It’s Friday! In today’s newsletter, Elon Musk wins Dogecoin class action lawsuit, BlackRock’s IBIT posts first net sales since May, Gnosis Chain members re-evaluate gas token choice among MakerDAO pivots, and more.
Meanwhile, Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo predicted in the latest episode of The Scoop podcast that tokenized government bonds will replace stablecoins as the preferred collateral for institutions.
Let’s get started.
Elon Musk, Dogecoin Class Action Lawsuit Cleared
Elon Musk and his businesses Tesla and SpaceX won a ruling on Thursday dismissing a class action lawsuit alleging that Musk’s comments manipulated the Dogecoin market.
- U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it was permanently dismissed.
- In June 2022, investors sued Musk, Tesla, and SpaceX, claiming they were defrauded due to their Dogecoin-related activities.
- The lawsuit also claims that Musk’s social media posts suggesting he would become Dogecoin’s CEO and his suggestion that he would fund SpaceX’s moon exploration were misleading.
- “These statements are aspirational and boastful statements, not factual, and subject to falsification,” Judge Hellerstein wrote in his order, adding that no reasonable investor could rely on them.
- The judge found no clear evidence that Musk or his company engaged in market manipulation or insider trading.
- According to The Block’s DOGE price page, Dogecoin has been trading around $0.10 over the last 24 hours and has a market cap of $14.8 billion.
BlackRock’s IBIT records first daily net outflow since May
BlackRock’s IBIT, the largest spot bitcoin ETF with $21.2 billion in AUM, saw its first decline since May 1, with net outflows of $13.5 million on Thursday.
- U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of $71.8 million for the day, extending their three-day losing streak of more than $300 million.
- Grayscale’s GBTC continued its outflow streak on Thursday with $22.7 million flowing out of the fund, while Fidelity’s FBTC, Bitwise’s BITB, and Valkyrie’s BRRR also saw significant outflows.
- Ark and 21Shares’ ARKB was the only spot Bitcoin ETF to see net inflows, adding $5.4 million.
- Total net inflows since the fund began trading in January now stand at $17.8 billion.
- Meanwhile, the US spot Ethereum ETF saw net outflows of $1.7 million on Thursday after reporting modest positive inflows the previous day.
- The Ethereum fund has seen net outflows of $477.4 million since its launch last month.
Gnosis Chain Community Members Re-evaluate Gas Token Choice Among MakerDAO Pivots
After MakerDAO rebranded to Sky and announced plans to introduce an upgradable USDS stablecoin as an optional alternative to DAI, Gnosis Chain community members are reconsidering their gas token options.
- Gnosis currently operates a sidechain that uses a bridge version of DAI called xDAI to cover gas fees on the network.
- Concerns have been raised that USDS has the potential to freeze wallet addresses, which contradicts Gnosis’ commitment to decentralization.
- However, MakerDAO has previously clarified that the current version of DAI will continue to exist for the “foreseeable future.”
- Alternatives being discussed by Gnosis Chain members include adopting decentralized stablecoins that use RAI and LUSD, or Gnosis’ native token, GNO, as gas fees.
- Discussions are still in their early stages, and no formal proposal has yet been made.
SafeDAO plans to expand its revenue streams through ecosystem integration
SafeDAO participants proposed implementing a licensing fee model for protocols integrated into the Safe Wallet.
- SafeDAO manages a smart account infrastructure that secures approximately $60 billion in assets and provides tools to manage cryptocurrency holdings on Ethereum-based apps.
- This proposal, proposed by the Safe Ecosystem Foundation, is the first move by SafeDAO to monetize its ecosystem to generate a dedicated revenue stream.
- Initially, the focus was on monetizing the swap functionality within Safe Wallet, with the expectation of generating $2.5 million in annual revenue through licensing fees.
Bitcoin Volatility Likely to Ease as Markets Anticipate Fed Rate Cut
QCP Capital analysts predict that Bitcoin price volatility will decline as market participants prepare for a possible interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve next month.
- Analysts said they expect upcoming U.S. economic data, including U.S. nonfarm payrolls data due at the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on September 18, to provide greater clarity on the likelihood and size of a rate cut.
- However, they added that market participants are hedging against the short-term downside risks of both Bitcoin and Ether, as evidenced by the bias towards put options in the derivatives markets.
Looking forward to next week
- U.S. markets are closed on Monday for Labor Day. U.S. unemployment claims data are due Thursday. Eurozone GDP and U.S. nonfarm payrolls data are due Friday.
- Korea Blockchain Week, AI Crypto Summit, and ETH Warsaw 2024 will all take place over the next 7 days.
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