Author: Chris Lion

The total daily trading volume of Bitcoin ETFs dropped to $1.64 billion on Thursday, down from $2.18 billion on Wednesday.

United States spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds saw net outflows of $71.73 million on Thursday, marking the third consecutive day of withdrawals.

On August 29, BlackRock’s ETF, the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by net assets, saw a net outflow of $13.6 million, its second outflow since the $36.9 million outflow on May 1. Farside Investors data revealed that this was also the largest combined outflow day recorded for Bitcoin ETFs, totalling $563.7 million.

BlackRock’s outflow record ranked third, following the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), which led the day with $31.1 million in net outflows, and Grayscale’s GBTC, which continued its outflow streak with $22.68 million, ranking in second place.

Bitwise’s BITB also recorded $8.09 million withdrawal from the fund, and Valkyrie’s BRRR saw outflows of $1.68 million.

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) was the only fund to record net inflows, with $5.3 million flowing into the product.[ez-toc]

The total daily trading volume for the 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs decreased to $1.64 billion on Thursday, down from $2.18 billion on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the recent outflows from Bitcoin ETFs coincide with a broader decline in bitcoin’s price, which has dropped approximately 3.43% over the past week. According to data from CryptoCurrenciesToWatch, it is currently changing hands at slightly over $59,400 at the time of writing.

Spot ETH ETFs Record $1.77M in Net Outflows 

Unlike United States spot ETH ETFs, which recorded negative flows on August 29 with $1.77 million in net outflows after reporting modest positive flows the day before. 

The Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) was the only spot Ether ETF to experience outflows totaling $5.35 million. However, this was partially offset by net inflows of $3.57 million into the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH).   

ETHE has experienced net outflows nearly every day since its July launch, accumulating $2.56 billion in outflows to date. The seven other spot ether funds recorded no flows on Thursday. 

The total trading volume of the ETFs dropped to $95.91 million on Thursday, down from $151.57 million on Wednesday. 

Meanwhile, the price of ETH has also been declining, falling 5.64% over the past seven days to $2,517.06, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

BNB Chain will establish a liquidity pool to facilitate transfers from other blockchain networks.

The team behind the layer-1 BNB Chain has announced the launch of a new cross-chain bridge designed to enhance its ecosystem significantly. The latest development aims to foster greater interoperability, improve user experience, access to ample liquidity, and enable seamless transfers of assets between BNB Chain and other top blockchains.

One small step for Web3, one giant leap for cross-chain interoperability 🌕…

Introducing the BNB Chain Bridge!

Developed with @CelerNetwork @deBridgeFinance, & @StargateFinance as official bridge partners.

🔗 https://t.co/bJa36FxNFR

Learn more below 🧵 👇 pic.twitter.com/prNfTxKKKv

— BNB Chain (@BNBCHAIN) August 28, 2024

The smart contract-enabled blockchain partnered with cross-chain technology providers Celer, deBridge, and Stargate to introduce the BNB Chain bridge. Furthermore, the BNB Chain developer team plans to establish a liquidity pool, facilitating the transfer of assets from other networks to its own.

The BNB Chain team noted that the initiative is part of its broader efforts to expand its stablecoin ecosystem. The bridge will enable users to move assets, including stablecoins, from various blockchains.

Connecting with the Broader DeFi Market

The BNB Chain team also said that the newly launched bridge will facilitate the development of a more comprehensive array of decentralized finance (DeFi) products and services within its ecosystem. The development crew believes that incorporating cross-chain protocols will enhance the capital efficiency of blockchain assets on the network.

According to the announcement, the bridge’s introduction addresses the demand for affordable cross-chain interoperability solutions. In addition, the partnership with cross-chain technology providers reinforces its standing in the blockchain industry.

The integration between the BNB Chain and other blockchain networks enhances functionality, enabling smoother and more efficient cross-chain transactions.

The development team further mentioned that the bridge was developed in response to user and developer feedback. The BNB Chain Bridge addresses user demand for a unified interface to connect with the BNB Chain.

