2024-05-21 09:00

The stablecoin is backed 1:1 and can be staked on the Flare blockchain. USDX stakers will receive a real-world yield and cUSDX in return. The stablecoin is backed at a 1:1 ratio against the dollar or equivalently valued assets. Flare’s native token (FLR) rose by 2.4% following the announcement. Hong Kong-based crypto custodian Hex Trust Group has issued USDX, a new stablecoin on layer-1 blockchain Flare, according to a press release. USDX becomes the first native stablecoin on Flare as the blockchain gears up for a boost in decentralized finance (DeFi) activity. It will be available to use across lending protocols and exchanges and will also feature staking mechanism to a dedicated T-Pool, which is created by decentralized credit marketplace Clearpool. Those staking USDX will receive cUSDX in return, which can be used as collateral across DeFi protocols on Flare. Backing for the stablecoin is maintained at a 1:1 ratio against the U.S. dollar or equivalently valued assets, the press release added. "The collaboration between USDX and Clearpool on Flare delivers a 1:1 backed stable asset with immediate access to real-world yield," Flare's co-founder Hugo Philion said. "This will be particularly useful for FAsset agents, putting their stable collateral to work even while it's locked in the system.” Hex Trust’s CEO Alessio Quaglini added that the launch of USDX will "reduce cryptocurrency market volatility" and "streamline transactions." Flare raised $35 million in a private round in February from the likes of Kenetic and Aves Lair. The blockchain currently has $8 million in total value locked (TVL), according to DefiLlama. Flare’s native token (FLR) rose by 2.4% in a two-hour period following the announcement. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/05/21/hex-trust-issues-first-native-stablecoin-on-layer-1-blockchain-flare/

2024-05-21 08:32

Meme coins are increasingly seen as a way to bet on the growth of the network they are issued on. Tokens on the Ethereum ecosystem, including meme coins like MOG and PEPE, surged after Bloomberg analysts raised their odds of spot ether ETF approval. The new odds, 75% vs 20%, contributed to a market-wide jump, with ether rising over 17% in a day and Bitcoin retaking the $71,000 mark. A bunch of Ethereum ecosystem tokens rocketed in the past 24 hours after two Bloomberg analysts raised their odds on the approval of spot ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. The cat-themed mog (MOG) token, a reference to a popular TikTok meme, rose nearly 50% while the frog-themed pepe (PEPE) surged more than 20%. Both were initially issued on Ethereum in 2023 and have since become mainstays, alongside bigger ones such as dogecoin (DOGE) and shiba inu (SHIB). Among utility projects, staking application Lido’s LDO rose 15%, while the ARB token of Ethereum layer-2 blockchain Arbitrum jumped 18%. DOGE and SHIB added 6%. Meme tokens have been increasingly seen as a leveraged way to bet on the growth of their underlying blockchain. The gains came after Bloomberg analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart updated the odds of approval to 75% from 20% on Monday, causing a market-wide jump. Ether rose over 17%, while bitcoin retook the $71,000 mark for the first time since early April. “Established memes are generally high beta for the native token of the chain they’re on, and Mog has established itself as a winner on Ethereum while still trading at a fraction of the next biggest meme (Pepe),” Viro, a Mog core team member, said in an interview over Telegram. “I think the market sees that there’s quite a lot of room to catch up to Pepe, and that’s why you see the outperformance. If you think memes are good beta; you’ll go for the higher caps like pepe or you’ll slide further down the curve for mog.” The focus on meme coins as a way of betting on growth isn't unique to Ethereum. Several Solana-based meme coin tokens surged from December to March as the network’s SOL tokens took off – contributing to ecosystem growth and attention. Also in December, the Avalanche Foundation, a non-profit that maintains the Avalanche blockchain, said it would invest in meme tokens built on the network in recognition of the online culture and memetic value that such tokens can drive among investors. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/21/mog-pepe-rocket-as-traders-search-for-ether-beta-bets/

2024-05-21 07:40

The notional open interest, or the dollar value locked in the number of active ether futures contracts, surged by 25% in a day. Notional open interest in futures tied to ether surged 25% in a single day. The increase is a sign of investor hopes that the SEC will approve spot ether ETFs. Ether (ETH) futures are more popular than ever, following the sudden, positive turnaround in sentiment concerning the potential approval of spot ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. Notional open interest, or the dollar value locked in the number of active ether futures contracts, climbed 25% to a record $14.05 billion in the past 24 hours, according to data source Coinglass. The previous lifetime peak of $13.2 billion dates back to March 15. The increase is a sign of a renewed influx of money into the ether market, mainly on the bullish side, as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap added almost 19% to $3,680, according to CoinDesk data. The uptick in open interest alongside a price rise is said to confirm the uptrend. Late Monday, Bloomberg's ETF analysts increased the probability of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) green lighting the spot ETH ETFs to 75% from 25%. Meanwhile, CoinDesk reported that the SEC had asked exchanges looking to list and trade potential spot ether ETFs to update 19b-4 filings on an accelerated basis, a sign of the regulator attempting to fast-track the process. Since then, the crypto community on X is speculating that the SEC might lean in favor of approving a spot ETH ETF, potentially signaling a broader constructive regulatory outlook toward crypto. The regulator is scheduled to make a decision on the VanEck spot ether ETF on May 23. The SEC must approve the 19b-4 filings and the S-1 registration statements for ether ETFs to commence trading on stock exchanges. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/21/ether-etf-hopes-drive-futures-open-interest-to-record-14b/

