Welcome to an updated Algo Insider, now known as The Algo Insights Report. This edition offers news and updates from the Algorand Foundation while providing insights about the network, ecosystem, and on-chain governance. 

August focused on stablecoin market cap growth, with Algorand seeing an impressive 28.5% increase in stablecoin value from July. A substantial increase in USDC transactions has also contributed to improved stablecoin market cap. 

Keep reading for more about the Foundation's latest developments, important metrics, ecosystem updates, community news, and updates from different Algorand regions. 

What happened in August: Algorand's stablecoin market cap rose 28.5% from July. Total USDC transactions also increased 24% in August, from 557K in July to 690K. This is a significant jump, suggesting that August was a particularly active month for USDC transactions.

What is causing this: Two factors could be driving stablecoin market cap growth. 

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  • High transaction frequency from key players: Entities engaged in frequent transactions, suggesting ongoing operations rather than one-off transfers. For example, one entity executed 431 transactions, totaling $342 million, reflecting sustained market activity.
  • Whale activity: August saw significant movement by large stablecoin holders, particularly exchanges like Binance and major institutional players. The scale of transfers could indicate potential preparation for future market activities, such as increased trading volumes or staking operations.
     

The bigger picture: While whales and high transaction frequency are potential causes for the rise, an underlying reason is Coinbase, which started supporting USDC on Algorand in June. This integration allowed users to deposit and withdraw USDCa directly on Coinbase. Stablecoin value is an important blockchain metric, especially when tied to institutional usage where stable value is key. With USDT leaving Algorand recently, much of the stablecoin market cap has quickly shifted into USDC.

News and Updates

From the Foundation

• Cryptos (try to) buy ice cream. Our latest ad shows how Algorand delivers, in the real world.
• The Messari Q2 '24 quarterly report was released.
•  The first Mastercard payment, authorized with an Algorand funding source and debited on-chain through Immersve, was recorded.
• Banco do Brasil now accepts crypto payments towards private pension plans, including ALGO.

Algorand Regions

• Algorand Nigeria: A MoU was signed between  Algorand Foundation and Taraba State following a 3-day developer festival in the state. 
• AlgoBharat (India):
  •  The 8-city #RoadtoImpact tour wrapped up with over 800 people attending events nationwide.
  • The AlgoBharat Pitch Competition is accepting submission, and forms for both tracks - Startup and Developer - are now up.
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Algorand builders

• Consensus rewards are coming to Algorand. To prepare, apps and users are invited to access fNet, a devnet environment with incentives running for testing.
• The Bali Builders Meetup gave a deep dive into Python on Algorand.

Ecosystem round-up

• EXA Market launched its EXA Academy to teach people more about NFTs.
• Gora Network joined the Google Web3 Start-up Program.
• Folks Finance officially launched xALGO as the primary liquid staking token for Algorand’s consensus rewards.
• GoraBots NFTs by Gora Network and ShuflLabs went live. 
• TINY, the governance token for Tinyman, was listed on MEXC.
• Pera Wallet open-sourced their development repo for Android.

Algorand in the News

• Algorand Foundation CEO Staci Warden discussed the synergies between AI and blockchain in a Computerworld Article.
• CMO Marc Vanlerberghe spoke at RareEvo about real world assets on blockchain.
• Marc was a guest on the Web3 Wisdom Podcast, discussing strategies for navigating the Web3 landscape.
• The Digital Health Passport being built by Algorand and SEWA Cooperative Federation in India was covered by CNBC.

 How to Get Involved

• GP13 kicks off on October 1, with the commit phase from the 1st to October 14. 
• FNet, the consensus incentives temporary development network, is live. All projects wanting to prepare for consensus rewards can find more information here. fNet will be reset at least every three weeks (sometimes more frequently). A public Discord for discussion related to fNet will be set up soon on the Algorand server.

 Upcoming in September

• September 16: Coinbase Quests on Algorand begin. Get started on Coinbase. Please note: the rollout of Coinbase Quests can take several days to reach all eligible users. If Quests are not immediately available, please keep checking your Coinbase app.  
• September 17: Three Hackathons in France, Nigeria, and Vietnam will kick off. More info will be released soon. 
• September 18: Algorand Royale will be at Token 2049 - Singapore. Play chess against a grandmaster! 

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Source : Algorand - Sep 24, 2024