TL;DR

• The Ethereum ETF officially approved and began trading on the evening of July 23rd.
• A Mt.Gox address transferred 42,587 BTC, worth approximately $2.85 billion.
• Ethereum ETFs from Fidelity, Bitwise, and others attract significant capital inflows.
• Swan to shut down Bitcoin mining operations and cancel IPO plans.
• Mt.Gox’s transferred funds primarily concentrated in six addresses.
• Meme coins and Layer 2 tokens shine in the altcoin market.

Market Analysis

• BTC — According to Gate.io, Bitcoin’s price surged past $68,000 last Sunday, then stabilized around $65,000 over the next three days. On the evening of July 23, it broke through $67,000 and is currently trading at $66,110,[1] down 2.04% for the day. Despite market fluctuations, the Fear & Greed Index indicates that investor sentiment remains positive.[2]

• ETH — Ethereum (ETH) is currently priced at $3,455.00, with a slight daily decline of 0.44%. ETH price movements typically mirror those of Bitcoin (BTC), reflecting the overall interconnectivity within the cryptocurrency market.

• ETF — Bitcoin ETFs saw a net inflow of $17.4 billion yesterday, with a trading volume of $1.1 billion. Ethereum ETFs recorded a net inflow of $10.67 million, also with a trading volume of $1.1 billion.

• Altcoins — $SLERF and $DEGEN surged by 38.93% and 31.22%, respectively. $AVAIL rose to $0.2640 before falling back to $0.16. Ethereum Layer 2 tokens experienced a brief surge following the launch of the ETH spot ETF but have since retreated. $ENA saw a 7.31% increase due to the news.

• U.S. Stock Market — The S&P 500 index fell by 0.16%, the Nasdaq index dropped by 0.35%, and the Dow Jones index decreased by 0.14%.

• Spot Gold — Gold prices surged past $2,450.73 per ounce, marking a 0.53% increase for the day.

Top Performers

According to Gate.io market data, the top performers in the last 24 hours are:

STRUMP — STRUMP is a Trump-themed meme coin, standing for “Super Trump”. It has surged 1409.63% in the past 24 hours and is now listed on Gate.io. According to CoinMarketCap data, the token’s price increased by nearly 1000% following the assassination attempt on Trump.

STMX — StormX is a decentralized platform on Ethereum where users can earn cryptocurrencies through shopping rewards. STMX is the governance token of the platform and can also be used for storage in the StormX debit card series. STMX is now listed on Gate.io and has risen 15.7% in the past 24 hours.

Spotlight Analysis

US Spot Ethereum ETFs Receive Regulatory Approval

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially approved the S-1 registration applications of several ETF issuers, allowing spot Ethereum ETFs to be traded. The first trading day is set for Tuesday at 9:30 AM ET. This approval marks a significant milestone in the development of the cryptocurrency market, opening up new investment avenues for investors.[3]

Data from the start of formal trading up to today 12:00 indicates, Ethereum ETFs recorded a total trading volume of $434 million. Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) led with inflows of $177.2 million, followed by 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF (CETH) at $4.69 million. VanEck Ethereum ETF (ETHV) opened at the highest price of $50.06, while Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH) opened at the lowest price of $3.26. Other ETFs opened with prices ranging between $20 and $30. Despite a slight uptick in ETH prices following the launch of spot Ethereum ETFs, performance remained muted, with ETH trading at $3,455.2 as of 00:00 SGT on July 24, 2024, reflecting a 0.46% gain. Detailed trading data and fee information are as follows:

Mt. Gox Fund Outflows Analysis

The Mt.Gox’s rehabilitation process officially began last week, with some funds already transferred from its wallet address to exchanges. These funds are expected to be returned to users over the next one to two months. Some creditors have already received their compensation. Kraken CEO Dave Ripley stated that Kraken has returned Bitcoin and BCH to Mt. Gox creditors. On July 16, Kraken received 48,641 Bitcoins worth over $3 billion from the Mt. Gox Rehabilitation Trustee for distribution to Mt. Gox creditors.

