Paradox (PDX) news

Verdict's In: Sam Bankman-Fried's Testimony in the Final Weeks Leaves No Room for Doubt

TL;DR: - SBF took the stand to defend his own case but the plan backfired. - Jurors unanimously decided that he was guilty on all seven charges. - SBF will appeal the decision. - In March 2024, the judge will decide the specific details of the sentencing of this case, and SBF will have to face another trial for five more charges. The cryptocurrency world continued to witness courtroom drama as Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the former head of the now-defunct FTX exchange, took the stand to defend himself against a series of charges. From maintaining his innocence stance to putting the blame on all his once-trusted comrades and contradicting his own words, SBF did it all to argue that the downfall of FTX was a result of his honest mistakes. SBF’s Self-Defense Strategy: A Masterclass in How to Grill and Toast Your Own Case During Sam SBF's time on the stand in the courtroom, the high-stakes drama of his $8 billion fraud trial unfolded. Facing a potential life sentence if convicted, the founder of FTX had a lot to defend. His testimony was a pivotal moment as he confronted a barrage of criminal charges, including wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. SBF's testimony revolved around several key themes. He first discussed his limited knowledge of cryptocurrencies before launching FTX, emphasizing that he saw an opportunity in the market due to gaps in existing knowledge and infrastructure. He candidly admitted that he knew very little about cryptocurrencies initially. The defense team focused on depicting SBF as an overwhelmed entrepreneur rather than a deliberate criminal mastermind. They highlighted his admission of management mistakes, particularly the absence of a dedicated risk management team at FTX. SBF also discussed the overwhelming workload he faced as FTX's CEO, working long hours and receiving thousands of emails daily. Nonetheless, the prosecution emphasized his role in the extensive spending of FTX customer funds on marketing and promotional endeavors, such as naming rights for a basketball arena in Miami and lavish properties in the Bahamas. The defense's strategy rested on the notion that he believed these expenditures were funded by company profits, not customer funds. Another crucial aspect of his testimony was SBF's repeated attempts to convince Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research and his ex-girlfriend, to hedge Alameda's risk. He disclosed that he had discussed hedging strategies with her in late 2021 but expressed frustration that these suggestions were not implemented. The defense sought to place blame on Ellison for failing to take action on risk management, potentially diverting responsibility for financial troubles onto her. In the courtroom, the defense aimed to humanize SBF, explaining how he unintentionally became the public face of FTX and addressing his unconventional appearance and involvement in political issues related to pandemic prevention. The prosecution, on the other hand, presented a narrative of SBF as a tech executive who purposefully obscured his actions. They raised concerns about his deletion of messages and use of encrypted communications, suggesting that these practices were evidence of wrongdoing. During cross-examination, SBF’s daring decision to testify his own defense appeared to backfire even more as he struggled to recall critical details, undermining his credibility in the eyes of the jury. Prosecutors argued that his testimony painted a picture of a highly intelligent MIT graduate who, despite running billion-dollar companies and testifying before Congress, suddenly became "clueless" when it came to the financial health of his own company. Moreover, in the previous weeks, the courtroom had witnessed a series of damning testimonies from former top associates, many of whom had turned against him, implicating him in a complex scheme that allegedly used FTX customer money for a wide range of expenses, from venture investments to luxury properties. This laid the foundation for a challenging defense, as the government presented incriminating evidence, including encrypted Signal messages and internal documents suggesting SBF's involvement in spending FTX customer money. Jury’s Decision: Complex Case, Simple Verdict The stark contrast between SBF's prior boasted achievements and his alleged sudden amnesia in court became a focal point of the trial. Jurors were left to grapple with the paradox presented to them: Could a brilliant entrepreneur truly be unaware of the financial troubles brewing within his own empire until the eleventh hour? This perplexing question lay at the heart of their deliberations, as they weighed the credibility of the former crypto tycoon's claims against the evidence and testimonies presented in court. The verdict, delivered swiftly after only five hours of deliberation, was unanimous and found SBF guilty on all seven charges. The courtroom fell silent as the decision was read, and he now faces the possibility of up to more than 100 years in prison. The seven counts that he was found guilty on are: 1. Wire fraud on FTX customers 2. Conspiracy to commit wire fraud on FTX customers 3 4. Wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud on lenders to Alameda Research 5. Conspiracy to commit securities fraud on investors in FTX 6. Conspiracy to commit commodities fraud on FTX customers 7. Conspiracy to commit money laundering SBF’s Winning Streak: Seven Guilty Verdicts and Counting Following the jury's verdict finding Sam Bankman-Fried guilty on seven counts of fraud, his future is filled with uncertainty. The US District Court Judge, Lewis Kaplan, has scheduled his sentencing for March 28, 2024. Until then, SBF will return to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he has been held since August. Despite the guilty verdict, SBF's legal team remains undeterred. His lead counsel, Mark Cohen, expressed their disappointment with the outcome and stated that they would appeal the decision. US Attorney Damian Williams, in a press conference outside the Manhattan courthouse, celebrated the jury's decision and emphasized the government's commitment to combating fraud and corruption. He sent a stern warning to potential fraudsters, stating that no one is untouchable, and complex crimes will not go unpunished. Looking ahead, SBF's legal battles are far from over. In March 2024, the judge would decide SBF’s sentencing. Furthermore, the MIT graduate faces a second trial on five additional charges, which were separated from the recent proceedings. This trial is also scheduled for March, but prosecutors have until February 1 to decide whether it will proceed. The additional charges include: 1. Fraud on customers of FTX in connection with the purchase and sales of derivatives 2. Securities fraud on investors in FTX 3. Conspiracy to commit bank fraud 4. Conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business 5. Conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act The outcome of these legal proceedings will continue to shape the future for Sam Bankman-Fried, a figure once associated with the cryptocurrency world's highs and now grappling with a dramatically altered reality. To learn more about the FTX’s saga, read these articles: The Collapse of FTX The First Two Weeks of FTX Trial: Friends to Foes, Secrets Exposed What Happened During The Third Week of the Sam Bankman-Fried Trial Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are for informational purposes only. This article does not constitute an endorsement of any of the products and services discussed or investment, financial, or trading advice. Qualified professionals should be consulted prior to making financial decisions.

