{"id":6263,"date":"2020-09-20T17:17:18","date_gmt":"2020-09-20T21:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/?p=6263"},"modified":"2020-09-20T17:17:18","modified_gmt":"2020-09-20T21:17:18","slug":"uniswap-payday-eth-transactions-hit-record-high-eu-backs-stablecoins-hodlers-digest-sept-14-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2020\/09\/20\/uniswap-payday-eth-transactions-hit-record-high-eu-backs-stablecoins-hodlers-digest-sept-14-20","title":{"rendered":"Uniswap payday, ETH transactions hit record high, EU backs stablecoins: Hodler\u2019s Digest, Sept. 14\u201320"},"content":{"rendered":"
Coming every Sunday, <\/i>Hodler\u2019s Digest<\/i> tracks every important crypto news story from the previous week. Essential reading for all Hodlers!<\/i><\/p>\n
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Uniswap stole the show this week when it announced it was launching UNI, its very own governance token. <\/span>A total of 1 billion tokens will exist, and anyone who has ever used the platform can claim 400 of them.<\/b><\/p>\n Thousands came forward to accept their reward, and at one point, the airdrop was worth a cool $3,356. <\/span>Not bad considering each token was initially priced at $3.<\/b><\/p>\n Within a single day<\/span><\/a>, UNI was listed on more than a dozen exchanges and had driven $1.8 billion in trading volume. <\/span>Binance added to the excitement by announcing support for the token just 90 minutes after it went live.<\/b><\/p>\n Many analysts were unsurprised when UNI rallied to highs of $8.60, and although the token has since had a correction, some <\/span>traders believe the token could be worth many billions<\/span><\/a> in the long term.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One of them, Crypto Medici, wrote on Twitter: \u201cUNI going to be worth $3-5 billion (conservative) Still extremely undervalued. <\/span>Token distribution was genius and many that sold will FOMO back in when we break $1 billion. <\/b>This is before V3 comes out, and liquidity mining ramps up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Uniswap frenzy helped daily transactions on the Ethereum blockchain reach a new all-time high of 1.4 million \u2014 exceeding the previous record of 1.35 million transactions in January 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n After the UNI token launched, transaction fees spiked to almost $1 million an hour. <\/b>All of this means that the significant levels of congestion on the Ethereum network show no signs of abating, prompting renewed concerns about scalability.<\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Now, Coinbase Pro has had enough. <\/span>The exchange has announced that <\/b>it will no longer cover network fees<\/b><\/a> on behalf of users. <\/b>In a series of tweets, it explained:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHistorically, Coinbase Pro has absorbed these fees on behalf of our customers. However, as crypto has begun to gain broader adoption in applications like DeFi, payments and other projects, networks have gotten busier.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In other Ethereum news this week<\/span><\/a>, new research published by Cointelegraph Consulting has revealed that the total market cap of ERC-20 tokens has overtaken Ethereum\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As Cointelegraph analyst Micha\u00ebl van de Poppe notes, it\u2019s been a relatively dull week when it comes to Bitcoin\u2019s price.<\/span><\/p>\n The world\u2019s biggest cryptocurrency has seen a slow upward trend after finding a footing above $10,000<\/b>. Although the rally continued to <\/span>$11,000 <\/b>on Sept. 18, it was pushed back by some short-term resistance levels.<\/span><\/p>\n Van de Poppe says BTC is now facing a crucial resistance between <\/span>$11,200 <\/b>and <\/span>$11,400<\/b>, and if this area can be broken, a retest of higher levels will be back on the table. He doesn\u2019t expect there to be a clear breakout out of this zone in one go and says sustaining support at <\/span>$10,750 <\/b>is crucial.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEstablishing new yearly price highs highly dependent on breaking the multi-year resistance level at $12K to continue the general uptrend for the rest of the year,\u201d he wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n Also this week, the Bank of England became the latest central bank to discuss negative interest rates \u2014 effectively meaning that savers must pay to store cash. <\/span>In response<\/b><\/a>, Tyler Winklevoss said: \u201cYou couldn\u2019t buy a better advertisement for Bitcoin.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n The European Union has officially got on-board with blockchain, announcing that it wants to make cross-border payments quicker and cheaper through the use of crypto assets like stablecoins by 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n The trading bloc is going to introduce fresh regulations that will promote this technology for international money transfers.