EigenLayer Increases Deposit Cap to 500K ETH

EigenLayer Increases Deposit Cap to 500K ETH

EigenLayer, a protocol enabling Ethereum stakers to validate third-party services for additional yield, has recently expanded its global deposit cap to 500,000 ETH due to high demand. 

The protocol has included support for six more liquid staking tokens, including osETH, swETH, OETH, EthX, WBETH, and AnkrETH. Following this expansion, approximately 125,000 ETH, valued at nearly $200 million, has been restaked. You can check out the restaking dashboard for EigenLayer courtesy of Nethermind.

Launched in June, EigenLayer has quickly attracted significant interest from the DeFi community, with deposit limits often being reached shortly after being raised. The protocol is also attracting airdrop hunters through its points program, which rewards users based on the amount and duration of their restaked assets.

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BTC Up 5%, Bitcoin ETF is a “99.9% done deal”

On Dec. 19, Bitcoin saw a price rebound, exceeding $43,000, buoyed by anticipation of the United States’ potential first spot price exchange-traded fund. This recovery followed uncertainty at the week’s start, culminating in a 5% increase from the day’s low. This uptick coincides with asset manager BlackRock modifying its Bitcoin spot ETF filing, including an option for BTC in-kind redemptions. 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to finalize decisions on spot ETFs in early January. Traders and analysts are optimistic, with some forecasting a possible rise to $50,000 for BTC by the end of 2023, supported by bullish indicators like the daily RSI cooling from previously high levels.

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SEC Postpones Ethereum ETF Decisions to May

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed its decision on several Ethereum ETFs, setting a new deadline in May 2024. This includes the Hashdex Nasdaq ETF, which plans to combine spot Ether and futures contracts, and the Grayscale Ethereum ETF, seen as a potential pathway to converting its Ethereum Trust into a spot Ethereum ETF. 

The SEC also delayed decisions on VanEck’s spot Ethereum ETF and a joint proposal by ARK Invest and 21Shares. While Ethereum futures ETFs have been approved in the past, the SEC has yet to greenlight any spot or mixed-type Ethereum ETFs, continuing the trend of cautious regulatory consideration in the crypto space.

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OKX NFT Marketplace Surpasses Blur, OpenSea in Daily Volume

On Dec. 18, OKX NFT Marketplace, an arm of crypto exchange OKX, outperformed major competitors in the NFT market by recording a 24-hour trading volume of approximately $50 million. This figure put it ahead of other prominent NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, Blur, and Magic Eden, whose combined volume was around $24 million. 

The surge in OKX’s trading volume is attributed to its offering of Bitcoin Ordinals trading. According to CryptoSlam, the Bitcoin network’s NFT sales volume reached $367 million for the week, surpassing Ethereum and Solana. The broader NFT market is also showing signs of revival, with November’s collective volume nearing $1 billion and the average transaction value increasing significantly.

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Other breaking news

• Voi, an Algorand Fork, Attempts Blockchain Reboot
• Fairshake Super PAC Secures $78M for Pro-Crypto Candidates in 2024 U.S. Election
• Helium Tokens Soar Amid Network Growth, Boosted by Solana’s BONK Craze
• Manta Pacific Adopts Celestia, Integrates Native Ethereum Yield
• Court Greenlights $2.7B Binance-CFTC Settlement; CZ Fined $150M

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