not be able to retrieve them for you,” the team cautioned.
The VEGA token has experienced a sharp decline following the shutdown announcement. Over the past week, its price has dropped by 30%, falling from $0.10 to $0.068.
The token has also seen a more than 90% decline since the start of the year.
Vega’s journey began with its whitepaper in 2018, where the team outlined a high-performance, application-specific blockchain based on the Tendermint proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
In 2019, the project raised $5 million in a seed round led by Pantera Capital, followed by a $43 million community token sale on CoinList in 2021.
Last year, Vega Protocol launched the first perpetual futures market on its network.
Key NotesThe postponement of Ethereum's mainnet hardfork to April could impact development timelines and investor expectations in the ecosystem.Multiple token unlocks on March 1st may create short-term selling pressure across several major blockchain networks.The combination of crypto conferences and US macroeconomic events will likely drive market volatility throughout the month. March brings several major events for the crypto industry, with the highlight being Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, which is set to go live on the Sepolia testnet on March 5. The mainnet hardfork, originally expected earlier, has been postponed to April.
Another significant milestone is the public launch of Humans.ai’s H1uman, scheduled for March 1.
Two major crypto conferences will also take place this month:
March 2-3 – Crypto Expo Europe, Bucharest, Romania March 19-20 – Next Block Expo, Warsaw, Poland In the US, key macroeconomic events could influence market sentiment:
March 12 – Consumer Price Index (CPI) release March 18-19 – Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting Token Unlocks to Watch:
March 1 — Solana (11 200 000 SOL or 2.24%) March 1 — ZetaChain (44 260 000 ZETA or 6.48%) March 1 — Sui (22 970 000 SUI or 0.74%) March 1 — dYdX (8 330 000 DYDX or 1.14%) March 8 — Berachain (10 000 000 BERA or 9.3%) March 12 — Aptos (11 310 000 APTOS or 1.93%) Upcoming Airdrops:
March 3 — Flare Network (rFLR) March 4 — AgriDex (AGRI) March 13 — MSquare Global (USDT) These events could shape the market dynamics for the coming months.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Anton is a crypto journalist with over five years of experience in the industry. For four years, he served as an editor at <a href="https://forklog.com/">ForkLog</a>, the largest Russian-speaking Bitcoin magazine. Anton combines his deep understanding of crypto markets with hands-on investment experience, offering sharp insights on expert forecasts, NFT trends, and Web3 innovations. His clear and engaging analysis makes complex topics accessible, empowering readers to make informed decisions in the evolving crypto landscape.
The partnership offers white-labeled, non-custodial and Web 2.0-like stablecoin loans embedded directly in your wallet or application. Gelato, the Web 3.0 developer cloud platform, together with Morpho, the decentralized lending protocol behind some of the most trusted lending infrastructure in Ethereum, today announced the launch of embedded crypto-backed loans.
The new partnership enables wallets, brokers and fintech apps to allow their users to instantly borrow stablecoins, like USDC, using their crypto assets as collateral.
The borrowing flow has a simple Web 2.0-like experience that is non-custodial and fully on-chain.
By combining Gelato’s Smart Wallet SDK with Morpho’s permissionless lending markets, the two teams offer a complete borrowing flow that platforms can securely integrate in days.
Crypto-backed loans are fully non-custodial and onchain, governed entirely by smart contracts.
Users can initiate loans in an on-chain bank account powered by embedded wallet infrastructure, 7702-powered smart accounts, gasless transactions and the ability to execute multiple transactions in a single click.
Morpho, which Coinbase recently partnered with to enable similar BTC-backed loans, brings proven lending infrastructure with over $6.5 billion in TVL (total value locked).
Gelato’s Smart Wallet SDK – used by companies such as Safe, Infinex and Gnosis Pay – handles account abstraction, one-click onboarding and gas sponsorship, enabling applications to deliver modern, Web 2.0-style user experiences.
Paul Frambot, CEO of Morpho Labs, said,
“We’re excited to see more platforms bring crypto-backed loans to users in a self-custodial way. Morpho is built to be integrated, and Gelato makes it easy to deliver a seamless UX on top.”
Embedded crypto-backed loans are designed to meet the needs of both consumer and institutional users, offering a simple, intuitive interface while preserving the non-custodial guarantees that users and platforms increasingly expect.
Key features Borrow USDC in one click using crypto assets like BTC as collateral Fully non-custodial and on-chain No credit checks required One-click wallet creation via email, social login or passkeys EIP-7702 powered smart wallet account Embedded UX with full brand control Gasless transactions across over 50 EVM chains Later this year, Gelato will introduce new security and recovery features to extend the smart wallet stack.
These include passkey authentication, multi-signer two-factor approvals using regulated custodians and on-chain recovery modules tied to email or social logins.
All upgrades are implemented at the smart contract level to maintain full decentralization.
A full demo of the product is available here, showcasing the end-to-end borrowing experience from wallet creation to BTC collateralization and loan issuance.
Embedded crypto-backed loans are now available in beta on Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism and Scroll, with support for Katana coming soon.
Gelato and Morpho are working closely with additional chain teams to expand deployment in the months ahead.
About Morpho Morpho is a decentralized lending protocol, powering open, on-chain money markets. It enables pooled and peer-to-peer borrowing with programmable risk parameters and oracle-based pricing.
With over $6.5 billion in TVL, Morpho is one of the most widely adopted lending platforms in Ethereum.
Users can learn more at the website.
About Gelato Gelato is Web 3.0’s developer cloud, providing enterprises with critical infrastructure to build Web 2.0-like non-custodial applications at scale.
It offers developer tooling for smart wallets, gas abstraction and deploying enterprise-grade rollups.
Gelato is used by leading apps, wallets and protocols across the EVM ecosystem to deliver seamless, secure and fully on-chain user flows.
[PRESS RELEASE – Zug, Switzerland, June 25th, 2025]
The partnership offers white-labeled, non-custodial, and Web2-like stablecoin loans embedded directly in your wallet or application.
