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🚨 The Financial Times publicly apologises to its readers for 14 years of negative coverage of cryptocurrencies.

"We are sorry if at any time in the last 14 years, you have chosen based on our coverage not to buy something that has increased in number. It's cool when the numbers go up. And we are sorry if you misunderstood our crypto cynicism as a statement of support for traditional finance, because we hate it too"

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Will Ethereum remain institutions' top choice?

jonahrobrts breaks down the blockchain competition for TradFi's attention 🤼‍♂️

========================================

Disruption. Digitization. Financial inclusion. Future-proofing.

What do all of these oft-repeated buzzwords have in common? They’ve all been used by crypto-pilled associates at TradFi firms to pitch their bosses on the exciting upside of blockchain tech. This year, it seems, the executives are listening.

Institutions jumped into crypto more headlong than ever in 2024. Their moves are starting to bridge the gap between TradFi and DeFi. However, this article isn’t focused on why firms are building onchain. Instead, we are focusing on where these funds are choosing to build.

----------------------------

What’s Happening on Ethereum?
Ethereum is the world’s largest smart-contract blockchain network. It has secured over $90 billion in RWAs, including stablecoins. 2024 has been a big year for the adoption of non-stablecoin RWAs on Ethereum as well, with the network growing its onchain U.S. treasuries, bonds, and cash equivalents from $800 million to over $1 .5 billion and overall non-stablecoin RWA value to $2 .9 billion.

Some of the major players building on Ethereum this year include
Visa, BlackRock and FTI_US

Earlier this month, Visa announced that they are building the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP) on Ethereum. This is the company’s biggest step toward crypto adoption thus far. VTAP enables Visa to issue and manage fiat-backed tokens on Ethereum. It is intended to be a sandbox for participating financial institutional partners to create and experiment with fiat-backed tokens. They expect to begin piloting the platform with Spanish multinational bank BBVA in 2025. While the VTAP program is certainly an experiment, it gives credit to the thesis that TradFi will migrate its operations onto Ethereum over the coming decades.

----------------------------

Yet, the success of Ethereum’s competitors highlights a critical point: institutions are no longer bound to a single network. While Ethereum is foundational, blockchains like Solana and Stellar provide alternatives that are increasingly hard to ignore. However, they also present novel interoperability concerns.

Interoperability is central to the future of institutional blockchain adoption. As Visa states in their VTAP press release announcement, the largest benefits of building onchain include easy integration, programmability, and interoperability. Institutions that venture onto non-EVM chains like Solana or Stellar may face challenges in asset liquidity and protocol compatibility. This can lead to reliance on third-party services to bridge assets between chains, which introduces complexity and security risks. Ethereum’s widespread use means that staying within the EVM ecosystem—whether through Ethereum or Layer 2 solutions—remains the simplest and most secure option for institutions.

----------------------------

However, for Ethereum to maintain its lead in the race toward institutional adoption, it must continue to balance world-class security and stability with the performance and scalability that competing chains continue to push. The race to capture the attention of institutional finance will be won by the network that can not only meet today’s demands but also anticipate the needs of tomorrow. Ethereum is well-positioned for now, but staying on top will require constant evolution.

🚨 Grayscale places $Doge , Worldcoin, $Pyth and $Rune on a list of 35 cryptocurrencies with high potential.

Grayscale has listed 35 cryptocurrencies broken down into 5 main categories:
🔹 Coins
🔹 Smart Contract Platforms
🔹 Finance
🔹 Culture
🔹 Public services.

Grayscale is considering potentially including them in its selection of crypto investment products.

