Can You Guys Explains How Do We Get The Address and The Memo

Binance users will be able to earn a share of 3 billion HMSTR in the lead-up to Hamster Kombat’s token launch on TON.

Popular Telegram tap-to-earn game Hamster Kombat is set to launch its HMSTR token on The Open Network (TON) later this month alongside an airdrop to its many millions of players. On Thursday, the developers announced plans to drop billions of tokens to Binance customers, as well, through a Launchpool rewards campaign.

The HMSTR token will have a total supply of 100 billion tokens, the anonymous Hamster Kombat team revealed Thursday as part of the announcement—and 3 billion of those tokens have been allocated for the Binance Launchpool campaign.

The HMSTR token will have a total supply of 100 billion tokens, the anonymous Hamster Kombat team revealed Thursday as part of the announcement—and 3 billion of those tokens have been allocated for the Binance Launchpool campaign.

Binance customers in legally permitted countries—not including the United States, for example—will be able to stake Binance Coin (BNB) and the FDUSD stablecoin in the weeklong rewards campaign to earn a share of HMSTR tokens. The campaign will run from September 19 until September 26, the launch date for the token.

Launchpool campaigns have been used for dozens of previous token launches, including major gaming tokens in 2024 like Pixels (PIXEL) and Portal (PORTAL), with Binance customers staking billions of dollars’ worth of BNB and FDUSD in both campaigns to earn a share of the rewards.

Hamster Kombat’s token launch is sure to be a landmark event in the burgeoning Telegram gaming space, given that the game has reportedly attracted over 300 million players to date. The size of the player base has generated concerns over whether TON, which went down twice in late August, can even handle that level of demand.

It’s not the only big Telegram game token that’s set to launch in late September, either, with Catizen and Rocky Rabbit also setting their respective TON token debuts in the lead-up to the HMSTR token generation event. Another rising Telegram game, the Elon Musk-themed X Empire, plans to launch its token soon after HMSTR.

Hamster Kombat’s team said in July that it plans to airdrop 60% of the total token supply to early players, which means that if that estimate remains accurate, then 60 billion tokens will be split between the many millions of claimants. Click here to learn more about what they’ve said so far about how airdrop allocations will be determined based on game progress.

Neiro on Ethereum breaks into top 25 meme coins by market cap after jumping 233% following a number of crypto exchange listings.

Neiro on Ethereum (NEIRO) has broken into the top 25 meme coins by market capitalization, according to CoinGecko. This comes after the token was listed on exchanges Binance, Crypto.com, HTX, and OKX over the past three days.

Earlier this year Kabosu, the mascot of Dogecoin, sadly passed away. Two months later, Kabosu’s owner adopted a new Shiba-Inu called Neiro. This caused a meme coin war as two Solana meme coins launched in the new pup’s honor and then the Ethereum NEIRO entered the picture, vying for liquidity from degens. But now the dust has settled and “Neiro on Ethereum” has pulled away from the pack.

The token has soared 233% over the past 7 days amid a slew of crypto exchanges listing the token for trading.

On Friday, OKX listed Neiro on Ethereum for futures trading with Binance following just two hours later. Over the coming days, Crypto.com, HTX, and a number of smaller exchanges also listed the token.

In turn, its largest rival on Ethereum plummeted 47% to a market cap of $19 million and its Solana competitor dropped 22% to $7.2 million. Meanwhile, Neiro on Ethereum has climbed to a market cap of $161 million which places it as the 23rd largest meme coin by market cap, ahead of tokens like Maga (TRUMP), Gigachad (GIGA), and Mumu The Bull (MUMU).

“Congrats! Great to see another dog token on Binance! Woof,” the official Shiba Inu Twitter account replied to the announcement of Neiro’s Binance listing.

This comes after meme coin influencer SlumDoge (also known as the Dogecoin Millionaire) urged for the crypto community to unite around Neiro. He explained to Decrypt that since Dogecoin rose to popularity and other Shiba-Inu tokens were created, the communities have been fighting for supremacy.

He now wants Neiro to be the moment the two communities join forces.

“It was a huge rivalry between the Dogecoin and Shiba Inu communities,” SlumDoge said on a recent episode of the What’s the Meta? podcast. “I started thinking damn, I wish there was something we could all agree on. I feel like Neiro, this is the opportunity for both of those big dog-based communities to come together.”

His sentiment underscores why it’s noteworthy that the Shiba Inu official Twitter replied to support Neiro’s Binance listing. As for Dogecoin, there has been no word from its official social media channels that suggest support for the token based on Neiro having the same owner as the late Kabosu.

On Sept. 9, 2024, ethereum’s price hovers at $2,309 as it struggles to break free from a strong downtrend, observed across multiple timeframes. The market reflects uncertainty, with oscillators showing mixed signals and moving averages signaling a bearish outlook. While there are signs of accumulation near current support levels, the broader market environment demands caution from traders.

Ethereum
Ethereum’s 1-hour chart reflects a range-bound market, with prices fluctuating between $2,240 and $2,340. Support is firmly held at $2,240, while resistance looms at $2,338. Recent volume spikes indicate a lack of follow-through buying pressure after the drop to $2,240, signaling indecision among traders. As the market remains in consolidation, ethereum’s next move will likely hinge on a breakout from this range.

On the 4-hour chart, ethereum shows a mild recovery after hitting a low of $2,149. Minor support has formed at $2,240, while resistance remains at $2,338 and $2,450. The drop from $2,500 to $2,200 saw a significant sell-off, but post-selloff volume has decreased, indicating weak bullish momentum. Traders may consider waiting for a decisive move above $2,350 or preparing for a further decline if the price breaks below $2,300.

