M3TA Recap: March 27 – April 02, 2023
Guess who's back? BTC, baby! And not only that, but it's also dressed to impress as a Layer 2! You heard that right: the crypto market is ready to take on this BTC-woke era like a boss! Read on!
Top performers (7D)
The High Tide of Proof-of-Work (PoW) Projects
Last week, BTC was integrated with layer-2 scaling solutions using ZK technology, implemented by ZeroSync or StarkWare. In addition, the high hash rate on Hashrate.no indicates that mining activity is intensifying and the narrative is looking as if miners plan to hold these minted tokens for the next season of the Bitcoin ecosystem.
This paved the way for PoW-related projects (the first 3 Top Performers this week) to see some bullish signs in their native tokens' prices.
Nexa - $NEXA: +171%
Price as of time of writing: NEXA/USD - $0.000028
Nexa, the decentralized Layer-1 blockchain, offers EVM-compatible smart contracts and native token services, which means that it allows its users to create and manage their own custom tokens on the Nexa platform without the need for additional smart contracts or token standards like ERC-20.
Kaspa - $KAS: +150%
Price as of time of writing: KAS/USD - $0.0417
Kaspa is a PoW cryptocurrency that uses the GHOSTDAG protocol, whose way of working could be loosely compared to sharding. Thanks to GHOSTDAG protocol, transactions can take place concurrently across different chains, unlike traditional blockchains which usually facilitate one by one.
Dynex - $DNX: +149%
Price as of time of writing: DNX/USD - $0.235
Dynex is a PoW platform for neuromorphic computing - which is a way of designing computer hardware that is modeled after the structure and function of the human brain. Dynex uses a flexible blockchain protocol, which allows multiple computers to collaborate more in sync while sharing information in a secure and decentralized way.
Others:
SolarNetwork - $SXP: +158%
Price as of time of writing: SXP/USD - $0.683
Solar Blockchain Foundation, based in Estonia, builds a blockchain ecosystem with community involvement and open-source developers.
Binance's recent announcement of supporting Swipe's mainnet swap and rebranding to Solar might have caused an increase in the price of $SXP.
Block Commerce Protocol - $BCP: +114%
Price as of time of writing: BCP/USD - $0.153
Block Commerce Protocol (BCP) integrates social media, live commerce, and blockchain to create a global network where users can participate in social media activities and live commerce events while using blockchain technology to securely and transparently track transactions and payments.
Last week, BCP increased significantly by 800% without any social media updates. This week, there haven't been any further updates, either, yet the price is still supported with a positive 114% surge.
Top losers (7D)
tomiNet - $TOMI: -31,7%
Price as of time of writing: Tomi/USD - $2.07
tomi is a web3 company that leverages decentralized DNS, including high-performance computing technology, a multi-chain wallet, and a unique browser to enhance the decentralization of digital assets and cloud services. Their ultimate goal is to establish a web3 internet infrastructure that optimizes decentralization.
Talken - $TALK: -34,3%
Price as of time of writing: TALK/USD - $0.126
Talken offers a range of services for NFTs across multiple blockchains, including NFT Wallet which enables real-time NFT browsing, Drops - NFT launchpad, and Studio - NFT minting tool.
Gitcoin - $GTC: -29,2%
Price as of time of writing: GTC/USD - $1.73
Gitcoin is a decentralized platform where developers can collaborate in various programming languages and receive payment for their work. The payment mechanism somewhat resembles what GoFundMe offers - users can choose to donate to projects that they wish to.
Coinflex - $FLEX: -24%
Price as of time of writing: FLEX/USD - $1.97
CoinFLEX is a futures exchange and yield platform. Rather than offering a signup bonus, CoinFLEX has implemented a yield system based on their native exchange token. By holding the $FLEX in their exchange wallet, traders can earn yield on flexUSD, an interest-earning stablecoin.
Hop Protocol - $HOP: -23,4%
Price as of time of writing: HOP/USD - $0.165
Hop is a token bridge that enables instant token transfers between rollups or sidechains, eliminating the need to wait for the network's challenge period.
The recent decline in the value of some tokens may be nothing more than a normal correction following an extended period of market expansion and strong performance, and should not cause undue concern among investors.
Macro
Consumer Confidence - a crucial indicator of the economy's overall health, reflecting people's spending and saving behavior as they feel secure about their income stability.
The Consumer Confidence Index rose to 104.2 in March, up from an upwardly revised reading of 103.4 in the previous month.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - a measure of the total monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a country during a specified time period.
GDP growth in Q4 was +2.7%, falling short of the expected +2.9%. Despite ending the streak of four consecutive months of exceeding expectations, it still stands as a high number given the Fed's ongoing interest rate hikes.
Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) - measure how much people in the US are paying for goods and services.
The PCE report shows a downward trend, which is in line with the Fed's goals, but the pace of the decline is slower than desired.
Micro
Blockworks - March 27, 2023
MicroStrategy paid off its $205M loan from Silvergate Bank in March 2022, making its final payment of $161M earlier this month. The loan was collateralized with around $820M in Bitcoin.
MicroStrategy purchased 6,455 BTC over the past several weeks for approximately $150 million in cash, at an average price of approximately $23,238 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses.
MicroStrategy now holds more than 130K BTC, totalling around $4.1B, making it the largest corporate treasury of any public company.
The Block - March 27, 2023
DYDX launched a private testnet of its Cosmos-based blockchain on March 28.
The testnet opens to whitelisted third parties, who will act as validators on the network.
This is the third stage of DYDX's 5-stage plan to move from StarkEx to its own Cosmos-based blockchain.
The exchange aims to roll out its public testnet in July before a full launch in September.
The main features of this milestone include:
Advanced Order Types
Dynamic Funding Rates
Using ABCI 2.0 and the other Latest Features of Cosmos-SDK
Web Trading Interface
Documentation for Validators
The Defiant - March 30, 2023
ConsenSys has opened up the testnet for its zero-knowledge rollup to developers and users.
Linea is a zkEVM solution that combines Ethereum compatibility with the security and performance of zero-knowledge proofs.
dApps deployed on Linea will be easily accessible via MetaMask wallet, and Linea offers native integrations with ConsenSys’s infrastructure and tooling for developers.
Linea’s private testnet processed 1.5M transactions in the first few weeks after its launch in January.
ChainPlay - April 1, 2023
Ronin Network's staking feature is now live and users can earn rewards by locking up their $RON tokens starting April 12th.
To celebrate the launch, Ronin Network has announced its first game studio partners who will be building on the platform, including The Machines Arena, Tribesters, Axie Champions, and more.
News Highlight
CoinDesk - March 28, 2023 at 2:00 AM UTC
Polygon released its zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) beta to the public on Monday, which is expected to be one of 2023's hottest blockchain trends.
All aspects of the zkEVM are open source, allowing developers to study and share the code, which Polygon hopes will encourage more innovation in the zero-knowledge space.
According to Polygon, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum blockchain, initiated the first transaction on the new zkEVM during a ceremony at ETHGlobal, sending 0.005 ETH to a random address with a message referencing Neil Armstrong's famous quote.
M3TA Intern - March 28, 2023
On Mar 28, the CFTC filed a lawsuit against finance and CZ for allegedly offering unregistered crypto derivative products in the U.S. in violation of federal law.
CZ_binance responded by claiming incomplete facts and highlighting their compliance technology, cooperation with law enforcement, and transparency.
They stressed their collaboration with regulators and emphasized that they do not trade for profit.
They stated that they are looking for amicable solutions to all problems.
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