Compiled by: Elvin, ChainCatcher
“What important events happened this week (1.1-1.7)”
1. Source: The US SEC may make a decision on Bitcoin spot ETF next week
According to ChainCatcher, FOX Business reporter Charles Gasparino said on his social platform that according to an issuer, the SEC's decision on the Bitcoin spot ETF will be made next week. Since each issuer submits their application at different times, the SEC's response time to each ETF will also be slightly different.
(Source link) 2. Matrixport: If the US SEC rejects Bitcoin spot ETF, Bitcoin will quickly fall by 20%
According to ChainCatcher, according to a report released by Matrixport, it believes that all current spot Bitcoin ETF applications fail to meet a key requirement, so it is expected that the SEC will reject all proposals in January, which may be achieved in the second quarter of 2024.
Since traders began betting on ETF approval in September 2023, at least $14 billion in additional fiat and leverage has been deployed into the crypto space. Some of these flows may be related to the easing of the macro environment as the Fed has turned dovish. However, of the $14 billion in additional long positions, $10 billion may be related to the expectation of ETF approval. If the SEC refuses to approve the ETF, there will be a large-scale liquidation in the market, and most of the $5.1 billion long positions are expected to be closed, and the price of Bitcoin may quickly fall by 20% and fall back to the $36,000/$38,000 range. Even so, Matrix on Target still expects that even if the SEC rejects the ETF, the price of Bitcoin will still be higher than $42,000 at the beginning of the year by the end of 2024.
(Source link) 3. VanEck Research Director: BlackRock may have raised $2 billion from existing Bitcoin holders so that they can convert to Bitcoin spot ETF at any time
According to ChainCatcher, Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, said in a Twitter Space that according to people familiar with the matter, BlackRock has raised $2 billion from existing Bitcoin holders, who hope to convert these funds into a Bitcoin spot ETF within the first week.
In this regard, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said that if this is true, $2 billion will break all first-day/weekly trading volume and management scale records of ETFs. At present, he has learned from another source that BlackRock is indeed ready to invest funds in ETFs on the first day.
(Source link) 4. Binance Launchpool launches the 43rd project Xai (XAI)
According to ChainCatcher, Binance announced the 43rd project on Binance Launchpool, Xai (XAI), the first Layer3 game in the Arbitrum ecosystem. Starting from 2024-01-05 08:00 (UTC+8), users can invest BNB, FDUSD, and TUSD into the XAI mining pool on the Launchpad website to obtain XAI rewards. XAI can be mined for a total of 4 days.
In addition, Binance will list XAI at 2024-01-09 18:00 (UTC+8), and open XAI/BTC, XAI/USDT, XAI/BNB, XAI/FDUSD, XAI/TUSD and XAI/TRY trading pairs. XAI will be added with a seed tag.
(Source link) 5. Ethereum Developer Conference Devcon 7 will be held in Bangkok, Thailand from November 12 to 15
According to ChainCatcher, according to the official blog post of Ethereum, the Ethereum Developer Conference Devcon 7 will be held in Bangkok, Thailand from November 12 to 15, 2024.
The article points out that Devcon 7 is ready to be a more inclusive and regional event. In order to reflect this vision, it will be called "Devcon Southeast Asia" instead of mentioning the name of the host city. The Ethereum community in Southeast Asia has great potential, as evidenced by its rapidly growing cryptocurrency adoption rate. Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand are at the forefront of the global cryptocurrency adoption index, highlighting the region's key role in the global Ethereum landscape.
(Source link) 6. Manta Network announced the launch of an airdrop plan, rewarding 5% of the total supply
According to ChainCatcher, Manta Network announced the launch of the Into the Blue airdrop program, which currently supports users to check airdrop qualifications based on their contributions to the ecosystem over the past 3 years.
It is reported that Into the Blue rewards 50 million MANTA, accounting for 5% of the total supply.
(Source link) 7. Smart Layer: Airdrop will be carried out soon
According to ChainCatcher, Smart Layer posted on the X platform that it will soon airdrop, and more details will be announced in stages in the coming weeks. Smart Layer is a solution that can solve the integration, privacy and trust challenges in the digital environment.
