September opened with the price of bitcoin (BTC) testing the $12,000 mark and dropping down to $10,150 after failing to break through that level. Over the month, the flagship cryptocurrency’s price traded between $10,000 and $11,000.

Ether (ETH), the second cryptocurrency by market capitalization, started the month at $475 but dropped to a $335 low at the time BTC fell. Since then the cryptocurrency has failed to enter $400 territory again, but recorded a $320 low for the month.

The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index, a modified market cap-weighted index which tracks the performance of the 10 largest and most liquid digital assets, dropped by over 15% throughout the month, despite the growth of decentralized finance (DeFi) and the ongoing liquidity farming trend.

Ethereum Transaction Fees Hit a New All-Time High 📈

DeFi was a hot topic in September. Below are some of the stories influenced by the Defi yield farming trend and its effects on the Ethereum blockchain, where most Defi projects are running.

Decentralized Finance surge Leads ETH Gas Fees Higher

The average fee paid to transact on the Ethereum network hit a new all-time high of $14.5 as the DeFi space kept growing. The average transaction fee started dropping since then and it’s now at $2.6.

DeFi’s Total Value Locked Hit $11 Billion

The total value locked in DeFi went from around $9 billion to an $11.2 billion all-time high before it also started dropping. The drop came at the end of the month, after news of U.S. President Donald Trump testing positive for the new coronavirus shook equity and cryptocurrency markets.

DeFi Protocol bZx Recovers $8 Million in Crypto Stolen in Third Exploit

DeFi lending protocol bZx has revealed it managed to recover the over $8 million worth of cryptocurrency that an attacker stole from it earlier this week. The team behind bZx reportedly managed to track down the attacker who exploited the protocol using on-chain activity. Once confronted, the attacker agreed to return the funds.

Crypto ETP Volumes Plunged 74% 📉

Cryptocurrency exchange-traded product (ETP) trading volumes have plunged over 74% in the last month, as the prices of these products have also been dropping. CryptoCompare found that volumes dropped from $186.5 million in mid-August to an average of $48 million in mid-September.

Here were the biggest headlines related to cryptocurrency exchanges and cryptocurrency trading.

Crypto Exchange KuCoin Hacked for Hundreds of Millions

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin was compromised in a security breach that saw hackers withdraw large amounts of various cryptocurrencies from its hot wallets, including BTC, BSV,LTC, TRX, USDT, XLM ETH, various ERC-20 tokens, and XRP. While estimates vary, some suggest over $200 million were stolen, although token projects recovered most of the funds by either freezing what was stolen or reversing their smart contracts.

Bithumb Raided By South Korean Authorities

South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform Bithumb saw the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency raid its headquarters for alleged fraud related to a $25 million token sale. The sold token was reportedly never listed on the exchange.

Singapore Exchange and CryptoCompare Launch Bitcoin and Ethereum Indices

Asia’s leading multi-asset exchange, Singapore Exchange (SGX) has started collaborating CryptoCompare to launch two cryptocurrencies indices, for bitcoin and ether.  Both the iEdge Bitcoin Index and the iEdge Ethereum Index use a 24-hour volume-weighted average price, giving the most liquid market prices more importance and making the impact of illiquid markets negligible.

Square Forms Group to Stop Patent Trolls From Hindering Crypto Innovation

Square, the payment company of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, has invited cryptocurrency firms to join its Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a non-profit that wants to stop firms from locking up useful crypto technologies using patents. To join COPA, members have to pledge to make their patents freely available to all other members in a shared library.

The Rise and Rise of Stablecoins 💰

While cryptocurrency prices didn’t exactly surge in September, the market cap of most top stablecoins went up significantly. Below are some of the stories that market cryptoasset price performances last month.

Tether’s USDT Market Cap Surpasses $15 Billion

The market capitalization of Tether’s USDT stablecoin has increased by $3 billion in a single month thanks to the demand related to liquidity miners looking to mine DeFi governance tokens using stablecoins. USDT’s market cap surpassed $15 billion, while the total market cap of all stablecoins surpassed $20 billion.

CipherTrace Announced ‘World’s First’ XMR Tracing Tools

Privacy-centric cryptocurrency Monero (XMR) also made headlines in September, after blockchain forensics firm CipherTrace claimed it developed the “world’s first” XMR tracing tools for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Hackers Fail to Crack $700 Million Bitcoin Wallet

Hackers have reportedly been trying to crack the seventh-largest bitcoin wallet address, which holds 69,370 BTC worth over $700 million. According to the CTO of Hudson Rock, a cybercrime intelligence firm, the wallet is being publicized on hacking forums in order to crack its password. The wallet.dat file is being sold for over $1,000. It’s possible, however, that these sales are scams.

Bitcoin ATM Numbers Surpass 10,000

The number of bitcoin ATMs installed throughout the world has exceeded 10,000, and the United States continue to lead the rest of the world in crypto ATMs with 76% of machines installed.

The Countdown Is on for Paris Blockchain Week!

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We have industry leaders swarming the Carrousel du Louvre next week. Don’t get left behind.

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State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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