Weekly Headlines 2023.2 W2
“I’ve never really met someone […] that spent some time to think about it that wasn’t enthusiastic about Bitcoin.” – Michael Saylor
Weekly News Report:
News
1. PayPal Puts Stablecoin Project on Hold: Bloomberg
– On Thursday it was reported that PayPal crypto partner Paxos was being probed by the NYDFS.
2. Crypto Exchange Bitstamp Registers in France
– The exchange joins Binance, Bitpanda and Société Générale in securing recognition from one of the most sophisticated regimes in the EU.
3. FTX Bankruptcy Judge Allows Company to Subpoena Founder Bankman-Fried, Other ‘Insiders’
– U.S Judge John Dorsey ordered that FTX’s new leadership and its official creditor committee can subpoena the crypto exchange’s founders and former executives, including Sam Bankman-Fried.
4. Crypto mining firms Hut 8 and US Bitcoin plan merger
– The merger, which will create the company “New Hut,” is still subject to court and regulatory approval by U.S. and Canadian authorities.
5. Ethereum Testnet Processes First ETH Staking Withdrawals
– The upgrade on the Zhejiang testnet was the first of three dress rehearsals for the much anticipated Shanghai hard fork.
6. Kazakhstan’s President Signs Legislation to Limit Energy Usage of Crypto Mining
– The new law also calls for government-approved mining pools.
7. Unpacking India’s CBDC Pilots as Country Prepares for Digital Rupee
– India launched two CBDC pilots last year, a wholesale CBDC and a retail CBDC.
8. China doles out millions in digital yuan in bid to boost adoption: Report
– Multiple Chinese city governments have given away millions worth of e-CNY to try to promote consumption around the holiday season.
9. Binance to temporarily suspend bank transfers in US dollars beginning Feb. 8
– The announcement came with just two days’ notice, but it does not apply to Binance.US users, so only 0.01% of active users will be affected.
10. Global Crypto Industry Pledges Aid to Turkey Following Deadly Earthquakes
– More than 40 blockchain entities in the country have signed a petition requesting authorities to set up official crypto wallets to accept donations in Turkey, similar to Ukraine.
11. StarkWare Partnering With Chainlink for StarkNet Growth
– Israel-based StarkWare will join Chainlink’s SCALE accelerator program, under which StarkNet tokens will cover certain operating costs for the Chainlink oracle nodes. Oracles essentially send data from the outside world to a blockchain to trigger a certain smart contract event. The arrangement will let StarkNet developers access Chainlink services and data feeds at a lower cost.
12. Sam Bankman-Fried’s Emergent Fidelity Technologies Files for Bankruptcy
– Emergent is the owner of 56 million shares of online brokerage Robinhood.
13. FTX seeks to claw back political donations by the end of February
– FTX’s new management is sending messages to politicians and political groups to return donations by the end of the month.
Institution
1.US banking giant BNY Mellon says digital assets are ‘here to stay’
– Despite most of the cryptocurrency market being down 60% from all-time highs, Demissie said the digital asset industry is “here to stay.”
2. Digital pound could co-exist with private stablecoins — UK central bank
– The central bank wants an e-GBP to be retail-focused and could form part of a “mixed payments economy” alongside cryptocurrency stablecoins.
3. Argentina’s National Securities Commission to Set Requirements and Rules for Crypto Companies
– The jurisdiction of the CNV over virtual asset service providers is specified in a reform of the money laundering prevention law that is being discussed in the Argentine Congress.
4. Bitcoin takes ‘lion’s share’ as institutional inflows hit 7-month high
– $117 million heads into crypto investment products in a single week, and the vast majority went straight into Bitcoin.
5. Spanish rehab center adds crypto trading addiction to services list
– The rehabilitation center cited estimates that about 1% of cryptocurrency traders will develop an “extreme” addiction to crypto trading.
6. Italy Setting Up Crypto Environment That Meets EU’s New Laws, Central Bank Governor Says
– Even though surveys show only about 2% of households own crypto, regulators are bracing for the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) rules for service providers.
7. UK to Start Further Development Work on ‘Likely Needed’ Digital Pound
– The Bank of England and the Treasury are inviting the public to weigh in on plans for a digital euro that can be used for payments and purchases.
8. London emerges as world’s most crypto-ready city for business — research
– An examination of eight key data points determined London to sport the highest crypto readiness to entice businesses and start-ups.
9. UK is ‘likely’ to need digital currency, says BoE and Treasury: Report
– The digital pound roadmap is reportedly set to be introduced next week, along with a joint public consultation.
Market
1. The Future of Financial Planning Lies in AI and Blockchain
– AI and blockchain could assist in decisions involving investments, taxes and insurance, and open new avenues for income. But financial advisors will still play a key role.
