Breaking News – Court sides with Grayscale in closely watched Bitcoin ETF case
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued its opinion in Grayscale v. SEC on Tuesday, ruling that the agency was unreasonable to deny the crypto giant permission to launch a Bitcoin ETF.
While the community was preparing the champagne in anticipation of the actual approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, the securities regulator made a somewhat expected move and delayed the decision on all current applications, including BlackRock’s.
- Crypto Market Cap Overview
| 28/8/2023 | 4/9/2023 | ||
| Market Overview | Weekly numbers ($mUSD) | Weekly numbers ($mUSD) | WoW %
weekly change |
| S&P | 4,405.71 | 4,515.77 | 2.50% |
| Nasdaq | 13,590.65 | 14,031.81 | 3.25% |
| US 10-year Treasury Rate | 4.25% | 4.18% | -0.07% |
| Crypto Marketcap | $1,092,561,000,000 | $1,079,165,943,258 | -1.23% |
| BTC dominant | 49.16% | 49.28% | 0.12% |
| ETH dominant | 19.22% | 19.18% | -0.04% |
| Percentage of Staked ETH | 21.93% | 21.95% | 0.02% |
| Lido Dominance in all ETH Staking | 32.18% | 32.33% | 0.15% |
| Lido Dominance in ETH LSD Staking | 86.37% | 86.39% | 0.02% |
| stablecoins | $124,260,486,918 | $124,811,343,428 | 0.44% |
| Defi | $42,717,160,488 | $42,625,361,792 | -0.21% |
| Defi: Eth ratio | 21.50% | 21.70% | 0.20% |
| TVL | $37,739,000,000 | $37,674,000,000 | -0.17% |
| nft | $4,840,000,000 | $4,935,799,614 | 1.98% |
Even though the news that the Grayscale won in court gave $BTC a boost quick boost, the news of SEC delaying Spot Bitcoin ETF decisions soon dragged the price down. We can see that 8.23% (1.59M $BTC) of the supply fell into an unrealized loss this week, indicating a “top-heavy” market condition.
- Comma3 Opinions
Recent developments in the cryptocurrency world have been impacted by targeted delays from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concerning Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, resulting in a downward trend in the market this week. Retail investors, lacking profitable opportunities, have increasingly turned to large-scale experiments within the cryptocurrency community at zero cost, such as Friend.tech and Tipcoin.
- Last week, the trending project Friend.tech accumulated over 52,000 ETH in trading volume and more than 1.6 million transactions within a mere 20 days. However, its operational mechanism is suspected to be a carefully designed Ponzi structure. Within the past four days, trading volume plummeted by 90%, and the number of transactions decreased from nearly ten thousand per hour to only seven hundred per hour. Many individuals who bought into Friend.tech at its peak are now stuck with illiquid assets and face financial losses, trapped in a downward spiral.
- In response, this weekend, TipCoin introduced a gameplay with viral spreading attributes. They rewarded points to anyone on Twitter who posted with the text “@tipcoineth$tip.” The more significant the traffic, the more points one could earn, which could eventually be exchanged for token airdrops. Due to this strategy, the @tipcoineth official Twitter account gained 30,000 followers in a single day, dominating discussions in the cryptocurrency Twitter sphere. However, the official Twitter account emphasized that it is a social network, and the associated tokens have no intrinsic value, serving merely as part of a social experiment. Tip Coin reserves the right to suspend or restrict user access at any time and can modify the website’s content to its advantage.
- Fundraising events by Sectors
Infrastructure
IronMill Raises $2.6M Funding Led by gumi Cryptos Capital
IronMill raises $2.6 million in funding, spearheaded by gumi Cryptos Capital. IronMill’s standout feature is its seamless integration of zero knowledge technology into new applications. By providing developers with essential tools and streamlined integration processes, IronMill paves the way for enhanced privacy and security solutions across various platforms.
Stroom Raises $3.5M to Bring Liquid Staking to Bitcoin Lightning Network
Stroom Network, a liquid staking project for Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, has raised $3.5 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round led by Berlin-based crypto investment firm Greenfield, with strategic support from Mission Street, the venture arm of Ankr. The funding round was also joined by Lemniscap, No Limit Holdings, and Cogitent Ventures, along with several other venture capital firms and angel investors.
NFT
FirstMate raises $3.75 million in Dragonfly-led round
FirstMate, a startup aiming to equip NFT creators with digital storefronts, raised $3.75 million in a round led by Dragonfly Capital — the crypto VC that raised $650 million for its third fund last year. Coinbase Ventures and NextView also participated in the round.
Metaverse
Allseated, a virtual venue tour and event planning platform, raises $20M
Allseated, a platform that helps event organizers plan and showcase venues virtually, has raised $20 million in a debt round of funding. Allseated’s latest funding round, which takes its total cash raised past the $43 million mark, included investments from Magma Ventures, Level Structured Capital, Vestech Partners, NYFF and WGG.
