BTC miner reserves dropped to a three-year low after halving, Ethereum L2 transactions hit a new high

Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance, covering key news of the week, market and contract data, mining information, project dynamics, technological progress and other industry dynamics. This article is a project weekly, taking you to see the progress of mainstream projects and star projects this week.

Bitcoin

Kaiko: Bitcoin miners' reserves fell to a three-year low after halving

According to Kaiko's report, as of August 3, the total amount of bitcoins held by miners has fallen to about 1,510,300. This is about 2.4% lower than the highest record in December 2020. At recent prices, this part is worth about $86 billion, accounting for about 8% of all circulating bitcoins.

Bitfinex Analyst: Bitcoin May Become a "Safe Haven Asset", While Altcoins Are More Vulnerable to Recessions

Nansen analyst Aurelie Barthere estimates a 40% chance of a recession this year, and Bitfinex analysts say Bitcoin could act as a "safe haven asset" during a recession, and while the overall cryptocurrency market may be affected, altcoins in the broader crypto market, in particular, could be affected by a decline in liquidity and risk appetite. Investors may become more risk-averse, moving funds from risky assets such as small cryptocurrencies to safer investments.

IntoTheBlock Researcher: Bitcoin MVRV Ratio Suggests Its Price Has Not Yet Reached Its Historical Peak

Juan Pellicer, senior researcher at IntoTheBlock, said most crypto assets are not yet close to their historically high valuation ranges. For example, Bitcoin's highest MVRV ratio this year is around 2.64, while in the previous cycle, it was as high as 3.68. For many altcoins, the difference is even greater. Bitcoin, like other cryptocurrencies, has not yet reached a high valuation point, and despite bearish signs, continued retail participation may stabilize prices. The MVRV ratio shows that the sharp decline experienced recently provides a discount opportunity and gives Bitcoin a chance to grow.

PlanB: The problem with the current Bitcoin market is that it has entered the bull market too early

Crypto analyst PlanB posted on the X platform that I think the problem with the current Bitcoin market is: it has entered the bull market too early. Normally, Bitcoin halving (every 210,000 blocks) occurs in the accumulation phase, but the halving in 2024 (840,000th block) occurs in the bull market phase. Therefore, we have been acting in advance, but the market is not ready to rise.

This week, the net outflow of US spot Bitcoin ETFs was US$166 million, and the trading volume reached US$12.5 billion

According to Trader T, this week, the net outflow of US spot Bitcoin ETFs was -US$166 million, and the trading volume was US$12.5 billion. It believes that the trading volume data this week remains strong, so the high volatility is mainly due to deleveraging of CEX/DEX.

Ethereum

Ethereum L2 transaction volume hits a record high, with an average of 318 transactions per second

According to L2Beat data, driven by the growth of networks such as Xai, Base and Proof of Play, Ethereum L2 transaction volume hit a record high on August 7, with an average of 318 transactions per second. Ethereum expansion solutions now handle 24 times the transaction volume of the basic Ethereum chain. In addition, L2 solutions including Base, Arbitrum, Blast, Optimism and Mantle account for a total of $11.7 billion in native TVL, or $36.7 billion if bridge deposits are included.

BlackRock and Nasdaq apply to SEC to launch spot Ethereum ETF options products

The exchange Nasdaq and the world's largest asset management company BlackRock plan to list options products based on spot Ethereum ETFs. In a document posted on the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, BlackRock and Nasdaq proposed to amend the rules to list and trade options based on iShares Ethereum Trust (ticker ETHA). The document reads: "The exchange believes that offering trust options will benefit investors because it provides investors with an additional, relatively low-cost investment tool that allows them to access Ethereum spot, while also providing a hedging tool to meet their investment needs in Ethereum products and positions." Comments on the proposal will be published within 21 days. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart wrote on X on Tuesday that the SEC may make a final decision on the proposal in early April 2025.

