TL;DR

• BTC fluctuated after hitting resistance level at $64,812. The key focus is whether this resistance or the rising trendline will break.
• Bitcoin ETFs saw a net inflow of $352 million this week, while Ethereum ETFs had an outflow of $69.76 million.
• Stablecoin market cap increased by 0.65%, signaling further inflows of new capital.
• Hamster Kombat announced a 2024 roadmap, including plans to launch an ad network, with revenues used to buy back $HMSTR tokens.
• PayPal will allow U.S. business accounts to buy, hold, and sell crypto.
• Base Network TVL breaks through $1.9 billion, reaching a new all-time high.⁠
• The Solana Breakpoint 2024 conference concluded, with numerous important project updates.
• Truflation was hacked, resulting in a loss of approximately $5 million.

Market Analysis

Review and Insights

• BTC ⸺ Over the past 7 days, BTC has shown a general upward trend, climbing from around $60,000 to its current $63,660. After briefly touching a high of $64,812, it experienced a slight pullback, but the market remains in an uptrend. The short-term focus is whether the $64,800 resistance level will be breached. A successful break could propel BTC higher, while failure might lead to consolidation between $63,000 and $64,500.[1]

• ETH ⸺ Over the past 7 days, ETH saw a surge from $2,296 to a peak of $2,703 on September 23. During this time, the moving averages aligned in a bullish manner, with active trading and a rising bullish sentiment. After reaching the $2,703 peak, the price started to correct and is now fluctuating between $2,600 and $2,700, with trading volume dropping and short-term market activity weakening.[2]

• Altcoins ⸺ Over the past 7 days, altcoins saw an increase in both total market cap and trading volume. The total market cap now stands at $1.07 trillion, with the broader crypto market rebounding in response to interest rate cuts. Sectors such as Cat-themed, Artificial Intelligence, and Data Availability saw notable gains.[3]
• Macroeconomic Data ⸺ On September 19, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a rate cut, lowering the federal funds rate to 5%, marking the first rate cut since March 2020. According to CME’s “FedWatch” tool, there’s a 38.9% probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut in November and a 61.1% chance of a 50-basis-point cut.[4]
• Stablecoins ⸺ Over the past 7 days, the market cap of stablecoins rose by 0.65% to $172.3 billion. USDT continues to dominate with a 69.23% market share. Compared to last week, USDT’s market cap increased slightly by 0.25%, and USDC’s market cap rose by 1.24%. Overall, the stablecoin market continued to grow steadily following the interest rate cuts.[5]
• Gas Fees⸺ Ethereum network activity has recently surged, keeping gas prices in double digits for most of the past week. On September 24, gas fees peaked at 37.7 gwei, while dipping to a low of 5 gwei at other times.[6]

Trending Concepts

According to data from Gate.io and CoinGecko, the Cat-Themed, Artificial Intelligence, and Data Availability sectors saw significant growth this week, with gains of approximately 33.3%, 33.2%, and 30.8% over 7 days. Key trends are as follows:[7]

Cat-Themed — Increased by around 33.3% over the past 7 days, with a market cap of approximately $3.256 billion.

Cat-Themed projects are meme coins based on cat themes, attracting attention from cat lovers and speculators. As cat culture becomes more popular, this sector has expanded, driving market excitement. POPCAT, MEW, and MOG rose by 43.7%, 41.6%, and 35.7% respectively over the last week, showing strong growth potential. However, meme coins are highly volatile, and investors should be cautious of the associated risks.

Artificial Intelligence — Rose by about 33.2% over the past 7 days, with a market cap of around $30.84 billion.

The Artificial Intelligence sector focuses on combining AI with blockchain technology to offer automated services for decentralized applications. As AI applications become more widespread, this area is gaining investment interest. Notably, FET, ICP, and NEAR increased by 26.5%, 18.3%, and 18.1%, respectively, reflecting strong market enthusiasm for AI projects.