Bitget Research: The Lifespan of Memecoins Continues to Shorten, BTC Struggles to Surge and Breaks Below Key Support Level of US$27,500

the past 24 hours, there have been many new popular tokens and topics emerging in the market, and perhaps they could be the next market spotlight. In Summary: 1.Popular Tokens: LOVE (Token) — A memecoin with a unique whitelist mechanism, innovative hype strategy, and extreme popularity, but saw a large drop close to zero after its TGE. Promoted by influencer @M4573RCH, the whitelisting is secured by sending 0 ETH to his address. Non-airdrop users must have at least one LOVE token to engage in trading, requiring airdrop users to send LOVE tokens to non-airdrop users for trading to occur. Currently, there are 32,962 holders, on-chain liquidity of US$2.33 million, and a trading volume of US$9.89 million in the last 24 hours. The token is very volatile, making it essential to observe its performance. DIP (Token) — The IP is derived from “buy the dip”. It has 1194 followers on Twitter, with some influencers recommending it. Currently, the on-chain liquidity is US$165,000, and the trading volume in the last 24 hours is US$8.51 million. The token is very volatile, with a drop of 95% today. No major risks have been detected in the contract. It is essential to observe its performance. Tuzki (Token) — The IP is derived from the Tuzki meme. It has 640 followers on Twitter. The token was launched two days ago, with on-chain liquidity of US$165,000, and a trading volume of US$9.83 million in the last 24 hours. The token has 1486 holders. Contract inspection reveals transaction cooldown and anti-whale measures. It is essential to observe its performance. SIM (Token) — This memecoin is created by the founder of hotcafe, who has more than 970,000 followers on Instagram. The on-chain liquidity of the token is US$136,000, with a 24-hour trading volume of US$8 million. The token was launched through pre-sale, yielding more than 10x profit for early participants. However, the token is highly volatile, with a drop of 39% today, and there’s a risk that it breaks its previous support level. BIAO (Token) — This is a meme in the Chinese-speaking region, with its name deriving from a Chinese character. The token has on-chain liquidity of US$12,400, a 24-hour trading volume of US$20.8 million, and 3750 holders. The price saw a drastic drop of 61% yesterday. Contract checks reveal the risk of external calls. It is essential to observe its performance. RFD (Token) — Refund Coin was launched by the CryptoPunk NFT billionaire blurr.eth. The project’s current on-chain liquidity is US$8.98 million, and the trading volume in the last 24 hours is US$17.34 million, with 9529 holders. The token has been listed on Bitget. WOMBAT (Token) — According to feedback from community users, it is a meme created by an NFT whale, with RFD’s developer helping the whale add liquidity on Uniswap V3. Numerous users have reported noticing several large buy orders after it was introduced. Currently, the token’s on-chain liquidity is US$692,000, with a 24-hour trading volume of US$12 million. The token has experienced a 69% drop in the last 24 hours. The contract has shown no issues. It is essential to observe its performance. OMAX (Token) — Positioned as a POS chain, the project released its 2023 roadmap on May 29th. Stimulated by the news, the token started to rebound, but the on-chain trading volume in the last 24 hours was only US$8740, with liquidity of US$482,000. It is essential to observe its performance. MOJAK (Token) — This token seems to be WOJAK’s replica. It has on-chain liquidity of US$147,000, a trading volume of US$5.12 million in the last 24 hours, and 859 holders. The contract has shown no issues. It is essential to stay updated on this token. RIA (Token) — Positioned as a card battle game, it updated a new game mode on May 25th with PVP set to launch. Additionally, the beginner game characters have also been successfully designed. Stimulated by this news, the token has increased by 28% in the last 24 hours, but the trading volume is only US$32,000. It is essential to observe the project’s performance. PEPER (Token) — A replica of PEPE on Arbitrum. The current on-chain liquidity is US$494,000, and the trading volume in the last 24 hours is US$1.09 million. Contract checks reveal issues such as potential mint and blacklist functions. It is essential to observe its performance. BenTen Inu (Token) — A memecoin with a daily trading volume of US$464,900. 28% of the tokens were pre-sold, leading to a surge in the number of interactions with its contract due to users claiming pre-sold tokens. The project has a buy/sell tax of 10%, with no other apparent risks. It currently has 1244 token holders, with moderate popularity. It is essential to observe its performance. NALS (Token) — Merged with Ordi to form Ordinals, currently the second in terms of trading volume on the entire network. It has a good consensus associated with ORDI. In the past 24 hours, the trading volume is nearly US$930,000, with 154 transfers. The token has been listed on Bitget. WHEE (Token) — A BRC-20 memecoin. Influencer @markjeffrey, who has 53,500 followers on Twitter, has recommended the token several times. Many users in Shenzhen have repeatedly promoted it in WeChat groups. The token is highly popular, and there are many active users in the community. The 24-hour trading volume is US$180,000, with 1405 transfers. It is essential to stay updated on this token. 2.Popular NFTs: Relation Medal-related NFT (NFT) — The project positions itself as the semantic layer of Ethereum, constructing a multi-chain social network through the relationships between addresses. Currently, the number of social nodes has reached 4.27 million, with 438,000 semantic SBT generated. App developers can use Relation to precisely target users, expanding their user base while helping Relation establish more relationship networks. The project’s product is very meaningful and has a fast development iteration. The team is currently based in Hong Kong. Mainnet Alpha (NFT) — An NFT in the zkBridge Loyalty Program (the zkBridge Loyalty Program allows users to earn loyalty points by participating in zkBridge’s cross-chain products, interacting with social media, and participating in the community. These loyalty points serve as proof of participation in the ecosystem and can be used to obtain future rewards and exclusive benefits). Currently, there are 42,000 holders. Nakamigos (NFT) — CryptoPunks-style PFPs NFT, a highly popular NFT with over 30 influencers following. Currently, it has 5983 holders, a floor price of 0.6 ETH, and over 6000 transactions that occurred in the past seven days, doubling the floor price and quadrupling the trading volume. 