Top Stories of The Week
Vitalik Buterin finally pushes back after weeks of staking queue FUD
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has finally addressed some concerns over the lengthening Ethereum staking exit queue, which has now grown to 45 days.
His response came after Galaxy Digital’s head of DeFi, Michael Marcantonio, called the exit queue length “troubling” in X posts and compared it to Solana, which only requires two days to unstake. He has since deleted the posts.
“Unclear how a network that takes 45 days to return assets can serve as a suitable candidate to power the next era of global capital markets,” he added.
40% of Americans would use DeFi with laws in place: Crypto lobby poll
More than 40% of Americans are open to using decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols if proposed legislation is made law, according to a recent survey.
Crypto lobby group the DeFi Education Fund found in a survey released on Thursday that many Americans “are curious about DeFi” as respondents signalled a low trust in the traditional finance system.
The survey was conducted by Ipsos between Aug. 18 and 21, with 1,321 US adults polled. Ipsos Public Affairs senior vice president Alec Tyson said the study found “emerging awareness of cryptocurrency and decentralized finance as many Americans express frustrations with current financial institutions’ ability to deliver security, personalized control and flexibility.”
The poll showed that 42% said they would likely try DeFi if proposed legislation were passed into law, split between 9% who said they were “extremely or very likely” and 33% who responded they were “somewhat likely” to try.
Grayscale prepares to stake Ether holdings amid shifting SEC stance: Arkham
Cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale is preparing to stake part of its massive Ether holdings, a move that could signal confidence that US regulators will soon permit staking within exchange-traded products.
Onchain data from Arkham Intelligence showed Grayscale transferred more than 40,000 Ether on Thursday, activity consistent with positioning for staking rewards. Arkham noted that if confirmed, Grayscale would be the first US Ethereum ETF sponsor to stake its holdings.
Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust (ETHE) manages more than 1.06 million ETH, valued at over $4.8 billion. The firm launched ETHE in 2017 as a private placement vehicle, and in 2024 rolled out the lower-cost Ethereum Mini Trust through a partial spin-off of ETHE’s assets.
US lawmakers challenge SEC on Tron IPO, press for probe into Justin Sun
Two members of Congress have called on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to answer questions that could impact how crypto companies go public on US exchanges.
In a Wednesday letter to SEC Chair Paul Atkins and acting director of the commission’s division of corporation finance Cicely LaMothe, Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Sean Casten questioned the agency’s timing on dropping an enforcement case against Tron founder and CEO Justin Sun.
The Tron founder had been facing a lawsuit filed by the SEC in 2023 over allegations of offering unregistered securities, but the agency asked for a stay in the case in February, a month after the departure of former Chair Gary Gensler.
Gary Gensler doubles down on crypto approach amid SEC sea change
In one of his few media appearances since leaving the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January, Gary Gensler suggested he had no regrets about his approach to crypto enforcement during his four years at the agency.
In a Wednesday interview, CNBC’s Sara Eisen asked the former SEC chair to respond to the agency under Paul Atkins “reversing a lot of what [he] did” regarding crypto policies, saying many investors were “ecstatic” he was no longer heading the commission.
Gensler said he was “proud” of his time at the SEC, that he had made the right decisions regarding regulating digital assets, and reiterated his assertions that crypto was a “highly speculative, very risky asset.”
“We were consistently trying to ensure for investor protection,” said Gensler, in regard to SEC enforcement actions against crypto companies while he was chair. “And in the midst of it, we had a lot of fraudsters: Look at Sam Bankman-Fried, and he wasn’t alone.”
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $115,973, Ether (ETH) at $4,421 and XRP at $2.98. The total market cap is at $4.04 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Aster (ASTER) at 1,286.19%, Immutable (IMX) at 23.54% and Story (IP) at 9.71%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are MYX Finance (MYX) at 18.20%, Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) at 18.20% and SPDX6900 (SPX) at 17.79%.
For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Most Memorable Quotations
“We should migrate Bitcoin to a quantum-resistant signature scheme.”
Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana
“I would say maybe a 70% drawdown from whatever the all-time high ends up.”
