Top Crypto News Weekly: ETFs, Blockchain Developments, Altcoin Surges, and Bitcoin Trends

9 views 11:19 am 0 Comments April 1, 2024
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This analysis report, backed by quality data, covers the major developments the Web3, Blockchain and Crypto sector has experienced this week. 

1. Breaking News This Week 

  • Warning Issued to Shiba Inu Community Amid Rising Phishing Scams 

Shiba Inu’s marketing strategist alerts users about phishing links from hacked accounts, emphasising caution against connecting wallets to suspicious websites.

  • Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Receives 25-Year Sentence 

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX exchange, faces a 25-year sentence for criminal charges. The sentencing follows his conviction on seven counts, marking a significant development in the legal landscape surrounding cryptocurrency executives and their accountability for their actions.

  • New Staking ETP Launched to Capitalise on Toncoin Growth 

A prominent ETP issuer unveils a new product, enabling investors to stake Toncoin and capitalise on The Open Network’s expansion. 

  • Hashdex Bitcoin Futures ETF Renamed to Hashdex Bitcoin ETF

Hashdex collaborates with Tidal Investments LLC to convert its Bitcoin Futures ETF to a spot ETF, trading under the ticker ‘DEFI.’ The move aims to align the fund with spot market dynamics.

  • Concerns Raised Over SEC’s Approach to Ethereum Regulation 

US congressional committees express concerns regarding the SEC’s handling of Ethereum regulation, particularly in response to Prometheum’s plans for institutional custody services.

  • Munchables Hacker Returns Stolen Funds

The hacker behind the Munchables exploit returns stolen Ether worth $62 million. Meanwhile, speculations arise about the hacker’s possible ties to North Korea.

  • Consolidation of 2010 Bitcoin Reward Raises Speculation 

An unidentified entity consolidates 2,000 Bitcoin mined in 2010 into a single wallet, attracting attention within the cryptocurrency community. The consolidation sparks speculations about the motivations behind the move.

  • COTI and Civic Partner to Enhance Digital Identity Management 

COTI and Civic announce a partnership to empower users with confidentiality and self-sovereignty over their digital identities. Leveraging COTI’s V2’s Ethereum-based confidentiality layer, the alliance aims to advance decentralised identity management.

  • Leading AI and Web 3 Companies Merge Tokens to Advance Superintelligence 

Fetch.AI, SingularityNET, and Ocean Protocol merge their native tokens into ASI, owned by the Superintelligence Collective, to advance artificial superintelligence research.

  • Tether Embraces AI Expansion to Enhance Stablecoin Technology 

Tether announces plans to intensify its focus on artificial intelligence, aiming to enhance efficiency and accessibility in the technology sector.

  • Worldcoin’s Eyeball Scan Project Draws Regulatory Scrutiny in Europe 

Worldcoin’s “proof of personhood” project faces scrutiny over its biometric data collection method in Europe. Portugal’s CNPD instructs a 90-day pause on date collection.

  • CommEX Crypto Exchange Ceases Russian Operations Amid Regulatory Pressure

CommEX, which took over Binance’s Russian operations, announces its exit from the country. This decision aligns with Binance’s departure plan initiated in 2023.

  • Judge Sanctions SEC for Misconduct in Cryptocurrency Firm Case 

U.S. District Judge Rober Shelby imposes sanctions on the SEC for serious misconduct in the DEBT Box legal action. The ruling criticises the SEC’s handling, highlighting concerns about abuse of power.

  • UN Report Reveals North Korea’s Cyberattack Involvement in Cryptocurrency 

The UN Security Council releases a report revealing North Korea’s significant earnings from cyberattacks, with 50% attributed to cryptocurrency-related activities. 

2. Blockchain Performance 

In this section, we will analyse two factors primarily: the top-performing blockchains based solely on their 7-day change and the top performers among the top five blockchains with the highest TVL.  

2.1. Top Blockchain Performers by 7-Day Change 

This week’s top blockchain performers, based on their 7-day change, are Kardia, Chiliz, BEVM, zkLink, and Merlin.  

Blockchain  7-Day Change (in %) TVL
Kardia +1664% $9.64M
Chiliz +705% $89,789
BEVM +419% $242,549
zkLink +239% $1.38M
Merlin +143% $97.73M

Kardia surged by 1664%, leading the blockchain market, with Chiliz closely following at 705%. BEVM and zkLink also experienced substantial gains at 419% and 239%, respectively. Merlin exhibited a notable increase of 143%. 

