BlockBeats will summarize the key industry news of the week (4.08-4.14) in this article, and recommend in-depth articles to help readers better understand the market and learn about industry trends.
This week's important news review
TOKEN2049 2024 will be held in Dubai on April 18
TOKEN2049 Dubai was held in Dubai from April 18 to April 19. Dubai has positioned itself as a global crypto innovation center. The event aims to bring together the global Web3 industry and provide a platform for interaction and communication for entrepreneurs, investors, developers, industry insiders and global media. It will include various independent peripheral activities such as gatherings, seminars, hackathons, dinners and parties. Related event summary: "Event Express丨TOKEN2049 Dubai is about to open, and peripheral activities are summarized"
Bitcoin hit the $60,000 mark in the early hours of the weekend, with over $1 billion liquidated across the network
Entering April, it is estimated that there is less than a week left before the fourth Bitcoin "halving", but amid the generally optimistic market sentiment, the market has once again seen a sharp decline. $70,000 seems to have become a hurdle that Bitcoin is difficult to overcome. After multiple failed breakthroughs, it has once again experienced a rapid decline, and fell to $60,000 last night. Affected by this, the crypto market has once again ushered in a liquidation amount of over 100 million. According to Coinglass data, in the past 24 hours, the entire network has had a liquidation of $935 million, of which long orders have been liquidated for $753 million and short orders have been liquidated for $182 million. Related reading: "Altcoin usher in a "new 519", who is the main cause of the turbulent situation and the tax deadline?"
Bitcoin Runes and related concepts generally rise, driving the NFT market
This week, the Bitcoin ecosystem and Bitcoin NFT saw a general rise. On April 8, MUBI rose 21.6% in 24 hours, SAVM rose 18.4% in 24 hours, BVN rose 7.2% in 24 hours, and CKB rose 5.1% in 24 hours.
On April 11, as the launch of the Runes protocol approached, related concepts rose generally. Among them, the puppet monkey token PUPS based on the BRC-20 protocol broke through $70, with a weekly increase of more than 180%. PUPS was launched in March 2023, earlier than the official Bitcoin Puppets collection series. As a meme coin in the BTC ecosystem, PUPS's symbol is a puppet monkey wearing a hat. In addition, the same type of BRC-20 token wzrd broke through $5 on April 14, with a weekly increase of more than 710%.
At the same time, the Bitcoin NFT ecosystem is also very eye-catching, with Runestone, Rune Pups, Bitcoin Puppets, RSIC METAPROTOCOL, Bitcoin Wizards, etc. all rising to varying degrees. Related reading: " Bitcoin ecosystem is on the rise, what L2 projects are worth paying attention to? ", "CKB is still rising, Bitcoin L2 "pioneer" RGB++ is beginning to gain momentum" .
Runestone's total transaction volume exceeds 2,000 BTC, OKX Web3 wallet is now available on the Runes market page
On April 12, Magic Eden data showed that the total transaction volume of Runestone exceeded 2,000 BTC, and is currently 2,000.4 BTC; the floor price is now 0.076 BTC, and the number of holding addresses is about 77,000. This week, the OKX Web3 wallet has launched the Runes market page and will support the protocol change as soon as possible, thereby supporting users to mint and trade Runes protocol assets.
OKX launched BlockGames (BLOCK) and Foxy (FOXY) this week
On April 9, according to the official announcement, OKX launched BlockGames (BLOCK), and BLOCK/USDT spot trading was opened at 20:00 Beijing time on April 11. On March 26 this year, Web3 game platform BlockGames announced the completion of two rounds of financing totaling US$6 million, led by Newman Group, 32-Bit Ventures, Cypher Capital, and Sfermion Capital.
On the same day, OKX launched the Linea network meme project Foxy (FOXY) spot trading, and trading was open at 16:00 on April 12. Foxy is a Linea ecosystem meme project, and has previously airdropped to 100,000 MetaMask Swap users. In addition, OKX user airdrops have begun to be distributed to users.
