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Alameda Research’s Worldcoin Investment Hits All-Time High, Exceeding $50M As WLD Price Climbs

Worldcoin, the digital identity token ERC-20 project on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, has garnered significant attention. Its native token, WLD, emerges as the top performer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. 

The token has experienced a remarkable 31% uptrend in just 24 hours and a staggering 217% surge over the past fourteen days. This surge not only marks a new all-time high for WLD but also positively impacts Alameda Research, the now-bankrupt trading arm of the defunct FTX exchange, which holds a substantial stake in Worldcoin.

Alameda Research’s Stake In Worldcoin Reaches $186 Million

According to on-chain data, Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency trading firm co-founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Tara Mac Aulay in 2017, has witnessed a surge in its Worldcoin holdings. 

As WLD reached a new all-time high of $7.9788 on Monday, the trading firm’s investment in the project surged by $50 million, reaching a new record. Currently, Alameda Research holds 25 million WLD tokens, valued at $186 million, representing 33% of their total portfolio. 

Worldcoin

This portfolio also includes other digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), BitDAO (BIT), Ethereum (ETH), Stargate Finance (STG), and the FTX token FTT.

Whale Activity And AI Hype Drive WLD’s Price Surge

Analysts such as Zameer Attar attribute the WLD price spike to strong whale activity, with one notable whale wallet withdrawing 2.09 million WLD tokens ($5.82 million) from Binance.

This withdrawal caused a 25% surge in the price of Worldcoin, resulting in the whale’s holdings reaching an impressive $8.03 million. Additionally, the launch of OpenAI Sora by Sam Altman, one of the founders of Worldcoin, has triggered bullish action in WLD tokens. 

Interestingly, Sora can create videos of up to 60 seconds with highly detailed scenes, complex camera movements, and multiple characters with emotions, which surrounding the hype of artificial intelligence (AI) has spurred investor interest, leading to more bullish sentiment surrounding WLD.

Worldcoin, founded by Sam Altman, Alex Blania, and Max Novendstern, aims to revolutionize the global identity and financial network by creating a public utility known as World ID. 

This privacy-preserving identity network enables users to verify their humanness online while maintaining their privacy through zero-knowledge proofs. The project has garnered significant funding, raising over $250 million across various funding rounds from investors, including a16z, Khosla Ventures, Bain Capital Crypto, Blockchain Capital, and Tiger Global.

The combination of whale activity and positive market sentiment surrounding AI technologies has contributed to the considerable surge in Worldcoin’s price.

Worldcoin

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

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ERC-404 Sector Plunges: Market Capitalization Drops By 29% In 24 Hours

Surprisingly, the newly introduced Ethereum (ETH) token standard, ERC-404, made an impressive debut in the crypto market, outperforming many other digital assets. 

However, as Bitcoin (BTC), the dominant cryptocurrency, began to rally, investors swiftly shifted their focus to the king of crypto. Consequently, this shift led to notable price drops and market capitalization declines across the ERC-404 ecosystem and its associated tokens.

From Skyrocketing Surges To Sharp Corrections

According to data from CoinGecko, the ERC-404 sector has experienced a significant decline, with an overall market capitalization drop of 29% in the past 24 hours. 

Key tokens within this sector, including PANDORA, DeFrogs, RUG, Froggy Friends, and Crystal, have all witnessed substantial price decreases. PANDORA, which had garnered attention and speculation, surged by a staggering 12,000% within a week. 

Opening at $250 on February 3, 2024, its value skyrocketed to over $34,000 per token by February 9, 2024. However, it dropped by 38% from its all-time high (ATH) in just 24 hours.

ERC-404

On the other hand, Crystal suffered the most significant losses, with its price plummeting by 28.4% and trading volume declining by over 35%. These figures indicate a stark decline in market activity for the token. Currently, Crystal is down more than 51% from its ATH of $792.74, exemplifying the inherent volatility of the ERC-404 sector.

Following closely behind, Froggy Friends experienced a 16% drop in trading volume and an 81% decrease in price from its peak of $823. CoinGecko data reveals that Froggy Friends currently trades at $150 per token.

But what are the ERC-404 token standards? And what is causing the price and market capitalization to drop?

Navigating The ERC-404 Ecosystem

Ethereum, known for its smart contract platform, has been a breeding ground for various token standards. While ERC-20 and ERC-721 gained widespread adoption for fungible and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a new contender emerged: ERC-404. 

Named after the popular website error code “404,” ERC-404 introduces the concept of “semi-fungibility” to Ethereum. It combines the divisibility of ERC-20 tokens with the uniqueness of ERC-721 tokens, bridging the gap between these two types.

ERC-404 tokens are associated with specific NFTs, allowing fractional transfers of linked NFTs. Full ownership results in minting the linked NFT to the holder’s wallet, while fractional transfers trigger the burning of the associated NFT. New NFTs are automatically minted when sufficient fractions are accumulated to form a complete token.

