The broader equity market continued to rebound last week as Q1 earnings impressed the market. Cryptocurrency, however, fell in the second half of the week as Bitcoin Spot ETFs experienced outflows.
Enjoy our weekly take on the market summary below!
Macro Outlooks
U.S. Equity Inches Closer to ATH; Consumer Sentiment Sees Unexpected Drop
On Friday, the S&P 500 maintained its position around 5,220, marking its third consecutive week of gains. This winning streak is the longest since February 2024. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also experienced an increase for the eighth consecutive session. However, the University of Michigan Survey of Index of Consumer Sentiment for May posted an initial reading of 67.4 for the month, down from 77.2 in April, indicating a decline in U.S. consumer sentiment to a six-month low, accompanied by an uptick in short-term inflation expectations.
It’s worth noting that consumer spending has been a crucial support for the economy. Moreover, the rising inflation expectations pose a dual challenge for the Federal Reserve.
In the coming week, inflation data for April will remain a key market focus.
| May 14, 2024 | Producer Price Index (April 2024) |
| May 15, 2024 | Consumer Price Index (April 2024) |
ETF Flows Highlight
Source: CoinGlass
Inflows from Bitcoin Spot ETFs early this week pushed Bitcoin to regain $60K. As the inflows gradually dwindled, Bitcoin fell to test the support level at $60K.
Tokens of the Week (Ending May 10, 2024)
TON Jumps 6.8% After Pantera Capital’s Investment
The Open Network (TON), launched in 2018, is a decentralized Layer 1 blockchain that utilizes a proof of stake (PoS) consensus model for transaction validation and payment settlement. Recently, Pantera Capital has invested in TON, whose blockchain was developed from Telegram’s efforts. This leverages Telegram’s 900 million users, giving TON the potential to become the largest crypto network.
TON integrates seamlessly with Telegram, offering scalable transactions and user-friendly features such as the Wallet in Telegram for simple crypto handling. The network supports a thriving ecosystem of mini-apps, and has recently enhanced its capabilities with native USDT stablecoin transactions, making crypto payments as easy as conventional mobile payments.
Runes Jumps 8.0% After THORChain Rolls Out THORNode v132 With Enhancements
THORChain (RUNE), founded in 2018, is a decentralized protocol that allows asset swaps across different blockchains, thus enhancing the DeFi space with its cross-chain liquidity feature. Unlike traditional AMMs limited to single blockchains, THORChain facilitates trades between incompatible networks using the Cosmos SDK.
On May 8, THORChain announced the release of THORNode v132, which includes significant improvements to the mainnet. Key updates include a reduction in dynamic outbound fee multipliers, resulting in much lower gas quotes, particularly a 6.14x decrease for BTC and a 2x decrease for ETH swaps, and the ejection of remaining BNB balances in preparation for the final stage of the ragnarok process. Further quality-of-life enhancements are expected in the upcoming version.
RNDR Surges by 31.3% in One Week After Apple Features Octane X in Keynote, Enhancing M4 Chip With Render Network’s Decentralized GPU Power
The Render Network® (RNDR), launched in April 2017, leverages blockchain to connect users’ spare GPU power for rendering tasks, compensating them with its native token. This peer-to-peer network enhances the affordability and efficiency of producing 3D content for the metaverse and beyond. On May 7, RNDR announced that Octane X was featured in Apple’s keynote. Apple users can now significantly enhance their rendering capabilities on the M4 chip by using Octane X to access virtually unlimited decentralized GPU compute power via the Render Network.
ENA Surges Following Enhancements to the ENA Liquidity Lock System That Boosts Rewards for Long-Term Holders
Ethena (ENA), founded in 2023, has introduced USDe, a synthetic dollar on Ethereum, thus offering a decentralized alternative to traditional stablecoins. It features the Internet Bond for global savings, using delta-hedging to manage volatility and aiming to transform the financial ecosystem by enhancing Ethereum’s utility.
The ENA liquidity lock has been updated to better reward long-term holders, allowing users to lock ENA for up to a 100% boost in Sats relative to their USDe positions. Recently, Karak partnered with Ethena to allow users to restake USDe on Karak and earn Karak XP and 20x Ethena Sats, up to $100 million worth of USDe, all on top of USDe native staking rewards.
Airdrop Spotlight
New Airdrop Strategy Entitles Users to Multiple Potential Airdrops, Including LINEA
A new airdrop strategy that focuses on optimizing benefits from simultaneously participating in multiple cryptocurrency projects became popular. By depositing ETH with Etherfi and adding liquidity to the weETH-ETH pair on NILE, participants can earn various rewards, including Etherfi Loyalty Points, Linea Surge LXP-L, EigenLayer Points and potential Nile Airdrop Rewards. This step-by-step guide involves staking ETH on Etherfi to receive weETH tokens, and then using these tokens alongside ETH to add liquidity to NILE.
Additionally, participants are encouraged to activate their Linea Surge account to qualify for an upcoming snapshot and maximize their benefits, with options suggested for both limited and ample funding scenarios to ensure eligibility for various benefits.
Mode Launches MODE Token
Mode, a Layer 2 network built on Optimism’s OP Stack, launched its native MODE token with an initial airdrop to early adopters, distributing 500 million tokens (5% of its total supply of 10 billion). Despite the network’s strong start with a $73 million market cap, the MODE token price fell by 60% soon after its release.
The network also plans to distribute 1,000,000 OP tokens worth $2.7 million through various campaigns. Mode, now commonly termed the Superchain DeFi Hub, has grown significantly, with total value locked (TVL) increasing from $6,000 at the start of the year to $448 million, and over 450,000 active wallets.
Despite controversy over airdrops, the network’s founder, James Ross, has emphasized their role in building the community, and plans to continue using them to enhance ecosystem growth.
LayerZero Completes Snapshot
LayerZero Labs has completed the snapshot for its upcoming ZRO token airdrop, an essential milestone in the protocol’s development that’s aimed at fostering cross-chain interoperability. The airdrop, set to occur in the first half of 2024, has sparked significant anticipation within the DeFi community, as evidenced by trading activity on Hyperliquid DEX, where LayerZero’s perpetual futures are priced at $8.40, indicating a $17 billion valuation.