3.Popular DApps: Tabi Artifact Chest NFT Mint Contract (DApp) — This project positions itself as an NFT trading platform built on BSC. It announced on May 11 that it has completed a US$10 million financing round, with investors including Animoca Brands, Binance Labs, Draper Dragon, Hashkey Capital, Infinity Crypto Ventures, and Youbi Capital. On May 29, it launched a community reward program where users can earn SBT and other rewards for completing tasks, leading to an increase in the activity level. zkSync (DApp) — Recently, zkSync’s interaction activity has consistently been at the top on Ethereum in terms of new users. According to the latest data from Dune, there are 702,000 unique wallet addresses on the zkSync Era mainnet, with 290,000 ETH bridged to zkSync and a total of 846,000 transfers. PlaybuxQuest (DApp) — Playbux is a metaverse project on the Binance Smart Chain that integrates real-world shops (shop-to-earn), DeFi, NFT, and virtual community promotions. Users can explore the blockchain world (such as PancakeSwap, 1inch, NFT marketplace, mini-games, etc.) within Playbux’s metaverse while also experiencing real-world shopping and getting rebates on the platform. The project is currently running an airdrop promotion, and recent on-chain interactions have been promising. Hippo Dash by Gameta (DApp) — Gameta is a multi-chain gaming platform, that provides users and projects with a comprehensive infrastructure through its DID, asset management, IDO, NFT marketplace, DeFi, and Social features. In its first phase, it will operate on the BSC. The official statement mentioned that governance tokens will only be issued when daily active users exceed one million. Gameta has received investment from Binance Labs. Chingari (DApp) — An Indian SocialFi project. Its original Web2 product was dubbed the “Indian TikTok”. Its token, GARI, went through a joint IEO during the TGE. It once had significant popularity in India, but the token price and popularity gradually decreased with the onset of the bear market. 4.Twitter Hot Topics: Gelato (DApp) — Gelato Network is a protocol focused on automating Ethereum smart contracts. Essentially, it’s an execution-layer infrastructure and a powerful tool for Web3 developers, aiming to build a large and perfect smart contract robot system. When certain preset conditions are triggered (both on-chain and off-chain), the system captures the signal and automatically executes the corresponding operations of the smart contract as required. The token GEL has shown no significant fluctuations recently. It is essential to observe this project. 5.Regional Trending Searches: LINA (Token) — Linear Finance is the first cross-chain compatible decentralized Delta-One asset protocol, enabling the creation, trading, and management of synthetic assets (Liquid). Compared to other synthetic asset protocols, Linear Finance is faster, more cost-effective, secure, and user-friendly. Linear Finance has an excellent founding team and investors based in Hong Kong. Linear Finance was founded by Drey Ng, a former vice president at Goldman Sachs, and Kevin Tai, a former executive director at Morgan Stanley. It is headquartered in Hong Kong and is considered one of the Hong Kong-related tokens. Due to the recent hype about the new policy for virtual assets in Hong Kong on June 1st that allows retail investors to trade digital currencies, the price and the popularity of LINA have risen rapidly. Cocos (Token) — COCOS is the native token of Cocos-BCX, an open platform catering to gaming and digital asset sectors. It supports various programming languages and underlying blockchain infrastructures. Cocos-BCX aims to create a complete gaming ecosystem, including a gaming engine, development tools, DApp Store, digital asset exchange, etc., to provide game developers and players with innovative, efficient, convenient, and secure gaming experiences. Cocos-BCX has deep roots and influence in Hong Kong and was founded by the renowned Hong Kong game engine company Cocos. It is headquartered in Hong Kong and is considered one of the Hong Kong-related tokens. Due to the recent hype about the new policy for virtual assets in Hong Kong on June 1st that allows retail investors to trade digital currencies, the price and the popularity of COCOS have risen rapidly. Main Body Written by: Bitget Research Data collection time: May 31, 10:30 Data sources: Dune, DApps, Twitter, Google Note: 1) New active users: Refers to wallet addresses that were newly created on the chain in the past 24 hours and had interactions on the chain. 2) Existing active users: Refers to wallet addresses that were created on the chain 24 hours ago and had interactions on the chain in the past 24 hours. 3) DApp daily activity (UAW: unique active wallets) 4) TGE (Token Generation Event) 1.BTC Profile — BRC-20 NALS (Token) — Merged with Ordi to form Ordinals, currently the second in terms of trading volume on the entire network. It has a good consensus associated with ORDI. In the past 24 hours, the trading volume is nearly US$930,000, with 154 transfers. The token has been listed on Bitget. WHEE (Token) — A BRC-20 memecoin. Influencer @markjeffrey, who has 53,500 followers on Twitter, has recommended the token several times. Many users in Shenzhen have repeatedly promoted it in WeChat groups. The token is highly popular, and there are many active users in the community. The 24-hour trading volume is US$180,000, with 1405 transfers. It is essential to stay updated on this token. 