Gate VenturesTL;DRU.S. job growth fell short of expectations last month, sparking concerns that the world’s largest economy may falter under rising interest rates. The sluggish job report has cleared the way for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.The Fed’s comments were interpreted mainly as supporting a quarter-point cut in its policy rate while keeping the option open for additional, potentially larger cuts if the job market continues to weaken.The market value of stablecoins has exceeded 170 billion USD, but market performance remains sluggish, with a decrease in implied volatility (IV).Polymarket’s prediction data is now available on the Bloomberg Terminal. Hong Kong stablecoin issuer IDA raises $6M regulated fiat-referenced stablecoin. Last week, 14 deals raised $66.8M, with GameFi deals leading at $32.8M total raised. Overall deal funding fell 60.7% compared to the previous week.Macro OverviewJobs report adds to US economy concerns and increases the probability of a larger rate cut: Employers added 142,000 jobs in August, falling short of analysts’ forecast of around 160,000 but higher than in July. The report also reported that job gains for the previous two months were revised downward from initial estimates. Weaker-than-expected job growth sparks concerns that the US economy may be on thinner ice than investors think. However, unemployment fell to 4.2% from 4.3% in July. The job report is sending mixed signals. Top Federal Reserve officials have indicated the possibility of half-point interest rate cuts while also suggesting the central bank will proceed cautiously at this month’s meeting after a mixed jobs report on Friday.DXYThe U.S. dollar drifted lower for three consecutive days as investors braced for key August jobs data. The dollar fluctuated but ended higher on Friday after data revealed U.S. job growth in August was below expectations, suggesting a gradual slowdown in the labor market that may support the Federal Reserve’s cautious approach to interest rate cuts.Polymarket: Fed Interest Rates: September 2024The probability of a 50 bps interest rate cut increased after the job report showed a weaker-than-expected labor market. The sluggish job data paved the way for an interest rate cut in September. Though Top Federal Reserve officials have left the door open to half-point interest rate cuts, they still signaled the US central bank would move cautiously.Fed: Total AssetsThe total assets on the Fed’s balance decreased slightly by $11b, a relatively average and controlled decrease after the Fed announced they would have a more controlled tapering speed to reduce economic impact starting from June 2024.GoldGold prices tumbled from $2,529, nearly an all-time high, to $2,497, breaking the $2,500 point throughout the week as the Fed rate cut speculation intensified due to the mixed signals from the job report.Crypto Markets Overview1. Main AssetsBTC PriceETH PriceThis Monday, the prices of BTC and ETH were around $55,000 and $2,300 respectively, down by 4% and 5%. The recent market trend has been very sluggish with no catalyst appearing. The implied volatility (IV) in the market is also gradually decreasing, which means that the overall trend is becoming more lethargic. The market expects that there will be no significant events affecting the crypto market in the near future.2. Total Market CapCrypto Total MarketcapCrypto Total Marketcap Excluding BTC and ETHThe total market value of cryptocurrencies as of this Monday is $1.91 trillion, with the market value excluding BTC and ETH being $545.3 billion, a week-on-week decrease of 3.5% and 0%.3. Stablecoin FlowsTotal Stablecoins’ Marketcap, source: Defillama and Gate Ventures, as of 09th September 2024Major Stablecoins’ Marketcap, source: Defillama and Gate Ventures, as of 09th September 2024Last week, the total market value of stablecoins surpassed $170 billion, a week-on-week increase of $500 million. The growth in stablecoin reserves means that there is enough upward momentum under the influence of catalysts. However, the market currently lacks endogenous and external stimuli.4. Top 30 Crypto Assets PerformanceSource: Coingecko and Gate Ventures, as of 09th September 2024Last week, BTC and ETH fell by 4% and 5%, respectively, but altcoins remained unchanged. The overall market lacked catalysts, showing mixed performance. Among them, UNI rose by more than 12%. Last week, the CFTC filed a lawsuit against Uniswap, accusing it of illegal derivatives trading. However, this accusation did not affect UNI’s price. SOL prices remained strong.The Key Crypto HighlightsHighlights1) Cardano’s Chang hard fork is now active, bringing on-chain governance to the platformCardano, the layer-1 blockchain established in 2017 by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, implemented its long-awaited “Chang” upgrade on Sunday, signaling a major move toward decentralized governance. With the Chang upgrade now in effect, ADA token holders can influence Cardano’s direction by electing governance representatives and voting on development proposals. Cardano’s founder noted that the platform is arguably the largest layer-1 blockchain with on-chain