Placeholder Partner: Central banks around the world are about to relax policies, and crypto assets are ushering in an early bull market layout
According to BlockBeats, on August 9, Chris Burniske, former head of Ark Invest crypto and current partner of Placeholder VC, said on social media, "With sentiment reset and leverage cleansing, the lows of most high-quality crypto assets are significantly higher than the levels in 2023. At the same time, central banks around the world are about to be forced to ease policies, and although there may be some volatility in the third quarter, this is a beautiful early bull market layout anyway."
JPMorgan Asset Management: Bank of Japan expected to avoid another rate hike in the short term
BlockBeats reported that on August 9, Morgan Asset Management said that the Bank of Japan will avoid raising interest rates again in the short term, and further tightening of policy may depend on the direction of the US economy. "The Bank of Japan actually has a path to act again, but that is a path where the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates and tries to stabilize the US economy," said Seamus Mac Gorain, the company's global head of interest rates. "Of course, if the United States falls into recession, the road is blocked."
Mac Gorain believes that further tightening of monetary policy may not take until 2025. In an interview, he said that the Bank of Japan may make a series of rate hikes, but it depends on a fairly benign global background. "Obviously, the Bank of Japan will not act until the market stabilizes," Mac Gorain said. "It certainly also depends on whether the U.S. and global economies can avoid recession." (Jinshi)
Wall Street expects the Fed to end its balance sheet reduction this year, but an emergency stop is unlikely
According to BlockBeats, on August 9, the Fed is expected to end its balance sheet reduction, but the actual closing date depends on the pace of interest rate cuts and pressure in the financing market. Policymakers have hinted that the reduction of U.S. debt holdings will be completed by the end of the year, and many on Wall Street believe that quantitative tightening is unlikely to end suddenly. But recent weak economic data and liquidity pressure risks have cast uncertainty over the outlook. "If the Fed intends to stimulate the economy, then it may stop shrinking its balance sheet," Bank of America strategists Mark Cabana and Katie Craig wrote in a report to clients on Wednesday. "If the Fed's goal is to normalize monetary policy, then balance sheet reduction can continue."
Growing signs that economic growth is slowing faster than expected a few weeks ago triggered a sharp rise in global bonds on Monday, with traders betting that the Federal Reserve and other central banks will become more aggressive in cutting interest rates. Morgan Stanley analysts wrote, "Two possible drivers may cause the Fed to end its balance sheet reduction early, one is the drying up of money market liquidity, and the other is a U.S. recession. But we think neither is likely to happen." (Jinshi)
Bloomberg analyst: Bitcoin ETF options may be launched in the fourth quarter of this year
According to BlockBeats, on August 9, Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart posted on social media that he believed Bitcoin ETF options would be launched in the fourth quarter of this year. The deadline for the SEC's decision is approximately September 21, but after that, further steps from the OCC and CFTC will still need to be waited for.
The CBOE just withdrew their application for a spot Bitcoin ETF options. At first glance, this seems like a bad thing. But at the same time, they just resubmitted a brand new and updated application.
TASS: Putin signs decree legalizing cryptocurrency mining in Russia
BlockBeats news, August 8, according to TASS: Russian President Putin signed a law legalizing cryptocurrency mining in Russia.
Binance: As of the end of July, the security team has recovered or frozen $73 million in stolen funds
According to BlockBeats, on August 8, according to official data disclosed by Binance, as of July 31, 2024, the Binance security team has recovered or frozen more than US$73 million of user funds stolen from external parties this year, exceeding the US$55 million recovered or frozen in the whole of 2023.
Through proactive efforts and collaboration with industry participants and the public sector, Binance has successfully helped users recover lost digital assets, with approximately 80% of recoveries being related to external hacks, exploits, and thefts.
Franklin Templeton’s blockchain fund has launched on the Arbitrum network
According to BlockBeats, on August 9, as the RWA tokenized fund attracted investors’ attention, global asset management company Franklin Templeton’s blockchain-based money market fund has been launched within the Arbitrum ecosystem.
Trump's second son: Beware of fake tokens, the official Trump project has not yet been announced
According to BlockBeats, on August 9, Eric Trump, the second son of former US President Donald Trump and current executive vice president of the Trump Organization, posted on social media, "Be careful of fake tokens. The only official Trump project has not yet been announced, and the news will be announced on Twitter as soon as possible."
BlockBeats previously reported that on August 7, Eric Trump, the second son of former US President Donald Trump and current executive vice president of the Trump Organization, posted on social media, "I really fell in love with cryptocurrency/DeFi (decentralized finance). Stay tuned for major announcements."
ENS domains are now available on Linea
According to BlockBeats, on August 9, according to official news, ENS domain names are now available on Linea.
Sushi Labs to build native DEX Saru on ApeChain
According to BlockBeats, on August 9, ApeCoin announced on the X platform that Sushi Labs will build a native DEX Saru on ApeChain. It is reported that Saru means "ape" in Japanese, reflecting the commitment to the broader APE ecosystem.
