The Cosmos-based layer-1 blockchain Canto has announced plans for an upgrade on August 12th to resolve a 33-hour outage, which they attribute to a consensus issue. Launched in August 2022, Canto positions itself as a permissionless, general-purpose blockchain suited for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

Damage Control

The Canto blockchain has been inactive for over a day, with the last recorded transaction, block 10847516, occurring on August 11th. According to CantoScan, no new transactions have occurred in the last 33 hours, and only two transactions have been recorded in the past 46 hours.

Canto representatives posted an update on August 12th via their official X account where they confirmed a temporary halt in the chain did indeed occur due to the issue with consensus. The team stated that an upgrade to address the problem is scheduled for 12:00 PM UTC on August 12th. The consensus mechanism is responsible for validating and authenticating transactions on the blockchain.

No Cause For Concern

Originally, the Callisto upgrade was scheduled for August 9th at 14:30 PM UTC. Canto has not clarified whether this upgrade was completed or if it might be related to the current outage. Despite the disruption, Canto reassures users that there is no cause for concern. They expect normal operations to resume once the consensus issue is resolved. All funds are secure, and when the chain is back online, users will have access to all functionalities as usual, stated Canto.

Canto had previously announced plans to transition to the Ethereum Network as a layer-2 solution in September 2023. However, this decision was reversed in March 2024, and Canto remains a layer-1 blockchain. According to DefiLlama, while blockchain activity peaked in February 2023, it has since declined, placing it as the 80th largest blockchain by total value locked.

Tether has officially rejected the lawsuit put forth by Celsius Network Limited concerning a $2.4 billion Bitcoin (BTC) liquidation, calling it unfounded and blaming Celsius for poor financial management.

The Blame Game

Filed on August 9th in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Celsius alleges that Tether wrongfully liquidated Bitcoin collateral in June 2022 and is seeking its return. Tether, however, claims the liquidation was conducted with the consent granted by Celsius which was also based on the price of Bitcoin at the time.

In 2022, Tether provided USDT to Celsius, which used Bitcoin as collateral. When Bitcoin plummeted in June, Celsius faced a margin call and should have added more collateral to prevent liquidation. Instead, Celsius directed Tether to liquidate the Bitcoin to settle an $815 million USDT debt. Tether argues the lawsuit misrepresents the law and the agreement terms, aiming to shift the blame onto them instead of Celsius.

Fighting Back

Tether plans a strong defense and is confident in a favorable outcome, stating that they will not yield to meritless litigation. This case highlights the complexity of financial agreements in the crypto sector and the importance of clear contracts. As it unfolds, the lawsuit could influence how similar disputes are handled and impact cryptocurrency lending and collateral management practices.

As one of the most important companies in the crypto sector, Tether issues the USDT stablecoin, which is pegged to the United States Dollar (USD) to maintain a stable value. Stablecoins like USDT are crucial because they provide a stable store of value and facilitate transactions within the cryptocurrency market, helping to bridge the gap between volatile cryptocurrencies and traditional fiat currencies.

James Fickel, the founder of the Amaranth Foundation, which supports longevity research, is also known as the fifth richest crypto investor globally. On August 10th, Fickel partially closed a multi-million dollar long Ethereum (ETH) position against Bitcoin (BTC) due to recent news related to Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC).

A Lookonchain report reveals that Fickel began initiating long positions on Ethereum against Bitcoin on January 10th. He employed a sophisticated decentralized finance (DeFi) approach involving lending, borrowing, and trading assets.

Diamond Hands

Fickel provided lending liquidity on Aave (AAVE) as collateral to borrow 3,061 Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC). He utilized this $172 million wBTC loan to acquire 56,445 ETH over the past seven months. Lookonchain estimates an average ETH/BTC exchange rate of 0.05424.

As of April 2024, James Fickel was the fifth richest cryptocurrency investor globally, with a net worth exceeding $446 million. Data provided by Arkham Intelligence on August 11th indicates his crypto net worth has risen to $457.39 million. His portfolio primarily includes 133,516 AETHWSTETH ($420 million) and 10,601 AETHWETH ($28.49 million), along with smaller amounts of wETH, ETH, USDC, Optimism (OP), and other cryptocurrencies.

Risk Management

In addition to his active role in cryptocurrency investing and enthusiasm for Ethereum, Fickel and his Amaranth Foundation are engaged in cutting-edge research on longevity and neuroscience, focusing on solutions for aging.