Will BNB’s Price Follow?

The launch of the cross-chain bridge could lead to a surge in BNB’s market value as more users and developers could flock to the platform. However, the crypto asset is down 3.54% in the last 24 hours and slightly in the past month, changing hands around $532 at press time.

The BNB Smart Chain (BSC) captured only around $400 million of the $161.1 billion stablecoin market, translating to just a 0.2% share compared to other networks.

The total trading volume of spot Bitcoin ETFs reached $1.2 billion, accumulating over $17.95 billion since January.

The United States spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) has recorded a net outflow of $127 million, ending an eight-day streak of continuous inflows. This represents a notable change in investor sentiment, with fluctuations in bitcoin (BTC) price and broader market uncertainty influencing investors’ decision-making.

Over the past week, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen robust inflows fueled by positive market sentiment. The consistent inflows in the past week were a positive sign for the crypto market,  which reflects growing investor confidence in the crypto asset.

During the eight days of inflow, U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds accumulated $756 million in investments.

Ark & 21Shares’ ARKB led the net outflows, recording a $101.97 million decline, according to data from the financial research platform SoSoValue, while Valkyrie’s BRRR has not been updated.

Grayscale’s GBTC recorded net outflows totaling $18.32 million, while Bitwise’s BITB lost $6.76 million. Meanwhile, eight funds, including BlackRock’s IBIT, reported zero flows on Tuesday.

Excluding BRRR, the U.S. spot Bitcoin funds saw a total trading volume of $1.2 billion. Since January, they have amassed $17.95 billion in net inflows.

Bitcoin Price Swing 

News about the $127 million outflow is accompanied by a sharp decline in BTC’s price. Over the past 24 hours, the leading cryptocurrency dropped to a nine-day low of slightly above $58,000.  

Despite slightly recovering to $59,900, the crypto asset is down 3.95% over the last 24 hours, with its market cap dropping from  $1.24 trillion to $1.183 trillion at the time of writing.

The volatility has impacted highly leveraged traders, with nearly 90,000 positions liquidated in the past 24 hours. The total value of these liquidated positions exceeds $320 million.

Spot ETH ETFs Record Ninth Outflow Day 

Meanwhile, the United States spot ETH ETFs extended their streak to nine consecutive days of net outflows, with $3.45 million in negative flows reported yesterday.

Grayscale’s ETH fund saw a daily net outflow of $9.18 million, while Fidelity’s FETH recorded $3.88 million in net inflows, and Bitwise’s ETHW experienced $1.86 million in inflows.

On August 26, spot ETH funds recorded a trading volume of $129.95 million, which remains substantially below the approximately $900 million recorded in late July. These funds have experienced total net outflows amounting to $481.32 million.

The remaining creditors are linked with smaller distributions, with approximately 64,000 individuals owed less than $100 and around 41,000 owed amounts ranging from $100 to $1,000.

Defunct crypto lender Celsius has repaid over $2.5 billion to eligible creditors in its long-awaited bankruptcy proceedings. According to a court document, the bankrupt crypto lender has distributed approximately $2.53 billion to 251,000 creditors.

The amount accounts for about 84% of the $3 billion in assets that the now-defunct crypto lender owes to more than 375,000 creditors.

This includes $1.43 billion in crypto through PayPal/Venmo, $917 million in crypto assets through Coinbase, and $178 million in cash transfers. Celsius initiated the distribution on January 31 and achieved $2 billion in total distributions by February.

Over 120,000 Creditors Yet to Claim a Distribution 

According to the filing, approximately 121,000 creditors have yet to receive a distribution due to the process’s intricacies. These complexities include creating a PayPal account with a matching date of birth, setting up a Coinbase account with a corresponding email address and date of birth, or providing accurate wire instructions and mailing addresses for checks to the PostEffective Date Debtors.

The filing revealed that most of the remaining creditors are associated with smaller distributions, with approximately 64,000 individuals owed less than $100 and around 41,000 owed amounts ranging from $100 to $1,000.