Daily chart analysis paints a clearer picture of ethereum’s prolonged downtrend. The market has seen consistent lower highs and lower lows, with support found around $2,149 and resistance near $2,823. The significant volume during the recent sell-off highlights potential capitulation, but the lack of a strong reversal pattern suggests the market is still vulnerable. A cautious entry near $2,200-$2,300 may be viable, but risk management is crucial.

The oscillators provide mixed signals for ethereum. The relative strength index (RSI) at 37 is neutral, while the commodity channel index (CCI) and momentum suggest a buy signal, indicating potential upward pressure. However, the moving average convergence divergence (MACD) at -121.2 signals continued bearish momentum, while the majority of moving averages (MAs)—both exponential and simple—remain in sell territory, reinforcing the overall downtrend.

Ethereum shows potential for recovery if it can break above the $2,350 resistance level. Oscillators such as the CCI and momentum indicate buying pressure, suggesting that a bounce from the $2,200-$2,300 support zone could lead to short-term gains. A breakout above key resistance levels could attract more buyers, potentially reversing the current downtrend.

Bear Verdict:
The dominance of bearish signals across moving averages and the MACD suggests that ethereum may continue its downward trajectory. Failure to hold above the $2,300 support level could lead to further declines, with $2,149 as the next key level to watch. The lack of strong buying pressure and weak volume recovery indicate that downside risk remains significant in the near term.

The Sahm Rule, a key recession indicator, continues to signal an elevated risk of an economic downturn in the United States, adding to bearish sentiment in crypto markets already grappling with negative on-chain trends.

According to a recent analysis by ETC Group (now a part of Bitwise), the Sahm Rule remains triggered, implying an imminent US recession. Created by former Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm, this indicator flags the onset of a recession when the three-month moving average unemployment rate rises 0.50 percentage points or more relative to its low during the previous 12 months.

The latest data reveals the Sahm recession indicator stood at 0.53 in July 2024, slightly up from the previous month. This sustained elevation above the required threshold suggests that recessionary pressures persist despite the resilience shown by the US economy so far.

The ongoing recession risk comes as crypto markets face their challenges. ETC Group’s analysis indicates that major Bitcoin on-chain metrics have continued negatively trending. Net selling volumes across Bitcoin spot exchanges totaled around -$606 million over the past week, though the selling pace has gradually declined throughout the start of September.

Additionally, Bitcoin whales transferred 9,477 BTC to exchanges on a net basis last week, contributing to increased selling pressure. As a result, Bitcoin exchange balances have risen over the past week.

The bearish on-chain data aligns with broader negative sentiment in crypto markets. ETC Group’s in-house “Cryptoasset Sentiment Index” continues to signal bearish sentiment, with only 4 out of 15 indicators above their short-term trend.

However, some analysts see the potential for a shift in market conditions. ETC Group suggests that the combination of macro and crypto sentiment capitulation in early August may have marked a significant tactical bottom for Bitcoin, potentially signaling the start of a renewed bull run. This view is based partly on expectations of looser monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, which could provide a favorable tailwind for cryptocurrencies in the coming months.

As the market navigates these conflicting signals, recessionary risks and bearish on-chain trends persist, and the potential for monetary policy shifts and oversold conditions could set the stage for a market reversal.

The price of JUP, the native token of Jupiter’s decentralized exchange, has been volatile since its launch earlier this year. What does the future hold for this coin?

Table of Contents

What is Jupiter and how does it work
Jupiter coin price prediction: short-term outlook
Is JUP token a good investment?
Jupiter Jupiter jup 1.3%

Jupiter reached a high of $2.04 shortly after its launch and a major airdrop on January 31, 2024. However, by February 21, the price had dropped to a low of $0.4557. The token then approached its previous high again in April, hitting $1.77. As of today, September 9, 2024, JUP is trading around $0.7, having decreased by approximately 18% over the past month. Right now, the token is ranked 62nd among cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, which is over $955 million.

What’s next for JUP? Could it ever surpass its previous price peak? Check out our Jupiter price prediction for 2024 and beyond.

What is Jupiter and how does it work
Jupiter is a decentralized exchange operating on the Solana blockchain Solana
sol
0.9%
Solana. Its goal is to act as a swap aggregator, facilitating decentralized cryptocurrency transactions for users. It operates through a network of smart contracts that manage essential functions such as linking wallets and processing crypto token trades.

The JUP token serves as the project’s governance token. What is the JUP crypto price prediction for the short and long term?

Jupiter coin price prediction: short-term outlook
According to CoinCodex’s Jupiter price prediction, the coin’s price is expected to increase by 226.77%, potentially reaching a new all-time high of $2.3 by October 9, 2024.

As of September 9, 2024, the overall sentiment for the Jupiter price forecast remains bearish, with only 6 technical analysis indicators showing bullish signals and 20 indicating bearish trends.

Jupiter price prediction 2024
Based on CoinCodex’s expectations for JUP, it is anticipated to trade between $ 0.7053 and $ 3.32 in 2024. If it hits the upper end of this range, the token could experience a rise of 368.65%.

According to DigitalCoinPrice, investors, exporters, and market experts believe that JUP will surpass its previous high of $2.04 this year. They predict it will then stabilize between $1.4 and $1.56.

Alchemy Pay has launched its crypto payment solutions on Telegram through The Open Network.

This addition will allow users of the popular messaging app to make crypto transactions without leaving the platform, making it easier for Telegram’s user base to engage with digital currencies.

The partnership, announced on Alchemy Pay’s X account, is part of the company’s broader mission to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the crypto world.

In other words, Alchemy Pay is simplifying how people send and receive crypto directly through the Telegram app, much like sending a regular message. This new feature streamlines digital currency usage by keeping everything within one platform.

