The Week Ahead - W/C 27th November

Hashblock Capital is an independent Crypto research firm. We deliver actionable, institutional-grade analysis across listed tokens.

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TLDR;

• Illuvium, a web3-based game, is set to make its grand entrance on the Epic Games Store on November 28th, 2023. Into the launch, the project’s native token $ILV has outperformed the gaming basket significantly and could be vulnerable in the coming days.

• $EOS’s Antelope 5.0 upgrade, due to launch on December 28th, is due to significantly update the blockchain’s consensus mechanism, bringing greater scalability, stability, and flexibility.

• $DYDX’s delayed unlock is due to hit the market on December 1st. After pushing back the 30% supply event earlier this year, will they do it again?

Illuvium to launch on the Epic Games store - November 28th

Illuvium, a groundbreaking web3-based game, is set to make its grand entrance on the Epic Games Store on November 28th, 2023. This landmark integration marks a significant step forward for web3 gaming, bridging the gap between traditional gaming and innovative decentralized applications.

Illuvium's captivating open-world gameplay, stunning visuals, and play-to-earn mechanics have captivated the gaming community. Its integration with Immutable X, a layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum, ensures seamless transactions and gas-free gameplay.

The launch of Illuvium on the Epic Games Store, a renowned platform with over 194 million active monthly users, signifies a major milestone in the evolution of web3 gaming. This integration exposes Illuvium to a vast audience of gamers, fostering a broader understanding of web3 gaming's potential.

In the build-up to this launch, the native token - $ILV, has increased over 155% over the last month, significantly performing a basket of other gaming tokens such as $GALA, $AXS, $SAND, $MANA, and $APE. Given the project has strong links with Immutable X, the $IMX token has also seen strong flows, and for this reason, we’re watching the launch event on the 28th closely and expect some form of profit taking in the coming days,

EOS Network Embraces Antelope 5.0 - November 28th

The EOS blockchain, renowned for its fast transaction speeds and energy efficiency, is set to witness a significant upgrade in its consensus mechanism with the impending launch of Antelope Leap 5.0. Scheduled for November 28th, this groundbreaking update marks a pivotal moment in EOS's evolution, introducing a new era of scalability, security, and flexibility.

A Glimpse into the Future of Consensus

At the heart of Antelope Leap 5.0 lies the adoption of HotStuff, a consensus protocol known for its ability to achieve both high throughput and fault tolerance. This shift from the existing Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) mechanism represents a significant step forward for EOS, paving the way for increased transaction capacity and enhanced network resilience.

Under the new consensus protocol, block production will be divided into two distinct phases: proposal and finalization. Block proposers will be responsible for organizing transactions into blocks, while consensus leaders will coordinate block finalizers to verify and finalize the proposed blocks. This separation of duties promises to streamline block production, reducing latency and improving overall network efficiency.

Unlocking New Possibilities for EOS

The implications of Antelope Leap 5.0 extend far beyond enhanced performance. With the introduction of HotStuff, EOS opens up a world of possibilities for future advancements, including:

• Greater Flexibility: The modular architecture of HotStuff enables the incorporation of additional consensus algorithms, allowing EOS to adapt to evolving network requirements.

• Enhanced Security: HotStuff's fault tolerance capabilities provide EOS with a robust defense against potential disruptions, ensuring network stability even under adverse conditions.

• Scalability for the Future: The new consensus mechanism paves the way for EOS to handle a significantly higher volume of transactions, laying the foundation for large-scale adoption.

The upcoming consensus upgrade marks a significant milestone in EOS's journey, solidifying its position as a leading blockchain platform. With Antelope Leap 5.0, EOS is poised to set new benchmarks in scalability, security, and flexibility, empowering developers to build the next generation of decentralized applications. As the EOS ecosystem embraces this transformative upgrade, the future of blockchain technology looks brighter than ever.

DYDX delayed unlocking - December 1st

DYDX, the decentralized exchange (DEX), announced back in January they had signed an amendment to postpone an unlock of around 152m tokens, representing a huge 30% of the total supply. On the announcement, the market took the news positively - sending DYDX 110% higher in the following trading sessions. Given the low circulating float with just 18% of the supply in circulation - the cliff unlock would have increased the circulating supply by 84.4% overnight.

The decision to extend the unlock was made in response to feedback from the community. Many DYDX holders expressed concern that the large unlock would put downward pressure on the price of the token. By extending the unlock to December 1st 2023, the team hoped to ‘give the market more time to digest the tokens and reduce the impact on price.’

As the December 1st unlock date approaches, the recent V4 release raises suspicions of pump-and-dump tactics. In the last bull run, teams announced news before unlock events to boost token prices, then short-sold perpetual contracts and locked in profits before selling tokens back to the market.

We released a deeper analysis of this unlock earlier this month. To summarise, we are wary of the large supply that will hit the market on December 1st. The current increase in volatility driven by the V4 release has the potential to act as team/investor exit liquidity, and we anticipate the token being highly traded in the coming month. It’s also worth flagging ahead of time given potential announcements could include further delays to the unlock schedule, changes to staking rewards, or other tokenomic updates, which could also be well-received by the market.

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