Bitcoin Price: US$ 26,432.72 (+1.45%)
Ethereum Price: US$ 1,679.61 (+2.73%)
The market capitalisation of the DAI stablecoin has surged past $5 billion, driven by enticing interest rates reaching as high as 8%, marking a significant recovery from its late July low of $4.4 billion when it had plummeted from over $10 billion earlier in 2022. This resurgence has also had a positive impact on the decentralised finance (DeFi) lending platform Spark, which utilises Maker’s credit facility and integrates DAI. Spark’s total value of assets locked (TVL) has witnessed nearly a tenfold increase in the past month, now standing at $430 million. In an effort to attract more crypto investors, Maker’s founder Rune Christensen introduced the Enhanced DAI Savings Rate (EDSR), offering an initial 8% annual reward on deposits, resulting in almost $1 billion in inflows in August. However, concerns persist about the sustainability of this growth, with Maker’s profits significantly impacted by the high interest rates, leading to a reduction to 5%. In other news, Bitcoin Ordinals NFT user activity has sharply declined by 98% since May, OpenSea is discontinuing its royalty enforcement tool, and Tornado Cash co-founders are facing charges related to money laundering and sanctions violations in the United States.
Unstoppable Domains (UD) has introduced an instant messaging system for Web3 username holders, enabling communication across various apps using XMTP, such as the UD iOS app, Coinbase Wallet, and Lens protocol apps. This messaging integration utilises the extensible message transport protocol (XMTP) for encryption and message delivery, ensuring message accessibility even if UD ceases operations in the future. UD’s move expands the utility of Web3 usernames, which have traditionally been used for receiving payments, into the realm of messaging. In related news, Bitstamp will cease its staking services for U.S.-based customers due to recent legal developments, while e-commerce giant Shopify has added Solana Pay, allowing merchants to accept crypto payments, starting with USD Coin, potentially reducing transaction costs significantly compared to credit card processing fees. Solana Pay plans to include more altcoins in the near future, marking a significant step in the intersection of digital assets and payment solutions. Shopify’s integration of Web3 solutions and blockchain commerce tools aligns with its position as a major player in the e-commerce market.
Bitcoin’s open interest has surged to over $10 billion, indicating market resilience despite the cryptocurrency’s failure to breach the $30,000 mark. This metric, which gauges unsettled futures contracts, serves as a measure of market confidence, particularly among institutional investors. Meanwhile, in China, the Hangzhou Data Exchange, powered by blockchain technology, has been unveiled, offering a secure platform for the trade of enterprise IT data. Over 300 companies, including industry giants like Alibaba Cloud and Huawei, participated in the exchange’s launch, promising immutable and traceable data transactions while prioritising privacy and security. In the realm of blockchain security, Quantstamp has introduced an automated service called Economic Exploit Analysis to detect flash loan attack vectors in smart contracts. Flash loans, unsecured loans used in DeFi, have been implicated in major exploits, and this service aims to enhance security by identifying vulnerabilities, bolstering confidence in the DeFi sector amid increasing scrutiny.
A class action lawsuit has been filed against Atomic Wallet by a group of investors primarily hailing from Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, seeking redress for losses exceeding $100 million incurred during a major security breach in June. Allegations include Atomic Wallet’s failure to promptly inform clients about the breach and a lack of cooperation with law enforcement. Meanwhile, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified six Bitcoin wallets linked to the North Korean state-backed hacking group Lazarus, which collectively hold 1,580 BTC worth $40 million, potentially signifying intentions to sell these ill-gotten funds. Despite a recent 10% dip in Bitcoin’s price, on-chain data reveals miners are persevering, with record-high network difficulty and hash rate, indicative of sustained profitability and confidence in the cryptocurrency’s security.
Source:
https://coindesk.com
https://cointelegraph.com
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