Filecoin adds 40% as altcoins turn green
Crypto prices were relatively buoyant over the last week, with Bitcoin and Ethereum both drifting sideways despite two major hacks hitting the ecosystem.
Blockchain bridge Nomad was targeted last Monday, with multiple attackers draining almost $200 million worth of cryptoassets. Then on Wednesday, an estimated $5 million was stolen from 8,000 wallets holding Solana, which fell 3% over the week. Nevertheless, most of the crypto market is sitting on small weekly gains. This could be due to optimism around the Merge, as Ethereum developers address a potential glitch affecting the upcoming upgrade, and positivity about moves towards cryptoasset regulation in the US.
Meanwhile, a few altcoins have been driven significantly higher by specific news catalysts: Filecoin has added 40% on a partnership with Harvard, while Chiliz is up 24% on a multi-million euro partnership deal with FC Barcelona, and BNB Chain has added 15% to reclaim the $300 level, following the announcement of a new partnership with Swiss luxury watchmaker Franck Muller.
This Week’s Highlights
– Filecoin flies 40% higher on Harvard partnership
– Altcoins remain buoyant despite hacks
Filecoin flies 40% higher on Harvard partnership
Filecoin left most of the altcoin market in its rear view mirror last week, and moved 40% higher to briefly eclipse $11 on Monday.
The project, which launched in 2014 and offers decentralized storage on a network of thousands of nodes around the world, recently announced a partnership with Harvard University’s Library Innovation Lab (LIL).
Google searches for Filecoin saw a significant spike following the announcement, suggesting the deal has put this seasoned cryptoasset back on the radar of investors.
Altcoins remain buoyant despite hacks
In a double blow for the crypto market, two crypto heists led to more than $200 million in losses last week.
Nomad, a crypto bridge that lets users swap tokens between blockchains was hit on Monday, with hackers exploiting a smart contract vulnerability to loot more than $200 million worth of various different cryptoassets, including wrapped versions of Bitcoin and Ethereum. The attack of Solana wallets on Wednesday was less severe, with an estimated $5 million worth of Solana-based assets stolen from thousands of accounts linked to Solana.
Despite the hacks, the impacted cryptoassets remain relatively buoyant, including Solana which fell only 3% on the week.
Week ahead
As the Merge date in mid-September rapidly approaches, excitement around the upgrade is becoming tinged with apprehension over potential complications. Some analysts are now even speculating that tearaway miners could try to form a new chain: ETHPoW.
Concerns around this so-called ‘civil war’ could catalyze volatility for Ethereum in the near future, and also impact competing chains such as Ethereum Classic along with Solana, Avalanche, and Tezos.
Coming up this week, Wednesday’s inflation data for July is expected to show rapid price prices and could have an impact on the crypto market.