Read in the Digest:
- Ethereum gets Bellatrix as 78% of nodes upgrade – FTX & Binance to pause Eth and wEth transactions.
- Bitcoin (BTC) recovers to $20K – dormant BTC supply hits new all-time high.
- TerraClassic USD (USTC) is today’s biggest gainer – LUNC keeps pumping.
- Binance to delist and convert USDC, USDP, and TUSD into its BUSD stablecoin.
- Bitcoin mining pool Poolin suspends withdrawals amidst liquidity issues.
Ethereum Gets Bellatrix as 78% of Nodes Upgrade – FTX & Binance to Pause ETH and WETH Transactions
The Ethereum Foundation has confirmed that it has finally initiated the long awaited mainnet merge event, starting with the Bellatrix Upgrade. Bellatrix is the final upgrade that Ethereum’s Beacon Chain will go through before it merges with the Proof of Work chain.
Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin has confirmed that the Bellatrix upgrade will happen sometime today, September 6th. The upgrade is now able to go ahead because 78.1% of Ethereum nodes have been marked as “Merge ready”.
Following Bellatrix, the “Merge” is scheduled to take place during the “Paris” upgrade. According to Buterin, the mainnet merge could potentially happen between September 13th and 15th.
In preparation for the Merge, leading cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and FTX announced that all ETH and ERC-20 token transactions would be suspended during the Ethereum Bellatrix upgrade on September 6th, and the Paris upgrade on September 15th.
Flipsider:
- Ethereum miners are migrating to Ethereum Classic, causing its hashrate to hit an all-time high of 38.37 terahash per second (TH/s).
Why You Should Care
The success of the Merge could be highly impactful for not just Ethereum, but the entire crypto industry at large.
Bitcoin (BTC) Recovers to $20K – Dormant BTC Supply Hit New All-Time High
Bitcoin (BTC) is looking to break out of the two-week-long bearish streak that has kept the world’s largest cryptocurrency beneath the $20k level. Bitcoin gained 1.8% over the last 24 hours to hit an interday high of $20,155–its highest price in four days.
The 24 hour price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
Bitcoin’s 24 hour trade volume reached its highest recorded point of the past week, suggesting renewed interest from bulls in pushing the price of BTC higher. In conjunction with other events, BTC could potentially sustain above $20k in the short term.
A further metric suggesting the improving sentiment of Bitcoin holders is the dormant supply of BTC, which has grown over the last year to hit a new all-time high (ATH).
According to on-chain data, Bitcoin’s unspent supply over the last year tapped a new all-time high of 12.589 million BTC. Glassnode reports that Bitcoin’s dormant supply now represents nearly 66% of its total supply in circulation.
Flipsider:
- Despite indications of a price increase, the Bitcoin ‘Fear and Greed Index’ has fallen to 22, signalling extreme fear in the market.
Why You Should Care
Holding bitcoin is typical for bearish markets, especially when investors anticipate the price of BTC to experience a short term rise.
TerraClassic USD (USTC) Is Today’s Biggest Gainer, LUNC Keeps Pumping
The Terra ecosystem will be remembered for its collapse, a catastrophic event that sent the crypto market plummeting in May. Despite that, Terra tokens are now witnessing massive rallies across the board, as the community aims to recover their prices.
Now-defunct stablecoin, TerraClassic USD (USTC) saw the highest gains of the last 24 hours, as well as the previous 7 days, raking up 25% and 62% gains respectively. The rally saw the price of USTC rise as high as $0.04183.
The 7 day price chart for TerraClassic USD (USTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
For cryptocurrencies outside the top 100 ranked by market cap, Terra Classic (LUNC) has recorded the largest gains over the last seven days, during which LUNC spiked by more than 170% to hit a high of $0.000447.
The 7 day price chart for Terra Classic (LUNC). Source: CoinMarketCap
The rally of LUNC is largely being fueled by investors betting big on the failed crypto. In the last 24 hours, LUNC worth more than $2.85 billion was traded across all exchanges for the first time since the Terra ecosystem’s collapse.
Flipsider:
- As it closes the Shuttle Bridge, Binance has suspended all deposits and withdrawals of Terra Classic and TerraClassicUSD (USTC).
Why You Should Care
The burning, staking, project building, ecosystem education, and governance of Terra are helping to renew community interest in the project and its tokens.
Binance to Delist and Convert USDC, USDP, and TUSD Into its BUSD Stablecoin
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has announced plans to automatically convert existing user balances and new deposits of USD Coin (USDC), True USD (TUSD) and Pax Dollar (USDP) into its own Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin.
Binance stated that trading on spot pairs like USDC, USDP and TUSD will cease from September 29th, but users will continue to be able to withdraw funds at a 1:1 ratio to their BUSD-denominated account balance. Binance will also terminate the provision of all USDC products.
Binance intends for the conversion to enhance the liquidity and capital efficiency of its BUSD. BUSD is a 1:1 USD-backed stablecoin that partners with Paxos, and is approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
Binance USD is currently ranked as the third largest stablecoin with a market cap of $19.47 billion. Circle’s USDC is ranked second with a $51.8 billion market cap, while Tether’s USDT is the biggest stablecoin with a market cap of $67.6 billion.
Flipsider:
- Binance clarified that it will continue to offer support for the world’s largest stablecoin, Tether (USDT), until further notice.
Why You Should Care
By exiling the second-largest stablecoin, USDC, Binance hopes to improve the liquidity of BUSD, potentially positioning it to overtake Tether’s USDT.
Bitcoin Mining Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Poolin Suspends Withdrawals Amidst Liquidity Issues
China-based mining pool Poolin, the fourth largest bitcoin mining pool by Hash Rate Index, announced the temporary suspension of Bitcoin and Ether withdrawals from its PoolinWallet, on Monday, September 5th, citing liquidity issues and operational instability.
The suspension followed complaints of slow withdrawals by customers. The Founder and CEO of Poolin, Kevin Pan, has since admitted that the company is lacking liquidity.
Polin blamed the withdrawal suspension for its PoolinWallet on the recent surge in withdrawal demand. It claims that the suspension aims to preserve assets, and stabilize liquidity and operations amid a dull crypto market.
Polin added that it will continue to explore strategic alternatives with various parties, and the firm is expected to provide a status update in two weeks.
Flipsider:
- The post advised users to dispel all notions of a rug pull, and assured them of the safety of their assets.
Why You Should Care
Poolin intends to use the period to stabilize its liquidity. The company also shared its remaining BTC and ETH balances in order to prove that it is not bankrupt.