We conducted an in-depth analysis of Mt.Gox’s fund flows and found that the funds were primarily directed to six key addresses, with the dynamics of four addresses requiring close attention.

（1）JQieEzccKjFS34oW8KZSGBDndiH1YyFrE: Suspected Kraken exchange address, received 48,641 BTC on July 16, funds have not moved, requiring further monitoring.

（2）18vjnBHWAxU4CPGPqF7Gp9JyqdVBHDct9b: Mt.Gox cold wallet address, currently holds 42,587 BTC, fund transfers need close monitoring.

（3）1AsHPP7WcGnDLzxW2bUa2FcbJP3eZVEqpx: Mt.Gox cold wallet address, currently holds 47,228 BTC, fund transfers need close monitoring.

（4）1HRAprcXCzx1YqYv7dcCcDzf3vYVGPv3b2: Mt.Gox cold wallet address, currently holds 526 BTC, though not a large amount, the fund transfers still need attention.[4]

The core analysis focuses on the address 1JbezDVd9VsK9o1Ga9UqLydeuEvhKLAPs6, the primary address for early Mt. Gox fund collection. On May 28 this year, this address received a total of 141,619 Bitcoins through eight transactions.

Currently, all Bitcoins in this address have been transferred out. On July 16, the funds received by the Kraken exchange came from this address. These funds mainly follow two paths: one is transferred to exchanges supporting Mt. Gox compensation, including Kraken, BitBank, and SBI VC Trade; the other is transferred to addresses controlled by Mt. Gox. Although Mt. Gox’s Bitcoin compensation may put some selling pressure on the market, recent Bitcoin price trends show investor optimism. Bitcoin has significantly rebounded from previous lows, demonstrating the market’s resilience. Among these outflows, the funds from Mt. Gox are mainly directed to the following six addresses:

Swan to Shut Down Bitcoin Mining Operations and Cancel IPO Plans

On July 23, The Block reported that Cory Klippsten, CEO of the California-based Bitcoin investment platform Swan, announced that the company will shut down its mining operations and cancel its IPO plans. Additionally, the company has laid off several employees “across many functions,” though the exact number is unclear.

Swan provides Bitcoin asset management and financial advisory services. Its mining division started operations in July 2023 and raised at least $100 million from institutional investors in January. The company initially planned to go public by the end of this year. Klippsten stated, “Swan is unlikely to continue with our Managed Mining business in the near term. Without the expectation of significant near-term revenue from our Managed Mining unit, we are pulling our plans to IPO in the near future”[5] Following the Bitcoin halving, mining revenues have decreased and mining costs have significantly increased, putting enormous pressure on many miners. More than half of the large mining companies are currently, or have long been, operating at a loss.

According to Bitcoin mining data, mining costs have significantly increased due to the rise in mining difficulty and the Bitcoin halving event. The current cost to mine one Bitcoin is $69,509.96. Most mining machines can no longer cover these costs, and more than half of the mining companies are operating at a loss. Due to their robust computing infrastructure, many mining companies are seen as potential hosts and data centers for AI GPUs. Consequently, several companies have shifted to the high-performance computing (HPC) sector, becoming hosts and data centers for AI companies and cloud service providers, including Core Scientific and Iris Energy.[6]

Data Highlights

Ethereum Gas Fee

Recently, on-chain activity dipped, and the gas fee remains at a relatively low level, averaging around 4 Gwei. [7]

Fear & Greed Index (FGI) has changed from 71 to 69, indicating that market sentiment remains in the greed phase. This reflects an increasing interest and optimism among investors towards cryptocurrencies. In a greedy market sentiment, investors should remain cautious and avoid blindly chasing high prices. Excessive greed may lead to market bubbles and increased short-term volatility.

The BTC Rainbow Chart indicates that it is currently at the ‘Consider Dollar Cost Averaging’ stage, suggesting that it might be a good time to consider buying BTC. This is a relatively positive signal.

