Uniswap

Blockchain-based fintech company prepares to enter $500B freight settlement market

Although rare, real-world blockchain utility does exist, now evidenced by one company’s efforts to reduce transactional fees in supply chains.

TruckCoinSwap (TCS): Partnership Material

The world is quick to blame inflation for the rising prices at grocery stores and retailers. This was the #1 political issue for recent Election Day voters in the United States. For example, media sources recently reported poll data that 85% of Americans could not afford to spend $200 on a Thanksgiving meal in November 2022, and only 25% could afford $100.

However, few recognize inflation is only part of the problem. Higher costs for products and services are also directly attributable to settlement fees paid by transportation providers who are forced to take out the equivalent of payday loans against their freight invoices.

Shipper payment terms in the transportation industry are known to be egregious, and most transportation carriers cannot afford to wait 30–180 days to get paid. When a carrier factors, it pledges the collection rights in its accounts receivable to the bank and, in exchange, the bank advances cash in about 10 business days.

By industry averages, this cost to carriers is 3% of every receivable — often escalating up to a 25% annualized interest rate. The bank then waits the 30–180 days and collects directly from the freight shipper. If inflation is thought of as a silent tax, invoice factoring is a second layer of silent taxes on everything we buy.

More than 1 million U.S. trucking companies are factoring 100% of their invoices, and 50% of third-party logistics companies are too. Due to inflation, larger transportation companies are also losing 3% or more of their invoice values when waiting over 60 days to get paid by shippers. These costs create higher freight rates, and the excesses ultimately trickle down to every household and consumer.

Fixing a broken supply chain by settling on the blockchain

TruckCoinSwap (TCS) is a fintech and freight-tech company utilizing a blockchain-integrated mobile app to provide fast and free freight receivables settlement to transportation companies. Moreover, TCS is listed on CrossTower in the U.S. and abroad in 80 countries, and is now also listed on Uniswap.

Chief technology officer Jake Centner explained:

“Centralized exchanges can work very well, and the team couldn’t be more proud of the relationships TCS has made. However, the TCS token must also have a decentralized exchange and non-custodial option in the ecosystem for transportation companies and holders. Uniswap has been the gold standard in this space.”

To that end, TCS has created a process and platform identical to how carriers are settling now, with one added step. A few days after uploading freight documents into the TCS mobile app, a push notification is sent and settlement is made available in the real-time U.S. dollar (USD) value of TCS tokens.

The carrier can then accept settlement via direct deposit from TCS. After receiving the balance in its crypto wallet, the carrier can immediately sell through its exchange market to regain USD liquidity. By taking settlement via TCS, and being able to sell in a matter of minutes, carriers avoid both factoring costs and crypto volatility.

By industry averages, TCS estimates every factoring freightliner can recapture a significant portion of its net revenue. In the supply chain, reducing operating costs makes transportation companies more solvent and applies downward pressure on freight rates. In time, the costs of goods and, more specifically, food prices, can decrease.

Regarding the company’s adoption, CEO Todd Ziegler shared:

“TCS already has truckers involved in the beta, and we were just approached by two more large strategics. One has 223 trucks. The second is one of the largest companies in the U.S. managing freight documents, with over 500,000 transportation users. It speaks volumes that these companies are already interested in integrating with TCS.”

The future of freight and blockchain

Earlier this month, TCS presented its solution at the Future of Freight conference to over 20,000 attendees and has since gained traction in both the crypto and transportation communities with features in FreightWaves, business publications and other related media.

With many strategic relationships already in play, TCS believes it is in a strong position to help carry the transportation industry forward into web3. In looking ahead to the intersection of the two industries, Ziegler offered:

“Following recent court rulings and the acceleration of the DCCPA [Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act] on Capitol Hill, we’re going to see U.S. crypto exchanges eliminate several coins. Many exchanges are already struggling for revenue and AUM [assets under management], and they’re not going to stick their necks out in the wake of FTX. The projects with no real use case will be the first to go, and the digital assets with value propositions to industry will see greater market share.”

