Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies display mixed movement on
Wednesday
Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) and other cryptocurrencies have shown
mixed performance in the last 24 hours, with traders assessing
recent highs and awaiting new catalysts, including the expected
approval of Bitcoin-holding ETFs. Bitcoin recorded a modest
increase of 1.05%, reaching $43,070, mostly trading between $41,000
and $44,000 since December. While Ethereum (COIN:ETHUSD) rose by
5.6%, other cryptocurrencies like Avalanche (COIN:AVAXUSD) and
Solana (COIN:SOLUSD) were down more than 5% at the time of
writing.
MicroStrategy advances in Bitcoin accumulation with a $615 million
purchase
MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) made its third-largest Bitcoin
(COIN:BTCUSD) purchase on Tuesday, acquiring 14,620 Bitcoins for
$615 million. Although it doesn’t surpass its December 2020
acquisition, this recent purchase increases its total holdings to
189,150 Bitcoins, approaching 1% of the entire Bitcoin supply. With
this move, the company is closing in on the U.S. government, which
holds about 210,000 Bitcoins, reaffirming its aggressive Bitcoin
accumulation strategy.
Binance’s CZ joins the list of the richest despite legal challenges
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance, has
reached the 35th position on Bloomberg’s list of the world’s
richest individuals, with a net worth of $37.2 billion in 2023, an
increase of $24.6 billion in the year. This achievement comes amid
legal challenges, including a guilty plea on money laundering
violation charges. CZ resigned from operational positions at
Binance but faces sentencing in February 2024, currently on bail of
$175 million. In other related news, Binance is introducing
Sleepless AI on Wednesday, a web3 gaming platform with AI, as its
42nd project on the Launchpool. The platform offers interaction
with AI-based features in a gaming environment. Users can stake BNB
(COIN:BNBUSD), FDUSD (COIN:FDUSDUST), and TUSD (COIN:TUSDUSD) to
earn AI tokens for seven days, with trading on Binance starting on
January 4th. With one billion AI tokens available, the initiative
aims to boost participation in the new gaming platform.
Grayscale announces leadership changes amid waiting for a Bitcoin
ETF
Grayscale Investments, awaiting the SEC’s decision on its
request to convert the Bitcoin Trust (USOTC:GBTC) into a U.S. ETF,
has announced leadership changes. Barry Silbert resigned as
president, and he will be replaced by Mark Shifke, CFO of Digital
Currency Group (DCG), starting on January 1st. Additionally, Mark
Murphy left the DCG board. This comes as the SEC delays decisions
on various ETF requests, with the Ark 21Shares deadline approaching
on January 10th.
Hashdex discusses Bitcoin ETF proposal with SEC in special meeting
Hashdex, a cryptocurrency asset management company, held a
notable meeting with the SEC’s office of the president on December
26th to discuss rule changes for its Bitcoin ETF. The meeting,
considered unusual in its nature, featured top executives from
Hashdex and legal representatives, focusing on the NYSE Arca
proposal. The SEC, which has consistently denied Bitcoin ETFs, is
showing signs of possible openness, increasing expectations for the
approval of a BTC ETF in sight.
Solana market faces a drop after a surge in small-cap tokens
Tokens of major projects in the Solana ecosystem experienced
significant drops this week, indicating a likely profit-taking by
early investors. Bonk (COIN:BONKUST) saw a 12% drop on Wednesday
and a 26% drop in the last week. Small-cap tokens like Analos had
weekly losses of over 50%. Despite the drop in token prices,
trading volume on Solana-based DEXs remained high, accounting for
26% of the total market. The previous growth of the ecosystem was
driven by significant increases in token prices and locked-in
value.
MATIC breaks long-term resistance
The price of Polygon (COIN:MATICUSD) has surpassed $1, breaking
a 730-day resistance trendline since its all-time high of $2.90 in
December 2021. After several failed attempts, the recent high of
$1.07 is the most significant since April. With a positive weekly
RSI, some analysts predict a continuation of the upward trend,
possibly taking MATIC to new highs.
Explosive growth of Cardano smart contracts in 2023
In 2023, smart contracts on the Cardano blockchain showed
remarkable growth, surpassing early-year numbers by over 200%.