Gelato, the web3 developer cloud platform, together with Morpho, the decentralized lending protocol behind some of the most trusted lending infrastructure in Ethereum, today announced the launch of Embedded Crypto-Backed Loans.
The new partnership enables Wallets, Brokers, and Fintech Apps to allow their users to instantly borrow stablecoins, like USDC, using their crypto assets as collateral. The borrowing flow has a simple, Web2-like experience that is non-custodial and fully onchain. By combining Gelato’s Smart Wallet SDK with Morpho’s permissionless lending markets, the two teams offer a complete borrowing flow that platforms can securely integrate in days.
Crypto-backed loans are fully non-custodial and onchain, governed entirely by smart contracts. Users can initiate loans in an onchain bank account powered by embedded wallet infrastructure, 7702-powered smart accounts, gasless transactions, and the ability to execute multiple transactions in a single click.
Morpho, which Coinbase recently partnered with to enable similar BTC-backed loans, brings proven lending infrastructure with over $6.5 billion in total value locked. Gelato’s Smart Wallet SDK, used by companies such as Safe, Infinex, and Gnosis Pay, handles account abstraction, one-click onboarding, and gas sponsorship, enabling applications to deliver modern, web2-style user experiences.
“We’re excited to see more platforms bring crypto-backed loans to users in a self-custodial way,” said Paul Frambot, CEO of Morpho Labs. “Morpho is built to be integrated, and Gelato makes it easy to deliver a seamless UX on top.”
Embedded Crypto-Backed Loans are designed to meet the needs of both consumer and institutional users, offering a simple, intuitive interface while preserving the non-custodial guarantees that users and platforms increasingly expect.
Key Features
Borrow USDC in one click using crypto assets like BTC as collateral Fully non-custodial and onchain No credit checks required One-click wallet creation via email, social login, or passkeys EIP-7702 powered Smart Wallet Account Embedded UX with full brand control Gasless transactions across +50 EVM chains Later this year, Gelato will introduce new security and recovery features to extend the smart wallet stack. These include passkey authentication, multi-signer two-factor approvals using regulated custodians, and onchain recovery modules tied to email or social logins. All upgrades are implemented at the smart contract level to maintain full decentralization.
A full demo of the product is available at: https://morpho-aa.demo.gelato.cloud, showcasing the end-to-end borrowing experience from wallet creation to BTC collateralization and loan issuance.
Embedded Crypto-Backed Loans are now available in beta on Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Scroll, with support for Katana coming soon. Gelato and Morpho are working closely with additional chain teams to expand deployment in the months ahead.
About Morpho
Morpho is a decentralized lending protocol, powering open, onchain money markets. It enables pooled and peer-to-peer borrowing with programmable risk parameters and oracle-based pricing. With over $6.5 billion in total value locked, Morpho is one of the most widely adopted lending platforms in Ethereum.
Users can learn more at https://morpho.org/
About Gelato
Gelato is Web3’s Developer Cloud, providing enterprises with critical infrastructure to build web2-like non-custodial applications at scale. It offers developer tooling for smart wallets, gas abstraction, and deploying enterprise-grade rollups. Gelato is used by leading apps, wallets, and protocols across the EVM ecosystem to deliver seamless, secure, and fully onchain user flows.
PANews reported on June 3 that Ink, the Ethereum Layer 2 network incubated by Kraken, disclosed last night that it experienced a chain-wide outage, with intermittent network availability and services yet to be fully restored. The official statement indicated that user transactions and cross-chain bridging operations may experience instability until the chain returns to normal operation. Ink is collaborating with its infrastructure partner Gelato to investigate the root cause of the outage and expedite network recovery. As of press time, Ink has not released any further updates or a recovery timeline.
Multi-chain decentralized trading platform Nexera has suffered a $1.5 million exploit, forcing it to stop all trading operations.
Decentralized crypto exchange Nexera — also known as AllianceBlock Nexera — has fallen victim to a hacker attack, resulting in a loss of $1.5 million worth of liquidity. The breach was first reported by blockchain forensic firm Cyvers through a post on X, which flagged a “suspicious transaction” involving Nexera’s proxy contract.
According to Cyvers, the attacker managed to gain control over Nexera’s proxy contract, subsequently upgrading it with new permissions. This allowed the hacker to utilize the withdraw admin function to transfer all NXRA tokens. Cyvers says the hacker is actively selling all the exchange’s liquidity for Ethereum (ETH), and some of the funds “have already been bridged to the BNB chain.”
Announcement
The team is investigating an exploit involving smart contracts containing NXRA tokens.
While we are still finalizing our findings, there are already a couple of things that we can share:
1️⃣ The $NXRA token contract has already been paused. Trading is halted on…
— Nexera (@Nexera_Official) August 7, 2024 Shortly following the attack, the Nexera team confirmed the exploit in a separate X post, saying the team is “investigating an exploit involving smart contracts containing NXRA tokens.” While the exact nature of the hack remains unclear, the NXRA token contract has been paused, with trading halted as the exchange’s team is still finalizing its “findings.”
“We continue to investigate the exploit now and will come back here ASAP with follow-up steps. Thank you for your understanding and patience while we sort this out with the utmost priority.”
Nexera
Nexera, established in 2018 by Rachid Ajaja and Matthijs de Vries, facilitates trading between the Ethereum network and the Arbitrum layer-2 solution. The platform’s native token, NXRA, is used for various functions including transaction fees and rewards within the ecosystem. Following the news of the exploit, the value of NXRA plummeted by over 40%, now trading at $0.037, per data from crypto.news.
Beta Finance is a money market on Ethereum that allows users to borrow, lend, and short crypto assets. Following its launch on the Ethereum Mainnet, Beta Finance plans to roll out additional layer-1 and layer-2 solutions.
