Blockchain technology was borne out of self-funded innovation. Satoshi Nakamoto, whether a team or individual, most likely funded their own research and development of the Bitcoin protocol. This was similarly the case for many of the initial developments that followed.
But since then, the technology has advanced. And with each subsequent innovation, breakthroughs have become harder to attain, demanding and consuming more resources. And so, self-funded development is becoming increasingly unsustainable for many developers.
Many web3 projects now need external funding to sustain the R&D level demanded by the current blockchain environment. And in a space that lacks well-established funding models, it has fallen to foundations to provide this much-needed support.
The Role of Foundations in Crypto Development
The blockchain sector is far from maturing. And with increasing research and development costs, funding remains a persistent challenge for many developers and projects. This is in no small part because traditional funding models often don’t align well with the ethos underpinning much of the crypto space.
Venture capitalists prioritize control, rapid growth, and quick returns on investment. They usually seek equity or significant influence over the projects they fund, which creates tension in a space where power and control are distributed rather than centralized.
Foundations, however, are typically mission-driven and focused on the overall health and growth of the ecosystem. This allows them to fund projects in ways that don’t conflict with the core principles of the technology.
As such, they are filling the role that venture capitalists and investors traditionally fulfill in industries.
Metis Foundation’s $4 Million Annualized Incentive Program
On August 13th, the Metis Foundation launched a $4 million annual support program. This initiative is aimed at providing major support to innovative projects building solutions on the network. The funds will be distributed through strategic partnerships with developers and entrepreneurs in the ecosystem.
Metis is a decentralized Layer 2 protocol on Ethereum. It is designed to enhance scalability, security, and user experience on the blockchain. Dedicated to its development and adoption is the Metis Foundation, an initiative that aims to build a robust ecosystem that empowers stakeholders to develop web3 solutions.
Gitcoin, a platform that connects developers with open-source projects and funding opportunities, is the foundation’s first partner. By leveraging Gitcoin’s established reputation in supporting open-source development, Metis is tapping into a vast network of developers passionate about decentralized technologies.
This collaboration ensures that the funds are not only distributed but are used effectively to drive impactful projects that align with the Metis network’s goals. Gitcoin will help direct support and resources to the most promising and innovative projects, creating a community where developers can thrive and push the boundaries of what’s possible in the space.
In the announcement, Sov, the Head of Grants at Gitcoin, expressed excitement about the partnership, highlighting the potential for these grants to catalyze significant growth within the Metis ecosystem.
Elena Sinelnikova, Co-Founder at Metis Foundation, highlighted the foundation’s commitment to innovation. She noted that a partnership with Gitcoin will allow them to better provide the necessary resources and support to turn visionary ideas into reality on the Metis network.
Fostering Blockchain Innovation
Metis’s focus on Layer 2 scaling solutions addresses one of the most pressing challenges in blockchain technology: scalability. By providing substantial support for innovative applications on its platform, Metis is positioning itself at the forefront of efforts to make blockchain technology faster and cheaper.
This initiative is likely to accelerate the development of decentralized applications (dApps) that can handle higher transaction volumes with lower costs. The potential impact extends beyond just technical improvements – it could help nurture blockchain solutions that eventually drive mass adoption across various industries.
In this way, blockchain foundations are the lifeblood of innovation in the crypto space. They provide the necessary funding, stability, and ecosystem support, for web3 projects, allowing the technology to continue accelerating.
On August 12, Bitcoin experienced a sharp spike in volatility, initially dropping 3.2% to $57,844 in under an hour before rebounding by 5% to reach $60,700 within the next thirty minutes. This sudden price swing reflects the uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment, particularly following remarks from a U.S. Federal Reserve governor over the weekend. These comments also contributed to a surge in gold prices, which climbed to $2,458, just 1% below its all-time high.
The potential for an economic downturn poses the biggest risk for a Bitcoin price crash. Traders are now questioning whether Bitcoin might retest its August 5 low of $49,248, especially given the declining interest in leveraged BTC longs and the increasing risk of a correction in the global stock market.