Binance launches new coin mining project Omni Network (OMNI)
On April 12, Binance Launchpool launched the 52nd project Omni Network (OMNI), and users will be able to put their BNB and FDUSD into a separate pool to mine OMNI tokens within four days, starting at 00:00 (UTC) on April 13, 2024. Binance will list OMNI at 12:00 (UTC) on April 17, 2024, and the seed tag will be applied to OMNI. The total supply of Omni Network's native token OMNI is 100 million, and the circulating supply after listing is approximately 10,391,492 (approximately 10.39% of the total token supply). In terms of token distribution, Binance Launchpool accounts for 3.50%, the ecosystem fund accounts for 29.5%, the team accounts for 25.25%, private investors account for 20.06%, the community fund accounts for 12.67%, the public offering allocation accounts for 5.77%, and the consultants account for 3.25%. Related reading: "Analysis of Binance Launchpool's latest project Omni Network: the next generation of modular blockchain"
Binance Lists Tensor (TNSR) and Adds Seed Tags, Tensor Announces TNSR Token Economics
On April 8, Binance launched Tensor (TNSR) at 23:30 (ET) on April 8, 2024. On the same day, OKX and Coinbase also launched Tensor. Tensor announced the TNSR token economics. The total supply of TNSR is 1 billion, and the initial TNSR distribution is as follows: 550 million (55%) TNSR is allocated to the community, of which 12.5% is the initial airdrop; 270 million (27%) TNSR is allocated to core contributors; 90 million (9%) TNSR is allocated to investors and consultants; 90 million (9%) TNSR is used for future fundraising and development reserves. The TNSR airdrop claim page has been launched on the foundation's official website. All treasure chests (S1, S2 and S3) are now open, and users have 180 days to claim the TNSR token airdrop.
Binance Lists Bittensor (TAO) and Adds Seed Tags
Binance launched Bittensor (TAO) at 20:00 (ET on April 11, 2024) and opened spot trading pairs such as TAO/BTC and TAO/USDT. After the announcement, Bittensor's native token TAO rose rapidly. The price of this "AI leader" with a market value of over $4 billion suddenly rose to around $700, an increase of more than 20% in 1 hour. Related reading: "Can Binance's launch of TAO save the "Bittensor on-chain meme"? "
Binance Labs Announces Investment in BounceBit
On April 11, Binance Labs announced its investment in Bitcoin restaking and CeDeFi protocol BounceBit, aiming to expand Bitcoin’s capabilities beyond traditional value storage. BounceBit transforms BTC from a passive asset to a dynamic force within the ecosystem by actively participating in network validation and various yield-generating activities.
Jupiter founder is expected to announce a new meme project at the Token2049 conference
On April 10, Jupiter founder meow posted on social media that he would "give a speech at the Token2049 conference on April 19, share some announcements, and introduce a cute new animal."
EigenLayer will reopen deposits on April 17 and remove all LST deposit limits
According to official news, the Ethereum re-staking protocol EigenLayer will cancel the deposit limits of all liquidity staking tokens (LST) at 0:00 Beijing time on April 17 and reopen the deposit window.
The US SEC issued a warning to Uniswap Labs and may take enforcement action
On April 11, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a warning to Uniswap Labs that it planned to take enforcement action against the company. The warning was issued in the form of a "Wells Notice", which the SEC sends to a company before initiating formal litigation, giving the company a last chance to refute any allegations. The specific nature of the SEC's allegations against Uniswap Labs is not yet known. Affected by the news of "SEC warning", the price of UNI fell from $14 to the current $9.58, a 24-hour plunge of more than 14%.