Users have three options: lending, borrowing, and short selling. Lenders can provide crypto assets for any market available on Beta Finance and earn interest. Borrowers can take the opposite position, while short sellers can use collateral to start short positions. Unlike centralized exchanges, Beta Finance does not use an order book for short transactions; instead, it routes transactions through decentralized exchanges using automated market makers.
Beta Finance identifies the significant volatility of crypto as harmful to the adoption of DeFi by individuals and institutions. It views short selling as a critical financial tool missing from the DeFi ecosystem that facilitates market stability and efficiency. Users can easily execute short trades using the platform’s “1-Click Short” tool. With one button, they can select the DEX to swap and stake the newly exchanged collateral with the principal in the short position.
Beta Finance follows an isolated collateral model to support more volatile assets, meaning that a collateralized position at risk of liquidation does not jeopardize another position. Initially, Beta Finance supports ETH, USDC, USDT, and DAI as valid collateral, and the community can propose and vote for additional collateral support in Phase 2. Collaterals are subject to various collateral factors: Stablecoins have a collateral factor of 90%, and ETH has a collateral factor of 80%.
Beta Finance was founded by Allen Lee, an MIT graduate who previously worked as a software engineer at Microsoft and Facebook. It is backed by a prominent group of investors, including Spartan Group, ParaFi Capital, Multicoin Capital, DeFiance Capital, and Delphi Digital.
BETA is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and BSC. Its security framework consists of four main pillars:
Beta Finance conducts continuous internal code reviewsThe platform plans to seek external reviews from leading security researchersReal-time monitoring services are said to be availableBeta Finance will launch a bug bounty campaign for whitehat hackersHow to Buy BETA Coin?BETA Coin can be quickly and securely purchased via Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform by trading volume.
To buy BETA Coin, one must first become a member of Binance and then transfer fiat currency. After transferring fiat currency like Turkish Lira or dollars, one can proceed to buy BETA Coin in the trading pairs BETA/Bitcoin (BTC), BETA/Binance Coin (BNB), BETA/Ethereum (ETH), BETA/BUSD, and BETA/Tether (USDT).
Additionally, on Binance, users can place buy orders at a lower value than the market price, allowing them to purchase at their desired price. To do this, use the Limit tab and enter the amount and price you wish to buy.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
TLDR: Dusk Network integrates Chainlink CCIP for cross-chain trading of €200M+ NPEX tokenized securities DUSK token gains native transfer capability between Ethereum and Solana via Cross-Chain Token standard Chainlink DataLink becomes exclusive oracle for NPEX exchange data with low-latency institutional feeds Partnership creates compliance framework for European securities to settle across DeFi environments Dusk Network has integrated Chainlink’s infrastructure to tokenize securities from NPEX, a regulated Dutch stock exchange with over €200 million in financing and 17,500 active investors. The partnership establishes cross-chain interoperability for European equities through blockchain rails.
NPEX assets will gain composability across multiple networks while maintaining regulatory compliance. The integration marks a significant step toward institutional adoption of tokenized securities.
CCIP Enables Cross-Chain Movement for Tokenized Equities Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol will function as the primary bridge for NPEX tokenized assets on Dusk Network.
The protocol allows securities issued under European regulation to move between blockchain ecosystems without compromising compliance frameworks. CCIP integration extends beyond NPEX securities to include the DUSK native token itself.
The DUSK token will transfer natively between Ethereum and Solana using Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Token standard. This dual-chain presence expands liquidity options for token holders across major DeFi platforms.
Institutional users can now access compliant digital securities regardless of their preferred blockchain environment.
Emanuele Francioni, CEO of Dusk, stated the integration builds infrastructure needed for next-generation real-world asset markets. The combination of CCIP with DataLink creates an end-to-end framework for compliant asset issuance.
Tokenized equities can now settle in DeFi environments while maintaining their regulatory status.
The architecture supports new distribution models for financial instruments across chains. Settlement processes that previously required intermediaries can now execute through smart contracts. This reduces friction in trading European securities for global participants.
DataLink Brings Regulated Market Data Onchain Dusk and NPEX adopted Chainlink DataLink as their exclusive oracle solution for exchange data. The platform will deliver official NPEX pricing and trading information directly to smart contracts. Both organizations become data publishers for regulatory-grade financial information through this arrangement.
Chainlink Data Streams will provide low-latency price updates for institutional applications on Dusk Network. The high-frequency data feed supports trading strategies that require real-time market information. Smart contracts can now access verified financial data with the auditability institutions demand.
Johann Eid, Chief Business Officer at Chainlink Labs, described the collaboration as defining a blueprint for regulated markets onchain. The data standard ensures transparency across tokenized asset platforms. Market participants gain access to the same quality of information available on traditional exchanges.
The integration combines interoperability with verified data feeds in a unified infrastructure. NPEX securities can move across chains while maintaining connection to authoritative pricing sources. This architecture addresses two critical barriers to institutional blockchain adoption simultaneously.
Market Sentiment: Current sentiment among smart money and retail funds in the market is at a neutral level.
According to the latest data from SentimenTrader, as of June 24, the Smart Money Confidence Index stands at 0.56, while the Dumb Money Confidence Index is at 0.49. Both smart money and retail investor sentiment are currently in the neutral range, with no clear optimistic or pessimistic bias emerging in the market.
10 minutes ago
Sandisk's tokenized stock SNDK is now live on the Solana network.
According to official announcements, Sandisk’s tokenized stock SNDK has officially launched on Solana via Sunrise. SNDK is the tokenized stock representing SanDisk, the storage chip manufacturer. Users can now trade SNDK 24/7 through various wallets and applications within the Solana ecosystem, even when traditional stock markets are closed.
10 minutes ago
Jiang Zhuoer: This round of Bitcoin bear market may bottom out in Q4 2026, with a target range of $42,000 to $44,000.
