Trump’s crypto token flops, Ethereum centralization concerns: Finance Redefined

As a seasoned analyst with over two decades of experience in the financial markets, I must admit that I was not surprised by the lackluster performance of Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial token. My years spent navigating the volatile world of initial public offerings (IPOs) and initial coin offerings (ICOs) have taught me to be cautious when it comes to high-profile launches backed by celebrity endorsements. The numbers speak for themselves, with only 4.24% of the total tokens sold on the first day – a far cry from the hype that preceded this launch.

Contrary to the high hopes surrounding it, the initial release of Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency fell short of expectations. By the end of its first day on the market, it had generated roughly $12.7 million in sales, with an additional $287 million worth of tokens remaining unsold.

Concerns have arisen among cryptocurrency investors regarding the level of decentralization in Ethereum, as just two block producers created more than 88% of the network’s blocks throughout the initial fortnight of October.

Five reasons why Trump’s World Liberty Financial token crashed and burned

Former United States President Donald Trump’s token launch was something of a flop.

Back on October 16th, I jumped on the opportunity presented by Donald Trump’s new venture, World Liberty Financial (WLFI) token. According to its official website, this token was designed to provide me with the power to cast votes on a potential future decentralized finance (DeFi) platform.

Despite a full day’s worth of trading, the token sales remained relatively sluggish. By 10:00 am UTC on October 17th, the token’s website indicated that only approximately 848.63 million WLFI tokens ($12.7 million at the presale price) had been sold. This left an impressive 19.1 billion unsold coins, equivalent to $287 million, still available. The first day’s sales accounted for a mere 4.24% of the total.

Two builders produce 89% of Ethereum blocks in October, raising concerns

During the initial fortnight of October, I observed that two specific Ethereum block builders were responsible for constructing the overwhelming majority of blocks. This observation has sparked some apprehension within the cryptocurrency community regarding potential centralization on the globally significant Ethereum blockchain network.

Over the last fortnight on the main Ethereum network, Beaverbuild and Titan Builder have collectively constructed 88.7% of all blocks, as reported by Toni Wahrstätter, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation.

Wahrstätter wrote in an Oct. 17 X post:

“This trend is primarily driven by the rise of private order flow (XOF), sold exclusively by certain apps. XOF reduces genuine competition among builders in the block auction, leading to a smaller pool of shared transactions.”

Ledger users targeted by malicious “clear signing” phishing email

A new wave of scam emails is targeting Ledger users and attempting to steal their crypto.

As an analyst, I’d rephrase that sentence as follows: By October 31st, these fraudulent emails are attempting to persuade users into activating a security feature known as “Ledger Clear Signing” in order to keep utilizing their Ledger device.

The emails, originating from non-Ledger email addresses, guide users towards a harmful website, disguised as a legitimate link for activating a fraudulent security feature. In simpler terms, these emails trick users into visiting a dangerous site under the pretense of enabling a false safety mechanism.

“To continue using your Ledger device securely, activating Clear Signing is mandatory starting November 1, 2024. This feature is essential in protecting your assets from phishing attacks and fraudulent activities that are becoming more sophisticated.”

Jump Trading accused of crypto pump-and-dump in game dev’s suit

In simpler terms, Fracture Labs, a company that creates games based on cryptocurrency, has filed a lawsuit against Jump Trading. They claim that Jump Trading exploited Fracture Labs’ DIO gaming token by manipulating its price through a scheme known as pump-and-dump.

In my recent research, I have come across a legal dispute concerning an agreement made between Fracture Labs and Jump in October 2021. This agreement was established with Jump functioning as a market maker to facilitate the initial public offering of Fracture Labs’ DIO token on the crypto exchange Huobi (formerly known as HTX). The lawsuit was filed in an Illinois District Court.

According to the terms of the contract, the game developer asserted that they lent 10 million DIO, equivalent to $500,000, to Jump, and additionally transferred 6 million tokens valued at around $300,000 to HTX.

Following the launch of the DIO token, HTX enlisted social media influencers to help publicize it. As per the allegations, this led to a surge in price up to $0.98, making the borrowed tokens worth approximately $9.8 million.

According to Fracture Labs, they sold off all their assets first, then jumped (acted quickly). This sudden sell-off, or as they put it, “mass liquidation”, caused the price to plummet to $0.005. The trading firm is said to have made millions in profit before Jump supposedly repurchased the tokens at a reduced cost.

SUI price rally sparks $400-million insider selling allegations

Over the past while, there’s been a significant surge (over 100%) in the value of the Sui token, causing some crypto investors to accuse others of unfairly profiting through insider trading, even as the token continues to show strong performance.

SwissBorg’s token (SUI) experienced a surge of more than 120% during the last month, reaching $2.25 by 10:13 am UTC on October 14th. In the past week alone, it has climbed over 16%, as indicated by data from CryptoMoon.

However, allegations of insider selling have arisen despite the Sui token’s bullish price action.

During the recent surge, wallets linked to the SUI Initial Coin Offering (ICO) are said to have sold over $400 million in tokens, as per reports from an anonymous crypto expert known as Light, shared on platform X on October 14th.

DeFi market overview

Based on information from CryptoMoon Markets Pro and TradingView, it appears that most of the top 100 cryptocurrencies, ranked by market cap, closed out the week with gains.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, MEW (Cat in a Dog’s World memecoin) saw the most significant increase, climbing more than 51% on the weekly chart. ENA, the token from Ethena, came in second with an upward movement of over 40%. These were the top performers for the week.

Appreciate you going through our recap of this week’s significant advancements in DeFi. Catch up with us next Friday for additional tales, perspectives, and educational content from this rapidly evolving sector.

2024-10-18 22:08