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📅 **Weekly Outlook Sep 30 - Oct 6** 📅
Stay updated with key news & events in finance and crypto! 🧵👇

---

📰 **News/Sentiment:**
- FED tracking econ data for rate cuts 📊
- Neutral stance, less dovish than expected 🕊️
- Eyes on Sept Jobs, ISM Manufacturing, Jobless Claims 📈
- Investors expect continued rate lowering 💸
- Goldman: Stocks pricier on ROE premium 📉
- BofA forecasts a soft landing 🌤️

---

📅 **Events This Week:**

**Monday:**
- 🇬🇧 UK: GP
- 🇩🇪 GER: CPI
- 🇺🇸 US: Powell Speaks 🎙️

**Tuesday:**
- 🇪🇺 EUR: Core CPI, CPI
- 🇺🇸 US: PMI, Fed GDP Now, Job Openings
- 📈 Earnings: NKE 👟

**Wednesday:**
- 🇪🇺 EUR: Unemployment 📉

**Thursday:**
- 🇺🇸 US: Jobless Claims
- 🇨🇳 CNY: CPI 🇨🇳

**Friday:**
- 🇺🇸 US: Labor Participation, Nonfarm Payroll, Unemployment Rate 📊

---

⚖️ **Risk Appetite:**
- Truflation: 1.5% 📉
- Market Fear/Greed: 75 🤑 Extreme Greed
- Market Breadth: Extreme Greed 🚀
- Put/Call: Extreme Greed
- Junk Bond vs. Investment Grade: Fear ⚠️
- AAII Sentiment: 3% off 1yr bullish 📈
- Crypto Fear/Greed: 50 Neutral 🪙
- High Yield Bond Premium: 3.68% 🔺
- High Yield Effective Yield: 7.8% 🔺

---

📊 **Market Breadth:**
- % of $SPX > 200D MA: 62% ↔️
- % of $SPX > 50D MA: 65% ↔️
- % of $SPX > 20D MA: 68% ↔️
- NASDAQ New Highs - Lows: 57
- SPY 52W Highs - Lows: -44
- SPY New H/L: Monthly 147; Weekly 19 📉

---

🔍 **Other:**
- Fed Rate Monitor: 30% chance of 50bps, 70% chance of 25bps 📉🔮

---

Stay informed and make savvy moves this week! 💰🚀 #Finance #crypto #MarketUpdate

---

🇨🇳 Former Chinese Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao urges China to rethink its crypto policy at a 2024 economic forum in Beijing.

Zhu noted that the United States has made significant changes, including the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs.

PayPal, one of the world’s largest financial platforms, continues its mission to deliver blockchain-based services to users and businesses alike.

On September 25, 2024, PayPal announced it would be enabling U.S. merchants to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency assets within their business accounts. The move is the latest in a slew of updates made by PayPal as the TradFi giant continues to embrace the cryptocurrency industry.

U.S. Businesses Can Now Store Funds Onchain
Following the successful launch of crypto services for individual users, PayPal remarked that businesses were eager to meet user’s growing demand for more comprehensive crypto services.

"Since we launched the ability for PayPal and Venmo consumers to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency in their wallets, we have learned a lot about how they want to use their cryptocurrency… Business owners have increasingly expressed a desire for the same cryptocurrency capabilities available to consumers. We're excited to meet that demand by delivering this new offering, empowering them to engage with digital currencies effortlessly." - Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Senior Vice President of Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Currencies, PayPal.

PayPal’s commitment to providing merchants with expanded crypto services and flexibility goes beyond buying and selling digital assets. Merchants can now withdraw cryptocurrencies to external onchain wallets.

While PayPal has stipulated that this feature will be limited to “eligible” wallets, the move also opens the door to more businesses becoming involved in DeFi. For example, businesses holding capital might be able to lend out assets in various onchain lending protocols, earning additional yield on a merchant’s treasury.

$PYUSD Solana Supply Down 40% Since ATH
Since launching on Solana on May 29, 2024, $PYUSD enjoyed meteoric growth. Spurred on by generous liquidity provision incentives, $PYUSD’s Solana-based supply surged to over 663.4M tokens based on Step Finance data. This eclipsed Ethereum’s $PYUSD supply, making Solana the unofficial home of PayPal’s crypto services.

However, as $PYUSD reward campaigns have slowed and market conditions improved, the supply of PayPal USD on Solana has declined. At its highest point on August 28, 2024, Solana hosted $PYUSD 65.79% supply dominance.

Based on DeFiLlama data, that figure has since fallen to just 50.4%, with PayPal USD’s Solana-based supply currently sitting at 354M.

It's unlikely that PayPal merchants based in the U.S. will rush to bring their stablecoin holdings onchain and deploy them in Solana DeFi protocols. However, the move highlights PayPal’s willingness to respond positively to customer feedback and integrate blockchain technology into its expansive product suite.