Material is provided in partnership with TCS

Disclaimer. Cointelegraph does not endorse any content or product on this page. While we aim at providing you with all important information that we could obtain, readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company and carry full responsibility for their decisions, nor can this article be considered as investment advice.

Crypto has survived worse than the fall of FTX: Chainalysis

According to Chainalysis, the downfall of FTX is likely to have a relatively smaller effect on the crypto ecosystem than the demise of Mt. Gox.

Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis has compared the fall of Mt. Gox to FTX to determine how FTX’s bankruptcy will impact the ecosystem.

It concluded that FTX was a relatively smaller part of the crypto industry than Mt. Gox was at the time and that the industry should bounce back stronger than ever.

In a Nov. 23 Twitter thread, Chainalysis’ research lead Eric Jardine began his comparison by first looking at the market share of the two firms, finding that Mt. Gox averaged 46% of all exchange inflows in the year leading up to its collapse in 2014, compared with FTX’s average of 13%, which operated from 2019 to 2022.

Jardine noted in 2014, when Mt. Gox collapsed, that centralized exchanges (CEXs) were the only players in the game. Meanwhile, in late 2022, nearly half of all exchange inflows were captured by decentralized exchanges (DEXs) such as Uniswap and Curve.

Exchange inflows of CEXes compared to DEXes between 2013 to 2022. Source: Chainalysis

Jardine mentioned, however, that FTX was slowly gaining in market share while Mt. Gox was seeing theirs steadily decline, and that business trajectories are worth considering, adding:

“Mt. Gox was becoming one exchange among many during a period of growth for the category, taking a smaller share of a bigger pie. FTX on the other hand was taking a bigger share of a shrinking pie, beating out other exchanges even as its raw tx volume declined.”

Despite this, Jardine concluded that Mt. Gox was a “linchpin of the CEX category at a time when CEXs dominated,” making it a bigger part of the crypto ecosystem at the time of its collapse than FTX was.

Jardine then goes on to examine the recovery of the crypto industry after the fall of Mt. Gox and found that while on-chain transaction volume was stagnant for a year or so, activity soon picked back up.

Related: Sam Bankman-Fried says he is ‘deeply sorry’ for collapse in letter to FTX team

In Feb. 2014, Mt. Gox suspended trading, closed its website, and filed for bankruptcy protection after losing 850,000 Bitcoin (BTC) in a hack.

Customers who had holdings deposited on the exchange have still not received their funds back, but the Mt. Gox Trustee announced on Oct. 6 that creditors have until Jan. 10, 2023, to select a repayment method for the 150,000 BTC reportedly in their possession.

Monthly service inflows for crypto before and after Mt. Gox collapsed. Source: Chainalysis

Jardine believes that although there are other factors, such as Sam Bankman-Fried’s large public presence, the “comparison should give the industry optimism,” as when it’s boiled down to market fundamentals, “There’s no reason to think the industry can’t bounce back from this, stronger than ever.”

Ethereum bears have the upper hand according to derivatives data, but for how long?

ETH bears continue to suppress Ethereum price, but institutional traders’ buying activity and exchanges’ aiming to provide more transparency could improve investor sentiment.

Ether (ETH) price experienced an 11.9% decline from Nov. 20 to Nov. 22, bottoming at $1,074 — the lowest level seen since July. Currently, investors have reason to be concerned after crypto lending company Genesis reportedly faced difficulties raising money, triggering rumors of insolvency on Nov. 21. 

However, a spokesperson for Genesis told Cointelegraph that there were no plans for imminent bankruptcy because the company continues to hold discussions with its creditors.

Unease about the centralization of decentralized finance (DeFi) surfaced after Uniswap Labs changed the privacy policy on Nov. 17, revealing that it collects publicly-available blockchain data, users’ browser information, operating systems data and interactions with its service providers.

Adding to the fracas, the hacker behind the FTX exchange theft of $447 million has been spotted moving their Ether funds. On Nov. 20, the attacker transferred 50,000 ETH to a separate wallet and converted it to Bitcoin using two renBTC bridges.

