Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | February 6, 2024

Bitcoin's Surging Transaction Volume and Supply Shock

Bitcoin transaction volumes surged in January 2024, exceeding $1 trillion, attributed to positive sentiment after Spot Bitcoin ETF approvals. However, potential supply shock looms as a significant amount of BTC is being withdrawn from circulation, driving prices higher. Bitcoin struggles around $43,000 as miners liquidate reserves ahead of the April 2024 halving, which reduces mining rewards. This selling pressure, combined with the impending halving, impacts Bitcoin's liquidity and market dynamics.  

Ethereum's Price Consolidation and Potential Rally

Ethereum's price is consolidating near $2,300, testing the critical level of $2,400. A potential rally to $2,700 is plausible if it surpasses this level. However, failure to do so may lead to a drop towards the 200-day moving average around $2,000. The Ethereum Coinbase premium index indicates recent selling pressure from American investors.

DCG Challenges Genesis' Bankruptcy Plan

Digital Currency Group (DCG) opposes Genesis' bankruptcy plan, claiming it favors select creditors and breaches the Bankruptcy Code. DCG asserts that the plan overpays creditors and violates the absolute priority rule. DCG also alleges a clandestine process led to the plan's development. Genesis filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and is seeking to sell $1.6 billion in assets.  

Solana's Network Outage Raises Stability Concerns

The Solana network experienced a five-hour outage, marking its 11th in two years. The interruption was due to an upgrade failure, halting block production and affecting transactions. Solana's NFT sales also suffered, plunging 82.39% to $1,048,282 in 24 hours. Despite maintaining a 99.8% operational status in the prior 90 days, this incident is part of a series of disruptions since 2020. 

Validators implemented an upgrade to version 1.17.20 and rebooted the system. Solana's price dipped over 3% then quickly recovered, trading around $95.44. The recurrent outages have raised concerns about decentralization, with experts critical of Solana's stability.

Binance Delists Monero and Multichain Amidst Price Drop

Binance announced delisting Monero (XMR) and Multichain (MULTI), resulting in an over 30% drop in their values. Monero's delisting is speculated to be linked to regulatory compliance, while Multichain faced challenges due to a significant hack and operational issues. Other delisted assets include Aragon (ANT) and Vai (VAI), with minimal price impact.

Binance's Bounty for Corrupt Staff Information

Binance offers a $5 million bounty for information on corrupt staff after accusations of front-running on RON token listing. Ronin token experienced volatile trading on Binance, with the price falling 40% to $2.52 before stabilizing at $2.68. Co-founder Yi He announced an overhaul of the listing process and stricter controls for team members involved. The exchange will pay $10,000 to $5 million for verified information on corrupt staff and blacklist projects hiring fired employees.  

Robinhood Integrates MetaMask for Crypto Purchases

Robinhood has integrated MetaMask's Buy Crypto aggregator for easier crypto purchases. The move aims to reduce friction for U.S. customers buying and swapping crypto. MetaMask's aggregator allows purchase from multiple providers in 189 countries while adhering to region-specific compliance laws. The partnership aims to offer safe, accessible, and affordable crypto trading.   

Bybit Launches Integrated Inscriptions Marketplace

Bybit launched an integrated inscriptions marketplace for Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems, supporting BRC-20 and EVM tokens. The partnership with UniSat aims to expand NFT offerings, connecting over 1 million Web3 wallet users to Bybit's 20 million user base. The marketplace supports inscriptions minting and trading across various blockchains, including Avalanche, Ethereum, Polygon, Fantom, and Mantle.

Ripple Labs Ordered to Disclose Financial Statements

The recent U.S. court ruling mandates Ripple Labs to provide historical financial statements for 2022-2023 and disclose details about XRP institutional sales proceeds. The court overruled Ripple's claim of confidentiality, following a mixed ruling last year that declared only institutional sales of XRP as unregistered securities. 

Additionally, a cybersecurity breach targeting Ripple's co-founder Chris Larsen led to a significant sell-off of nearly 100 million XRP tokens. This event affected market dynamics, including significant Bitcoin withdrawals linked to the stolen XRP, totaling $73.3 million.  

