Weekly Headlines 2023.1 W2
“People talk about the [Bitcoin] problem of volatility, but this is nothing when you live in a place where your money could easily lose half its value in a year.” – Megasley, Nigeria’s first Lightning node runner
Weekly News Report:
News
1. Polygon’s Blockchain To Undergo Hard Fork
– The software upgrade scheduled for Jan. 17 will address gas spikes and chain reorganization.
2. Judge Rules for FTX to Sell LedgerX, Other Units as Hundreds of Buyers Express Their Interest
– Interested buyers may officially begin to indicate their interests between January 18 and February 1.
3. Canadian Crypto Exchanges Coinsquare, WonderFi in Advanced Talks to Merge: Bloomberg
– The combination would create the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
4. FTX has recovered over $5B in cash and liquid crypto: Report
– Previous reports suggested that FTX saw losses peak at nearly $9 billion in total liabilities.
5. Miss Universe contestant represents El Salvador with Bitcoin-inspired costume
– “You don’t need a sash to walk around dressed as cash,” said the Miss Universe 2022 announcer as Alejandra Guajardo showed off her currency-themed costume.
6. El Salvador Passes Law Paving the Way for ‘Volcano Bond’
– The digital asset bill in the Legislative Assembly obtained 62 votes in favor and 16 against.
7. China Includes Digital Yuan in Cash Circulation Data for First Time
– The digital yuan, e-CNY, represented 0.13% of cash and reserves held by the central bank.
8. Hong Kong to Propose Approved Set of Crypto Tokens for Retail Trading: Reuters
– The CEO of Hong Kong’s securities regulator said only “highly liquid” assets will be on the list.
9. Bored Apes, a Troll and a Conspiracy Walk Into a Courtroom…
– Yuga Labs is only giving attention to irreverent artist Ryder Ripps in its efforts to silence his damaging conspiracy.
10. Euro Stablecoin EURR Issuance Ceased
– Issuance ended on Jan. 9 with redemption of the stablecoin supported until March 6.
11. The Ether Trade That Made the Most Noise Last Week
– A so-called whale placed a large buy order for bearish put options tied to ether, seeking protection against an extended price slide to below $400 by the end of June.
Institution
1. Amazon Web Services Taps Avalanche to Bring Blockchain Technology to Enterprises, Governments
– Ava Labs is the first blockchain to form a partnership with Amazon’s cloud-computing platform.
2. UK ‘Fully Behind’ Stablecoin for Wholesale Settlements, Treasury Official Says
– Crypto technology could “turbocharge all of those (financial) industries,” Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith told Parliament.
3. Hong Kong wants to become crypto hub despite industry crisis
– Hong Kong is doing its best to provide an appropriate amount of supervision to the crypto market in order to release the potential of technologies like Web3.
Market
1. Bitcoin price blasts past $21K as 3-day short liquidations near $300M
– Bitcoin knocks out a key moving average unchallenged since before its $69,000 all-time highs in a wild few days of straight BTC price gains.
2. Bitcoin Retakes $20K, Leading as Broad Crypto Rally Continues
– Crypto markets across the board surged this week, with crypto-exposed stocks also benefitting from the advance.
3. Bitcoin’s ‘Volatility Smile’ Shows Increased Demand for Bullish Exposure
– Bitcoin’s volatility smile is a graphical representation of implied volatility or demand for options at different strike levels.
4. Circulating Supply for The Graph’s GRT Token Jumps With Major Framework Ventures Unlock
– Before Framework Ventures’ on-chain actions, the 99 million GRT, worth roughly $7 million, had been sitting in The Graph’s staking contract since February and March 2021.
5. New MetaMask Product to Add Liquid Staking via Lido and Rocket Pool
– The update comes two months before an Ethereum upgrade is expected to allow users to withdraw their staked ETH.
6. Citi Says Solana Blockchain Activity Remains High
– Active addresses and daily NFT trading volume have returned to levels last seen before the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, a report from the bank said.
7. Bitcoin mining ETF tops equity ETF market in new year’s performance charts
– After a tumultuous year, Bitcoin mining ETFs are back in the leading positions on performance charts for the first month of 2023.
8. Samsung investment arm to launch Bitcoin Futures ETF amid rising crypto interest
– Hong Kong investors can now gain exposure to Bitcoin through Samsung’s new ETF listing, which launches on Jan. 13.
9. 90% of businesses adopting blockchain technology, data
– A new survey from CasperLabs found that despite education gaps, enterprise adoption of blockchain technology in the U.S., U.K. and China is set to increase in the next year.