governance capabilities.2) Sonic blockchain achieves a record 720ms finality during its testnet phaseThe blockchain previously known as Fantom, now rebranded as Sonic Labs, has officially launched its testnet today. During this testnet phase, users have successfully created more than 70 million blocks, achieving an impressive average block time of 0.45 seconds and processing 11 transactions per second. The time to finality — the period from when a transaction is submitted to when it is confirmed — has been recorded at approximately 0.76 seconds. This remarkable speed positions Sonic Labs among the fastest EVM blockchains currently available. For comparison, Ethereum’s finality time is around 75 seconds. The Sonic Labs team highlights these metrics as a significant achievement in blockchain technology, demonstrating their commitment to speed and efficiency in transaction processing.3) Polymarket’s prediction data reaches mainstream audiences via Bloomberg Terminal integrationPolymarket’s data is poised to reach a wider audience following its integration with the Bloomberg Terminal, a significant milestone in the development of decentralized prediction markets. Announced by CEO and founder Shayne Coplan on September 3, this move comes as Polymarket experiences increased adoption, particularly due to the upcoming 2024 presidential election. August was a record-breaking month for the platform, with its trade volume and user activity hitting new highs. According to Dune Analytics, Polymarket facilitated $472.9 million in trades from 63,616 wallets last month, with daily trade volumes peaking at $29.8 million on August 6 and daily users reaching 9,555 on August 23.2. Key Venture Deals1) E-PAL’s gaming-focused AI blockchain ‘Balance’ raises $30M funding led by a16zE-PAL, a top platform for gaming and social interaction, has introduced Balance, its latest AI-driven blockchain experience platform. This launch comes after two successful funding rounds led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Galaxy Interactive. By merging AI with blockchain technology, Balance delivers a unique experience for gamers, developers, and publishers in both Web2 and Web3 environments. Balance has already teamed up with over 80 Web3 game companies, positioning E-PAL as the sole gaming platform with strong partnerships in both areas, supporting over 150 games globally.2) Hong Kong stablecoin issuer IDA raises $6M in a round led by CMCC Global and HashedIDA, a Hong Kong-based digital asset company, has raised $6 million in seed funding led by CMCC Global’s Titan Fund and Hashed to advance its regulated fiat-referenced stablecoin, HKDA. Hack VC, Anagram, and GSR also contributed to the round. The funds will support IDA’s efforts to collaborate with local regulators like the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, as the firm anticipates the stablecoin market will exceed $3 trillion in five years. IDA also plans to broaden its scope beyond Hong Kong, targeting other U.S. dollar-pegged economies and countries involved in the Belt and Road and Global South initiatives.3) Kroma has successfully secured Series A funding from a group of prominent investorsKroma has completed its Series A funding round with investment from notable firms including Asia Advisors Korea and Gate Ventures. The company, a pioneer in Ethereum Layer 2 solutions, integrates zk fault proofs and its Tachyon library to improve transaction speed and reduce gas fees. Kroma is also advancing Native Account Abstraction within the Superchain ecosystem for enhanced Web3 gaming. With over 81 partners, Kroma is expanding its impact across gaming, DeFi, and NFTs.The number of deals closed in the previous week was 14, with Infra leading the way with 4 deals, representing 27% of the total number of deals. The sector with the least deals is Data with 2 deals funded respectively, representing 13% of the total deals last week.Weekly Venture Deal Summary, Source: Cryptorank and Gate Ventures, as of 9th Sep 2024The total amount of funding raised in the previous week was $66.8m, with the GameFi sector leading the way with $32.8m, representing 49% of overall funding. The sectors with the least funding in the previous week were Social, Data, and DeFi with $6 m raised each, representing approximately 6% of overall funding respectively last week.Weekly Venture Deal Summary, Source: Cryptorank and Gate Ventures, as of 9th Sep 2024Total weekly fundraising declined to $66.8m for the first week of September, a decrease of 60.7% compared to the week prior. Weekly fundraising in the previous week was down approximately 18.2% year over year for the same period.About Gate VenturesGate Ventures, the venture capital arm of Gate.io, is focused on investments in decentralized infrastructure, middleware, and applications that will reshape the world in the Web 3.0 age. Working with industry leaders across the globe, Gate Ventures helps promising teams and startups that possess the ideas and capabilities needed to redefine social and financial interactions.Website: https://ventures.gate.io/Twitter: https://x.com/gate_venturesMedium: https://medium.com/@gate_venturesThanks for your attention.
