This Week's Noteworthy Events(Aug.12, 2024-Aug.18, 2024)

Major Token Unlocks

• The Sandbox (SAND) will unlock approximately 205.6 million tokens at 08:00 UTC on August 14, representing 9% of the current circulating supply, with an estimated value of $54.5 million.
• Arbitrum (ARB) will unlock approximately 92.65 million tokens at 13:00 UTC on August 16, representing 2.77% of the current circulating supply, with an estimated value of $53.4 million.

Trump: Scheduled Interview with Elon Musk This Monday Evening

According to Reuters, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has announced a major interview with Elon Musk, scheduled for the evening of August 12 (Monday). Trump shared this news on social media but provided no specific details.

Immutable to Shut Down Immutable X Marketplace on August 13

Immutable recently announced that it will shut down its Immutable X Marketplace on August 13, with a full cessation of operations on September 27. Initially launched to showcase the capabilities of the Immutable SDK, the focus will now shift to supporting third-party marketplaces instead of maintaining its own trading platform. However, users of the Immutable Marketplace do not need to take any additional steps for their assets, as all NFTs and tokens are stored on the blockchain and linked to users' wallet addresses, accessible across different markets using Immutables global order book.

Bybit to Terminate Services in France, All Remaining Open Positions to Be Closed by August 13

Crypto exchange Bybit will cease offering products or services in France. Starting from 08:00 (UTC) on August 2, French users will no longer be able to purchase any products, open new positions, or add to existing positions. All Bybit products, including Bybit Earn and all spot products, are included in the restriction. All remaining open positions held by French users will be closed after 08:00 (UTC) on August 13. After that, only withdrawals of assets and funds will be allowed. The difficulty for crypto companies to obtain licenses in France has increased as the EUs Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework is set to take full effect in December. Bybit stated in a press release last Thursday, “In light of recent regulatory developments from French regulators, Bybit will cease offering our products and services to French nationals and residents. We look forward to resuming services once we have obtained the appropriate licenses in the near future.”

Scroll to Implement Darwin Proof Recursion Upgrade on Testnet on August 14, Reducing Gas Fees by 34%

Scroll announced on X that it will implement the Darwin Proof Recursion upgrade on August 21, which will reduce gas fees by approximately 34%.

Through the Darwin hard fork, multiple batches of proofs will be bundled into a single validity proof, thereby reducing verification costs. Scroll will deploy this upgrade on the Scroll Sepolia testnet on August 14, followed by a deployment on the mainnet.

gm.ai: GM Set to Launch on August 14, Airdrop Expected to Begin 24 Hours Before Trading

gm.ai announced on the X platform that GM will launch on August 14. The official list of CEX/DEX, Launchpads, and partners will be gradually released this week. The airdrop for presale participants is expected to begin approximately 24 hours before trading. However, gm.ais founder Dexter mentioned that CEX has suggested postponing the launch this month due to market conditions, and the GM launch may be delayed again.

Optimism's Fifth Retroactive Public Goods Funding to Open on August 15, Allocating 8 Million OP

Optimism announced that its fifth Retroactive Public Goods Funding (Retro Funding 5: OP Stack) will open for applications on August 15, closing on August 29, with 8 million OP to be awarded to contributors to the OP Stack between October 2023 and August 2024. The review process for this round of applications will take place from August 30 to September 13, with voting from September 14 to September 28. The results will be announced and grants delivered on October 3. This round of funding will reward contributions to Ethereum core contributions, OP Stack research and development, and OP Stack tooling development.

OKX to Cease Services in Nigeria on August 16

In an email sent to Nigerian customers on July 17, OKX revealed that it would exit Nigeria and stop providing services to all Nigerian customers.

OKX cited “recent changes in local regulations” as the main reason for ceasing services in the country and specified August 16, 2024, as the deadline for users to access platform functions. After the deadline, Nigerian users will only be able to access the platform to withdraw funds or close positions.

FTX Initiates Next Phase of Liquidation Process, Customers Must Choose Bahamas or US Process by August 17 at 04:00

The liquidators of FTX Digital Markets Ltd. have initiated the next phase of the liquidation process. FTX.com customers must choose whether to participate in the official liquidation proceedings in the Bahamas (“Bahamas Process”) or the Chapter 11 case in the US (“US Process”) by 04:00 on August 17.

FTX Digital Markets' liquidators will host a Q&A session to help customers understand the selection process. The Q&A session is open to all FTX.com customers and does not require prior registration, with the first session held on July 31 at 19:00.