The BTC Rainbow Chart is a visualization tool that displays Bitcoin’s historical price data in the form of color bands, where each band represents a specific price range. The intensity of the colors usually correlates with the volume of Bitcoin held within that price range—the deeper the color, the greater the holding.

Market Opportunties

Project Financing

Recently, multiple crypto and blockchain projects have announced the completion of key funding rounds, including Bitlayer Labs’ Series A, Pudgy Penguins’ $11 million funding, and Network3’s $5.5 million funding. These funds will support the development and technological innovation of their respective ecosystems.

Bitlayer Labs — Bitcoin L2 project Bitlayer Labs completed an $11 million Series A funding round, led by Franklin Templeton, ABCDE, and Framework Ventures, with Stake Capital Group, WAGMI Ventures, Flow Traders, GSR Ventures, and FalconX also participating. This brings Bitlayer’s total funding to $16 million. The team stated that the new funds will support the development of protocols within its ecosystem.

Pudgy Penguins — Pudgy Penguins is a collection of 8,888 NFTs that accelerate Web3 innovation through IP utilization and community empowerment. On July 23, Pudgy Penguins announced it had secured $11 million in funding.

Network3 — Network3 is a Layer 2 blockchain platform with AIoT technology. It offers tools for AI developers to train and validate models and lets users earn cryptocurrency by running nodes. On July 23, Network3 announced it had secured $5.5 million in seed funding.

Multipool — Multipool is a fair and equal limit order DEX suitable for RWAs and cryptocurrencies built on existing AMMs. Multipool announced the completion of a new $600,000 funding round, led by NxGen.

Assisterr — Assisterr is an incentive-driven network consisting of community-owned AI models, catering to developers, autonomous AI agents, and enterprises. On July 24, Assisterr announced the completion of a $1.7 million seed funding round.

Catizen — Catizen is a cat-themed game that combines GameFi, AI, and the Metaverse. It merges the charm of virtual pets with blockchain technology and artificial intelligence to offer a highly immersive interactive experience. On July 24, Catizen announced the completion of strategic financing, led by Binance Labs, though the amount was not disclosed.

Airdrop Opportunities

Aevo — Aevo announced the potential airdrop of SAI tokens on XP (SAI Aevo Airdrops). The Sharpe AI pre-release token SAI will be part of the Aevo airdrop plan, with over 2.5 million SAI tokens, currently valued at approximately $550,000, allocated to the total airdrop pool. The plan aims to collaborate with some upcoming projects on the Aevo platform, airdropping their tokens to the most active pre-release traders and $AEVO holders.[8]

Eligibility requirements to participate in the Aevo Airdrops plan are:

1. Become an Aevo token holder: Different levels of token holders will receive different airdrop benefits:
2. Silver-level holders are eligible to participate in the airdrop.
3. Gold-level holders will receive 1.5 times the airdrop amount.
4. Platinum-level holders will receive 5 times the airdrop amount.
5. Diamond-level holders will receive 5 times the airdrop amount.
6. Trade in Aevo’s pre-release market and accumulate trading volume: Active pre-release market traders will receive corresponding airdrop rewards based on their trading volume.

References:

1. Gate.io，https://www.gate.io/price/bitcoin-btc
2. Farside，https://www.gate.io/zh/bigdata/homeindex
3. TheBlock，https://www.theblock.co/post/306699/spot-ethereum-etfs-get-final-sign-off-to-begin-trading-tuesday
4. ichainfo，search.ichainfo.com
5. TheBlock，https://www.theblock.co/post/306756/swan-cancels-public-listing-shutter-bitcoin-mining-layoffs
6. Macromicro，https://sc.macromicro.me/series/8194/bitcoin-production-total-cost
7. Etherscan，https://etherscan.io/gastracker
8. Aevo，https://docs.aevo.xyz/trading-and-staking-incentives/aevo-airdrops

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