(Source link) 8. Better Markets wrote to the US SEC again to prevent the approval of Bitcoin spot ETF
According to ChainCatcher, the US financial reform group Better Markets has once again written to the SEC hoping to prevent the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF (the SEC is still collecting public opinions). In the letter, Better Markets stated that it would be a historic mistake if the SEC allowed a speculative, volatile, and socially unhelpful financial product to be exposed to tens of millions of American investors and retirees. Fraud and manipulation in the Bitcoin market means that approving these products will expose these investors to the dangers of SEC protection.
In this regard, FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett said that although she did not think this letter would change the outcome of the SEC's approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF, it is worth noting that Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler are very close and they served together on Biden's transition team.
ChainCatcher previously reported that the non-profit organization Better Markets stated in a letter submitted that the US SEC should reject a large number of recent spot Bitcoin ETF applications because they could harm investors.
(Source link) 9. Morgan Stanley strategically invests in decentralized artificial intelligence project WorldBrain
According to ChainCatcher, Morgan Stanley recently announced a strategic investment in the decentralized artificial intelligence project Worldbrain, with the specific amount not disclosed. The core of this cooperation is the concept of DePIN, focusing on WorldBrain's WorldModel, Web3 technology applications, and innovation of Depin facilities.
WorldBrain is an innovative project initiated by the Worldbrains Foundation, a foundation under OpenAI, which combines artificial intelligence, neuroscience and blockchain technology to develop a comprehensive, versatile and decentralized artificial intelligence system.
(Source link) 10. Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr’s proposal on whether to restrict inscriptions was not passed, and opinions on inscriptions among developers were mixed.
According to ChainCatcher, Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr initiated a proposal called "datacarriersize: Match more datacarrying #28408" to discuss whether to limit inscriptions. After discussion among several Bitcoin Core developers, the proposal was not passed and is now closed.
It is reported that Bitcoin Core developer Ava Chow summarized and closed the PR, saying that it is obvious that the proposal is controversial, and it is impossible to reach a conclusion that satisfies everyone under the current circumstances, and there is no need to continue the discussion.
In addition, Gloria, another Bitcoin Core code maintainer, summarized the PR.
The opinions supporting Luke are:
Stop the inscription, it's spam;
Inscriptions and embedded data can compromise the network;
People want this: there is user demand and specific use cases that Bitcoin Core should provide; the alternative is for people to write and run patches, but this may be insecure;
This just fixes the data carrier size so that it works as expected;
The arguments against Luke are:
This does not prevent inscription, miners are unlikely to adopt this strategy due to incentive incompatibility;
We can’t write code to detect all embedded data;
This PR changes the default mempool policy, potentially harming individual node operators and the network;
Other opposing views:
In general, using a mempool policy to prevent usage is ineffective now;
Attempts to "censor" transactions based on usage are inappropriate; the free market determines what Bitcoin is used for;
This also changes what -datacarriersize does from the underlying user.
(Source link) 11. Data
Arbitrum’s on-chain DEX surpassed Ethereum in transaction volume on January 4, ranking first
ARK Invest sold 26,000 shares of Coinbase on January 4, worth about $4.16 million
Lido's market share reached 31.73%
BitDeer produced 434 BTC in December 2023
As of January 6, the total open interest of BTC options on the entire network was $13.53 billion, and the open interest of ETH options was $6.21 billion.
Bitcoin mining difficulty increased by 1.65% to 73.2 T
NFT lending platform Blend’s total transaction volume exceeded US$3.7 billion, with more than 390,000 loans
The total issuance of PYUSD exceeds 270 million, and the number of addresses holding on the chain reaches 4,857
Ethereum Layer2's total locked-in value is $19.85 billion, with the Base network increasing by more than 17% in 7 days
"What are some interesting articles worth reading this week (1.1-1.7)"
1. "Bankless: ETF, halving, interest rate cuts, where is Bitcoin headed next?"