2.2. Top Performers: 7-Day Change in Top 5 Blockchains with Highest TVL

Ethereum, TRON, BNB Smart Chain, Solana, and Arbitrum One are the top five blockchains in the market on the basis of TVL and market dominance. Let’s see how the top five blockchains have performed this week, using 7-day TVL change. 

Blockchain  Dominance (in %)  7d Change (in %)  TVL (in Billion)
Ethereum  60.87% +9.0% $55,521,747,624
TRON 11.06% +8.8% $10,085,867,744
BNB Smart Chan  6.88% +7.6% $6,272,772,663
Solana  5.39% +22.8% $4,915,867,444
Arbitrum One 4.58% +8.5% $4,177,062,616
Others 11.22%

Over the past week, Solana exhibited the highest 7-day change in Total Value Locked at 22.8%, followed by Ethereum at 9.0%. TRON, BNB Smart Chain, and Arbitrum One also demonstrated notable increases in TVL at 8.8%, 7.6%, and 8.5%, respectively. 

3. Crypto Market Analysis 

The crypto 7-day price change and dominance analysis and top gains and losers analysis are the two prime areas of the crypto market analysis. 

3.1. Crypto 7-D Price Change and Dominance Analysis  

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, BNB, and Solana are the top cryptocurrency as per the market cap and dominance indices. Let’s analyse their seven-day price change. 

Cryptocurrency 7-D Change (in %) Dominance Percentage  Price Market Cap
BTC +9.7% 49.54% $69,946.54 $1,378,457,507,060
ETH +5.6% 15.21% $3,499.52 $422,248,684,079
USDT +0.1% 3.77% $0.9998 $104,611,605,274
BNB +10.7% 3.42% $606.15 $93,831,277,285
SOL +15.6% 3.07% $198.77 $88,429,587,186
Others 24.99%

Over the last week, Solana experienced the highest price surge at 15.6%, followed by Binance Coin at 10.7% and Bitcoin at 9.7%. Ethereum saw a 5.6% increase, while Tether remained relatively stable with a minimal 0.1% change. 

3.2. Top Gainers & Losers of the Week in Crypto Market 

Here is the list of top gainers and top losers of the week in the cryptocurrency market. The analysis is made using the 7-day Gain and 7-day Lose indices. 

3.2.1. Top Gainers of the Week in Crypto 

Cryptocurrency  7-Day Gain  Price 
dogwifhat +102.97% $4.55
Core +100.69% $1.19
Mantle  +58.50% $1.27
GateToken +44.41% $10.69
Bitcoin Cash +40.81% $596.52

In the past week, dogwifhat and Core displayed remarkable gains at 102.97% and 100.69%, respectively, positioning them as top performers. Mantle followed closely with a gain of 58.50%. GateToken and Bitcoin Cash also experienced notable increases at 44.41% and 40.81%, respectively. 

3.2.2. Top Losers of the Week in Crypto 

Cryptocurrency  7-Day Loss Price 
KuCoin Token -22.67% $10.83
Bittensor -12.26% $521.39
Fantom -9.93% $0.9759
Akash Network -2.87% $5.10
Kaspa  -2.62% $0.1374

Over the past week, KuCoin Token faced the highest loss at -22.67%, followed by Bittensor at -12.26%. Fantom also experienced a notable decrease of -9.93%. Akash Network and Kaspa showed relatively smaller losses at -2.87% and -2.62%, respectively. 

3.3. Stablecoin Weekly Analysis 

Tether, USDC, DAI, First Digital USD, and Ethena USDe are the top stablecoins in the market in terms of market capitalization. Let’s analyse their weekly performance using seven-day market capitalisation, market dominance and trading volume indices.  

Stablecoins  Market Dominance (7d) [in %] Market Capitalisation (7d) Trading Volume (7d) Market Capitalisation
Tether  70.96% $104,553,076,926 $48,111,286,830 $104,576,151,572
USDC 22.01% $32,433,889,044 $7,180,982,024 $32,456,063,461
Dai 3.33% $4,910,922,599 $533,875,091 $4,899,710,379
First Digital USD 1.74% $2,560,453,704 $6,899,236,201 $2,561,623,998
Ethena USDe 1.02% $1,505,632,078 $271,076,742 $1,522,755,360
Others 0.94%

Tether maintained its dominance in the stablecoin market with 70.96%, followed by USDC at 22.01%. Dai, First Digital USD, and Ethena USDe held smaller market shares at 3.33%, 1.74%, and 1.02%, respectively. 