BTC.TOP founder Jiang Zhuoer wrote in a post that Strategy’s modified net asset value (mNAV) has fallen to 0.72, near the 0.7 low hit in May 2022 during the last bear market. Citing recent market sentiment events including STRC’s depegging, he noted that mNAV is now in the bottom zone of this cycle. mNAV usually bottoms roughly six months before Bitcoin’s price. Using the "four-year cycle" and volatility decay model, Jiang projected that this Bitcoin bear market will likely bottom between October and December 2026, with a target price range of $42,000 to $44,000. He added that his recent medium-short term strategy remains focused on selling spot assets and holding short positions, and will switch to buying spot and going long once the expected bottom arrives.
10 minutes ago
The VIX Fear Index for the US stock market stands at 18.63 today, with fear sentiment intensifying in the crypto market.
According to Cboe data, the U.S. stock market's VIX Fear Index stands at 18.63 as of today, down 0.86 points from the prior reading of 19.49, marking a decline of approximately 4.41%. Separately, per Alternative data, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index is at 12 today (compared to 17 yesterday), indicating intensifying extreme fear sentiment.
10 minutes ago
Bank of Japan Board Member: Should Accelerate Pace of Interest Rate Hikes If Upside Inflation Risks Intensify
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Policy Board member Naoki Tamura stated that if upside risks to price growth intensify further, the BOJ should not hesitate to accelerate the pace of interest rate hikes or raise rates by a larger margin. He projected that the BOJ will implement interest rate hikes every few months until its policy rate reaches the neutral level of around 2%. (Golden Ten)
10 minutes ago
Crypto token M plunged over 80% in a short period, hitting a low near $0.5.
According to HTX market data, the token M saw a sharp short-term price plunge, with its decline once exceeding 80% and hitting a low of around $0.5, and is now trading at $0.54.
Crypto markets holding on to weekend gains; Bitcoin still dominating, XRP moving up, ETH retreating slowly. Market Wrap Crypto markets have held on to weekend gains and there has been no typical ‘Red Monday’ reaction so far. Bitcoin’s surge to new 2019 highs has buoyed up markets and several altcoins have also gained. A number have fallen however, but in general total market capitalization is high and holding above $280 billion.
Bitcoin traded above $9,300 twice yesterday marking a new high for thirteen months. A pullback dropped BTC price back to high $8,000s but it quickly recovered during Asian trading today to reach $9,200 again at the time of writing. Technical indicators and historical highs show a lot of resistance at $9,600 which will need to be broken for BTC to hit five figures.
Ethereum got a weekend boost reaching $278 but it has not been able to follow Bitcoin and hold those gains. ETH is down 2 percent since yesterday dropping prices back below $270. The longer term trend for ETH is still up though so more momentum could take it to $280 this week.
The top ten is pretty mixed during Asian trading on Monday morning. XRP is showing a little progress with a further 2 percent added taking it to $0.429. Litecoin has remained flat following its epic rise last week and is still at $135 and the rest are level with yesterday’s prices.
Top twenty movements are also mixed with Cosmos and Tezos getting the best performance adding over 4 percent each to reach $6.54 and $1.33 respectively. NEO has added almost 3 percent and NEM is back in the big twenty with a 5 percent gain. As above, the rest are pretty flat this morning.
FOMO: A Smiles For Grin Entering the crypto top one hundred with a 12 percent push is Grin, a private lightweight blockchain based on mimblewimble. The only thing that could be driving momentum is an approaching hard fork next month. Bytom is the only other double digit altcoin today with 11 percent added, BitTorrent token is third gaining over 8 percent.
There are no big dumps going on as markets remain flat on the day. At the bottom of the pile right now is Dent, MaidSafeCoin, and KuCoin Shares dropping 5-6 percent.
Total market cap 24 hours. Coinmarketcap.com Total crypto market capitalization is at $284 billion, holding gains but remaining flat over the past 24 hours. Since last Monday crypto markets have gained a solid 16 percent, driven largely by Bitcoin. Over the same period daily volume has jumped from $60 to $75 billion. Bitcoin dominance is also up to 57.3 percent as it continues to eat into lack luster altcoins.
Market Wrap is a section that takes a daily look at the top cryptocurrencies during the current trading session and analyses the best-performing ones, looking for trends and possible fundamentals.
Energi (NRG) has been one of the biggest movers in the cryptocurrency space over the last couple of days - catapulting into the top 100.
At its core, the NRG blockchain is trying to take distributed ledger technology to the masses and achieve widespread adoption. Energi wants to build a secure, user-friendly platform that is trusted and globally accepted.
However, are these ambitions too lofty? What makes this project so valuable to investors now?
In this Energi review, I will attempt to answer that. I will also look at the use cases and potential for their native NRG coin.
Like most other cryptocurrencies, Energi is decentralized and blockchain based. Its focus is on decentralized applications and smart contracts, and it has a good method of governance along with a self-funding treasury model intended to assist in making it the largest, most popular blockchain platform in the world.
The Energi project began in the summer of 2017 as a fork of the Dash blockchain. At the time it used a Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism, with an ASIC resistant algorithm called Energi hash that is similar to Ethereum’s Ethash.
Since then it has transitioned to a Proof-of-Stake consensus with a network of masternodes. These masternodes provide usability and some of the notable features of Energi.
Masternodes ❓: If you are uncertain as to what masternodes are and how they work you can read our comprehensive Masternode guide.
Although Energi is a fork of Dash, it has been highly modified and has enhanced privacy, lower fees and higher scalability when compared with Dash.
The self-funding treasury system of Energi and on-chain governance system was enacted to ensure the long-term development of the project and serves as a means to attract contributors and developers.
Energi FeaturesEnergi has the same basic features you will find with nearly any blockchain project; decentralization, an on-chain governance model, its own HD wallet, and trustless transactions.
It has also put a spin on some common features to make them more useful.
Self-Funding TreasuryA self-funding treasury isn’t an unusual feature in a masternode blockchain, but Energi has one of the largest percentage allocations to the treasury of any masternode blockchain. A full 40% of the released NRG goes to the treasury.