Legal Troubles for Terra Founders Amid Network Collapse

Amid legal battles, Terra founders Do Kwon and Shin Hyun-Seong face charges linked to alleged deception and illicit activities. The collapse of the Terra network resulted in investor losses, with a former insider testifying against them. Do Kwon is jailed in Montenegro, facing extradition requests. The Luna cryptocurrency struggles as revelations question the viability of the Chai payment system and its connection to the Terra blockchain.  

Craig Wright Faces Trial Over Bitcoin SV Claims

Craig Wright, creator of Bitcoin SV, faces trial following allegations of submitting forged documents to support his claim as Bitcoin's inventor. The Crypto Open Patent Alliance accuses Wright of repeatedly submitting false documents. Wright, previously involved in defamation cases, is accused of doctoring evidence related to his authorship of the Bitcoin whitepaper. 

U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen to Address Crypto Risks

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will address Congress on the risks posed by cryptocurrencies, particularly stablecoins and crypto-asset volatility, emphasizing the need for comprehensive regulatory oversight. She will also underscore the U.S. economy's resilience, citing robust GDP growth, decreasing inflation, a healthy labor market, increased real wages, and rising household median wealth.    

BlackRock and Fidelity Launch Bitcoin ETFs

BlackRock and Fidelity launched Bitcoin ETFs, collectively amassing $5.7 billion within 14 days. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) saw $2.7 billion and $2.3 billion in net asset flows, amidst Bitcoin price volatility and Grayscale's ETF conversion. The debut signals robust investor interest in cryptocurrency investments.  

EigenLayer's TVL Soars with LST Pool Expansion

EigenLayer's TVL surged 70% to nearly $3.7B after removing LST pool limits, attracting $1.5B in 13 hours. LST pools stay uncapped until Feb. 9, promoting decentralization. The protocol supports 12 LSTs, with Lido's stETH dominating deposits. EigenLayer's growth spawned liquid restaking protocols, with the sector's TVL reaching $2B, led by EtherFI, Puffer Finance, and Kelp DAO.  

Multicoin Capital Negotiates FTX Bankruptcy Claim Sale

Multicoin Capital is negotiating to sell its FTX bankruptcy claim, valued at around $100 million, as FTX claims rise to 70-80 cents on the dollar. Meanwhile, FTX's native token, FTT, plummeted over 30% after the exchange decided against resuming operations, despite earlier hopes for its revival and a brief price surge. 

In another development, the FTX estate's management faces criticism for paying creditors $18 per SOL while selling the token for $50-100, raising questions about the handling of bankruptcy funds and legal fees. Additionally, wallets linked to the defunct FTX and Alameda Research have transferred $38.8 million in digital assets to various exchanges as part of restructuring efforts, amidst criticism of the legal team's profits from these moves.

Wemade Reports Net Loss Amid Web3 Game Development

In Q4 2023, Wemade, a South Korean Web3 game developer, reported a net loss of 189.5 billion won, with operating losses widening to 70.8 billion won despite 2.8% sales growth. The company attributes the losses to rising costs and investment-related factors. Wemade also disclosed an outstanding tax liability coinciding with the launch of a $100 million Web3 game fund.  

South Korean Authorities Arrest Haru Invest Executives

South Korean authorities arrest Haru Invest executives for an alleged $830 million crypto scam. The company falsely advertised high annual yields and is accused of misappropriating funds from over 16,000 customers. Haru Invest suspended withdrawals in June 2023, leading to arrests and a class-action lawsuit over frozen funds.  

Dymension Launches Mainnet and Offers $300M Airdrop

Dymension launches mainnet with $300M airdrop, yielding a fully diluted $4B valuation for its DYM token trading at around $4. The platform standardizes rollups in the Cosmos ecosystem, providing liquidity and security. The initiative aims to progress through phases, securing delegated stake and transitioning RollApps from testnet to mainnet for broader developer participation.  

Jupiter Airdrop Allegations on Solana's JUP Token

The Jupiter Airdrop for Solana's native JUP token reportedly faced gaming allegations, with an individual using over 9,000 wallets to obtain 1.85 million JUP, equivalent to almost $1 million. Allegations of insider tipping were made, but the founder denied prior knowledge of the airdrop and vowed to improve future practices.  

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

Ethereum Name Service ENS (+14.25%) 

Bittensor TAO (+11.45%) 

Pendle PENDLE (+9.97%) 

Losers:

Monero XMR (-31.44%) 

Flare FLR (-7.61%) 

Ronin RON (-6.72%)