ETH ETFs disappoint investors

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Ether ETFs debut with $1 Billion in trading, but inflows remain modest

Key points:

• Grayscale's Ethereum Trust conversion contributed significantly to the trading volume.

• Ether ETF inflows pale in comparison to Bitcoin ETFs' launch.

News - Investors actively traded over $1 billion worth of shares in the newly launched Ether ETFs on their first day. However, despite the headline-grabbing figure, the actual net inflow of new money into these funds was significantly lower.

SoSoValue, a financial data tracker, estimates the net inflow at just $106.7 million. Notably, a large portion of the trading volume, $484 million, came from outflows from Grayscale's Ethereum Trust (ETHE), which is converting into an ETF.

Spot ETH ETF vs. Spot BTC ETF - For comparison, spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a much higher net inflow on their launch day in January. The trading volume reached $4.5 billion, out of which around $600 million represented inflows.

Among the new Ether ETFs, the BlackRock iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) attracted the most inflow at $266.5 million, followed by Bitwise's Ethereum ETF (ETHW) at $204 million.

The overall trading volume of $1.077 billion represents roughly 20% of what Bitcoin ETFs saw on their launch day. This muted response might be due to the lack of a staking mechanism in these Ether ETFs, a feature many market observers anticipated would drive greater investor interest.

DeFi exchange DYdX recovers swiftly after DNS hijack attempt

Key points:

• The attack only affected the website, core functionalities remain secure.

• Users have been advised to clear cache and restart browser before visiting dYdX.exchange.

News - Crypto exchange dYdX successfully repelled a domain name system (DNS) hijacking attempt on 23 July. The attack only compromised the exchange's website (dydx.exchange) for about three hours before it was fully restored.

dYdX advised users to clear their browser cache and restart before visiting the site again, to avoid accessing the compromised version. The good news is that the attack on dYdX was limited to the website.

The core functionalities of the exchange, including the dYdX Chain, dydx.trade, and the v3 Protocol, remain secure and operational.

The incident occurred amidst a heightened threat environment for cryptocurrency platforms, following a recent $230 million theft from WazirX, marking one of 2024's largest hacks in the sector so far.

According to a cybersecurity report, centralized exchanges are increasingly targeted by hackers, with losses from compromised private keys emerging as a significant concern in the crypto community.

With over $1.4 billion in crypto stolen so far in 2024, cybersecurity experts warn that this year could see even higher losses than 2023.

Optimism sees resurgence in NFT trading activity as price eyes $2

Key points:

• On-chain data shows an increase in daily unique addresses and transactions on Optimism.

• DeFi on Optimism is also flourishing, with TVL rising 15% in the past month.

News - Optimism, a leading L2 network, experienced a surge in trading activity across its NFT marketplace on Tuesday. NFT sales volume reached a monthly high of $547,000, a significant increase from the prior day's $95,040, reflecting a 475% jump.

This spike in NFT trading coincides with a broader rise in user demand for Optimism in recent days. The launch of spot ETH ETF has fueled a growing interest in L2 networks like Optimism.

On-chain data confirms this trend, revealing a rise in the daily count of unique addresses interacting with the network. This growth in unique addresses has also led to an increase in the number of daily transactions processed by Optimism.

Beyond the NFT sector, Optimism's DeFi space is another area witnessing expansion. Driven by the recent market rally, TVL within DeFi protocols on Optimism has grown by 15% over the past month.

The combined growth in Optimism's NFT sales volume, DeFi TVL, and DEX volume signifies a substantial uptick in overall network activity.

Ferrari set to accept crypto payments across Europe by end of July

Key points:

• The company would allow customers to purchase cars using Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USD Coin.

• This follows a successful launch in the U.S. last October.

News - Luxury carmaker Ferrari is expanding its cryptocurrency payment options to Europe by the end of July, according to a Reuters report on Wednesday.

This follows a successful launch in the United States last October, where customers could purchase vehicles using Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and USD Coin (USDC) through a partnership with BitPay.

The European expansion reflects Ferrari's commitment to "better addressing the evolving needs of its clients," a company statement mentioned. This move comes despite the limited adoption of cryptocurrency as a mainstream payment method by major corporations.

A potential reason for this hesitancy could be the concern that customers might prefer to hold onto their crypto assets due to the belief that their value will appreciate in the long run.

However, for luxury purchases like high-end automobiles, which themselves hold value over time, this might not be a significant deterrent.

More stories from the crypto ecosystem

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• Dogecoin traders should be on the lookout for THIS support level

• Kraken begins Bitcoin (BTC) & Bitcoin Cash (BCH) distribution to Mt Gox creditors

Interesting facts

• Before China’s crackdown on cryptocurrencies, the country used to account for a whopping 65% of the global crypto miners.

• As of January 2022, 458,814 token contracts had been created on the Ethereum blockchain. Around the same period, Binance Smart Chain had about 1.73 million token contracts.

• A 2021 Chainalysis report confirmed that cryptocurrency adoption is high in South America and Asia (apart from East Asia) because of the currency instability, poverty, and the ease of using cryptocurrencies. Out of the other developing continents, Africa comes next.

Top 3 coins of the day

XRP

Key points:

• XRP has demonstrated significant bullish momentum throughout this month.

• The altcoin has seen an impressive increase of 38% from 8 July.

What you should know - XRP has been on a tear lately, surging to become one of the top performers over the past week. This positive momentum is backed by an overall optimistic market sentiment. Over the past four days, XRP enjoyed consecutive gains, reaching around $0.60. However, there's been a slight correction recently, with the price settling at $0.6280. Even with this pullback, technical indicators suggest a bullish outlook for XRP. The RSI sits at 69, nearing overbought territory, which indicates strong buying pressure but also the possibility of a short-term correction.

Pepe (PEPE)

Key points:

• PEPE is now consolidating on its daily chart after a period of brief hike.

• The overall market sentiment has been neutral for this memecoin.

What you should know - At press time, PEPE sits at $0.00001265, reflecting a modest 5.6% daily gain. Technically, PEPE faces resistance at $0.00001725, a level it previously struggled to overcome. Support seems solid at $0.00000774. Interestingly, PEPE's recent sideways movement might signal a consolidation phase, a historical pattern for the altcoin where a period of stability precedes another breakout. Further dampening the mood is a decline in large transactions, dropping from 179 to 129 over the last week. This could indicate waning institutional interest or a shift towards smaller investors. While the RSI at 59 suggests room for growth, PEPE's future trajectory hinges on breaking past resistance and maintaining trading volume.

Solana (SOL)

Key points:

• SOL was trading at $178, at the time of writing.

• It noted an 11.18% increase over the last seven days.

What you should know - Solana has mirrored the recent bullish trend in altcoins, fueled by its connection to Bitcoin. Currently trading at around $173 (as of 24 July 2024), it faces resistance at $192 but finds support near $127. However, caution is advised. The MACD indicator hints at a possible bearish crossover, suggesting a reversal in the current uptrend. This potential reversal could see Solana's price dip below its current support level. To maintain its momentum, Solana needs to overcome the $192 resistance and keep the MACD indicator from crossing over. Only then can the bullish trend continue.