Celestia is about to upgrade to Lemongrass, involving multiple consensus layer changes
According to BlockBeats, on August 9, according to official news, Celestia is about to upgrade to Lemongrass, which includes multiple consensus layer changes, such as inter-chain accounts, packet forwarding middleware, and CIP-10 (a mechanism to simplify future upgrades). According to the plan, Celestia will activate Lemongrass on Arabica Devnet in August. Mocha Testnet will also be upgraded in August. The Celestia mainnet beta is scheduled to release the Lemongrass version in early to mid-September. The main changes in this upgrade include:
CIP-6 implements a minimum gas price to reduce network junk transactions;
CIP-9 introduces data packet forwarding middleware to improve the efficiency of IBC cross-chain transfers;
CIP-10 establishes a new network upgrade signaling mechanism to simplify and expedite future upgrades;
CIP-14 introduces cross-chain account functionality to enhance interoperability with the Cosmos ecosystem;
CIP-20 deprecates the Blobstream module, simplifies the network architecture and improves performance.
Zeus Network launches APOLLO testnet activity, may launch its token in the future
According to BlockBeats, on August 8, Zeus Network, the Solana ecosystem cross-chain communication network, launched the APOLLO incentive testnet activity.
Currently, a public beta event has been launched on Galxe, which is the last testnet stage before the mainnet launch in the third quarter of 2024. The public test event "Prophecy of Light" on Galxe marks the upcoming launch of zBTC, which is pegged 1:1 with Bitcoin, on Solana. According to official documents, joining the APOLLO final test event and accumulating Galxe loyalty points can obtain future rewards.
It is reported that APOLLO is the first Bitcoin DeFi liquidity platform developed by Zeus Network and deployed on the Solana chain. In addition, Zeus Network officials stated that APOLLO may launch its token in the future.
Coinbase-backed Vega Network launches prediction market
According to BlockBeats, on August 8, Coindesk reported that the Vega network supported by Coinbase Ventures entered the prediction market track through a major upgrade. The update of the Vega blockchain and decentralized perpetual trading platform will allow users to bet on the outcomes of future events.
Vega is one of the crypto platforms that focuses on perpetual futures using the Cosmos Network infrastructure. Vega’s new feature expands its DEX application into a prediction market, providing an open framework. Users can trade assets normally, and some of them will be used as prediction bets.
Lavarage and Fire analyze Tephra's points system and hint at token launch
According to BlockBeats, on August 8, Lavarage, a meme coin leverage platform on the Solana chain, co-created by Fire, introduced the operating mechanism of its points system "Tephra" in a tweet: The Tephra points system aims to reflect the contribution of users to the platform by rewarding their economic activities (such as paying transaction fees and increasing the total locked value TVL), thereby promoting the consistency and common growth of the interests of the platform and users. Unlike other airdrops, Lavarage's points system creates long-term substantive value for the platform.
Fire said that the platform will gradually launch 8 to 10 two-week "missions" for users to earn Tephra points (so we can infer that the token may be launched in the fourth quarter). The missions balance the distribution of points among traders, liquidity providers and partners through interaction, aiming to establish the fairest and most optimal reciprocal structure before the token is launched to maximize its long-term value.
The platform will clarify doubts with users through AMA in the near future, aiming to strengthen the agreement and trust between the platform and users. Fire said that he looks forward to creating value with community members and achieving breakthroughs in the DeFi field together.
Stablecoin protocol Usual is now available on Pendle
According to BlockBeats, on August 8, the stablecoin protocol Usual announced that it is now available on Pendle, becoming the second stablecoin on the protocol. On Pendle, users can earn extra Usual Pills, and as long as they stay in Pendle or other Usual products, they can enjoy Boost Catchup. USD0++ YT: 3 Usual Pills/day for every YT; 3 Usual Pills/day for every 1 USD0++ provided in LP; PT will not reward any Usual Pills, but staying in Pendle or other commonly used products can still benefit from Boost Catchup and the final Boost multiplier.
Amazon faces UK merger investigation over $4 billion Anthrotic AI investment
According to BlockBeats, on August 9, Cointelegraph reported that Amazon and artificial intelligence research company Anthropic are under de facto merger investigation in the UK. The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued a formal notice on August 8, announcing the launch of an investigation into Amazon's $4 billion investment in Anthropic and its exclusive agreement. The core issue of the investigation is whether Amazon's minority stake and the exclusivity of the two companies constitute an anti-competitive partnership. The current first phase of the investigation will officially begin on August 9. The CMA said it will announce on October 4 whether it intends to conduct a more in-depth "second phase" investigation.
BlockBeats previously reported that on March 28, Amazon (AMZN.O) will spend another $2.75 billion to support artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, whose Foundation model and chatbot Claude can compete with OpenAI and ChatGPT. The two companies announced an initial investment of $1.25 billion in September 23, and said at the time that Amazon would invest up to $4 billion. Anthropic previously launched its latest artificial intelligence model, Claude 3, which the company said was its fastest and most powerful artificial intelligence model to date.