🚀 +93% in 3 months: why is aave outperforming the rest of the crypto market?

This success is linked to a renewed interest in #defi 🌐 , its dominance in the lending sector ($12.6 billion in TVL), and the fall of its competitor Curve Finance.

Its updates, such as the introduction of its stablecoin $GHO and its expansion to layer 2, have also increased its appeal.

$HONEY , $MPLX , $CROWN Lead Solana Ecosystem Token Performance During Breakpoint
Which native tokens outperformed the market during Solana Breakpoint 2024?

Solana Breakpoint delivered a bounty of massive announcements not only for Solana, but also for a host of applications and projects building in the ecosystem.

However, market dynamics don’t always line up with protocol updates. Hype and speculation can push prices up ahead of the event, only to be met with disappointing price action when teams don’t deliver the news traders are hoping to hear.

On the other hand, projects that were ignored by speculative traders can enjoy solid price appreciation when they deliver unexpected announcements.

In the eyes of the market, who were Solana Breakpoint’s best and worst performers?

Solana Breakpoint Market Dynamics
To illustrate market dynamics during Breakpoint, analysts compiled and analyzed price data from 20 key projects in the ecosystem. Tokens were shortlisted from the following criteria:

In the industry’s top 1,000 tokens by market capitalization.

Made announcements, or participated in Breakpoint panels and debates.

If not presenting at the event, proven ecosystem OGs like Orca and Raydium were included.

Other than BONK Memecoins were excluded. BONK’s inclusion is due to its announcements and significant presence at the event.

Using Step Finance data, prices were pulled from Breakpoint’s opening and compared that with the price recorded at the closure of the event.

While the market anticipated big announcements from the likes of Jupiter and Sanctum, it was the projects that no one expected updates from who performed the best. $HONEY , $MPLX , and $CROWN outperformed the market, while most of the ecosystem remained largely unchanged.

Hivemapper, the company behind $HONEY , shared impressive growth statistics. The DePIN protocol has successfully mapped over 26% of the world’s road network and now sells mapping data to three of the ten largest mapmakers.

Metaplex, one of Solana’s longest-standing infrastructure providers, held a stealthy presentation in The Pod, one of Breakpoint’s smaller spaces. During the session, Metaplex teased the upcoming launch of the Metaplex Aura Network, a mysterious new addition to Metaplex’s product suite.

Finally, Photo Finish announced that its mobile app was approved for distribution on the Apple App Store. According to Photo Finish CEO, this makes the app the world’s first real-money horse racing mobile game approved by Apple.

However, Breakpoint is a relatively short event with plenty of other dynamics influencing price movements. For example, $CLOUD’s appears to have traded sideways during Breakpoint, but it needs to be said that the asset enjoyed an impressive surge both before and after the event.

Despite stale price action throughout Breakpoint, $CLOUD is up 67% on a weekly time frame and has been one of the Solana ecosystem’s best performers, based on Step Finance data.

On September 20, Reown, formerly WalletConnect, announced the launch of its Solana Appkit, a comprehensive developer tooling platform designed to simplify Solana ecosystem development.

The move promises to amplify Solana connectivity, leveraging a range of essential services that aim to expand the ecosystem. Best known for its expansive EVM network, Reown facilitates over 15M monthly wallet connections across 100+ blockchains.

Solana’s inclusion in Reown’s substantial list of supported chains comes following the network’s meteoric growth throughout 2024. Reown CEO Jess Houlgrave contends that the Solana Appkit’s launch could spearhead a new wave of applications on the network:

"The Solana ecosystem has stood out since its inception in 2020. Solana instantly drew interest from developers and teams throughout the industry, resulting in some of the biggest and most recognizable projects to date. The launch of the Solana AppKit will act as a catalyst for further growth, the AppKit simplifies building apps and ensures the best experience for end-users. We're excited to see what teams can do with these new tools". - Jess Houlgrave, Reown CEO.

What Can Developers Expect From Reown’s Appkit?
Reown’s Solana Appkit aims to streamline the development process, amplifying application connectivity across the ecosystem. The new tooling platform promises a range of essential features, including:

WalletConnect Network integration.

