⬆️ Weekly Recap: Markets Rally As Fed Readies To Drop Rates

Happy weekend Defiers!

Markets continued to trend upward this past week, with investors finding confidence in the U.S. Federal Reserve announcing it will soon reduce interest rates. Bitcoin and Ethereum closed the week with gains of 8.3% and 7.9%, respectively.

Sony, the consumer electronics giant, announced it will soon launch the testnet for a Layer 2 network developed in partnership with Startale Labs, the team behind the Astar network. The news coincides with Sony unveiling its dedicated web3 division, Sony Block Solutions Labs.

Brazilian regulators approved the country’s second spot Solana ETF. However, the news comes as analysts believe there is minimal chance that a Solana ETF will receive regulatory approval in the United States.

It was a big week for Avalanche, with Franklin Templeton choosing the Layer 1 for the fourth deployment of its on-chain U.S. treasuries fund, FOBXX. The network’s AVAX token was also buoyed by Grayscale launching an Avalanche trust.

People close to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign continue to vouch that a Harris administration would support pro-crypto policies. But not everyone is convinced, with the Democratic Party’s 2024 policy platform making zero mention of crypto.

Most memecoin traders are losing money, with research showing that more than 60% of traders on PumpFun are unprofitable. However, DEXScreener is bagging more than $1 million in fees weekly, while TRX is rallying after the successful launch of the Tron-native memecoin launchpad, Sun Pump.

Meanwhile, the Tron community was alarmed by the sudden removal of 12,000 BTC from the reserves backing the USDD stablecoin. Although USDD retains a collateralization ratio of more than 200%, TRX comprising 98% of USDD’s backing reminds many onlookers of Terra’s failed UST stablecoin.

Binance is facing yet another legal challenge. A new class action lawsuit accuses the exchange of RICO violations for facilitating the laundering of assets stolen from Coinbase users’ accounts.

Leading Ethereum-based NFTs are bouncing back. The floor price of CryptoPunks rallied 31% in seven days, while BAYC and Pudgy Penguins gained roughly 23% each.

The former CEO of Kansas Bank was sentenced to 24 years in jail after losing embezzled funds to a crypto scam. Shan Hanes stole $47 million before losing it all to a “pig butchering” scheme.

Plus, Aave v3 launched on ZKsync Era, Bitcoin miners are turning to AI as profitability remains low, Mt. Gox continues to transfer BTC, and Magic Eden unveiled a native token.

Also, check out our podcast with Yat Siu, the co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands, to learn about how web3 technologies enable true ownership over in-game assets.

Enjoy!

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PODCAST & INTERVIEWS

Behind the Scenes of the Web3 Gaming Giant | Animoca Brands Co-Founder, Yat Siu

In this week’s podcast, Cami Russo was joined by Yat Siu, the co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands, a leading force in the Web3 gaming industry.

In this episode, Yat Siu shares the story of Animoca Brands’ rise, and influence over the blockchain gaming and NFT sectors. He delves into the company's mission to bring true digital ownership to users through innovative games and platforms.

Yat also provides insights into Animoca's strategic investments and its role in shaping the future of the open metaverse, highlighting the transformative potential of Web3 technologies for gaming, culture, and digital property rights.

Bull Case For RWAs | Real-World Assets and Tokenization with Chainlink Co-Founder Sergey Nazarov

The Defiant spoke to Sergey Nazarov, the co-founder of Chainlink, a decentralized oracle network that provides data for smart contracts and facilitates cross-chain communication.

Sergey offers a detailed analysis of real-world assets (RWAs) and the tokenization industry, and shares his thesis on why RWAs will overtake traditional cryptocurrencies by on-chain value in the coming years.

VIDEO & TUTORIALS

Safe Wallet: How to Securely Set Up and Use Your Safe MultiSig Wallet (Step-by-Step Guide)

In our latest explainer, Jack Dunham walks you through how to use Safe Wallet, the popular multi-sig wallet that spun out of Gnosis.

What is Phoenix? Exploring DeFi on Stellar

Jack Dunham explores Phoenix, a DeFi hub getting built on Stellar’s Soroban smart contract platform.

Saturday

USDC Market Capitalization Surges to 15-Month High USDC’s market capitalization is at its highest level since March 2023 with $34 billion.
Dimensionals NFT Project Abandons Web3, Blames Bear Market The Mino Games-led NFT project faces community backlash after its controversial exit from the blockchain space.

