Headlines
▌Vitalik Buterin proposed the "glue and coprocessor" computing model to improve efficiency and security
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, proposed a new computing model called "glue and coprocessor architecture", which aims to significantly improve technical efficiency and security. He detailed the architecture's advantages in a Sept. 2 blog post, dividing computing tasks into two categories: flexible, general-purpose "glue" components and efficient, specialized "coprocessors."
Vitalik noted that this separation enables routine operations to be processed in an adaptive environment, while intensive tasks are completed by specialized hardware, thereby optimizing overall performance. He specifically mentioned that the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and artificial intelligence (AI) fields can benefit from this, for example, by improving Ethereum's efficiency by processing structured operations through dedicated modules, and by processing complex AI models on GPUs or ASICs through optimized code.
In addition, Vitalik believes that the architecture has broad application prospects in cryptography and open source hardware (such as RISC-V chips), which can improve security and lower entry barriers. His proposal is expected to promote technological innovation, bring more efficient and secure solutions to the computing field, and lower the entry barriers for small technology companies.
▌Ethena Labs announced that the second quarter ENA airdrop will be open for claiming on September 30
Ethena Labs announced that the second season airdrop event will end on September 2. 5% of the total supply of ENA will be distributed as rewards for the second season, and points for the third season airdrop event will automatically begin to accumulate on September 2.
After the second season airdrop event ends, users will be able to visit the designated website on September 9 to view the amount of ENA they will receive, and users can claim their ENA on September 30.
The third season of airdrops will last for 6 months, until March 23, 2025.
Quotes
As of press time, according to Coingecko data:
BTC’s latest transaction price is $59,125.50, with a daily change of +3.2%;
The latest transaction price of ETH is 2,537.34 yuan, with a daily increase or decrease of +4.5%;
BNB's latest transaction price is $526.23, with a daily change of +2.6%;
SOL's latest trading price is $134.90, with a daily change of +4.6%;
DOGE’s latest trading price is $0.099, with a daily change of +3.9%;
XPR recently traded at $0.5671, with a daily change of +3.4%.
policy
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Criticizes SEC's Ambiguous Position on FTX Plan, Says Investors Deserve "Better Results"
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal expressed concern that the U.S. SEC has not clarified FTX’s plans to repay creditors with stablecoins or other cryptocurrencies. Grewal’s comments came in response to a filing on Friday in which the SEC reserved its right to approve FTX Trading Ltd.’s joint bankruptcy protection plan in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
Grewal said on social media platform X on Sunday: The SEC did not directly state that this behavior was illegal. He referred to the wording used by the securities regulator in a court document, in which the SEC wrote: The SEC did not express an opinion on this behavior. Under federal securities laws, the SEC does not express an opinion on the legality of the transactions outlined in the plan and reserves the right to question transactions involving crypto assets.
▌Van Loon plaintiffs sue the U.S. Treasury Department over sanctions on Tornado Cash
Van Loon plaintiffs filed an appeal in the Fifth Circuit on September 2, challenging the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to add Tornado Cash to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. The plaintiffs argue that the Treasury Department’s imposition of sanctions on this open source project without clear guidelines could threaten programmers’ First Amendment rights.
Van Loon and his team sued the Treasury Department in September 2023, accusing it of overstepping its authority. Tornado Cash was sanctioned over allegations of involvement in money laundering, with the government claiming that the platform was involved in more than $7 billion in illicit funds since 2019. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) supported the lawsuit, fearing that government sanctions would have a chilling effect on open source software development.
The local court had previously dismissed the lawsuit, arguing that the sanctions were limited to transactions involving Tornado Cash smart contracts and would not affect the development and discussion of open source code. However, EFF and other digital rights advocates remain concerned about the broad impact of the case and emphasize the importance of protecting programmers' rights.
Blockchain Applications
▌Bluesky users surge by 1 million, becoming a popular choice after Brazil banned X
Decentralized social platform Bluesky saw a surge of 1 million users after Brazil banned X, attracting a large number of new users in just three days. The platform faced technical challenges as its traffic surged 15 times over the weekend.
Co-founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Bluesky functions similarly to X, allowing users to post text updates, share photos and retweet content. Its registration was fully opened in February this year.
Brazil’s Supreme Court upheld a ban on X for failing to comply with a judicial order to remove illegal content and to appoint legal representatives in Brazil. The decision shuts down X’s operations in the world’s sixth-largest market.
The court also imposed a fine of 50,000 Brazilian reais per day on users who try to circumvent the ban and could face criminal charges.
