Aug. 28, 2024

CoinDesk 20 Index: 1,934  −3.5% 
Bitcoin (BTC): $59,953  −4.0% 
Ether (ETC): $2,522  −4.0% 
S&P 500: 5,625.80  +0.2% 
Gold: $2,538  +0.9% 
Nikkei 225: 38,371.76  +0.22% 

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The TON blockchain resumed activity after a nearly six-hour outage caused by a jump in network traffic. An airdrop of the DOGS memecoin might have been the culprit as the popularity of the token caused a surge in transactions. Some observers pointed out that the network struggled to meet demand, with transactions per second coming well under what was expected. Bybit temporarily suspended withdrawals and deposits because of the outage, citing network instability, according to a post on X by Wu Blockchain. The outage saw TON’s native token, toncoin, fall as low as $5.13, a drop of 9% from the $5.65 it was trading at beforehand. 

TON's toncoin token trimmed some of its losses to outperform the broader digital asset market following the blockchain's restart. TON is 2% higher in the last 24 hours, trading around $5.51. Though the downtime was partially blamed on the popularity of the DOGS airdrop, the token showed some resilience after following the resumption of activity. DOGS was airdropped by the Ton Foundation to raise awareness for what it believes is the unjust arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov. Telegram and TON are separate entities even though one is often used with the other.

DeFi lender MakerDAO rebranded to “Sky” as part of its ongoing revamp. The protocol, which has $7 billion of assets, will also introduce new versions of its $5 billion stablecoin (DAI) and its governance token (MKR): the USDS stablecoin and the SKY governance token. DAI and MKR will stay in circulation unchanged, with the new tokens existing in parallel. Token holders will be able to exchange DAI tokens 1:1 for USDS, while each MKR token can be swapped for 28,000 SKY tokens. The new tokens will be issued on Sept. 18, and holders can choose to keep the old tokens or exchange for the new ones.

The crypto market correction following the rally at the weekend has accelerated, with BTC dropping around 4% in the last 24 hours to below $60,000.The broader digital asset market has fallen around 3.75% as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index.

Ether futures racked up the highest liquidations at $102 million, followed by bitcoin at $96 million and a collection of smaller alternative tokens at $40 million.

The liquidations likely contributed to a so-called long squeeze that exacerbated losses, with bullish traders feeling the need to sell into a falling market to cut their losses, creating a negative cycle.

CoinGlass data shows open interest in bitcoin futures has fallen to $31 billion from Monday's $34 billion as the asset's price dropped, a sign of waning sentiment among traders.

U.S.-listed bitcoin ETFs saw $127 million in net outflows on Tuesday, breaking an eight-day winning streak, while their ether equivalents saw a ninth consecutive day of outflows.