2024-05-21 05:29

The U.S. SEC has asked exchanges to update 19b-4 filings for ether ETFs ahead of a key deadline, suggesting potential approval progress, though approval is not guaranteed. Ether (ETH) surged 17% to over $3,600 as favorable regulatory developments increased the likelihood of ETF approval. The CoinDesk 20, tracking the largest digital assets, rose nearly 8% amid positive regulatory progress on Ether ETFs. Ether (ETH) opened the Asia business day trading above $3,600, up 17%, as favorable regulatory developments increase the chance that an ether exchange traded fund (ETF) will soon be approved, while the yes sides of various Polymarket contracts also jumped on the news. The CoinDesk 20, a measure of the performance of the market's largest digital assets, is up almost 8%. CoinDesk reported towards the close of the U.S. business day Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission had make abrupt progress in the approval of a Ether ETF by asking exchanges to update 19b-4 filings for ether ETFs. The SEC asking exchanges to update 19b-4 filings, which propose rule changes, suggests potential progress toward spot Ether ETF approvals. Despite the progress with 19b-4 filings, the SEC could still reject the S-1 registration statement of the ether ETF, delaying its approval and trading commencement. As a result of this significant development, the ether implied volatility curve, which shows market expectations of future volatility across different strike prices and expirations, flattened as 25-delta risk reversals hit YTD highs above 18%, and traders heavily bought $4000 calls for 24 May 2024 and 31 May, Presto Research analysts wrote in a note shared with CoinDesk. A Polymarket contract asking if an ether ETF would be approved by May 31 jumped from 10 cents to 55 cents, representing a 55% chance that approval will take place by May 31. Another Polymarket contract asking if the ETF will be approved by June 30 is currently trading at 68%. A decision on VanEck's proposed ether ETF is due on May 23, followed by Ark's on May 24. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/21/ether-eth-surges-17-polymarket-approval-chances-rocket-as-etf-makes-regulatory-progress/

2024-05-21 05:16

NYAG says the settlement will establish a fund for New Yorkers who invested more than $1.1 billion in Genesis through the Gemini Earn program and blocks Genesis from operating in the state. A New York court has approved a settlement between Genesis and the NYAG The settlement involves a $2 billion fine which wil go towards establishing a victims' fund. The office of the New York Attorney General announced today that a state court had approved a $2 billion settlement with bankrupt crypto lender Genesis. In October 2023, the NYAG sued Genesis, Gemini, and Digital Currency Group for allegedly defrauding more than $1 billion from over 230,000 investors, including 29,000 New Yorkers. The NYAG claimed Gemini knew Genesis’ loans were undersecured and concentrated with Alameda Research but did not disclose this to investors. “This historic settlement is a major step toward ensuring the victims who invested in Genesis have a semblance of justice," Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. "Once again, we see the real-world consequences and detrimental losses that can happen because of a lack of oversight and regulation within the cryptocurrency industry.” Genesis neither admits nor denies the allegations outlined in the suit. The lender will be blocked from doing business in New York as part of the settlement. Digital Currency Group (DCG), which was part of the initial suit by the NYAG, but was excluded from the settlement, but had objected to the process earlier. The company in February objected to Genesis' proposed settlement with the New York attorney general, arguing that it unlawfully redistributed value to preferred creditors, bypassing the principles of U.S. bankruptcy law. Earlier this week, Genesis announced that it would return $3 billion worth of customer assets – roughly 77% of the value of customer claims – as part of a bankruptcy liquidation plan approved by courts. The Victims' Fund, announced as part of the settlement, will receive up to $2 billion from Genesis' remaining assets after initial bankruptcy distributions to compensate creditors for their remaining losses. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/05/21/nyag-takes-victory-lap-as-court-approves-genesis-settlement/

2024-05-20 21:13

Someone minted 5 billion GALA tokens and then sold them on decentralized exchange Uniswap. The native token of crypto gaming project Gala Games (GALA) fell sharply Monday amid fears of a major transfer of over $200 million worth of GALA tokens that traders feared was a hack, and then recovered after the company said the security incident had been "contained and the impacted wallet has been frozen." On Monday, an unknown party minted 5 billion Gala tokens and proceeded to sell them on decentralized exchange Uniswap, according to blockchain explorers. Gala Games representatives had not previously announced the activity nor did they offer a quick explanation in the project's Discord server, spurring fears that the mass mint and sell was a hack. Eric Schiermeyer, Gala Games' CEO who also goes by the handle Benefactor, said in a post on X that the company "identified the compromise and within 45 minutes we secured and removed unauthorized access to the $GALA contract." "It's important to note our ETH contract for $GALA is secure and under the protection of a multi-sig wallet. It was never compromised," he wrote. "It's important to note our ETH contract for $GALA is secure and under the protection of a multi-sig wallet. It was never compromised." Schiermeyer said the company has been in touch with the FBI, U.S. Department of Justice, and a "network of international authorities." GALA's price sank as low as $0.039 in the aftermath, down 19% from the day's high set just over an hour earlier. It has since recovered, and stabilized at $0.042, according to CoinGecko data. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/05/20/gaming-token-gala-drops-amid-suspect-200m-transfer/