While X faces legal and financial woes, Bluesky is quickly adapting to new users, starting to publish content in Portuguese and offering localized tutorials. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has directed his followers to alternative platforms, including Bluesky.
▌Itheum introduces innovative anti-fraud mechanism to enhance NFT market trust
The rapid growth of the NFT market has been accompanied by an increase in fraudulent activities, affecting investor trust. To address this challenge, data ownership protocol Itheum Protocol has launched the “Liveliness Mechanism”, which aims to protect the NFT market by increasing transparency and trust.
The Liveliness mechanism requires data NFT creators to bind a certain number of ITHEUM tokens to obtain a score. The higher the score, the more credible the creator. This rating system serves as a dynamic indicator in the NFT market to help buyers evaluate the reliability of NFTs. Creators must lock tokens for at least three months, and the Liveliness score will gradually decrease over time, but will not reduce the original pledged ITHEUM tokens.
In addition, Itheum has launched the NFMe ID Vault data NFT and BiTz XP system to further encourage users to actively participate and contribute, thereby promoting the healthy development of the NFT market. These innovative mechanisms are designed to reduce fraud and enhance market transparency and user trust.
Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin miners’ revenue fell to 12-month low in August
Bitcoin miners’ revenue fell to a 12-month low in August 2024, largely due to the impact of the April halving event. According to data from Bitcoin monitoring platform Bitbo, mining revenue in August was approximately US$827 million, lower than any month since September 2023 and well below the peak of nearly US$2 billion in March 2024.
The halving event, which occurs every four years, cuts the Bitcoin reward per block in half. April’s halving reduced the reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. Since the halving, the number of Bitcoin mined each month has steadily declined, from a high of 347,000 BTC in May 2011 to less than 14,000 BTC in August.
JPMorgan’s report noted that the fourth Bitcoin halving event resulted in a reduction in daily mining output and revenue opportunities, affecting miners’ profit margins and profitability. The five listed Bitcoin miners followed by JPMorgan saw a 28% drop in mining volume in the second quarter.
In response to falling revenue, bitcoin miners are adjusting their business models, with some companies such as Core Scientific, Hive Digital Technologies and Hut 8 investing in artificial intelligence applications, while others such as Bitdeer Technologies Group are improving mining efficiency. Bitdeer reported that its gross profit in the second quarter of 2024 increased by about 50% year-on-year.
▌Galaxy Digital: BTC may fluctuate in a range until November due to the impact of the US presidential election
Alex Thorn, head of research at crypto asset manager Galaxy Digital, said that in addition to the early declines, another reason why August was so difficult was the excess supply of Bitcoin, although these supply excesses have now allegedly largely subsided or been resolved. "Most of the Bitcoin retained by the U.S. government was seized from thefts and will likely be returned rather than sold, with the German government having already completed its sale, and we believe the Bitcoin estate from Mt. Gox has been largely distributed, as well as all bankrupt companies returning available tokens to creditors, the outlook for Bitcoin is bright from a supply perspective. The estate distribution of the defunct exchange FTX could be a positive catalyst, and we expect that repayment to initiate within the next six months."
Thorn added that “the distribution will provide a significant amount of cash to a creditor group of known crypto investors who may consider reinvesting in the industry." According to Thorn, Bitcoin could remain range-bound until November as the U.S. presidential election weighs heavily on investors. He said a Trump win could be a positive catalyst, while any negative impact from a Harris win could be minimal. "I expect volatility in the market until we know more about rate cut expectations and the election."
▌BNB Chain DEX trading volume dropped 24% in the past week
BNB Chain’s native token, BNB, fell 16.1% between August 23 and September 2, from $598.80 to $502.10. The price has now recovered to $517, but investors are concerned about its future performance, especially as the token has failed to stay above $610 since mid-June.
Activity on BNB Chain has decreased significantly, with decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume in particular plummeting 24% over the past week. In comparison, Ethereum’s activity fell by just 4%. The data also shows that the number of active addresses on BNB Chain dropped by 18%, and the number of active users of the top five DApps also decreased significantly.
Although some market participants believe that BNB may rise due to the anticipation of CZ's release, the fundamental support for such a rise is still insufficient considering the weak activity of BNB Chain. Overall, the challenges faced by BNB include reduced transaction volume and a decline in smart contract deposits.