2.Blockchain Profile — ETH Chain 2.1 User Profile 2.1.1 Core Data Total active users of ETH: 451,524 New active users of ETH: 73,877, with a daily increase of 0.38% Existing active users of ETH: 377,647, with a daily increase of 14.86% 2.1.2 New User Profile Core data: There were a total of 73,877 new active users on ETH yesterday, with a daily increase of 0.38% Popular Sectors Popular Projects Key Projects: zkSync (DApp) — Recently, zkSync’s interaction activity has consistently been at the top on Ethereum in terms of new users. According to the latest data from Dune, there are 702,000 unique wallet addresses on the zkSync Era mainnet, with 290,000 ETH bridged to zkSync and a total of 846,000 transfers. 2.1.3 Existing User Profile Core data: The number of ETH active existing users is 377,647, with a daily increase of 14.86% Popular Sectors Popular Projects Key Projects: LOVE (Token) — A memecoin with a unique whitelist mechanism, innovative hype strategy, and extreme popularity, but saw a large drop close to zero after its TGE. Promoted by influencer @M4573RCH, the whitelisting is secured by sending 0 ETH to his address. Non-airdrop users must have at least one LOVE token to engage in trading, requiring airdrop users to send LOVE tokens to non-airdrop users for trading to occur. Currently, there are 32,962 holders, on-chain liquidity of US$2.33 million, and a trading volume of US$9.89 million in the last 24 hours. The token is very volatile, making it essential to observe its performance. 2.2 Popular Trading Pairs 2.2.1 Uniswap V2 DIP (Token) — The IP is derived from “buy the dip”. It has 1194 followers on Twitter, with some influencers recommending it. Currently, the on-chain liquidity is US$165,000, and the trading volume in the last 24 hours is US$8.51 million. The token is very volatile, with a drop of 95% today. No major risks have been detected in the contract. It is essential to observe its performance. https://www.dextools.io/app/en/ether/pair-explorer/0x391f7bbaad479f5fdd2faaebe6faf0b6501ba305 Tuzki (Token) — The IP is derived from the Tuzki meme. It has 640 followers on Twitter. The token was launched two days ago, with on-chain liquidity of US$165,000, and a trading volume of US$9.83 million in the last 24 hours. The token has 1486 holders. Contract inspection reveals transaction cooldown and anti-whale measures. It is essential to observe its performance. https://www.dextools.io/app/en/ether/pair-explorer/0x6155c81db52a4c6628c559be0af10f6d87bb7d2e SIM (Token) — This memecoin is created by the founder of hotcafe, who has more than 970,000 followers on Instagram. The on-chain liquidity of the token is US$136,000, with a 24-hour trading volume of US$8 million. The token was launched through pre-sale, yielding more than 10x profit for early participants. However, the token is highly volatile, with a drop of 39% today, and there’s a risk that it breaks its previous support level. https://www.dextools.io/app/en/ether/pair-explorer/0xfca56538aae326af3ba0b0f28e9ad6c1afbfb7ec BIAO (Token) — This is a meme in the Chinese-speaking region, with its name deriving from a Chinese character. The token has on-chain liquidity of US$12,400, a 24-hour trading volume of US$20.8 million, and 3750 holders. The price saw a drastic drop of 61% yesterday. Contract checks reveal the risk of external calls. It is essential to observe its performance. https://www.dextools.io/app/en/ether/pair-explorer/0x8296d84e911e0c1f827e1e7d4b50c2568e807b36 2.2.2 Uniswap V3 RFD (Token) — Refund Coin was launched by the CryptoPunk NFT billionaire blurr.eth. The project’s current on-chain liquidity is US$8.98 million, and the trading volume in the last 24 hours is US$17.34 million, with 9529 holders. The token has been listed on Bitget. WOMBAT (Token) — According to feedback from community users, it is a meme created by an NFT whale, with RFD’s developer helping the whale add liquidity on Uniswap V3. Numerous users have reported noticing several large buy orders after it was introduced. Currently, the token’s on-chain liquidity is US$692,000, with a 24-hour trading volume of US$12 million. The token has experienced a 69% drop in the last 24 hours. The contract has shown no issues. It is essential to observe its performance. https://www.dextools.io/app/en/ether/pair-explorer/0xf522c0f04dbb5b07610d7b2f67f018dab4a28df5 3.Blockchain Profile — BSC Chain 3.1 User Profile 3.1.1 Core Data Total active users on BSC: 1,517,348 New active users on BSC: 229,409, with a daily increase of 17.34% Existing active users on BSC: 1,287,939, with a daily increase of 11.11% 3.1.2 New User Profile Core data: There were a total of 229,409 new active users on BSC yesterday, with a daily increase of 17.34% Popular Sectors Popular Projects Key Projects: Tabi Artifact Chest NFT Mint Contract (DApp) — This project positions itself as an NFT trading platform built on BSC. It announced on May 11 that it has completed a US$10 million financing round, with investors including Animoca Brands, Binance Labs, Draper Dragon, Hashkey Capital, Infinity Crypto Ventures, and Youbi Capital. On May 29, it launched a community reward program where users can earn SBT and other rewards for completing tasks, leading to an increase in the activity level. 3.1.3 Existing User Profile Core data: The number of BSC active existing users is 1,287,939, with a daily increase of 11.11% Popular Sectors Popular Projects Key Projects: PlaybuxQuest (DApp) — Playbux is a metaverse project on the Binance Smart Chain that integrates real-world shops (shop-to-earn), DeFi, NFT, and virtual community promotions. Users can explore the blockchain world (such as PancakeSwap, 1inch, NFT marketplace, mini-games, etc.) within Playbux’s metaverse while also experiencing real-world shopping and getting rebates on the platform. The project is currently running an airdrop promotion, and recent on-chain interactions have been promising. 