Friday

Privacy-focused Nillion Network Integrates with Arbitrum The “blind computing” protocol aims to provide privacy to Arbtirum’s ecosystem of more than 600 dApps.
Former Kansas Bank CEO Gets 24 Years in Jail After Falling for ‘Pig Butchering’ Scam Shan Hanes embezzled $47 million before losing it all to a common crypto scam.
Bitcoin and Ethereum Rally as Fed Chair Hints at Imminent Rate Cuts More than $6 million was wagered on Polymarket ahead of the Federal Reserve's September interest rate decision.
Bitcoin Transaction Fees Spike 10x Amid Babylon’s Mainnet Launch Users maxed out Babylon’s 1,000 BTC deposit limit within four hours.
Tron Community Shaken By 12,000 BTC Withdrawal From USDD Reserves This decision was executed without action from the Tron DAO.
Sony Unveils Web3 Division and Layer 2 Network Sony Block Solutions Labs and Startale Labs will soon launch a testnet for the upcoming Soneium Layer 2 network.

Thursday

Bitcoin Price Rises Despite Uptick in Unemployment Claims Traders await Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday.
Magic Eden Announces Native $ME Token The multi-chain NFT marketplace will soon rollout its long-awaited token.
AVAX Surges On Grayscale Avalanche Trust Announcement Grayscales now offers 22 digital asset trusts, including 18 single-asset funds.
Franklin Templeton’s On-Chain Treasuries Fund Launches On Avalanche The move comes two weeks after Franklin Templeton’s fund expanded onto Arbitrum.
Near Protocol Deploys Nightshade 2.0 Upgrade On Mainnet Near estimates the upgrade will speed up transaction execution by 400%.
Harris Campaign Advisor Says Kamala Will Support Crypto Industry Nelson’s comments come in spite of the Democratic Party’s 2024 policy platform making no mention of crypto.
Brazil Approves Second Spot Solana ETF Meanwhile, analysts believe that approval of spot Solana ETFs in the U.S. is unlikely under the current administration.

Wednesday

Crypto Markets Tumble Amid Mt. Gox Transfers Mt. Gox is preparing for another round of payouts to its creditors.
Return Entertainment Taps Aethir’s DePIN Infrastructure For Smart TV Gaming The move comes as Samsung is ramping up its web3 smart TV rollout.
Aave Launches on ZKsync Era DeFi’s largest lending protocol is now live on ZKsync Era.
CryptoPunks Lead Ethereum NFT Resurgence The floor price of the iconic 10,000 PFP collection is up 35% in less than one week.
Binance and Former CEO Changpeng Zhao Face Class Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Crypto Laundering The lawsuit accuses Binance and CZ of violating the RICO Act.
Tether to Launch UAE Dirham Stablecoin The stablecoin provider will work with Phoenix Group to launch a token pegged to the United Arab Emirates Dirham.
Xai Taps Gauntlet To Design DAO Governance and Treasury Management Strategy The move follows Xai's emergence as the top Layer 3 network by transaction throughput.

Tuesday

Balaji’s Network State Becomes a Reality in Singapore Singapore is hosting a 3-month long pop-up city with four goals: learn, burn, earn, and fun.
DEXScreener is Earning Over $1 Million in Weekly Fees The chart and data aggregator is among the top 15 revenue generators across DeFi.
Just 3% of Pump.Fun Traders Have Made Over $1000 More than 60% of memecoin traders fail to turn a profit on PumpFun.
Ordinals Flounder While Runes Dominate Bitcoin Network Runes accounted for more than 50% of Bitcoin transactions during two-thirds of the last 30 days.
TRX Posts 18% Weekly Gain Driven by Memecoin Madness Justin Sun’s Layer 1 blockchain is one of the largest gainers on the week amid an influx of degen traders.
Bitcoin Mining Operations are Pivoting to AI BTC miners are seeking out more profitable ways to harness their computational power.
Democrats’ 2024 Manifesto Ignores Crypto The 90-page document makes zero mention of cryptocurrency.
Bears Halt Crypto Market Rally Digital assets suffered a sharp retracement alongside U.S. stocks.
Michael Egorov Requests 21M CRV Grant To Fund Curve’s Development Team CRV holders are unhappy with a proposal requesting 44% of the Curve Community Fund’s holdings to fund a development team for one year.

Monday

Tether’s USDT to Launch on Layer 1 Aptos Tether said USDT transfers Aptos will boast gas fees of less than $0.01.
Bitcoin and Ethereum Prices Drop as Fear Grips Crypto Markets The ‘Crypto Fear and Greed Index’ currently indicates "fear."