Data Availability — Gained about 18.1% over the past 7 days, with a market cap of around $7.9 billion.

Data Availability ensures blockchain participants can verify block transaction data, underpinning decentralization and scalability. This sector’s growth is likely driven by increasing demand for these blockchain qualities. As networks expand, data availability has become crucial for security and scalability. Recently, more projects have focused on optimizing this aspect, attracting market funding and technical interest. This trend is reflected in the performance of tokens like CXT, NEAR, and KEX, which saw increases of 23.0%, 18.1%, and 17.8%, respectively in the past week.

Top Performers

According to data from Gate.io, the top-performing tokens with large market caps over the past 7 days are: [8]

TAO — Gained approximately 64.4% in the last 7 days, with a market cap of $3.97 billion.

Bittensor is a decentralized machine learning network that allows models to collaborate through blockchain technology, rewarding them with TAO tokens based on the value of the information they provide. Its goal is to create an open AI market that enables global access to computing power.

The recent surge in AI-related narratives, coupled with a mention by Grayscale, likely fueled the token’s price rally.

SEI — Rose around 33.0% over the past 7 days, with a market cap of $1.63 billion.

SEI is a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain designed for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, providing fast and secure transaction experiences. Recently, SEI has attracted attention from several DeFi projects due to optimized smart contracts and lower transaction fees.

Over the past week, SEI’s on-chain total value locked (TVL) increased by approximately 26%, reaching $195 million, which likely contributed to its token price rise.[9]

SUI — Increased by about 24.7% over the last 7 days, with a market cap of $4.73 billion.

Sui is an innovative object-centric Layer 1 blockchain that uses the Move programming language, designed to address inefficiencies in current blockchain frameworks.

SUI’s TVL has grown by 110% over the past month, surpassing $714 million. Increased user activity on the SUI network has boosted demand for the token, possibly driving its price higher. The Mysticeti upgrade has significantly improved network efficiency, and the launch of Grayscale’s SUI Trust Fund has further supported SUI’s market performance.[10]

Weekly Spotlights

Hot Topic Review

Hamster Kombat Announces Roadmap: Plans to Launch Dedicated Ad Network, with Revenue Used for Token Buybacks
On September 25, Telegram mini game Hamster Kombat released its development roadmap for late 2024 and 2025, focusing on expanding its product through a Web3 gaming platform. Key goals for 2024 include integrating external payment systems, launching new games, and incorporating NFTs as in-game assets. On September 23, the Hamster team announced airdrop distribution details, with 1.31 billion out of 3 billion users eligible for the airdrops.

Hamster Kombat also plans to launch a dedicated ad network within its ecosystem, slated for December 2024. The revenue generated from this network will be used to buy back tokens and distribute rewards to community members, which is a strategy to boost user engagement and increase token value.

Hamster Kombat’s roadmap highlights that integrating external payment systems will boost in-game liquidity and reduce entry barriers, thus expanding the user base. The introduction of new games aims to strengthen Hamster’s presence on Telegram and in the Tap-to-Earn gaming sector, tackling issues such as brief game lifecycles and user churn.

PayPal to Allow U.S. Business Accounts to Buy, Hold, and Sell Cryptocurrencies
On September 26, PayPal announced that U.S. business customers will be able to directly buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies through their accounts. Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Senior Vice President of Blockchain, Crypto, and Digital Currencies at PayPal, stated: “Business owners have increasingly expressed a desire for the same cryptocurrency capabilities available to consumers.“ Additionally, PayPal plans to allow U.S. merchants to transfer cryptocurrencies on-chain to “qualified” third-party wallets, though this service will initially not be available to New York-based businesses.[11]

Since 2020, PayPal has enabled consumers to buy, hold, and sell crypto. Last year, PayPal launched the USD-pegged stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD), which reached a market cap of $700 million by September 26. [12] With its 400 million active users, PayPal’s move is expected to expand its market share and play a significant role in cryptocurrency adoption.[13]