3.2 Popular Trading Pairs 3.2.1 PancakeSwap V2 OMAX (Token) — Positioned as a POS chain, the project released its 2023 roadmap on May 29th. Stimulated by the news, the token started to rebound, but the on-chain trading volume in the last 24 hours was only US$8740, with liquidity of US$482,000. It is essential to observe its performance. MOJAK (Token) — This token seems to be WOJAK’s replica. It has on-chain liquidity of US$147,000, a trading volume of US$5.12 million in the last 24 hours, and 859 holders. The contract has shown no issues. It is essential to stay updated on this token. https://www.dextools.io/app/en/bnb/pair-explorer/0x62b6a2ad9852681abb6cd3fdc43c9b35bf25ea20 4.Blockchain Profile — Polygon Chain 4.1 User Profile 4.1.1 Core Data Total active users on Polygon: 487,901 New active users on Polygon: 131,222, with a daily increase of 14.60% Existing active users on Polygon: 356,679, with a daily increase of 0.54% 4.1.2 New User Profile Core data: There were a total of 131,222 new active users on Polygon yesterday, with a daily increase of 14.60% Popular Sectors Popular Projects Key Projects: Relation Medal-related NFT (NFT) — The project positions itself as the semantic layer of Ethereum, constructing a multi-chain social network through the relationships between addresses. Currently, the number of social nodes has reached 4.27 million, with 438,000 semantic SBT generated. App developers can use Relation to precisely target users, expanding their user base while helping Relation establish more relationship networks. The project’s product is very meaningful and has a fast development iteration. The team is currently based in Hong Kong. 4.1.3 Existing User Profile Core Data: The number of Polygon active existing users is 356,679, with a daily increase of 0.54% Popular Sectors Popular Projects Key Projects: Mainnet Alpha (NFT) — An NFT in the zkBridge Loyalty Program (the zkBridge Loyalty Program allows users to earn loyalty points by participating in zkBridge’s cross-chain products, interacting with social media, and participating in the community. These loyalty points serve as proof of participation in the ecosystem and can be used to obtain future rewards and exclusive benefits). Currently, there are 42,000 holders. 4.2 Popular Trading Pairs 4.2.1 Uniswap V3 RIA (Token) — Positioned as a card battle game, it updated a new game mode on May 25th with PVP set to launch. Additionally, the beginner game characters have also been successfully designed. Stimulated by this news, the token has increased by 28% in the last 24 hours, but the trading volume is only US$32,000. It is essential to observe the project’s performance. https://www.dextools.io/app/en/polygon/pair-explorer/0x78a750ca5f8dd1ef1c87e29e8a267ff4c8d12b38 5.Blockchain Profile — Arbitrum Chain 5.1 User Profile 5.1.1 Core Data Arbitrum Active Users: 334,553 Arbitrum New Active Users: 108,259, with a daily increase of 124.93% Arbitrum Existing Active Users: 226,294, with a daily increase of 42.86% 5.1.2 New User Profile Core data: There were a total of 108,259 new active users on Arbitrum yesterday, with a daily increase of 124.93% Popular Sectors Popular Projects Key Projects: Socket (DApp) — A multi-chain application. Its main product is the Bungee cross-chain aggregator, which has been activated in May to test the network. The project has been very well received by the market. Its user-friendly gas rebate has garnered positive feedback in the community. 5.1.3 Existing User Profile Core data: The number of Arbitrum active existing users is 226,294, with a daily increase of 42.86% Popular Sectors Popular Projects Key Projects: Layerzero (DApp) — A cross-chain protocol that allows DApps deployed on different chains to communicate with each other without the need for any intermediate chain or consensus mechanism. It has recently started collaborating closely with Canto. Projects in the Canto ecosystem can complete asset transfers to the EVM ecosystem, which is a significant benefit to the Canto ecosystem. 5.2 Popular Trading Pairs 5.2.1 Uniswap V3 GETH (Token) — LayerZero has cross-chained Geth on the Georli testnet to the EVM ecosystem. Cross-chain swap transactions can be completed through the ETH Goerli Bridge. Holders of the Goerli testnet tokens can participate in interacting with testnet projects. Recent interactions with various testnets and airdrop expectations have led to an increase in demand for GETH. PEPER (Token) — A replica of PEPE on Arbitrum. The current on-chain liquidity is US$494,000, and the trading volume in the last 24 hours is US$1.09 million. Contract checks reveal issues such as potential mint and blacklist functions. It is essential to observe its performance. https://www.dextools.io/app/en/arbitrum/pair-explorer/0x5bc9415d3a5acb558dd56942ab8b74d1e1a0fb3b 6.DApp Ecosystem — All Chains Tinytap (DApp) — The platform’s EDU token unlock on the 28th of each month, including for marketing, liquidity, early contributors, and the ecosystem fund, unlocking 21.19 million EDU per month. According to on-chain data, yesterday 4,166,667 EDU (worth about US$5.12 million) were transferred to Binance. The community reacted negatively to this, after which the official response was that the 4.16 million EDU transferred to Binance will be used to provide liquidity. Nevertheless, the token price has fallen 17% within the past 24 hours. Sweat Economy (DApp) — This is a traditional Web2 project that has transitioned to a Web3 wallet and “Move to Earn” project. It recently announced a partnership with Near Protocol and will operate on Near. It will initially use FastAuth, a Web3 entry-level product developed by Near. The UAW has significantly increased today. It is essential to stay updated on the developments regarding the Near ecosystem. 7.DApp Ecosystem — ETH Chain Uniswap (DApp) — The market sentiment remains unfavorable. Apart from Uniswap, which continues to grow, other Ethereum-based DApps have experienced varying degrees of decline in UAW. 8.DApp Ecosystem — BSC Chain Galxe (DApp) — A Web3 task platform, Galxe released today new promotion tasks for the week, including a private fundraising event with Lend Finance, a limit order promotion with Open Ocean, the 7th-anniversary event of Imtoken, and a trading competition with Orbiter Finance. Thanks to the high quality of the collaborative projects, the UAW has seen an increase of more than 100%. QuestN (DApp) — Today, QuestN will host multiple Twitter Space events with Zksync ecosystem projects, including Goal3, KaratDAO, Star, Blade, and Izumi, among others. It will also jointly conduct the Pandora’s World promotion to provide opportunities to win future airdrops. 9.DApp Ecosystem — Polygon Chain Philand (DApp) — A social task platform based on ENS and on-chain/off-chain wallet activity, providing a visualization of on-chain identity. Today, it carries out Polygon Quests promotion, including cross-chain bridge, transactions, spending gas, and contract deployment. 