Despite harsh markets $PENDLE $FRIEND was heavily accumulated by Hayes and Machi
AI coins holding strong while we saw a resurgence of memecoins especially CTO ones
Read till the end to get your alpha for 45 early projects 🧵👇
Apologies as I took a hiatus to reformat the weekly highlights, it now comes with a COMPLETE restructuring in a new format, new info, and includes an early project find at the end of it.
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Weekly Updates
This week we cover proposals to improve Ethereum's user experience, integrate AI capabilities, and increase Layer 2 scaling.
EIP-7702:
Proposed by Vitalik Buterin, it allows normal Ethereum addresses to temporarily act as smart contracts during a transaction
Enables batched transactions, fee sponsorship, and other new use cases
Aims to improve the user experience on Ethereum
Pectra Hard Fork:
Major upcoming Ethereum upgrade after the Dencun upgrade
Includes EIPs to increase max validator stake, make accounts more programmable, remove empty accounts, and add "social recovery" for wallets
Targets going live in Q4 2024/Q1 2025
ORA:
Verifiable oracle protocol that enables on-chain AI on Ethereum
Executed the first Initial Model Offering to tokenize AI models
Integrated with Layer 2 networks like Optimism, Arbitrum, Polygon
Tokenized the OpenLM open-source language model as $OLM
Other Notable Updates:
TON blockchain's TVL increased 10x since February due to Telegram integration
Major DeFi protocols like Eigenlayer, Arbitrum, Jupiter, Ethena, Velodrome, Kelp, GMX, Friendtech, Osmosis, Lyra, and others announced new features/upgrades
Bitcoin L2 solutions like BOB's rollup were released
Weekly alpha by @TheDeFinvestor
Narrative Overview
It seems that Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a significant price drop on April 30th and May 1st, breaking below the $60,000 support level it had held since early March.
This downward move was accompanied by substantial outflows from cryptocurrency ETFs, with a record $560 million in outflows on May 1st. However, the market appeared to find a bottom around $56,600 for BTC, and a subsequent bounce occurred, potentially aided by positive news from BlackRock and favorable Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) data.
The altcoin market saw a resurgence of "memecoin" performance, with coins like PEPE, WIF, DOGE, BONK, and FLOKI leading the way. Notably, Tesla's acceptance of DOGE as payment contributed to its gains. There was also a surge in interest around various cat-themed coins, with POPCAT emerging as a leader in this niche.
The Ethereum ecosystem experienced some activity as well. The announcement of the EigenLayer token launch on May 10th sparked controversies regarding token allocation and airdrop conditions. Nevertheless, ETH and related tokens like OP, STRK, and ETHFI showed price gains in anticipation of the news. The Solana ecosystem also performed well, with tokens like JTO, W, and KMNO exhibiting substantial increases.
FriendTech's launch of its $FRIEND token faced some challenges, with a buggy claim process and restrictions on token transferability. The token's initial market capitalization seemed low compared to its perceived mindshare, but the dynamics of its distribution may have contributed to this.
Other notable events included the listing of ZETA on Upbit, the surge in AR due to its association with AI projects, the price pumps of bankruptcy-related tokens like CEL and VGX, and the approval of spot BTC and ETH ETFs in Hong Kong, although the latter had a relatively muted impact on trading volumes.
Overall, the cryptocurrency market appears to be exhibiting a recovery from the recent downturn, with various altcoin sectors and ecosystems experiencing renewed interest and price appreciation.
Other Updates
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at 5.25-5.5%, providing some stability in monetary policy.
There were some notable legal issues, with Binance CEO CZ being sentenced to 4 months in prison and the founder of ZKasino being arrested.
Adoption and Project Updates:
There continued to be signs of cryptocurrency adoption, with MicroStrategy building decentralized IDs on Bitcoin, Tesla adding Dogecoin payments, and Revolut launching a standalone crypto trading platform in the UK.
Several DeFi projects had significant updates, including Aave's proposal for v4, Maker DAO introducing new tokens, and Ethena providing details on ENA staking.
However, there were also some setbacks, with exploits impacting Pike Finance and GnusAI.
On-Chain Analysis:
Arthur Hayes continued accumulating PENDLE tokens, holding around $7.4 million worth.
Machi Big Bro became a major holder of FRIEND tokens, with around 1.5 million tokens and providing liquidity.
Opportunities:
Fantasy Top, a new gaming and social project, generated considerable hype and interest.
The EKUBO airdrop, which distributed 33% to the community, was highlighted as a potential opportunity.
SPEC, the token for SpectralFi, was discussed, with smart money accumulating positions ahead of the Ethereum airdrop.
Early Projects
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@Listapiexyz_io
@_bulktrade
@miladyinchrist
@Swamps_L2
@TensorZero
@StarDustPRJ
@0xAvaAi
@shuffles_xyz
@blastoadz
@0xZeroOrg
@anotherus_ai
@supermigrate
@MeritByFrankie
@realprotocolco
@roycoprotocol
@FehuLayer
@runemilio
@KioskSocial
@popsetxyz
@overloadfinance
@ebixyzdex
@EV_Terminal
@multisynq
@MagentaProtocol
@EtchingsIO
@sofamon_xyz
@mrkl_n4e
@3janexyz
@civitiaorg
@BullpenFi
@streamhq_xyz
@0xSoulProtocol
@buildnexio
@ArciumHQ
@TheBackwoodsSol
@lagrangedev
@Crateplace
@kuzco_xyz
@Layer3FDN
@atlsorg
@NuveauxTrading
@clobxio
@noetik_ai
@beyond__tech
@tryvenice
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