State of Staking – 8/29/2023
Staking commentary & top 5 events in crypto over the last week
Ethereum (ETH) had the best relative staking inflows over the last week with a 2% increase in the amount of staked tokens, increasing the total supply staked to 20%. Solana (SOL) and Polygon (MATIC) followed with increases of 0.7% and 0.4% respectively. SUI was the big outlier on the staking outflows front with a 49.7% decrease in staked tokens this week.
Top 5 Events in Crypto Last Week
Bitcoin price soars after Grayscale win in dispute with SEC
Bitcoin’s price has surged after Grayscale Investments won a dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its Bitcoin Investment Trust. The SEC had previously ordered Grayscale to register the trust as a security, which would have made it subject to additional regulatory requirements. However, Grayscale successfully argued that the trust was not a security and therefore did not need to be registered.
Digital Currency Group (DCG) has announced that its Genesis subsidiary has reached an agreement with creditors to deliver recoveries up to 90%. In an in-principle deal, DCG plans to take up new debt facilities and a repayment agreement. These will include a $328.8 million first-lien facility with a 2-year maturity and a $830 million second-lien facility with a 7-year maturity.
Ether staking demand remains unfazed as EigenLayer 100k ETH cap limit filled within hours
Ether staking demand remains strong despite concerns about the impact of Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake (PoS) on the network’s security. EigenLayer, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, recently launched an Ether staking service with a cap of 100,000 ETH. The cap was filled within hours of launch, indicating strong demand for staking services.
Coinbase taking stake in Circle, launching USDC on six new blockchains
Coinbase is taking a stake in Circle and will be launching USDC on six new blockchains. USDC is a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar that is used for trading and payments on cryptocurrency exchanges and other platforms.
Ethereum developers to debut new testnet Holesky next month
Ethereum developers are set to launch a new testnet called Holesky next month. The testnet will be used to test Ethereum’s upcoming London hard fork, which is expected to go live on the mainnet in September.