10.DApp Ecosystem — WAX Chain Farmers World (DApp) — A farming mining game built on WAX. The project updated its functionality today for depositing FarmerCoins, allowing the transfer of staked tokens to other farmers, and reducing consumption. The UAW has shown a prominent increase in the gaming sector. 11.DApp Ecosystem — Solana Chain Genopets (DApp) — A Move to Earn project on Solana featuring pets as its theme. It combines social fitness incentives, free game mechanics, and player-controlled Web3 economics. The project’s investors include well-known organizations like Pantera, Konvoy, and Solana. Its latest version 0.25 has made some functional updates to enhance user experience. 12.DApp Ecosystem — Arbitrum Chain Bungee (DApp) — A cross-chain aggregator with high airdrop expectations and overall project operation popularity. It offers a cross-chain aggregation product called Socket, which launched its incentivized testnet in May. Its gas refund feature provides a very user-friendly experience and has received positive feedback in the community. 13.DApp Ecosystem — GameFi Sector Across All Chains Farmers World (DApp) — A farming mining game built on WAX. The project updated its functionality today for depositing FarmerCoins, allowing the transfer of staked tokens to other farmers, and reducing consumption. Defi Kingdoms (DApp) — A cross-chain MMORPG that allows players to earn money through gaming, featuring a DEX, liquidity pool opportunities, and a rare, utility-driven NFT marketplace. The project token has experienced a significant drop from its all-time high, with a current daily trading volume of $60,000. The recent rise in UAW is primarily influenced by giveaways of related in-game items on Twitter. 14.Gas Fee Consumption — ETH Chain LOVE (Token) — The whitelist-free airdrop, innovative mechanism, and significant price drop have attracted attention. The Love claim contract and the gas consumption of the LOVE token are both listed. Detailed information about $LOVE has been explained earlier in the report. 15.Gas Fee Consumption — BSC Chain Tabi Artifact Chest NFT Mint Contract (DApp) — This project positions itself as an NFT trading platform built on BSC. It announced on May 11 that it has completed a US$10 million financing round, with investors including Animoca Brands, Binance Labs, Draper Dragon, Hashkey Capital, Infinity Crypto Ventures, and Youbi Capital. On May 29, it launched a community reward program where users can earn SBT and other rewards for completing tasks, leading to an increase in the activity level. 16.Gas Fee Consumption — Polygon Chain Holograph (DApp) — An all-chain NFT protocol. Its solution allows NFTs to seamlessly transfer between blockchains without needing to be wrapped. LayerZero will support Holograph as a cross-chain messaging solution. Holograph comprises three initial products: Bridge, Core, and Mint. The bridge allows NFTs to transfer between EVM blockchains. The collaboration with renowned artist Eric Elms (artist for NIKE and Stussy) on the creation of KilroyPunk has sparked attention. https://app.holograph.xyz/ 17.Gas Fee Consumption — Arbitrum Chain ARB (Token) — With the upcoming upgrade in Cancun, the implementation of EIP-4844 is set to significantly reduce Layer2 gas fees, providing substantial benefits for Layer2 projects. The ARB Token is expected to generate sustained attention in light of this development. 18.Twitter Trends Token Top 20 ARB, OP (Token) — (1) The upcoming Cancun upgrade, featuring EIP-4844, is set to effectively reduce the Layer 2 gas fee, providing substantial benefits for Layer 2 projects. Both ARB and OP will continue to garner attention; (2) OP tokens worth US$580 million will be unlocked on May 31, representing 9% of the total supply. 19.Google Trends — Global LINA (Token) — As of June 1, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission will implement regulations for virtual assets. As June 1 approaches, some Hong Kong-related assets continue their optimistic upward trend (LINA, KEY, etc.). On May 30, the official website of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced that at a bilateral meeting held in Abu Dhabi, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Central Bank of the UAE agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas such as virtual asset regulation and development. 20.Google Trends Surge — East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan a) South Asia Region India Trending Tokens: SOL, HIGH, PI Pakistan Trending Keywords: trust crypto and bitcoin wallet, fancy crypto, scamadviser b) Southeast Asia Region Indonesia Trending Tokens: XEN Malaysia Trending Keywords: LINA Thailand Trending Keywords: RAN Philippines Trending Tokens: GALA, DOGE, SHIB, CRO, PEPE, LINA c) East Asia and Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan South Korea Trending Tokens: JUMP Japan Trending Keywords: dextools 21.Google Trends Surge — English-speaking Countries, Europe, CIS Region a) CIS Region Trending Keywords: dollar exchange rate Privatbank, airdrop crypto b) English-speaking Countries Canada Trending Tokens: SAND, PEPE, PI, HNT UK Trending Tokens: JASMY, JOE USA Trending Tokens: OSMO, PIKA Australia Trending Tokens: AGIX, AIDOGE, SHIB c) Europe Spain Trending Tokens: XRP, LINA, DOGE, ADA, WOJAK France Trending Tokens: FLOKI, KDA, OSMO, FET Germany Trending Tokens: OSMO, XRP, PARADOX, DOGE Italy Trending Tokens: BONK, NEO, SLP Poland Trending Tokens: XRP Switzerland Trending Keywords: GRT, XRP, AIDOGE Turkey Trending Tokens and Keywords: CGPT, EDU, AI-related tokens 22.Google Trends Surge — Middle East, Latin America, Africa a) Africa Nigeria Trending Tokens: XEN, PEPE South Africa Trending Tokens: AVAX, TRON b) Middle East Trending Keywords: israel crypto conference c) Latin America Brazil Trending Tokens: SAND, CGPT Argentina Trending Tokens: LINA Mexico Trending Tokens: BTC, SOL

The Ethereum Merge is Done: A Market's Wrap Up