2. Bitcoin Miner CleanSpark Plans to Continue Pursuing Acquisitions Amid Bear Market
– Bitcoin miner CleanSpark (CLSK) said it will continue to look for growth through accretive acquisitions of mining assets, as the crypto winter continues to weigh on the industry.
3. Ethereum Sets February Date for Sepolia Testnet to Get Shanghai Hard Fork
– The second round of testing of staked ether (ETH) withdrawals follows simulations on the Zhejiang testnet. The Goerli testnet would be next, ahead of next month’s planned Shanghai hard fork on the main Ethereum blockchain.
4. Chinese AI Stocks See Explosive Growth from Growing Interest in ChatGPT
– Increasing interest in OpenAI’s ChatGPT initiative has sent the stocks of several Chinese-based AI companies skywards.
5. Crypto Derivative Volumes Saw Speedy Growth as Prices Rose in January
– The numbers suggest speculation, not accumulation, was behind sizable gains for bitcoin and ether, according to a report.
6. AI Token Search Traffic Spikes as Crypto Traders Seek Exposure
– The trending AI tokens on CoinGecko showcase how artificial intelligence has a chokehold on the zeitgeist.
7. Cross-Chain Protocol Stargate Finance’s Token Surges by Double Digits on Trader Joe Partnership
– The Stargate DAO also passed a token re-issuance proposal following security concerns tied to entanglement with Alameda Research; bitcoin and ether trade slightly in the red.
8. ‘Multichain future is very clear’ — MetaMask to support all tokens via Snaps
– MetaMask eyes a multichain-friendly future with the ongoing development of Snaps allowing future blockchain integrations and extensions to its browser-based service.
9. Bitcoin takes ‘lion’s share’ as institutional inflows hit 7-month high
– $117 million heads into crypto investment products in a single week, with the vast majority going straight into Bitcoin.
10. Bitcoin Favored Over Ether by CME Traders So Far This Year, Arcane Research Report Shows
– Open interest in bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange has risen while ether’s has declined, according to an Arcane Research report.
11. Shiba Inu-Themed Floki to Release Chinese Version of Its Upcoming Valhalla Game
– China’s crypto policies remain highly restrictive, but that’s not stopping some crypto projects from trying to attract users from the country.
12. London Ranks World’s No. 1 Crypto Hub
– London leads the way and is followed by Dubai and New York in that order. Recent research has named London as the readiest city in the world for crypto and blockchain technology. The research considered eight key metrics including crypto-related jobs, events, and taxes among other things before putting out its final ranking.
13. Lightning Network Surges to All-time High as Bitcoin Short-term Rally Continues
– As use case appeal strengthens, the Lightning Network is now at an all-time high of over 5,490 BTC or $128 million in capacity.
14. Bitcoin dominates as primary focus for digital asset investors: Report
– According to CoinShares, digital asset investment products saw inflows totaling $76 million last week.
15. Bitcoin sees golden cross which last hit 2 months before all-time high
– A golden cross completes on the daily chart but Bitcoin still has to contend with a “death cross” on weekly timeframes.
16. Blockchain Analytics Firm Elementus Triples in Valuation Despite Crypto Winter
– Elementus increased its valuation significantly from a little more than a year ago in a new $10 million fundraise.
17. Crypto Markets Analysis: Crypto Long Positions Surging Among Asset Managers
– Asset managers are adding to historically high long positions in bitcoin, the most recent COT report shows. The report underscores investors’ surging confidence in crypto markets that has sent the price of the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization up nearly 40% in January, and some altcoins by even higher.
18. Indexing Protocol The Graph’s GRT Token Soars Back Past $1B Market Cap
– The token has risen 55% over the past week amid significant growth of The Graph ecosystem. Indexing protocol The Graph’s GRT token surpassed a $1 billion market capitalization again on Sunday. The spike reflects the platform’s significant ecosystem growth in 2022, particularly during the fourth quarter.
19. Bernstein: Ethereum Activity Has Picked Up, With Shanghai Upgrade the Next Big Catalyst
– The next big catalyst for Ethereum remains the Shanghai upgrade due mid-March when withdrawals of staked ether will be enabled. Daily fees on the blockchain have more than doubled in the past month, the report said.
20. Russia Expands Its Crypto Mining Capacity, Report Reveals
– The total capacity of crypto mining facilities in Russia has been increasing in the past year, despite the market downturn and sanctions, according to a survey of leading operators. Depressed prices of mining equipment and stronger interest from domestic customers have been identified as major factors for the trend.
