TL;DR

• BTC’s price increased by 0.81% over the past 24 hours, reaching $68,072, while ETH rose by 0.15% to $2,621.
• On October 17, the U.S. Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs recorded net inflows of $470 million and $48.41 million, respectively.
• The S&P 500 decreased by 0.02%, while the Nasdaq edged up by 0.04%, and the Dow Jones gained 0.37%.
• The Bitcoin reserves held by cryptocurrency exchanges have decreased to approximately 2.68 million BTC, setting a new all-time low.
• In October 2024, Polymarket achieved a new monthly trading volume record, surpassing $1 billion.
• Over the past 24 hours, six projects announced new funding rounds, with the highest amount being $12.5 million.

Market Analysis

BTC Market Update (as of 4:00 UTC, October 18)[1]:

• BTC — The price of BTC increased by 0.81% in the past 24 hours, trading at $68,072, with a 24-hour swing between $62,049.8 and $68,411.2. After a brief pullback to $67,941 on the 16th, BTC gained momentum and surpassed the $68,000 resistance level on the 18th. Bullish sentiment prevails, and momentum indicators suggest a potential upward trend. Investors should closely monitor technical charts for breakout signals, especially around the key $68,000 resistance level, as a decisive breach could indicate further upward movement.[2]

• ETH - The price of ETH rose by 0.15% over the past 24 hours, currently trading at $2,621, with a 24-hour high of $2,688.43 and a low of $2,436.8. Ethereum’s price has remained relatively stable, showing no significant short-term fluctuations. However, investors should monitor market news and technical indicators closely to gauge potential future movements. A key resistance level to watch is $2,650. Surpassing this level could strengthen upward momentum[3].

• ETF - According to data from SoSoValue, on October 17, the total net inflow for U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs was $470 million[4], while the total net inflow for U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs was $48.41 million[5].
• Altcoins - Sectors like Elon Musk-Inspired, Pump.fun Ecosystem, and Modular Blockchain saw increases of 5.6%, 5.0%, and 3.8%, respectively, over the past 24 hours. Recent market trends suggest that Bitcoin may be slowly entering the early stages of a bull market, but it still faces strong resistance at the $68,500 level, resulting in sideways trading between the $67,000 and $68,000 range. In contrast, some altcoins continue to struggle, with trading data indicating significant net selling pressure in the altcoin market. The selling pressure appears to be notably higher than that for BTC, suggesting a possible ongoing sell-off in the market[6][7].
• U.S. Stock Market Indices - The S&P 500 fell by 0.02%, the Nasdaq rose by 0.04%, and the Dow Jones increased by 0.37%[8].
• Spot Gold - The price of spot gold reached $2,694 per ounce, with a daily increase of 0.03%[9].
• Fear and Greed Index - The Fear and Greed Index eased from 73 yesterday to 71 today, indicating that the market remains in a state of greed[10].

Top Performers

According to Gate.io market data[12], based on trading volume and price performance over the past 24 hours, the following altcoins have gained notable attention:

DIA — The token experienced a daily increase of approximately 40.17%, with a circulating market capitalization of $119 million.

DIA operates as a trustless oracle network featuring a modular and aggregation-based design, enabling it to validate any data source and transmit it to any blockchain. The growing demand for decentralized oracles, particularly within the DeFi sector, is likely a significant driver behind DIA’s recent price surge. Furthermore, improved investor sentiment and generally positive expectations for the broader crypto market have also contributed to its strong price performance.

ALEPH — The token experienced a daily increase of approximately 21.6%, with a circulating market capitalization of $40.55 million.

Aleph.im is a decentralized platform for cloud storage, databases, and computing ,compatible with various blockchains and supports blockchain-based languages. It aims to serve as an infrastructure layer for the DeFi ecosystem. The growing demand for decentralized cloud storage and computing solutions in DeFi has made Aleph.im more appealing to users and developers. Technological advancements and stronger community support have further bolstered investor confidence, contributing to its recent price surge.

VOLT — The token saw a daily increase of about 18.1%, with a circulating market capitalization of $35.9 million.

Volt is a hyper-deflationary token built on the TitanX platform, incorporating a distinctive auction mechanism. Following the initial 10-day token distribution, the system implements a full deflation strategy, allocating 80% of its value for token buybacks and 8% to strengthen bonded liquidity. On October 16, the official team announced a 22% token burn, which significantly increased token scarcity and accelerated the deflation process, driving the recent price increase[13].

Data Highlights

Bitcoin ETF Net Inflow of $470 Million on October 17 According to SoSoValue data, U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded a net inflow of $470 million on October 17, with a daily trading volume of $1.47 billion. The cumulative net inflow has reached $20.66 billion, and the total assets under management (AUM) for BTC ETFs amount to $64.06 billion, representing 4.84% of Bitcoin’s total market capitalization.

