Author: Andrei Ionescu

DeFi dominance, a key metric reflecting the DeFi market capitalization as a percentage of the total cryptocurrency market, has hit its lowest point in three years. The DeFi index fell from 3.82% at the start of the week to a low of 2.84% by Friday, marking the lowest DeFi dominance since early January 2021, just before the significant rally leading to the “DeFi summer” of 2021. The decline comes in the wake of a market-wide sell-off followed by a brief relief bounce. Since September 2022, DeFi dominance has been on a downward trend from approximately 4.8%, with some minor recoveries.…

Tieshun Roquerre, known in the crypto world as Pacman and the founder of Blast, has shared insights into why the current cryptocurrency cycle diverges from previous ones. Speaking during a virtual Q&A session at the Foresight 2024 event in Hong Kong, Pacman noted that the current cycle lacks the fundamental innovation that has historically driven the sector forward. A Cycle Driven by ETFs Rather Than Innovation Pacman pointed out that unlike past cycles, which were marked by groundbreaking developments such as initial coin offerings (ICOs), the launch of Uniswap, and the advent of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the current cycle has…

The Ethereum network’s daily ETH burn rate has plummeted to its lowest level this year, with base gas fees currently hovering between 1 and 2 gwei. On Saturday, only 210 ETH were burned, a significant drop from the 5,000 ETH burned on August 5 when gas fees spiked to approximately 100 gwei. This decline in base gas fees, some of the lowest recorded in recent years, has impacted ETH issuance. Data from The Block indicates that while 210 ETH were burned, over 2,000 ETH were net emitted, contributing to an increased inflation rate for the cryptocurrency. Martin Köppelmann, founder of…

Effective September 2, 2024, the exchange will perform a conversion of the specified tokens to USD Coin (USDC) based on users’ holdings at that snapshot time. The conversion will be completed by March 1, 2025. Details of Token Conversion The following tokens will be converted to USDC: Bitcoin Gold (BTG)Bitcoin Standard Hashrate Token (BTCST)Bitshares (BTS)District0x (DNT)Groestlcoin (GRS)Hegic (HEGIC)MobileCoin (MOB)Monero (XMR)Monetha (MTH)Multichain (MULTI)Navcoin (NAV)Sologenic (SOLO)Spartan Protocol (SPARTA)Symbol (XYM)Tribe (TRIBE) The conversion will be based on the average exchange rate of these tokens to USDC during the period from September 2, 2024, to March 1, 2025. Binance will update users with further…

Hong Kong’s cryptocurrency spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are encountering significant systemic obstacles due to the market’s existing structure and biases, according to Gary Tiu, Executive Director and Head of Regulatory Affairs at Hong Kong crypto exchange OSL. Tiu made these remarks during a panel discussion at the Foresight 2024 conference on Sunday. Market Structure and Incentives Tiu highlighted that the Hong Kong market is characterized by a complex layer of intermediaries—such as brokers, banks, and private banks—between issuers and end investors. These intermediaries typically earn substantial fees from distributing financial products. As a result, there is a preference for unlisted…

In a landmark legal action, Nigerian cryptocurrency advocate James Utudor has filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian government, challenging its restrictions on digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and stablecoins. The suit aims to lift the ban on cryptocurrency exchanges and ensure unrestricted access for all Nigerians. Lawsuit Seeks to Protect Digital Asset Rights Filed on August 9, the lawsuit names several high-profile defendants, including the Nigerian presidency, finance minister, attorney general, Central Bank of Nigeria, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigerian Police Force, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the Nigerian Communications…

Anchorage Digital Bank is enhancing its service offerings with new custody support for tokens on the Solana blockchain. The federally chartered crypto custodian will initially support a select range of tokens that adhere to Solana’s SPL standard. This includes notable assets such as USDC, HNT, W, PYTH, and MPLX. The move marks an important expansion for Anchorage, which began offering custody for Solana (SOL) tokens in 2022 and introduced staking support in the following year. McCauley emphasized that the company has been deliberate in rolling out custody support for SPL tokens, taking time to ensure robust infrastructure and security measures…

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled a new regulatory sandbox aimed at facilitating the development and testing of innovative crypto-related services. This initiative marks a significant step in the country’s effort to establish a more efficient and forward-thinking crypto market. In a recent announcement on its website, the SEC invited interested parties to participate in the Digital Asset Regulatory Sandbox, designed to test and promote cutting-edge services within the cryptocurrency space. The sandbox is open to a range of participants, including exchanges, brokers, dealers, fund managers, advisers, and custodial wallet providers. Following hearings held in March, the SEC…

Adidas has launched a unique collaboration with Ethereum NFT collection Doodles, offering virtual collectible packs that could grant buyers access to exclusive physical apparel. This new venture combines the worlds of sportswear and digital art, with a special focus on Pharrell Williams’ latest music project. The limited-edition Doodles x Adidas packs are available for purchase through August 16. Each pack, priced at $4.99, includes two virtual items. Bundles containing between two and 100 packs are also available, with prices ranging from $8.49 to $374.99, according to the Adidas Originals x Doodles online store. Among the special items in the packs…

Binance.US has announced that it will facilitate the migration of Render (RNDR) tokens to the newly rebranded Render (RENDER) tokens. As part of this migration, RNDR tokens will be exchanged at a 1:1 ratio for RENDER tokens. Key Dates and Changes for Render Token Holders: August 12, 2024, 8 p.m. PDT / 11 p.m. EDT: Buy & Sell, Convert, and OTC trading for RNDR will be suspended. August 13, 2024, 8 p.m. PDT / 11 p.m. EDT: Trading for RNDR will be halted, and the RNDR/USDT trading pair will be removed. All Advanced Trading orders will be automatically canceled once…