Collective Shift

Join Nick and Simon as they preview the election in the final hours before voting, discuss Bitcoin’s strength challenging news highs and the impact of more MicroStrategy buying.

Key Takeaways 

1. Bitcoin fails to break through to a new all-time high.
2. Bitcoin is showing strength with ETF flows, open interest and dominance all approaching highs.
3. Solana continues to stand up as Ethereum struggles.

Join Matt and Nick as they break down payments giant Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge, a stablecoin company. They also talk about Goatseus Maximum (GOAT), Truth Terminal, certain Solana metrics hitting all-time highs, and more.

Key Takeaways 

1. The crypto market slid last week as all eyes remain on the U.S. presidential election. Solana (SOL) was one of the few exceptions to record a weekly gain. 
2. Stripe's acquisition of stablecoin company Bridge will be looked back on as one of the highlights of 2024. Not only does it help legitimise the crypto industry, it should help accelerate stablecoin growth.
3. Kraken announced Ink, an Ethereum L2 built on Optimism’s OP Stack. It is expected to go live in early 2025.
4. Among the other altcoin updates covered: growth in Solana’s metrics and Maker’s disappointing rebrand.

Join Matt and Nick as they discuss Bitcoin's recent surge and Stripe's alleged $1.1B  acquisition of stablecoin company Bridge. They also cover a16z's annual report on the state of crypto, the disappointing launch of World Liberty Financial (WLFI), and more.

Key Takeaways 

1. Bitcoin (BTC) hit a three-month high of $69,400 and BTC dominance climbed to its highest level since March 2021 of 58.5%. This latest rally comes as several other traditional assets are posting all-time highs.
2. Payments giant Stripe reportedly acquired stablecoin company Bridge in a $1.1B deal. If true, the acquisition would be the largest in the crypto industry’s history and should fuel further stablecoin growth.
3. a16z crypto published its annual report on the state of crypto, highlighting stablecoin adoption, rising levels of onchain activity, and more.
4. Among the altcoin updates covered: Arbitrum lost its long-held lead as the top Ethereum L2 by total value locked (TVL) and World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token sale disappoints despite its affiliation with Donald Trump and his three sons.

Join Nick and Simon as they cover Trump-linked World Liberty Financial's massive token sale, Uniswap dropping its Ethereum L2, Unichain, memecoin promoter Murad Mahmudov getting doxxed after his viral ‘memecoin supercycle' presentation and a new crypto game attracts attention from web2 gamers.

Key Takeaways 

• Donald Trump’s affiliated cryptocurrency, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), will hold a token sale this week to raise $300M at a valuation of $1.5B.
• Uniswap, the largest DeFi application, announced Ethereum L2 called Unichain.
• ‘Off The Grid’ debuted to strong interest on the Epic Games Store, making it one of the most successful first-day launches of a crypto game.
• Memecoin promoter Murad Mahmudov has risen to fame after his viral ‘memecoin supercycle’ presentation, causing onchain sleuths to dox his wallets.

Join Matt and Nick as they discuss the latest developments in the crypto market, Bitcoin’s resilience amid market uncertainty, Swift pushing further into crypto, the ongoing legal battle between the SEC and Ripple Labs, and more. They also discuss one of the biggest insider secrets after a week to forget for EigenLayer (EIGEN) and Celestia (TIA).

Key Takeaways 

1. Crypto encountered increased volatility as uncertainty in the Middle East rose. The market has since rebounded but is ultimately still trading rangebound, with Bitcoin (BTC) now in its eighth straight month between $54K and $72K.
2. ANZ became Australia’s first bank to join Project Guardian, an initiative steered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Watch out for Chainlink’s SmartCon later this month, where other banks and financial institutions may share announcements.
3. Sui (SUI) continues to grow strongly in terms of total value locked (TVL) as more market participants look to take advantage of incentives. It’s clear that Sui has been one of the strongest-performing blockchains of 2024.
4. Celestia (TIA) and EigenLayer (EIGEN) were involved in controversy after awareness spread of people selling their staking rewards, despite them having locked tokens. While TIA and EIGEN were arguably singled out, given this has been happening for years, it what ultimately a good thing that this news surfaced.
5. Among the other altcoin updates covered: Bitwise’s spot XRP ETF application and Sui’s native Ethereum bridge.

Join Matt and Nick as they discuss how Bitcoin put in its strongest September in over a decade. They also cover U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ first comments about blockchain; crypto announcements from Visa and PayPal; altcoins; and more.

