Weekly Institutional Insights — AI Took the Spotlight in TradFi, While Crypto’s AI Tokens Fell

June 24, 2024: This past week has seen Bitcoin's price continue its descent, as Bitcoin Spot ETFs continue to experience outflows from investors. The next critical support level for the cryptocurrency stands at $60,000 — a crucial psychological threshold that will help determine the longevity of the current bull market.

In contrast to the resurgence witnessed in the U.S. equity markets, the crypto world hasn’t shared the same level of enthusiasm. AI-focused tokens, in particular, have failed to capture the same exuberance from market participants.

However, the overall sentiment in the crypto space remains cautiously optimistic. The ongoing ZRO airdrop has kept on-chain users actively engaged, providing a glimmer of optimism amid the mixed performance across the broader digital asset landscape.

Enjoy our weekly take on the market summary!

Market Highlights

No Major Economic Data Hits the Market; AI and NVIDIA Take the Show

NVIDIA's unstoppable rise has propelled the semiconductor titan to become the world's most valuable company, surpassing its big-tech peers. The company's market capitalization now exceeds $3.3 trillion, overtaking Microsoft and Apple as the artificial intelligence revolution continues to unfold.

On Tuesday, NVIDIA's stock price increased by 3.5%, closing at $135.58 per share. This latest rally has cemented the company's position as the global leader, underscoring the investment community's intense focus on AI.

NVIDIA is widely regarded as the primary beneficiary and dominant force in the AI technology landscape, thanks to its highly sought-after and industry-leading semiconductor chips. The company's dominance in this transformative field has been a key driver behind its meteoric rise to the top of the global market cap rankings.

This latest milestone serves as a powerful testament to the seismic shift underway, as NVIDIA emerges as the prime enabler of the AI-powered future. 

Next week, consumer confidence data and PCE print will draw the market's attention.

ETF Flows Highlight

Source: CoinGlass

The sustained outflows of Bitcoin Spot ETFs from last week led to Bitcoin's underperformance against equities.

Tokens of the Week (Ending June 14, 2024)

CVX Jumps 65.9% After Convex Finance DAO Unanimously Approves Transition of Fees to crvUSD

Convex Finance (CVX), launched in May 2021, is a DeFi protocol that boosts yields for Curve Finance (CRV) users on Ethereum. It allows stakers to earn CRV and CVX tokens, and provides voting rights on token allocations. Convex Finance's DAO Vote ID: 754 saw a unanimous approval with 13 million CVX votes to transition DAO fees to crvUSD. The new FeeDistributor contract will now handle revenue distribution to veCRV holders in crvUSD, which will be facilitated by CoW Swap for currency conversion. 

This move is part of a broader restructuring to forward new and potentially accrued fees to a new system, with a follow-up vote planned to address any outstanding fees not yet transitioned. 

XRP Jumps 0.8% Following Ripple and Archax's Partnership

Ripple (XRP), launched in August 2012, is a blockchain technology company focused on improving international payments with its cryptocurrency, XRP, which serves as a bridge currency to facilitate fast, affordable and transparent cross-border transactions. 

Ripple and Archax are collaborating to tokenize hundreds of millions of dollars of real-world assets on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), aiming to make it a leading blockchain for such tokenizations. This partnership, announced at the XRP Ledger APEX 2024 summit in Amsterdam, builds on a previous collaboration and leverages XRPL's advanced features to enhance financial market efficiencies through asset tokenization.

ENS Surges 22.3% Following the Latest Innovations in the ENS Ecosystem

Ethereum Name Service (ENS), launched in May 2017, is a blockchain-based domain system on Ethereum that turns complex addresses into simple names, similar to DNS. It’s secure, decentralized and governed by its token holders. 

Last week, the ENS ecosystem featured significant updates: Rotkiapp now offers expiration notifications for ENS names through a new calendar feature. In addition, Lit Protocol introduced CAIP275, a standard that simplifies logging in with ENS names across domain wallets, and Webhash.eth launched the capability for users to issue .eth subnames on decentralized websites using Namespace.eth. Additionally, Vision introduced the Vision Subname Service (VSS), which provides a platform for managing ENS namespaces and facilitates access to subdomains. These developments highlight ongoing enhancements in the utility and accessibility of the ENS ecosystem.

AGI Surges 18.5% Following the Announcement of Delysium's YKILY Network

Delysium (AGI), launched in April 2022, is both a blockchain-based, AI-powered virtual society, and the first AAA-quality massively multiplayer online (MMO) game on the Epic Games Store. Players can create AI companions and engage in adventures, with features like natural language interactions and unique on-chain assets such as NFTs. 

Delysium's You Know I Love You (YKILY) Network (known as the “Stripe for AI Agents”) is designed to support efficient transactions and communication among AI agents aligned with human interests. As AI evolves, individuals will manage multiple AI agents capable of high-frequency, large-volume tasks across various domains. The YKILY network uses blockchain to facilitate secure, transparent interactions without the constraints of traditional financial systems, enhancing the autonomy and collaboration of AI agents.

Airdrop Spotlight

Lista DAO Announces Token Generation Event for LISTA

The upcoming token generation event (TGE) for LISTA marks a significant milestone, with 10% of LISTA's total supply designated for airdrops, split into 8.5% at launch and the remaining 1.5% in future campaigns. Users eligible for the airdrop have a 30-day window starting June 19, 2024 at 9AM UTC to claim their tokens via the Lista DAO website, with trading set to commence on Binance on June 20, 2024 at 10AM UTC. 

To claim their tokens, users must connect their wallets to the airdrop portal, verify their eligibility and complete the claim without requiring authorization transactions, ensuring they only follow official links to avoid phishing scams. Unclaimed tokens as of July 19, 2024 will be reallocated to support the ecosystem's development.

OpenSeason Announces Token Airdrop

The creators of the Ethereum-based game OpenSeason, developed by Fractional Uprising Studios, announced an upcoming token airdrop of 62.1 million FU Money tokens, constituting 10% of the total supply. Holders of the studio's NFT membership pass, who are required to play the game, will receive these tokens based on the duration they've held the pass. The airdrop, set for this week, will take place on the Arbitrum network. Additionally, the remaining 90% of the tokens will be distributed over the next decade, with allocations for community rewards, team vesting, a liquidity pool and future project funding controlled by token holders. 

OpenSeason, likened to Fortnite and available on the Epic Games Store, will also expand access to general players soon, with NFT holders able to earn more tokens through referrals.

Stay tuned for more institutional insights and crypto updates next week!