“Given the small amounts at issue for many of these creditors, they may not be incentivized to take the steps needed to successfully claim a distribution,” the document stated.

The Plan Administrator reported having made over 2.7 million distribution attempts for the 372,000 creditors, usually retrying distributions through Coinbase weekly and cash distributions once per week. This includes “numerous reattempts for nearly all of the creditors who have not yet successfully received their distributions.”

Under Celsius’ sanctioned reorganization plan, a portion of the funds was allocated to create a new Bitcoin mining enterprise called Ionic Digital. Selected Celsius creditors will hold ownership in the mining company through common shares, which are anticipated to be traded publicly once the company obtains the required approvals. The Miami-based mining firm Hut 8 will manage Ionic’s mining activities under a four-year management contract.

Celsius Files for Bankruptcy

Celsius filed for bankruptcy in 2022 after revealing a $1.2 billion shortfall on its balance sheet. The company emerged from bankruptcy in November.

In 2013, Celsius and its founder and former CEO Alex Mashinsky faced lawsuits from multiple regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, alleging deceptive practices towards customers. Mashinsky also faced fraud charges, with his trial set to begin on September 17.

The Sky rebranding launches “Sky Stars” initiatives and upgrades stablecoin and governance tokens to accelerate DeFi innovation.

DeFi lending platform MakerDAO has officially rebranded to Sky and announced the name of its upgraded stablecoin and native governance token.

The rebranding is an integral component of MakerDAO’s “Endgame Plan,” a concept developed by co-founder Rune Christensen. This plan involves revamping the DAO’s structure to promote DeFi’s expansion, accessibility, and resilience. A crucial part of this overhaul is the rollout of new tokens. They are USDS, a refined version of the DAI stablecoin, and SKY, the newly established governance token that will replace MKR.

MakerDAO Rebrand to Sky

The launch of SKY is intended to streamline the DeFi user experience, focusing on making the protocol more accessible to a broader audience. The rebranding also introduces a new idea called “Sky Stars,” independent decentralized projects operating within the SKY ecosystem. These Sky Stars, starting with the Spark protocol, are crafted to encourage swift innovation while preserving autonomy within the larger SKY framework.

According to the announcement, USDS will serve as an upgraded version of DAI, allowing users to convert their current DAI holdings into the new stablecoin on a 1:1 ratio. Likewise, MKR holders can upgrade their tokens to SKY, with each MKR being exchanged for 24,000 SKY tokens. These upgraded tokens will offer additional features, such as access to the Sky Savings Rate (SSR) and Sky Token Rewards (STRs), designed to incentivize user engagement with the protocol.

Maker’s Sky.money Promises Non-Custodial Operations

Alongside the rebranding, a new platform named Sky.money will be introduced to provide non-custodial access to the Sky protocol. However, certain features, including the SSR and STRs, will be limited in specific regions due to regulatory constraints.

The shift from MakerDAO to Sky is described as a fundamental change intended to expand the distinct advantages of DeFi. According to Christensen, the evolution to Sky marks a move towards building a more resilient and user-friendly decentralized financial system, using the achievements and security of the Maker protocol to advance the next stage of DeFi progress.

MKR token surged following the announcement of MakerDAO’s newly launched stablecoin and governance tokens.

Blockchain protocol MakerDAO has announced the launch of upgraded versions of its native tokens, DAI and MKR, as a part of its ongoing endgame strategy. The new tokens, called NewStable (NST) and NewGovToken (NGT), were unveiled to improve governance and optimize functionality within the MakerDAO ecosystem.

According to a recent announcement on X, upgrading to the new tokens is optional. DAI and MKR will not be phased out; they will continue functioning unless the protocol’s governance decides on future modifications.

“Both tokens are expected to stay unchanged for the foreseeable future, unless governance decides otherwise,” MakerDAO said.