Uniswap responded promptly. Uniswap founder Hayden Adams confirmed on social media that Uniswap Labs had received a warning from the SEC and published an open letter in response. In the letter, Hayden mentioned that the team believed that the products they provided were legal, and accused the SEC of not being committed to formulating clear and informed rules, but instead choosing to focus on attacking high-quality participants in the crypto field such as Uniswap and Coinbase, while letting bad guys like FTX "slip away." Related reading: "If someone needs to promote crypto compliance, we are the best candidates"-Open Letter from the Founder of Uniswap" , "Uniswap, which has always been "protected" by the US courts, is sued again. Can it win the SEC this time? "
The lending health rate of multiple positions of Curve founders has dropped to around 1.1, and may face liquidation risk again
On April 14, according to the monitoring of on-chain analyst Ember, Curve founder Michael Egorov currently has 5 addresses and 6 lending platforms with a total of 371 million CRV (156 million US dollars) pledged to borrow 92.54 million US dollars in stablecoins. Because of the decline in CRV prices, Michael's lending positions on various platforms have now entered the danger zone again. The lending health rate of multiple positions has dropped to around 1.1 (that is, if the CRV price continues to fall by 10% without replenishment or repayment, liquidation will begin). In August last year, Michael sold 159.4 million CRV to 33 investors/institutions in an over-the-counter (OTC) transaction in exchange for 63.76 million US dollars in stablecoins to repay the loan in order to avoid liquidation caused by the decline in CRV prices. The selling price was 0.4.
Hong Kong spot Bitcoin ETF will be listed before the end of April at the earliest
On April 10, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission urgently updated the list of virtual asset management funds in the early morning because it planned to announce the list of the first batch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in Hong Kong on April 15. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission originally planned to approve a total of 4 spot Bitcoin ETFs in the first batch, including China Asset Management, Bosera Funds and Value Partners Financial in addition to Harvest International. However, Bosera Funds and Value Partners Financial have not yet appeared in the list of virtual asset management funds updated by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission in the early morning of April 10.
According to Hong Kong's procedures, after the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission approved the first batch of spot Bitcoin ETFs on April 15, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange needed about 2 weeks to prepare for product listing and other matters. However, the entire spot Bitcoin ETF project had detailed communication and planning with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in advance, and it is expected to be completed in about 10 days. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission originally planned to list the spot Bitcoin ETF in Hong Kong around April 25, no later than the end of April.
Monad Labs Completes $225 Million Financing, Led by Paradigm
On April 9, Layer 1 blockchain Monad Labs completed a $225 million financing round led by Paradigm, with participation from IOSG Ventures, SevenX Ventures, Electric Capital and Greenoaks. This will be the largest cryptocurrency financing so far in 2024.
BlockBeats previously reported that on March 12, Paradigm was in talks to lead a round of more than $200 million in Monad Labs. According to people familiar with the deal, the round would follow Monad Labs' $19 million seed round announced in February 2023, valuing the startup at $3 billion. Paradigm is understood to have said it would commit $150 million and has been contacting other investors since late 2023 to see if they would be interested in joining the round. Monad Labs' success among investors also marks the continued influence of Jump Crypto. Two former Jump employees founded Monad in 2022, and the third founder comes from a non-cryptocurrency background.
Berachain Completes $100 Million Series B Funding, Led by Brevan Howard Digital and Framework Ventures
On April 12, the new public chain Berachain announced the completion of a $100 million Series B financing, which is about 45% higher than the previously reported amount. This round of financing was jointly led by Brevan Howard Digital's Abu Dhabi branch and Framework Ventures, with participation from Polychain Capital, Hack VC and Tribe Capital. Investors supported Berachain through a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT). Berachain plans to use this funding to expand its business to Hong Kong, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Cathie Wood's Ark Invest now owns shares in OpenAI
On April 12, Cathie Wood's investment management company Ark Invest announced that it had taken a stake in Silicon Valley artificial intelligence company OpenAI, a bet that the emerging artificial intelligence industry will reshape the technology landscape. Ark said in an email to clients on Thursday: "As of April 10, 2024, Ark Venture Capital Fund invested in OpenAI," referring to its $54 million venture capital fund. "OpenAI is at the forefront of the Cambrian explosion of artificial intelligence capabilities."