Base Network DeFi TVL Breaks $1.9 Billion, Sets New Record
According to DefiLlama, the Base Network’s total value locked (TVL) reached a new all-time high of $2.003 billion on September 26. This milestone propelled Base to second place among Ethereum Layer 2 networks in terms of TVL, surpassing Optimism and now trailing only Arbitrum. The top three protocols contributing to Base’s TVL are decentralized exchanges (DEXs) Aerodrome, Uniswap, and Extra Finance.[14]

The rapid TVL growth is attributed to the success of DeFi projects within its ecosystem. Base’s fast-growing user base and transaction volume have attracted numerous DeFi protocols, including Uniswap, Aerodrome, Morpho Labs, and Radiant Capital. Additionally, Base has secured approval from Optimism governance for a grant of 3 million OP tokens (approximately $5 million), aimed at incentivizing DeFi developers to boost ETH and BTC TVL on the network.[15]

Solana Breakpoint 2024 Conference Concludes with Key Project Updates
The Solana Breakpoint 2024 conference, held from September 20–21, showcased major project announcements that advance Solana’s ecosystem. In infrastructure, the Firedancer project unveiled its next-generation validator architecture, designed to boost the Solana network’s performance and capacity, particularly during high-load periods, thus enhancing overall user experience. Jupiter Exchange introduced a new liquidity aggregation tool that smartly combines liquidity from various decentralized exchanges, helping users obtain optimal trading prices and reduce slippage, thereby significantly improving cross-platform trading efficiency.

In the PayFi sector, Sanctum presented advancements in its “Creator Coins,” allowing creators to launch their own tokens with a 1 SOL minimum threshold, streamlining interactions between creators and supporters. This tokenization method enables creators to receive direct support and carry out more efficient marketing. Additionally, Fuse Wallet partnered with Bridge and Squads Protocol to launch a virtual Visa card, allowing users to make payments on Solana using stablecoins, promoting stablecoin use in daily transactions.

In decentralized finance (DeFi), deBridge Finance announced enhancements to its cross-chain transfer protocol, enabling seamless asset transfers between different blockchains, reducing cross-chain transaction costs and improving efficiency. Squads Protocol introduced a new multi-signature wallet feature, enabling teams and projects to manage funds more securely, ensuring transparency and boosting user trust in DeFi projects. Tensor showcased solutions for NFTs and data sharing, facilitating better liquidity of on-chain assets, allowing users to more easily trade and leverage their digital assets.

Security Incident

Truflation Suffers Hacker Attack, Loses Approximately $5 Million
On September 26, the crypto project Truflation fell victim to a hacker attack, resulting in the theft of approximately $5 million from its treasury multisig wallet and individual wallets. Truflation, an on-chain oracle, primarily uses its DRPp protocol to aggregate real-time on-chain data. This service provides accurate and accessible data indices for various financial markets and tools in the Web3 industry.[16]

The hacker attack targeted treasury multisig wallets and user personal wallets across multiple chains, mainly using malware to carry out the attack. Currently, Truflation is closely monitoring the situation and swiftly taking measures to protect user assets and staked funds. Truflation added that staking operations are currently unavailable, and liquidity on decentralized exchanges is limited. The team will continue to provide users with the latest information and offer rewards to any white hat hackers who provide assistance. As a result of this news, the price of TRUF has dropped by 10.43% in the past 24 hours.[17]

Project Highlights

Hemi Network Tops RootData’s Hot Crypto Ranking
Hemi Network has maintained high popularity on platforms like RootData following its funding announcement and incentivized testnet launch. Hemi is a Layer 2 blockchain network built on Bitcoin and Ethereum, introducing the Hemi Virtual Machine (hVM) that allows developers to create smart contracts interacting with Bitcoin’s state. As a single blockchain serving as a Layer 2 solution for both Bitcoin and Ethereum, Hemi aims to combine Bitcoin’s security with Ethereum’s liquidity and programmability.[18]

On September 18, Hemi Labs secured $15 million in a funding round. The company plans to use these funds to develop and launch the Hemi Network. With its incentivized testnet already live, Hemi Labs aims to launch the mainnet in Q4. Investors should monitor Hemi Network’s upcoming developments, including potential airdrops and the mainnet launch.