Simplified email and social login - Allowing users to connect to dApps using familiar, Web2 logins.

Fiat-to-Crypto onramp - Partnering with Coinbase, users can instantly buy over 100 crypto assets directly through Reown-powered apps.

Token swaps - In collaboration with 1Inch, Reown provides applications with in-app trades at the best available rates.

Web3 Messaging Notifications - Apps can now send onchain messages directly to user’s wallets.

Multi-Language support - Reown’s Solana Appkit supports developers building with React, Vue, JavaScript, and Next.js

Reown Attracts Key Launch Partners
Bringing the new Appkit to as many Solana developers, Reown has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the ecosystem. Integral DeFi apps like Jupiter, Solana’s leading aggregator, and Marinade Finance, one of Solana’s original staking providers, have lent their weight behind the launch, with additional support from Drift Protocol, a popular perpetual DEX, and Solayer, the network’s leading restaking protocol.

Drift Protocol co-founder Cindy Leow believes that Reown’s Solana Appkit will facilitate a smoother onboarding process for traders. Championing the toolkit accessibility, Leow expressed excitement at the prospect of a widening ecosystem.

“At Drift we’re continuously improving the experience for our users. As we expand, we want to see even more blockchain adoption. Integrating Reown’s Solana AppKit marks a milestone for accessibility and usability. We’re looking forward to seeing more apps in the Solana ecosystem leverage the Solana AppKit” - Cindy Leow, Drift Protocol co-founder.

Echoing Leow’s enthusiasm, Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante also demonstrated his support for the Reown Appkit.

“As the entry point for the Solana ecosystem, Backpack wallet team worked closely with the Reown team to integrate the Reown WalletKit on the mobile app end. We’re excited to partner with Reown and improve Solana users' experience. Now, users can easily access Backpack Wallet when they click the WalletConnect button on their favorite dApps.” - Armani Ferrante, Backpack CEO

Alongside Solana’s dramatic surge in user activity throughout 2024, the network has also enjoyed a significant increase in developer activity. According to the Solana 2023 Developer Report the network boasted over 2,500 monthly active developers.

The Reown Solana AppKit is expected to provide Solana’s expansive developer community with an expansive suite of tools, enabling them to create a diverse and access

🚨 📈 Société Générale deploys its stablecoin $EURCV on #Solana to take advantage of its speed and reduced costs.

Initially deployed on #Ethereum , EURCV had a limited start, CEO Jean-Marc Stenger emphasizes that #Solana will open new opportunities for decentralized finance.

Another step towards the integration of banks into the world of cryptocurrencies. 💶

$SOL #Stablecoin

SOLANA BREAKPOINT: The Biggest Announcements From Day One
Hopes were high for some big announcements, but even the most devout Solana maxi wasn’t ready for this.

Over 5,700 Solana fans, users, and bulls descended on day one of Singapore Breakpoint. The biggest conference event in Solana history, Breakpoint delivered a wrath of key updates, with crucial developments announced from both native teams and institutional players.

If you weren’t at Breakpoint, here’s what you need to know:

FIREDANCER LIVE ON TESTNET
Solana users and investors alike were delighted to see Kevin Bowers, Jump Crypto’s Chief Science Officer take the stage to deliver one of the network’s most eagerly awaited updates.

Firedancer, the novel validator client promising to bring unparalleled levels of scalability, decentralization, and security to Solana, is now live on testnet.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Bowers also took the opportunity to outline the development history of the client and its evolution from Frankendancer, an experimental synergy of existing software with Jump’s new codebase, to the optimized final Firedancer product.

To rounds of raucous applause from the Solana faithful, Bowers announced that the existing Frankendancer client is now live on the Solana mainnet.

FRANKLIN TEMPLETON BUILDING ON SOLANA
While existing SOL ETF applications find themselves unlikely to be approved in the short term, that doesn’t mean that TradFi giants aren’t eager to launch Solana-based products to their institutional clients.

Franklin Templeton, one of the world’s largest financial players boasting over $1 .3T in AUM (Assets Under Management) announced its intention to launch a mutual fund on the Solana blockchain.