Benjamin Cowen, founder of Into the Cryptoverse
“Poor people are poor because they have no idea what real money is. And so our academic system, you know, my poor dad, professors, they indoctrinate and they train kids, young people even today to work for fake money.”
Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad
“Deleting tweets doesn’t change the fact that the guy is their ‘Head of DeFi’ and doesn’t understand the very basics of this industry and cares more about fudding Ethereum than the actual truth.”
Anthony Sassano, independent Ethereum educator
“The recent collapse in DAT mNAVs will likely drive differentiation and market consolidation.”
“You can’t just suddenly come and bash down their door and say uh-uh, we caught you, you’re doing something and it’s a technical violation.”
Paul Atkins, chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission
Top Prediction of The Week
Crypto ready for ‘up only’ mode once US TGA hits $850B target: Arthur Hayes
Crypto markets will enter “up only” mode once the United States Treasury hits its target goal of filling the General Account (TGA), the Treasury Department’s bank account, with $850 billion, according to Arthur Hayes, co-founder of the BitMEX crypto exchange.
“With this liquidity drain complete, up only can resume,” Hayes wrote on Friday as the US TGA’s opening balance crossed $807 billion. When the Treasury is filling its General Account, the funds are generally sequestered and do not flow into private markets.
However, not all analysts were convinced by Hayes’ prediction that liquidity will flow to financial markets once the US Treasury hits its goal.
Top FUD of The Week
NBA star Kevin Durant recovers Coinbase account after nearly 10 years
Nearly 10 years after buying Bitcoin on Coinbase, NBA superstar Kevin Durant has regained access to his holdings thanks to a completed account recovery.
The news was announced via an X post by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong on Thursday evening. “We got this fixed. Account recovery complete!,” Armstrong wrote.
Durant, a 15-time NBA All-Star who will suit up for the Houston Rockets this season, shared the story of his lost Bitcoin on Tuesday at the annual Game Plan summit in Santa Monica.
Appearing alongside his agent, Rich Kleiman, Durant told the host Andrew Ross Sorkin that sometime around 2014 or 2015, he discovered Bitcoin by watching YouTube videos, and gave his agent “a little nudge.”
Bitcoin may go ‘boring’ as institutional interest ramps up: Michael Saylor
Bitcoin becoming more appealing to institutional investors may come at the cost of the thrill that attracts some retail investors, according to Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor.
“You want the volatility to decrease so the mega institutions feel comfortable entering the space and size,” Saylor told Natalie Brunell on the Coin Stories podcast published to YouTube on Friday.
“The conundrum is, well, if the mega institutions are going to enter, if the volatility decreases, it is going to be boring for a while, and because it’s boring for a while, people’s adrenaline rush is going to drop,” Saylor explained.
FTX Recovery Trust to unlock $1.6B for creditors in September disbursement
The FTX Recovery Trust, the entity overseeing the distribution of funds from the bankrupt crypto exchange, announced a third tranche of distributions to creditors, worth about $1.6 billion.
According to a Friday announcement, the distribution is scheduled for Sept. 30, and creditors should receive the funds in their accounts within three business days of the payment date.
The third distribution includes a 6% payout for Dotcom Customer claims, a 40% distribution for US Customer Entitlement Claims and a 24% distribution for General Unsecured Claims and Digital Asset Loan Claims. Convenience claims will receive a 120% reimbursement as part of September’s payout.
Top Magazine Stories of The Week
7 reasons why Bitcoin mining is a terrible business idea
Bitcoin mining is an increasingly difficult way to make money. Bit Digital’s Sam Tabar and analyst General Kenobi explain how tough it is.
XRP is Thailand’s top performing asset, Shanghai dumps FIL: Asia Express
XRP beats Bitcoin and gold’s returns in Thailand, an offshore Chinese yuan stablecoin launches in Kazakhstan, and more.
Bitcoin mining industry ‘going to be dead in 2 years’: Bit Digital CEO
Even Michael Saylor reportedly agrees that Bitcoin mining is a ‘terrible’ business. Commercial miners face stiff headwinds with the next halving.
Editorial Staff
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Read moreHayes tips ‘up only’ for crypto, ETH staking exit queue concerns: Hodler’s Digest, Sept. 14 – 20