OVERVIEW

An Avalanche That Won't Bury You

Before we dive in, here’s today’s crypto market heatmap:

And here’s a look at crypto’s total and altcoin market cap YTD:

Most bullish/bearish symbols on Stocktwits at the close: 📈 $SUI, $TIA, $APT, $HNT, $MKR, 📉 $BIT, $TAO, $TRX, $XLM, and $CRO

*If you’re a business and want to access this data via our API, email us.

AVALANCHE
Avalanche Gets Grayscale Love ❄️

Grayscale Investments just put Avalanche ($AVAX) front and center in its portfolio of crypto investment products with the launch of the Grayscale Avalanche Trust. 😱 

Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, Grayscale’s head of product and research, highlighted the significance of this move, saying, “The launch of Grayscale Avalanche Trust highlights Grayscale’s ongoing commitment to providing investors with innovative opportunities to access exciting developments in the crypto ecosystem.”

She emphasized Avalanche’s pivotal role in the advancement of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, made possible by its strategic partnerships and multi-chain structure. 🌟

And in case you forgot, AVAX has been on a tear lately with use cases and adoption.

Avalanche Making California’s DMV Less Painful

In collaboration with Oxhead Alpha, the DMV has digitized 42 million car titles on the Avalanche blockchain, making California the first state in the U.S. to implement such a system.

This move is expected to reduce in-person DMV visits and deter lien fraud, thanks to the transparent and immutable nature of blockchain records. Residents will be able to access their digital car titles through a mobile app starting early 2025. 📱 

Making Disaster Relief Less Of A Disaster

Additionally, Deloitte has partnered with Ava Labs, the company behind Avalanche, to create a disaster recovery platform that will streamline disaster reimbursement applications to FEMA. 🌪️ 

News In Three Sentences
Altcoin News 🗞️

📈 MATIC Price Surges +30% as Token Migration Nears

MATIC’s price has surged +30% over the past week as investors anticipate the upcoming migration from $MATIC to $POL. Increased whale activity and a positive funding rate indicate strong demand for the token, contributing to the price rally. BeInCrypto.

🚀 Aptos Blockchain Sees Record 69M Daily Transactions, Raising Sustainability Questions

The Aptos ($APT) blockchain experienced a massive surge in daily transactions, reaching 69 million on August 15, driven by the launch of UPTOS, a fork of Pump.fun. The challenge for Aptos lies in converting this speculative interest into long-term ecosystem development. Cointelegraph.

💸 Solana Whale Dumps $89M Worth of SOL Amidst Declining Trading Volumes

A crypto whale has sold off $89 million worth of Solana ($SOL) since January, withdrawing SOL from staking platforms and selling on major exchanges. This sell-off coincides with a record $39 million outflow from Solana institutional investment products as memecoin trading volumes decline. TheDailyHODL.

🔗 Aave Launches on ZKsync Era, Boosting Privacy in DeFi

$AAVE, DeFi’s largest lending platform, has launched on ZKsync Era, an Ethereum Layer 2 network, bringing $850 million in TVL to the ecosystem. The integration combines Aave’s flexibility with ZKsync’s privacy-focused tech, unlocking new institutional use cases. Supported assets include $USDC, $USDT, and $wETH, with liquidity mining rewards planned. TheDefiant.

🔍 Binance Hires 1,000 New Employees Amid Regulatory Scrutiny

Binance ($BNB) is hiring 1,000 new employees this year, focusing on compliance roles as the crypto exchange’s spending on regulatory requirements exceeds $200 million. The company faces increased scrutiny following a $4.3 billion penalty and years of compliance monitoring by U.S. agencies. Under new CEO Richard Teng, Binance is tightening operations but continues to battle accusations and adjust to the regulatory landscape. CryptoBriefing.

🚀 Tron’s SunPump Outpaces Solana’s Meme Coin Platform

Tron’s new meme coin launchpad, SunPump, has overtaken Solana’s Pump.fun, launching more tokens and generating higher revenues. SunPump’s success, including Sundog's $190 million market cap, has drawn degen traders away from Solana. Tron’s network activity and daily fees have soared, marking a significant shift in the meme coin landscape. Decrypt.

