M6 Labs Crypto Market Pulse

GM, Anon! Welcome to this week's edition of the Crypto Market Pulse by M6 Labs, where we equip you with all the data necessary to navigate the market and capitalize on numerous lucrative opportunities. 

Airdrop and points season is currently underway, and active traders stand to reap rewards beyond their wildest imagination in what promises to be the greatest bull market in history. Let's dive in! 🚀

Be sure to read through to the end and explore the complete report! We're delving into a plethora of ongoing and emerging opportunities such as,

• Check out Reboot, a native Arbitrum game offering potential rewards for future users.

• Initiatives such as Ethena Labs' Shard campaign

• Participate in the Apeiron airdrop campaign on Axie Infinity's Ronin chain.

• Register for the Masa token sale on Coinlist platform on March 4th.

• Engage with Lava Network's Magma reward points program by switching RPC connection to Lava.

• Contribute to Capx's Incentivized Testnet on CoinList and earn CAPX tokens.

• Follow the provided guide to start earning points with the Crystal Fun web3 gaming ecosystem.

• Consider staking BLUR tokens or bridging ETH to Blast L2 network to receive bonus BLSTR tokens.

• Participate in the Zap testnet bug bounty campaign and win prizes.

• Keep an eye on upcoming projects like Portal, set to join Binance Launchpool.

And much more!

Alpha Take

State Of The Market

Industry Updates

• In the United Kingdom, Economic Secretary to the Treasury Bim Afolami announced plans to introduce legislation for stablecoin and crypto staking services within six months, signaling the government's recognition of the growing importance of digital assets.

• European Central Bank states Bitcoin’s fair value is still zero, and is not suitable for payments or as an investment. 

• Nvidia adds $277B in market value, the largest single-day gain in history.

• Reddit disclosed it has been investing excess funds into BTC and ETH.

• Meanwhile, the CME Group announced the upcoming launch of euro-denominated micro Bitcoin and Ethereum futures in response to increasing demand in the derivatives market. The move follows the success of their US dollar-denominated counterparts and is pending regulatory review, with a launch date set for March 18.

• In Asia, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority provided guidance on custodial services to enhance regulatory clarity, while Japan is considering allowing Venture Capital firms to hold crypto assets, aiming to support innovation in the tech sector.

• Honduras took a different stance by banning cryptos and related derivatives like ETFs in banking operations, diverging from the broader trend of crypto adoption seen in Latin America.

• GoFundMe halted a crowdfunding campaign for Tornado Cash legal defense due to a violation of its terms of service, reflecting the platform's commitment to upholding standards.

• eBay is reassessing its NFT strategy and downsizing its Web3 team.

• Ripple expanded its global presence by collaborating with the CIB in Egypt.

• Binance announced the shutdown of several leveraged token services associated with BTC, ETH, and BNB.

• Circle discontinued support for USDC on the Tron blockchain, emphasizing the importance of interoperability.

• Fairshake, a crypto-friendly super PAC, received significant funding from Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss in January, contributing to its advocacy efforts.

• Coinbase is exploring the launch of derivatives products in Canada, demonstrating its commitment to expanding globally.

• Elon Musk's X hinted at a potential partnership with Midjourney, suggesting competition in social media innovation. 

Project Updates

• ETHDenver 2024, the world's largest Web3 #BUIDLathon, is scheduled to take place from February 29 to March 3. 

• Additionally, the Uniswap Foundation announced a tentative launch date for Uniswap v4, indicating that it is likely to debut in Q3 of this year.

• Andreessen invest $100M in EigenLayer. 

• YCombinator's latest “Request for Startups” list includes a focus on crypto stablecoin startups, reflecting the growing interest in stablecoins within the startup ecosystem.

• The Worldcoin app has achieved a significant milestone, surpassing over 1M daily active users, indicating a strong uptake and adoption of the platform.

• Three Arrows Capital and Alameda Research continue to hold substantial amounts of WLD (WorldCoin).

• Chiliz's partnership with South Korea’s premier football league involves integrating "K League Fantasy" into the Chiliz chain, enhancing fan engagement and expanding the platform's reach into new markets.

• Fixed Float's confirmed hack of $26M hack.

• The dYdX DAO is currently engaged in a voting process to consider adding an EOS market to the dYdX chain, potentially expanding its offering and user base.

• With $375.28M of AVAX set to unlock on February 22, there may be potential market impacts as these tokens become available for trading or other purposes.

• Biconomy's integration of Account Abstraction infrastructure into Trust Wallet's new smart contract wallet offering enhances user experience and functionality, providing seamless access to decentralized applications.

• BounceBit's plans to launch its public mainnet in April 2024 signal the project's progress and readiness to transition to a broader user base.

• Binance's decision to delist Monero, Multichain, Vai, and Aragon on February 20 at 03:00 a.m UTC reflects the platform's ongoing efforts to maintain compliance and security standards, while also shaping its asset listing policies.

• AltLayer has successfully concluded a strategic fundraising round, securing $14.4M in funding with Polychain and Hack VC as co-leads. 

• Backpack wallet has integrated Wormhole, a bridging and interoperability protocol, enhancing its functionality to support multi-chain operations and enrich user experience.

• Stellar has implemented Protocol 20 on its mainnet, introducing smart contracts to the Stellar ecosystem and unlocking new avenues for decentralized applications, thereby bolstering the platform's utility and adaptability.

• ZKM has initiated the Alpha Testnet for its zero-knowledge virtual machine, a significant move toward testing and refining its groundbreaking technology in real-world conditions.

• MetaMask has reported significant increases in fees earned across multiple metrics, including a 69.58% rise in fees from MetaMask, a 42.69% increase from Arbitrum, and a 32.79% surge in Base fees, reflecting heightened usage and adoption of the platform's offerings.

What is the Dencun Upgrade?

The forthcoming Ethereum Dencun update, scheduled for March 13, is anticipated to bring significant advancements to the Ethereum ecosystem, particularly impacting Layer-2 platforms. 

• This upgrade aims to enhance scalability, bolster security measures, and improve user experience within the Ethereum network. 

• Noteworthy enhancements introduced by the Dencun update include scalability boosts, reductions in on-chain data storage costs, fortified security measures, optimization of EVM performance, and enhancements to network security protocols.

• A standout feature of the Dencun update is the introduction of Proto-Danksharding, which introduces novel 'blob-carrying transactions' to alleviate transaction costs for Layer-2 users and elevate Ethereum's transaction throughput. 

• Analysts forecast a substantial decline in transaction fees for Layer-2 platforms, rendering them more commercially attractive for both developers and users. 

• This shift is poised to positively impact various sectors, including DeFi, gaming, and on-chain trading.

• Following the Dencun update, platforms are anticipated to witness heightened adoption and activity, thereby contributing to the overall expansion of the Ethereum ecosystem.

Retail trading activity on Coinbase remained subdued throughout the fourth quarter of 2023. 

• While it represented the highest quarterly retail volume since the second quarter of 2022, it remained notably below the levels observed in the fourth quarter of 2020. 

• Additionally, it accounted for only 16% of the peak retail trading volume witnessed in the fourth quarter of 2021.