Top Crypto News This Week: Blast Airdrop, Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump Debate, and More

This week, some major news has captured the attention of crypto investors and enthusiasts alike.

Market watchers expect these developments to substantially impact the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector and the broader crypto industry.

Blast Airdrop Launches

Blast, an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) network, will launch its long-awaited airdrop next week on June 26. On June 19, the project announced that Blast-based decentralized applications (dApps) must distribute all Blast Gold and Blast Points to users by June 25 to be eligible for the airdrop.

The airdrop will equally divide tokens between users and developers on the network. Fifty percent of the tokens will be allocated to developers through Blast Gold and 50% to users via Blast Points. Users’ allocations will be determined by their wallet balances and activity on dApps.

Users must also sign into the Blast dashboard from an eligible Externally Owned Account (EOA) wallet to qualify for the airdrop. EOAs are non-custodial wallets controlled by a user via a private key.

Users with Points or Gold in their EOAs must sign into the Blast dashboard with that EOA at least once, either by receiving an invite or linking it to an existing account. Users are also reminded to link embedded wallets.

Initially, the airdrop was scheduled for May, but the project delayed its token generation event (TGE) last month. Consequently, it increased users’ airdrop allocations.

Ethena’s ENA Restaking Pools to Launch

Ethena, a synthetic currency protocol based on the Ethereum network, will release its first ENA restaking pools on Symbiotic on June 26. Symbiotic is a newly-launched protocol that enables permissionless restaking.

In its announcement last week, Ethena stated that staked ENA and sUSDE will be the only newly available assets to deposit in Symbiotic in the upcoming epoch. Ethena also detailed rewards for staked ENA in Symbiotic.

“Staked ENA in Symbiotic will receive the following rewards: Ethena 30x per ENA per day, Symbiotic points, Mellow points, and future potential LayerZero RFP allocations (if allocated to Ethena),” the team said.

Read more: What Is Ethena Protocol and its USDe Synthetic Dollar?

GMX Will Start Distributing 5.4 Million Arbitrum (ARB) Tokens as Ecosystem Incentives

The Arbitrum DAO has approved a proposal from GMX, a decentralized exchange (DEX) in the Arbitrum ecosystem, to launch the STIP-Bridge Incentives Program with a 5.4 million ARB grant. These tokens will support the growth of GMX V2 and the Arbitrum DeFi ecosystem. The incentive campaign begins on June 26.

GMX’s STIP-Bridge program includes three incentive categories: Liquidity Incentives for LPs in GM Pools, Trading Incentives offering a 75% fee rebate on GMX V2 markets, and Grants Incentives for developers integrating projects with GMX V2. The campaign runs from June 26 to September 16, 2024.

GMX will distribute the incentives weekly, starting every Wednesday at 00:00 UTC. This initiative aims to enhance liquidity and trading activity on the GMX platform.

Biden vs. Trump Debate and Its Impact on Meme Coins

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are set for a CNN presidential debate on June 27. This event marks the first face-off between a sitting president and a former president since 2020, as Trump skipped the Republican primary debates.

The debate could be a defining moment in the presidential race, featuring two universally known candidates. Unlike previous Biden-Trump debates, this one will have no studio audience.

The results could also impact the price of meme coins related to the two candidates, including TRUMP, MAGA, and BODEN. Historically, statements or campaign moves from these candidates have influenced the price movements of these meme coins.

Optimism and Other Major Token Unlocks

On June 30, Ethereum’s layer 2 Optimism will increase the circulating supply of its native token by releasing 31.34 million OP tokens. These upcoming unlocked tokens are worth approximately $56.73 million. According to TokenUnlocks data, the project will distribute these tokens to investors and core contributors.

Read more: What Is Optimism?

OP Token Unlocks. Source: TokenUnlocks

Some members of the crypto community are aware of the potential outcomes of this token unlock. One member cautioned that selling just 5% of the tokens released each month could lead to a substantial decrease of 30-70% in the value of certain assets like OP on major exchanges, as it may cause liquidity issues.

Additionally, some projects will have major token unlocks this week. One notable unlock is AltLayer, which will release 105.21 million ALT tokens. At the current market price, those tokens are worth roughly $20.32 million.

Read this article for further detailed information on major crypto token unlocks this week.

Anticipation Builds for Ethereum ETFs Approval

In addition to these key events, crypto investors and traders are keenly awaiting the approval of spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). ETF analysts, including James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas from Bloomberg Intelligence, have affirmed their predictions of July 2 as the “over/under for Ethereum ETFs launch date.”

This increased confidence came after several asset managers, such as Fidelity and Bitwise, updated their S-1 forms. While the SEC has approved the 19b-4 form, issuers still need their S-1 forms approved to begin trading in the market.

This week’s news in the crypto space highlights significant milestones and potential market shifts. Investors and enthusiasts closely watch these events, anticipating their impacts on the market dynamics and broader adoption of cryptocurrencies.