Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance, covering the week's key news, market and contract data, mining information, project dynamics, technological progress and other industry dynamics. This article is a project weekly, taking you to see the progress of this week's mainstream projects and star projects.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin's market cap is now larger than Mastercard and Visa combined
According to data disclosed by Cointelegraph on the X platform, the current market value of Bitcoin is 1.325 trillion US dollars, which has exceeded the current market value of Mastercard and Visa combined. In addition, according to 8marketcap data, the market value of Bitcoin currently ranks 11th in the global asset ranking.
Matrixport: Bitcoin's target of $70,000 by the end of the year may be too conservative
Matrixport released a report saying that in early February 2024, (MatrixonTarget) predicted that the price of Bitcoin would reach $70,000 by the end of the year, when the price of Bitcoin was about $42,000. Although some people think this prediction is conservative, it is already a significant increase of +65% from the price at that time. As of now, the price of Bitcoin fluctuates below $70,000, showing that there are still challenges to overcome to break through this psychological barrier, but the overall prediction is roughly accurate. We believe that Bitcoin is expected to break through the $70,000 mark, and the development of the political situation in the United States will affect market sentiment. If Trump is re-elected as president in 2025, it is expected that his support for business and skepticism of the Federal Reserve will provide a good environment for Bitcoin. Although Trump has criticized cryptocurrencies, his policy direction will be beneficial to the market development of Bitcoin. Trump's previous term promoted economic growth through deregulation and tax policies, and these policy trends are beneficial to Bitcoin and crypto asset markets. Therefore, our forecast of a closing price of $70,000 at the end of the year is accurate, but perhaps too conservative. Last week, we noticed that investors have not yet begun to prepare positions for Trump's victory. Since then, Bitcoin has seen a sharp 8% increase. As Trump's chances of winning the election rise rapidly, it is increasingly likely that we will see an even stronger return of Bitcoin.
NYDIG: Bitcoin's performance is exactly the same as the previous two cycles, Q4 may be the best performing quarter
\NYDIG released the "2024 Q3 Review and Outlook", which stated that from a performance perspective, the fourth quarter will be one of the best quarters for Bitcoin. There are many catalysts for investors to pay attention to - elections, monetary easing, clearing up of unresolved issues, and geopolitical instability, etc. Although investors may be frustrated by the range trading in the past 6 months, rest assured that Bitcoin's performance is exactly the same as the previous two cycles compared to the previous cycles.
BlackRock has bought more than $1 billion in Bitcoin this week
Arkham data shows that asset management company BlackRock has purchased more than $1 billion worth of Bitcoin this week.
Kraken Launches Wrapped Bitcoin Token KBTC
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken launches wrapped Bitcoin token KBTC.
CEX Bitcoin reserves hit a record low, now reported at about 2.68 million
According to chart data disclosed by Cointelegraph, the Bitcoin reserves held by cryptocurrency trading platforms on October 17, 2024 are now reported at about 2.68 million, a record low. Note: The trading platform reserves refer to the number of Bitcoins stored in major CEX wallets. This indicator is usually used to measure liquidity and market supply and demand dynamics.
Ethereum
Ethereum staker income drops 30% since March peak
According to data from The Block, Ethereum stakers' income has fallen 30% since its peak in March, with total income for stakers in September at $174 million, down from a peak of $247 million in March. Despite the decline in income, the validator group continues to expand. Ethereum currently has 1.09 million validators, indicating increasing participation in network security. Despite the reduction in individual rewards, the number of validators is still increasing, indicating that people are still confident in Ethereum's long-term prospects.
BlackRock's Ethereum ETF's holdings exceed $11 billion
BlackRock officially updated the holdings information of the Ethereum exchange-traded fund iShares Ethereum Trust ETF. As of October 16, ETHA's holdings were close to 425,000 ETH (424,165.708 ETH), and the market value of its holdings exceeded US$11 billion, reaching US$1,109,528,417.19.