⚖️ Ryan Salame’s Plea Deal Sparks Controversy

Lawyers for former FTX exec Ryan Salame accused prosecutors of breaking a promise to drop investigations against his partner, Michelle Bond, in exchange for his guilty plea. They are seeking to dismiss any indictment against Bond, arguing that the government failed to uphold its end of the deal. Salame had pleaded guilty to charges related to unlawful political contributions and is set to be sentenced in October. TheBlock.

NVIDIA DAY COUNTDOWN
The One Earnings Event To Rule Them All 👑

Music lovers have Taylor Swift, and we have Jensen Huang.

The good news is that you don’t need to pay thousands of dollars or fly halfway across the world to hear him live. Instead…you can join us on Stocktwits for the earnings event of the summer. 🤩

Nvidia will report its second-quarter results after the bell next Wednesday, and the world will be watching. So we’re rolling out the red carpet of coverage ahead of the event, with everything from a price prediction contest to exclusive expert interviews.

It’ll all lead up to listening to the earnings call live on Stocktwits, where our community will react to the results in real-time. 🎧

And if you need a reminder about why Nvidia deserves a day of its own, here are a few crazy stats: 🤯

• It’s the second largest weighting in the S&P 500 at 6.70% and has contributed nearly 5% to the index’s performance in 2024

• It kicked off the “artificial intelligence” buzz in 2023 and has been the industry's poster child since then

• It’s widely owned by retail investors and has been the most active single-stock symbol on Stocktwits for all of 2024

We’ll share more wild stats and perspectives in the days leading up to next week’s event. But in the meantime, be sure to follow @Stocktwits on the platform and our socials (X, Instagram, YouTube) so you don’t miss out on the action. 🚨

News In Three Sentences
Crypto News 🎉

🚨 Binance Founder CZ Moved to Halfway House — Isn’t Free Yet

Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has been transferred from FCI Lompoc II prison to RRM Long Beach, a halfway house in California, but is not yet free. CZ still has 38 days left to serve and will be officially released on September 29, though he now faces another lawsuit accusing Binance of lax money laundering regulations. Protos.

📊 Franklin Templeton CEO Highlights Bitcoin’s Growing Influence

Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson emphasized Bitcoin’s massive transaction volume, noting that traditional finance underestimates its scale. She highlighted Bitcoin's $36.6 trillion transaction volume in 2023, far surpassing Mastercard and Visa. CoinDesk.

🔄 Crypto Gains Bipartisan Support in U.S. Politics

Digital assets are gaining bipartisan support, with both Democrats and Republicans acknowledging their importance in political debates. Grayscale's David LaValle highlighted this trend, noting the rising political relevance of cryptocurrencies. TheCryptoRepublic.

🏀 Jimmy Butler and Ben Armstrong Settle Binance Lawsuit

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler and YouTuber Ben Armstrong agreed to pay $340,000 to settle a lawsuit from Binance ($BNB) investors who accused them of promoting unregistered securities. The settlement follows months of mediation, with both parties maintaining their innocence. CryptoNews.

🏦 Trump Endorses DeFi Platform "The DeFiant Ones"

Former President Donald Trump has endorsed "The DeFiant Ones," a soon-to-launch DeFi platform, marking his first public promotion of the project. Trump framed the initiative as a stand against big banks and financial elites, positioning himself as a pro-crypto candidate for the 2024 election. The platform has quickly gained attention, with thousands joining its Telegram channel after Trump's endorsement. CryptoGlobe.

Links That Don’t Suck 🔗

🎮️ Illuvium: Week 3 of the Gauntlet Masters Qualifiers is here!

🛩️ Archer Aviation readies its air taxi service in Los Angeles

🤖 FCC reaches $1 million settlement with telco over election-meddling involving AI

⚓️ German warship blasts Darth Vader anthem in heart of London. 'No deeper message,' navy says.

😱 Nearly half of all corporate election spending in 2024 cycle Comes from crypto companies, study finds

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Author Disclosure: The author of this newsletter holds positions in AVAX, MATIC, SOL, BTC, AAVE, USDT, and USDC. 📋