Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | February 14, 2024

Bitcoin Surges Despite Inflation Concerns

The Bitcoin price dropped to $48,753 due to higher-than-expected  US inflation data but quickly rebounded to a new yearly high of $51,500, hitting $1 trillion market cap again. Bitcoin's recent surge is attributed to several factors, including record-breaking Bitcoin ETF inflows, alleviated Genesis GBTC liquidation concerns, strong OTC demand, and favorable futures and spot market dynamics. 

Despite this, Bitcoin faces resistance at the $52,000 mark amid increased ask liquidity on Bitfinex, with some potential for price corrections observed. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is expected to maintain interest rates, influencing market dynamics. 

Meanwhile, Glassnode reports that long-term holders have sold approximately 300,000 BTC since the supply peak in November 2023. Additionally, Bitcoin has achieved an all-time high against traditional asset benchmarks, underscoring its growing acceptance and integration into mainstream finance.

Ethereum Gears Up for Major Rally

Ethereum is eyeing a significant rally, consolidating gains above $2,575, with potential for a major increase if it breaks the $2,700 resistance. Trading above $2,620 and the 100-hourly SMA, ETH could test the $2,800 resistance or even push towards $3,000 if momentum continues. 

Meanwhile, $31.8 million worth of ETH was moved off Binance to an unknown wallet, indicating possible whale accumulation amid a bullish market sentiment. This move, coupled with the activation of a dormant address holding 100 ETH for over 8.5 years, suggests a strategic positioning by large holders anticipating further price increases, with Ethereum's price recently rising by 12.76% over a week and futures open interest surging.

MicroStrategy Pivots Towards Bitcoin Development

MicroStrategy has pivoted to a Bitcoin development company, showcasing a $3.5 billion unrealized profit from its Bitcoin investments, now valued at $9.4 billion. This strategic shift aims to accumulate more Bitcoin and support blockchain growth, with the company holding 190,000 BTC. 

Meanwhile, Robinhood's CFO highlighted a nice interest in Bitcoin ETFs, which now represent 5% of their overall crypto trading, with the rest being traditional crypto trades. Robinhood saw a 10% year-over-year increase in crypto revenue, reaching $43 million in Q4, driven by high trading volumes and the introduction of Bitcoin ETFs.

Treasury Targets Crypto in Illicit Finance Fight

The U.S. Treasury's concerns about crypto in illicit finance will be outlined to the House Financial Services Committee. Brian Nelson highlights the need for additional authority and tools to combat the misuse of virtual assets. Treasury emphasizes the ongoing efforts to block Hamas from raising funds to support terrorism. The National Risk Assessments report identifies increasing risks in crypto-related illicit finance.  

Starknet Announces Massive Token Airdrop

Starknet, a layer-2 Ethereum scaling network, is set to airdrop 1.8 billion STRK tokens to eligible community members and stakeholders between February 20 and June 20. Its TVL has surpassed $56 million, with an increase of over 75% since the airdrop announcement in December. Various user groups, including Ethereum stakers and developers, are eligible for token rewards.  

Coinbase Pay Integration with Ledger

Ledger has partnered with Coinbase to simplify crypto purchases via Ledger Live. The integration of Coinbase Pay into the app enables direct crypto purchases on Ledger's hardware wallets. Users can buy crypto through their Coinbase account and transfer it to their Ledger device seamlessly. The feature is available in various key markets.  

Wormhole Facilitates Billions in Transfers

Since September 2021, Wormhole's cross-chain messaging protocol facilitated over $39.6 billion in cumulative transfers, with a peak TVL of $3.8 billion. The protocol processes 110,640 daily messages, moving $30 million in daily funds, oracle feeds, and NFTs across 30 blockchains. Notable users include Pyth Network, Uniswap, Circle, Lido, and Synthetix.  

Susa: Sushi's Decentralized Exchange Ambition

Sushi plans to launch Susa, a decentralized derivatives exchange, on Layer N, an Ethereum Layer 2 network. Susa aims to rival centralized exchanges by leveraging Layer N's fast processing speed. Layer N's mainnet, expected to launch soon, has demonstrated impressive scalability, handling 20,000 transactions per second with a peak of 120,000 TPS and secured $5 million in seed funding.  

PlayDapp Suffers Major Token Exploit

PlayDapp, a crypto gaming platform, suffered significant breaches, losing $290 million in PLA tokens due to unauthorized minting in two separate incidents. The first exploit involved minting 200 million tokens ($36.5 million), followed by another 1.59 billion tokens ($253.9 million). PlayDapp offered a $1 million white hat reward for the return of stolen funds and took steps to mitigate further losses, including contacting law enforcement. 

Following these events, Coinbase suspended PLA token trading after PlayDapp paused its smart contract, affecting the token's market performance, with PLA's price dropping over 15% in a week.

Nym Enhances ZCash Privacy Features

NymTechnologies has secured a grant to enhance ZCash's privacy infrastructure, integrating the Nym mixnet to fortify privacy protections. This collaboration aims to shield user data and metadata, providing end-to-end privacy solutions. ZCash's regulatory challenges have impacted ZEC's value, with a 56% annual decline despite a recent market surge.  

ENS Labs Settles Dispute with Manifold Finance

ENS Labs received a $300,000 settlement offer from Manifold Finance in the eth.link domain dispute. ENS founder Nick Johnson mentioned that the agreement includes confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses. ENS Labs is weighing options including approving the settlement, negotiating a compromise, continuing litigation, or dismissing the case. The DAO is also considering reimbursing $750,000 in legal fees.  

Avalanche Launches Cross-Chain Durango Upgrade

Avalanche launched the Durango upgrade to enable trustless cross-chain interactions and enhance scalability. The upgrade includes Avalanche Warp Messaging (AWM) activation for all EVM chains, P-Chain native transfers support, and Ethereum compatibility. It aims to future scale the P-Chain and leverage BLS keys for enhanced security across Subnets.  

HectorDAO Investors Seek Fund Control

Investors of HectorDAO are demanding control of remaining funds following a $2.7 million hack on the Fantom network protocol. The team allegedly halted communications, with efforts to redeem treasury funds compromised by an insider or key compromise. Legal action is being considered amidst continued silence from the developers as an investigation into the hack continues.  

Angel Drainer Targets Safe Vault

Angel Drainer exploited Safe Vault's smart contract, draining $403,000 from 128 wallets. Blockaid notified Safe Vault and supported victims. Scam Sniffer reported $295 million stolen from 324,000 victims in 2023. Crypto holders are advised to store assets in offline cold wallets. A significant individual lost $24 million in a single transaction. Crypto influencers are also targeted in scams.  

Major Unlock Events for Gaming Tokens

Several gaming tokens, including SAND, APE, IMX, PRIME, and YGG, are set for significant unlocks in February. The unlocks range from over $99 million for SAND to less than $1 million for GMT, potentially increasing circulating supplies and impacting market prices. Some tokens have also seen recent gains, like IMX's 33% increase.  

Sei Network Boosts Ecosystem with EVM Compatibility

Sei upgraded its Devnet, integrating Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility, potentially boosting its ecosystem with EVM-based applications. The SEI token surged by 25% in the past week, reaching $0.75 with a $1.8B market capitalization. Despite initial challenges with its mainnet, Sei touts a promising design that combines Ethereum and Solana, attracting investment from Multicoin Capital.  

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

Blur BLUR (+15.95%) 

Sei SEI (+11.70%) 

Stacks STX (+11.04%) 

Losers:

Litecoin LTC (-3.23%) 

Injective INJ (-3.14%) 

SATS 1000SATS (-2.80%)