The Treasury Cycle at Energi. Image via Whitepaper
Since there are 1 million NRG released every month, and there’s no cap on the total coin supply, this gives the treasury 400,000 NRG every month to be used for marketing and development of the project. This is meant to ensure longevity for the project, providing funds to improve technology, grow the community, and to compensate developers.
Because there is no supply limit Energi has allocated this large percentage to the treasury to improve the decentralization of the blockchain, and to maintain the performance of the network.
Built-in GovernanceLike many of the other more recent blockchain projects, Energi has included a community-based governance model. In the Energi model, any stakeholder can submit a proposal for open consideration by the community.
Then, once done, the masternode owners then vote on the proposals to determine whether they will be implemented or not. This governance model was chosen because it not only encourages adoption by giving users a voice, it also helps with scalability and increases the stability of the network.
Masternode BenefitsAs a fork of Dash, the Energi network includes both the Instant Send and Private Send transaction features, but the masternodes of Energi allow this with improved transaction speed and with lower fees.
Masternode returns for Energi blockchain. Image via whitepaper
Because Energi has a 2 Mb block size and 1 minute block time users benefit with minuscule fees and quick transactions. Scalability is also improved by using masternodes, with the scalability of the network growing as the number of active masternodes grows.
DApps and Smart ContractsThe planned network of dApps will give the Energi network usability that will help it realize its goal of global adoption. And the addition of smart contracts will increase trustlessness, security, speed, efficiency and transparency for the entire Energi ecosystem.
Smart contracts will also help promote development, which in turn will bring in new users and investors to increase the value of NRG as it becomes increasingly valuable as a currency for developing and powering dApps, as well as the base currency in the planned Energi X exchange.
MasternodesAnyone is able to host a masternode by staking 10,000 NRG. At current prices, this amounts to an investment of $86,100 as of July 5, 2019.
The masternodes provide several of Energi’s features, including the Private Send and Instant Send functionality, as well as self-funding and self-governance and increased scalability and security for the network.
Masternode owners are rewarded for securing the network with NRG. 40% of the NRG generated is allocated to masternodes. This is roughly 400,000 NRG per month. Currently, there are 798 masternodes, which means each masternode is receiving around 500 NRG per month, which is equivalent to just over $4,300. That’s $51,600 annually or an annual return of 60%.
Setting up a masternode is not extremely straightforward and you need a bit of command line experience to do it. The Energi team have tried to make it as easy as possible with this pretty intuitive guide.
Alternatives ❓: Those who have less than 10,000 NRG can also stake their coins and receive staking return. The minimum required to stake a coin is only 1 NRG and it is also that much easier to set up and configure.
The Energi TeamThe Energi team consists of 18 dedicated and knowledgeable individuals, all of whom are committed to blockchain technology and the creation of a decentralized network that is self-funding and community governed. They come from a wide variety of disciplines, including development, operations, marketing, and of course entrepreneurship.
The CEO and founder of Energi is Tommy, also known as TommyWorldPower from his Twitter and YouTube accounts. He is a well-known blockchain evangelist and educator within the blockchain space. His understanding of how blockchain functions and its prospective uses were the inspiration and foundation of the Energi platform.
Some Energi Team Members. From Left: Tommy, Ryan Lucchese & Andrey Galkin
The president of Energi is Ryan Lucchese who oversees the day-to-day operations. He has a strong background in software development which is no doubt an asset for the Energi project. Prior to starting at Energi, he was an engineer at Hyland Software and NCH Software.
In the lead developer seat is a guy called Andrey Galkin. His linkedin does not list his experience on Energi but perhaps that is an omission. Andrey has a long engineering background and has held numerous roles in both Enterprise and startup environment.
These are only some of the team members but you can view the rest of their credentials over on their team page.
When a cryptocurrency launches with no ICO or premine, it does not have I large marketing budget to spread awareness of the coin. This is where a strong and engaged community can help.
To that end, Energi has a pretty sizable community behind it.
For example, they have a large member count in their Telegram channel with over 14k members. I decided to jump into the channel to get a better sense of the ongoing conversation.
Energi Telegram Channel
As you can see, the Admins are quite helpful to the community member and the conversation above. There is also a distinct lack of your typical "moon boys" in this channel which is a good sign.
Apart from their telegram channel, they also have a Discord server which could be an attractive alternative for those users who prefer this platform.
On the social media front, Energi has a pretty decent following on Twitter with over 30k followers. They regularly keep their users up to date here with the latest developments. There is decent engagement with these tweets.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that Energi also has an official blog that they contribute to regularly. This helps to keep the broader cryptocurrency community informed.
The NRG TokenNRG began as a Proof-of-Work coin with no ICO and no pre-mine. The mainnet launch was announced and mining began fairly.
The first listing for NRG on CoinMarketCap was August 24, 2018, with an opening price of $0.264592. Price jumped higher by around $0.10 immediately and spent several months trading between the all-time low of $0.244958 and roughly $0.40.
In October 2018 the coin began trending higher after masternode payments began, and reached levels over $1 as November began. This rally is much earlier than the Bitcoin rally and the end of the crypto bear market for the broader cryptocurrency space.
NRG Coin Price Performance. Image via CMC.
Price dipped in January and February 2019, but never below $0.54 and by March NRG was trading above $1 again. It remained between $1 and $2 in April 2019, then moved to a range of $2 to $3 in May 2019.
The real rally began in June 2019, with NRG reaching an all-time high of $9.90 on June 25, 2019. Since then it has pulled back somewhat and trades at $8.61 as of July 5, 2019.
For those interested, the Energi team has been conducting airdrops of the coin and there is one final round of 1 million NRG to be airdropped. Details can be found here once the airdrop round begins.
Trading & Storage of NRGIf you would like to buy or trade your NRG, then there are a limited number of exchanges that you can use. These include the likes of Digifinex, Kucoin and Cryptobridge.