Social / Identity
BuidlerDAO, a Web3 talent and project network, announced their US$2 million angel round led by Sequoia China and SevenX Ventures. Other participants include Bing Ventures, DRK Lab, M77 Ventures, Gate Labs, Mirror World, Conflux, Nicholas Hu (PlanckerDAO), Xiao Zhang (Founder zCloak Network), Paka, Vitalbridge, Inverse Ventures, Doc Labs, etc.
Web3 marketing firm DeForm raises $4.6 million in seed funding
The web3 marketing startup DeForm raised $4.6 million in seed funding. Kindred Ventures led the round, which had additional participation from Elad Gil, Scalar Capital and others. DeForm aims to give marketers blockchain-based tools to tailor marketing initiatives for web3 users.
Tako Protocol raised $2M in a Pre-Seed Fundraising
Tako Protocol aims to decentralize and personalize content recommendations while empowering users to curate and control their content experience. It has raised a $2 million Pre-Seed round from Mask Network, DWF Ventures, UOB Venture, Signum Capital, AC Capital, SmrtiLab, HashBrown Research, and other angel investors.
- Market Movement
Galxe Launches Decentralized Identity Protocol Based on Zero-Knowledge Proof
Web3 credential data network Galxe has launched Galxe Protocol, a decentralized identity protocol based on zero-knowledge proof technology. The protocol provides developers with the tools and infrastructure to create Sybil prevention algorithms, reputation systems, credit systems, personal data markets, and decentralized review systems.
Velodrome launches new DEX on Coinbase’s Base network
Velodrome Finance, the largest decentralized exchange protocol on OP Mainnet (previously Optimism) in terms of both total value locked and revenue has deployed a new forked DEX called Aerodrome on Base. It has attracted US$190 million of TVL so far, pushing the TVL of Base to over US$400 million.
Circle’s USDC will launch natively on Optimism, Coinbase’s Base next week
The major stablecoin company Circle said it will launch its USDC stablecoin natively on two blockchains in the first week of September. Circle said that these native versions of USDC will allow for institutional on- and off-ramps and will help ensure that USDC is always fully backed and redeemable.
Binance Announces Send Cash in Latin America
Binance, the world’s leading blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider and biggest exchange by trading volume, is launching Send Cash in Latin America, a new product that will allow users to transfer crypto via Binance Pay from 9 countries in the region, so that family and friends can receive money directly into their bank accounts, thanks to the services of licensed transfer processing providers.
Offchain Labs introduces Arbitrum Stylus to expand language support for Ethereum Layer 2 dapps
Blockchain developer Offchain Labs introduced Arbitrum Stylus, a new tool that enables smart contract development in multiple programming languages like Rust, C, and C++ on Arbitrum’s Layer 2 network, alongside the already adopted Solidity language. The code and testnet for Arbitrum Stylus are now publicly available, and the firm has submitted it for Arbitrum community voting.
Building a Sybil-Resistant Future Using Gitcoin Passport Onchain Stamps
Gitcoin Passport’s Onchain Stamps feature is at the forefront of digital identity verification on the blockchain, focusing on seamless integration with the Ethereum ecosystem. Unlike other identity solutions that may use blockchain technology, Passport stands out due to its comprehensive approach, offering onchain stamps, scoring methods, and flexible Ethereum integration.
- Regulations
Oman Invests Millions In Crypto Amid Questions of Whether It’s Sharia Compliant
The Sultanate of Oman is tightening its embrace of cryptocurrency after a recent round of multi-million investments this month. The West Asian nation is pursuing a strategy designed to make it a digital hub in an increasingly competitive region.
Laos stops power supply to cryptocurrency mining businesses
Electricite du Laos (EDL) has announced that it will no longer supply electricity to cryptocurrency mining operations in Laos, local media reported. The Governor of EGAT said that if the drought in Laos becomes severe, hydropower plants in Laos will generate less electricity, reducing export capacity.
Indian Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Firm Will Explore Blockchain Platforms and CBDCs
Reliance Industries Ltd. is entering the world of blockchain and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), its Chairman and Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, announced on Monday.
SEC’s Secret Binance Court Filing Has Observers Bracing for Bad News
The Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday filed a sealed motion in its case against Binance that includes more than 35 exhibits. It has some wondering whether more bad news is about to hit the industry giant.
U.S. Court Calls ETH a Commodity While Tossing Investor Suit Against Uniswap
A New York court classified popular cryptocurrencies ether (ETH) and bitcoin (BTC) as “commodities” while dismissing a proposed class action lawsuit against leading decentralized crypto exchange Uniswap. The suit sought to hold Uniswap accountable for investors losing money to “scam tokens” that were issued and traded on the protocol. The tokens cited in the suit include Ethereum (ERC-20) tokens EthereumMax (EMAX), Bezoge (BEZOGE) and Alphawolf Finance (AWF).
UK’s Travel Rule comes into effect, could halt certain crypto transfers
Crypto asset businesses in the United Kingdom could now begin withholding certain crypto transfers to comply with the new Travel Rule for crypto that came into effect on Sept. 1. The rules targeting virtual asset service providers require that VASPs based in the U.K. “collect, verify and share information” relating to crypto-asset transfers.
Comma3 Investment Team