October was an active month for the crypto industry in terms of technological developments and shifts in crypto adoption. For example, Ripple started testing an EVM-compatible sidechain to introduce Ethereum smart contracts within the XRP Ledger; the European Council approved a crypto regulatory bill; and Tron became legal tender in Dominica. When it comes to price performance, bitcoin predominantly cosplayed a stablecoin last month by moving in the $19,000-21,000 trading range, while some altcoins have seen a significant boost in both price and circulation.
At the same time, CEX.IO continued to expand trading opportunities for users by listing eight new assets in October.
To keep up with new developments in the industry and analyze events that may affect future price movements, CEX.IO API can be utilized to continuously track the performance of various crypto assets and execute trades based on predefined conditions.
Learn more about some of the major news stories that shaped the crypto community this October, and discover new digital assets available on CEX.IO.
New coin listings
BarnBridge (BOND)
BarnBridge is a cross-platform protocol that aims to reduce the risks associated with DeFi. Its applications allow users to hedge factors such as asset price volatility or yield sensitivity by tokenizing various levels of risk exposure to a given underlying liquidity pool. BarnBridge utilizes the so-called Smart Yield system that pools the yield from lending protocols such as Aave, and splits it into tranches with different risk profiles. In turn, these tokenized positions are then as liquid as any other ERC-721 or ERC-20 token. Such a system is focused on improving the efficiency of yield farming and increasing the security of DeFi operations.
BarnBridge has a native token called BOND which is used to govern BarnBridge’s DAO protocol. Users can lock their BOND into the DAO to earn voting power for decisions made regarding the allocation of BardBridge resources and further protocol development.
Liquity (LQTY)
Liquity is a decentralized borrowing protocol that allows users to draw loans with various interest rates. The Liquity platform provides loans to individuals in exchange for Ethereum (ETH) tokens. Loans are paid out using the platform’s native Liquity USD (LUSD) token. Liquity features a system where users can lock up ETH on the platform, and then issue LUSD to their own Ethereum address, and subsequently transfer those tokens to any other Ethereum address as well.
LQTY is a secondary token issued by the Liquity protocol incentivizing front-end operators and early adopters. LQTY can only be earned by depositing LUSD into the platform’s stability pool, facilitating stability pool deposits through the holders’ front-end, or providing liquidity to the LUSD:ETH Uniswap pool.
Gala Games (GALA)
Gala Games is an Ethereum-based gaming platform that aims to create an environment where gamers retain full ownership of their in-game assets. Players can own their in-game items in the form of NFTs which can then be traded on secondary markets. Though Gala Games runs on the Ethereum network, the team has announced plans to launch its own autonomous blockchain.
The GALA token is used to power in-game economies across all on-chain games available in the Gala ecosystem, as well as incentivize node operators for supporting the network. Players can make in-game purchases, including NFTs, and trade those assets peer-to-peer.
Polkastarter (POLS)
Polkastarter is a decentralized fundraising protocol and initial DEX offering (IDO) launchpad that enables projects to raise capital and launch their products on different blockchains. The platform allows cryptocurrency projects to raise funds by setting up a swap pool based on a fixed purchase rate for tokens. These swap pools maintain the token price throughout the sale until the initial supply is bought.
POLS is the platform’s utility and governance token. Users can stake POLS tokens for POLS Power. POLS Power determines a user’s chance of participating in an IDO sale. As a governance token, POLS allows users to vote and submit proposals related to Polkastarter development.
Idex (IDEX)
Idex is a hybrid decentralized exchange (DEX) that combines an order book model with an automated market maker (AMM). Idex features an off-chain trading engine with on-chain settlement to offer improved security and liquidity. For instance, this approach helps users avoid failed trades or waste money on gas fees, making the DEX trading experience more efficient.
IDEX is the platform’s utility token and can be staked to validate transactions on the off-chain ledger.
Chiliz (CHZ)
Chiliz is a blockchain protocol that powers Socios.com, a platform that enables sports enthusiasts to share experiences with their favorite teams. The tokens on Socios.com are called fan tokens and make users eligible for rewards and promotions provided by partnered sports teams. Each team that partners with Chiliz can customize the features their fan tokens provide to holders. For example, fan tokens can grant holders influence over decisions presented by the team, such as new uniform designs, stadium names, and, in some instances, decisions over the starting lineups.
Chiliz has already parted with various big sporting institutions globally such as Juventus FC, FC Barcelona, and Paris Saint-Germain. Chiliz has a native token called CHZ that allows users to buy fan tokens available on Socious.com.
LeverFi (LEVER)
LeverFi is a decentralized leverage trading platform with a primary case to integrate trading and yield farming into a single platform. Users can deposit various crypto assets as collateral on the platform and then unify their collateral in order to trade with larger positions. After that, LeverFi routes trades to pre-existing DeFi protocols and decentralized exchanges.
LEVER is the native token of the platform. Users can lock LEVER for 6-48 months to earn xLEVER tokens which can be used in governance voting. The longer the lock-up period, the more xLEVER token could be earned. xLEVER tokens can be staked to earn LeverFi protocol rewards.