Key Takeaways 

• Bitcoin (BTC) put in its strongest September in over a decade. We now enter Q4, which is BTC’s best quarter based on past performance.
• BNY Mellon, the world’s largest custody bank, received approval from the U.S. SEC to custody the spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. It was also granted an exemption from SAB 121, essentially making it commercially viable for BNY Mellon to start offering crypto custody services.
• U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said she wants the country to “remain dominant” in blockchain and other emerging technologies. While it is somewhat encouraging to see Harris finally mentioning crypto, we still lack any clear details about her crypto policies would be if she wins November’s election.
• PayPal and Visa each announced their latest crypto offering, a promising sign for adoption.
• While FTX distributions are likely to start in Q4, the process will likely extend into 2025. This story is not as bullish as many are making it out to be.
• Among the altcoin updates covered: Celestia’s $100M funding round, EigenLayer’s EIGEN token becomes transferable, and Ethena’s new stablecoin tied to BlackRock’s BUIDL fund.

Join Matt and Nick as they break down Token2049 and Solana Breakpoint 2024, two of the largest crypto conferences of the year. They also discuss the latest with World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the upcoming crypto project associated with Donald Trump and the Trump family.

Key Takeaways 

• The U.S. central bank cut rates for the first time in more than three years. Further cuts are expected by year-end and throughout 2025, ideal conditions for risk-on assets such as crypto.
• Donald Trump and other Trump family members shared limited information about World Liberty Financial and its WLFI token.
• Token2049 was likely the largest crypto conference to date. Key themes included DePIN and Crypto x AI.
• Solana Breakpoint was an overwhelming success. It featured Firedancer development updates, multiple project announcements, and more. Next year’s will be in Abu Dhabi from December 11–13.
• Among the altcoin updates covered: USDC stablecoin arrives on Sui and Maker officially rebrands to Sky.

Join Matt and Nick as they break down Trump’s new crypto project, World Liberty Financial, and Japan’s largest energy company expanding into Bitcoin mining. They also discuss certain altcoin updates related to Solana, EigenLayer, Ethereum Name Service, and more.

Key Takeaways 

• Crypto prices have rebounded, led by BTC. Notably, the ETH/BTC pair hit its lowest level since April 2021.
• World Liberty Financial, the upcoming DeFi project tied to the Trump family, is gearing up for launch. More details to come this week when Donald Trump appears on an X Space.
• A subcommittee of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee gathered for a 90-minute hearing devoted to DeFi for the first time. More crypto hearings will take place before the end of the month.
• Japan continues to adopt crypto and blockchain technology, with recent news highlighted by the country’s largest energy company announcing that it had started mining BTC with excess energy.
• Coinbase’s launch of cbBTC, a wrapped BTC token, may spur additional growth in the Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem.
• Among the altcoin updates covered: Solana Breakpoint 2024; Chainlink SmartCon 2024; EIGEN stakedrop; and ENS integrating into PayPal and Venmo.

Join Matt and Nick as they break down the crypto market sell-off, the state of crypto regulations in the U.S., Wells Fargo’s potential Bitcoin ETF push, and more. They also discuss certain altcoin updates including Arbitrum Stylus and Polygon’s token migration.

Key Takeaways

• The crypto market slid amid weakness in stock markets, with ETH temporarily hitting a year-to-date low under $2,200.
• Last week’s Bitcoin ETF flows totalled -$706M. Net outflows have now occurred for eight straight trading days.
• Wells Fargo reportedly plans to start actively pitching the spot Bitcoin ETFs to certain clients as of this month. Access to these ETFs should only keep improving over the coming months and years.
• Qatar announced a comprehensive framework for regulating crypto in a bid to attract global businesses.
• There are seven altcoin-specific conferences in the next seven weeks: Solana Breakpoint, Cardano Summit, Chainlink SmartCon, Ripple Swell, Stellar Meridian 2024, Cosmoverse, and Avalanche Summit LATAM.
• Among the altcoin updates covered: Arbitrum Stylus, MATIC to POL token migration, and Ripple USD (RLUSD).

Join Matt and Nick as they break down August’s market performance, stablecoin supply hitting all-time highs, and the market outlook for September. They also discuss certain altcoins updates including outages for the TON blockchain and MakerDAO’s rebrand.

Key Takeaways 

• August was a rough month for crypto—led by BTC (-8.7%), ETH (-22.3%) and SOL (-21.1%)—while major U.S. stock indices managed to record their fourth straight monthly gain.
• Seasonality indicates that it will be more of the same in September, given it has historically been one of BTC’s worst months.
• Stablecoin supply hit all-time highs, indicating increased demand to use blockchains.
• Among the altcoin updates covered: TON struggles with network performance and MakerDAO rebrands to Sky.