Toncoin Toncoin
ton. 7.19%
Toncoin, the network’s native cryptocurrency, has surged by over 8% in the last 24 hours, outpacing Bitcoin Bitcoin
btc
2.45%Bitcoin.

Alchemy Pay and Telegram’s developments
It has been a busy summer for Alchemy Pay, which recently partnered with Mastercard to improve user verification and prevent identity fraud using advanced machine learning technology. This collaboration enabled Alchemy Pay to identify genuine users and reduce fraud in its payment gateway system.

Alchemy Pay also partnered with Paysafe to attract more crypto users across 130 countries, allowing them to buy crypto using over 40 fiat currencies.

TON, the blockchain originally developed by Telegram, has proven to be a strong foundation for this integration. TON has maintained a growing user base and demonstrated resilience in the competitive crypto market.

Telegram, and by association, TON, have been in the spotlight this summer. Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, was recently arrested on multiple charges and subsequently released under police authority in France.

The Indonesian crypto trading platform has seen a rapid increase in its numbers this year.

Crypto exchange Binance said its subsidiary Tokocrypto has secured a Physical Crypto Asset Trader (PFAK) license from Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti), according to a Sept. 9 statement shared with CryptoSlate.

This development positions Tokocrypto as the third exchange in Indonesia to receive the PFAK license. The country currently has 35 prospective crypto exchanges registered with Bappebti.

Tokocrypto’s growth
Over the past year, Tokocrypto has seen significant growth, with its user base surpassing 4.5 million and monthly trading volume increasing by 138%, signaling growing trust in its services.

Yudhono Rawis, Tokocrypto’s CEO, emphasized the license’s significance in achieving the company’s goal of becoming Indonesia’s leading crypto-asset trading platform. He stated:

“Over the past two years, Tokocrypto has continuously strengthened its commitment to maintaining high standards of regulatory compliance. We are proud of this achievement to become the third exchange to receive PFAK license in Indonesia, the market which has 35 prospective crypto exchanges registered with Bappebti.”

Binance, which fully acquired Tokocrypto in late 2022, had previously held a majority stake in the company.

Richard Teng, Binance’s CEO, praised Tokocrypto’s achievement, describing it as a testament to its dedication to regulatory compliance. He added that Binance remains committed to supporting Tokocrypto’s mission to promote Web3 growth in the region.

He said:

“Binance is committed to fully supporting Tokocrypto in its mission to drive the growth of the Web3 ecosystem in the region.”

Following the news, CoinMarketCap data showed that Tokocrypto’s native TKO token saw a 15% increase to $0.3342.

Binance compliance efforts
This milestone hopes to reinforce Binance’s commitment to regulatory compliance under Teng’s leadership. Over the past months, the exchange has secured licenses in various regions, including Kazakhstan and India.

However, Binance faces challenges in Nigeria, where authorities have detained its executive, Tigran Gambaryan, since February.

US lawmaker French Hill— who visited Gambaryan earlier this year— condemned his continued detention and highlighted concerns over his deteriorating health. He stated:

“This is outrageous. It’s clear Tigran’s condition is rapidly deteriorating – the Nigeran government must release him immediately.”

Data collected by crypto ETP provider CoinShares indicates that the crypto market witnessed the largest weekly outflows since March amid falling prices.

Crypto investment products faced outflows exceeding $725 million last week, matching the largest recorded outflow since March.

In a Sept. 9 research report, CoinShares head of research James Butterfill attributed this dynamic to stronger-than-expected macroeconomic data from the previous week, which increased speculation about a potential 25 basis point interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

“The markets are now awaiting Tuesday’s Consumer Price Index inflation report, with a 50bp cut more likely if inflation comes in below expectations.”

James Butterfill, CoinShares head of research

The data shows that outflows were mainly concentrated in the U.S., which saw a net withdrawal of $721 million, while Canada-based products witnessed outflows of $28 million. In contrast, European markets showed more positive sentiment, with Germany and Switzerland recording inflows of $16.3 million and $3.2 million, respectively.

Bitcoin stuck in fear zone

Bitcoin Bitcoin
btc
1.89%
Bitcoin saw the largest outflows at $643 million, while short-bitcoin had small inflows of $3.9 million. Ethereum Ethereum
eth
0.74%
Ethereum lost $98 million, mainly from the Grayscale Trust, as exchange-traded fund inflows slowed. Solana Solana
sol
-0.06%
Solana stood out with $6.2 million in inflows, the highest among digital assets.

Bitcoin also saw a sharp decline in exchange activity, with daily inflows dropping 68% from 68,470 BTC to 21,742 BTC, and outflows falling 65% from 65,847 BTC to 22,802 BTC. Data from Alternative shows that the Crypto Fear and Greed Index hit 26, its lowest point in over a month, signaling heightened investor anxiety and a more cautious market sentiment.

Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, has invested $100 million to buy a 9.8% stake in Adecoagro, a agro-tech firm in Latin America. This is Tether’s first move into the agriculture and food industry.

Tether usually invests in technology, including artificial intelligence, Bitcoin mining, and digital education. This new investment in Adecoagro marks a shift toward agriculture.

According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Tether used money from its own funds for this investment. The company now owns 10,048,249 shares of Adecoagro, which is almost 10% of the company’s total shares.

Adecoagro, which started in 2002, is a major milk producer in Argentina, processing 550,000 liters per day at its Buenos Aires plant. The company also works in sugar, ethanol, and energy in Brazil.

Alongside this investment, Tether is also planning to launch a new stablecoin linked to the United Arab Emirates dirham (AED) with partners Phoenix Group and Green Acorn Investments. This new stablecoin will be backed by reserves from the UAE.

With this new investment, Tether seems to be expanding its focus beyond digital assets and technology.

Here's a collection of some of the top crypto market updates from this week, encompassing BTC, Telegram, and Ripple's chronicles.

