- Sept 5 - 6: U.S. Initial Jobless Claims & Nonfarm Payrolls / Unemployment Rate
This week, the key economic data that market participants will be anticipating?is?labor market data, as the Fed signaled it is keen on labor markets steadying in the near future. The end of the week will see key labor data in initial jobless claims and nonfarm payrolls, along with the unemployment rate figures coming out of the U.S., which will have major implications on the size of this September's cut and potential rate cuts after September.??
Sky Protocol: MakerDAO's Strategic Rebranding
1. Rebranding and New Offerings: MakerDAO has rebranded to Sky Protocol, introducing a new user interface and the USDS stablecoin to replace DAI. This rebrand is part of the broader "Endgame" strategy to enhance the protocol's sustainability and user experience. The "Endgame" plan, announced in 2022, was designed to improve the sustainability and decentralization of the Maker protocol. ?
2. Token Conversion and Governance: Sky will introduce two new tokens on September 18 as part of the rebranding. The token holders can voluntarily convert DAI to USDS and MKR to the new SKY token at specified ratios, but it's not automatic. Each MKR token can be exchanged for 24,000 SKY tokens, and DAI will be converted into USDS on a one-to-one basis. The governance structure under the new brand will continue with existing features, now rebranded as 'Stars'. DAI, MKR, USDS, and SKY tokens will coexist, allowing users to choose which tokens to hold based on their preferences. The revamped interface enhances access to features like "token activation rewards" and the Sky Savings Rate (SSR). To encourage adoption, Sky will double SSR yields for the initial month, although the specific APY has not been disclosed yet. ?
3. Community Reactions: The rebrand has met mixed reactions, particularly regarding the new 'freeze' function in the USDS contract, a feature not present in DAI. The protocol aims to maintain DAI's stability mechanisms and offers an optional upgrade path, ensuring legacy support for DAI. The newly introduced 'freeze' function in the USDS contract allows the protocol administrators to halt transactions of the USDS token under specific circumstances, enhancing security and compliance measures. This function has raised concerns among some communities about centralization and control over the token's usability. While controversial, this incorporation of 'freeze' capabilities in the USDS contract, is perhaps indicative of the protocol’s need to align more closely with regulated financial entities. This alignment may be necessary to access financial instruments like T-bills and other RWAs, reflecting a pragmatic approach to compliance and security within the DeFi landscape.
Bitcoin Technical Analysis
Last week, we highlighted several resistances that Bitcoin faced overhead while it was at?$64k to start the week. None of these resistances would end up being consequential, as BTC was turned away from $65k and looks to be heading back down to somewhere in the vicinity of the bottom of the?descending broadening wedge that?Bitcoin has traded within for the better part of this year since reaching its all-time high of $73k.
On one hand, Bitcoin was not able to reach the upper bound of the wedge, which is a troubling sign. However, if Bitcoin can reverse its momentum in the next few days, it would establish a higher low and there could be a scenario where we see further upside. But if it breaks below $56k, then we are likely to see a retest of support around the $50-54k region.
Nevertheless, we do want to reiterate that?descending broadening wedges are bullish formations during an uptrend, as they often tend to have price breakout to the upside at some point. When that will occur is anyone's guess, but BTC could reverse course and take out the upper bound resistance of this wedge at any moment. We'll be monitoring for signs or catalysts for this reversal in the near future.?
- Telegram CEO Durov?indicted in France, must remain in the country under supervision Commentary: Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was indicted by a French court on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. Durov has been indicted on charges of "complicity in the spread of sexual images of children and other crimes such as drug trafficking on the messaging app," the report said. French authorities said Durov has been released but placed under "judicial supervision," which requires the Telegram founder to remain in France, according to Reuters. Durov also has to pay a 5 million euro deposit, the news agency reported.
- OpenSea CEO?says NFT marketplace received Wells Notice and pledges $5 million to help defend creators against SEC Commentary: OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer said the NFT marketplace has been given a Wells Notice by the SEC, a sign that the agency may be about to file an enforcement action against it. Finzer said this was a move into uncharted territory. "By targeting NFTs, the SEC would stifle innovation on an even broader scale: hundreds of thousands of online artists and creatives are at risk, and many do not have the resources to defend themselves."
- HashKey?adds AVA and LINK trading for Hong Kong retail investors Commentary: Retail cryptocurrency investors in Hong Kong have expanded investment options with the approval of the listing of the Avalanche and Chainlink coins on Hashkey, one of only two fully licensed exchanges in the jurisdiction. Until now, retail offerings in Hong Kong were limited to Bitcoin and Ether. Avalanche and Chainlink are available to retail on Hashkey for trading against the US dollar. HashKey CEO Livio Weng told the South China Morning Post that those coins were chosen for listing because there are no legal conflicts surrounding them, unlike many cryptocurrencies with larger market caps.
- Stacks?begins Nakamoto upgrade Commentary: Stacks, a layer-2 blockchain that augments the Bitcoin network, has begun its Nakamoto upgrade to make transactions even faster. The Nakamoto upgrade, named after Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, will decouple the block production schedule on Stacks from Bitcoin's. Network operators now have a two-week window to implement the Nakamoto upgrade, after which there will be a hard fork that completes the process.
- Aave Labs?proposes integrating the GHO stability module with BlackRock’s BUIDL Commentary: Aave Labs has introduced a temperature check proposal to update the GHO Stability Module (GSM) to manage its stablecoin system more efficiently by integrating BUIDL, the tokenized fund from BlackRock that represents traditional assets like cash and U.S. Treasury bills. This contract enables the conversion of two tokens at a predetermined ratio. “Aave Labs proposes to build a new instance of GSM that supports external integrations and related control mechanisms, specifically supporting BlackRock’s BUIDL.” GSM exists to secure Aave’s native stablecoin GHO’s 1:1 convertibility with another asset, Aave explained.