DN-404 Prepares To Challenge ERC-404’s Dominance? 

According to a recent report by The Block, transaction fees increased as ERC-404 tokens gained traction, prompting developers to work on an alternative implementation called Divisible NFT (DN-404). 

This new standard aims to optimize code and reduce transaction fees, addressing the rising costs associated with ERC-404 tokens. The DN-404 implementation is set to be released soon, potentially alleviating network congestion caused by the influx of ERC-404 tokens.

While there were initial discussions between the Pandora team, the creators of ERC-404, and the developers working on DN-404, the two groups did not reach an agreement and are not collaborating, according to the report. 

This introduces uncertainty for traders and investors who navigate between supporting the original ERC-404 or the upcoming DN-404 implementation.

Overall, the introduction of ERC-404 brought excitement and volatility to the crypto market. While semi-fungibility and fractional transfers of linked NFTs hold promise, challenges such as rising transaction fees and the emergence of DN-404 have impacted the ERC-404 ecosystem. 

Traders and investors now face the dilemma of choosing between the original implementation and the upcoming alternative. As the market evolves, it will be interesting to see how the ERC-404 sector adapts and whether it can regain stability and investor confidence.

ERC-404

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

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Shiba Inu Trying To Extricate From Bearish Grip As SHIB Seen Rising This Week

Since the beginning of August, Shiba Inu has been actively engaged in corrective activities. The meme coin has been distancing from its origins and has been highly effective with doing so. An actual use case for SHIB was just introduced last month when it became possible to use the token to settle tax obligations in the cryptocurrency space.

In January of this year, NOWpayments announced a partnership with Shiba Inu, opening the door for token payments to be used as crypto wages. This isn’t the only real world utility of SHIB per se.

Shib Eternity was also released worldwide as part of this ecosystem. Though the launch was made, the bear market continued to gain ground.

SHIB has been under strain due to recent macroeconomic events. With the latest interest hike by the US Federal Reserve, it can be argued that a recovery by SHIB will be challenging. Yet, SHIB has been gaining bullish momentum as of late. Is it possible that the deflationary token will be able to stop the falling prices eventually?

How SHIB Has Been Doing

The real-world performance of SHIB as of this writing has been fairly significant for the growth of the ecosystem. SHIB has been made more widely available in the cryptocurrency market with yesterday’s official listing on BitMEx. As a result of Google’s agreement with Coinbase, the token can also be used to pay for cloud services.

These factors will propel SHIB’s bullish breakout from the descending wedge it now resides in. As of the time of writing, the coin’s trading range is between $0.00000927 and $0.00001219. The momentum indicator suggests that bullish pace is progressively increasing.

Recent study indicates that these descending wedges are bullish since they typically result in a positive breakout. The fact that Chaikin’s money flow index is above the 0.05 level indicates that bulls rule the market.

The $0.00001018 support zone has also demonstrated some resilience after preventing a continuation of the downturn.

When Does The SHIB Breakout Occur?

The momentum and CMF indicators suggest the possibility of an uptrend. However, the RSI readings remain on the bears’ side, which could act as a hurdle for the forthcoming breakout. The RSI is currently approaching a bullish convergence, which is supported by increasing Stoch RSI values.

The future performance of SHIB will be determined by investor confidence. Given the increasing utility of SHIB in the real world, a price breakthrough over $0.00001219 is possible, with a likely test of $0.00001395 resistance. So SHIB holders, keep on HODLing!

SHIB total market cap at $5.4 billion on the daily chart | Featured image from Somag News, Chart: TradingView.com

Disclaimer: The analysis represents the author’s personal views and should not be construed as investment advice.

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Shiba Inu Fanbase Awaits Eternity Download Event – Will It Boost SHIB Price?

The original release of the blockchain implementation of Shiba Eternity occurred in Australia on September 17. Shiba Inu followed the larger market sell-off that began on September 13 and rallied nearly 7% from September 17-18.

During this time span, the rally did not significantly alter market sentiment. New information about the game’s release, though, may add some hype.

According to a recent tweet by Shib Rumours, the release date of the game is set for October 1. However, the latest post on the official Shiba Inu Twitter account indicates that the worldwide launch of the game will take place on October 6.

SHIB has a current trading range of $0.00001073 – 0.00001154. Could the meme coin see a resurgence after the game’s release?

Shiba Inu: Increasing Speed

After the latest sell-off on September 18, an uptrend has been noted and has been very consistent up to the time of writing. Given that this occurred only a day after the Australia release, it’s likely that long-term token holders witnessed the price increase and sold off their holdings.

During this period, the memecoin saw a pullback and plummeted 8.5% immediately. Currently, the recent price movements have created a head and shoulders pattern before to today’s breakout. During this breakout, the price increased by 2.9%

Given the current state of Shiba Eternity, this price movement can be regarded as a sign of increased anticipation for the game’s October 6 release. ETH whales are also contributing to the hype train.