Highlights

Bitcoin and Altcoins turbulent ahead of FOMC, JOLTS data ignites concerns.
Telegram continues to attract legal eagles, prompting a policy change.
Ripple vs SEC lawsuit sees new development.

The crypto universe has closed another week, primarily stirring uncertain sentiments among market watchers. Bitcoin (BTC) and Altcoins witnessed turbulence ahead of the looming FOMC, while macroeconomic events further impacted investors’ sentiments. Telegram’s legal scrutiny saga saw new developments, while the Ripple XRP lawsuit continues to fuel speculations.

Crypto Market Faces Extreme Turbulence This Week
In an unprecedented turn of events, the U.S. stock market noted declines in tandem with the crypto market as this week kicked off, primarily due to rumors of Nvidia (NVDA) receiving a subpoena by the U.S. DoJ. However, the market saw some ease as the AI giant refuted claims of receiving a DoJ subpoena.

Nevertheless, U.S. JOLTS data sparked further volatility this week, coming in at 7.7 million, a 4.6% decrease from the market forecast of 8.1 million. Subsequently, market participants expect a Fed rate cut by 50 bps this month. However, broader impacts remain uncertain as September is probably the worst month for both stock and crypto markets.

Telegram Saga Continues
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s courtroom scrabble in France, the social messaging app continues to garner scrutiny. S. Korea started an investigation into Telegram over illicit activities this week, CoinGape reported. Simultaneously, the social messaging app recently issued a policy update on illegal content. These policy moderations have garnered significant attention as the firm continues to address legal concerns.

Ripple Lawsuit Advances
Furthermore, the XRP lawsuit witnessed Judge Analisa Torres and the U.S. SEC agreeing on Ripple’s stay order for a $125 million payment. XRP on-chain movements amid these developments added to speculations on the native crypto’s price ahead.

On the other hand, Ripple executive chairman Chris Larsen endorsed Democratic Kamala Harris this week, CoinGape reported. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse shared insights on the RLUSD stablecoin launch this week. Nevertheless, regulatory uncertainty continues to spark speculations within the XRP community.

Other news from across the globe includes Japan’s Metaplanet partnership with Ripple partner SBI. Moreover, the BoJ (Bank of Japan) recently hinted that it is looking to hike interest rates. The current crypto market anticipates further price action shifts in light of key market events.

Despite technological advancements, public engagement in the crypto industry seems to be waning amid the constant barrage of "game-changing" solutions.

As we approach the end of 2024, the emerging tech landscape bears little resemblance to that of 2019. In just five years, the whirlwind of innovation that swept through decentralized finance, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technologies has transformed our digital world at a dizzying pace. Yet, amid this rapid progress, I see a curious phenomenon emerging: innovation fatigue.

Due to the breathtaking advancements in tech over the past five years, from DeFi summer to ChatGPT, the world is entirely different in 2024 from the world we knew pre-COVID.

Once ablaze with enthusiasm, the crypto market now struggles to maintain momentum. Bitcoin, after briefly surpassing $70,000 earlier this year, has retreated to around $55,000. In parallel, NVIDIA, the poster child of the AI boom, has seen its stock price decline sharply. While global economic uncertainties and inflation concerns offer partial explanations, they fail to capture the complete picture.

I’m not convinced this growth stagnation is simply a commentary on economic global uncertainty due to high inflation. Inflation is coming down almost everywhere and is expected to continue to decline. Additionally, the Fed is about to cut interest rates this month. As a result, analysts are bullish on US GDP growth for 2025-2028, expecting the economy to rebound strongly as rate cuts take effect. This optimism is based on expectations of recovering labor force participation and solid productivity growth.

So, is high inflation really a good enough answer, or is it just an issue being parroted because it’s easier than looking beyond key talking points?

Perhaps the world is becoming oversaturated by ‘game-changing,’ ‘revolutionary,’ and ‘next-generation’ technology to the point where people just don’t care anymore.

Crypto is boring in 2024, except for Bitcoin
The crypto industry, in particular, is grappling with a paradox. Despite technological advancements, public engagement seems to be waning. The constant barrage of “revolutionary” Layer-1 blockchains, “game-changing” Layer-2 solutions, and “next-generation” AI models has created a cacophony of innovation that’s increasingly difficult for the average person to parse.

Personally, I find it almost impossible to get excited about the 1,000th new DeFi project or layer-2 press release that hits my inbox each day, trying desperately to convince me the project is revolutionary. Even when the tech is extremely cool, I ask myself, “Can this achieve the network effect necessary for it to be relevant?”

Most of the excitement in 2024 has been focused on spot ETFs in the US with the hope that the price will eventually follow what gold did 20 years ago. However, that’s precisely how long it took gold to take off after the first gold ETF was launched in the US. I’ve analyzed this in the past, and while I don’t think it will take Bitcoin as long to eclipse gold’s performance, it’s now clear that it’s not happening this cycle.

Outside of ETFs, I believe Bitcoin is still the most exciting aspect of the broader crypto industry in 2024. DeFi finally coming to Bitcoin, explorations of how it can be used to secure proof-of-stake chains, alternative assets like Ordinals, Runes, TAP, and BRC-20, and growing interest in how Bitcoin can be used as a replacement for kinetic warfare are some of the most underrated advancements of the year.

Bitcoin is a globally distributed timestamping and event-sequencing network that will genuinely change the world in ways few realize. Instead, the market appears to be more interested in memecoins on Solana and Base for some reason.

Perhaps the innovation on Bitcoin isn’t sexy enough right now, or it’s that there are no ‘massive gains’ to be made in a short space of time. Either way, the industry must be stagnating from boredom when pump and dump memecoins are what’s driving interest.