His recent trading activity reflects his strong belief that ETH will outperform BTC in 2024. However, with his latest transactions, there is speculation about whether his confidence remains as firm. Alternatively, his recent comments on the BitGo and Justin Sun partnership concerning wBTC might suggest that the repayment is part of a risk management strategy rather than a sign of diminished belief in Ethereum.

Charles Hoskinson has criticized the current Biden-Harris administration for its antagonistic stance toward the cryptocurrency industry in the United States. He cautioned that supporting Kamala Harris in the upcoming November presidential election could further damage the emerging sector.

Hoskinson also responded to Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, who claimed that Operation Choke Point 2.0 remains in effect. Winklevoss highlighted that the Fed is now effectively determining who can open a bank account and thereby restricting the operational capabilities of all American crypto companies. Tyler also suggested that if Harris were to win the election, the approval rate for crypto companies could approach zero.

Harris Threatens Crypto

Hoskinson contends that the Biden-Harris administration is actively undermining the crypto sector, with no indication of a policy shift or improvement. He warned that electing Kamala Harris could harm the American cryptocurrency industry, suggesting she would perpetuate the current war on crypto.

His remarks followed the recent enforcement action by the US Federal Reserve against the crypto-friendly Customers Bank, which observers view as an excessive measure that could stifle innovation in the cryptocurrency field. The enforcement action against Customers Bank requires the institution to provide a 30-day advance notice before establishing any new banking relationships with crypto companies.

The Worst Is Yet To Come

Winklevoss added that this enforcement action is just the beginning, as the Fed is currently behaving with restraint due to the upcoming election. If Harris wins in November, the situation could become much more severe. Before Joe Biden decided to no longer participate in the 2024 Presidential race, Winklevoss and Hoskinson had warned that re-electing Biden could devastate the American crypto industry.

In contrast, former President Donald Trump has consistently expressed support for cryptocurrency during his campaign. Trump recently proposed using a small amount of Bitcoin to address the massive $35 trillion national debt. At the Bitcoin Nashville Conference, Trump received enthusiastic applause when he vowed to fire Gary Gensler if he were to return to the White House, signaling an end to what he views as an anti-crypto crusade.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) stalled just below $63,000 but has managed to maintain the $60,000 mark after a swift drop. Altcoins have been relatively slow on a daily basis, with XRP, ETH, and SOL showing declines, while TON has increased by over 4%.  The total crypto market capitalization has decreased slightly over the past day, now standing at $2.217 trillion on CoinGecko.

BTC Dominance On The Rise

The primary cryptocurrency faced a challenging weekend. Following a significant drop to nearly $60,000 by Sunday morning, the situation worsened with a fall to $57,000 later that day. Monday saw a further decline to just under $50,000, marking its lowest point in about six months.

Support arrived when the bulls intervened, halting any additional declines. BTC began to recover, rising to $53,000 on Tuesday and $57,000 by Thursday. Another rise on Friday pushed the cryptocurrency close to $63,000. However, Bitcoin could not sustain its upward trajectory and has since lost some momentum. It has slid toward $60,000 but has managed to hold that level, currently trading around $700 above it.

Growing Dominance

Bitcoin saw its market capitalization slightly decrease to $1.2 trillion, but its dominance over alternative coins continues to grow. This metric now stands at 54% on CoinGecko, the highest since April 2021.

Meanwhile, most major altcoins experienced minor retracements. Ethereum fell by over 1% in the past 24 hours but remains above $2,600. Solana and Ripple dropped by 2-3%, to $155 and $0.58, respectively. DOGE, AVAX, SHIB, and ADA also showed slight declines. In contrast, TON increased by more than 4% and trades above $6.7. CRO is the top performer among mid-cap altcoins, having surged by over 9%.

Other Markets

San Francisco is working to rebuild its global image by hosting the APEC Summit. In the US, earnings growth is emerging beyond major tech firms, while global markets face increased selloff pressure due to rising risks. Experts suggest the recent VIX spike was misleading, and Japanese stocks are recovering after a severe decline into bear market territory, which has removed excess speculation within the $6 trillion market.

Kamala Harris and her running mate are touring battleground states, with Harris asserting she will not interfere with the Federal Reserve. In Mumbai, SEBI Chair Madhabi Puri Buch faces scrutiny following allegations of a conflict of interest with Adani. Blackstone has released its earnings figures, and the private credit sector is seeking higher margins on loans. In Serbia, a major lithium mining project is met with new protests. Meanwhile, climate activists are targeting Wall Street bankers, with protests outside Citigroup focusing on fossil fuel lending.

This week, Solana developers discreetly addressed and resolved a major vulnerability with little public attention. On one hand, the covert nature of the fix prompts questions about the decentralization of the blockchain, which ranks third in terms of total-value locked. On the other side, it is somewhat reassuring that the vulnerability did not result in a network outage.