Ethereum ETF Net Inflow of $48.41 Million on October 17
According to SoSoValue data, U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs saw a net inflow of $48.41 million on October 17, with a daily trading volume of $126 million. The cumulative net outflow is $481 million, while the total AUM for ETH ETFs stands at $7.18 billion, accounting for 2.30% of Ethereum’s total market capitalization.

CEX Bitcoin Reserves Hit a Historic Low
According to CryptoQuant data, the Bitcoin reserves held by cryptocurrency exchanges are currently around 2.68 million BTC, marking a historic low. An increasing number of investors are opting to transfer their Bitcoin to personal wallets for long-term holding, indicating a positive outlook for the future. This trend reduces the available supply in the market and could potentially drive prices higher. On the other hand, it also reflects a decline in trust towards exchanges, which may lead to decreased market liquidity and heightened price volatility, further impacting trading volumes and overall market confidence[14].

Polymarket Reaches New High, Monthly Trading Volume Nears $1 Billion
According to Dune data, Polymarket’s trading volume in October 2024 has reached a new monthly high, surpassing $1 billion. This growth is driven by an increase in active traders on the platform, rising from 80,514 last month to over 90,000[15].

In addition, betting volume for the 2024 U.S. presidential election has seen substantial growth, exceeding $2 billion. In this context, the Republican candidate, Trump, has attracted approximately $608 million in bets on Polymarket, with winning odds of 62.3%. Meanwhile, the Democratic candidate, Harris, has accumulated $405 million in bets, with odds of 37.5%[16].

Base Network USDC Transfer Volume Hits All-Time High, Processing Over $17.5 Billion in a Single Day \
On-chain data reveals that the Base network’s USDC transfer volume reached a new peak yesterday, exceeding $17.5 billion in a single day. Base has shown impressive performance this year, surpassing Arbitrum for the first time with a Total Value Locked (TVL) of $2.5 billion, reflecting a growth of 562%. The network’s daily average transaction volume has climbed to 6.1 million, while decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume has surged 15-fold, primarily thanks to AerodromeFi’s $1.4 billion+ TVL. Additionally, the number of daily active addresses on Base has grown 13-fold, indicating a rapidly expanding user base. In terms of revenue, Base’s sequencer earnings have reached $51.4 million and are projected to reach $60 million by year-end. This growth not only accelerates Base’s development but also strengthens the expansion of the Optimism ecosystem[17].

Spotlight Analysis

Orderly Network to Integrate Solana, Becoming the First Omnichain Order Book Platform Supporting Both EVM and Non-EVM Chains
Orderly Network has announced its integration with Solana and the deployment of a liquidity vault, making it the first omnichain order book platform to support both EVM and non-EVM chains. This integration enables users from different blockchains to trade perpetual contracts through Orderly Network’s unified cross-chain shared order book. As a leading provider of decentralized trading infrastructure, Orderly Network recently surpassed a total trading volume of $83 billion. The platform currently supports several major blockchains, including Arbitrum, Base, Mantle, Ethereum mainnet, Optimism, and Polygon, offering access to over 50 trading markets with fully integrated liquidity and trading infrastructure across chains.

With the successful deployment of the liquidity vault on Solana, Solana users can now deposit assets on the Orderly platform and trade directly with counterparts from other supported chains, eliminating the need for cross-chain transfers and providing a unified on-chain order book experience. The integration is currently available on the testnet, with a mainnet launch anticipated in November[18].

ZKsync Releases First Governance Proposal “ZKsync Ignite,” Aiming to Distribute 300 Million ZK Tokens to DeFi Users Over 9 Months
ZKsync recently unveiled its first governance proposal, introducing the “ZKsync Ignite” initiative, which aims to position ZKsync Era as the primary liquidity hub of the Elastic Chain. The plan involves distributing 300 million ZK tokens to DeFi users over a nine-month period, with the goal of establishing ZKsync Era as a key platform for deep liquidity and DeFi infrastructure across other ZK-based chains[19].

The proposal’s primary objectives include deepening liquidity, minimizing slippage, attracting additional liquidity, users, and developers, as well as offering yield opportunities for liquidity providers. Additionally, the proposal requests an allocation of 25 million ZK tokens for administrative expenses and emergency contingencies. The proposal is currently under review by ZKsync delegates, who will deliberate over the next six days before initiating an on-chain vote.

