Loading...
🪽BlackRock ETF Speculation Sends ETH Flying
The Defiant Daily
Together with
GM Defiers!
Ethereum is consistently trading above $2,000 for the second time this year after investors spotted that BlackRock has registered a business entity called iShare Ethereum Trust. The registration suggests BlackRock plans to follow up on the proposal for its iShares spot Bitcoin ETF.
Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, said nothing is standing in the way of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approving an Ether ETF. Balchunas said arbitrarily rejecting the asset class could open the SEC up to legal action.
Scroll, the recently launched Ethereum Layer 2, has stormed the L2 rankings after on-chain activity increased 138% in one week. The network now ranks third among Layer 2s by throughput.
BLUR, the token from the leading NFT marketplace, has doubled in value over the past month. However, the project's current airdrop campaign will end in a little over one week.
Lightspeed Faction has launched its debut $285M fund to support early-stage web3 projects. The Lightspeed Venture Partners joint venture boasts alumni of Coinbase, Amber Group, and Blockchain.com
Plus, Avalanche's on-chain activity continues to trend down, with up to one-third of users exiting the network last quarter.
✍️ In today’s newsletter:
- BlackRock eyes ETH exchange-traded fund
- Eric Balchunas says SEC likely to approve spot Ether ETF
- Scroll storms L2 rankings
- BLUR rallies 150% in one month
- Lightspeed Faction introduces $285M fund
- Active Avalanche users trends down
🙏Sponsored
📈 Markets in last 24 hrs:
| Ticker | Value | 24h |
|---|---|---|
| BTC | $35,795 | ↗ 1.01% |
| ETH | $1,891 | ↗ 0.22% |
| S&P 500 | $4,347 | ↙ -0.81% |
| GOLD | $1,964 | ↗ 0.65% |
| Arch WEB3 | 1.06pts | ↗ +0.72% |
| ↳ FINANCE | 0.99pts | ↗ 3.19% |
| ↳ INFRA | 1.22pts | ↙ -1.28% |
| ↳ CONSUMER | 1.12pts | ↙ -1.49% |
Learn more about Arch Indices here.
🎬 WATCH
SCAM WARNING FOR READERS
The Defiant is not releasing a token soon!
Reminder: The correct domain for The Defiant is THEDEFIANT.IO — NEVER click on any links coming from other domains!
A subset of our subscribers have reported receiving a phishing email promoting a Defiant token - To be clear, we do not have a token nor are planning to launch one in the near future. We urge our community to NEVER click on links coming from outside our official communication channels, which are:
- https://thedefiant.iohttps://twitter.com/DefiantNews
- https://discord.com/invite/3SdRdEs5ag
- https://youtube.com/TheDefiant
THANKING OUR NEWSLETTER SPONSORS
| Newsletter continues below |
DeFi, done right.
Linea’s DeFi Voyage will bring everyone—from web3 newcomers to seasoned investors—an intuitive, immersive, and educational DeFi experience.
6 weeks. 10 waves. 10 core tasks. Choose from over 60 DeFi dapps to engage with. Collect Linea Voyage XP.
Happening now! Join the Voyage.
Cove is the first automated ERC-4626 yield optimizer built on Yearn and optimized by Gauntlet. Cove brings simplicity, high-yields, and accessibility to degens and those new to the space. Join the Cove community today to redefine the way the world approaches finance.
Clipper is built for liquidity providers. It is designed to deliver above-market returns for holding ETH, BTC, and stables while eliminating impermanent loss. Deposit today and start earning.
Markets
Ether Surges Above $2,000 On BlackRock ETF Hopes
TLDR ETH rallied to test year-to-date highs above $2,100 in response to online sleuths spotting that BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, registered an entity called the iShares Ethereum Trust. BlackRock filed for its iShares spot Bitcoin ETF earlier this year.
SO WHAT The company registration suggests BlackRock could also apply for spot ETF investing in and holding Ether on behalf of investors.
Business
"I Don't See a Reason for the SEC to Deny the ETH ETF," said Bloomberg Analyst Eric Balchunas
TLDR Senior Bloomberg ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas, told The Defiant there is little standing in the way of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approving a spot Bitcoin ETF application. Balchunas cited the SEC's recent loss in court after rejecting Grayscale's request to convert its Bitcoin Trust into a spot ETF and noted the SEC's past approvals of futures ETFs tracking Ether.
