Synthetix

Introduction

Synthetix, was formerly known as Havven, and was rebranded during November 2018 to better represent its growth. The project which has initially started as a payment network had grown to become an asset issuance Defi protocol with an active community governance system and is recognized as the leading derivative Defi with ~$563m TVL.

Source: https://defipulse.com/

Within the platform, assets locked in a contract are collateralized using the Synthetix Network Token, SNX, to generate various synthetic assets such as sUSD, sAUD, sKRW, called Synths. Users will be able to convert between Synths directly with the smart contract, improving the liquidity of DEXes. Holders of SNX stakes are paid a pro-rata portion of the fees generated by Synthetix’s Exchange as an incentive for their contribution.

Additionally, token holders can participate in governing multiple variables of the ecosystem as a whole; at one point even uniting and voted on an improvement proposal even without the support of the Synthetix team after a community debate in the Synthetix Discord.

Source: Change proposed and implemented by the community for the Capella release.

Synths are currently backed by a 750% collateralization ratio, but this is subject to change depending on the platform’s community governance mechanisms in the future. To ensure Synths are backed by sufficient collateral to deal with large price shocks, stakers will be governed using a collateralization ratio, or C-Ratio. A staker’s C-Ratio is relative to the fluctuation of SNX and Synths, and a staker will be unable to claim fees with a ratio less than 750%. Ratio can be restored by minting or burning synths.

As of Oct 13, 2020, Synthetix entered a partnership with PowerPool, allowing the SNX token to become one of the first Power Index participants. Synthetix will contribute to the index composition, and integrate SNX’s governance system into PowerPool’s meta-governance. Currently, the governance is based on polling within the SNX Discord channel to signal community consensus, but the team is currently building a governance system based on SNX. This partnership will also open up new utilities and opportunities for SNX holders to multiply voting power across Defi protocols. Each holder can supply SNX into the Power Index to own SNX and earn CVP (the Power Index’s meta-governance token which can be used to vote in different Defi protocols using GTs pooled into the Power Index.) at the same time.

Fundamentals

SNX is currently trading at $3.43, with a market cap of $358,394,515. The current circulating supply is 104,525,838 out of a total supply of 206,308,351 SNX.

Source: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/synthetix-network-token/

Weekly Recap

September 13th- September 20th, 2020

Welcome to our 4th weekly recap for September.

Overview 

Crypto News

• • Macroeconomic Trends Boost Bitcoin and Gold, US Dollar Index Shows Bearish Double-Top

• As members of the U.S. Federal Reserve plan to convene this week, both gold and bitcoin (BTC) markets have started to climb in value ahead of the meeting. Bitcoin prices rose over 4% during the afternoon’s trading sessions and gold jumped 0.76% as well. The price of one ounce of fine gold is $1,956.24 at the time of publication.

  Meanwhile, after a brief upswing in value, the U.S. dollar has started to show signs of weakness again after losing massive amounts of value this year.

  • US Consumers Flock To the First Mastercard Branded BitPay Card

• BitPay, the Atlanta-based cryptocurrency services provider, has recently released blockchain payment statistics that show how the market performed in 2020. Among other interesting points, the data signals strong support from U.S. consumers for the company that announced its first Mastercard branded card just a few months ago.

  • 49 US States Unveil Unified Regulation for Cryptocurrency Firms

• Regulators in 49 U.S. states have agreed to a single set of supervisory rules for money services businesses, including cryptocurrency service providers. State regulators supervise 79% of all U.S. banks.

  • India’s Crypto Bill Omitted From Parliament Agenda While New Ban Report Appears

• The Indian government has not made any announcement regarding its plans for cryptocurrency, which has led to rumors and speculation. Several reports indicate that the government is planning to ban cryptocurrencies as outlined in the draft bill submitted by the Garg committee.

  • Kraken Cryptocurrency Exchange Gets US Banking License, Plans to Be Global Bank

• Kraken announced Wednesday that it has received a U.S. bank charter. “The state of Wyoming has approved Kraken’s application to form the world’s first Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI), tentatively called Kraken Financial.

