2024-08-07 15:21

Solana and its ecosystem tokens look attractive compared to other altcoins and is a "clear option if looking for longs" after the market turmoil, a K33 Research analyst said. Cryptocurrencies continued their bounce from Monday lows on Wednesday, with layer-1 network Solana's token (SOL) being the fastest horse during the rebound. The sharp relative move higher for SOL pushed it to an all-time high relative to ether (ETH) of 0.062, up 7.5% over the past 24 hours and 13.6% over the past week, according to CoinGecko. ETH also sunk to over a three-year low versus bitcoin (BTC), now more than reversing any relative gains since the SEC in May surprised nearly all by signaling its intent to approve spot ether ETFs. On the weekly timeframe that encompasses this weekend's market turmoil, SOL was the best performing asset among crypto majors in the CoinDesk 20 Index, down about 11%, while BTC and ETH are lower 14% and 25%, respectively. "After the recent wipeout, SOL and its ecosystem of coins still look good, especially in comparison to other alts," David Zimmerman, analyst at K33 Research, wrote in a Wednesday report. "SOLETH has made a nice all-time high since the carnage, while SOLBTC also looks strong. Both closed green on the days of mass panic." "Solana's resilience is largely driven by its strong fundamentals," U.K.-based digital asset investment firm Tagus Capital said in a Wednesday market update. "The platform's underlying strength is evident in key metrics such as the growth in active users, increased volumes on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and overall ecosystem expansion." One potential risk investors need to keep in mind is swirling rumors about market maker giant Jump Crypto shuttering its digital asset business, Zimmermann noted. Blockchain data observers noted crypto wallets linked to Jump sending ETH to exchanges this weekend and unstaking $500 million of ETH over the past two weeks. Notably, Jump was a key early supporter of the Solana ecosystem, and has been leading development of the network's highly anticipated Firedancer upgrade. "Despite the uncertainty, SOL is showing strength and there is no need to overcomplicate things," Zimmerman said. "If looking for longs, SOL is a clear option." The outperformance could continue, targeting potentially a 0.1 price ratio with ETH, a 80% upside, according to crypto research firm Delphi Digital's forecast earlier this year. "(I) still think 0.1 is on the table," said Michael Rinko, research analyst at Delphi. "It would require some Q4 fireworks but it’s possible." https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/08/07/solana-hits-all-time-high-against-ether-outperforms-bitcoin-in-crypto-rebound/

2024-08-07 11:54

The former treasurer was liquidated during the weekend's crypto market plunge. CORRECTION (Aug. 7, 14:30 UTC): Corrects headline, story to say the donated funds came from a vesting contract. An earlier version of the story said the funds appeared to have come from the protocol's treasury. Synthetix's former treasurer, SynthaMan, said they "had nothing left" after being liquidated as crypto markets plunged over the weekend. The company's founder unlocked $6.5 million from an Illuvium vesting contract and sent $86,000 to the former employee, on-chain data appear to show. On-chain data appear to show that Synthetix founder Kain unlocked $6.5 million from an Illuvium vesting contract and transferred $86,000 to SynthaMan, its former treasurer, who was liquidated during the weekend's crypto market plunge, blockchain sleuth EmberCN posted on X. EmberCN also said SynthaMan also received approximately $112,000 in donations in the past two days after posting that all their SNX was lost "due to liquidation" and that they had "nothing left." "Some folks asked for donation wallet," SynthaMan wrote on X. "If you guys willing to donate or lend me some money until my ILV unlocks in September, you can send it to: Spartan.eth Otherwise I wont even ask you for that. Just need to survive 1.5 months." ILV refers to the cryptocurrency illuvium. Etherscan shows that a wallet tagged as belonging to project-founder Kain sent the tokens to the Spartan.eth address. "@kaiynne unstaked his ILV and sent some to me," SynthaMan wrote on X after the earlier version of this story was published. "At no point he used 'Projects's Treasury'." Synthentix is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol that provides liquidity for derivatives platforms across the DeFi market. It has $237 million in total value locked (TVL), down more than 76% from March's total of $1.02 billion, according to DefiLlama. The company's treasury contains $39.4 million, data from Token Terminal shows. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/08/07/synthetix-founder-appears-to-have-sent-portion-of-company-funds-to-beleaguered-ex-treasurer-embercn/