▌Analysis: Bitcoin is expected to rise to $110,000, but may fall below $40,000 first
According to analysis by crypto analysts Titan of Crypto and Elja Boom, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) is expected to reach $110,000 by 2025. Titan of Crypto pointed out that Bitcoin is forming a "cup and handle" pattern, which is a bullish chart pattern that suggests that prices may rise in the future. Elja Boom mentioned that once BTC's "inverse head and shoulders" pattern is broken, it will push the price above $100,000. He expects this high to occur in the fourth quarter of 2024 and may reach $100,000 in the first quarter of 2025.
However, not all analysts are so optimistic. Analyst Magoo PhD warned that Bitcoin may first pull back to below $40,000 before a potential rise in 2025. In addition, analyst Moustace believes that even if a pullback occurs, the market bottom will be around $57,000.
According to data from CoinGlass, Bitcoin currently has significant support at $57,000, and a fall below this level could lead to the liquidation of more than $860 million in leveraged short positions.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Bitcoin’s price trajectory, the market generally expects the price to break six figures within the next few years.
▌Santiment: Bitcoin shows signs of recovery
Santiment, a crypto market analysis agency, posted on social media X that "Bitcoin showed signs of recovery as the S&P 500 paused due to Labor Day in the United States. Signs of growth in cryptocurrencies that are not dependent on stocks indicate that the crypto industry is strong. Coupled with the growing bearish sentiment and FUD sentiment among traders, there are signs that a rebound is coming."
▌Analysis: SOL price fell below 200-day moving average, and may face the $100 mark in September
The price of Solana (SOL) has continued to weaken recently, with a weekly drop of 19.14% at the end of August, the second largest drop since 2024. Data shows that SOL has closed below the 200-day moving average for many consecutive days, the first time since September 2023. Technical analysis shows that SOL is facing a test at the key support level of $127. Since April 2024, SOL has briefly fallen below $120 six times, but each time it has closed above $127. However, this decline has lost the support of the 200-day moving average. If it falls below $127, the next target price may be $110.
In the derivatives market, open interest rose by 20%, and the funding rate was negative for a week, reaching -0.001, the lowest since 2024, further confirming the bearish sentiment in the market. In terms of on-chain activities, the DEX trading volume of the Solana ecosystem fell to $7.7 billion last week, a 6-month low. Independent trader Bluntz_Capital pointed out that the SOL/BTC weekly chart performed poorly and may have peaked. If the market continues to be bearish in September, SOL may retest the $98-104 demand range. In the worst case, SOL may fall below the $100 mark.
▌SushiSwap launches Dojo, a Meme coin issuance function
SushiSwap announced a partnership with Goat Trading to launch a new feature for memecoin issuance, Dojo. SushiSwap said that with Dojo, tokens will only exist on Sushi V3 and will not move elsewhere. They will not be sold off after launch like other platforms, and all liquidity will be destroyed, so there will be no scams.
▌Analysis: Bitcoin may return to the low $50,000 area in the next few weeks
Rob Ginsberg, chart analyst at Wolfe Research, said: "The situation in the entire cryptocurrency space is not optimistic at the moment. Bitcoin remains trapped in a downward channel and the price is gradually falling from the highs in March. Although a short-term breakout would be very bullish, we still respect this general trend. Bitcoin may return to the bottom of the range, the low $50,000 area in the coming weeks. Since the top in March, the trend of Bitcoin has been deteriorating, with a series of lower lows and lower lows. Unless this trend changes, whether it is a breakout or a more gradual reversal, we will continue to remain bearish on the price of Bitcoin in the short to medium term."
Important economic developments
▌The probability of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 25 basis points in September is 69%
According to CME's "Fed Watch": The probability of the Fed cutting interest rates by 25 basis points in September is 69%, and the probability of cutting interest rates by 50 basis points is 31%. The probability of the Fed cutting interest rates by 50 basis points by November is 50%, the probability of cutting interest rates by 75 basis points is 41.5%, and the probability of cutting interest rates by 100 basis points is 8.5%.
Golden Encyclopedia
What is an inverse futures contract?
An inverse futures contract is a financial arrangement that requires the seller to pay the buyer the difference between the agreed price and the current price when the contract expires. Unlike traditional futures, the seller benefits from a drop in price. The nature of inverse futures contracts is non-linear. When a trader goes long a BTC/USD inverse futures contract, they are short the U.S. dollar. Because the contracts are inverse, the trader's position is worth less in Bitcoin, and the higher the value of Bitcoin, the higher its value relative to the U.S. dollar.
Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and is not intended as actual investment advice. Please establish a correct investment philosophy and be sure to raise your risk awareness.