3.3.1. Stablecoin Weekly Price Analysis 

Let’s analyse the weekly performance of the top stablecoins further using the seven-day price change index. 

Stablecoins  7-Day Price Change (in %) Price
Tether  +0.1% $1.00
USDC +0.1% $0.997
Dai +0.1% $1
First Digital USD +0.7% $1.01
Ethena USDe +0.4% $1.00

Over the past week, stablecoins exhibited minimal price fluctuations. First Digital USD showed the highest increase at +0.7%, followed by Ethena USDe at +0.4%. Tether, USDC, and Dai experienced slight changes at +0.1%. 

4. Bitcoin ETF Weekly Analysis 

Bitcoin Futures ETFs and Bitcoin Spot ETFs should be analysed separately, in order to get the right picture of the Bitcoin ETF market, as they represent two different segments. Let’s start!

4.1. Bitcoin Futures ETF Weekly Analysis 

ProShares (BITO), VanEck (XBTF), Valkyrie (BTF), Global X (BITS), and Ark/21 Shares (ARKA) are the top Bitcoin Future ETFs, as per the Asset Under Management index. Let’s use the price change percentage index to analyse these ETFs. 

Bitcoin Futures ETFs Price Change (Gain/Loss) [in %] Asset Under Management (in Billion) Price 
ProShares  +3.33% $598.78M $32.30
VanEck +0.33% $42.41M $39.22
Valkyrie  +2.87% $38.20M $21.16
Global X +1.74% $26.10M $73.51
Ark/21 Shares +3.13% $8.01M $68.46

Over the past period, ProShares (BITO) and Ark/21 Shares (ARKA) Bitcoin Futures ETFs exhibited the highest gains at +3.33% and +3.13%, respectively, indicating investor interest and potential market optimism. Valkyrie (BTF) and Global X (BITS) also saw positive increases at +2.87% and +1.74%. VanEck (XBTF) showed the smallest gain at +0.33%. 

4.2. Bitcoin Spot ETF Weekly Analysis 

Grayscale (GBTC), Blackrock (IBIT), Fidelity (FBTC), Ark/21 Shares (ARKB), and Bitwise (BITB) are the top Bitcoin Spot ETFs, as per the Asset Under Management index. Let’s analyse them using the price change index. 

Bitcoin Spot ETFs Price Change (Gain/Loss) [in %] Asset Under Management (in Billion) Price 
Grayscale  +3.24% $24.33B $63.17
BlackRock +3.42% $17.24B $40.47
Fidelity  +3.36% $9.90B $62.06
Ark/21 Shares  +3.32% $2.85B $70.98
Bitwise  +3.34% $2.16B $38.71

Over the recent period, Bitcoin Spot ETFs demonstrated positive price changes. BlackRock (IBIT) led with a gain of +3.42%, closely followed by Fidelity (FBTC) at +3.36%, and Bitwise (BITB) at +3.34%. Ark/21 Shares (ARKB) and Grayscale (GBTC) also showed gains at +3.32% and +3.24%, respectively. 

5. DeFi Market Weekly Status Analysis 

Lido, EigenLayer, AAVE, Maker, JustLend are the five top DeFi protocols on the basis of TVL. Let’s analyse its weekly performance using the 7d Change index. 

DeFi Protocols 7d Change (in Total Value Locked) [in %] TVL
Lido +4.36% $34.291B
EigenLayer +8.08% $12.007B
AAVE +7.09% $11.239B
Maker +2.65% $8.627B
JustLend +7.29% $7.713B

In the past week, DeFi protocols witnessed significant changes in Total Value Locked. EigenLayer exhibited the highest increase at +8.08%, indicating strong user adoption or new investment. JustLend and AAVE followed closely with gains of +7.29% and +7.09%, respectively, reflecting growing interest in their services. Lido and Maker also experienced positive growth, albeit at a slower pace.  

6. NFT Marketplace: A Basic Weekly Analysis 

Blur, Blur Aggregator, Opensea, Gem, and Cryptopunks are the top NFT marketplaces on the basis of market share. Let’s analyse them using the Volume Change (change of last 7d volume over the previous 7d volume) index.  