Digifinex has the bulk of the volume though and turnover rates appear to be on the lower end for a coin with such a large market cap. This means that liquidity could provide a challenge for those traders who are trying to execute large block orders.
Once you have got your NRG tokens, you are going to want to move them off of the exchanges. We are all too aware of the risks that come from a large centralised exchange hacks.
If you are looking to merely send / receive the coins and "hodl" them for price appreciation then you can use the Coinomi wallet. This is a third party wallet that has support for an additional 500+ cryptocurrencies. It is available on mobile and desktop across multiple operating systems.
Unfortunately, the Coinomi wallet cannot be used to stake coins. If you would like to do this then you will have to download and install their core wallet. There are also a whole host of more advanced functions that the core wallet can execute.
Energi DevelopmentI consider project development progress as a critical metric that one should track. This can give you an idea of just how much work is actually being done on a daily basis.
Although some developers may work in private, those projects that are open source should use a public code repository. Thankfully, Energi has a public GitHub that allows us to dig into their code.
Below are the GitHub commits for the main core Energi Protocol repository:
Commits for Energi over the past 12 months
As you can see, the developers have been quite busy sending coding updates to their core protocol. Its also worth noting that there are a further 14 repositories in their GitHub although only 4 have any code commits over the past year.
Comparing the coding commits for the core repository with that of the rest of the cryptocurrency complex, it is reasonably positioned. For example, they are ranked at 134 on this site which is just between Bytom and the Request Network.
Indeed, this coding activity could make more sense when you take a look at the broader roadmap. The Energi team has been meeting a number of key milestones and there are some really interesting updates that are planned...
Energi RoadmapI include this section because I feel it’s relevant to know what the team has planned for the future. The reason this is relevant is that Energi depends on a dApp platform and smart contract functionality, but so far it has neither of these. Currently, the project is little more than another masternode blockchain with its own cryptocurrency.
The Energi roadmap is complete and gives good details of the development plans for the coming 18-24 months.
The most important item on the roadmap now is the launch of Energi 3.0 in the fourth quarter of 2019. This will include smart contracts and will allow for the migration of Ethereum dApps and is the first real step towards the goal of global adoption.
Worth Considering?Energi has rocketed into many traders awareness as it has come from over 200th in market cap to 58th as of July 5, 2019. Its listing on the popular DigiFinex and KuCoin platforms is certainly positive too.
Considering the rally in NRG began back in October it may not follow the lead of Bitcoin. It could also pullback leading up to the launch of Energi 3.0, which I would expect will spark a new rally as smart contract and dApp functionality are core features of the platform.
You might wonder why this coin has gained 300% in June when right now it’s little more than a PoS masternode coin. There’s been no earth-shattering news from the project and no major developments. Does that mean this has been a manipulated pump of the coin? There’s no way to tell for sure, but if that’s true these gains will quickly evaporate.
Energi - Yay or Nay?
Consider too that even though Energi says their launch was fair, there was actually no public announcement of the mainnet until block height 171897. That’s hardly fair, and with the treasury getting 40% of rewards and the founders receiving 10% of rewards there’s no reason for this type of trickery.
The runup in price has made it more expensive to run a masternode, but the return is still quite good. That might not continue to be the case as new investors setup masternodes to take advantage of the 60% annual returns being generated.
Energi says they want to be the leading global cryptocurrency, but nearly all blockchain projects have that goal. Energi has certainly made great strides recently, but what makes the project different or unique?
There will be more possibilities with the introduction of smart contracts and dApps, but Energi still won’t be unique. And they’ve already pushed back the launch of these features from Q3 2019 to Q4 2019.
So, you will have to decide whether NRG are still attractive at these levels or whether a retracement is imminent - which could present additional opportunities.
This weekend has been one of the best in recent history in terms of crypto asset performance. Bitcoin’s epic rally to retouch five figures has given its brethren a boost but there appears to be a pattern emerging. Chinese crypto assets are leading the way resulting in speculation that the red dragon may have just ignited another altseason.
Chinese Crypto Bulls Awaken Most altcoins have remained on the floor this year. A brief move in summer renewed hope that an altseason may be about to begin again but that was quashed when all gains evaporated over the past few months.
Only a tiny handful of altcoins have made serious progress this year, the majority are still over 80% down from their all-time highs.
As Bitcoin got a major boost late last week from the Chinese president, crypto asset markets increased by 25%, or over $50 billion in just a day or two. Many of those low lying altcoins started to surge and Chinese ones were leading the pack as the fomo builds.
Tron has been explosive over the past day with a 30% surge to reach $0.021 or 215 satoshis. Daily volume is almost $2 billion which has push market capitalization up to $1.9 billion. Chinese entrepreneur and project CEO Justin Sun has been a marketing machine and he didn’t miss the opportunity to post that TRX was now a top ten crypto asset again.
Back to TOP 10. #TRON #TRX $TRX $BTT pic.twitter.com/kTMIof3PIT
— H.E. Justin Sun 👨🚀 🌞 (@justinsuntron) October 28, 2019
There has also been a lot of Tether printing recently for chain swaps to the TRC-20 standard which Poloniex, Huobi and Bitfinex are now supporting.
VeChain is another Chinese crypto project and it is no surprise that this token is also surging 30% at the moment. VET has spiked to 44 satoshis in under 24 hours as the fomo intensifies in the People’s Republic. Bytom, another Chinese dominated crypto platform, has pumped over 100% in 24 hours as BTM topped $0.18.
NEO is another solid performer as this ‘Chinese Ethereum’ has cranked 35% on the day. Late last week NEO was trading below $7 and by Monday morning it had topped $12. Daily volume has surged from around $225 million late last week to $1.3 billion at the moment which equals that during the January 2018 peak.
There have been continual updates and development on the blockchain and network but until this weekend NEO has not performed at all. When NEO does perform well, its sibling tokens also get a lift and GAS and Ontology are cranking higher today.
