The R Roundup : Dog $WIF Hat, The Real Dog Meme?🐶 - Issue #124

Solana's blockchain is experiencing a resurgence in meme coin activity, reminiscent of last year's frenzy that propelled SOL's price to nearly $121.

On-chain metrics reveal heightened trading volumes and increased user engagement across various meme coins that emerged in December, mirroring the trends seen in 2023.

Notably, dogwifhat ($WIF), a viral favourite, surged by 50% to 48 cents in the past 24 hours, driven by futures listing and network effects.

Franklin Templeton, a traditional finance firm, acknowledged the "WIF hat" meme associated with tokens like WIF in a recent post, contributing to positive sentiment. The company's digital assets team expressed admiration for the growth of Solana-based applications in Q4, positioning Solana alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum as ecosystems they closely monitor.

WIF's memetic value is tied to an image of a dog wearing a hat, with the "wif hat" concept gaining popularity in crypto circles.

While some viral Solana tokens experienced significant declines from their peak, recent developments, such as Solana Mobile's announcement of the "Two" phone, priced at $450 and set to ship in 2025, have contributed to renewed interest. Traders speculate that purchasers of the "Two" phone may receive airdrops and applications from Solana-based projects, reminiscent of airdrops to Saga phone owners in the past.

As Solana's application value locked demonstrates a steady increase in the past week after a brief dip in early 2024, the blockchain's vibrant meme coin ecosystem is once again capturing attention and driving market activity.

Spot ETFs Trade $10bn+ Since Approval🍊

Spot Bitcoin ETFs, have experienced an astounding start, accumulating $10 billion in volume within their initial three days of trading, as per Bloomberg data.

Analysts described this level of activity as "insane," highlighting BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF outperforming the combined volume of all ETFs launched in 2023. The US has solidified its dominance in the global Bitcoin funds market, holding an 80% market share of Bitcoin in ETFs or similar products, according to K33 Research.

Despite the success of US Bitcoin ETFs, Bitcoin's price experienced a nearly 9% decline over the seven days following approval, settling around $42,300. It's important to note that early data on fund flows may have inherent delays in capturing actual movements due to traditional finance settlements.

Analysis by K33 Research estimates that approximately 4.5% of the circulating Bitcoin supply is held globally in such instruments, with expectations of further growth throughout the year. While the US tightened its grip on the Bitcoin funds market, similar Bitcoin products in Europe and Canada experienced a decrease of around $380 million in the first two days of trading post-approval. Markets in Hong Kong, Australia, and Brazil remained relatively unaffected. 

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The Long Awaited Blast Testnet💥

Despite its controversial launch, Ethereum layer-2 scaling network Blast has attracted over $1.3 billion from users seeking yield and airdrop rewards.

The project has now initiated its testnet, aiming to entice developers through a competition named "Big Bang" and the promise of airdropped tokens.

Blast's testnet went live recently, accompanied by the announcement of the app development competition. Developers entering their Blast applications stand a chance to be rewarded in the upcoming airdrop, with the winning apps receiving promotion to the mainnet scheduled for late February. Judges for the competition include Blast founder Tieshun “Pacman” Roquerre and representatives from investors Paradigm and Standard Crypto. Pacman and the Blast team will also provide guidance and mentorship to participating developers.

Blast's strategy mirrors that of Blur, the leading NFT marketplace also founded by Pacman, which distributed over $800 million worth of BLUR tokens in 2023. Blast plans to distribute half its total airdrop to users who have locked up over $1.3 billion in cryptocurrency to earn "Blast points." The remaining half will be allocated to developers participating in the Big Bang competition and other initiatives.

While Blast has experienced significant deposits and user engagement, its November launch faced criticism for allowing deposits before the network was live and blocking fund withdrawals until the mainnet's debut in February. Paradigm, a major supporter of Blast and Blur, expressed concerns about the initial launch's messaging and execution. Despite the challenges, Blast's ongoing developments and incentivized initiatives seek to establish a strong foothold within the Ethereum layer-2 ecosystem.

dYdX Leading The DEX Volume Race🦄

Decentralized exchange dYdX, has surpassed Uniswap to become the largest DEX by daily trading volume, according to CoinMarketCap data.

The Cosmos-based v4 version of dYdX achieved a 24-hour trading volume of $757 million, outpacing Uniswap v3, which recorded $608 million. dYdX's v3 market, still in operation, secured third place with $567 million.

Since the launch of its v4 market, dYdX has seen a total trade volume of $17.8 billion. Despite concerns about a potential decline in activity after moving away from Ethereum, dYdX's high trading volumes, surpassing even its own v3 DEX and Uniswap, are being viewed as a validation of the decision to switch ecosystems.

dYdX specializes in facilitating the trading of perpetual futures, offering contracts with no expiration date, and enabling investors to speculate on the price of an underlying asset without the need for physical settlement associated with standard futures trading.

The recent transition to v4, positioned as a "fully decentralized" chain, addresses scalability challenges and aims to provide improved trading throughput and reduced transaction costs. While no specific date has been set for the closure of dYdX's v3 on Ethereum, the move to Cosmos demonstrates a commitment to meeting the demands of decentralized finance (DeFi) users seeking efficient and cost-effective platforms for continuous trading.

Backed by prominent investors such as Pantera, Paradigm, and Delphi Digital, dYdX's success in the DEX space underscores the significance of its strategic shift to the Cosmos blockchain.

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