This week's hot articles
This article reviews the first "First Hundred U Trading Competition" held by BlockBeats. Four people had more than 10 times the income, and more than 50% of the people had negative income, but the average return rate reached 463%. On the road to asset appreciation, effective information and a stable trading mentality are more important motivations than principal. Keep up with market news, grasp the flow of funds, and follow the trend. As 0xlogic, who won the championship of this trading competition with a profit of 43 times, answered when asked about his mental journey, "Live in peace and cultivate yourself to wait for your destiny." Do everything you can, and then wait for the wind to come.
"Unveiling the Bitcoin Runes Token Pre-Mining, How Much Can Early Participants Earn?"
With only more than a thousand blocks left before the Bitcoin halving, the Bitcoin ecosystem in April has undoubtedly become the focus of the market. Among them, the hottest topic is the concept of Runes, especially Runestone, which has a market value of US$640 million, which has surpassed BAYC to become the second largest project in the NFT market. On the magiceden market, 8 of the top 25 NFTs with the largest trading volume are Runes. Since April, the transaction volume of NFTs in the Bitcoin ecosystem has greatly exceeded that of Ethereum and Solana, among which Runes-based NFTs account for the largest proportion. Behind these trading volumes are these "preemptive" Runes projects, which are like "mining machines". After the halving time, the number of airdropped Runes tokens will be calculated based on the holding time and the number of holdings. Because Runestone has not yet announced the specific airdrop details, and RSIC, which has more detailed airdrop rules, has already had a trading market on the OTC platform whales.market, it is easier to calculate the benefits. Therefore, the following article mainly uses RSIC to calculate and discuss "How much money can the earliest users who participated in the Runes pre-mining be expected to make?"
What real use cases can EigenLayer's first batch of AVS provide?
The Restaking ecosystem has finally reached two important milestones: EigenLayer (and EigenDA) went live on the mainnet, and the first batch of AVS went live on the mainnet: AltLayer, Brevis, eoracle, Lagrange, Witness Chain, and Xterio. The first batch of AVS went live in various tracks, including Rollup as a service, oracle, ZK protocol processing, DePIN, and games. The most noteworthy is the ZK coprocessor, which is a relatively new concept and there is no mature product, while EigenLayer actually supports both Brevis and Lagrange in the first batch. In addition, the launch of EigenLayer's mainnet does not mean that the protocol has entered a mature stage. There are still many modules and solutions that are not yet fully understood, such as the slashing mechanism of future nodes, how to ensure the security of AVS from an economic perspective, and even the design of token economics, all of which need to wait for the team's subsequent disclosure.
"It is more meaningful than discussing the BTC exit price: learning to identify the turning points of the big cycle"
As April progresses, the Bitcoin halving is getting closer. Recently, the price of gold has broken through historical highs, and the prices of silver and copper have also soared, but BTC, which has strong safe-haven properties, has been hovering around 70,000. (Reference: "Bull Market in Geopolitical Crisis: Why is BTC still hesitant under multiple positive factors?" .) Bonnazhu , a member of the Nothing Research team, shared on X how to identify the turning point of the big cycle. Identifying the turning point of the big cycle is much more meaningful than discussing how long the bull market can last and the exit prices of $BTC and $ETH. Although the ways to judge the turning point are different, there is only one truth to test, that is, it must be confirmed on the K-line chart. If you judge the turning point too early or too late than the market, you will suffer. I personally think that the most effective way to verify, and even the indicators that can be used directly to judge the turning point are only: 1) RSI divergence; 2) Moving average arrangement.
"Frequently launching amazing projects, what is the origin of Solana's largest meme launch platform Pump.fun?"
Pump.fun is a Meme-themed platform that specializes in providing services for Meme coins on Solana, and has now added support for Ethereum L2 Blast. It allows users to deploy tokens at a low cost and provides an alternative to prevent Meme from issuing coins in a rugged manner. Pump.fun has commercialized Meme and achieved fairness to the greatest extent. Without team allocation, there is no "rat warehouse" that many retail investors hate, which is why it is so popular. This article also introduces how to send Meme with one click on pump.fun. However, it should be noted that Meme hype is always a high-risk game. At present, Pump.fun is still a relatively early platform. Whether it can bring enough surprises to Meme enthusiasts in the future still needs to be tested by time.