Neiro Announces Partnership with DWF Labs
On September 24, Neiro officially announced a partnership with DWF Labs to jointly develop Neiro into one of the most successful meme coin projects in the cryptocurrency space. Neiro has a total token supply of 420.69 billion, with a fair launch distribution. Currently, Neiro’s total market cap is $493 million, and DWF Labs’ involvement is expected to drive further growth for the project. [19] Neiro is a meme token project based on Ethereum and Solana blockchains, inspired by “Neiro,” the new pet of Doge’s original Kabosu owner. The Neiro token quickly attracted significant capital, with surging trading volumes and price. After the team’s exit, the project is now community-driven, with token management and operations taken over by the community. The community has shown high enthusiasm for Neiro, with rapidly growing social media followers, demonstrating a strong community foundation and influence.

The Neiro token’s price has experienced significant volatility in a short period, reflecting the high risk and instability of the cryptocurrency market, especially meme coins. Investors should exercise caution and fully understand the risks when considering investing in such tokens.

Aave Community Proposes Temporary Reduction of WBTC Risk
Aave community member LlamaRisk has proposed stricter limitations on the use of Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) on the platform to mitigate potential risks. The proposal recommends reducing the Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio for wBTC to 0 across all V3 versions, meaning users would no longer be able to use wBTC as collateral to borrow additional funds. Additionally, the proposal suggests lowering the supply and borrowing caps to 5-10% above current utilization rates to limit additional wBTC risk while maintaining flexibility for users to adjust their positions.[20]

This proposal has sparked debate within the community. Marc Zeller, founder of Aave Chan Initiative (ACI), and some community representatives oppose the proposal, arguing for a more cautious and balanced approach to addressing current uncertainties. Aave co-founder Stani Kulechov clarified that this proposal doesn’t mean Aave will completely phase out wBTC, but rather it’s a risk management consideration.

Some community members point out that concerns about wBTC are exaggerated, noting its long-standing good performance and importance to the Aave community. These members believe that relevant parties should be given due respect, and the treatment of wBTC custodians in other communities is unreasonable.

Previously, digital asset custodian BitGo announced the transfer of control of its wBTC product to a joint venture with Hong Kong-based BiT Global. Due to the lack of public disclosure of detailed information about the joint venture, specifics of the transfer, and audit information of related companies, the public has expressed doubts about the transparency of wBTC’s subsequent authority management and its degree of centralization.[21]

Data Highlights

U.S. ETF Spot Market Data
From September 21 to September 24 at 4:00 UTC, Bitcoin ETFs’ total net asset value reached $58.6 billion, accounting for 4.62% of BTC’s market cap, with a cumulative net inflow of $17.83 billion. This week saw net inflows into BTC ETFs, with $136 million flowing in on September 24. The Federal Reserve’s rate cut strategy stimulated a rebound in both the cryptocurrency and U.S. stock markets, leading to increased inflows into Bitcoin ETFs.[22]

During the same period, Ethereum ETFs’ total net asset value was $7.20 billion, representing 2.26% of Ethereum’s total market cap. There was a cumulative net outflow of $634 million. However, September 24 saw a net inflow of about $62.51 million, the largest inflow since August 7.[23]

Stablecoin Market Cap Changes
According to DefiLlama data, as of September 26 at 00:00 UTC, the total stablecoin market cap increased by 0.65% over the past week to $172.3 billion, its highest level since May 2022. USDT maintains its dominant position with a 69.19% market share. Compared to last week, USDT’s market cap rose slightly by 0.25%, while USDC’s increased by 1.24%. Overall, the top three stablecoins by market cap - USDT, USDC, and DAI - all saw growth.[24]

