TLDR CRYPTO 2024-09-27

GENSLER WARNS CRYPTO INDUSTRY 'WILL NOT LONG PERSIST' WITHOUT INVESTOR PROTECTION

SEC Chair Gary Gensler warned that the crypto industry won't survive without stronger investor protections, citing the collapse of major firms like FTX and Three Arrows Capital as evidence of the need for regulation. While reiterating that most cryptocurrencies are securities, he confirmed that Bitcoin remains an exception, emphasizing the importance of trust and disclosure in sustaining the sector.

BITCOIN RALLIES AMID POSITIVE U.S. JOBS DATA AND REPORTS OF MORE CHINA STIMULUS MEASURES

Bitcoin has surged past $65,000, driven by positive U.S. jobs data and expectations of new economic stimulus from China. While these developments have sparked optimism in the market, analysts caution that if Bitcoin fails to hold above this level, it could face significant downward pressure despite the broader stock market rally.

INTRODUCING AMINO

AminoChain, a Layer 2 blockchain protocol focused on connecting enterprise medical institutions, has announced a $5M seed round led by a16z crypto. Its first application is a bio-sample marketplace that enables researchers to license samples from biobanks, with patients benefiting from insights and compensation.

RETRO9000: UP TO $40M IN RETROACTIVE GRANTS FOR AVALANCHE L1S

Avalanche has launched Retro9000, a $40M retroactive grant program aimed at rewarding developers who contribute to the Avalanche testnet and successfully launch Layer 1 blockchains on its mainnet. Funded by the Avalanche Foundation and driven by community votes, the program incentivizes innovation and tool development within the Avalanche ecosystem.

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HYPERLIQUID: THE HYPEROPTIMIZED ORDER BOOK L1 (1 HOUR READ)

Hyperliquid, a perpetual trading protocol with an L1, has become a disruptor in the trading space, with over $300 billion in cumulative volumes and over $1 billion in daily volumes. Its HyperBFT consensus mechanism can handle a substantial amount of orders per second, and its fully onchain order book positions it as an “onchain Binance,” bridging CEX efficiency with DEX transparency. With a comparative valuation of around $5 billion and plans for further development like an EVM-compatible layer, Hyperliquid is poised to capture significant market share in the DeFi derivatives market.

UNDERSTANDING MINIMUM BLOB BASE FEES

Blob space on Ethereum incurs a minimum fee of $0.10 to $3 per blob, with EIP-7762 introducing a hard minimum of 1 cent per blob. This change is expected to increase the average blob cost by nearly 1% and solve the cold start problem where they have been slow to reach the targeted level of demand.

THOUGHTS AROUND IBIT OPTIONS

This thread analyzes the approval of IBIT options in the context of existing crypto options markets. Deribit trades $40 billion notional monthly in BTC options compared to CME's $3B. Though a short squeeze is unlikely, increased derivatives volumes, volatility dampening due to structured products, and an altcoin boom could occur if crypto lending returns. The author predicts compression of basis spreads in Bitcoin futures vs spot and highlights the complex interplay between traditional finance and crypto-native markets.

Q4 PREDICTIONS FOR AIRDROP LAND

The EIGEN and liquid restaking tokens airdrop narratives have primarily ended. Other restaking protocols like Symbiotic and Karak might offer moderate-sized rewards. A good play might be to use a restaking protocol for Babylon using Bitcoin, like Bedrock or Mezo. There might be some potential in gaming projects, especially those with NFTs that have been out for a few years but are already written off as dead. Hyperliquid is expected to be great, while Scroll will likely be disappointing.

BITCOIN SHOWS HIGHER CORRELATION WITH NASDAQ THAN GOLD

New data suggests that Bitcoin prices are more correlated with Nasdaq than gold prices.

WHY A PROTOCOL IS MOVING FROM BASE TO SOLANA

Unlonely, a live-streaming consumer crypto app, is moving from Base to Solana.

PRYSM ON PECTRA SPLIT

The Prysm Ethereum development team has proposed splitting the Pectra fork into PectrA and PectrB.

INFLUENCERS SHOULD TALK MORE OPENLY ABOUT THEIR NUMBERS

An influencer shares his rates openly — $1.5k per educational post and $3k for bundled content — to encourage transparency in the creator economy and help others understand market rates.