- MakerDAO?rebrands to Sky, DAI stablecoin optionally upgradeable to USDS Commentary: MakerDAO, the decentralized autonomous organization behind the DAI stablecoin, has rebranded to Sky and named its new upgradeable tokens, set to launch on Sept. 18. As part of the project’s “Endgame” plan, the changes will allow DAI holders to upgrade to a new stablecoin, Sky Dollar (USDS), at a 1:1 ratio that provides access to native token rewards.
- Celsius?distributes $2.5B to 251,000 creditors amid bankruptcy proceedings Commentary: Celsius has repaid two-thirds of its eligible customers as part of its long-awaited bankruptcy proceedings. According to an Aug. 26 court filing, the bankrupt crypto lender has repaid approximately $2.53 billion to 251,000 creditors. Not all creditors are actively looking to claim their cryptocurrency due to the small amount they are owed. The bankruptcy administrator will retry distributing to these creditors via Coinbase every two weeks, while PayPal claim codes always remain redeemable for credits.
- Vitalik Buterin?breaks down 2023 Ethereum Foundation spending Commentary: Following community questions about the Ethereum Foundation's spending, co-founder Vitalik Buterin, and spokesperson Josh Stark provided a breakdown of the foundation's 2023 spending in an Aug. 27 social media post. Spending on "new institutions"-new organizations or entities that bolster the Ethereum ecosystem- was by far the biggest expense category at 36.5%. Layer-1 (L1) research and development accounted for 24.9% of the Ethereum Foundation's expenses in 2023.
- Abra?settles with SEC over unregistered securities charges Commentary: The United States Securities and Exchange Commission announced that cryptocurrency platform Abra had agreed to a settlement over allegations the firm did not register the offers and sales of its lending product. The regulator said Plutus Lending, doing business as Abra, “without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations,” had agreed to pay civil penalties to be determined by a court and an injunction prohibiting the firm from violating securities laws.
- Crypto. com?taps Standard Chartered to expand global fiat services Commentary: Singapore-based crypto exchange Crypto. com has unveiled a new retail services business to expand access to U.S. dollars, euros, and United Arab Emirates dirham in partnership with Standard Chartered. The global retail services will be managed from Crypto. com's Dubai regional hub and available in 90 countries. The service, which will support “seamless” fiat deposits and withdrawals via the Crypto. com App, will roll out next month beginning with customers in the UAE and expand from there.
- Trump?to announce plan to make US 'crypto capital of the planet' Commentary: Former President Donald Trump posted to X that later Thursday he would unveil a plan to ensure the United States is the “crypto capital of the planet.” He also tagged World Liberty Financial in his post, a DeFi project his sons promoted.
- Bloomberg adding?Polymarket?election data to Terminal Commentary: Bloomberg LP, the financial data and news service, is adding election odds data from crypto betting platform Polymarket to its Terminal. The integration highlights the growing importance of prediction markets in analyzing political trends and election odds. It also underscores the increasing adoption of Web3 by traditional financial institutions. Polymarket has emerged as the go-to platform for tracking real-time odds on outcomes for the US elections, with monthly trading volume for August approaching $450 million, according to Dune Analytics.
- Stablecoin market cap?hits new all-time high, beating early 2022 record Commentary: The total stablecoin market capitalization, excluding algorithmic stablecoins, hit its all-time high over the weekend, DefiLlama data shows. A rising stablecoin market cap may indicate that crypto is attracting more money from institutional investors, Rachael Lucas, a crypto analyst of BTCMarkets, told The Block. “Traditionally, demand for stability in uncertain market conditions has driven investors towards stablecoins as a safe haven,” Lucas said. “Alternatively, the increase in the stablecoin market cap could reflect growing confidence in the crypto market, especially from institutional investors.”
- Bitcoin miner Rhodium?files for bankruptcy in Texas court Commentary: Bitcoin mining firm Rhodium Enterprises has filed for voluntary bankruptcy under Chapter 11 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, revealing liabilities of up to $100 million. Rhodium is one of the crypto miners severely affected by the last bear market. In 2023, competitor Rio Platforms filed a lawsuit against Rhodium Enterprises to recover more than $26 million in unpaid fees related to the use of Riot’s Whinstone Bitcoin mining facilities.
- Crypto-friendly?RFK Jr.?suspends independent presidential bid Commentary: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Friday that he was suspending his independent presidential bid and throwing his support behind Donald Trump, seeking a second term as US president. Kennedy’s official independent platform focused on small businesses, bitcoin, and blockchain technology — which he claimed are “essential to human freedom — and “tax fairness” among other issues. He, like Trump, also made an appearance at Bitcoin 2024 back in July.
- PayPal and Anchorage?partner on PYUSD stablecoin rewards program Commentary: Payments giant PayPal and crypto custodian Anchorage Digital are partnering on a stablecoin rewards program. The program will pay out the yield on PayPal USD tokens held by the crypto-native bank or in Anchorage’s institutional self-custody wallet Porto. The launch of the rewards program pitched toward Anchorage’s accredited institutional clients, comes amid a period of accelerating growth for PayPal’s branded stablecoin, which has yet to crack a $1 billion market capitalization a year after its release.
- September 5 -?U.S. Initial Jobless Claims
- September 6?- U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls / Unemployment Rate
- September 11?- U.S. Consumer Price Index for August
- September 17?- U.S. Retail Sales
- September 18?- U.S. FOMC Interest Rate Decision
- September 27?- BTC CME August (BTCU24) Options Expiry
- November 7?- U.S. FOMC Interest Rate Decision