Newly Launched NST and NGT

The new token, NST, will be used in place of DAI for future transactions, with the exchange rate fixed at 1 DAI worth 1 NST. While DAI may continue to focus on specific crypto use cases, NST is intended to drive large-scale adoption.

MRK, on the other hand, will also be used to vote on the government scheme. The NGT will also have voting capabilities and can be converted back to MKR to maintain flexibility. The initial exchange rate of 1 MKR worth 24,000 NewGovToken is designed to enhance accessibility.

These newly introduced tokens are part of MakerDAO’s “endgame plan.” This comprehensive proposal aims to restructure and enhance the governance and tokenomics of the Maker ecosystem. Its main objective is to guide the ecosystem toward a self-sustaining balance, known as the Endgame State. In this state, the ecosystem achieves resilience, and the scope and complexity of Maker Core remain stable without further alterations.

The plan also guarantees that the Maker ecosystem can grow in a decentralized way. Additionally, it seeks to streamline governance for MKR holders and Maker delegates while reducing the concentration of MKR through updated tokenomics and adjusted MKR emissions.

MKR Token Jumps

Following this development, Maker’s native token, MKR, saw a 4.35% increase over the past 24 hours, reaching $2,101. The token’s daily trading volume surged by 4.23%, hitting $112 million, with a market cap of $1.95 billion at the time of writing.  

USDD Bitcoin collateral was removed without a DAO vote, but Justin Sun explains this is a regular occurrence in DeFi.

On-chain data revealed that 12,000 bitcoins valued at approximately $729 million were removed from the USDD stablecoin reserve hours ago. Despite how shocking it was to various community members on X and the Tron ecosystem, Tron founder Justin Sun stated that it was not an unusual act in the DeFi sector.

USDD is an algorithmic stablecoin launched on the Tron network. The development team explained that the Tron DAO is responsible for activities involving the stablecoin.

Sun’s Involvement Rumours

Some users on X have speculated that Justin Sun was directly involved in the transaction, while others have expressed concern that the BTC stash was withdrawn without a vote from the Tron DAO reserve.

According to the governance page, the most recent and only issue presented for a community vote involved the use of burned TRON tokens in May 2023.

In a statement on X on August 22, Sun dismissed concerns, explaining that USDD operates similarly to MakerDAO’s Dai stablecoin, permitting a collateral holder to withdraw assets without needing approval as long as the collateral surpasses the system’s threshold.

The TRON founder wrote in a tweet:

“This is part of the basics of DeFi 101. Currently, USDD has a long-term collateralization rate exceeding 300%, which means that the capital utilization is not very efficient.” 

Sun also noted that the mechanism of the decentralized stablecoin USDD is similar to that of MakerDAO’s DAI and is not complex.

The Bitcoin address previously listed as holding the collateral has been removed from USDD’s transparency page, indicating that Tether’s USDT and TRX are the crypto assets backing the stablecoin.

The USDD transparency page reveals that over 744 million USDD tokens are circulating. The page also shows that the stablecoin’s reserves include $1.7 billion in TRX and USDT, resulting in a collateralization ratio exceeding 230%.  

This indicates that USDD holds more assets than the stablecoins it has in circulation. In contrast, DAI is collateralized at 120%, while leading stablecoins, USDT and USD Coin, maintain a 100% collateralization rate.     

Sun Pledges $1B to Combat FUD

This development comes after Sun pledged $1 billion to combat and address fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) in the crypto industry.

The TRON founder reassured his followers and the broader crypto community that the industry has achieved significant growth and advancements over the past year. Sun also highlighted that the current market fluctuations are not caused by negative news but rather typical aspects of market dynamics. 

The Hong Kong regulatory authority found that certain supposedly licensed crypto exchanges fail to manage cybercrime risks effectively.

The Hong Kong Securities and Exchange Commission (SFC) has expressed dissatisfaction over the current state of inspection of crypto exchanges, which are still awaiting full licensing in the region. While some applicants have received preliminary approvals from the city’s regulator, they are yet to obtain complete licenses, pending full adherence to the SFC’s requirements.