10. Crypto Markets Analysis: Inflation Cools, but Hopes for Fed Pivot Might Be Too Hot
– Declines in energy prices drive lower U.S. inflation, and crypto prices advance. But a closer look at the December Consumer Price Index report showing a 6.5% inflation rate suggests the Federal Reserve may have to stay hawkish for a while.
11. Bitcoin Pushes Near $19K For First Time Since FTX Collapse
– Crypto-related stocks are making even larger gains as the early-year rally in the sector continues.
12. Staked ETH Passes 16M
– The $22.38 billion worth of staked ETH will be impossible to withdraw until Ethereum’s next big upgrade.
13. As Crypto Crashes, Coinbase Bets Big on Europe
– Coinbase is leveraging its status as the lone public crypto exchange in a do-or-die play to increase market share across Europe. Without a steady stream of new users, the company may not survive.
14. Bernstein: Recent Gains in Some Cryptocurrencies Caused by Short Covering
– Altcoins such as Solana and lido have gained more than 20% as investors betting on a decline have covered their positions, a report from the brokerage firm said.
15. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Discount Narrows to 8-Week Low as DCG Faces Pressure
– Digital Currency Group (DCG), Grayscale’s parent company, has come under increasing pressure to address a discount that had widened to nearly 50% towards the close of 2022.
16. Solana, Cardano Tokens See Price Bump Amid Strong Transactional Activity
– The two tokens added nearly 20% in the past 24 hours as of Asian morning hours on Monday.
17. Bitcoin’s Modest Rally Sends Crypto-Related Stocks Sharply Higher
– The crypto mining sector is posting the largest gains in Monday trading.
18. Jefferies Initiates Coverage of Crypto Exchange Coinbase With ‘Hold’ Rating on Near-Term Concerns
– The exchange has staying power due to its healthy balance sheet, a proactive approach to regulatory compliance, sensible risk management and legitimacy as a public company, the report said.
NFT
1. Trump Digital Trading Card Project Mints NFTs for Winners of Prizes
– The same OpenSea wallet that sold the original images of the 45th president has minted the sweepstakes prizes from a group Zoom call to a gala dinner.
2. Tribeca Film Festival Will Sell VIP Passes as NFTs
– In partnership with crypto exchange OKX, the passes will include special access to screenings, parties, and other perks.
3. Top NFT Artists Are Launching Projects on Instagram and Selling Out in Seconds
– The platform has facilitated successful NFT drops from artists including Micah Johnson, Drifter Shoots and Refik Anadol, bridging the gap between Web2 platforms and Web3 technology.
4. GALA Surges 140% amid Week-Long NFT Rally
– GALA was the top-gainer among the NFT rally that began last week and was last seen changing hands at $0.042.
5. Art Blocks Friendship Bracelet NFT Collection Takes Top Spot on OpenSea
– The collection was free to mint for holders of existing Art Blocks NFTs until the claim period ended on Tuesday, sending its value soaring on the secondary market.
DeFi
1. DeFi Protocol Yearn Finance Will Let Anyone Create Curve Reward Farms
– Yearn was among the first yield aggregators in the now-mature decentralized finance ecosystem.
2. Smart Contract Platform Tokens See Double-Digit Gains, Boosting Defi TVL Above $40 Billion
– Defi and smart contract platform tokens rallied on Monday morning and the total value locked in defi jumped above the $40B zone for the first time since mid-December 2022. The top smart contract platform coins by market capitalization increased 7.1% on January 9, 2023, and most have seen double-digit gains over the last week.
Metaverse
1. Decentraland’s MANA Token Jumps as Metaverse Tokens Outperform Crypto Markets
– Metaverse tokens are the best-performing sector in crypto so far this year, as the CoinDesk Culture and Entertainment (CNE) index is up 37% since the start of the year.
2. Touch, smell become the next big thing for the metaverse at CES 2023
– A firm called OVR Technology showcased a virtual reality headset that contained eight aromas that can be combined to generate various scents.
3. Metaverse to possibly create $5T in value by 2030: McKinsey report
– The success of Metaverse will rely on a greater focus on maximizing the human experience aimed at delivering positive experiences for consumers, end-users, and citizens.
Web3
1. Unstoppable Domains and Ready Player Me Team Up to Create Interoperable Metaverse Identities
– Users who connect their avatar to their Unstoppable identity will be able to access over 6,000 of Ready Player Me’s applications, games and metaverses, in addition to Unstoppable’s 650 partner apps.
2. Abu Dhabi-based Venom Foundation launches $1B fund for Web3 and blockchain
– Venom Ventures Fund is allocating $1 billion to invest in Web3, blockchain and cryptocurrency projects and services.
3. Galaxy Digital’s Head of Research Sees More Venture Funding for Web3 Firms This Year
– The sector led VC funding in 2022, a report from the firm said.
January 13, 2023