2024-08-07 09:07

The hacker is linked to a string of recent exploits. The attacker currently holds $1.8M worth of crypto including 32.5 million NXRA tokens. Nexera has paused the smart contract and trading on decentralized exchanges; the token fell 40%. The attacker is linked to a string of previous compromised private key exploits including the OKX DEX hack. Nexera, a blockchain infrastructure protocol that focuses on tokenization, has suffered an exploit with $1.8 million being stolen, according to crypto security firm Cyvers. The company, formerly known as AllianceBlock, posted an announcement on X saying it "identified the exploit" and is in discussions with law enforcement. The NXRA token contract has been paused and trading halted on decentralized exchanges. Nexera said it is in communication with centralized exchanges to pause trading on their platforms. Kucoin and MEXC have already halted deposits and withdrawals. The NXRA token is trading at $0.036, down 40% since the exploit occurred, according to CoinMarketCap. Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT revealed on Telegram that the attacker is connected to a string of recent compromised private-key incidents including SpaceCatch, Concentric Finance, OKX DEX, Serenity Shield and Reach. Data from Zapper shows that the attacker holds 32.5 million NXRA tokens worth $1.23 million and $555,000 of tether's USDT stablecoin. CORRECTION (Aug. 7, 09:10 UTC): Corrects protocol's name to Nexera from Nexara. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/08/07/blockchain-protocol-nexara-suffers-18m-exploit-nxra-tumbles-40/

2024-08-07 08:28

The memecoins on the Solana network rose 30% in the past 24 hours, leading gains as a sector as optimism around SOL ETFs heats up among some. Cat-themed token POPCAT and dog-themed WIF jumped 25%, while smaller tokens MUMU and CATDOG were up 30%. The surge in Solana-based tokens contrasted with declines in major memecoins on other blockchains. Memecoins on the Solana ecosystem surged more than 30% in the past 24 hours, leading gains in the crypto market, as the network’s underlying token SOL, recovered from losses from earlier in the week. Cat-themed popcat (POPCAT) and dog token dogwifhat (WIF) surged as much as 25%, before slightly retreating, while smaller tokens MUMU and catdog (CATDOG) rose 30%, data show. Major memecoins on other blockchains, such as dogecoin (DOGE) and pepe (PEPE), lost as much as 5%, showing a preference for Solana-based tokens. Solana network volumes more than doubled to over $3.3 billion from Monday’s $1.5 billion, banking in fees of at least $750,000 per day, DefiLlama data shows. Fees generated by Pump, a popular platform used to issue new memecoins on Solana, increased to $535,000 in the past 24 hours compared to under $300,000 on Monday – indicative of higher risk-on activity among traders. The ecosystem activity came as SOL rose 7.5%, trading over $150 in European morning hours on Wednesday to beat the broad-based CoinDesk 20’s 2.23% rise. It fell from $145 to as low as $112 on Monday amid a broader market rout but has since led gains among major tokens. Optimism around the ecosystem comes ahead of a widely expected SOL exchange-traded fund (ETF), which could be the third spot token offered to professional U.S.-based investors behind bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). “The possibility of an SOL ETF shows promising signs to investors on SOL’s mainstream adoption,” Lucy Hu, senior analyst at Metalpha, told CoinDesk in a Telegram chat. “The quick rebound of SOL indicates renewed confidence in the broader crypto space as the market becomes more stabilized,” “SOL has shown to be robust with innovations, and meme coins have been rising in popularity,” Hu added. In early July, the CBOE submitted 19b-4 filings with the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) asking to list VanEck's and 21Shares' potential spot Solana ETFs, which were initially filed in late June. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/08/07/solana-based-memecoins-surge-as-sol-jumps-38-from-mondays-lows/