JPMorgan economists have raised the probability of a U.S. recession in 2024 to 35%, up from a previous estimate of 25%. This adjustment, as reported by Bloomberg, is due to weak labor market conditions and a restrictive Federal Reserve policy. On August 10, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman stated that inflation risks persist and the labor market remains weak, reducing the likelihood of an interest rate cut in September. Investors are now eagerly awaiting the U.S. Producer Price Index on August 13 and the Consumer Price Index on August 14, which are expected to offer clues about the Fed’s next moves.
To better understand the recent Bitcoin price volatility, it’s important to analyze the Bitcoin futures markets. BTC monthly futures carry an inherent cost due to their extended settlement period, with sellers typically demanding a 5% to 10% annualized premium to compensate.
The annualized Bitcoin futures premium fell to 6% on August 12, down from 9% on August 11 as Bitcoin retested the $58,000 support level. Although this level remains within the neutral range, it indicates a lack of demand for leverage from bulls—a trend that has persisted since July 30, the last time the premium exceeded 10%.
To assess whether this sentiment shift is isolated to the futures market, it’s useful to examine Bitcoin options markets. The delta skew metric, which indicates market sentiment, has remained stable over the past week, suggesting no significant imbalance in the pricing of put (sell) and call (buy) options. Despite the recent price drop, there are no signs of stress, and the market remains neutral.
One explanation for this neutral sentiment could be the reduction of excessive leverage in the market. The recent volatility likely reduced demand for leverage, with both bulls and bears facing liquidations totaling $634 million in BTC futures. However, this doesn’t fully explain why Bitcoin futures open interest remains at $28.8 billion.
The most likely reason for the current sentiment is the rise of “cash and carry” strategies, where traders engage in fixed-income operations to capture the futures premium, rendering market direction irrelevant. This suggests that Bitcoin derivatives are becoming less reliant on retail trading, with CME emerging as the leader with a 29% market share. Even with ongoing price volatility, there is no clear indication that traders are turning bearish or that excessive liquidation could lead to a significant drop down to $52,000.
Bitcoin-stacking investment firm Metaplanet has made a significant move by purchasing an additional 21.88 Bitcoin, valued at over $1.2 million (200 million Japanese yen), amid a recent Bitcoin rally that has driven prices close to $65,000.
In its latest purchase statement dated July 16, the Japan-based firm revealed that its total Bitcoin holdings now stand at 225.6 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $14.6 million.
This recent acquisition, coupled with a 4.4% rise in Bitcoin’s price over the last 24 hours, has led to a notable surge in Metaplanet’s share prices.
According to Google Finance data, the company’s shares jumped 25.8% to $0.74 (117 yen) within the first two and a half hours of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on July 16.
Earlier this month, Metaplanet took advantage of a dip in Bitcoin’s price, purchasing an additional 42.46 Bitcoin on July 7 for $2.5 million (400 million yen).
This strategic move has contributed to the firm’s stock price soaring nearly six-fold since it announced its Bitcoin investment strategy on April 9, 2024.
Despite the impressive growth in its stock price, Metaplanet’s overall gain on its Bitcoin holdings is modest at 2.8%, given its average Bitcoin purchase price of $62,890.
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According to CoinGecko, Metaplanet is currently the 21st-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin globally.
Often referred to as “Asia’s MicroStrategy,” Metaplanet mirrors the investment approach of Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy from 2020.
On May 13, Metaplanet reiterated its commitment to utilizing a full range of capital market instruments to enhance its Bitcoin reserves.
The firm adopted this strategy as a hedge against Japan’s escalating debt and the rapidly depreciating Japanese yen.
Since January 2021, the yen has depreciated nearly 54% against the U.S. dollar, while Bitcoin has appreciated over 145% against the yen in the past year.
Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $64,640, marking a 13.6% increase over the past week.
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Coinbase has initiated legal action against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), according to a FoxBusiness report.
The lawsuits, filed on June 27, assert that the SEC and FDIC did not comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The lawsuits claim that the federal agencies are attempting to exclude the crypto industry from the banking sector.
Coinbase’s FOIA requests to the SEC were aimed at obtaining information about the agency’s stance on Ethereum, particularly its transition to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.
Coinbase sought records related to Ethereum 2.0 and previous investigations involving Zachary Coburn and Enigma MPC through its consultant firm, History Associates Inc.
According to History Associates:
“For nearly two years, a wide array of federal financial regulators—including the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve Board—have used every regulatory tool at their disposal to try to cripple the digital-asset industry.