"The founder was driven away, TVL plummeted by 20%, what happened to Marginfi?"
On Thursday, Marginfi founder Edgar Pavlovsky announced on social media that he was leaving the Marginfi team because he could not accept the way things were done inside or outside the team. This departure has raised concerns about the future of the project, especially in relation to the previous incident in which SolBlaze accused Marginfi of manipulating BLZE emission allocations. Subsequently, Solend announced an airdrop for users who withdrew funds from Marginfi and deposited them into Solend, exacerbating the confusion of the entire community. At the same time, Solend founder Rooer accused the Marginfi team of spreading rumors about Solend in a long article and publicly accused Marginfi co-founder Mac Brennan. This series of events caused Marginfi's TVL to decline and triggered greater turmoil within the Solana ecosystem, showing its fierce internal competition.
The 2024 Hong Kong Web3 Blockchain Week was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center from April 6 to 9. The event has ended. This article has compiled 6 "small essays" about the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival. Take a look at the latest discoveries and insights of first-line VCs, so that you don't miss the cutting-edge hot spots even if you don't go to the scene. In these "small essays", everyone mentioned topics such as the KOL's voice is getting stronger and the primary market Builders are more enthusiastic about participating. Perhaps, this round of bull market will be more determined, lasting, and magnificent than we imagined.
《Arthur Hayes: The real crypto bull market will start in May》
Arthur Hayes, founder of BitMEX, points out in this article that the risk asset market will experience extreme weakness in April, and the macro settings are favorable for those who are brave enough to short cryptocurrencies. He has closed several shitcoin and memecoin trading positions and made profits, and plans to return to the market in May. In the article, Arthur Hayes discussed the impact of US tax payments, the Federal Reserve's quantitative tightening (QT) program, and the Treasury General Account (TGA) on liquidity. He believes that Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices in general will plummet before and after the halving, and the real crypto bull market will start in May.
"Full text of Xiao Feng's speech in Hong Kong: Welcoming "Web3's '1995 Moment'""
Xiao Feng, Chairman of Wanxiang Blockchain, delivered an in-depth observation on the explosion of blockchain and Web3 industry applications at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival. He pointed out that blockchain is about to usher in its own "1995 moment" and comprehensively analyzed the basic framework and timing of this moment. While releasing the white paper "The First Principles of the Web3 New Economy", he explored four technological paradigm revolutions, four capital paradigm shifts, and elaborated on the first principles of blockchain: new accounting methods. Dr. Xiao Feng predicted that Web3's "1995 moment" will start in 2024, and the next ten years will be the golden decade for Web3 application innovation, emphasizing the importance of value matching in the disruptive innovation of the Web3 platform. He proposed five principles for Web3 application innovation and discussed the integration and interconnection between technical architecture, economic model, and traditional finance and crypto finance.
In the past week, the puppet monkey token PUPS based on the BRC 20 protocol has seen an astonishing rise in the Bitcoin ecosystem, soaring 1101% in a week to $44.56. At the same time, some other BRC 20 tokens such as WZRD, W, ZBIT, and $ have also experienced significant price increases, driving an increase in trading volume. PUPS has attracted widespread attention by forming a new way of playing with the puppet monkey IP matrix, stimulating the activity of the BTC ecosystem. The rise of PUPS has attracted the attention of the community and artists, especially Ansem, a well-known KOL of the Solana ecosystem, and Beeple, an artist. In addition, PUPS also plans to migrate to the Runes protocol, which is seen as a prelude to the Bitcoin halving and the launch of the Rune protocol. The emergence of the "Puppet Monkey Empire" and the cross-chain of PUPS have also brought new changes and possibilities to the Bitcoin ecosystem.