Weekly Recap

September 6th- September 13th, 2020

Welcome to our 3rd weekly recap for September.

Overview 

Crypto News

• • Cryptocurrencies Now Accepted for 15,000 Restaurants in France on Just Eat

• Online food ordering platform Just Eat has begun accepting cryptocurrencies for over 15,000 restaurants in France. The Just Eat group operates in 13 countries. Its website for France has recently undergone a significant makeover following the acquisition of Just Eat Plc by Takeaway.com. The latter has been accepting bitcoin for quite some time.

  • Mastercard Launches Digital Currency Testing Platform for Central Banks

• Global payments company Mastercard announced Wednesday the launch of its “proprietary virtual testing environment” for central banks to evaluate use cases of their central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

  • European Union Seeks Strict Regulation of Crypto and Stablecoins in New Draft Law

• According to the report, the regulation will seek to tackle bitcoin’s high volatility as well as “risks posed by systemic ones, like libra” by creating a “new college of supervisors” involving existing national and continental regulatory agencies – and one new additional body – all chaired by the European Banking Authority (EBA).

  • Bitcoin Hashrate Ramps to 130 Exahash Amid Next-Generation Miner Shortage

• Bitcoin miners are finding it difficult to obtain next-generation application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining rigs after a number of firms have sold out. Semiconductor goliaths like Samsung and TSMC have been struggling to keep up with the demand that was sparked by the Covid-19 outbreak.

  • Apple Censors Some Cryptocurrency and Defi Features of Coinbase App

• Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has been struggling to get some functionalities approved for its iOS app, CEO Brian Armstrong detailed his company’s experience dealing with Apple Inc. on Friday. “In the wake of other companies struggling with Apple’s App Store restrictions, I want to share a bit about Coinbase’s own struggle here,” he began, elaborating:

Weekly Recap

August 30th- September 6th, 2020

Welcome to our 1st weekly recap for September.

Overview 

Crypto News

• • Venezuela’s Bitcoin Use Soars Amid Hyperinflation: 3rd on Global Crypto Adoption Index

• “Venezuela is suffering through one of the worst economic crises in modern history, with its national currency, the bolivar, becoming practically worthless,” the firm wrote. “Under these circumstances, cryptocurrency has taken on an important role in Venezuela’s economy … As the Venezuelan bolivar has lost value in the midst of hyperinflation, Venezuela has become one of the most active cryptocurrency trading countries on earth.”

  • Leading Stock Exchanges in Switzerland, Germany, Austria Now List Bitcoin ETP

• Zug-based 21Shares announced Tuesday that its bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) has been admitted to Wiener Börse, the Vienna Stock Exchange.

  • Major Swiss Insurer Adds Bitcoin and Ether Payments

• Atupri, a Swiss health insurance provider, said Monday that its 200,000 customers will now be able to make payments using bitcoin and ethereum. The 110-year old firm claims it is the “first” insurer in Switzerland to accept cryptocurrencies.

  • Nigeria Foreign Exchange Crisis: Worsening US Dollar Shortages Point to Further Devaluation

• The ongoing shortages of hard currency are now forcing financial institutions to impose severe restrictions on the quantities that clients can withdraw for onward payment.Such restrictions are forcing some Nigerian businesses to look for alternatives that are immune to censorship.

  • Defi Boom Fueling ETH Gas Fees, Threatens Viability of Smart Contracts

• Growing Ethereum network transaction fees, which touched new highs recently, are a direct consequence of the increasing number of defi projects and yield farming. The increased number of yield farmers leads to more transactions and slower confirmations making higher fees inevitable.

Weekly Recap

August 23rd- August 30th, 2020

Welcome to our 4th weekly recap for August.

Overview 

Crypto News

• • IMF calls crypto “special currency” and educates the public

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had recently published a video explaining what cryptocurrency is. Besides suggesting that cryptocurrency could “completely change the way we sell, buy, save, invest, and pay our bills,” IMF went on by saying that it “could be the next step in the evolution of money.”