2024-08-07 05:42

The ominous-sounding technical price pattern could again trap bears on the wrong side of the market as the Bank of Japan plays down chance of a near-term interest rate hike. BOJ's Uchida downplayed rate hike concerns amid market volatility. The anti-risk yen slides while BTC and stock futures rise after Uchida's comments. The renewed risk-on hints at a possible bitcoin death cross bear trap. It appears bitcoin's (BTC) impending death cross, a bearish technical pattern, will again live up to its reputation as a contrary indicator, presaging renewed bullish price action as it did in September 2023. That's because early on Wednesday, the influential deputy governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), Shinichi Uchida, said that the central bank wouldn't hike borrowing costs when markets are unstable, weakening the case for a continued unwinding of "yen carry trades" and resulting risk aversion in risk assets, including bitcoin. "As we're seeing sharp volatility in domestic and overseas financial markets, it's necessary to maintain current levels of monetary easing for the time being," Uchida said in a speech to business leaders in Hakodate, Hokkaido. Other things being equal, BOJ's latest comments mean limited downside in the cryptocurrency even as the death cross, characterized by the cryptocurrency's 50-day simple moving average (SMA) moving below the pivotal 200-day SMA, looms. Bitcoin traded firm following Uchida's comments, briefly topping the $57,300 mark as the Japanese yen (JPY) depreciated to 148 per U.S. dollar (USD) from 145 per USD. Japan's equity index, Nikkei, rose 4%, signaling a risk reset, and futures tied to the S&P 500 rose 0.8%. "The BOJ struck the 'Yen put,' and the Nikkei will be driving the Nasdaq and S&P to their pre-selloff levels," pseudonymous market observer Global Macro said on X. The yen carry trade involves taking out cheap yen-denominated loans and investing in high-yielding currencies like the Mexican peso and risk assets. The strategy has been quite popular in recent years as the Bank of Japan kept interest rates at zero while others, including the Fed, raised borrowing costs rapidly to combat inflation. However, last Wednesday, the Japanese central bank raised rates, ditching the ultra-easy monetary policy for the first time in 17 years. The hawkish move triggered an unwinding of carry trades, causing broad-based risk aversion. BTC tanked from $66,000 to $50,000 in five days to Monday. "By July 16th, the equity markets and many other risky asset markets peaked. For whatever reason, these asset markets began to sell off. As the sell-off continued, recent entrants into the YCT [yen carry trade] saw their assets falling, and to be clear, that is almost always the driver of unwinds. But worse, the Yen began rallying slowly. That began the unwind," Andy Constan, CEO of Damped Spring Advisors, said in a detailed yen carry trade explainer on X. "The unwind of the trade results in inelastic price moving flow to buy Yen and sell risky assets. The sale of the risky asset also impacts the much bigger set of levered investors who don't have any yen exposure at all and they get margin called as well," Constan added. 11:29 UTC: Corrects Uchida's title to Deputy Governor. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/08/07/bitcoins-impending-death-cross-may-trap-bears-as-bank-of-japan-eases-rate-concerns/

2024-08-06 23:30

The decision comes in the wake of the $230 million hack on crypto exchange WazirX last month. CoinDCX has established a crypto investors protection fund to compensate users in case of a security breach. The decision comes a few weeks after prominent Indian crypto exchange WazirX suffered a $230 million hack. Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX's co-founder Sumit Gupta has told CoinDesk that his company has established an investor protection fund, saying that if other exchanges did this too "it would be better for the ecosystem." The investor protection fund is designed to "compensate users for losses incurred in extremely rare scenarios such as security breaches" and at the start it will hold nearly $6 million (INR 50 crore), which comes solely from "our profits," Gupta said. The decision comes in the wake of the $230 million hack – worth nearly 45% of customer funds which were in one wallet - suffered by WazirX last month. After the hack, Gupta was one of the first to criticize a work in progress plan suggested by WazirX to manage the customer funds. "This is approximately 1.8% of the roughly $350 million customer funds we hold and we intend to continue to increase it over time. We will contribute 2% of whatever monthly brokerage income we make. The thought was to start somewhere and then continue to revaluate this number moving forward. International exchanges have done this. But in India we want to at least take the lead and start this as a standard." Last month, WazirX's founder Nischal Shetty told CoinDCX that the hack of his exchange was rare, possibly the first of its kind. Gupta denied that the creation of the fund was because such rare events could happen to CoinDCX too if one happened to WazirX. "Nobody can assure 100% security. But how do we ensure customers remain protected even if there is the slightest chance of a breach. In our case, we don't concentrate our funds in one wallet, it's diversified. This is another step in that direction." Read More: WazirX Co-Founder Nischal Shetty Says All Options Are on the Table for Fund Recovery https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/08/06/post-wazirx-hack-indias-coindcx-starts-investor-protection-fund-with-6m/