Buterin's 2024 blueprint

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Unhashed by AMBCrypto
January 01, 2024

 

Reading time: 7 minutes

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BlackRock and others update Bitcoin ETF filings as market remains lukewarm

Key points

  • Regulatory approvals like the Bitcoin Spot ETF could legitimize the crypto market, fostering institutional adoption

  • Increased institutional interest would stabilize cryptocurrency markets and drive further innovation

News - A crypto options trading platform called Greeks.live suggested limited market interest despite the speculation - U.S. SEC approval of a Bitcoin Spot ETF. 

Data from the platform revealed minor shifts in significant term implied volatilities - a metric that shows the future price expectations in options contracts and prices.

SEC's ETF signal - News agency Reuters indicated the SEC might reach out to Bitcoin ETF applicants soon, a move expected to reshape crypto trading by allowing Bitcoin-backed ETFs on regulated platforms. However, Greeks.live highlighted muted market reactions. 

Greeks.live deduced that the market had factored in potential ETF approval, suggesting that traders adjusted their positions preemptively. 

Furthermore, BlackRock, Valkyrie, and Van Eck updated their ETF filings on 29 December, with BlackRock specifying Jane Street and JPMorgan Securities as key participants, emphasizing a cash-only model.

Ethereum co-founder speaks out on Web3 as Solana responds with price drop

Key points

  • The Ethereum-Solana rivalry underscored the blockchain industry's dynamic evolution, emphasizing market demand for innovation.

  • Coexistence and collaboration between leading blockchains may be pivotal for broader technology adoption and sustainability.

News - Amid the recent interest surrounding the resurgence of the Solana ecosystem, particularly the notable gains in SOL, Solana NFTs, and meme coins, the fervor has subsided this week. This shift led to heightened debates between supporters of Solana and its primary competitor, Ethereum.

Solana's surge, Ethereum's response - On Thursday, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed dissatisfaction with the stagnation of the Web3 vision, attributing the setback to the exorbitant gas fees. In response, Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko dismissed Ethereum as a "cockroach settlement layer."

The tension escalated as key Solana performers, notably the once-thriving meme coin BONK, faced declining fortunes. Moreover, native tokens of Ethereum layer-2 networks like Optimism and Arbitrum experienced significant surges, likely due to their lower gas fees.

Gas fees fuel rivalry - The rivalry between Ethereum maximalists and defensive Solana advocates permeated various corners of Twitter discourse, involving seemingly unrelated events. For instance, when news surfaced that Donald Trump was offloading millions of dollars worth of ETH from his struggling NFT projects, Twitter users interpreted it as a symbolic moment in the ongoing Ethereum/Solana debate.

Vitalik Buterin reveals 2024 Ethereum roadmap with focus on decentralization

Key points

  • Vitalik Buterin emphasized the importance of community inclusivity and decentralized governance in Ethereum's progression.

  • He hinted at potential upgrades to introduce more democratic decision-making mechanisms within the ecosystem.

News - Ethereum's founder, Vitalik Buterin, unveiled the 2024 roadmap for Ethereum, indicating minimal shifts from the previous year. Buterin shared this update on X and emphasized six core components: merge, surge, scourge, verge, purge, and splurge. He underscored Ethereum's evolving technical direction, stating a few deviations from the 2023 plan.

The evolution of Ethereum's consensus mechanism - The Merge stood out as it streamlined Ethereum's proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus. In September 2022, this integration with the Beacon Chain marked a shift from the energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) to PoS, significantly cutting energy use. Buterin also spotlighted Ethereum's single slot finality (SSF), a mechanism that enhanced PoS efficiency. He expressed SSF's potential in addressing Ethereum PoS design flaws.

In related insights, Buterin revisited Ethereum's foundational idea as a decentralized shared platform, contrasting its evolution into a financial-centric model by 2017. However, he identified emerging technologies like rollups and zero-knowledge proofs as aligning with original cypherpunk values - which are values of privacy, individual freedom, and cryptography - emphasizing privacy and decentralized functionality.

