Weekly Project Updates: Celestia's OTC Token Sales Spark Community Backlash, EIGEN Set to Launch Trading Next Monday, Binance Emerges as the Biggest Beneficiary of HMSTR Token, etc

Sep 28, 2024

1. Exclusive: Celestia’s OTC Token Sale Price of $3 Sparks Community Backlash link

The community has expressed strong criticism of the Celestia Foundation’s OTC token sales, accusing them of failing to provide necessary transparency to the public. Many believe that the foundation has disguised these sales as positive financing news, which has led retail investors and the community to make purchases. There is a consensus that the foundation or team should promptly disclose valuations and ownership, clearly indicating that this is an over-the-counter transaction rather than a financing opportunity. The price for the TIA OTC token sale was set at $3, with one-third unlocking on October 31, while the remainder will be released linearly over the next year. The market response to the sale was extremely enthusiastic, with many institutions seeking shares ultimately unable to secure any or only obtaining a minimal allocation. Previously, the Celestia Foundation announced it had raised $100 million, led by Bain Capital Crypto, with participation from Syncracy Capital, 1kx, Robot Ventures, Placeholder, and others.

2. Avalanche Foundation Launches $40 Million ‘Retro9000’ Reward Program link

On September 26, the Avalanche Foundation announced the launch of a $40 million “Retro9000” incentive program aimed at supporting developers in creating Layer-1 blockchains and essential tools on the Avalanche9000 testnet. This initiative is part of Avalanche’s recent upgrades, designed to streamline the process for developers building L1 blockchains and to enhance community support for project testing. Avalanche stated that the program will guide reward distribution through public leaderboards and community voting, encouraging developers to build in an open environment.

3. Celo’s Stablecoin Daily Active Addresses Surpass Tron Linked to African Activities link

Celo has recently surpassed Tron in the number of daily active addresses using stablecoins, with an increasing volume of transfers across various sizes of stablecoins. According to analysis from Artemis, the rise in Celo’s stablecoin usage may be linked to activities in Africa, particularly with the significant user growth of MiniPay and Valora over the past year. MiniPay, after its launch in Nigeria, has expanded to Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa. Additionally, the adoption of stablecoins in Kenya and South Africa is poised to potentially re-enter the top ten. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik also congratulated this development, stating that improving global access to basic payment and financial services is a key way in which Ethereum benefits the world.

4. Andre Cronje Seeks Outstanding Applications for Sonic Launch with 200 Million Token Airdrop link

Andre Cronje tweeted about seeking exceptional applications to launch on Sonic, which will go public in December 2024. Applications will benefit from up to 90% gas fee rebates from user and contract transactions. Sonic claims to achieve over 10,000 TPS performance with approximately 1-second confirmation times. It will feature a native stablecoin and utilize Ethereum’s security gateway, along with subsidies provided through Sonic BOOM and the Innovators Fund. Additionally, there will be airdrops of 200 million tokens.

5. Eigen Foundation to Lift EIGEN Trading Restrictions on September 30 link

The Eigen Foundation announced that it will lift the trading restrictions on EIGEN on September 30, 2024. According to @tmel0211’s interpretation, the foundation’s decision to enable trading during this “awkward bull-bear period” may reflect its optimism about the market following interest rate cuts. Additionally, the entire Restaking ecosystem is waiting for “Big Brother” to lead the way, as the gradual implementation of AVS infrastructure and other restaking platforms have long built up market expectations, necessitating action. There is a seven-day waiting period for unstaking, so if you wish to transfer on the trading day, you need to act today. On Saturday, Coinbase announced that EigenLayer (EIGEN) would be included in its listing roadmap.

Crypto Assets TAX Report — Professional,Effortless,Crypto-native. Sponsored by FinTax.

6. Asphere and Babylon Unveil BTC L2 Services link

Asphere and Babylon have announced the launch of BTC L2 services. Asphere states that any enterprise or developer can now seamlessly launch their Bitcoin L2 through Asphere’s end-to-end customization, engineering, and infrastructure. The technology stack includes CometBFT consensus, IBC protocol interoperability, EVM compatibility, Bitcoin timestamps, and BTC restaking economic security. Neura AI blockchain is the first to utilize the unique BTC L2 framework supported by Babylon.

7. Ethena Introduces New Product UStb link

Ethena has announced the launch of its new product, UStb, which is fully supported by BlackRock and Securitize. This product aims to provide users with a stablecoin option that is distinctly different from USDe. UStb will function similarly to traditional stablecoins but will exist as an independent product, offering differentiated risk allocation. Ethena also noted that in a negative financing rate environment, the support structure for USDe can be dynamically adjusted and may be combined with UStb to mitigate risks.

8. Two OpenSea Users File Class Action Lawsuit Alleging Sold NFTs Are Unregistered Securities link

Two OpenSea users have filed a class-action lawsuit in a federal court in Florida, accusing the NFT trading platform of selling unregistered securities. Plaintiffs Anthony Shnayderman and Itai Bronshtein claim that the NFTs they purchased on OpenSea, including the formerly high-value Bored Ape Yacht Club series, are “worthless” due to their “illicit nature.” The plaintiffs cite a Wells notice sent by the SEC last month as evidence, arguing that it indicates OpenSea may face legal liability for facilitating unregistered securities transactions. The lawsuit also references the SEC’s previous enforcement actions against NFT projects like Stoner Cats 2 and Impact Theory, which the SEC determined were unregistered securities sales.

9. Onekey Card to Gradually Cease Services Starting September 30 link

Onekey Card will cease operations on September 30. The timeline is as follows: starting on September 30, 2024, no new registrations or recharges will be accepted; by October 31, 2024, all cards will be automatically deleted from the system, and the card balances will be transferred to the users’ OneKey Card wallet accounts, which can be withdrawn at any time to exchange accounts or Web3 addresses; finally, on January 31, 2025, the OneKey Card service will officially terminate.

10. Hamster Kombat Launches: Binance Becomes the Biggest Winner of HMSTR Token link

According to analyst @defioasis, Hamster Kombat, which claims to have 100 million monthly active users, has finally launched. Unlike DOGS, Binance is the biggest winner in capturing funds for HMSTR. As of Friday, Binance’s pre-deposit exceeded 6.2 billion HMSTR, with its HMSTR balance reaching 18 billion, accounting for 18%, far surpassing other exchanges. Its main competitor, Bybit, reported a pre-deposit of 3 billion HMSTR, less than half of Binance’s, despite previously having a higher DOGS pre-deposit than Binance. In terms of HMSTR balance among CEXs, Binance (18%) > Bybit (4.6%) > OKX (4.1%).

User distribution for the TON mini-games has also garnered attention. Afik Rechler analyzed the global Google search volume for the recently launched game Hamster Kombat, revealing a monthly search volume of 1.5 million, with the following distribution: India 22%, Pakistan 14%, Bangladesh 6%, Russia 6%, Nigeria 5%, Indonesia 5%.

Wu Blockchain

Discussion about this post