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Pectra, Ethereum’s next major upgrade, could take place over two separate hard forks. The upgrade is already set to be the largest in Ethereum’s history, spanning nine Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), with at least five more currently under consideration.

Ethena’s USDe is continuing to integrate with leading DeFi protocols. The yield-bearing ‘synthetic dollar’ ignited concerns from risk-averse onlookers at launch due to its double-digit yields and exposure to funding rates on short ETH derivatives.

Crypto markets have posted a slow start to the week, with only four of the top 100 assets by market cap trading in a range exceeding 5% over the past 24 hours. The cautious price action comes ahead of the latest Federal Reserve interest rate decision, expected later this week.

Iggy Azalea’s MOTHER memecoin briefly rallied past a $200 million market cap. MOTHER appears to have shed its controversial beginnings, with Azalea working with Sahil Arora, an accused serial memecoin scammer, to launch the token.

And the crypto community is divided over Unicps, a memecoin trader seeking to stylize themselves as the Roaring Kitty of crypto.

✍️ In today’s newsletter:

Pectra may span two separate hard forks
Aave integrates support for USDe
MOTHER’s market cap rallies
‘Bonk Guy’ wants to be crypto’s Roaring Kitty

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📈 Markets in the last 24 hrs:

	Ticker	Value	24h

Ticker	Value	24h
Bitcoin	$70,5262.20	%
Ethereum	$3,817 1.12	%
Gold	1st Future$2,348 0.05	%
S&P 500	5291.34 0.15	%
Arch Web	32.48 5.34	%
Learn more about Arch Indices ,[object Object]		%

🎬WATCH

Check out our podcast with David Schwartz, the CTO of Ripple, to get up to speed on the project’s roadmap and legal battle with the SEC. And catch up on our interview with Bobby Ong, the co-founder of CoinGecko, to learn about the popular crypto data provider. Plus, watch our DeFi 101 video exploring the basics of DeFi!

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👀Ethereum’s Pectra Upgrade May Be Split Into Two Forks

Ethereum’s forthcoming Pectra upgrade is so large that developers are considering spreading it out over two separate hard forks. The upgrade is already set to span nine EIPs, with at least five others under consideration. “It is A LOT for one upgrade, so there's still a good chance Pectra gets split,” said Christine Kim, a researcher at Galaxy Digital.

🤝Ethena Expands USDe Into Aave As ‘Asset Matures’

USDe, Ethena’s yield-bearing stablecoin, is now supported as collateral on Aave, the top DeFi money market protocol by TVL. The move comes despite Aave team members recently taking aim at the rival collateralized debt protocol, MakerDAO, for quickly embracing the token with a high debt ceiling. The token derives yield from Ethereum staking and short Ether funding rates, meaning USDe could suffer volatility in bearish market conditions.

🏦Crypto Markets Tread Water as Traders Await Fed's Interest Rate Decision

Digital assets are trending sideways as investors anxiously await the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision this week. However, analysts expect interest rates will remain unchanged.

🚀️Iggy Azalea’s MOTHER Memecoin Hits $200 Million Market Cap

Mother, a memecoin launched by rapper and celebrity Iggy Azalea, broke above a $200 million market cap after gaining 130% in the past seven days. Despite copping flak from Vitalik Buterin, MOTHER appears to have transcended its controversial beginnings after being launched in partnership with alleged serial memecoin scammer Sahil Arora.

🦁Crypto Community Torn Over ‘Bonk Guy’ Who Wants To Emulate Roaring Kitty

Unicps, a meme asset investor and self-stylized financial influencer, is ruffling feathers while seeking to position themselves as crypto’s Roaring Kitty — known for contributing to the Gamestop short squeeze that ignited a meme stock trading frenzy amid the pandemic lockdown.

🌍 ELSEWHERE

Opinion Over Half Of Top US Hedge Funds Own Bitcoin ETFs (Bitcoin Magazine)
Fidelity International Tokenizes Money Market Fund on JPMorgan’s Blockchain (CoinDesk)
Solana Foundation expels validators for sandwich attacks on retail users (CryptoSlate)
Arbitrum’s $237 Million Catalyze Gaming Proposal Passes Despite Substantial Opposition (Unchained)