Plutus V1 and V2 scripts reached a total of 14,302, a significant
increase from the initial value. This growth is driven by
improvements in network development and the Plutus Core language,
although Cardano (COIN:ADAUSD) still lags behind Ethereum in terms
of the total number of contracts.
IOTA’s ShimmerEVM implements cross-chain technology with LayerZero
IOTA Network’s ShimmerEVM (COIN:IOTAUSD) integrates LayerZero’s
cross-chain messaging technology, enabling transactions across
various blockchains. The Shimmer Bridge tool connects ShimmerEVM to
blockchains like Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, and
others. This innovation expands ShimmerEVM’s capabilities, allowing
asset and information exchanges in applications built on
LayerZero-supported blockchains. With over 50 interconnected
blockchains, LayerZero facilitates the creation of versatile
applications and tokens. ShimmerEVM is part of Shimmer, an IOTA
ecosystem blockchain for developing and testing new features.
Cryptocurrency losses decrease in 2023 despite persistent risks
In 2023, losses in the cryptocurrency sector amounted to nearly
$2 billion, half of the previous year, despite ongoing
vulnerabilities. The reduction is attributed to improved security
practices, increased awareness, and decreased market activity.
Losses include the collapses of major entities like Terraform Labs,
Celsius, and FTX. Ethereum and BNB Network suffered the largest
losses. Access control exploits were predominant, followed by flash
loan attacks and exit scams. Fund recovery increased to 10%.
KyberSwap downsizes team by half after $54 million exploit loss
KyberSwap, a leading DEX aggregator, is facing the consequences
of a $54 million exploit, reducing its workforce by 50%. CEO Victor
Tran announced the layoffs after the “Elastic exploit,” which
compromised its protocol and caused significant losses. The company
implemented a reimbursement program but had to pause projects and
streamline processes. The decision has sparked criticism and
concerns about the future of KyberSwap and its suspended
projects.
Thunder Terminal platform suffers exploit, compromising user funds
The on-chain trading platform Thunder Terminal fell victim to an
exploitation, with 86.5 ETH and 439 SOL stolen. Thunder assured
that private keys were not compromised, and only 114 out of over
14,000 wallets were affected. The company quickly halted the attack
and stated that funds are secure. However, the attacker claimed to
have all user data and demanded 50 ETH to delete it. Thunder
promised a full refund of lost funds and offered additional
benefits to affected users.
Rocky start for Mt. Gox refunds to creditors
Mt. Gox administrator Nobuaki Kobayashi has begun reimbursing
victims of the 2014 exchange hack, with reports of payments via
PayPal. However, there is confusion among creditors about the
amounts received, with some claiming smaller or duplicated
payments. Kobayashi, who has already secured $47 million for the
liquidation, has extended the refund deadline until October
2024.
Nigeria lifts banking ban on crypto firms, boosting adoption
The Central Bank of Nigeria has overturned the 2021 ban on banks
serving cryptocurrency firms, a decision that could accelerate
cryptocurrency adoption in the country. This change, motivated by
the global trend of regulating the sector, will allow companies
like Yellow Card to seek cryptocurrency licenses under the new
frameworks. Regulatory clarity is seen as a trust factor for users
and businesses, potentially fueling the crypto market expansion in
Nigeria.
Hong Kong requires licenses for stablecoin issuers in new
regulation
Hong Kong has proposed that stablecoin issuers obtain local
licenses as part of new legislation to oversee the cryptocurrency
industry. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority requires licensed
issuers to incorporate locally and implement effective
stabilization mechanisms. Only stablecoins from licensed issuers
will be offered to retail investors. The consultation paper,
incorporating public feedback from 2022, also suggests additional
powers for HKMA to adjust stablecoin parameters. The regulation
aims to provide greater clarity and security in Hong Kong’s
cryptocurrency market.
Ocean Pool successfully mines third Bitcoin block, demonstrating
efficiency
Ocean, a decentralized mining pool, mined its third block,
number 823,129, according to Mononaut analysis. The block contained
only one coinbase transaction and 54 op_returns, following the
pool’s “filtered” model. This method resulted in approximately an
11.03% reduction in fees, equivalent to 0.144 BTC. With a hash rate
of 525 ph/s, Ocean demonstrates efficient mining capabilities,
strengthening its position in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
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