Moreover, the spectacular failures within the crypto space, such as the collapse of Terra Luna and FTX, have eroded trust and enthusiasm. These setbacks, coupled with high-profile security breaches like the Wormhole hack, have made many wary of embracing the next big thing in blockchain technology.

AI is like a cheat code making the game of life less interesting
This sentiment extends beyond crypto. As reported by McKinsey, while generative AI saw a staggering 700% increase in Google searches from 2022 to 2023, overall technology equity investments fell by 30-40% to approximately $570 billion last year. This dichotomy suggests that while interest in cutting-edge tech remains high, there’s growing hesitation to commit resources amid the relentless pace of change.

The psychological impact of this innovation overload is profound. Sentiment analysis since 2019 reveals a growing ambivalence towards technological breakthroughs. The once-exciting promise of each new development is increasingly met with a shrug as if to say, “What’s next?”

This apathy may stem from a sense that current AI models are already so advanced that further improvements seem incremental rather than revolutionary. Are we now looking to the future and saying to ourselves, “AI will be able to do all of that soon, so I don’t really care about anything until models reach AGI and can act as my digital servants to do whatever I ask of them 24/7”? The public imagination may be leaping ahead to the possibility of AGI, making intermediate advancements feel less significant by comparison.

The UK government’s 2024 survey on public attitudes towards AI offers further insight. While there is recognition of AI’s potential benefits, there is also widespread concern about job displacement and the erosion of human skills. This anxiety about the future may contribute to a reluctance to engage fully with emerging technologies.

What happens next? A boring life?
As we navigate this period of innovation fatigue, it’s important to recognize that progress often occurs in cycles. Periods of rapid advancement are typically followed by consolidation and reflection. Rather than viewing this as a negative trend, it may represent a necessary pause – a chance for society to catch up with the technological leaps of recent years.

This moment presents an opportunity for the emerging tech industry to refocus on practical applications and tangible benefits rather than chasing the next headline-grabbing breakthrough. It’s a time to build trust, address ethical concerns, and demonstrate how these innovations can meaningfully improve lives.

The challenge now is not just to innovate but to innovate responsibly, with a keen eye on societal impact and long-term sustainability. Only by doing so can we reignite the public’s imagination and enthusiasm for technology’s transformative potential.

The next Bitcoin all-time high, therefore, may not be reliant on short-term holders, nation-state adoption, banks holding Bitcoin or regulatory change but, in fact, in allowing the world to finally settle into this ‘new normal’ post-2020, where AI and blockchain are already changing so much of what we once knew.

For instance, when extrapolating to what is possible even with the current AI models, it feels like we’re playing a computer game with cheats turned on—something that is fun for a while but eventually gets boring due to the lack of challenge and future progress.

We need to accept this isn’t ‘cheat mode’. This is the world in which we now reside.

We have to accept it and embrace it so we can once again get excited about new things. However, there’s also the risk that continued improvements in AI will mean we never again get a chance to stand still and reflect, and we just have to deal with feeling ill at ease with how things are.

Telegram's crypto adoption story via TON may be its lasting mark in 2024 despite recent news leaving many with a negative impression, says Daniel Cawrey, a former CoinDesk journalist who is now chief strategy officer of Tonkeeper, a non-custody wallet app for The Open Network (TON) ecosystem.

Telegram’s long-standing ethos of openness and free speech, hence the paper plane as its logo, has landed the messaging platform and CEO Pavel Durov in legal trouble. Yet, it’s important to remember that the global digital freedom Telegram enables has now also boosted real crypto adoption.

Blink if you’ve missed it, but Web3 – the idea that users can have digital ownership powered by cryptography, blockchain and digital assets – is happening on Telegram, and in a major way. Web3 is now available on anyone’s smartphone. It’s a hugely positive development somewhat ignored by all the recent, mostly negative, news surrounding Telegram.

Crypto payments come alive
Telegram's use as an avenue for crypto adoption can be attributed to the rise of The Open Network (TON) blockchain. With over 950 million users, Telegram is one of the world’s most popular messaging apps and digital communities. TON's blockchain was brought back to life by its community after it had to contend with SEC enforcement back in 2020 - and it is now flourishing.
How is this happening? Telegram, a separate company from the protocol-level work being done by The Open Network Foundation, began to integrate TON’s blockchain into its app. The availability of Toncoin payments for in-app advertising and stablecoin integration first occurred back in April 2024.

The number of transactions on TON’s blockchain over the past six months. Source: TON Stat
Usage of TON’s blockchain, based on the number of transactions, has grown since these crypto-friendly features were added to Telegram. According to data aggregator TON Stat, since payments and stablecoins became available in April 2024, TON on-chain transactions have been above 3.5 million per day, on average.
Unpacking Web3
With Web3 technologies, cumbersome middlemen like banks have less of a constricting stranglehold on financial access, empowering anyone with a smartphone. This is what makes Web3 a powerful concept - it can enable many who might be financially underserved to have a seat at the table.

Telegram "mini-apps" – third-party software within the app itself - is a big driver of TON’s transaction activity. Users are interacting, competing and earning rewards for regular engagement in many mini-app games. This has been a significant driver of economic activity on TON. For example, a play-to-earn game called Lost Dogs contributed to the spike of over 13.5 million transactions (shown in the chart above) that occurred at the end of August.

This isn’t classic crypto airdrop hunters or mercenary capital participating. It’s mostly ordinary users accessing games because they want to – because they’re fun. Admittedly, games like Lost Dogs may not be revolutionary. But the engagement some of these are games experiencing, in the millions, is primary proof Web3 has arrived – and Telegram is a conduit.
TON is capable of higher throughput than most blockchains thanks to a unique design that uses “workchains” to process a high number of transactions. But during the Lost Dogs airdrop of its DOGS token, validators on TON using older hardware struggled to keep up, leading to two outages. This has provided insight into the load (and revamped validator rules for TON) required to onboard large quantities of consumers backed by a consensus blockchain system.