Orbit Bridge protocol loses $82 million in New Year's Eve DeFi attack

Key points

  • This incident highlighted the urgent need for standardized security audits and transparent protocols within the decentralized finance ecosystem.  

  • As the value locked in cross-chain protocols grows, collaborative industry efforts become crucial to mitigate risks and safeguard user assets.

News - Hackers took advantage of Orbit Bridge, the cross-chain protocol's bridging service, and siphoned off $82 million just before the New Year. On 31 December, Kgjr, a Twitter user, highlighted a potential breach in the Orbit Chain Bridge protocol due to significant fund outflows. 

Both Officer CIA and blockchain security firm Cyvers confirmed this discovery. Data from Arkham Intelligence indicated the hackers pilfered $81.68 million across five transactions involving Tether, USD Coin, Ether, Wrapped Bitcoin, and DAI. 

The urgent call for DeFi security protocols - The Orbit Chain protocol was closely associated with the Klaytn network, as eight major Klaytn assets were wrapped through Orbit Bridge. Established in 2018 in South Korea, Orbit Chain facilitated cross-chain transfers, especially between EVM-compatible networks and Klaytn. 

Did you know?

  • Mt. Gox, once the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world, filed for bankruptcy in 2014 after losing 850,000 Bitcoin, worth around $450 million at the time. The incident remains one of the most infamous events in crypto history.

  • It's estimated that around 20% of the existing Bitcoin supply is lost forever. This is due to various reasons such as forgotten passwords, lost hardware wallets, or misplaced private keys.

  • In 2016, Ethereum faced one of its biggest controversies when a decentralized autonomous organization built on the Ethereum platform was exploited, leading to the loss of approximately $50 million worth of Ether. This event led to a split in the Ethereum community, resulting in Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.

Top 3 coins of the day

Binance Coin (BNB)

  • BNB's resurgence indicates the ever-evolving landscape of the crypto market - its battle for dominance underscores the volatile and competitive nature of cryptocurrency platforms. 

  • As Binance Coin navigates its parent exchange's regulatory concerns, BNB's price and sentiment fluctuations highlight the overarching influence that the waves of FUD have on crypto assets. 

What you should know - On 27 December, the coin, with a resounding surge, crossed the formidable $300 psychological resistance mark. Such a feat was backed by a substantial 10.15% growth in just 24 hours. At press time, seated comfortably in the fourth position, BNB boasted a market cap of a staggering $50 billion. BNB's technical landscape revealed patterns that hinted at a promising future. However, the Relative Strength Index sounded a note of caution, suggesting BNB was overbought.

Filecoin (FIL)

  • Filecoin's inability to surpass the resistance zone between $4.61 to $5.71 on the one-week chart indicated a significant market sentiment. 

  • Continued failure to breach this level suggested potential skepticism or a lack of strong buying interest, influencing broader market participants' confidence in the coin's long-term value and performance.

What you should know - Filecoin did not consistently rise in price like many other altcoins. It experienced significant gains in November and early December, however. At press time, the upward trend of Filecoin faced resistance at a crucial level. A specific resistance zone was identified between $4.61 to $5.71, which acted as a bearish breaker block. Even so, bulls successfully surpassed this resistance zone, with the Relative Strength Index hiking above the neutral 50 mark, indicating a bullish momentum shift.

Bitcoin SV (BSV)

  • BSV experienced a remarkable surge of 63% on 29 December, which helped the coin reach its peak price point of the year.

  • In the face of a significant rise in BSV's buying pressure, the market was considered overheated as rapid price surges can often lead to buyers' exhaustion and lack of sustainable support for growth. 

What you should know - Interestingly, BSV’s price rally comes after two months following the delisting of BSV from Coinbase. Starting from $46 on 26 December, BSV's price escalated to $87 as of the latest data, representing its highest value since January 2023. Moreover, the trading volume for BSV on 29 December stood at a substantial $615 million, reflecting an increase of over 600%. This is the coin's highest single-day trading volume since June 2021.

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