<\/b><\/p>\n According to the European Commission, 80% of consumers in the EU use paper money at present, but it wants to see digital payments become more common, with immediate transaction times.<\/span><\/p>\n Documents seen by Reuters said: \u201cBy 2024, the EU should put in place a comprehensive framework enabling the uptake of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and crypto-assets in the financial sector. It should also address the risks associated with these technologies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has accused Apple of stifling innovation in crypto and sidelining DeFi to protect itself from competition.<\/span><\/p>\n The head of the exchange even claimed that other crypto firms are \u201creluctant to speak out on these topics for fear of retaliation.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Claiming that attempts to talk to Apple directly have reached a dead end, Armstrong said that Coinbase is being stopped from adding features to its iOS apps that would allow users to earn money using crypto and access DeFi apps.<\/span><\/p>\n He wrote: \u201cWhy would Apple want to prevent people from earning money during a recession? They seem to not be ok with it, if it uses cryptocurrency. I\u2019m not sure why.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n At the end of the week, Bitcoin is at <\/span>$10,838.10<\/b>, Ether at <\/span>$368.44 <\/b>and XRP at <\/span>$0.24<\/b>. The total market cap is at <\/span>$344,943,312,540<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are <\/span>Hyperion<\/b>,<\/span> ABBC Coin <\/b>and <\/span>Celsius<\/b>. The top three altcoin losers of the week are <\/span>DFI.Money<\/b>,<\/span> SushiSwap <\/b>and<\/span> Flexacoin<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read <\/span>Cointelegraph\u2019s market analysis<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFollowing UniswapProtocol\u2019s announcement of the $UNI token today, #Ethereum saw a massive surge in miner fees. Almost $1M USD in fees were spent in a single hour!\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Glassnode<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cStarting today, Coinbase Pro will pass along network fees directly to our customers\u2026 Historically, Coinbase Pro has absorbed these fees on behalf of our customers. However, as crypto has begun to gain broader adoption in applications like DeFi, payments and other projects, networks have gotten busier.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Coinbase Pro<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPrediction: $UNI will soon be the #3 crypto asset.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Cole Kennelly<\/b><\/a>, DeFi NYC founder<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t necessarily think that 2020 is going to be the year of some type of major retail bull run, largely due to the fact that the global economy still lingers over this industry, just like other financial markets.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Joel Birch<\/b><\/a>, Stacked co-founder<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThanks Bank of England, you will help drive $BTC adoption.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Tone Vays<\/b><\/a>, veteran trader<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c2020 has witnessed a surge in the number of ATMs supporting digital coins.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Aksjebloggen<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAs $BTC has crossed above $11,000 for the first time since September 3rd, the sentiment of #Bitcoin on #Twitter is surprisingly at an all-time low.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Santiment<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat happens when vaccine is proven? Gold silver Bitcoin will CRASH. Buying opportunity.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Robert Kiyosaki<\/b><\/a>, <\/b>Rich Dad Poor Dad<\/i><\/b> author<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSince DeFi protocols are designed to be permissionless, anyone in any country is able to access them without any regulatory compliance. As a result, DeFi can easily become a haven for money launderers.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n CipherTrace<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe added our 40th state today just a week shy of our one-year anniversary. 100% coverage is our goal.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Binance US<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the aftermath of May\u2019s halving, there was optimism that Bitcoin could be about to embark on a bull run \u2014 not to mention endless predictions that the cryptocurrency would return to all-time highs. <\/span>But Joel Birch, the co-founder of the automated investing platform Stacked, now believes this isn\u2019t likely.