Not So Fast … Not all are so optimistic however and the Chinese fomo should be taken with caution according to some crypto analysts. Alex Krüger noted that China will not allow public decentralized crypto assets and is all about control;
“Odds of China supporting public blockchains with tradeable tokens that can be used for speculation and moving money out of China bypassing capital controls … are close to zero. China is not interested in decentralization but in control. Private blockchains don’t need tokens.”
This may be the case but it does seem that the China effect has caused more fomo than Bakkt, Libra and any crypto ETF promises combined.
Over the last three days, cryptocurrencies have registered one of the biggest price jumps and crypto enthusiasts are more optimistic than ever about the future. The market cap of the aggregate crypto market stands at around $250 billion, after gaining more than $50 billion in days. According to some analysts, this unexpected ascent was as a result of the comments made by the Chinese President Xi Jinping and the passing of the crypto law that will see increased use of blockchain technology in China.
The Chinese crypto FOMO has had a profound effect on digital assets than ever witnessed, with Chinese-centric coins posting the most gains. To cap it all off, a major Chinese bank has invested in a local bitcoin wallet provider.
Chinese Crypto FOMO Massively Pumps The Market The comments by Xi Jinping and the passing of the cryptography law came as a huge surprise to many considering the fact that China has been on the forefront to fight cryptocurrency. Now, the Chinese government is seemingly taking a bold step towards the adoption and growth of blockchain technology, presumably to gain an edge in the budding digital landscape.
On Friday last week, Jinping made some positive comments about blockchain technology. On Saturday (26/10/2019), the standing committee of the 13th National People’s Congress passed the cryptography law which will take effect early next year. This law is designed to standardize the application of passwords and the use of blockchain technology.
These events have had a tremendous effect on the crypto economy. Overall, the prices of almost all the cryptocurrencies have improved a great deal over the last few days. These gains have been monumental compared to the impact seen with Bakkt, Facebook’s Libra or the hope of approval of ETFs by the USA regulatory bodies.
Chinese-Centric Coins Record Huge Gains Although the news coming from China pumped the entire crypto markets with bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, and other top cryptos posting considerable gains, Chinese-centric coins are noticeably enjoying the lion’s share.
TRON (TRX) has gained 15.60 percent against the US dollar in the last 24 hours. TRX climbed from $0.0137 to $0.020244 at press time. Its market capitalization stands at $1.35 billion, making TRX the tenth-ranked cryptocurrency. TRX’s ascent is as a result of several bullish reports surfacing from China. Additionally, TRON founder Justin Sun recently mentioned an upcoming partnership between Tron and a 100 billion dollar megacorporation. According to Sun, this partnership will promote the distribution of TRON Dapps and tokens to a vast number of customers.
Other cryptocurrencies that have some sort of tie to China are posting massive gains. Bytom, Ontology, VeChain, and IOST are up by 37.78%, 11.37%, 5.31%, and 8.19% respectively in just 24 hours.
Chinese Bank Invests In Bitcoin Wallet BitPie According to a couple of crypto analysts, bitcoin was headed towards a bearish territory, the Death Cross. This is a scenario that happens when the 50-day moving average drops below the 200-day moving average. In simple terms, before Friday, bitcoin’s technical outlook looked dismal but dramatically changed after comments from the Chinese leadership.
Chinese bitcoin FOMO has risen, so much so that a Chinese bank has reportedly invested in a local bitcoin wallet platform. According to a well-known industry analyst and founding partner of Primitive Crypto Dovey Wan, China Merchants Bank has invested in BitPie, one of the longest-serving bitcoin wallet provider in China. BitPie is a non-custodial wallet and so far has the largest number of users. Per Wan, this move is a continuation of the growing trend of crypto and blockchain nationalization in China. She summed it up nicely, stating:
“All I can say is this ton me it’s a sign of [the] beginning of the nationalization of Bitcoin/cryptocurrency related infra in mainland [China]. Eventually, all things can be state-owned, or at least partially (mining, ASIC, exchanges, wallets, etc).”
Does This Mean China Is Finally Unbanning Bitcoin And Cryptocurrencies? In 2017, the Chinese government restricted trading on local cryptocurrency exchanges and banned ICOs. However, it appears that the Chinese government is now taking a different approach. In addition to embracing blockchain technology, reports say that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is distributing material intended for blockchain learning, with content about bitcoin and ethereum as well.
Moreover, Sichuan Daily reported today that Yang Jiang, former Vice-chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission suggested that Sichuan province should open up more business opportunities in the region using both bitcoin and blockchain technology.
It’s worth noting that the remarks made by Jiang are not representative of the Chinese government. However, they come just a few days after the Chinese president Xi Jinping made impressive comments about blockchain. This goes to show that China is not only becoming more interested in blockchain technology but also in bitcoin.
While it is rather improbable that the Chinese government would create any kind of competition for its upcoming digital currency, the hard-line stance on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies seems to have changed considerably.
China is abuzz with all things blockchain. Since Thursday, when Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered his ringing endorsement of digital ledger technology, China has seen an abundance of new initiatives, positive sentiment and surges across cryptocurrencies and blockchain related stocks.
In late 2017, in a bid to protect retail investors burned by the ICO craze, China adopted a tough stance on cryptocurrencies, while continuing to champion blockchain, the underlying technology. The global effect wasn’t instantaneous, but many analysts saw its attitude to cryptocurrencies as a harbinger of the fall in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies over the following months.
Xi’s calls last week for China to “take the leading position” in blockchain, as a “core technology,” and for industry investment and support, have resulted in what many are calling a new boom for the industry.
Here’s how that’s playing out in China and beyond.
1. Crypto boom timeBitcoin (BTC) surged 24% in the 24 hours following Xi’s comments, reaching $10,350 in its biggest two-day leap since late 2017. Other major cryptocurrencies including Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple's XRP also saw big gains. Pundits took to Twitter to proclaim that the president’s comments had sparked a crypto boom, though not everyone was in agreement.