Bitcoin remains the main narrative of the new year. As the deadline for the spot Bitcoin ETF ruling approaches, market sentiment is rising. A report from Matrixport even caused a network-wide liquidation of more than $450 million.
As the deadline for spot Bitcoin ETF approval approaches next Wednesday, industry players are optimistic about the introduction of these tools, which they believe will pave the way for tens of billions of dollars to flow into Bitcoin in the coming years. In addition, market participants are optimistic about the upcoming Bitcoin halving, an event in April that will reduce inflation of the Bitcoin block subsidy by 50% and has historically led to a reduction in miner sales, driving Bitcoin prices soaring. Although just two obvious Bitcoin catalysts are enough to create conditions for Bitcoin prices to rise, the expected rate cut next year has traders eagerly looking forward to a more favorable macro environment that will allow Bitcoin to break out to new all-time highs.
Nonetheless, there has been no shortage of bullish talk on Bitcoin lately. However, before jumping on Bitcoin’s bandwagon to enjoy the massive gains that could arrive in 2024, there are some important considerations to keep in mind.
2. "A Bitcoin report worth $450 million?"
Since the end of last year, the expectation of the imminent approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF has driven the crypto market to continue to rise. The dazzling narrative targets such as the Bitcoin ecological inscription and the Solana ecological meme have also risen. The market seems to be climbing upward without hesitation, leaving those who are expecting to "pullback and bottom-fishing" far behind.
Entering January, people's expectations for "Bitcoin spot ETF approval on January 10" became clearer and stronger, but at the same time, investors who had made profits over the past few months were also ready to "sell the news". On the first day of the 2024 New Year's resumption of work, the market's enthusiasm reached a new high after Bitcoin broke through $45,000. But just one day later, the industry suddenly ushered in a "bull market correction" that had not been seen for a long time. The price of Bitcoin fell below $42,000 in a flash, and the entire network's 1-hour liquidation increased to $451 million, which made many investors who had just filled their positions "tearful".
However, looking back at the 312 before the last round of crypto bull market and the 519 during the bull market, the crypto industry has seen many sharp declines during the active market. Today’s market price fluctuations actually further prove that the crypto market is on the road to a new round of bull market.
3. "Binance's new Launchpool project XAI: the most promising blockchain game Layer3 on Arbitrum"
On January 3, Binance launched XAI, the 43rd project of Launchpool, and will also open BNB, FDUSD and TUSD profit pools, with mining starting at 00:00 (UTC) on January 5. XAI will be launched on Binance at 10:00 (UTC) on January 9, 2024, and XAI/BTC, XAI/USDT, XAI/BNB, XAI/FDUSD, XAI/TUSD and XAI/TRY trading pairs will also be opened at the same time.
Xai (XAI) is a blockchain network built on Arbitrum and developed by Offchain Labs to meet the needs of large-scale Web3 games. As a network customized for blockchain games, what are the characteristics of Xai compared to other networks? How is the game ecosystem developing on it? BlockBeats will introduce it in this article.
4. "The Get-Rich-Quick Game at the Top: Discussion on the New Flywheel and Governance Model of Web3 Games"
With the recent market recovery, some interesting projects have emerged before our eyes. It also presents practical cases following web3 game design theories such as IAT (In-app Taxation) and BLOG.
This article aims to accomplish two things:
1) Taking Gas Hero and Lumiterra as examples, explain the new flywheel of web3 games under IAT’s business model, that is, the top-level get-rich-quick game.
2) Taking Gas Hero, Lumiterra, and Crypto Raiders as examples, analyze the governance model in web3 games.
5. "Summary of Crypto Market Data in December: Bitcoin Ecosystem is Popular with Capital; Token Issuance Wave is Coming"
Stimulated by the strong growth of the primary market, the amount of investment and financing in the crypto field remained strong in December compared with the third quarter, but fell back from November, from $1.2 billion to $910 million. This may be largely affected by the Christmas holidays in the European and American markets, with many financing news delayed and large financing significantly reduced.