  • Korean Police Seize Crypto Exchange Coinbit Over Allegations of $84 Million in Wash Trades

• Police in South Korea on Wednesday raided and seized the offices of Coinbit, the country’s third-largest crypto exchange, over allegations it faked 99% of its trading volume.

  • New SEC Filing Shows Fidelity Preparing to Launch Bitcoin Fund

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published a new filing for a bitcoin fund, submitted by Fidelity Investments’ head of strategy and planning.

  • Visa Exec Says ‘Opt Out With Bitcoin’ Slamming Fed’s Policy Change Toward Inflation
• On Thursday, 17 top Federal Reserve officials explained that the committee plans to let inflation run hotter than usual, or above the benchmark 2% rate for a duration of time. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech was considered a “major policy shift” and a number of economists commented on the central bank’s move. Senior director of policy at Visa, Andy Yee, said Powell’s inflation statements were historical and people should “opt out with bitcoin.”

Weekly Recap

August 16th- August 23rd, 2020

Welcome to our 3rd weekly recap for August.

Overview 

Crypto News

• • Bitcoin’s Hashrate Hits Record High 130 EH/s, as BTC Price Faces Resistance at $12,000

• Bitcoin’s seven-day average hash rate has reached a new all-time high of 130 exahash per second (EH/s) – a feat that might positively influence the asset’s price, while adding to the fundamental strength of the Bitcoin network.

   

  • Excessive Flooding in Sichuan Causes 20% Hashrate Losses for Chinese Bitcoin Miners

• Torrential downpours of nonstop rain have been wreaking havoc in China’s Sichuan province, which has caused some operations to shut down ASIC mining devices. Reports from the region show that certain areas have seen electrical shortages and the aftermath is causing quite a bit of stress for Chinese bitcoin miners.

   

  • Report: Bitcoin Untied from the Economic Cycle, ‘Largely Uncorrelated to Other Asset Classes’

• On Tuesday, Coinshares Investment strategist James Butterfill published a report which shows that bitcoin is a unique asset, but is “largely uncorrelated to other asset classes” like commodities and traditional stocks.

   

  • Nigeria’s Foreign Currency Crisis Boon for Bitcoin: Country Tops Wallet Downloads Ahead of the US
• Nigeria’s weakening naira currency, as well as the shortage of U.S. dollars, are forcing businesses to switch to bitcoin as the means of settling payments for international transactions. Nigerian businesses need the American currency to buy new supplies, as well as to order essential equipment from abroad. However, formal sources of foreign currency like banks are failing to meet this demand.

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FTX Exchange

Introduction

FTX is a crypto derivative exchange offering scalable futures, leveraged tokens and OTC trading for the DeFi market. The Hong Kong-based exchange was only launched in May 2019, but has grown to be one of the top five exchanges in traded volume and is quickly outpacing most competitors.

This growth could be attributed to the solid reputation the company has established for itself, even before its adoption of DeFi projects. As interests and competition in DeFi grew, FTX stood out from the competition due to their adaptability and innovation.

Alameda Research, the exchange’s primary market maker, is also a investor in the DeFi project, mStable, a stable assets swapping protocol. The company is also an active participant in the Defi ecosystem. Alameda has proposed and voted on several Compound governance proposals, in addition to playing a crucial role in enhancing the Balancer‘s protocol distribution mechanics.

FTX operates by tokenizing leveraged futures positions using a generated ERC20 token as representation, which can then be traded as a spot token. The token could additionally also be listed on other exchanges, allowing users to take on a leveraged position without personally managing the collateral themselves. But the appeal for users is the unique products available on FTX such as the MOVE indices, FTX leveraged tokens, or the Bitcoin Perpetual Futures.

The platform’s utility token is known as FTT, and holders receive additional benefits such as lowered FTX trading fees, OTC rebates, collateral for futures trading, and socialized gains from the insurance fund.