Discord Saves The Day

In a post titled Anatomy of a Patch on August 8th, the pseudonymous Laine revealed that the rapid resolution was facilitated by advance notice given to major validators. A Discord alert on August 7th indicated that core contributors had identified a critical vulnerability requiring immediate action. Within minutes, validators controlling over 70% of the Solana network had implemented the fix.

According to Solana Beach, the network currently has 1,515 validators, with Helius, Galaxy, and Coinbase holding the largest stakes at 3.39%, 3.36%, and 2.89% respectively. Laine mentioned that the Discord alert advised validators to anticipate a follow-up message about the imminent patching scheduled for 10AM EST on August 8th.

Questions of Decentralization

Through ongoing research by Solana Foundation members and projects like Anza, Jito, Jump, Firedancer, and others, the community managed to achieve initial consensus through 19% of validators, which then grew to a supermajority of 67% to apply the patch. Once the supermajority was secured and the network appeared ostensibly safe, Solana contributors reached out to other validators to prompt the upgrade.

Still, many have asked if Solana truly embodies decentralization, how could a critical vulnerability be detected and patched by 70% of the validator set so quickly. Additionally, why is it that coordination occurred behind closed doors while much of the Solana ecosystem remained unaware of a potential threat.

Laine suggests that maintaining confidentiality was crucial to deter malicious actors. In response to concerns about centralization, Anza engineer trent.sol defended the approach, stating that this sort of patch need not be disclosed to the public as doing so would only complicate matters.

Immutable, a blockchain company focused on gaming and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has announced it will be discontinuing its NFT marketplace to concentrate on broadening its ecosystem through new partnerships.

Key Details

The company plans to officially cease operations of the marketplace on August 13th. The marketplace was initially developed to demonstrate the capabilities of the Immutable software development kit (SDK).

Since its inception, Immutable noted that various projects utilizing the SDK have already emerged and expanded. The company also encouraged users to explore other marketplaces within its ecosystem.

Regarding user assets and listings, Immutable assured that assets will remain accessible as they are permanently recorded on the blockchain. These assets are tied to user wallet addresses and will be available regardless of the marketplace or game used.

Additionally, Immutable highlighted that its marketplace operates with a global order book. Consequently, marketplaces sharing this order book will display similar listings for buying or selling. Users need to connect their wallets to view existing listings across any marketplace.

Declining Sales Volumes

The announcement coincides with a decline in NFT sales volumes. In the second quarter of 2024, NFT sales volume fell by 45% compared to the previous quarter. While the first quarter of 2024 saw digital collectibles reaching $4.1 billion in volume, the market failed to maintain this growth. The second quarter saw a decrease to $2.24 billion, the lowest since Q3 2023.

July further exemplified this decline with the lowest NFT sales volume of 2024, amounting to just $429 million. Despite these trends, industry professionals remain optimistic about NFTs. CryptoSlam founder Randy Wasinger has stated that despite reduced volumes, NFTs are here to stay.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sanctioned legislation aimed at reducing dependence on the US dollar in international trade. Set to take effect in November 2024, the law will permit authorized mining companies to register through a state database to engage in cryptocurrency mining. Additionally, small-scale individual miners can mine digital currencies without formal registration, provided their energy usage stays below a specified limit.

Decreasing Dependence On The Dollar

Oversight of the newly regulated mining sector will be divided among the Bank of Russia, the Ministry of Finance, and a designated group of ministers who will define more specific regulatory measures in the coming months. The legislation also includes a prohibition on widespread cryptocurrency advertising within Russia.

The BRICS group, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, consists of emerging economies increasingly looking to reduce their reliance on the US dollar for international transactions.

At the 11th BRICS Summit in 2019, the bloc initially proposed an alternative digital currency. Although this proposal has gained significant attention, it faces considerable challenges, including disagreements among major member countries about how a unified currency would function.

Skepticism Remain

In 2023, Russia renewed its focus on creating a unified BRICS currency. State Duma Deputy Chairman Alexander Babakov reportedly mentioned that key BRICS members were working on a new currency for international trade settlements. The Bank of Russia and the Russian government also announced plans to establish special entities to facilitate cross-border transactions using digital assets.

Macroeconomist Lyn Alden has expressed skepticism about a gold-backed BRICS currency replacing the US dollar. Alden highlighted the historical issue of gold-backed currencies issuing more paper claims than the actual gold reserves, which could lead to monetary devaluation and potential currency collapse.