Mass adoption is not without its own set of problems for scaling crypto, and those who have been working in the industry for some time have long been aware of this. Technically scaling crypto to millions upon millions of users has largely been stymied for user growth – until Telegram and TON.
Telegram natives to crypto natives
Games like Lost Dogs, Hamster Kombat and the Elon Musk-themed X Empire within the Telegram ecosystem are onboarding millions to crypto. Many users don’t realize it or even care. Getting people’s attention via gaming isn’t revolutionary. But Telegram games are a source for mass adoption without having to onboard heavy crypto concepts at the start. Most of the world simply does not care a lick about brain-fuzzy intricacies like private keys, paying for gas and staking.

And that's fine, because mini-app users predominantly aren’t crypto natives - rather, they’re Telegram natives. These users talk to their friends on Telegram, stay updated with topics they like via groups and they play mini-app games on their phone. Then, the rewards stage "airdrop" arrives for these popular games and users are distributed what they have earned. DOGS, for example, now has a tail-wagging market capitalization of over $500 million according to CoinGecko.

The approval of the bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs could represent a similar change in market to what central banks caused in gold markets post-2022 – a new factor that, at least temporarily, overwhelms traditional narratives, including the “store of value” concept.

In today’s issue, Ilan Solot from Marex Solutions examines gold and bitcoin’s role as stores of value assets and how this role changes over time.
Then, DJ Windle from Windle Wealth explains how bitcoin and gold are both stores of value and the differences between each asset in Ask an Expert.

The Weakening Store of Value Argument for Gold and Bitcoin
Summary: The approval of the bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs could represent a similar change in market to what central banks caused in gold markets post-2022 – a new factor that, at least temporarily, overwhelms traditional narratives, including the “store of value” concept.

The August market sell-off frustrated proponents of bitcoin’s store-of-value properties. After all, crypto was down badly while gold rallied during the week. To add insult to injury, bitcoin underperformed when markets bounced back.
However, despite the price appreciation, gold might also be losing some of its store-of-value properties. Price and narrative decoupled around 2022. Traditional investors continued following the decade-long pattern of selling gold as real yields and inflation expectations rose ahead of central bank tightening. The problem is that this time, gold went the other way.

Why has the gold price not responded to its store of value macro drivers? A change in market structure: Asian central banks dramatically increased their gold purchases around the time of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the seizing of its FX reserves. We might even say that these governments are following their own competing narrative.
Russian, Indian and Chinese policymakers couldn’t care less about gold as a “store of value” from the perspective of a Western investor. Fed policy, inflation expectations and libertarian principles will likely never influence the cycle of accumulation – and eventual use – of their gold reserves.

Over time, the approval of crypto ETFs in the U.S. could represent a similar disruption in market structure as the one seen in gold. It could shift the narratives around BTC (store of value) and ETH (crypto tech play) closer to a traditional investment asset. In other words, ETF investors may be following different narratives and demand functions (say, portfolio rebalancing or disposable income) to crypto native investors, the same way as Asian central banks buy gold for different reasons than traditional investors.
Indeed, the recent ETF and bitcoin price data seem to support this conclusion. ETFs continued to attract inflows despite the wild price fluctuations and shift in narratives around bitcoin over the last few months. Please note that this is a very short timeframe, so any extrapolation should be taken with a grain of salt. But so far, it seems directionally right. In fact, the impact of Grayscale outflows in BTC and ETH gives us a glimpse of how cycle-agnostic ETF flows can impact price.

Does this mean that gold and bitcoin are no longer stores of value assets? Not necessarily. Narratives can coexist, shift, weaken and take turns leading prices. However, the presence of new, large and different investor sets in both these markets is likely to dilute original narratives and change how prices react to macro events.

Ask an Expert
Q. What is a store of value?
A. A store of value is an asset that can be saved, retrieved, and exchanged in the future without significantly losing its purchasing power. Assets like gold, real estate, or stable currencies have traditionally served this purpose because they tend to retain value over time and during market downturns. This does not necessarily mean they cannot be volatile in the short term. The core idea is to provide security against inflation, currency devaluation and economic instability over time, allowing investors to preserve wealth across generations.

Q. How is bitcoin similar to gold?
A. Bitcoin and gold share several characteristics that make them appealing as stores of value. Both are finite in supply—gold by its natural scarcity and bitcoin by its capped supply of 21 million coins. Neither is controlled by any central government, which makes them attractive alternatives to traditional fiat currencies. Both bitcoin and gold, however, have different types of security risks that need to be addressed when investing in them. In times of economic uncertainty or inflation, investors often flock to these assets to preserve value, viewing them as a hedge against market volatility and loss of purchasing power.

Q. How is bitcoin different from gold?
A. Bitcoin brings new attributes to the table that gold lacks. As a digital asset, bitcoin can be transferred globally in minutes, unlike gold, which is cumbersome and costly to move. Bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology ensures transparency, allowing for verifiable ownership and transactions. Additionally, Bitcoin is programmable, meaning it can be integrated into digital applications like smart contracts and DeFi platforms, making it highly versatile in the modern financial ecosystem. These qualities make bitcoin an innovative option beyond traditional uses of gold.

Coinbase’s chief financial officer, Alesia Haas, said on Wednesday that U.S. vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is using the firm’s Commerce platform to accept crypto donations.

After this article was published, a Coinbase spokesperson told Fortune that “Coinbase can confirm that Future Forward has onboarded with Coinbase Commerce.” Future Forward identifies itself as Harris’s official super PAC.