SO WHAT Hype for a spot Bitcoin ETF helped pull the digital asset markets out of a protracted bear trend, with BTC rallying 40% in six weeks amid renewed speculation. A spot Ether ETF would invest and hold ETH on behalf of sophisticated investors.
Read More: "I Don't See a Reason for the SEC to Deny the ETH ETF," said Bloomberg Analyst Eric Balchunas
Layer 2
Scroll Rockets Through Layer 2 Rankings Amid Origins NFT Campaign
TLDR Activity on Scroll is up nearly 140% in one week, positioning the freshly-launched network as the third-ranked Layer 2 by throughput. Scroll processed 5 transactions every second on average over the past 24 hours.
SO WHAT The spike in Scroll's on-chain activity comes as any user that deploys a smart contract onto the L2 is eligible to mint an Origins NFT. The offer launched on Oct. 10 and will run for 60 days, with some onlookers suggest the NFT could confer eligibility for a future airdrop.
Read More: Scroll Rockets Through Layer 2 Rankings Amid Origins NFT Campaign
SPONSORED POST
Cove is an automated yield optimizer, built on Yearn V3 and optimized by Gauntlet. Cove brings simplicity, high-yields, and accessibility to degens and those new to the space. Cove is brought to you by DeFi veterans and advised by Joey Santoro, Founder of Fei Protocol & author of ERC-4626, the tokenized vault standard, and Tarun Chitra, Founder & CEO of Gauntlet.
Cove moves assets across your selected strategies into the most optimal allocation automatically. Say goodbye to paying gas for regularly staking/unstaking your positions, constantly updating your portfolio, and spending an ungodly amount of time monitoring farms. Cove empowers you to customize your DeFi experience like never before.
Cove is more than just another DeFi app; we are building a game-changing financial protocol that will bring in millions to the world of decentralized finance. So, whether you're a seasoned DeFi enthusiast or a newcomer exploring the world of decentralized finance, join the community today: https://discord.com/invite/2jx8DkjvSH
NFTs
Blur Token Doubles As NFT Market Picks Up
TLDR The native token for Blur, the leading NFT marketplace by trade volume, is up 150% since tagging an all-time low of $0.15 one month ago. BLUR now boasts a market cap of nearly $400M.
SO WHAT However, BLUR's rally could be short-lived, with the platform's second airdrop campaign set to end on Nov. 20. With many traders incurring losses to maximize volume in the hopes of profiting from the airdrop, it is likely some BLUR whales could quickly move to sell off their newly acquired tokens.
Read More: Blur Token Doubles As NFT Market Picks Up
Business
Lightspeed Faction Debuts $285M Venture Fund
TLDR Lightspeed Faction, a joint venture with Lightspeed Venture Partners, debuted a $285M fund for early-stage web3 investments. Faction will collaborate with Lightspeed on "blockchain-related matters" but retain independent control over the fund's capital.
SO WHAT The recent bear trend was characterized by web3 venture capital drying up compared to the frothy 2021 bull market. However, VCs are becoming increasingly active in crypto again as the digital asset markets heat up again.
Read More: Lightspeed Faction Debuts $285M Venture Fund
Networks
Avalanche’s On-Chain Activity and Users Declined In Q3
TLDR Avalanche is shedding users, with data from Nansen indicating its daily active users in Q3 dropped by up to one-third compared to the previous quarter. The network's transaction volume and TVL also fell significantly.
SO WHAT The rise of Ethereum's Layer 2 ecosystem has undermined the value-proposition of low-cost EVM-compatible Layer 1 networks. Avalanche is now looking to bolster its appchain infrastructure and promote tokenized assets to drive future growth.
Read More: Avalanche’s On-Chain Activity and Users Declined In Q3
🔎 OUR REPORTERS ARE WATCHING
🌍 ELSEWHERE
- Court confirms Celsius bankruptcy exit plan, $2B in crypto to go to creditors (Cointelegraph)
- Justin Sun's crypto exchange Poloniex seemingly hit by hack for over $100 million (The Block)
- Ethereum Fees Briefly Jumped to $100 After BlackRock’s ETH ETF Filing (CoinDesk)