CITIBANK EXPLORING SOLANA
Franklin Templeton, 21Shares, and VanEck aren’t the only Wall Street players with an eye on crypto’s most performant Layer-1.

Citibank, the fourth largest bank in the United States, shared that it was exploring Solana’s potential, suggesting that seamless money transfers and advanced smart contract composability present unique opportunities in the future.

JUPITER MAKES BIG MOVES
Traditional Finance may have dominated the headlines, but Solana-native DeFi teams also commanded their fair share of the spotlight.

Jupiter co-founder Siong presented an immense range of updates coming to Jupiter’s expansive ecosystem. Crucial announcements included a refreshed v2 perps platform, the reveal of the Ape Pro memecoin trading platform, further details surrounding the Jupiter mobile wallet, and Jupiter’s acquisition of the SolanaFM explorer.

SKY, FORMERLY MakerDAO, DEPLOYS ON SOLANA
MakerDAO, one of the crypto industry’s longest standing DeFi protocols, recently rebranded to SKY, migrating its iconic decentralized stablecoin from $DAI to $USDS . Building on top of the momentum achieved with the rebrand, SKY announced a proposal to leverage Wormhole’s cross-chain infrastructure to bridge $USDS to Solana.

Reinforcing SKY’s desire to be present on the Solana network, the protocol announced an rewards campaign to incentivise deeper liquidity on the network. According to SKY governance, the maximum distribution of weekly rewards is capped at 2M $SKY .

The move helps to bring greater stability to Solana DeFi by providing a more diversified range of stablecoin assets onchain.

Continuing the trend of Solana migration, the Huma Finance PayFi network also announced its intention to launch on the network.

🇩🇪 Commerzbank has signed an agreement with Crypto Finance, a subsidiary of Germany's largest stock exchange operator, to offer Bitcoin and ETH trading and custody services to their corporate clients.

Through its subsidiary Deutsche Boerse, digital asset trading will be offered to companies wishing to gain exposure to it.

The service will initially focus on bitcoin and ETH.

“Our digital asset offering enables our enterprise clients to seize the opportunities offered by bitcoin and ether for the first time”
says Gernot Kleckner, Head of Financial Markets for Corporate Clients at Commerzbank.

Eric Trump says that World Liberty Finance will sell governance tokens only to accredited investors, and the tokens will not be transferable.

Phantom integrates with Mayan Finance with would now allow users to bridge from ETH to 30+ Solana tokens.

🤝 TON Foundation collaborates with Curve Finance to incubate a new stablecoin swap project.

This collaboration will simplify stablecoin trading, increase liquidity, and improve the DeFi experience on TON.

💸 MicroStrategy will raise between $700 million and $805 million to refinance $500 million in debt and purchase more #bitcoins

Russia Will Establish Cross-Border Cryptocurrency Payment Regulations By November

Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma's Financial Markets Committee, announced that the Russian Central Bank and Ministry of Finance are working on regulations for cross-border cryptocurrency payments. The government aims to finalize these regulations by the end of November.

Initially, the Russian government will test the cryptocurrency payment mechanism under an experimental legal regime (ELR). This means only selected participants, such as credit institutions and banks, will be involved in the process. The goal is to minimize risks and develop regulations to protect the market from fraud. Aksakov noted that companies are already using cryptocurrencies for import and export payments, with transaction volumes expected to reach billions of dollars. He emphasized the need to limit the number of financial institutions participating in the initial phase to better understand the market and develop effective regulatory measures.

Marinade Finance hires Hadley Stern, ex-president of Fidelity Digital Asset Services, as Chief Commercial Officer to enhance its Solana staking solution and strengthen its position in the digital asset industry.

Step Finance launches a Solana Portfolio Data API, providing real-time and historical data to support Solana's growing institutional adoption.

Crypto markets have suffered noticeable pullbacks following September 10’s highly anticipated presidential debate.

In the wake of self-proclaimed ‘Crypto President’ Donald Trump’s performance, scales have tipped in favor of Kamala Harris, with prediction markets illustrating renewed support for the Democrats.

Crypto Markets Tumble as Republican Confidence Wanes
The presidential debate had a resounding effect on the digital asset market. Following the event, $SOL price has dropped 5.1%, sliding from September 10’s high of $137 .9 to currently trade hands at $130 .84.