The big Ethereum update that everyone is talking about has already happened. We made an article called Post-Merge: 5 Facts You Need to Know in which we explained what it consisted of and that it was the fusion between the consensus layer and the execution layer. Ethereum has therefore moved from a Proof-of-Work protocol to a Proof-of-Stake consensus. The Merge is the first step in Ethereum's big roadmap that will take several years to deploy. If you have not seen Vitalik's talk at EthCC 5 that outlines the next major steps, we invite you to watch it here. Introduction The Merge took place and we are writing this article on September 19, 2022. Today we are going to look at the direct consequences of this event on the Ethereum blockchain and its token. We know that this may seem like yet another article about the Merge hype and that you may feel like everyone is talking about the same thing. It is true that there is a lot of content about The Merge at the moment but we will try in this article to approach the topics differently but especially to have a little more thoughts about this update and the ones to come. Ethereum's energy consumption One of the things that comes up a lot about The Merge is the energy consumption of the Ethereum network. It is something we hear absolutely everywhere and it is especially used by the people who talk about The Merge without knowing much about it. As you know, Ethereum is moving from a Proof-of-Work consensus-based protocol type to a Proof-of-Stake consensus type. So yes, it is a fact, from a technical point of view, the PoS system will consume 99.5% less than the PoW. Unlike the PoW system in which it is necessary to have a large number of validators that use a lot of electricity, in the PoS system, it is ETH tokens that are needed and not electrical resources. Thus, PoS is 2,000 times greener than PoW. If we look at since 2021, the energy consumption related to Ethereum has exploded and is now hyper-low: Source: ethereumenergyconsumption.com You have certainly heard the famous comparison between Bitcoin and Ethereum which consume as much electricity as a country: Source: ccaf.io Khazakstan consumes about 92.1 TWh/year while Bitcoin consumes about 95.3 TWh/year. That said, it is possible to mine Bitcoin via renewable energy or surplus energy that cannot be stored and then invest via the mined cryptocurrencies in green investments such as hydro dams for example. These water dams can be used for mining. This example allows us to qualify the comparison between BTC vs Countries. Yes, PoS has its advantages but also its disadvantages. So does the PoW: Source: bitcoinuptime.org PoW has proven its resistance with BTC which has never been down or almost never. PoS allows for a system that is certainly greener but potentially more exposed to hacks if the number of benevolent validators is not sufficient and can quickly become too centralized. Going from PoW to PoS remains a huge revolution. Should or will Ethereum 2.0 be a store of value? One of the big consequences of The Merge impacts the ETH token. The number of ETH created should decrease by 90%. Staking rewards are going to be 1,600 ETH/day versus 13,000/day pre-Merge. If certain specific conditions are met, ETH could even be a deflationary token. Almost everyone thinks this is a great thing. Indeed, few people like inflation, whereas deflation allows supply to decrease and potentially increase the asset’s prices. Having said that, let's try to go a little further in the analysis by having a nice angle of reflection on this subject. Even if we have a very bad image of inflation because it is often considered as absolutely mismanaged by our dear governments and therefore reaches aberrant rates, a healthy inflation in a healthy economy clearly has its advantages. Inflation allows a currency to circulate, which is one of the most important things in economics because we do not want people just to save without using the money they have. It also encourages initiatives and creates new opportunities. Deflation, on the other hand, can slow down an economy and lead to difficult consequences. Yes, if you know that the more money you keep, the more purchasing power you will have in the future due to deflation, then you will simply stash it under your mattress and wait. If no one is exchanging and a currency is not being used, then the economy can suffer. We see a well-known economic paradox here where deflation is linked to economic crises because companies cannot hire, people who have taken out loans have trouble paying them back and we can very quickly fall into a negative spiral. So be careful not to run away from an inflationary ecosystem because if it is well managed then inflation will be beneficial. The ETH token is a token that will manage the ecosystem, secure the network and enable the growth of the protocol adoption. Again, we don't have a crystal ball and the answer is not yes or no. From our research here are some things to think about: While the Merge is likely to cause a reduction in ether's supply, making it a deflationary asset, low network usage may delay the expected bullish effect. No one will spend ETH if it's deflationary" debunked. So the conclusion is that if the ETH issue is well managed, then the ETH price will come out ahead. Why? Because everything in the Ethereum protocol is designed to encourage the circulation of ETH and it is important to remember that ETH is not inherently deflationary. It only becomes inflationary if we have a lot of activity on the network and a lot of ETH used for gas is burned. This is not detail and it really makes all the difference. The MEV: the tax that everyone forgets There is something that is very important on Ethereum and that is very little discussed because very little is known. However, it has allowed miners to generate more than 675 million dollars without the users really knowing it. It's not a hack and it's not something illegal. It's clearly legal, but from an ethical point of view, it can be a concern. This phenomenon is what we call MEV: Miner Extractable Value. To understand MEV, it is necessary to understand how a transaction is validated in a Proof-of-Work blockchain. Let's say you want to send a friend 1 ETH for his birthday. How will this happen in practice? You go to Bitget, start your sending process and the transaction will go to a mempool. A mempool is simply a big basket in miners will pick to fill the blocks they will validate. In the mempool there are all the transactions that are pending. A miner wishing to validate his block will take the transactions from this large basket, fill the block, organize it and form it. In exchange, the miner will receive two types of rewards: ETH for creating a new block, which