“This FOIA lawsuit seeks to bring to light the FDIC’s role in that unlawful scheme.”
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Coinbase’s complaints argue that the regulatory actions against the crypto industry are part of a broader effort to undermine it.
The lawsuits describe the actions of the SEC and FDIC as “a coordinated attempt to cut off digital-asset firms from essential banking services.”
According to the legal documents, Coinbase views the SEC’s refusal to release records from concluded investigations as:
“A deliberate obstruction to understanding the legal framework behind the agency’s enforcement actions.”
This legal action is part of what History Associates describes as “Coinbase’s ongoing conflict with U.S. regulators.” Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, stated in an X thread:
“Financial regulators have used multiple tools at their disposal to try to cripple the digital-asset industry. […] This is no way to regulate.
“And this is no way to operate a transparent government.”
History Associates highlights the “broader debate over how digital assets should be regulated in the U.S.” as Coinbase continues to advocate for clearer guidelines.
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Bitcoin and Ether both experienced a 3.5% drop on May 24, disappointing many who anticipated a market boost from a significant institutional development.
According to Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, BTC hovered near $67,000, while ETH was priced at $3,670.
The expected market reaction to the U.S. regulators’ approval of spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) did not materialize.
This landmark decision for the crypto industry marks a significant policy reversal by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
However, the ETFs are not yet ready for trading, as additional preparations are required, which analysts suggest could take several weeks, pushing the potential launch to mid-June.
James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas, ETF analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence, discussed the possibility of a mid-June launch for the ETFs.
Consequently, BTC/USD and ETH/USD did not see a significant upward movement, instead retracting from local highs as the daily trading session closed.
Market participants were particularly interested in the interplay between Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Battles to Hold $69,000 as Analysts Eye Potential Retracement
Daan Crypto Trades, a well-known trader, highlighted the impact of Ethereum’s recent rally on Bitcoin’s market dominance.
“With the recent $ETH rally, we’ve seen #Bitcoin Dominance head back down,” he stated on X.
“This has been in an up trend for about 1.5 years and if there’s anything that could reverse this trend it would be ETH leading on the back of an ETF being approved. 52% and 48% are the main levels.”
Other traders echoed this sentiment, suggesting that a shift in dominance could signal the beginning of an “altseason.”
Bitcoin’s dominance reached 57% in mid-April, its highest in over two years, just before the block subsidy halving event.
Popular trader Skew analyzed potential support levels for BTC, identifying a key zone around $66,000. In his May 23 analysis, he noted significant bid liquidity on Binance, the largest global exchange.
“Seeing some initial spot demand around $66K – $65K, reaction is key as well to gauge absorption of sellers. Spot supply remains around current high $72K – $76K,” he confirmed.
Skew emphasized that the recent price movements were primarily driven by spot exchanges, particularly highlighting Binance and Coinbase, the largest U.S. trading platform.
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Dabba, a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) aiming to connect underserved and unconnected populations with cheap wireless data, unveiled the launch of the purchase of Wi-Fi hotspots, making them available for users to buy worldwide. This will be the second campaign, following a successful testnet that saw over 1,500 hotspots distributed to rural and semi-urban areas in India.
The latest campaign will make over 10,000 Dabba Lite hotspots available for purchase across the globe, with a goal of selling over 100,000 in 2024. With the launch of the second season, Dabba is aligning its goals towards its vision to provide cheap and accessible internet services to underserved regions globally, the team statement reads.
Following the purchase, the hotspots can be deployed by network partners across India, expanding decentralized internet connectivity across the country and providing cheap internet access across rural and semi-urban areas. Moreover, the DePIN service helps in reducing data congestion in regions with high data demand.
According to the team statement, users can start purchasing the hotspots following the live launch of its DePIN service on May 23, 2024 – ahead of the planned token generation event (TGE) scheduled for July on the Solana blockchain.
The token will support the creation of a two-sided marketplace between data consumers and providers responsible for building and maintaining internet infrastructure. The token will power the Dabba ecosystem and also reward contributors and stakeholders helping the ecosystem run seamlessly.
Dabba is focused on India, a country that boasts the second-highest number of internet users, but only 44% of its residents have internet access. Most of the rural and semi-urban areas are underserved by incumbent data solutions. With their experience in offering internet services to underserved regions, Dabba selected India as their starting point for supplying decentralized internet services.