Traders fear that the hacker might be suppressing Ether’s price to profit using leveraged short bets. The rumor was raised by kundunsan on Nov. 15, even though the Twitter post did not gain exposure.

Let’s look at Ether derivatives data to understand if the worsening market conditions have impacted crypto investors’ sentiment.

Pro traders have been in panic mode since Nov. 10

Retail traders usually avoid quarterly futures due to their price difference from spot markets, but they are professional traders’ preferred instruments because they prevent the fluctuation of funding rates that often occurs in a perpetual futures contract.

Ether 2-month futures annualized premium. Source: Laevitas.ch

The three-month futures annualized premium should trade between +4% to +8% in healthy markets to cover costs and associated risks. The chart above shows that derivatives traders have been bearish since Nov. 10, when the Ether futures premium was negative.

Currently, there is backwardation in the contracts and this situation is atypical and usually deemed bearish. The metric did not improve after ETH rallied 5% on Nov. 22, reflecting professional traders’ unwillingness to add leveraged long (bull) positions.

Traders should also analyze Ether’s options markets to exclude externalities specific to the futures instrument.

Options traders fear additional crashes

The 25% delta skew is a telling sign when market makers and arbitrage desks are overcharging for upside or downside protection.

In bear markets, options investors give higher odds for a price dump, causing the skew indicator to rise above 10%. On the other hand, bullish markets tend to drive the skew indicator below -10%, meaning the bearish put options are discounted.

Ether 60-day options 25% delta skew: Source: Laevitas.ch

The delta skew has been above the 10% threshold since Nov. 9, signaling that options traders were less inclined to offer downside protection. The situation worsened over the following days as the delta skew indicator surged above 20%.

The 60-day delta skew currently stands at 23%, so whales and market makers are pricing higher odds of price dumps for Ether. Consequently, derivatives data shows low confidence right as Ether struggles to hold the $1,100 support.

According to the data, Ether bulls should not throw in the towel just yet because these metrics tend to be backward-looking. The panic that followed FTX’s bankruptcy and the subsequent liquidity issues at Genesis might dissipate quickly if the exchange’s public proof of reserves and institutional investors adding Bitcoin (BTC) exposure during the dip are interpreted as positives by market participants.

With that said, at the moment Ether bears still have the upper hand according to ETH derivatives metrics.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

UNI tokens delegation was a ‘misunderstood situation,’ according to Binance’s CZ

CZ replied to users on Twitter about Binance’s becoming the second-largest voting entity in the Uniswap DAO.

The millions of UNI (UNI) tokens delegated by Binance were a “misunderstood situation,” said Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao in a Twitter post, in response to questions about 13.2 million UNI tokens delegated on Oct. 18 that made Binance the second-largest entity by voting power in the Uniswap DAO.

According to CZ, a UNI transfer between internal wallets caused the automatic delegation. He denie allegations about the crypto exchange using users’ tokens to vote.

In a statement to Cointelegraph, Binance stated:

“Binance doesn’t vote with user’s tokens. In this case, there has been a misunderstanding of what has happened during the transfer of a large balance of UNI (around 4.6M) between wallets. We’re currently in discussions to improve the process to prevent any further misunderstandings happening again.”

On Oct. 19, Hayden Adams, Uniswap’s CEO, stated that it was unclear how Binance intended to engage with Uniswap decisions and demanded explanations about the case, which he classified as a “very unique situation, as the UNI technically belongs to its users.”

Tokens delegated in the transaction represented 5.9% of the voting power in the governance forum, positioning Binance’s voting power behind the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, according to the on-chain list of delegates. 

The amount delegated represented 1.3% of the total supply of UNI — a percentage that allows Binance to propose governance votes, as the threshold is settled at 0.25%. The exchange won’t be able to pass votes on its own, however, due to a 4% quorum requirement.

Earlier this month, Uniswap disclosed a $165 million Series B funding round led by Polychain Capital with additional existing investors to expand its existing product offerings and improve user experience. The company also intends to launch nonfungible tokens (NFTs) projects in the future.

The decentralized exchange became prominent during the DeFi hype in 2020. The cumulative trade volume of Uniswap surpassed $100 billion for the first time in February 2021.

Rarible NFT marketplace adds Web3 aggregation with new version

The new aggregation feature provides listings and prices of Ethereum-based NFTs listed on major NFT marketplaces across Web3.

Rarible, an Ethereum-based nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace, announced its platform upgrade to Rarible 2 on Oct. 20.

The NFT marketplace says it is introducing new aggregation tools to showcase NFTs from across the Web3 space. This means users can browse and purchase Ethereum-based digital assets from Rarible, OpenSea, LooksRare, X2Y2 and Sudoswap.

Alex Salnikov, the chief strategy officer and co-founder of Rarible, told Cointelegraph that the NFT platforms we have now are “siloed,” and aggregation is the way to change that:

“It creates an open environment where users can access the best prices for NFTs all through one interface.”

This development from Rarible comes after a report from DappRadar, which hinted at impending NFT “marketplace wars.” DappRadar’s report highlighted other major platforms in the Web3 space such as Uniswap and OpenSea, both of which acquired NFT aggregator platforms this past year.

While OpenSea and Uniswap acquired outside aggregators, Rarible simply transformed its services to an aggregation-based model. The report says that such acquisitions could stir up direct competition between platforms.

Related: OpenSea to allow users to submit bulk NFT listings and purchases

Rarible also introduced a mechanism in which users can lock up their RARI, the native token of the marketplace, to earn rewards and incentives for ecosystem participation. Salnikov says this is a step toward further decentralization of the platform. 

“Users get to make decisions on where the ecosystem goes next. They have a say in Rarible’s future and that’s something you can’t get with just funds or an NFT.”

The decentralization of NFT marketplaces is a relevant discussion within the Web3 community. Many on Twitter have been calling out market dominators like OpenSea for being too centralized.

Another user tweeted that centralized marketplaces like MagicEden and OpenSea have got to go:

Earlier this year, the Rarible marketplace was saved by researchers from a potential major security breach.

A vulnerability in the marketplace was identified by researchers at cybersecurity software company Check Point, which could’ve cost nearly 2 million active monthly users their NFTs in a single transaction.

Binance delegates 13.2M UNI tokens, becoming Uniswap DAO’s second-largest vote-holder

This move will allow Binance to propose governance votes, but is not enough to meet the quorum 4% requirement.

Crypto exchange Binance is now the second-largest entity by voting power in the Uniswap DAO, sitting just behind the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z, according to the on-chain list of delegates. 

On Oct. 18, Binance delegated 13.2 million UNI (UNI) tokens from its own books, which represents 5.9% of the voting power — a percentage of tokens delegated to the exchange. Compared to the total supply of UNI, the amount delegated represents 1.3%.

The move will allow Binance to propose governance votes, as it exceeds a threshold of 0.25%, but it’s still below the 4% quorum requirement to pass votes. A recent governance vote reduced the threshold for proposing votes.

On Twitter, Uniswap’s CEO, Hayden Adams, labeled the change as a “very unique situation, as the UNI technically belongs to its users.”

Adams also claimed that it’s unclear how Binance intends to engage with Uniswap decisions, stating that “Binance users would prob prefer to keep these gov rights (similar to what compound has done with cUNI).”

Adams also called on Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao to speak about the company’s plans “in the spirit of transparency.” CZ did not respond to Adams’s questions or other users’ inquiries at the time of publication.

Uniswap disclosed on Oct. 13 a $165 million Series B funding round led by Polychain Capital with additional existing investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, Variant and SV Angel. According to the company, the funding will be used to expand its existing product offerings and improve user experience through new web applications, developer tools and a shift toward mobile. The company also intends to launch nonfungible tokens (NFTs) projects in the future. 

The decentralized exchange became prominent during the decentralized finance hype in 2020. The cumulative trade volume of Uniswap surpassed $100 billion for the first time in February 2021. The cumulative volume of the platform’s trading has grown to $1.2 trillion, according to Adams.

Cointelegraph reached out to Binance, but did not receive a response as of the time of publication.

Uniswap Labs raises $165M as attention shifts to NFTs, Web3

The decentralized exchange has supported $1.2 trillion in cumulative trading volume since its inception, according to founder and CEO Hayden Adams.

Decentralized exchange Uniswap Labs has raised $165 million in a Series B funding round that had participation from some of blockchain’s biggest venture firms, putting the company on track to expand into other crypto-focused domains. 

The funding round was led by Polychain Capital with additional participation from several existing investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, Variant and SV Angel. The funding round confirms earlier reporting from Cointelegraph that Uniswap was looking to raise between $100 million and $200 million.

Uniswap said the funding would go toward expanding its existing product offerings and improving the user experience through new web applications, developer tools and a shift toward mobile. The company also plans on launching nonfungible tokens (NFTs) projects in the future. 

The official announcement was titled “Bringing Web3 to Everyone,” a sign that Uniswap was looking to incorporate many of the core ideas that separate Web3 from the current Web2 environment.

Uniswap rose to prominence during the decentralized finance craze of 2020 as traders began scouring exchanges for low-cap DeFi projects. By February 2021, Uniswap’s cumulative trade volumes had surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Uniswap’s cumulative trading volume has since grown to $1.2 trillion, according to founder Hayden Adams.

Related: Decentralized exchange Uniswap v3 gets ‘Warp’ed’ onto StarkNet

While demand for DeFi products has dried up over the past year, the sector has continued to operate as advertised during one of the most volatile periods in crypto history. DeFi platforms are filling a void left by the implosion of centralized financed companies as borrowers seek out new credit opportunities.

Crypto traders shift their focus to altcoins while Bitcoin price consolidates

Traders shift their focus to XRP, UNI, QNT and EGLD while Bitcoin continues to consolidate around the $20,000 level.

It has been difficult for Bitcoin (BTC) and the cryptocurrency markets to start a strong sustained recovery while the United States dollar is near its multi-year high and the U.S. equities markets are near their June lows. This shows that the sentiment remains negative and traders are not interested in taking on risk in their portfolios.

The U.S. equities markets fell sharply on Oct. 7 following the release of September’s nonfarm payroll data, but they did manage marginal gains for the week. The S&P 500 rose 1.5% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7% last week. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is on track to finish the week with marginal gains of about 2%.

Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360

In the past few days, Bitcoin has managed to avoid a collapse even when the U.S. equities markets were being clobbered. This is the first indication that the selling pressure may be reducing and traders may not be willing to part with their holdings at lower levels.

However, for a sustained recovery, Bitcoin will need some support from the return of the risk-on sentiment. Until then, volatile range-bound action is likely to continue, with certain altcoins offering trading opportunities. Let’s examine the charts of five cryptocurrencies that look interesting in the near term.

BTC/USDT

Bitcoin is struggling to stay above the 50-day simple moving average ($19,961), indicating that the bears have not yet given up. The sellers pulled the price below the 20-day exponential moving average ($19,628) on Oct. 7, but they could not extend the decline to the support at $18,626. This suggests that bulls are buying on dips and are trying to form a higher low in the short term.

BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The flattish 20-day EMA and the relative strength index (RSI) just below the midpoint suggest a balance between supply and demand. Buyers will have to push and sustain the price above the downtrend line to gain the upper hand. The BTC/USDT pair could then rally to $22,800, where the bears may again mount a strong defense.

On the downside, the bears may find it difficult to sink the price below the zone between $18,626 and $17,622 considering the bulls are expected to defend the zone with all their might. Still, if the zone cracks, the pair could start the next leg of the downtrend. The pair could then decline to $15,000.

BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The failure of the pair to rise above the $20,475 resistance may have tempted short-term traders to book profits, which pulled the price below the moving averages. However, a minor positive is that the bulls are buying the dip to the uptrend line.

If the price breaks above the moving averages, the pair could again rise to $20,475. The bulls will have to push and sustain the price above this resistance to complete an ascending triangle pattern. If that happens, the pair could rally to the pattern target of $22,825.