is a reward that will be fixed according to the new amount of ETH that can be mined, and he will also receive the ETH fees of the transactions of the block he added. So if we imagine that all the users who made transactions contained in the block he created paid $100 in total transaction fees, then the miner will get this $100. Normally you begin to understand the trick here. The fact that miners can get the transaction fees from the transactions they are going to validate, well that means that miners have an incentive to take the transactions with the most fees and not the first ones in order of arrival. Because if they take the transactions that have the most fees, and validate them in their blocks, then they will receive more rewards. Around this practice, which may seem quite simple, a whole ecosystem has developed in which there are so-called "searchers", i.e. traders who look for MEV opportunities and whose objective is to optimize the organization of each block in order to extract maximum profits. These searchers will create the most optimized block possible which they will then offer to a miner in exchange for a certain price. There was an update, EIP-1559 which tried to reduce the MEV because miners had extracted huge amounts of money under the noses of the users. If ETH allows this, then miners are technically entitled to process the most profitable trades first. Code is law. However, this is like standing in line at a supermarket checkout with the option of giving the cashier some cash to go ahead of all the other customers. This gives rise to the execution of the free will of minors. The question, then, is whether the move to PoS will affect this SRM, and if so, what? Again, this is difficult to predict. There are a lot of conflicting opinions. In PoS as you know, it is no longer miners but validators who operate to validate transactions. These are people who will block their ETH in staking and who will propose and then verify the blocks. With the decrease in the number of new ETH created, validators will receive 85% less rewards than miners for the same work. So we can imagine that MEV is going to be a big issue in PoS. Some estimates predict a revenue increase of around +50%, which is huge. But a big change is in block building, the process of determining which transactions will be included in a block and in what order. In PoW, block building required very specific tools for the miners and there were only a few operators who were responsible for the majority of the block building. With The Merge, this will change as a new category of actors will be introduced in the consensus called "blockbuilders" which are actually actors specialized only in the construction of new blocks. This will be a new process that will touch the creation of Ethereum blocks. There will be a separation between those who propose the blocks and those who build them. This differs from PoW where the same person was responsible for both the proposal and the construction. Layers 2 The implications of The Merge for Ethereum and Layers 2 are numerous. If The Merge does not directly improve scaling, in the long term, Ethereum has planned to implement internal solutions that will increase its capacity such as sharding, and theoretically may no longer need Layers 2 type solutions to prevent its network from being saturated. Already, what is certain is that The Merge will not change much regarding the importance of Layers 2 on Ethereum. This is a fact. In the future, it is therefore also very likely that Layers 2 will continue to be necessary for the Ethereum ecosystem. In fact, the developers have said that they are including Layers 2 in their scaling plan. It is important to understand that just because Ethereum is scaling does not mean that Layers 2 become useless. In fact, the opposite is true. Layers 2 are directly linked to Ethereum. So if Ethereum improves its capabilities through sharding, then Layers 2 will also become more powerful. To achieve mass adoption in the near future, it seems that Ethereum clearly does not have the luxury of using sharding alone. Both solutions, sharding, and Layers 2, can be combined very well. On the other hand, Layers 2 uses can be rotated and they could be used to process, for example, the smallest transactions in the network or have other roles that remain to be defined. It is also worth remembering that Layers 2 are not just for Ethereum and so we imagine an even greater multi-chain role for Layers 2 in the future. Conclusion There's a lot of data to consider and no one can really tell you for sure what is going to happen. What is certain is that Ethereum will open a new door in the ecosystem. It is the biggest blockchain and the one with the most users. That being said, Vitalik and his team have taken one of the biggest risks in the history of blockchains to optimize their ecosystem and do everything they can to make sure that Ethereum will be adapted and used by the masses in the years to come. Other projects will therefore also have to raise their standards and take risks if they want to follow Ethereum's pace, which may be beneficial for the entire blockchain ecosystem. We can also wonder about the consequences of this update on the price of Ethereum as well as the entire cryptocurrency market. It is hard to know. There are a lot of things that should be taken into consideration: will The Merge be executed totally well? Will there be enough liquidity to drive up the price of the token? Will there be a lot of speculation? We don't know... Has The Merge already been priced before? Will this pricing happen when the consequences of The Merge overtake the speculation? The Merge and the other major updates that are coming will really mark a change of era in the ecosystem. We have had problems and seen a lot of projects bragging about being Ethereum killers. Ethereum is trying to calm everyone down to show that hard work pays off. It will be very hard to get ahead of ETH. That said, it remains to run, and everything happens. If all goes well, then Ethereum will reign and dominate even more. It will be interesting to follow the new updates and we will, of course, write articles about these topics. Follow Bitget Academy for more insights: Twitter | Telegram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram