BTC temporarily drops to $49,000
On the evening of August 5, Bitcoin experienced a significant drop of 13%, briefly falling to $49,000. Currently, the digital gold has slightly stabilized, with a trading price of $60,555.
Following this round of decline, other top ten cryptocurrencies also fell into the "red zone." Ethereum dropped by 22%, falling below $2,300, but the current trading price is $2,637. Solana once fell to $120, with a decline of 39%, but then rebounded to $151. BNB also saw a significant drop to $430 (-29%), but has now recovered to $523.
Ethereum network activity declines
The Ethereum network is experiencing a relatively calm period, with a noticeable decrease in daily transaction volume and active addresses (DAU).
According to data from Etherscan, on August 5, there were 1.1 million transactions recorded on the network. In comparison, in January, during peak trading, this number reached 1.96 million, while in July, at a local maximum, it was 1.3 million. The number of active addresses has also dropped to the level of February, at 400,000. Since peaking at 715,000 addresses at the end of June, this number has been steadily declining.
However, despite the mainnet being "stagnant," second-layer solutions continue to show high activity. According to data from Dune, L2 networks significantly outperform the main blockchain in terms of daily transaction volume.
TON listed on Binance
The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, announced that on August 8, a new asset - the TON cryptocurrency - appeared on the platform. The project has achieved seed status, indicating that it is in the initial stages of development and confirming its potential in the digital currency space.
Solana developers fix a critical vulnerability in the network
Solana network developers, validators, and client teams successfully patched a critical vulnerability through carefully coordinated efforts. The patching process began on August 7, when the Solana Foundation engaged in confidential discussions with the network's main operators. This was necessary to ensure the patch's security and prevent it from being exploited by attackers before its official release. In the following 24 hours, all parties involved had to confirm that they were prepared for the patch and maintained strict confidentiality.
At 14:00 UTC on August 8, operators received additional notification from the Solana Foundation, which included instructions on how to download, verify, and apply the patch. The patch itself was released to the GitHub repository by a well-known engineer from the Anza project.
Within hours, the patch protected 66.6% of the network, ensuring its stability. The vulnerability was publicly disclosed only after 70% of operators successfully deployed the patch, calling on all other operators to update immediately.
Ripple tests new stablecoin
Ripple announced the launch of a closed test for its new stablecoin RLUSD, which will be available on the XRP Ledger network and the Ethereum mainnet. According to the press release, RLUSD has not yet received regulatory approval and cannot currently be purchased or traded. Ripple representatives warned scammers who may attempt to misrepresent the stablecoin as redeemable.
RLUSD is backed by dollar deposits, short-term government bonds, and other liquid assets. To enhance transparency, a third-party accounting firm will conduct reserve audits, and Ripple has committed to releasing monthly status reports on the stablecoin.
3,000 ETH sent from Buterin's address
On August 9, an associated address of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin (named vitalik.eth) received 3,000 ETH, worth approximately $7.9 million. These funds were sent to a multi-signature wallet, while the assets themselves were transferred out on August 5 from another address associated with Buterin, Vb 3.
Analysts speculate that this money may be used for charitable purposes. In October 2023, Buterin revealed that almost all transfers in his wallet are donations. At the time of writing, the vitalik.eth wallet holds Ethereum worth approximately $525,000.