Ethereum Gas Fee
Ethereum network gas fees showed a significant upward trend from September 18 to 24, followed by a decline after the 25th. Due to increased on-chain cryptocurrency transaction activity, a total of 12,807 ETH were burned this week, with an annualized inflation rate of 0.24%. Notably, Uniswap burned 1,641.42 ETH over the past 7 days, while ETH transfers accounted for 856 ETH burned.[25]

Weighted Funding Rates
Over the past week, funding rates for both BTC and ETH remained positive, indicating bullish sentiment and long position dominance in the market. Both tokens exhibited notable volatility, with frequent changes in funding rates possibly reflecting high leverage trading activity. The intense competition between long and short positions was particularly evident during multiple periods. However, prices did not fully align with funding rate fluctuations, especially during sideways price movements, suggesting shifting market sentiments and uncertainty about future price trends.[26]

Market Opportunties

Project Airdrops

Airdrop project to watch this week: BOB
BOB is a Bitcoin EVM rollup network that recently launched its third and final season of points activity. BOB aims to combine Bitcoin’s security with Ethereum’s smart contract flexibility, supporting Bitcoin ecosystem components like Ordinals, Lightning, and Nostr to enhance Bitcoin’s utility and expand its functionality. Through Merged Mining, BOB allows Bitcoin miners to support the BOB network without additional costs, enhancing network security. BOB has also secured $10 million in seed funding led by Castle Island Ventures, with participation from Mechanism Ventures, Bankless Ventures, CMS Ventures, and UTXO Management.[27]

How to participate:

• Staking: BTC
• Voting: New community voting feature allows users to vote for favorite projects, with winning projects receiving additional rewards.
• Referrals: Program offers 15% Spice rewards for direct invites and 7% for second-tier invites.
• Task completion: Participate in specific tasks and activities within the BOB ecosystem to earn Spice.

The early bird activity doubles Spice earned before BOB reaches $75 million DeFi TVL. Multiple BOB ecosystem projects have also launched points programs, allowing users to earn multiple rewards simultaneously.

Note:
The airdrop plan and participation methods may be updated at any time. Users are advised to follow BOB’s official channels for the latest information. At the same time, users should participate cautiously, be aware of risks, and conduct thorough research before participating. Gate.io does not guarantee the subsequent distribution of airdrop rewards.

Weekly Fundraising Report

This week, several projects successfully completed funding rounds, spanning various fields including public chains, gaming, and AI applications. According to RootData, from September 20 to September 26, 10 projects announced funding, totalling $140 million. Here are the top three funding rounds:[28]

Celestia — On September 23, modular blockchain network provider Celestia announced the completion of a $100 million Series B funding round, led by Bain Capital Crypto, with participation from Syncracy Capital, 1kx, Robot Ventures, Placeholder, and others. Celestia’s total funding has reached $155 million. The company offers the industry’s first dedicated modular consensus and data network, allowing developers to deploy rollup chains.

Initia — On September 25, blockchain project Initia announced the completion of a $14 million Series A funding round, valuing the company at $350 million. The round was led by Theory Ventures, with participation from Delphi Ventures and Hack VC, and others. Initia is a network designed for interwoven optimistic rollups, aiming to comprehensively restructure multi-chain systems by integrating Layer 1 blockchain and Layer 2 infrastructure to create a tightly connected modular network ecosystem. Its mainnet and token are expected to launch within the next two months.

Smolbound — On September 23, blockchain game developer Darkbright Studios announced the completion of a $6 million seed funding round, led by Bitkraft Ventures, with participation from Treasure, Play Ventures, Anthos Capital, King River Capital, and others. The company’s debut title is Smolbound, a life simulation game that seamlessly integrates Web3 technology, scheduled for release in 2025.

