First Mover Asia: BTC, ETH Stable; COMP and AAVE in the Red
First Mover Asia: BTC, ETH Stable; COMP and AAVE in the Red
The Blockchain Industry: Insights and Updates
Good morning. Here’s what’s happening:
Prices: Traders are taking aim at lending protocols following the attack on Curve.
Insights: Curve Finance chaos following its hack over the weekend has put a $168 million lending position held by founder Michael Egorov at greater risk of liquidation. PLUS: The litecoin Foundation and Ballet tease a collectible card sale.
Prices
| Asset | Ticker | Returns | DACS Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) | |||
| 1,229 | -8.3 | ▼ 0.7% | |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | |||
| $29,273 | -195.9 | ▼ 0.7% | |
| Ethereum (ETH) | |||
| $1,861 | -14.6 | ▼ 0.8% | |
| S&P 500 | |||
| 4,588.96 | +6.7 | ▲ 0.1% | |
| Gold | |||
| $2,001 | +41.0 | ▲ 2.1% | |
| Nikkei 225 | |||
| 33,172.22 | +413.0 | ▲ 1.3% | |
| BTC/ETH prices per CoinDesk Indices, as of 7 a.m. ET (11 a.m. UTC) |
Bitcoin, Ether Stable, CRV Slumps as Market Braces for Monster Liquidation
- Bitcoin starts August in the red after losing ground in July.
- Palantir’s (PLTR) stock price surges 11% with AI adoption
- Binance returns to Japan with 34 tokens
As Asia begins its business day, crypto majors like bitcoin and ether are stable, but it’s a sea of red elsewhere. Bitcoin is down 0.16% to $29,236, and ether is changing hands at $1,857, down 0.27%. Seasonality is cited as a reason for the lack of significant movement in crypto majors. Bitcoin prices historically tend to be weaker in August and September as people focus less on their portfolios and more on leisure activities.
However, chaos is unfolding in other parts of the market. CRV, the token associated with Curve Finance’s DAO, has seen a 10.3% decline to 56 cents. This decline is primarily due to the lending position held by founder Michael Egorov on the Aave lending protocol. Egorov has a $168 million lending position secured by CRV, and its value is drifting towards liquidation. If the liquidation occurs, a series of rapid price declines and subsequent liquidations could flood the market with the assets.
As a result, lending protocol tokens such as Aave’s AAVE, Compound’s COMP, Maple Finance’s MPL, and Maker’s MKR are leading the market declines. AAVE is down 8%, COMP has declined 8.8%, MPL is down 3.2%, and MKR is down 2%.
Biggest Gainers
| Asset | Ticker | Returns | DACS Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gala | GALA | +12.8% | Entertainment |
| XRP | XRP | +7.5% | Currency |
| Terra | LUNA | +4.2% | Smart Contract Platform |
Biggest Losers
| Asset | Ticker | Returns | DACS Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stellar | XLM | -19.0% | Smart Contract Platform |
| Dogecoin | DOGE | -13.4% | Currency |
| Chainlink | LINK | -10.4% | Computing |
Insights
Curve Chaos Continues
Chaos at Curve Finance has put founder Michael Egorov’s $168 million lending position at greater risk of liquidation. Egorov currently holds $168 million worth of CRV, securing loans from multiple DeFi protocols. This amount accounts for almost 34% of the token’s total market capitalization. The recent exploit and subsequent decline in CRV’s price have pushed Egorov closer to levels where liquidation may occur. If liquidation happens, it could have significant implications for the decentralized finance (DeFi) industry.
Litecoin, Ballet’s Silver Cards
Litecoin, often referred to as the “digital silver” to bitcoin’s “digital gold,” is gaining attention due to a quadrennial event called a “halving” in the blockchain’s lifecycle. To commemorate this event, Litecoin creator Charlie Lee and his brother Bobby Lee, CEO and co-founder of Ballet, have announced a collectible card sale. These cards are made of 99.9% pure silver and will be loaded with 6.25 LTC. The cards are expected to be sold for about $1,000, with all proceeds being donated to the Litecoin Foundation for further adoption and development of the blockchain.
Important Events
- MicroStrategy Q2 Earnings (8:30 a.m. HKT/SGT)
- Jibun Bank Manufacturing PMI (July) (12:30 p.m. UTC)
- Caixin Manufacturing PMI (July) (1:45 a.m. UTC)
CoinDesk TV
In case you missed it, the most recent episode of “First Mover” on CoinDesk TV discussed the recent exploit at Curve Finance, the future of decentralized social dapps, and the outlook on bitcoin ahead of the July jobs report. Additionally, the episode addressed the taxability of staking rewards and the interest in Coinbase’s new base blockchain.
Headlines
- IRS: Crypto Staking Rewards Taxable Once Investor Gets Hands on Tokens: The Internal Revenue Service has provided new tax guidance on how and when staking rewards are taxed.
- Coinbase’s New Base Blockchain Gobbled Up $68M in Ether, and It’s Not Even Officially Live Yet: Meme coin BALD’s significant surge sparked massive inflows to the nascent crypto bridge.
- After the Curve Attack: What’s Next for DeFi?: The recent exploit on major platforms, including Curve, has spurred discussions about changes to the prevailing Automated Market Maker (AMM) liquidity model.
Edited by James Rubin.