Beyond asset prices, CoinMarketCap’s Crypto Fear & Greed Index also dropped from a neutral 46.72 to a fearful ranking of 31.6.

The crypto market’s slide is expected to be due to the wider industry’s assumption that a Trump presidency will be favorable for the blockchain industry.

Commentators argue that Trump’s pro-crypto stance will greatly benefit the sector, with many analysts proposing that the approval of a spot SOL ETF hinges on a Republican victory. Meanwhile, some Solana community members expressed that regardless of who emerges triumphant in November, it will make little difference.

Over the past four years, the Biden administration has loomed large over the crypto industry. Gary Gensler and the S.E.C. (Securities and Exchanges Commission) have been widely criticized by the crypto community for their regulation-by-enforcement approach, which has seen the agency hand out a litany of lawsuits to crypto businesses throughout its time in office.

Volume Spikes on Drift Protocol’s Prediction Market
While Trump and Harris clashed heads on camera, traders took their chance to hit the prediction markets. Drift Protocol’s BET platform, a marketplace enabling users to trade the outcomes of real-world events, enjoyed an impressive surge of trading volume during the debate.

According to Dune Analytics, Drift Protocol’s BET protocol witnessed over $851k in daily trading volume. While falling short of market leader PolyMarket’s $14M daily volume, BET’s dramatic volume spike represented a 1,287% increase over the previous day’s trading.

According to BET’s dedicated market, Trump’s chances of winning the presidential election dropped from 54.2% to 49.5% since the debate began.

$TREMP Down, $KAMA Up
Finally, the landmark debate sent waves of volatility through Solana’s PolitiFi memecoin economy.

Unfortunately for $TREMP holders, crypto markets rejected the Presidential hopeful’s debate performance. $TREMP price crumbled under increased selling pressure, plunging 28% from.19 to currently exchange hands at.135, based on Step Finance data.

Meanwhile, the Kamala Harris-inspired $KAMA saw renewed support. $KAMA surged over 34%, rising from 0.007 to currently trade at.0094. Despite $KAMA’s superior performance, the memecoin still has a smaller market cap ($8.3M) than its PolitiFi rival $TREMP ($14.2M).

Kamino Finance has partnered with Re7 Labs to expand the Vault Layer in Kamino Lend V2. Re7 Labs, experts in DeFi and risk management, will manage permissionless V2 Lending Vaults, enhancing security and scaling Kamino’s decentralized financial layer on Solana.

After the euphoric highs of Q2, fear and doubt have crept back into crypto markets in recent months.

Amidst the uncertainty Solana’s DeFi ecosystem has shed layers of TVL (Total Value Locked), with the majority of protocol’s losing between 13-18% in USD value on a monthly time frame.

However, despite the market-wide pullback, outperformers have emerged. Which protocols created a liquidity vacuum and expanded their TVL despite ailing markets?

NX FINANCE, LULO LEAD MONTHLY TVL GROWTH
Solana’s DeFi scene has enjoyed newfound momentum and attention throughout 2024. However, the last 30 days indicate a charge in sentiment, with the bulk of Solana protocols suffering significant drops in their TVL.

Despite challenging conditions, several outliers have outperformed the wider market and witnessed continued growth in the face of adversity.

Lending aggregator NX Finance led the charge, enjoying consistent growth in the face of difficult markets. Courtesy of its incentivized rewards program, NX Finance TVL rose 65% in the last 30 days, leading Solana’s top 50 DeFi applications by TVL.

Meanwhile, fellow lending aggregator Lulo Finance continued to rise through the ranks, securing over $30M in Directed Liquidity (DL). With over 92% of its DL, a similar metric similar to TVL, held in stablecoins, Lulo-managed value has increased by 32.27% in the last 30 days.

At first glance, DeFiLlama data suggests that Jupiter’s TVL has risen by 47.22% in the last 30 days. However, this increase is due to the popular analytics platform integrating $jupSOL into Jupiter’s total TVL on August 16, adding approximately $300M worth of funds to the platform.

According to Step Finance data, $jupSOL supply has risen 0.36% in the last 30 days. Coupled with the 2.22% decline in Jupiter perpetual TVL in the same time period, it can be concluded that Jupiter’s total TVL has remained relatively stable in the face of challenging market conditions.