Source: The FTX Team is also developing the SERUM Exchange.

FTX Services are available globally, except in restricted countries such as the United States, Cuba, Crimea, Sevastopol, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Antigua or Barbuda.

Fundamentals

FTT is currently trading at $3.45, with a marketcap of $329,344,002. The current circulating supply is 95,434,860 out of a total supply of 344,446,952 FTT.

Source: https://ftx.com/en/ftt

Weekly Recap

August 10th- August 16th, 2020

Welcome to our 2nd weekly recap for August.

Overview 

Crypto News

• • Tor Network Compromised by Single Hacker Stealing Users’ Bitcoin

• A single malicious entity controls nearly a quarter of all nodes used on the anonymous internet provider Tor Network and is using its position to steal bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

  • Venezuela May Soon Be Collecting Taxes in Crypto

• The Bolivarian Council of Mayors in Venezuela signed the so-called “National Tax Harmonization Agreement” for 305 municipalities in the country, including the Petro (PTR) as a means to collect payments of taxes and sanctions.

  The cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly widely used as the result of a new campaign.

  • Bitcoin and Gold Correlation Reaches Record High 70%

• Both bitcoin and gold have risen sharply throughout 2020, driven by relentless fiat money printing by governments and central banks, keen to keep their economies afloat in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

  BTC hit a yearly high of $12,000 just as gold soared to a record high of $2,000 per ounce.

  • Coinbase to Offer Bitcoin-Based Cash Loans of up to $20,000 Across 17 US States
• In a blog post on August 13, Coinbase unveiled its new crypto lending business, which places it into competition with the likes of Nexo and Blockfi. The service charges an annualized interest rate of 8% for borrows that are one year or less.

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Uniswap

Introduction

Without a reserve of capital, decentralized exchanges cannot be utilized to their full potential. Uniswap aims to provide this service by regulating token exchanges on the Ethereum chain using liquidity pools rather than traditional order books.

Liquidity providers who invested value into a pool will earn interests in proportion to their shares from the 0.3% trading fee that the pool generates. Anyone can contribute to an existing pool, or create a new one by supplying an equal value of both ETH and an ERC20 token. Funds can be deposited or withdrawn at any time.

Source: https://twitter.com/UniswapProtocol/

The creator of the pool can set the exchange rate, which will be shifted through Uniswap’s “constant product market maker” mechanism for trading. When one side of the pair’s liquidity is reduced relative to the other, the price is automatically adjusted. This is designed to “create arbitrage opportunities, in order to encourage more trading”.

Fundamentals

Uniswap does not have a native token, but each liquidity pair is represented by a unique, transferable ERC20 “pool” token which users can use to swap between ETH and any ERC20 token. These tokens are created when funds are deposited into the pool and represents user’s share of the pool’s total assets. When funds are reclaimed, the associated pool tokens are burned.

Source: https://defipulse.com/

Source: https://uniswap.info/home

Tellor

Introduction

Tellor is a decentralized Oracle for bringing high-value off-chain data onto the ETH chain. The platform operates using a network of staked miners that compete to solve a PoW challenge to submit official values of the requested data. The goal of Tellor is to provide a secure price feed for DeFi applications.

Tributes, TRB, are the native token of Tellor, and is minted with every successful Tellor data point. These tokens are used to pay for data requests and miners on the platform compete to satisfy the submissions.  The Oracle prioritizes the best-funded query every ten minutes, collects the required specific data, and makes it available on-chain.

Source: https://cryptogems.com/

In addition to the security of the PoW protocol, Tellor will also require miners to stake a deposit of Tributes before they are allowed to mine. Miners risk losing their stake if their submitted values are successfully challenged. This design ensures the integrity of operating miners on the platform.

Fundamentals

Tellor’s token, TRB, is currently valued at $32.73, with a market cap of $49,092,725 USD. There are currently 1,499,574.397 TRB in the total supply.

Source: Etherscan.io