According to WhaleStats, the top 1,000 Ethereum whales have more than $147.5 million. WhaleStats also regarded Shiba Inu as the token with the highest dollar value position.

Keeping A Close Eye On The Market

Therefore, there are a few things that future Shiba Inu players and investors/traders should be aware of.

One of these is that a price increase is frequently followed by a severe market correction, similar to what we experienced on September 18 following the rally on September 17.

As of this writing, SHIB is trading at $$0.00001137, up 2.5 percent in the last seven days, data from Coingecko show, Saturday.

As October 6 approaches, we will have a better sense of whether Shiba Inu will increase in value or decline further.

SHIB total market cap at $6.29 billion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com

Featured image from VOI, Chart: TradingView.com

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Circle, The Company Behind The USDC Stablecoin, Announces Euro Coin

Does the world need Euro Coin? There are already stablecoins pegged to the Euro in the market. The difference here, however, is Circle. As the issuer of the well-regarded USDC, they have the reputation, the know-how, and the clientele to make this happen. Even with all of those advantages, it’s the market that will decide if the world needs Euro Coin.

Related Reading | Crypto Investors Find Safety In Stablecoins, Bitcoin, Ditch Altcoins En Masse

On the project’s page, they describe it as, “Euro Coin (EUROC) is issued by Circle under the same full-reserve model as USD Coin (USDC), a trusted dollar digital currency with more than $54 billion in circulation.” At first, Euro Coin will exist on the Ethereum blockchain, it’ll be a traditional ERC-20 already compatible with everything out there.

1/ CIRCLE LAUNCHES EURO COIN: Today, we announced our 2nd major fiat-backed stablecoin, Euro Coin, which went live on Ethereum mainnet, and will be available to mint and redeem on June 30th. https://t.co/vPZkItL0Fu

— Jeremy Allaire (@jerallaire) June 16, 2022

The Euro Coin will be “100% backed by euros held in euro-denominated banking accounts so that it’s always redeemable 1:1 for euros”. The difference with regular euros is that EUROC will be “available 24/7 and moves at internet speed”. The new stablecoin debuts on June 30th. “Businesses can mint Euro Coin straight from the source by depositing euros into their Circle Account using Silvergate’s Euro SEN network.”

What’s Euro Coin ’s Main Use?

In a recent tweet, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire summarized the product’s value proposition. “Like USDC, Euro Coin is being issued under a regulated framework for money transmission, under the same statutes that regulate USDC, with full-reserves in Euro, with the same security, liquidity and transparency that the market has come to expect from Circle”. Does it solve a problem, though? Two words: foreign exchange.

4/ Euro Coin expands opportunities for payments, on-chain FX, trade finance, commerce and broader digital asset markets use-cases. The launch is symbolic of a shift in crypto markets towards greater and greater utility value from blockchain infrastructure.

— Jeremy Allaire (@jerallaire) June 16, 2022

Back to the project’s page, Circle promises “multi-currency digital banking and near-instant foreign exchange, where daily volume in traditional markets can top $6.6 trillion globally.” As we read a while ago in the Bitcoinist Book Club, “The Bitcoin Standard” explains how that huge market emerges just to solve “the age-old problem of lack of coincidence of wants.” As explained by Saifedean Ammous, the process goes like this:

“The seller does not want the currency held by the buyer, and so the buyer must purchase another currency first, and incur conversion costs. As advances in transportation and telecommunications continue to increase global economic integration, the cost of these inefficiencies just keeps getting bigger. The market for foreign exchange, at $5 trillion of daily volume, exists purely as a result of this inefficiency of the absence of a single global homogeneous international currency.”

As Circle’s numbers show, since the book’s publication the foreign exchange market kept growing. And since we’re far from living in a bitcoin standard, with a “single global homogeneous international currency,” the foreign exchange will keep growing. And that’s where Euro Coin comes in. 

ETH price chart for 06/16/2022 on Kraken | Source: ETH/USD on TradingView.com
The New Stablecoin’s Characteristics

  • Where will the money that backs the operation be? “Circle will hold euros in euro-denominated banking accounts at leading financial institutions, beginning with Silvergate Bank in the U.S.”

Related Reading | Crypto Company Circle Seeks To Become Global Digital Currency Bank

  • “Businesses can use a free Circle Account to mint and redeem Euro Coin at no additional cost”. Circle can afford to treat businesses like that because they’re that big and established. 
  • Circle will audit the Euro Coin. “Grant Thornton LLP will be issuing monthly attestations of Euro Coin reserves, starting with an attestation for the month of July 2022. Circle will publish the attestation reports on this webpage, with July’s report being available to view online by the end of August 2022.”

It’s also worth noting that the main criticism the project received was because they choose Ethereum to start with. However, Circle promises the Euro Coin in other blockchains soon. And considering that USDC exists in every smart contract-enabled blockchain under the sun, there’s no reason not to believe them.

Featured Image: Screenshot from Circle’s website | Charts by TradingView