This follows previous roles for the company in the country such as powering Google’s public wifi deployments and a partnership with the Indian government to ensure the legislation is in place to support the rollout of its demand-based DePIN.
Fast progress in offering cheap internet
Since its launch, Dabba has been at the forefront of offering users fast and accessible internet services. The first season (its trial campaign) saw the company sell all 1,000 Dabba Lite hotspot devices within days following the launch. Via its DePIN infrastructure, millions of citizens across India have had access to affordable internet.
Since then, the company has sold and deployed 500 more hotspots and more than 15,000 unique devices connected in the process. Additionally, the hotspots have provided more than 390 TB of data via the DePIN infrastructure and grossed more than $4,500 in revenue from their customers. This aims to reduce data congestion and meet the growing demand for wi-fi users across the world’s most populous democracy.
In tandem with the season two rollout, Dabba users can now discover current data hotspots and view current network performance via the newly launched explorer. The explorer initially provides data for the Dabba testnet, which has been operational for the past two months.
Dabba elects to solve real-world problems
The launch of Dabba hotspots aims to solve the problem of a lack of accessible and affordable wireless data. With Dabba, users will have access to DePINs, which provide wireless data and access to Web 3 features such as tokenization. The latest tokenization features will open up the ecosystem to more users, ensuring a genuine demand for its service and a viable business model that can scale to match demand.
To bootstrap adoption to the platform, Dabba is incentivizing early users (those who join before the TGE event) with enhanced Genesis rewards. Additionally, the platform will empower over 150,000 Local Cable Operators (LCO) that operate as micro-ISPs across India, providing an unrivalled high-speed network across the country.
The journey for the cryptocurrency Shiba Inu (SHIB) towards a potential price of 2.5 cents has been filled with challenges and fluctuations.
Recently, the crypto market experienced a surge of enthusiasm that temporarily boosted several tokens, including Shiba Inu.
However, this optimism quickly waned as the market downturn took over, leading to a significant decrease in SHIB’s value.
Currently, Shiba Inu is priced at $0.00002259, reflecting an 8.14% drop over the past week and a stark 32% decline from its price 60 days ago.
Despite the enthusiasm of SHIB supporters for a substantial increase to $0.025, the path to reaching such a milestone appears increasingly difficult.
Amidst these market uncertainties, the analytics platform Telegaon has provided some insights into SHIB’s future price movements.
According to their analysis, Shiba Inu might achieve the $0.025 mark between the years 2035 and 2040.
Starting from its current price, SHIB would need to undergo a massive rally of 110,568% to reach this target.
This ambitious growth forecast is not unfounded considering Shiba Inu’s historical performance.
In January 2021, SHIB was trading at a mere $0.00000001, as per data from CoinMarketCap.
By October of the same year, the cryptocurrency had surged to its all-time high of $0.00008845, marking an impressive 884,400% increase.
This historical precedent suggests that a 110,568% rally is within the realm of possibility for Shiba Inu.
In their forecast, Telegaon anticipates that SHIB will eliminate three leading zeros from its price to hit the $0.025 mark in about 16 years.
This view is corroborated by analysts at the cryptocurrency exchange Changelly, who also support a 2040 timeline for Shiba Inu to reach this price threshold.
As the crypto community watches these developments, the potential for Shiba Inu to replicate its past explosive growth remains a topic of keen interest and speculation.
The consensus among experts seems to lean towards a long-term horizon for SHIB to achieve these ambitious goals.
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Binance, the global cryptocurrency exchange, has recently received approval from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in India, allowing it to offer services in the country.
This development positions Binance as the second offshore crypto exchange to receive such regulatory approval, following KuCoin.
In a CoinDesk report, FIU head Vivek Agarwal stated, “Binance is now a registered entity.”
The approval comes after Binance, along with KuCoin and other major exchanges like Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex, were issued non-compliance notices by Indian authorities in December 2023.
The Indian Finance Ministry had subsequently directed its IT department to block access to these platforms in mid-January 2024.
These regulatory challenges prompted several exchanges to seek compliance with FIU requirements to continue operating in India.
While KuCoin and Binance successfully navigated the regulatory landscape to reinstate their services, others such as OKX and BitStamp opted to cease operations within the country.