Haas made the claim in a conversation with Citigroup’s director of payments, Peter Christiansen, at Citi’s 2024 Global TMT Conference in New York, a recording of which Fortune has reviewed.

The claim follows a report by The Block that Coinbase was in conversation with the Harris campaign. Harris’s campaign has not yet replied a request for comment.

Under President Joe Biden, the Democratic Party has for the most part been less supportive of crypto than Republicans. But that recent lobbying efforts could be on the verge of changing that.

“She is accepting crypto donations. She’s using Coinbase Commerce now to accept crypto for her own campaign,” Haas said, referring to the company’s platform of merchants it has operated since 2018.

Advocacy group Crypto4Harris says they aren’t aware of Harris accepting crypto, and Harris’ official fundraising site doesn’t currently show the integration. In June a super PAC, Future Forward announced it had raised $50 million to support Harris. We’ve reached out to Coinbase base to reconfirm Haas’s claim and await response.

Shifting tones?
If true, the development would follow on what Haas says is “elevated policy spend” by Coinbase going into what she says is a rare opportunity. “We’re in a unique precipice where we might get regulatory clarity in the US.”

In June, Coinbase made it’s first contribution to Fairshake, a political actions committee set up support candidates that support crypto. Throughout the second quarter of this year Haas says “incremental” contributions were made to the PAC, “furthering support of just general policy efforts into Q3.

As of June the super PAC reportedly won 32 of the 34 elections it was involved in. “We are seeing those dollars have impact in those elections,” Haas says.

“She has a huge opportunity. We’re cautiously optimistic,” Haas added. “She has not rolled out the details yet, but she has made overtures that she would like to drive crypto legislation.”

Meanwhile, Coinbase CEO Brain Armstrong has reportedly said that the company has donated directly to neither Presidential campaign.

Ripple has requested a stay on the monetary portion of a recent judgment requiring the company to pay $125 million to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

This request was made in a Sept. 4 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

According to the filing, Ripple’s legal team stated that the SEC agreed to delay the payment beyond Sept. 6. Under the agreement, Ripple proposed depositing 111% of the judgment amount—about $139 million—into a bank account. This sum will remain there until 30 days after the appeal period expires or until the resolution of any appeal.

The filing also noted that post-judgment interest would accrue in favor of the SEC during this time. Ripple will maintain beneficial ownership of the funds without control, including any interest accumulating from the deposit.

The legal teams emphasized that this agreement protects both parties’ interests. It ensures the SEC will have access to the funds if necessary while allowing Ripple to avoid the costs and inconvenience of posting a bond for the full judgment amount.

Appeal speculation
Some experts believe this filing signals a potential appeal from the SEC. Pro-XRP lawyer Fred Rispoli commented that the odds of an appeal have increased given the case’s complexity.

He stated:

“This is not a guarantee that there will be an appeal, but putting that kind of money in a trust is not something that is done unless SEC is being evasive to Ripple lawyers as to whether it intends on appealing. Again, still possible that no appeal happens but odds have increased.”

Rispoli reassured the XRP community that a potential SEC appeal wouldn’t significantly affect the token, adding that a ruling wouldn’t occur until 2026. He further noted that the SEC’s recent lawsuits against exchanges and its classification of multiple tokens as securities have lessened the potential impact on XRP.

A spokesperson for Coinbase said the Future Forward PAC, which is dedicated to supporting Kamala Harris, is accepting crypto donations, rather than her campaign directly.

A Coinbase (COIN) executive appears to have misspoken – or been imprecise – when she said Vice President Kamala Harris is accepting crypto donations.
Harris "is accepting donations," Coinbase Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas said at a Citigroup event Wednesday. Fortune first reported that news. "She's using Coinbase Commerce now to accept crypto for her campaign."

But, according to a Coinbase spokesperson, Haas was referring to the Future Forward USA PAC, not her campaign. "Coinbase can confirm that the Future Forward PAC has onboarded with Coinbase Commerce to accept crypto donations," the spokesperson told CoinDesk.

While the Harris campaign isn't taking crypto contributions directly, Future Forward USA, is a major source of support for Harris, and the development is, at minimum, possibly a signal that Democrats are warming to cryptocurrencies. Harris' opponent in the presidential election, Donald Trump, has courted – and won – support from crypto fans and companies. The presidential administration in which Harris serves has been strongly criticized by the industry for what's viewed as an anti-crypto stance.
Future Forward is a hybrid PAC, first used for President Joe Biden, that can contribute directly to the campaign or pay for independent advertising that's not coordinated with Harris' camp.

Harris' campaign website does not currently offer ways to donate in crypto, and advocacy group Crypto4Harris told Fortune that it was not aware of the development.

A representative for the Harris campaign didn't immediately comment when contacted by CoinDesk.

Mastercard partners with Mercuryo to launch a euro-denominated crypto debit card, enabling users to spend crypto from self-custodial wallets at over 100 million merchants.

Global payment giant Mastercard is expanding its support for non-custodial cryptocurrency wallets in a new collaboration that enables users to spend crypto while “being their own bank.”

After piloting a crypto debit card with the major self-custodial wallet MetaMask in August, Mastercard continues to connect traditional finance and crypto in a new partnership with the European crypto payments infrastructure Mercuryo.

In the collaboration, Mastercard has enabled a new euro-denominated debit card that allows users to spend cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin
BTC

tickers down
$56,775

stored on self-custodial wallets at more than 100 million merchants in the Mastercard network.

Mastercard takes the mission to drive crypto self-custody adoption
Self-custody is one of the core concepts of cryptocurrency, providing a method of storing assets without depending on any centralized platform, such as a bank or an exchange.

Unlike custodial wallets, self-custodial wallets require the user to take full responsibility for securing their funds by being the sole custodian of the private key that allows one to access the wallet.