ARK Invest Report: ETH is showing US debt-like properties
ARK Invest's latest report points out that ETH is showing similar properties to U.S. Treasuries in the digital asset sector. ETH staking yield is seen as an indicator of smart contract activity and economic cycles in the digital asset sector, similar to the federal funds rate in traditional finance. The report emphasizes that although ETH is volatile, as one of the most mature cryptocurrencies, it is becoming an important asset with its wide collateral use and potential to generate income. With the launch of the spot ETH ETF, ETH's acceptance may increase and volatility may decrease.
Vitalik publishes new article on the future development of Ethereum protocol, key goals include achieving maximum L2 interoperability
Vitalik published a new article on the future development of the Ethereum protocol (Part 2: The Surge): (Possible futures for the Ethereum protocol, part 2: The Surge), with the following key goals: -Achieve 100,000+TPS on L1+L2; -Maintain the decentralization and robustness of L1; -At least some L2s fully inherit the core properties of Ethereum (trustless, open, censorship-resistant); -Maximum interoperability between L2s. Ethereum should be like an ecosystem, not 34 different blockchains. The article states that the current task is to complete the rollup-centric roadmap and solve related problems while maintaining the robustness and decentralization of Ethereum L1.
VanEck Director: Ethereum’s “changing fundamentals” and growing support for Layer 2 networks could have an impact on its price
Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, said Ethereum's adoption of Layer 2 networks could cost Ethereum trillions of dollars in potential market value in the coming years if the relevant dynamics of Ethereum remain unbalanced. The analyst wrote on the X platform Thursday that Ethereum's "changing fundamentals indicate that the model needs to be updated." Sigel wrote that if "current reality" is reflected, Ethereum's price forecast will plummet 67% to $7,300 instead of climbing to $22,000 by 2030. VanEck's model takes into account the expected growth in Ethereum's total value locked, which reflects the value of assets used in DeFi applications. The model also takes into account the amount of Ethereum consumed by the network - burned Ethereum, or Ethereum removed from circulation due to transaction fees.
Other Projects
Robinhood launches desktop platform and adds Bitcoin futures trading and other features to the app
Robinhood launched its desktop platform and added futures and index options trading capabilities to its mobile app, including: stock indices, Bitcoin, energy, metals and currencies.
dYdX launches Trump 2024 election prediction market perpetual contract
Golden Finance reported that the dYdX Foundation announced the launch of the Trump 2024 election prediction market perpetual contract, allowing users to trade in a completely decentralized environment. Traders can make long and short moves based on Trump's chances of winning the election.
Franklin Templeton Launches BENJI on Aptos
Golden Finance reported that Aptos announced that Franklin Templeton has launched the Franklin U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) on Aptos, represented by the BENJI token. Previously, the Franklin U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) on the chain could be traded on the Polygon and Stellar public blockchains, issuing shares in the form of BENJI tokens, each of which represented a portion of FOBXX.
DBS launches 'token service' to enable blockchain-based banking
Golden Finance reported that Singapore's DBS Bank has launched a new set of services called "DBS Token Services". The new banking products combine tokenization and smart contract-enabled functions with its existing banking services. According to the statement, DBS Token Services integrates the bank's permissioned blockchain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, its core payment engine, and multiple industry payment infrastructures. In addition, smart contracts enable institutions to manage the use of funds programmatically. Specifically, the new services include treasury tokens, conditional payments, and programmable rewards. Lin Shunzong, head of DBS Bank's global transaction services group, said that DBS Token Services enables companies and public sector entities to "optimize liquidity management, streamline operational workflows, enhance business resilience, and open up new opportunities for end-customer or end-user participation."
DTCC launches digital sandbox to revolutionize capital markets infrastructure
Golden Finance reported that the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) launched the digital sandbox "DTCC Digital Launchpad" to provide a pilot project platform for market participants and technology providers to promote innovation in capital market infrastructure. The sandbox aims to address key pain points in collateral management and provide customers with the DTCC digital asset product suite to develop use cases without making large investments. The first batch of results will be announced in the first quarter of 2025. The move aims to build an efficient and secure digital market infrastructure for the industry.