At the same time, the number of financing events for Bitcoin ecosystem projects has increased significantly. BitSmiley, a DeFi solution for Bitcoin ecosystem, has received investments from ABCDE Capital and OKX Ventures. Ordz Games, a Bitcoin chain game, has completed its seed round of financing. The Ordinals market continues to receive a lot of attention.
This article will focus on specific financing data, active investors, hot search projects, new coin issuance projects and other aspects to present the changing trends of the crypto market.
6. "Review of Ethereum on-chain data in 2023: On-chain activities are concentrated in DeFi, and liquidity staking leads new use cases"
At the end of 2022, the cryptocurrency industry was facing the FTX debacle and market sentiment was extremely low. Today, the industry is full of excitement and positivity from cryptocurrency users and developers.
So, what does 2023 look like based on on-chain data? In this post, we explore Ethereum’s on-chain data to determine what activities and trends impacted Ethereum in 2023.
7. "Interpreting ORC-20: The enhanced version of BRC-20 that once attracted Binance's attention, its difficulties and future"
Bitcoin ecology has become a popular subject, with BRC20/ARC20/SRC20 competing with each other. In the crowded track, some investors have begun to focus on new potential projects. Remember ORC20 in May? On May 13, Binance Academy posted a tweet about ORC-20, making it the focus. In the same month, OKX founder Star also tweeted that he is working on building infrastructure for BRC-20 and ORC-20.
This article will further explain ORC-20 and help you understand his past, present and current situation.
8. What is Tiny SPL, the new token standard pinned on Solana founder’s Twitter?
On January 3, Anatoly Yakovenko, the co-founder of Solana who once made Silly popular, retweeted a tweet on his social media, bringing a lot of attention to a protocol called "Tiny SPL". According to the tweet, Tiny SPL is a new token standard protocol on Solana, which introduces a "state compression" method that allows users to hold tokens on Solana without paying storage rent.
9. "Let Ethereum face the future, the expectation of Ethereum roadmap in 2024"
On December 31, Vitalik Buterin published an article to update the Ethereum roadmap, and said that as Ethereum's technical path continues to consolidate, there are relatively few changes. Including: 1. The Merge: The role of single-slot finality (SSF) in the merged PoS improvement is being consolidated; 2. The Surge: Whether it is EIP-4844 or rollup itself, Surge (rollup expansion) has made significant progress; 3. The Scourge: After a certain degree of redesign, the focus is now on combating economic centralization in PoS in two key areas: (i) MEV, (ii) general equity pool issues; 4. The Verge: Significant progress has been made; 5. The Purge: "State expiration" has been reduced to reflect general consensus; 6. The Splurge: Due to cryptographic weaknesses in the existing structure, VDF has been reduced to reflect a temporary reduction in focus.
In response to this, the Ethereum community launched a heated discussion on the Ethereum roadmap. Crypto researcher FRANCESCO discussed in depth the ERC and EIP that he was concerned about, and analyzed the advantages of each proposal. He believes that although the development of Ethereum is generally considered to be slow and controlled to prioritize security, Ethereum has not remained static, and the implementation of ERC-4337, EIP-4844, EIP-3074 and EIP-5003 has played a vital role in this evolutionary journey.
10. "How do crypto VCs view 2024? We asked 20 well-known institutions to tell you how to grasp the market outlook"
In 2023, the crypto industry showed great resilience amid the global economic downturn and tightening crypto regulation. With keywords such as Ethereum Shanghai upgrade, Hong Kong crypto policy, Binance and Coinbase being sued, inscription craze, and Bitcoin spot ETF expectations as a shot in the arm, the market value of the global cryptocurrency market has continued to rise amid fluctuations and has steadily reached $1.6 trillion.
With the strong performance in the closing stage of 2023, and with the support of multiple positive news such as ETF, halving and interest rate cuts, the much-anticipated bull market in 2024 does not seem to be far away. In this stage full of opportunities and risks, hope and challenges, PANews interviewed 20 well-known crypto institutions such as Animoca Brands, HashKey Capital, Binance Labs, NGC, C Squared Ventures, Cobo, Generative Ventures, Newman Group, etc., to discuss topics such as the future market, narrative main line, and potential tracks.