According to Christian Rau, senior vice president of Mastercard’s crypto and fintech enablement, the firm’s collaboration with Mercuryo builds on its growing commitment to support self-custodial wallets.

“At Mastercard, we are working closely with partners to innovate and enhance the self-custody wallet experience,” Rau told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Through our collaboration with Mercuryo, we’re eliminating the traditional barriers between blockchain and conventional payments, providing consumers who want to spend their digital assets with an easy, reliable, and secure way to do so, anywhere Mastercard is accepted.”
Why does Mastercard want to support non-custodial wallets?
Founded in 1966, Mastercard operates an international payment card services corporation headquartered in the United States. It provides various financial services in more than 210 countries and territories.

As payments are considered one of the key use cases for crypto, Mastercard’s entrance into the crypto market was somewhat natural. The payment giant officially announced support of crypto on its network in February 2021, citing the growing role of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins in the payments world.

Since entering crypto more than three years ago, Mastercard has tapped multiple partners in the industry, including the USDC
USDC

tickers down
$1.00

stablecoin provider Circle, the major US crypto exchange Coinbase and many others.

According to Mastercard’s blockchain and digital asset lead Raj Dhamodharan, the company’s recently announced commitment to support self-custody aims to address the complexities associated with buying and selling crypto using a centralized exchange. He believes that many crypto hodlers “try to avoid” exchanges in the first place.

“The complexities of this process have been an obstacle for both buyers and sellers as it limits both choice and the purchasing power of stored crypto,” Dhamodharan stated in August 2024.

Mastercard’s growing services in crypto and self-custody don’t come for free. For example, the new Mastercard-branded Spend card by Mercuryo incurs the 1.6 euro ($1.8) issuance fee and the 1 euro ($1.1) monthly maintenance fee, in addition to the off-ramp 0.95% fee levied by Mercuryo.

approached Mastercard for comment regarding its growing role in the adoption of self-custody but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Dogwifhat’s open interest spiked as its price had been trading below $1.90 since Aug. 25, while a trader pointed out a potential reversal pattern was forming.

Futures traders are ramping up their positions in Solana-based memecoin Dogwifhat, and analysts have spotted a potential reversal pattern as it trades 66% below its March all-time high.

Since Aug. 31, Dogwifhat open interest (OI) — the total number of Dogwifhat futures contracts that have yet to be settled or expire — has increased 16% to $231.48 million, according to CoinGlass data.

Trader claims market participants not ready for WIF reversal
Meanwhile, the Dogwifhat (WIF) price has dropped 17% since Aug. 25 to $1.57 at the time of writing, remaining below $1.90 for a 10-day period, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Some traders believe the price is due for a rebound back up to $2.40, a level it hasn’t reached since July 30, due to the stagnant price.

“Perfect channel retest on $WIF,” pseudonymous crypto analyst Bluntz wrote in a Sept. 3 X post.

“Nobody is ready for the V reversal that’s about to happen,” Bluntz added.

Since Sept. 4, WIF has recorded a total trading volume of $327.6 million, approximately double that of Shiba Inu
SHIB tickers down $0.000013

— the second-largest memecoin by market capitalization — which saw $160.5 million over the same 24-hour period.

Meanwhile, pseudonymous crypto trader zer0 opined on Sept. 4 that WIF “looks ready for its next leg up.”

“Is the hat still on?” zer0 added.

WIF kicked off the year strong but lost momentum
The asset is down almost 66% from its all-time high of $4.70, which it reached on March 31. Around that time, analysts made bullish calls that the asset may even double in price.

Around the time WIF hit price highs in March, a crowdfunding campaign was set up to have a Dogwifhat mascot appear on the Las Vegas sphere. Nearly $700,000 was raised, but it has not happened yet, although the organizers remain confident it will still go ahead.

On March 14, Arthur Hayes, the former CEO of BitMEX and current chief investment officer at Maelstrom, said, “The hat stays on while I count to $10.”

However, while the year started off promising, altcoins haven’t yet rallied as expected.

A crypto analyst recently argued that the altcoin season won’t unfold as anticipated because new crypto traders rushed to buy the most speculative assets too soon.

“The joke has been told, everybody knows the punchline, and they’ve just gone straight to the punchline, and it is just not funny anymore,” Glassnode lead analyst James Check opined in an Aug. 29 episode of the Rough Consensus podcast.

The California Department of Justice declared a $3.9 million settlement with the company over Robinhood’s refusal to permit cryptocurrency withdrawals between 2018 and 2022, resolved by this settlement.

It also highlighted the company’s opaque order processing and trade management practices. The settlement addresses Robinhood’s inability to provide customers with cryptocurrency, forcing them to sell their assets to the platform. Additionally, it charges Robinhood with deceiving clients by making false claims about better pricing cryptocurrency storage and trade execution.

This is the state’s first significant public enforcement action against a cryptocurrency company, taken by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The settlement mandates that Robinhood abide by legal requirements and permit users to withdraw their cryptocurrency holdings to external wallets. The trading app must guarantee that the information it provides customers about its trading practices is accurate, especially about order routing and pricing for cryptocurrency transactions.

Robinhood has previously encountered comparable regulatory challenges. The company was fined $65 million by the SEC in 2020 for failing to execute orders at the best prices and misleading customers about its revenue sources.

SEC had earlier accused the firm of frequently preventing customers from obtaining the best trade prices by selling market makers’ customer orders at exorbitant prices. The financial watchdog warned Robinhood in a Wells Notice earlier this year about potential violations of securities laws in the company’s cryptocurrency operations.

Vlad Tenev, the CEO of Robinhood, denounced the agency’s actions and said they were part of a larger “regulatory onslaught” against the cryptocurrency sector.
He contended that these actions hurt US businesses and investors and stifle innovation.