$BTC has moved +42% today
- 4th largest gain in history and largest since May/10/2011 (if comparing against daily returns).
- 15th largest two-day gain in history, Nov/18/2013.
Thank you China.
President Xi is the true Crypto Dad.
— Alex Krüger (@krugermacro) October 26, 2019
2. Soaring blockchain based stocks Government support of preferred Chinese industries translates to billions of dollars in cheap financing and other subsidies, with investors alert for any sign of favoritism towards a certain sector.
As a result of Xi’s pronouncement, Chinese investors have been snapping up shares in blockchain-related businesses. More than 85 stocks hit the 10 per cent upside limit that halts trading in Shenzhen and Shanghai, the Financial Times reported today. Even businesses only marginally related to blockchain benefited, including an index of blockchain-related equities compiled by data provider Wind which saw an 8.9 percent rise to its highest level since April. In Hong Kong, Pantronics Holdings, which was acquired by crypto exchange Huobi, soared as much as 62 per cent.
“It’s all because of Xi,” Pan Shaochang, an equity analyst at financial services startup Dongwu Securities, told the FT. He added that many of these businesses were still at an early stage, but that “the growth potential is huge.”
3. Chinese crypto renaissanceChinese cryptocurrencies have emerged from the doldrums to take centre stage. Home-grown cryptocurrencies NEO, Ontology (ONT), Quantum (QTUM), VeChain (VET) and others saw gains of more than 50%. Bytom (BTM), saw an increase of 459%, as per reports on China’s Huobi exchange. Such staggering gains caused commentators to ridicule the influence on the market of crypto startups such as Bitcoin futures exchange Bakkt or Facebook’s Libra coin.
Ahahahahahhaha, now on Chinese CT
" Fuck ETF, fuck Bakkt, fuck Libra, none of these BS will pump, only we Chinese pump with real money, the only way to pump"
(excuse me for the F word... try my best to translate from very Chinese slang)
— Dovey 以德服人 Wan 🗝 🦖 (@DoveyWan) October 28, 2019
Chinese research agency CCID today poured oil on these claims with its update of global project rankings. EOS retrained its pole position, but Swiss-headquartered Ethereum gave way to China-based Tron. While the CCID’s methodology has been questioned by some, it’s also gained credence after Xi’s comments.
4. Surging interest across Chinese mediaBlockchain has been all over the Chinese media since Xi’s remarks, with @cnledger, a Twitter account for China's crypto industry, noting that it’s been reported on “intensively” across national TV channels and newspaper headlines.
Search volumes for keywords related to blockchain also spiked on Chinese search engine Baidu and messaging app WeChat after the presidential speech. China-based Google searches rose significantly, suggesting that Xi’s remarks had encouraged intense interest in cryptocurrencies, said Reuters.
"There have definitely been more conversations since the weekend," Anthony Wong of Hong Kong-based crypto investment firm Orichal Partners told the New York Times.
5. China’s national digital currency is imminentIn recent months, China has stepped up plans to launch its own national digitial currency, with the People’s Bank of China hiring experts to join its Digital Currency Research Institute (DCRI). Huang Qifan, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), predicted in an interview with tech news site Pandaily that China would be first off the mark with a national currency. Many believe that the FOMO (fear of missing out) generated by Facebook’s efforts to get its cryptocurrency Libra off the ground has led Beijing to accelerate its efforts. While no date has yet been set, Li Wei, head of the People’s Bank of China’s technology department, today told a Shanghai forum that, in preparation, commercial banks should step up their application of blockchain technology and embrace digital finance.
6. China’s blockchain ecosystem is expandingChina’s blockchain industry is in rude health. The Chinese government requires blockchain projects to register with its Cyberspace Administration, and more than 500 blockchain projects have done so since March, run by state-owned banks, courts and tax offices, as well as commercial tech conglomerates. China’s most popular app, Xuexi Qiangguo, has launched government-run courses in Bitcoin and Ethereum.
And China looks set to expand its focus on blockchain education; in his speech, Xi called for the creation of new initiatives such as “Blockchain+,” a platform for “personal development” in areas such as education, employment and health. China’s Communist Party is even urging patriots to “seize the opportunity” created by the technology, and swear their allegiance via blockchain.
7. China has introduced its first cryptography lawChina’s national congress on Saturday passed a new law designed to encourage research and development on commercial cryptography technologies. It also aims to build up standardized regulations for the industry, in preparation for the upcoming challenges the nascent sector will face. On Twitter, it sparked comparisons with the approach taken by the U.S.
A pal sent me this from Vegas. If the US regulators don’t allow for fintech innovation, the Chinese will eat our lunch. Xi’s comments on Friday were significant. Crypto and blockchain will be part of the financial and consumer infrastructure in the future. Buy the dip. $btc pic.twitter.com/prM9VvjT3x
— Michael Novogratz (@novogratz) October 26, 2019
But what of Bitcoin? Will developments in China continue to fuel the recent meteoric rise of the original cryptocurrency? Sentiment is, broadly speaking, bullish: “The positive comments from the Chinese leader will continue to support the broader crypto prices to maintain at current levels,” Andy Cheung, head of operations at Malta-based OKEx, an exchange popular among Chinese users, told Reuters.
Cheung’s not alone in his thinking. “It’s likely that momentum, perhaps partly driven by FOMO, will now pick-up pace again in the cryptocurrency sector,” Nigel Green, CEO of financial advisory deVere Group, told Decrypt.
Chinese websites have pointed out that blockchain is not the same as interest in bitcoin, of course. But the country’s newfound enthusiasm for blockchain seems just as extreme as its previous erstwhile ban on crypto, with @cnledger even claiming that “Articles saying blockchain technology is a scam are now BANNED.”
3/ Articles saying blockchain technology is a scam are now BANNED.
Who still remember the days when posts promoting blockchain getting deleted real fast? pic.twitter.com/W5iRJ3PDYS
— cnLedger (@cnLedger) October 28, 2019
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