The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission has given the green light for the first spot Solana ETF, a milestone managed by QR and Vortx, with a launch anticipated within the next 90 days.

Overseeing The ETF

QR, a firm experienced in managing Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, will play a key role in overseeing the ETF and all corresponding operations, in partnership with Vortx. The collaboration is crucial as it will enable both parties to mutually benefit while simultaneously ensuring that the ETF functions smoothly.

Although the ETF is in its nascent stages and still requires further regulatory approval by B3, the financial exchange in Brazil, the expectation is for it to become available to investors within the upcoming three months.

Reliability And Transparency

Currently, investors can trade Solana ETPs on the SIX Swiss Exchange, where the 21Shares Solana ETP is listed under the ticker ASO, and on Deutsche Börse Xetra in Germany, where the CoinShares Physical Solana and the ETC Group Physical Solana are available.

At any rate, the newly approved Solana ETF will utilize the CME CF Solana Dollar Reference Rate F as its benchmark price, ensuring a reliable and transparent representation of Solana and its value in USD.

Judge Analysa Torres has ordered Ripple to pay $125 million in civil penalties and cease any further violations of securities laws, concluding a nearly four-year legal struggle with the U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission (SEC). This penalty is favorable for Ripple, given that the SEC had originally sought a $2 billion fine.

The War Is Over

As per the official verdict, the SEC motioning for remedies and the entry of final judgment is granted in part and denied in part. The Court shall issue a final judgment restraining Ripple in terms of facing additional securities law violations and imposing a civil penalty of $125,035,150.

As of the latest update, XRP is priced at $0.6, experiencing a surge of over 17% in a day, with a 24-hour trading volume around $1.68 billion. The market capitalization of the altcoin is currently $29.5 billion.

Identifying Key Triggers For Recovery

According to TradingView and their 1-day technical analysis, the outlook for XRP appears bearish despite the aforementioned verdict. The summary and moving averages indicate a sell recommendation with 11 and 10 signals respectively, while oscillators remain neutral with a reading of 8.

This recent court ruling marks a crucial development for Ripple, and investors are optimistic that the favorable resolution could lead to a significant increase in the price of XRP. In any case, the crypto community can finally breathe a sigh of relief as the multi-year war between the SEC and Ripple finally comes to a close.

Diego Olivia, the CEO for The Starknet Foundation (SNF), will officially be leaving the company after leading it since its launch in March 2023. Under Diego, The Starknet Foundation grew rapidly, expanding to thirty full-time professionals in a year.

A Successful Journey

The SNF successfully launched Seed Grants and DeFi Spring projects, collaborated with over 100 organizations, and created developer support programs. Diego Olivia was appointed as CEO in 2023 due to his strong background and experience.

Under his guidance, the SNF undertook several ecosystem projects, including Catalyst and Propulsion programs, and expanded initiatives like Hacker Hose and Basecamp.

Time For A Change

Now that the team and structure are in place, leadership is transitioning to James Strudwick, who joined the SNF in January 2024. Strudwick, with his Web3 expertise and successful project history, will continue the values of strong work ethic that the SNF has tried to uphold since its inception.

Eli Ben-Sasson of StarkWare Ltd. praised Olivia for his contributions and welcomed Strudwick as the new Executive Director, expressing satisfaction with the transition. As of right now, it remains unclear as to which direction Diego will take his career going forward.

In an interview with CNBC on August 5th, Tezos Co-Founder Kathleen Breitman pointed out how Bitcoin recently fell below $50,000, attributing it to broader market worries. She mentioned concerns about a potential global recession and a notable sell-off in Japanese stocks as major factors exacerbating the decline.

Drawing Parallels

Breitman also connected the drop to ongoing geopolitical tensions and recent adjustments in Federal Reserve interest rates. She highlighted rumors of significant liquidations by Jump Trading, which have further pressured the value of Bitcoin.

She further critiqued Bitcoin and its alleged effectiveness as a store of value, labeling it as Internet pretend money due to its speculative nature. She drew parallels between the current market reaction and the early disruptions caused by COVID-19, where economic uncertainty led to a swift sell-off of speculative assets.

Still A Crucial Asset

Despite the volatility of Bitcoin, Breitman still views it as a crucial asset in the cryptocurrency realm. She argues that Bitcoin is important in terms of its value and utility as it goes beyond the traditional store-of-value perspective, even amid ongoing market fluctuations.

Breitman is just one of many people who have been critical of both Bitcoin and the wider crypto industry while also acknowledging its mainstream popularity and influence. Although the market is currently facing a recession, many believe that crypto will be able to bounce back stronger than ever.