Kamino TVL Climbs Despite Falling Prices
Kamino Finance has been one of Solana DeFi’s most solid performers throughout Q3’s volatility. While lending aggregators like NX Finance and Lulo predominantly hold stablecoins, making them more resilient to market downturn, Kamino accepts deposits from a wider range of more volatile assets.

Despite falling asset prices across the industry, Kamino has emerged as one of Solana’s standout DeFi protocols.

While $SOL price has dropped over 36% since its March 18 high of $202 , Kamino TVL has increased by 12% in USD terms. Denominated in SOL, Kamino TVL has risen by 76% in the same time frame.

JUPITER DOMINATES PERPETUAL TVL ACROSS THE INDUSTRY
Jupiter’s perpetual DEX platform shows no sign of relinquishing its iron grip on derivatives dominance. One of Solana’s largest DeFi protocols, Jupiter’s perpetual DEX is currently the largest onchain derivatives market in the crypto industry.

Boasting over $657M in TVL, Jupiter dominates perpetual market share. According to DeFiLlama data, the Solana-based platform currently accounts for 18.82% of onchain derivatives TVL across the industry.

While Jupiter boasts the highest TVL across all perpetual DEXes, its closest rival still witnesses higher trading volumes. During August, Hyperliquid handled $34 .6B in trading volume compared to Jupiter’s $15 .1B. It’s worth noting that Hyperliquid’s high volume could attributed to its points program, which is expected to influence token allocations ahead of the protocol’s upcoming airdrop

Marinade Finance, one of Solana’s original staking providers, has found itself in hot water with validator operators.

Validators argue that Marinade’s new Stake Auction Marketplace (SAM) harms the staking landscape, allowing malicious actors to thrive at the expense of honest validators.

Beyond losing stake in the network, chagrined validators suggest that, left unchecked, the SAM model is a threat to decentralization and Solana’s scalability moving forward.

Marinade has dismissed these accusations. Countering claims of apathetic negligence, Marinade argues those who criticize the new system do so out of spite.

Is this a case of willful blindness, or are validators looking for a scapegoat to blame for their own shortcomings?

WHY ARE VALIDATORS UPSET?
Once heralded as a powerful new model that would push staking APY to new heights, the SAM has drawn scorn and skepticism from certain validators. Marinade’s SAM enables validators to bid on network stake, with winners securing stake and passing on elevated rewards to delegators.

To win auctions, validators competitively bid on network stake. However, surging demand for stake has driven validators to bid at potentially unsustainable levels. In previous epochs, winning validators needed to yield over 10% APY to win auctions, a rate considered impossible to achieve through native staking alone.

This has led certain operators to speculate on how these validators can afford such high bids. Suggesting that such yield can only be achieved through malicious activities, like sandwich attacks, private mempools, and off-chain deals, some validators argue that Marinade is turning a blind eye to dishonest validators.

Distressed validators have created analytics dashboards to express their frustrations and support their claims. Hanabi’s ‘Marinade Stake Selling’ dashboard highlights that a number of validators flagged for malicious activity have won stake through the SAM.

Responding to accusations levied by third-party dashboard creators, Marinade CEO Michael Repetny argues “Hanabi lacks any methodology, they only copy labels from other Stakewiz dashboard to call it a day.”

Adding further context to the claims of disgruntled operators, Repetny affirms “Hanabi lost 1M SOL from Marinade so it’s understandable he fights the new system.”

Concerned validators have taken to Marinade’s Discord server to air their grievances. Operators have claimed that, through the SAM, over 2.7M SOL has been staked to questionable validators, including sybils and sandwiches. Disgruntled operators even suggested “Marinade wants you to have side deals, ethical or not.”

Additionally, validators have argued that if “most of the mSOL pool is delegated to unethical validators it’s a really bad look for the Solana ecosystem.”

In an exclusive statement with SolanaFloor, Max Kaplan, Head of Engineering at Edgevana, credits Marinade for trying something inventive that “had never been done before”.