NFT Marketplaces  Volume Change [Last 7 Day over the Previous 7 Day Volume] Market Share 7-day Rolling Volume  7-day Rolling Trades 
Blur -6.20% 61.73% 18674.10 27699
Blur Aggregator  -36.52% 26.30% 7414.73 12146
Opensea -38.46% 5.13% 3765.09 16393
Gem -32.72% 3.31% 815.88 2818
Cryptopunks  -88.76% 1.18% 689.12 14
Others 2.35%

Over the past week, top NFT marketplaces experienced varying volume changes. Cryptopunks saw a significant decrease of -88.76%, followed by Opensea at -38.46% and Blur Aggregator at -36.52%. Gem and Blur exhibited smaller declines at -32.72% and -6.20%, respectively. 

6.1. Top NFT Collectible Sales this Week 

Uncategorised Ordinals #110fc35f, DeezNode #CqP3D8CT, DeezNode #YRJey6fpAggA1, CryptoPunks #5930, and Bitcoin Rocks #36b95b0d are the top NFT collectable sales reported this week in the NFT market landscape. 

NFT Collectibles  Price (in USD)
Uncategorised Ordinals #110fc35f $276,665.31
DeezNode #CqP3D8CT $214,876.64
DeezNode #YRJey6fpAggA1 $214,285.29
CryptoPunks #5930 $213,568.45
Bitcoin Rocks #36b95b0d $204,556.35

This week’s top NFT collectibles sales showcase diverse price ranges. ‘Uncategorised Ordinals #110fc35f’ leads with a sale price of $276,665.31, followed by ‘DeezNode #CqP3D8CT’ and ‘DeezNode #YRJey6fpAggA1’ at $214,876.64 and $214,285.29, respectively. Notably, ‘CryptoPunks #5930’ and ‘Bitcoin Rocks #36b95b0d’ also fetched substantial prices at $213,568.45 and $204,556.35, demonstrating the high value and demand for unique NFTs. 

7. Web3 Weekly Funding Analysis 

7.1. ICO Landscape: A Weekly Overview  

Pundu, OrangeDX, Unibit, ANote Music, GAIMIN, Bondex, and BitBrawl are the major ICOs that ended this week. Let’s analyse how much amount they have received. 

ICO Received  Token Price  Fundraising Goal Total Tokens  Token (Available for Sale)
Pundu $3,100,000 N/A $3,100,000 N/A N/A
OrangeDX $2,240,000 $0.085 $590,000 100,000,000 40%
Unibit N/A N/A 100,000,000 tokens 1,000,000,000 33%
ANote Music $700,000 $0.15 $250,000 100,000,000 15.5%
GAIMIN $1,460,000 $0.0029 $1,055,000 100,000,000,000 N/A
Bondex $4,000,000 $0.08 $4,000,000 1,000,000,000 20.5%
BitBrawl $3,670,000 $0.00095 $300,000 10,000,000,000 28.17%

This week’s ICOs closed with varying amounts received. Bondex secured the highest amount at $4,000,000, followed by BitBrawl with $3,670,000, and Pundu at $3,100,000. OrangeDX received $2,240,000, while GAIMIN and ANote Music secured $1,460,000 and $700,000, respectively.  

8. Weekly Blockchain Hack Analysis

As of March 30, 2024, hackers swiped a whopping $7.77 billion. The majority, about $5.85 billion, was snatched from decentralised finance platforms. Another chunk, around $2.83 billion, was taken from bridges connecting various blockchain networks.

This week has seen three major hacks in the Web 3, blockchain, and crypto world. On March 29, 2024, Lava lost approximately $0.34 million to hackers. The day before that day, on March 26, 2024, Prisma Finance fell victim to hackers, resulting in a loss of $11.6 million. And on March 26, 2024, Munchables was hacked using a storage slot exploit technique, causing a staggering loss of $62.5 million, the largest reported loss this year. Luckily, the hackers responsible for the Munchables exploit returned the stolen Ether. 

Endnote 

In this week’s comprehensive analysis of Web3, Blockchain and Crypto, we have brought out powerful insights, which can be used to stay-to-data about the market developments. As the landscape evolves, the strategic integration of technology and data-driven decision-making becomes paramount for stakeholders navigating the dynamic realms of decentralised technologies.