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer: SEC's investigation into Ethereum 2.0 has ended, and the final ruling of the FOIA lawsuit may be in 2025

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said on social media that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) have submitted responses in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. Grewal pointed out that the SEC improperly withheld documents from closed investigations (including Ethereum 2.0), while the FDIC withheld "suspension letters" warning banks to stop working with cryptocurrency companies. It is worth noting that both agencies acknowledged that the documents sought by Coinbase do exist, but claimed to have the right to withhold them based on government privilege. In its response, the SEC further confirmed that its investigation into Ethereum 2.0 has ended. Grewal expects that summary judgment proceedings (such cases do not involve evidence disclosure) will be carried out next, and the final ruling may not be made until 2025. The development illustrates the ongoing transparency dispute between the cryptocurrency industry and regulators, as well as the legal efforts of companies such as Coinbase to obtain key regulatory information.

Grayscale, Bitwise and NYSE propose to allow options trading on spot Ethereum ETF

Grayscale and Bitwise, together with the New York Stock Exchange, submitted a rule change proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow trading of options on the Bitwise Ethereum ETF, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust and the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust. The document states that these options will provide investors with an additional, relatively low-cost investment tool, while serving as a hedging tool to meet investors' investment needs for Ethereum products and positions. Public comments on the proposal will expire in 21 days. Several companies are also seeking trading permission for spot Bitcoin ETF options, but have not yet been approved.

President of The ETF Store: Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs still face huge regulatory obstacles

Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store, posted on the X platform that spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs still face huge regulatory obstacles: 1. Physical subscription and redemption are not allowed; 2. Option trading is not allowed; 3. Staking is not allowed on spot Ethereum ETFs. Despite this, these products still challenged and broke ETF industry records, which should illustrate investor demand. In addition, BlackRock ETHA has inflows of nearly $900 million in two weeks, ranking among the top 6 ETFs launched in 2024.

Other projects

AI project gm.ai: The first season snapshot has been completed and the exchange window has been opened

The AI ​​project gm.ai launched by the founder of Whales Market announced that it has completed the snapshot and opened the exchange window for Diamonds to GM. Users have 24 hours to exchange. The project party said that in order to ensure fairness and prevent robot operations, each user will reserve 20,000 Diamonds for the second season. Yesterday, the founder of gm.ai said that the launch time of GM tokens may be postponed again.

Coinbase: GenAI platform Coinbase-GPT will customize personalized solutions for users

Coinbase's official website blog stated that generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), including large language models (LLM) and other modes such as image generation, is changing the industry by improving efficiency and productivity. GenAI's versatile technology can read, write, encode and draw, which can improve creativity and productivity in various industries such as retail, finance, manufacturing and healthcare. If used strategically, GenAI can drive innovation and provide competitive advantages in today's data-driven environment. CB-GPT is the abbreviation of Coinbase-GPT, which is a unified platform for all GenAI applications of Coinbase. By building and managing Coinbase's own GenAI platform, Coinbase is able to customize solutions based on unique encryption use cases and Coinbase customer base. With CB-GPT, Coinbase aims to provide an intuitive experience through its products, provide personalized and contextualized support at any time, and create rich opportunities for a wide range of users (from individuals to institutional investors) to learn, explore and participate in the encryption economy.

Ripple: Stablecoin RLUSD testing has been launched on XRP Ledger and Ethereum mainnet

Ripple announced on the X platform that the stablecoin Ripple USD (RLUSD) is now in Beta testing on XRP Ledger and Ethereum mainnet, but RLUSD has not yet been approved by regulators, so it cannot be purchased or traded, and the community needs to be wary of fraudsters who claim to have or can distribute Ripple USD. Ripple said that RLUSD is valued at a 1:1 ratio with the US dollar (USD) and is 100% backed by US dollar deposits, short-term US government treasury bonds and other cash equivalents. These reserve assets will be audited by a third-party accounting firm, and Ripple will issue certificates every month.

Market News: Trump family's new crypto project may be called "World Liberty"

According to Solid Intel, the new crypto project promoted by the Trump family may be called "World Liberty". In addition, according to The Block, Trump's youngest son Eric Trump mentioned the upcoming DEFI project on Twitter, which seems to be related to SUBIFY's CHASE HERO and "World Liberty" trademark applications. Earlier news, Trump's son Eric Trump said he had a strong interest in crypto/DeFi and would make a major announcement.

Trump may cooperate with Dogetoshi to launch a real estate tokenization project

According to Coinotag, citing sources, Trump's new project may be a real estate tokenization project and may cooperate with blockchain developer Dogetoshi. The project will use blockchain to integrate real estate investment and DeFi.