TRANSCRIPT 🔗
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Welcome to another episode of Bitcoin & AI Data
Centers, the podcast where we dive deep into
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the worlds of data centers, artificial
intelligence, and everything Bitcoin and
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cryptocurrency.
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I am your host, Roni, reporting from a secret
location in Wakanda, and who knows, maybe
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Satoshi Nakamoto is listening in!
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Today, we have a fascinating lineup of stories
to cover, starting with a significant
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development in the world of Bitcoin
exchange-traded funds.
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On Friday, United States-based spot Bitcoin
exchange-traded funds saw a remarkable inflow
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of $252 million.
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This marks the highest single-day value in one
month and continues a seven-day streak of
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positive net inflows.
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The total value of these funds has now reached
around $58.4 billion, the highest so far in
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August.
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This streak has been particularly beneficial
for the largest spot Bitcoin exchange-traded
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fund by total asset value, BlackRock's IBIT,
which logged the largest net inflow of
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approximately $87 million.
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Other notable inflows include Fidelity’s FBTC,
which saw $64 million, making it the
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second-highest inflow for the day.
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Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, known as GBTC,
experienced an outflow of $35 million, the only
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fund to do so.
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However, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust, also
known as BTC, saw an inflow of $50 million,
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earning it the bronze medal for the day.
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Bitwise's BITB logged $42 million in net
inflows, while Ark and 21Shares’ ARKB saw $24
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million flow into the fund.
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VanEck's HODL logged a $14 million increase.
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Invesco's BTCO and Valkyrie's BRRR logged
inflows of $3 million and $2 million,
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respectively, with the remaining tradable funds
seeing no significant change.
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While Bitcoin exchange-traded funds are on a
winning streak, the story is quite different
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for Ether exchange-traded funds.
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Ether funds have been experiencing a seven-day
streak of net outflows.
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On Friday alone, these funds saw an outflow of
$5.7 million, bringing the total outflows since
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August 15 to nearly $99 million.
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Grayscale's ETHE experienced a significant
outflow of $9.8 million, which sent the total
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into the negative.
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However, VanEck's ETHV gained $2.0 million in
inflows, and Bitwise's ETHW netted $1.4
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million.
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Fidelity's FETH logged about $700,000, with the
remaining funds seeing no significant change in
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assets.
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Despite the outflows, the total net assets of
the combined Ether funds have reached their
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highest level since August 2, thanks to
fluctuations in the price of Ether.
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So, while the net inflows and outflows tell one
story, the price dynamics add another layer of
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complexity to the narrative.
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Polygon has regained control of its community
Discord server after a hack that resulted in
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the theft of approximately $145,000 in assets
from one user.
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The attack occurred just as Polygon is
preparing for a major mainnet upgrade scheduled
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for September 4, which will transition its
native token from MATIC to a new token known as
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POL.
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The incident happened early Saturday morning
and lasted for about four hours.
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During this time, a fraudulent message was
posted on the Discord server, appearing to come
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from the account of Polygon's community lead,
Smokey.
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The message falsely advertised a 'special
pre-migration' airdrop ahead of the network's
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token migration and included a phishing link.
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At least one user fell victim to this scam,
losing a Uniswap position worth roughly
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$145,000.
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Polygon’s Chief Information Security Officer,
Mudit Gupta, quickly alerted the community to
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the hack via a post on X, formerly known as
Twitter.
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The post was subsequently reposted by Polygon's
official X account.
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Despite this swift action, the transfer of the
stolen assets occurred about 40 minutes after
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Gupta’s alert.
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Interestingly, blockchain data reveals that the
wallet address used in this hack has been
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involved in previous phishing attacks.
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Just ten days ago, the wallet transferred ether
worth $72,300 to another wallet flagged by
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Etherscan as a phishing
Load full transcript
perpetrator.
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This flagged wallet now holds nearly $400,000
in assets.
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Additionally, five days ago, the same wallet
transferred $29,500 worth of ether to a
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different flagged wallet, which currently has
$150,000 in assets.
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Polygon’s team is still investigating the exact
method through which the Discord server was
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compromised.
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According to Gupta, it is unlikely that any of
the moderators were phished.
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Instead, the team suspects that a bot or
integration was compromised.
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Gupta also mentioned that a postmortem report
would be released following a thorough review
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of the hack.
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In the meantime, all external bots and
integrations have been disabled on the Discord
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server as a precautionary measure.
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Polygon has assured its community that they
have regained access and secured the server to
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prevent any future attacks.
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The team is also performing a security review
of each bot and integration to ensure that such
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incidents do not recur.
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This hack comes at a critical time for Polygon,
as the network is gearing up for its mainnet
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upgrade and the launch of the new POL token.
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Despite the setback, the Polygon team seems
committed to ensuring that the upcoming
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transition is smooth and secure for all users.
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Now, let's talk about Solana.
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Solana's price has seen a sharp rally,
mirroring similar upside moves in the broader
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cryptocurrency market.
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The main catalyst?
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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's
surprisingly dovish outlook, which has raised
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the likelihood of interest rate cuts in the
coming months.
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As of August 24, Solana's price has risen by
around 10 percent in the past 24 hours,
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reaching $158.85.
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This surge follows Powell's strongest
indication in years that the Federal Reserve's
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efforts to combat inflation have largely been
successful.
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His comments have fueled speculation about
forthcoming interest rate cuts, with bond
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traders now seeing a 76 percent probability of
a 25 basis point rate cut in September, up from
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64 percent before Powell's speech at Jackson
Hole.
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There is also a 24 percent possibility of a 50
basis point rate cut in the same month.
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So, why does this matter for Solana and the
broader cryptocurrency market?
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Powell's dovish outlook has led to a decline in
yields for both short and long-dated United
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States Treasury notes.
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Lower yields reduce the opportunity cost of
holding government bonds, prompting investors
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to seek opportunities in non-yielding assets
like stocks and cryptocurrencies.
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In the past 24 hours, Solana has shown strong
performance, reflecting these macroeconomic
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fundamentals.
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Data from TradingView shows that Solana's open
interest and funding rates in the futures
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market have also risen.
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Open interest on August 24 was $2.19 billion,
up from $2.09 billion a day earlier.
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Funding rates, calculated every eight hours,
have also increased to 0.0054 percent from
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0.0028 percent.
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The growth in open interest suggests that more
traders are entering the market.
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The shift from negative to positive funding
rates indicates greater demand for long
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positions, meaning traders are optimistic about
Solana's continued price appreciation.
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This optimism is likely fueled by expectations
of potential interest rate cuts.
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Technically, Solana's rally is part of a
broader rebound movement within its prevailing
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symmetrical triangle pattern.
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This pattern forms when the price consolidates
within a narrowing range, marked by a
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descending trendline of resistance and an
ascending trendline of support.
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As of August 24, Solana bounced from the
triangle's lower trendline and is eyeing its
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upper trendline at around $175 as an interim
upside target for September.
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If Solana breaks above the triangle's upper
trendline, and this move is confirmed by a rise
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in trading volumes, the price could potentially
reach $325 by the end of 2024.
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That would be an increase of over 100 percent
from the current levels.
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However, it is essential to remember that every
investment and trading move involves risk, and
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you should conduct your own research before
making any decisions.
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And that wraps up today's episode.
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Thank you for tuning in to Bitcoin & AI Data
Centers.
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We covered a lot of ground, from Bitcoin
exchange-traded funds to the latest on
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Polygon's Discord hack, and finally, why
Solana's price is on the rise.
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Stay tuned for more insights and updates.
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Until next time, this is Roni, signing off from
Wakanda!