Ethereum’s 144th ACDC Meeting: Developers Agree to Include EIP-7742 Changes in Pectra Update
In the recent 144th Ethereum All Core Developers Consensus (ACDC) meeting, developers discussed adjustments to the Ethereum Consensus Layer (CL) and agreed to include the EIP-7742 proposal in the upcoming Pectra update. This proposal aims to enable the Beacon Chain to dynamically set network targets and adjust the maximum Blob Gas fee limits, enhancing the network’s flexibility in managing Blob data. Barnabas Busa, a Developer Operations Engineer at the Ethereum Foundation, revealed that Pectra Devnet 3 will soon be closed. Currently, the Geth and Ethereum JS clients are ready for the update, and the consensus layer clients, such as Lighthouse, Teku, and Nimbus, have also completed the necessary preparations[20].

Looking further into the changes, the introduction of EIP-7742 represents a significant advancement in optimizing Ethereum’s fee structure. By enabling dynamic adjustments to Blob Gas fee limits, Ethereum can better adapt to evolving on-chain data demands, particularly when managing large-scale data, thereby improving network efficiency. This update not only has the potential to reduce network congestion but also provides a new approach for tackling scalability challenges in data management. It holds particular promise for Rollup technology and data availability, paving the way for further innovation in the Ethereum ecosystem.

Funding News

According to RootData, six projects announced funding rounds in the past 24 hours, raising a total of over $30.15 million, with the largest single round reaching $12.5 million. The funding spans various sectors, including DeFi, Liquid Staking Derivatives (LSD), Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), infrastructure, modular blockchain, zk technology, and on-chain compliance solutions. Below are the top three projects by funding amount[21]:

zkPass — zkPass completed a $12.5 million Series A funding round, achieving a valuation of $100 million. Investors include dao5 and Animoca Brands. zkPass is a privacy-focused data protocol that leverages 3P-TLS and hybrid Zero-Knowledge (ZK) technologies, providing tools and applications for secure and verifiable data sharing from any HTTPS website without requiring OAuth API, ensuring privacy and integrity.

Mento — Mento raised $10 million in funding, with participation from HashKey Capital, No Limit Holdings, and others. Mento Labs, an innovation lab for stablecoins and digital assets spun off from cLabs (Celo), offers the Mento platform, a basket of crypto assets. All Mento stablecoins (cEUR, cREAL, cUSD) are fully backed by USDC and DAI.

Drop — Drop secured $4 million in a seed round led by CoinFund and CMS Holdings. Drop is a cross-chain liquid staking protocol designed to enhance asset liquidity and improve user returns.

Airdrop Opportunities

TownsXYZ
TownsXYZ is a blockchain-based decentralized social platform that aims to provide users with an enhanced online community experience. The project successfully raised $51 million in a funding round led by the renowned venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)[21]. The design of TownsXYZ is reminiscent of Discord, allowing users to communicate freely and build communities within a decentralized framework.

Steps to Participate in the TownsXYZ Airdrop:

1. Create an Account: Visit the official Towns website and register using your email[22].
2. Create a Town: After registration, click on “Create a town” to establish your own community.
3. Join Existing Towns: Join other users’ towns through shared links, such as joining Leaf’s town.
4. Join Groups: Browse the platform to apply for groups that align with your interests. These groups cover a variety of themes and activities.
5. Engage in the Ecosystem: By following these steps, users can seamlessly integrate into the TownsXYZ ecosystem and enjoy the advantages of decentralized social interaction.

Note:
The airdrop plan and participation methods are subject to change. Users are advised to follow the official channels of TownsXYZ for the latest updates. Additionally, participants should exercise caution, be aware of potential risks, and conduct thorough research before engaging. Gate.io does not guarantee the distribution of future airdrop rewards.

Reference：

1. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/price
2. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/trade/BTC_USDT
3. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/trade/ETH_USDT
4. SoSoValue, https://sosovalue.xyz/assets/etf/us-btc-spot
5. SoSoValue, https://sosovalue.xyz/assets/etf/us-eth-spot
6. CoinGecko, https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories
7. Coingecko, https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories
8. Investing, https://investing.com/indices/usa-indices
9. Investing, https://investing.com/currencies/xau-usd
10. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/bigdata/homeindex
11. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/price
12. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/price
13. Volt, https://app.volt.win/buyandburn
14. Cryptoquant, https://cryptoquant.com/asset/btc
15. Polymarket, https://dune.com/rchen8/polymarket
16. Polymarket, https://polymarket.com/
17. Artemis, https://app.artemisanalytics.com/project/base?from=chains&tab=stablecoins
18. X, https://x.com/OrderlyNetwork/status/1846899178607464803
19. X, https://x.com/zksync/status/1846904535651852340
20. Galaxy, https://www.galaxy.com/insights/research/ethereum-all-core-developers-consensus-call-144/
21. Rootdata, https://www.rootdata.com/Fundraising
22. Rootdata, https://www.rootdata.com/zh/Projects/detail/Towns?k=NzA1NQ%3D%3D
23. Towns, https://app.towns.com/

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