<\/b><\/p>\n Speaking to Cointelegraph, he said: <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t necessarily think that 2020 is going to be the year of some type of major retail bull run, largely due to the fact that the global economy still lingers over this industry, just like other financial markets.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Despite that, he does believe that Bitcoin has an opportunity to continue heading upward between now and December.<\/span><\/p>\n Others remain as bullish as ever. <\/b>PlanB, the creator of one of the best-known Bitcoin price models, has said it\u2019s high time for <\/span>BTC to begin its next significant price rise to <\/span>$100,000<\/b><\/a>, writing: \u201cTime to go up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The drama over alleged fraud involving Bithumb\u2019s senior executives continued this week, with the company\u2019s chairman summoned for interrogation.<\/span><\/p>\n Police reportedly want to question Lee Jung-hoon, who is accused of multiple fraud and embezzlement offenses regarding the failed listing of the BXA token.<\/b><\/p>\n It is believed that investors lost up to $25 million as a result, with Lee allegedly embezzling these funds in overseas property purchases and offshore investments.<\/span><\/p>\n Also this week, Bithumb\u2019s <\/span>offices were raided for the third time this month<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>Police reportedly seized a number of shares in Bithumb Holdings belonging to Kim Byung-geon, the company\u2019s Korea director.<\/b><\/p>\n Headline-grabbing pieces have warned that India\u2019s parliament is preparing once again to try and ban crypto trading for good, but according to local experts, there might not be anything to worry about.<\/span><\/p>\n Siddharth Sogani, the founder of the Indian blockchain research company Crebaco, has described the reports as nothing short of \u201cclickbait\u201d \u2014 and he questioned the sources that Bloomberg had spoken to for a recent article.<\/b><\/p>\n Ashish Singhal, the CEO of the crypto exchange CoinSwitch, also told Cointelegraph that it is far too early for any draft bill to be presented to the country\u2019s parliament.<\/span><\/p>\n He also pointed to the list of bills that is subject to discussion during the parliament\u2019s Monsoon Session \u2014 and said a debate on banning crypto trading isn\u2019t scheduled.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rich Dad Poor Dad<\/span><\/i> author Robert Kiyosaki has claimed that Bitcoin will crash when the world finds an effective coronavirus vaccine.<\/span><\/p>\n On Twitter, he wrote: <\/span>\u201cWhat happens when vaccine is proven? Gold silver Bitcoin will CRASH. Buying opportunity.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Nonetheless, Kiyosaki believes that gold, silver and Bitcoin remain the best investments in the long term, and he argued the biggest threat facing the American economy isn\u2019t the pandemic, but rather the massive levels of debt that have left the U.S. \u201cbankrupt.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Writing for Cointelegraph Magazine, Andrew Singer explores the rise of programmable money \u2014 as some experts say the coronavirus \u201cis forcing a slow-moving tsunami\u201d in this area.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/h4>\n
Daily Ethereum transactions hit a new historical high amid DeFi boom<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
A boring week for Bitcoin \u2014 But will momentum tip back in favor of bulls?<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
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EU to see comprehensive crypto regulation by 2024<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
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Apple forces Coinbase to change its crypto products, CEO claims<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
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Winners and Losers<\/b><\/h2>\n
Most Memorable Quotations<\/b><\/h2>\n
Prediction of the Week<\/b><\/h2>\n
Bitcoin Birch says no retail crypto-wide bull run likely for the rest of 2020<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
FUD of the Week<\/b><\/h2>\n
Police summon Bithumb chairman for questioning over alleged fraud<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
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Fresh reports of Indian crypto ban are \u2018clickbait,\u2019 says local source<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
COVID-19 vaccine will spark Bitcoin crash, \u2018Rich Dad Poor Dad\u2019 author warns<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
Best Cointelegraph Features<\/b><\/h2>\n
Programmable money: How crypto tokens could change our entire experience of value transfer<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
Illicit crypto transactions are getting more attention from the government<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n