SFC Discovers Foul Play with Some Crypto Exchanges

During on-site inspections, the Hong Kong regulator discovered that some crypto exchanges considered licensed inadequately address cybercrime risks. Additionally, according to a Bloomberg report, other exchanges rely too heavily on a small number of executives to oversee the management of client assets.

Applicants considered to be “deemed-to-be-licensed” fall under a short-term framework intended for crypto firms already active in the region before the implementation of the licensing regulations.

The report also noted that starting June 1, running an unauthorized virtual asset exchange (VAE) in Hong Kong became a punishable crime, and the SFC announced it would actively target businesses breaching the regulation.  

Crypto exchanges in Hong Kong that are still awaiting complete operational licenses include Crypto.com, Bullish, HKbitEX, PantherTrade, Accumulus, DFX Labs, Bixin.com, EX.IO, YAX, WhaleFin, and Matrixport HK.

According to Bloomberg’s spokesperson, the SFC might revoke platforms’ temporary licensed status or reject their license requests if they cannot address significant issues found during on-site evaluations.

Hong Kong Aims to Become a Global Fintech Hub 

Early this month, the Hong Kong government revealed plans to enhance crypto regulations over the next 18 months as part of its strategy to establish itself as a global leader in financial technology.

David Chiu, a representative in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong’s Special Administrative Region, detailed the city’s strategic approach to drawing in tech professionals, developing new infrastructure, and implementing strong regulatory oversight.

Chiu further noted that the digital asset industry has advanced significantly in recent years, and it is essential to create a reliable exchange system and promptly implement regulations for stablecoins.

Since June 2023, Hong Kong has been attracting investors and crypto exchanges to join the new licensing framework, thanks to the SFC’s recently released proposed regulations for virtual asset trading platforms.

Currently, OSL and HashKey are the only two fully licensed crypto platforms in Hong Kong. Other exchanges, such as OKX, Bybit, and Huobi HK, have pulled their applications.

The total trading volume of spot Bitcoin ETFs reached $1.42 billion, up from $1.35 billion recorded on August 20.

The United States spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded the fifth consecutive day of positive flows, bringing in $39.42 million in inflows.

The inflows mark a shift in sentiment, especially following a period of market turbulence driven by regulatory uncertainties in several regions, and other significant factors. Over the past week, the consistent inflows into the spot Bitcoin ETFs indicate that investors are starting to regain confidence in the crypto asset.

According to data from the crypto research platform SosoValue, Grayscale Mini Bitcoin Trust recorded $14.2 million in net inflows, while spot Bitcoin funds from Fidelity and Bitwise each reported approximately $10 million in positive flows.

BlackRock’s IBIT, the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by net assets, also saw $8.35 million in inflows. Franklin Templeton’s EZBC recorded $3.55 million flow into the fund, while Invesco’s BTCO had inflows totaling $2.36 million.

The only net outflows were observed in Grayscale’s GBTC product, which recorded $9.82 million in withdrawals. The six remaining funds, including Ark and 21Shares’ ARKB, recorded zero flows.

The total trading volume for the 12 Bitcoin ETFs climbed to $1.42 billion on Wednesday, an increase from $1.35 billion on Tuesday. Since their launch, these funds have garnered $17.56 billion in net inflows.

Spot ETH ETFs Hit $17.97M Outflows

Unlike its Bitcoin-focused counterpart, the U.S. spot Ethereum ETF recorded a net outflow of $17.97 million on August 21. Grayscale’s ETHE was the only ETH ETF to see outflows, with a net loss of $31.14 million.

Fidelity’s FETH led the day with the highest net inflows of $7.93 million, followed by Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust, which brought in $4.24 million. Franklin Templeton’s ETH fund also attracted $1 million in net inflows.

The trading volume of the nine ETH ETFs reached $201 million on August 21, an increase from $194.66 million recorded the previous day. The total cumulative net outflows increased to $458.08 million.