"Bull market in geopolitical crisis: Why is BTC still hesitant despite multiple positive factors?"
Affected by the increasing global uncertainty, the liquidity level of the crypto market continues to improve. The performance of Altcoin depends on macro liquidity and the state of internal fund games. Compared with ETH, Altcoin have a slight advantage in the liquidity competition. The geopolitical crisis has driven the slowdown of global cash returning to risky asset markets, which may make the bull market in the cryptocurrency market more durable. However, the reality shows that the growth rate of cash liquidity in the crypto market has accelerated significantly. This situation has driven strong support for the prices of BTC, ETH, etc. However, it is still necessary to be cautious about short-term volatility. The probability of ETH's spot ETF passing is gradually decreasing, and it may be more appropriate to follow the pace of liquidity reconfiguration in the market.
《Analysis of SAGA Economic Model: The Road to Affordable Blockchain》
The uniqueness of SAGA's business model lies in its adoption of the "Musical Chairs Pricing" mechanism, which aims to provide the cheapest possible block space, and select and price validators through a dual mechanism of pledge volume and quotation, making the price gradually approach zero. Its business model is more in line with Web2 conventions. Users do not need to pay network fees directly, and applications can decide on their own charging methods, showing greater flexibility. The Saga Pegasus incentive test network already has hundreds of protocols, mainly games, showing consistency in light asset, high user number, and high user frequency scenarios. In terms of token distribution, the initial circulation is low, and the possibility of future coin issuance is still worth paying attention to.
On April 9, Vitalik made a low-key appearance at the Wanxiang Hasheky Hong Kong Summit. This article is the feelings and thoughts of 0x_Todd, partner of Nothing Research, after listening to Vitalik's speech. He believes that Vitalik's speech shows Ethereum's attention to the forefront of cryptography and its ability to transform it into engineering practice. Ethereum integrates cryptographic theory into engineering practice, focusing on ZK-SNARKs, 2PC, MPC, FHE, aggregate signatures, and improving P2P networks. Among them, the BLS aggregate signature upgrade is regarded as an important achievement that can improve blockchain privacy, save gas fees, and reduce equipment requirements. Vitalik mentioned two key elements: efficiency and security, emphasizing Ethereum's goal of pursuing security, privacy, and efficiency. By transforming cutting-edge cryptographic achievements into practical applications, Ethereum not only leads the development of blockchain technology, but also shows the difference between first-class public chains and other public chains.
Why do my Solana transactions keep failing?
Recently, users' transactions on Solana have frequently failed, which has raised questions from many users. Surprisingly, only about 8% of failed transactions come from real users, and the rest are arbitrage transactions that failed to be executed by robots. These failed transactions do not represent problems with the Solana network, but are mainly due to the fact that the Bot's transaction conditions are not met. The main reason for the recent congestion in the Solana network is undelivered transactions, which is a network layer problem rather than a consensus/execution layer problem. Solana recently upgraded QUIC as its network layer, but its logical execution is flawed, making it difficult for ordinary users to connect and trade. The team is working hard to fix the network layer, but the actual effect of the patch has not been verified, the late release of Firedancer, and the problem of network spam transactions mean that Solana still has a long way to go in the future.
"2023 Crypto Salary Report: How to Calculate Salary, Equity and Tokens?"
The cryptocurrency industry is growing rapidly, but industry salary data is scarce, especially comprehensive analytical data, which can be a key stumbling block for crypto startups seeking strategic growth. The annual salary survey covered in this report is intended to fill this gap. According to the report, most founders reported that their compensation was below average before Series B financing. Companies usually pay in cryptocurrency internationally to simplify cross-border transactions, mitigate exchange rate fluctuations, and/or take advantage of tax benefits in certain jurisdictions. Both US and international companies have a portion of companies that offer a combination of equity and tokens as compensation. However, beyond this, preferences differ: more US companies only issue equity, and more international companies only issue tokens.
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