READ MORE: Australia’s Tax Office Targets 1.2 Million Crypto Users in Compliance Crackdown
In response to India’s stringent tax laws on cryptocurrency—comprising a 30% tax on gains and a 1% tax deduction at source on each transaction—many Indian investors turned to foreign exchanges like Binance. At its height, Binance handled 90% of crypto trading volume from India.
The Indian market’s heavy tax burden led to a significant migration of crypto traders and businesses to more favorable regulatory environments abroad.
Consequently, the remaining crypto exchanges in India faced difficulties in building trust with investors, further hampered by the absence of robust banking solutions.
Despite these challenges, India remains a key market for major cryptocurrency exchanges.
However, the regulatory uncertainty and stringent tax measures have cooled its appeal on the global crypto stage.
As of the latest updates, Cointelegraph has reached out to both Binance and FIU for comments but has not received any response yet.
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On May 10, the Bitcoin market experienced a significant drop, plunging over $2,000 in just an hour amidst a wave of volatility.
Before this sudden decline, Bitcoin had been relatively stable, with prices hovering around $63,494. However, the cryptocurrency soon fell to an intra-day low of $60,308, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.
This sharp decline resulted in substantial losses for leveraged long traders who had not anticipated the drop.
Michaël van de Poppe, founder of MN Capital, commented on the situation, noting that Bitcoin had been showing “low volatility” and choppy price action since February 29.
He regarded the drop as part of a “final accumulation” phase, suggesting that if the support level was not maintained, prices could potentially fall further to between $52,000 and $55,000 as the final stage of correction.
Adding to the insights, Daan Crypto Trades mentioned that the previous day’s flash crash to $60,000 was a quick market movement meant to “punish those longs that aped in above $63K.”
This sentiment was echoed by the fact that the downturn on May 10 resulted in the liquidation of $127 million in long positions.
This contributed to a larger total wipeout of $175.17 million in a 24-hour period, as reported by Coinglass.
In just the last hour, $9 million worth of BTC leveraged positions were liquidated, which included $6.36 million from long positions alone.
This reflects the high stakes and rapid changes in the Bitcoin trading market, underlining the volatility and the dramatic impacts it can have on traders.
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Coinbase, the prominent crypto exchange, along with its CEO Brian Armstrong, finds itself embroiled in a fresh class-action lawsuit, alleging deception of investors into purchasing securities and asserting the illegality of the company’s business model.
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California San Francisco Division, is brought forth by plaintiffs Gerardo Aceves, Thomas Fan, Edwin Martinez, Tiffany Smoot, Edouard Cordi, and Brett Maggard from California and Florida. It alleges that Coinbase’s sales of digital assets knowingly contravened state securities laws from the company’s inception.
According to the lawsuit, tokens from Solana, Polygon, Near Protocol, Decentraland, Algorand, Uniswap, Tezos, and Stellar Lumens are deemed securities.
The plaintiffs argue that Coinbase, in its user agreement, acknowledges itself as a “Securities Broker,” thereby characterizing the digital asset securities it sells as investment contracts or other securities.
They further contend that Coinbase Prime brokerage functions as a securities broker.
In seeking resolution, the plaintiffs demand complete rescission, statutory damages pursuant to state law, and injunctive relief via a jury trial.
This legal action echoes a prior class-action suit alleging consumer detriment stemming from Coinbase’s sale of securities.
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Coinbase has countered these allegations, asserting that secondary crypto asset sales fail to meet securities transaction criteria and challenging the applicability of securities regulations.
This recent lawsuit diverges from Coinbase’s widely publicized legal clash with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which also scrutinizes whether tokens traded on Coinbase should be categorized as securities.
In response to a judge’s ruling permitting the case to proceed, Coinbase has lodged an interlocutory appeal.
In a filing dated April 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, John Deaton, a crypto lawyer currently campaigning to unseat Senator Elizabeth Warren, submitted an amicus brief supporting a motion for interlocutory appeal on behalf of 4,701 Coinbase customers.
Despite legal challenges, Coinbase reported a robust resurgence in the first quarter of 2024, buoyed by market performance improvements and the rollout of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Notably, the exchange recorded $1.6 billion in total revenue and $1.2 billion in net income for the first quarter, achieving $1 billion in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
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