21. BNB Chain Aims to Double Transaction Speed, Targets ZK Tooling in 2023 Road Map
– It also aims to more than triple the number of validators to 100.
NFT
1. 28 Hours in the Sewer: Yuga Labs’ Dookey Dash Game Kept Players Running
– In the Web3 giant’s first skill-based mint, almost 26,000 holders of Sewer Pass NFTs played the game for a cumulative time of 80 years – promising numbers for Yuga’s metaverse initiatives.
2. Bitcoin Punks: Ordinal NFT Collection Soars in Value
– Late Wednesday, one Ordinal Punk NFT minted on the Bitcoin-native Ordinals Protocol sold for 9.5 BTC, roughly $214,000.
3. Hermès Wins Trademark Lawsuit Against MetaBirkins NFTs, Setting Powerful Precedent for NFT Creators
– The verdict ends a year-long battle between the French luxury house and NFT artist Mason Rothschild over his MetaBirkin NFT collection.
4. Bitcoin NFTs Explode in Popularity as BitMEX Research Shows 13,000 Ordinals
– Interest has skyrocketed following the first Ordinals transaction on Dec. 14.
5. NFL Rivals Game Adds QBs Hurts, Mahomes to NFT Lineup Ahead of Super Bowl
– Web3 gaming studio Mythical Games is capitalizing on the rivalry between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs by rolling out 22 new NFTs of players from the football teams in time for the championship game.
6. Blur NFT Volume Beats OpenSea Again, With 30% of the Traders
– An airdrop scheme and impending token launch are likely fueling NFT activity on Blur, putting OpenSea in second place once more.
7. Designer Sean Wotherspoon Launches First Digital Wearables Collection on MNTGE
– The inaugural collection takes inspiration from vintage pieces in the Nike collaborator’s own closet.
8. Takashi Murakami to Release Collection of 13 NFTs Linked to Physical Hublot Watches
– Twelve of the timepieces will be made exclusively available to holders of Murakami and Hublot’s previous NFT collection.
DeFi
1. Cardano Upgrade Aims to Improve Cross-Chain Features as On-Chain DeFi Crosses $100M TVL
– “This upgrade will bring new cryptographic primitives to Cardano, encouraging greater interoperability and secure cross-chain dapp development with Plutus,” IOG said Wednesday.
2. Sushiswap Eyes 90-Day High after Launching Social Coordination Alongside Other DeFi Projects
– According to the Sushiswap announcement of the partnership with Aura Finance, the DEX said the new deal also included at least 28 other projects.
3. Stablecoin adoption could lead to DeFi growth, says Aave founder
– Stani Kulechov said that one of the challenges in the ecosystem is that there’s less backing in decentralized stablecoins compared to centralized ones.
Metaverse
1. Saudi Arabia partners with The Sandbox for future metaverse plans
– In a partnership ceremony at the Leap 2023 conference in Saudi Arabia, The Sandbox entered into an MOU with the government of Saudi Arabia for future metaverse development.
2. Nokia uses the metaverse to connect remote breweries, train aircraft techs
– Once known as a manufacturer of hardy mobile phones, Nokia has been working on developing industrial use cases for the metaverse.
3. Industrial Metaverse Primed To 3x Consumer, Enterprise Applications
– The machine economy will shake the status quo for intelligent device makers, and Web3 make the benefits accessible to all. In the crypto and blockchain space, the “machine economy” will emerge this year as one of the most promising opportunities for consumers, businesses, and enterprises.
Web3
1. A Pragmatic View of ChatGPT in a Web3 World
– Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing every aspect of our daily lives. What will it mean for Web3? IntoTheBlock’s Jesus Rodriquez learns from the machine.
2. Indian Web3 Social App Chingari Partners With Aptos Blockchain; GARI Token Surges 48%
– Chingari will release a newer version of its TikTok-like Web3 app exclusively available on Aptos.
DAO
1. Policymakers Should Embrace DAOs in the New Future of Abundance
– Whereas corporations accumulate capital, decentralized autonomous organizations accumulate engagement and focus on returning benefits to all participants.
2. MakerDAO Contributors Propose First Native Liquidity Market Focused on DAI Stablecoin
– The proposed Spark Protocol will leverage MakerDAO’s DAI stablecoin and its crypto assets for liquidity and would be based on lending protocol Aave’s upgraded smart contract system.
3. Legal Expert Says Mango Markets Exploit Case Is Wake-Up Call For DAOs
– Benjamin Bathgate, partner at Canadian-based law firm McMillan LLP, says the lawsuit against Avraham Eisenberg, the alleged Mango Markets exploiter, could impact how DAOs implement their legal and governing structures in the future.
February 10, 2023