InSure (SURE)
InSure is a community-based, crypto asset insurance ecosystem where users can insure their crypto portfolios and distribute crypto ownership risks among a liquidity pool. The main goal of the project is to protect the crypto portfolios of community members from scams, exchange closures, and drastic asset devaluations.
Crypto assets can be insured by purchasing SURE tokens. InSure features a decentralized support system called InSure DAO that helps process all insurance claims.
Note: All above-mentioned cryptocurrencies are currently unavailable for customers from the U.S. and Canada.
Crypto industry news
Dogecoin increased over 100% in October amid Elon Musk’s deal with Twitter
After months of verbal mudslinging and potential trial, Elon Musk completed a $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter. Shortly before that, Musk had discussed moving Twitter to the blockchain to eliminate “ubiquitous bots” and charge 0.1 DOGE to tweet or retweet, according to a Reddit thread.
This rumor sparked enthusiasm in the Dogecoin community causing a double-digit gain in the DOGE price. When the verdict of Musk’s deal with Twitter was announced, the DOGE price surged by over 70% in a few days. Community enthusiasm was high by the beginning of November, especially after Elon Musk’s Halloween tweet with a dog wearing a Twitter logo outfit. That day, the DOGE price saw a 20% increase in 24 hours.
As a result, Dogecoin managed to reach the top 10 cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization and updated its April 2022 high.
Ripple got closer to winning its case against the SEC
U.S. District Court Judge Analisa Torres overruled the SEC’s second attempt to withhold documents relating to former Division Director William Hinman, who said Bitcoin and Ether are not securities and thus not subject to federal securities regulation. These materials should shed light on asset valuation criteria. Ripple Labs considers the speech a key piece of evidence for the case the SEC has brought against it alleging that sales of Ripple’s XRP violated U.S. securities law. In turn, Ripple general counsel Stuart Alderoti announced that he received the long-awaited internal documents from the SEC.
Amid recently filed motions for a summary judgment in the U.S. District Court, the Ripple community sees it as another confirmation that Ripple Labs could potentially win the case. If Ripple Labs succeeds in this battlefield, XRP may potentially become available for U.S. customers on crypto exchanges.
Aptos launches on mainnet
Aptos enjoyed buzz in the crypto community after becoming one of the most discussed cryptocurrencies in October. The project was founded by former employees of Diem (Libra), the blockchain of Meta (Facebook) closed in early 2022. After the mainnet launch, the project has been listed on numerous crypto exchanges and rapidly joined the top 50 by market capitalization.
However, the project was actively criticized in the community. Firstly, the network bandwidth turned out to be less than that of Bitcoin and Ethereum (4-6 TPS instead of the declared 100,000 TPS). Secondly, the tokenomics of the project assumed that 80% of the tokens are controlled by the project team and investors. The remainder was pending sale to retail investors, with no airdrop for the community.
In response to the community reaction, the Aptos team then published the updated tokenomics plan and announced the airdrop. Aptos gave away 150 APT coins to those who minted ZERO NFT, meaning users were able to earn $1,000 worth of APT and it formed a wave of hype.
Then, LayerZero Labs announced the launch of the Aptos Bridge. It allows users to transfer USDC, USDT, and ETH to Aptos from the Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche, Polygon, and BNB Smart Chain ecosystems. Some DEXs, including PanCakeSwap, voted on proposals to deploy on the Aptos network. Aptos support from the wider part of the crypto market incentivized hype for the new asset.
Yuga Labs faces SEC probe over unregistered offerings
SEC has started to eye Yuga Labs, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection creator, for further scrutiny. The regulator is investigating whether certain non-fungible tokens can be treated as stocks and therefore should follow the same disclosure rules.
The SEC is also interested in the distribution of the ApeCoin (APE) token, which was given to holders of Bored Ape Yacht Club and related NFTs. However, Yuga Labs remains adamant that it is not the creator of ApeCoin (APE). It instead claims the “Ape Foundation” is its “steward” although convincing the SEC of this could likely prove tricky.
October was a season of exploits
On October 13, the research firm Chainalysis revealed that October had already become the worst-ever month for crypto-related hacks, which saw over $718 million in overall losses. A vast majority of targets were DeFi protocols and cross-chain bridges. One of the most notable events was the BSC Token Hub bridge hack with over $544 million worth of digital assets stolen, but hackers managed to withdraw only $100 million.
Other major events were Solana’s Mango Markets hack and the Celo-based Moola Market hack. The DeFi platform Mango Markets was drained of $100 million in funds after the protocol’s price oracles were attacked. Moola Market DeFi platform at first lost $8 million worth of crypto but then hackers returned 93% of the tokens to the platform and left the rest as a “bounty reward.”
As a result, October 2022 has become known as “Hacktober” in the crypto community. The series of exploits and hacks in 2022 are contrasting with 2019 when the crypto market was also experiencing bear market conditions. Although hacks encouraged negative narratives in the market at that time, the crypto ecosystem soon saw its recovery in 2020.
To keep up with the critical news and events in the cryptocurrency space, follow our weekly CEX.IO Ecosystem Updates on our blog.
CEX.IO Ecosystem Updates are published every week and provide highly detailed reviews about the price action of Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as their on-chain activities. Additionally, each update provides a brief synopsis of critical industry events and developments impacting major altcoins.
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