This bullish pattern will be negated on a break and close below the uptrend line. If that were to happen, the selling could intensify and the pair may slide to the strong support of $18,125.

XRP/USDT

XRP bounced off the 20-day EMA ($0.47) on Oct. 3, indicating that lower levels are attracting buyers. The upsloping 20-day EMA and the RSI near the overbought zone suggest that bulls have the upper hand.

XRP/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

If the price rises and breaks above the overhead resistance at $0.56, the XRP/USDT pair could soar to $0.66. This level may again pose a strong challenge, but if bulls overcome it, the up-move could extend to $0.80.

Instead, if the price turns down from $0.56, the bears will again pull the pair to the 20-day EMA. If this support gives way, the pair could drop to the breakout level of $0.41. A strong bounce off this level could keep the price range-bound between $0.41 and $0.56 for some time.

XRP/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The pair has been gradually climbing toward the overhead resistance at $0.56. Both moving averages are sloping up gradually and the RSI is in positive territory, indicating that buyers have the edge.

The pair turned down from $0.53 but the bulls successfully defended the 20-day EMA. If buyers drive the price above the $0.53 to $0.56 resistance zone, the up-move could pick up momentum.

A break and close below the 20-day EMA will be the first sign that the bulls may be losing their grip. The pair could then drop to the 50-day SMA and, later, to $0.44.

UNI/USDT

Uniswap (UNI) has been trading above the moving averages, indicating that the bulls are attempting to resume the recovery. This is one of the reasons for including it in this analysis.

UNI/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The price turned down from the overhead resistance at $7 but the bulls are attempting to stall the correction at the 20-day EMA ($6.42). If the price rebounds off the current level with strength, it will indicate that buyers are using the dips to accumulate.

The bulls will then again attempt to propel the price above the overhead resistance zone between $7 and $7.36. If they succeed, the UNI/USDT pair could rally to $8.67. Conversely, if the price turns down and breaks below $6, the pair could drop to the strong support at $5.66.

UNI/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The pair turned down sharply from the overhead resistance at $7 and broke below the moving averages. This suggests that the bears have the upper hand in the near term. If the price turns down from the moving averages, the selling could pick up and the pair may fall to $6.20 and later to $6.

To avoid this negative occurrence, the bulls will have to push and sustain the price above the moving averages. If that happens, the pair could once again retest the stiff resistance at $7. If this obstacle is cleared, the pair could rise to $7.36.

Related: Top 3 reasons why Bitcoin hash rate continues to attain new all-time highs

QNT/USDT

Quant (QNT) completed the inverse head and shoulders pattern on Sept. 27 and flipped the neckline into support on a retest on Oct. 2. The up-move resumed after the price broke above $147 on Oct. 8, indicating that buyers are in control.

QNT/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The rally of the past few days has sent the RSI into overbought territory, and the QNT/USDT pair is near the overhead resistance at $162. This could cause trouble for the bulls, but the dips are likely to be bought.

If the price rebounds off the 20-day EMA, it would suggest that the sentiment has shifted from selling on rallies to buying on dips. That could increase the likelihood of a break above $162. If that happens, the pair could rally to $200 and thereafter to the pattern target of $230.

If bears want to invalidate this positive view, they will have to pull the price back below the neckline and the 50-day SMA ($112).

QNT/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The pair has witnessed a sharp rally since breaking out of $147. Vertical rallies are rarely sustainable and often result in a consolidation or correction. In this case, the price may drop to the 20-day EMA, which is an important support for the bulls to defend.

If the price rebounds off this support, it will suggest that bulls continue to view the dips as a buying opportunity. A break and close above $162 could start the next leg of the up-move.

Alternatively, if the price turns down sharply from the current level and breaks below the 20-day EMA, it will suggest that the bulls may be rushing to the exit. That could sink the pair to $130.

EGLD/USDT

Elrond (EGLD) broke above the moving averages on Oct. 3, and the 20-day EMA ($51) has started to turn up, indicating a potential trend change in the near term. This is the reason for it being highlighted in this analysis.

