Table of Contents
- Chainlink’s LINK Experiences a 15% Surge, While XRP Loses Momentum Amid Bitcoin’s Return to The $29.6K Range Lows
- Coinbase Plans to Gradually Phase Out Its Lending Program in The Upcoming Months
- Unibot Draws a Surge of Crypto Traders as Telegram Bot Tokens Approach a $100M Market Cap
- OpenSea Introduces ‘Deals’
Chainlink’s LINK Experiences a 15% Surge, While XRP Loses Momentum Amid Bitcoin’s Return to The $29.6K Range Lows
On Thursday, cryptocurrencies experienced a downward slide, with bitcoin (BTC) revisiting the lower end of its month-long trading range.
Meanwhile, among the major crypto assets, Chainlink’s LINK stood out as it rallied independently.
During the afternoon hours, BTC’s price dipped to as low as $29,593, approaching its lowest point in a month.
Since June 21, the largest cryptocurrency has been oscillating within a narrow range, bouncing between the $29,500 level and reaching as high as $31,809 at times.
Ether (ETH) also suffered a decline, falling below $1,900 and trading 1% lower than 24 hours ago.
In contrast, Ripple’s XRP relinquished some of its recent impressive gains, declining around 6% in the last 24 hours.
Notably, the token’s price had almost doubled to 93 cents a week earlier following a partial court victory against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Despite the drop, it was still trading at around 79 cents.
However, Chainlink’s native token, LINK, showed resilience amid the overall market downturn.
It emerged as the sole crypto asset among the top 40 tokens by market capitalization to achieve significant gains.
Throughout the day, LINK surged 15%, breaking above $8 for the first time in nearly three months.
The price increase was influenced by significant purchases of $6 million worth of tokens by large investors, often referred to as “whales” in the crypto community.
This positive price action came shortly after Chainlink released an interoperability protocol during the week.
The protocol facilitates communication between blockchains and banks, with successful testing carried out by the interbank communication system Swift.
Coinbase Plans to Gradually Phase Out Its Lending Program in The Upcoming Months
Coinbase has decided to shut down its lending program, known as Coinbase Borrow, in the coming months.
This program allowed customers to obtain fiat loans of up to $1 million, using up to 30% of their Bitcoin holdings as collateral.
The decision to wind down the lending program is driven by the company’s commitment to prioritize products that are of greater interest to their customers.
Existing customers who have availed loans through this program will be given until November 20, 2023, to repay any outstanding loan amounts.
Coinbase is taking extra measures to ensure a smooth transition for affected loan holders, including providing a four-month repayment period and access to prioritized customer support through their subscription service, Coinbase One, which offers various benefits to traders.
The company had already stopped allowing new loan applications for Coinbase Borrow customers back in May.
Coinbase’s decision to discontinue the lending program is not related to regulatory scrutiny it has faced from U.S. authorities, particularly the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Instead, it was explained as a result of reduced demand.
Despite the challenges with U.S. regulators, Coinbase has been focusing on strengthening its operations in other regions.
Unibot Draws a Surge of Crypto Traders as Telegram Bot Tokens Approach a $100M Market Cap
Telegram-based trading bots are rapidly gaining popularity among crypto traders, providing them with an effortless way to engage in token trading, as simple as exchanging messages on the widely used messaging app.
Leading the pack is Unibot (UNIBOT), which made its debut in May and has swiftly garnered a devoted following.
Over the past week, UNIBOT tokens have surged by more than 54%, and according to data from Dune Analytics, the platform has experienced a steady increase in user growth.
Trading activity on Unibot has reached an impressive $54 million in token volume, and the application has distributed nearly $1 million in revenue back to its users.
The rewards are proportional to the number of tokens held, with users receiving 40% of transaction fees and 1% of UNIBOT’s total trading volume.
The appeal of these trading bots lies in their user-friendly nature compared to decentralized exchanges like Uniswap.
With Unibot, traders can execute market buys and sell with a simple Telegram command, eliminating the need for continuous wallet logins and cross-checking token information while avoiding high fees associated with ensuring trades on-chain.
Prominent figures in the crypto community, such as popular Crypto Twitter traders @blknoiz06 and @0xKawz, endorse the convenience of trading directly through Telegram, citing its efficiency for fast swaps and scalping.
In response to Unibot’s success, newer tokens like Wagiebot (WAGIEBOT), 0xSniper (0XS), Bridge (BRIDGE), and Bolt (BOLT) have seen extraordinary jumps, with some experiencing as much as a 500% surge in the past 24 hours.
Traders are capitalizing on these tokens that emulate Unibot’s growth.
As a result, the total market capitalization for this niche sector remains below $100 million, as per CoinGecko data, indicating the potential for higher and more lucrative returns for traders as the sector continues to expand.
OpenSea Introduces ‘Deals’
OpenSea, the NFT marketplace, has introduced a new feature called “Deals” aimed at facilitating peer-to-peer NFT swapping and enhancing interactions among collectors.
This function enables users to trade NFTs directly with each other and even include wrapped ether (WETH) to make the deals more enticing.
The feature is powered by OpenSea’s native NFT protocol, Seaport.
The main goal of Deals is to establish trust in NFT swapping and protect collectors from potentially unreliable communication through “sketchy DMs and websites.”
To make a deal, users can enter the username, ENS name, or wallet address of the person they wish to trade with.
They can then select up to 30 NFTs and specify the amount of WETH they want to add to the swap if desired.
To ensure security and compatibility, OpenSea currently requires both sides of the deal to involve NFTs from the same chain and verified collections.
If the recipient accepts the deal, they will be responsible for any gas fees related to the transfers.
As of now, OpenSea does not charge any fees or royalties for Deals swaps.
The introduction of Deals aims to simplify the NFT swapping process and encourage more users to engage in NFT communities.
By utilizing Seaport, collectors can safely trade NFTs on the OpenSea platform, avoiding potential risks associated with off-platform transactions.
OpenSea faces strong competition from Blur, a leading zero-fee marketplace that challenged its market share since its launch in October.
To address this, Blur introduced its native lending platform called “Blend,” which gained significant traction, accounting for 82% of overall NFT trading volume in its first three weeks.
Overall, OpenSea’s Deals feature seeks to create a more user-friendly and secure environment for NFT collectors, promoting further participation in the NFT space.