What to Watch Next Week

Token Unlock

According to Token Unlocks data, several significant token unlock events are scheduled for next week (September 27 - October 3, 2024). The top 3 unlocks are as follows: [29]

SUI - Approximately 53.96 million tokens (2.4% of current circulation) will be unlocked on October 1 at 12:00 UTC, valued at about $100 million. Significant price volatility may occur before and after the unlock.

OP - About 31.34 million tokens (2.64% of current circulation) will be unlocked on September 30 at 12:00 UTC, valued at approximately $52.65 million. Core Contributors will unlock 16.54 million tokens (52% of this unlock), while Investors will unlock 14.80 million tokens (48%).

ZETA - Roughly 53.89 million tokens (13.43% of current circulation) will be unlocked on October 1 at 12:00 UTC, valued at about $36.82 million. Core Contributors will unlock 26.25 million tokens, accounting for 48.7% of this unlock.

Crypto Calendar

In the upcoming week (September 27 - October 3, 2024), the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry will see several key events. On September 27, Vega Protocol, a Layer 1 blockchain focused on derivatives trading, will discontinue the Vega blockchain and its VEGA token, with the chain potentially ceasing operations as early as that day. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) plans to launch Bitcoin Friday Futures (BFF) on September 30, with each contract representing 1/50 of a bitcoin, aiming to increase trading efficiency.[30]

On the macro front, some important data releases will significantly impact the industry. Notably, on October 1, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell will speak at the National Association for Business Economics. This speech will cover key areas such as economic growth, inflation, and the job market, providing crucial insights into future monetary policy directions.[31]

References

1. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/price/bitcoin-btc
2. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/price/ethereum-eth
3. SoSoValue, https://sosovalue.com/dashboard/Altcoin_Market_Cap_Volume
4. CME Group, https://www.cmegroup.com/cn-s/markets/interest-rates/cme-fedwatch-tool.html
5. DefiLlama, https://defillama.com/stablecoins
6. Gasnow, https://gasnow.io/
7. Coingecko， https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories
8. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/price
9. Defillama,https://defillama.com/chain/Sei
10. Defillama,https://defillama.com/chain/Sui
11. Newsroom, https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com
12. DefiLlama, https://defillama.com/stablecoin/paypal-usd
13. Newsroom, https://newsroom.china.paypal-corp.com/stories?item=28
14. DefiLlama, https://defillama.com/chain/Base
15. X, https://x.com/base/status/1838296139327791486
16. Truflation, https://x.com/truflation/status/1839091797534061004
17. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/price/truflation-truf
18. Hemi, https://app.hemi.xyz/
19. X，https://x.com/DWFLabs/status/1838519685366599944
20. Aave, https://governance.aave.com
21. Gate.io，https://www.gate.io/zh/learn/articles
22. SoSoValue，https://sosovalue.com/assets/etf/Total_Crypto_Spot_ETF_Fund_Flow?page=usBTC
23. SoSoValue, https://sosovalue.com/assets/etf/Total_Crypto_Spot_ETF_Fund_Flow?page=usETH
24. Defillama,https://defillama.com/stablecoins
25. Ultra Sound Money, https://ultrasound.money/
26. Coinglass, https://www.coinglass.com/FundingRate
27. Gobob, https://blog.gobob.xyz/posts/bob-fusion-the-final-season
28. Rootdata, https://www.rootdata.com/zh/Fundraising
29. Token Unlocks, https://token.unlocks.app/
30. PANews, https://www.panewslab.com/zh/calendar/index.html
31. Jin10, https://rili.jin10.com/day/2024-09-27

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Disclaimer
Investing in the cryptocurrency market involves high risk, and it is recommended that users conduct independent research and fully understand the nature of the assets and products they are purchasing before making any investment decisions. Gate.io is not responsible for any losses or damages caused by such investment decisions.