However, Kaplan admits that Marinade “went full capitalist… basically, the highest bidder wins. Marinade doesn’t really care if a validator bids for stake and is just gonna lose money on that stake, that’s not their problem… They’re happy to take the money and give that to mSOL holders.”

Experts argue that in current conditions, staking yield over 10% simply isn’t sustainable. Kaplan contends “10% APY is higher than the native staking yield that is paid out on chain. The money has to come from somewhere.”

Without making any accusations, Kaplan theorizes that additional yield could potentially come from a validator’s own “marketing/growth budget” or other sources like “SWQoS / private mempool deals”.

Responding to any accusations, Repetny reinforces Marinade's stance that “SAM provides the best yield on the market for delegators. It is not an active policy maker or opinionated strategy to tweak the network.”

Continuing to defy the expectations of the wider crypto market, Solana has outperformed digital asset rivals like Bitcoin ($BTC) and Ethereum ($ETH).

During a forgettable week for crypto markets, Solana has bucked the bearish trend, enjoying positive inflows amidst a sea of red.

SOL LEADS WEEKLY INFLOWS ACROSS TOP DIGITAL ASSETS
While much of the crypto market succumbed to bearish forces last week, Solana showed plenty of resilience. According to CoinShares data, Solana digital asset products attracted over $7 .6M in net inflows, outperforming both Bitcoin (-$319M) and Layer 1 rival Ethereum (-$5.7M).

However, despite positive inflows in digital asset products, $SOL price suffered a significant decline. Over the past week, Solana has dropped 15.45%, sliding from $157 .2 to currently exchange hands at $132 .91, based on Step Finance data.

In this sense, Solana has underperformed both $BTC and $ETH , which lost 7.5% and 7.3% respectively over the same period.

The diverging trends highlight a curious dynamic. Despite Solana suffering a more significant price drop than both $BTC and $ETH , institutional inflows for Solana-based digital asset products were positive.

Solana’s favorable performance suggests higher demand from institutional investors and traders, who are taking advantage of turbulent market conditions to establish positions heading into Q4.

Alternatively, the comparatively smaller range of Solana-based products allows for a reduced sample size, which could skew results. The abundance and accessibility of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs mean that these assets are likely to witness more consistent trading behavior.

MONTHLY STABLECOIN INFLOWS INCREASE BY 21%
Beyond positive digital asset product inflows, the Solana network also enjoyed increased stablecoin flows.

Having continually grown throughout 2024, Solana’s monthly stablecoin inflows increased by 21%, rising from $371M in July to $449M in August.

The growth indicates a growing desire for greater liquidity onchain. The trend is further supported by an increase in the total value of bridged assets arriving on the Solana network.

According to data provided by deBridge and Artemis, over $345M worth of assets were bridged to Solana from alternative chains, a 23% increase from the $280M bridged in July. August’s bridge traffic included over $279M from Ethereum, the industry’s largest Layer 1 network.

The inflow of capital suggests that investors and traders could be eager to establish positions in both Solana’s thriving DeFi scene and the ecosystem’s native tokens. With increased liquidity arriving onchain, network participants hope that the Solana ecosystem can maintain its bullish trajectory in Q4.

AUSTRALIA’S ’s BITCOIN ETF HITS MILESTONE WITH 125 BTC ACCUMULATION

Australia’s pioneering Monochrome Bitcoin ETF continues to make waves in the financial world by consistently accumulating Bitcoin, now holding 125 BTC as of the latest update. This achievement underscores the trust and optimism investors place in cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin, within regulated financial products.

As the first Australian ETF that directly holds Bitcoin, the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF offers an accessible way for investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin’s potential in Australian Dollars, without the complexities of direct cryptocurrency ownership. The ETF’s assets under management (AUM) have impressively grown, reflecting the rising investor confidence and the ongoing integration of cryptocurrencies into mainstream investment portfolios.

This marks a significant step forward in bridging traditional finance with the innovative world of digital assets.

Yield layer on Solana NX Finance has has their Discord compromised

—do not click on any links.

💬 Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson is shocked by how much traditional finance underestimates #Bitcoin .

In a conversation at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium in Jackson Hole, she said:

“What’s crazy to me is that in traditional finance, they have no idea how much money and how much volume [of bitcoin] there is “

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