EGLD/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The EGLD/USDT pair has been facing resistance near $57, but a positive sign is that the bulls have not given up much ground. This suggests that traders are not dumping their positions because they expect the recovery to resume.

If bulls thrust the price above $57, the pair could pick up momentum and rally to $62 and, thereafter, to $70.

On the other hand, if the price turns down from $57 and plummets below $53, the bears will pull the pair to the moving averages. If this support gives way, the pair could drop to the $47-to-$45 zone.

EGLD/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

After the sharp rally from $47 to $57, the pair has been correcting inside a descending channel pattern. If buyers thrust the price above the channel, the pair could retest the resistance at $57. A break above this level could indicate the resumption of the uptrend.

Contrarily, if the price turns down and breaks below the 20-day EMA, it will suggest that the pair may spend some more time inside the channel. The bears will have to sink the price below the channel to open the doors for a possible decline to $50.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Transit Swap ‘hacker’ returns lion’s share of $23M in stolen funds: Finance Redefined

Majority of the DeFi tokens in Top-100 traded in red barring a few, thanks to the weekend rout in the market correction towards the end of the week.

Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you significant developments over the last week.

The TranitSwap hacker that got away with $23 million has returned 70% of the stolen funds. The return was possible due to quick actions from on-chain data analytic firms who managed to find the hacker’s IP address and other personal details.

Another research report from Elliptic suggests that DeFi bridges and decentralized exchanges (DEX) have become a new frontier for crypto laundering.

Bitcoin.com CEO Dennis Jarvis believes that Bitcoin can be a bridge that leads users to the decentralized finance space.

As the United States dollar strengthens, even DeFi protocols are looking to invest in the USD as MakerDAO announced it is going ahead with its $500M investment in Treasury bonds.

The top 100 DeFi tokens by market cap had a mixed week in terms of price action, where a majority of the tokens traded in the red thanks to a weekend market correction. However, a few tokens managed to remain in the green on the weekly charts.

Transit Swap ‘hacker’ returns 70% of $23M in stolen funds

A quick response from a number of blockchain security companies has helped facilitate the return of around 70% of the $23 million exploit of the DEX aggregator Transit Swap.

The DEX aggregator lost the funds after a hacker exploited an internal bug on a swap contract on Oct. 1, leading to a quick response from the Transit Finance team along with security companies Peckshield, SlowMist, Bitrace and TokenPocket, who were able to quickly work out the hacker’s IP, email address and associated-on chain addresses.

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‘New frontier’ of crypto laundering involves cross-chain bridges and DEXs: Elliptic

New research from blockchain analytics and crypto compliance firm Elliptic has revealed the extent to which cross-chain bridges and DEXs have removed barriers for cybercriminals.

In an Oct. 4 report titled “The state of cross-chain crime,” Elliptic researchers Eray Arda Akartuna and Thibaud Madelin took a deep dive into what they described as “the new frontier of crypto laundering.” The report summarized that the free flow of capital between crypto assets is now more unhindered due to the emergence of new technologies such as bridges and DEXs.

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Bitcoin can solve the DeFi onboarding crisis, argues exec

As the decentralized finance space remains plagued with hacks, people have become less interested in jumping in and engaging with DeFi. But, according to Dennis Jarvis, the CEO of Bitcoin.com, there is a way for DeFi adoption to move forward through Bitcoin.

In a keynote speech at the Blockchain Economy Dubai Summit 2022, Jarvis pointed out that massive losses of investor funds, like the collapse of Terra and the Axie Infinity Ronin hack, have made DeFi unappealing to potential users. However, the executive believes that by using Bitcoin as a hook, DeFi can overcome the onboarding crisis brought about by its declining reputation.

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MakerDAO goes ahead with $500M investment in treasuries and bonds

MakerDAO, the governing body of the Maker Protocol, has taken the first step of its plan to reallocate $500 million of its stablecoin Daicollateral reserves into the short-term United States Treasury and corporate bonds.

The decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) voted on Oct. 6 to approve a pilot transaction of $1 million following an executive vote from Maker tokenholders, with the rest of the funds soon to be reallocated following confirmation from the community.

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DeFi market overview

Analytical data reveals that DeFi’s total value locked registered a minor decrease from the past week. The TVL value was about $52.63 billion at the time of writing. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView show that DeFi’s top 100 tokens by market capitalization had a mixed week, with many tokens seeing a decline toward the end of the week while a few others managed to trade in green.

Maker (MKR) continued its bullish momentum into October, registering a 9.78% gain over the past seven days, followed by Uniswap (UNI) with an 8.8% gain. Curve Finance (CRV) registered an 8% gain on the weekly charts as well.

Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education in this dynamically advancing space.

Upside capped at $980B total crypto market, according to derivatives metrics

A bearish formation in the total market capitalization chart has been gaining strength after two failures to break its resistance level.

It is becoming increasingly challenging to support a bullish short-term view for cryptocurrencies as the total crypto market capitalization has been below $1.4 trillion for the past 146 days. Furthermore, a descending channel initiated in late July has limited the upside after two strong rejections.

Total crypto market cap, USD. Source: TradingView

The 1% weekly negative performance in cryptocurrency markets was accompanied by stagnation in the S&P 500 stock market index, which remained basically flat at $3,650. Uncertainty continues to limit the eventual recovery as worsening global economic conditions have caused trans-Pacific shipping rates to plunge 75% versus the previous year, forcing ocean carriers to cancel dozens of voyages.

Conflicting macroeconomic signals limit risk market upside

From one side, the global macroeconomic scenario improved after the United Kingdom’s government reverted plans to cut income taxes on Oct. 3. On the other hand, investors’ fear increased as global investment bank Credit Suisse’s credit default swaps reached their highest level on Oct. 3. Such instruments allow investors to protect against default, and their cost surpassed levels seen at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

Below is a list of the winners and losers of the crypto market capitalization’s 1% loss to $935 billion. Bitcoin (BTC) stood out with a 1% gain, which led its dominance rate to hit 41.5%, the highest since Aug. 5.

Weekly winners and losers among the top-80 coins. Source: Nomics

Quant (QNT) jumped 15% on speculation that its interoperable blockchain protocol would find adoption across governmental and regulatory bodies.

Maker (MKR) gained 10.6% after MakerDAO launched a proposal to decrease the stability fee for the Curve protocol staked Ether (ETH) pool.

UniSwap Protocol (UNI) gained 10.6% after UniSwap Labs, a startup contributing to the protocol, reportedly raised over $100 million from venture capitalists.

Still, a single week of negative performance is not enough to interpret how professional traders are positioned. Those interested in tracking whales and market markers should analyze derivatives markets.

Derivatives markets point to further downside

For instance, perpetual futures, also known as inverse swaps, have an embedded rate usually charged every eight hours. Exchanges use this fee to avoid exchange risk imbalances.

A positive funding rate indicates that longs (buyers) demand more leverage. However, the opposite situation occurs when shorts (sellers) require additional leverage, causing the funding rate to turn negative.

Accumulated 7-day perpetual futures funding rate on Oct. 3. Source: Coinglass

Perpetual contracts reflected neutral sentiment as the accumulated funding rate was relatively flat in most cases over the past seven days. The only exception was Ether Classic (ETC), although a 0.50% weekly cost to maintain a short (bear) position should not be deemed relevant.

Since Sept. 26, the yields on the U.S. Treasury’s 5-year notes declined from 4.2% to 3.83%, indicating investors are demanding fewer returns to hold extremely safe assets. The flight-to-quality movement shows how risk-averse traders are as mixed sentiment emerges from lackluster economic indicators and corporate earnings.

For this reason, bears believe that the prevailing longer-term descending formation will continue in the upcoming weeks. In addition, professional traders’ lack of interest in leveraging cryptocurrency longs (buys) is evident in the neutral futures funding rate. Consequently, the current $980 billion market capitalization resistance should remain strong.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.