Coin360 Weekly Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | February 17 - February 23, 2024

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Crypto Weekly Market Update

Table of Contents

Market and Token Updates

• Crypto Weekly Recap
• Reddit Embraces Bitcoin and Ethereum
• Token Airdrop Sparks Debate
• Technical Glitch Halts Avalanche
• USDe Challenges Stablecoin Norms

Stablecoin and Blockchain Ecosystem

• Compliance Leads to USDC Withdrawal

Security Incidents and Responses

• Crypto Theft Hits Axie Co-Founder

Regulatory Actions and Legal Challenges

• Kraken Fights SEC Overreach
• Crypto Giants Sue SEC for Clarity

Governance and Community Initiatives

• Uniswap Proposal Surges UNI Value

NFT and Metaverse Developments

• Yuga Labs Acquires Moonbirds
• Pudgy Penguins Embrace Web Domains
• Solana NFTs Hit $5 Billion
• Forbes Enters The Sandbox Metaverse

Crypto Weekly Recap

Bitcoin

• Weekly change: -1.3%
• Bitcoin stabilized at $52,400 on Monday after dipping to $50,800 on Saturday, with ETFs witnessing a record $2.4B inflow, led by BlackRock's IBIT (CoinShares).
• By Tuesday afternoon, Bitcoin peaked at $52,945 but settled at $52,285, amid strong demand and optimism, despite facing a $53,000 resistance and investor hedging against a possible downturn.
• The profitable BTC supply expanded as trading volume approached $2 billion, signaling a surge in Spot Bitcoin ETF interest.
• Bitcoin's value declined over the week, hitting a $50,900 low on Friday, influenced by resistance, high funding rates, and whale activities, albeit briefly rallying to near $52,000 post-Nvidia's earnings before dropping again.
• CryptoQuant's CEO, Ki Young Ju, noted Bitcoin hasn't peaked this cycle, with 63% of its realized cap stagnant for over six months, a tripled hash rate since 2021, and 18,000 BTC recently moved to non-exchange addresses, suggesting growth potential.

Ethereum

• Weekly change: +4.51%
• Ethereum fluctuated between $2,700 and $3,000, driven by anticipation of a Spot Ethereum ETF, the Dencun upgrade, a decrease in circulating supply, an increase in staked Ether, and accumulation of Ethereum.
• ETH crossed the $3,000 threshold for the first time since April 2022 on a Tuesday, spurred by speculation regarding the potential U.S. approval of a spot ETH ETF, aiming to boost institutional interest.
• On Wednesday, Ethereum exceeded $3,000 again, influenced by a whale accumulating over $178.9 million in ETH in under two weeks and a suspected Justin Sun wallet purchasing $259 million in Ethereum.
• Ethereum broke the $3,000 mark three times within the week, fueled by optimism from Nvidia's earnings report, which also powered AI tokens’ impressive surge, and its fundamental hype.
• Bernstein, an asset management firm, forecasted a near-certain SEC approval for a Spot Ether ETF by early 2025.
• The ETH/BTC trading pair held steady at the 0.057 level, marking a 5.88% rise from the previous week.

Altcoins

• Worldcoin token, supported by Sam Altman, increased in value with the Sora launch.
• Bitcoin ‘has not lived up to its potential’ as a worldwide, decentralized digital currency: ECB officials.
• Celsius handed out $2B in crypto to 172K creditors.
• VanEck faced nearly a $2 million SEC fine over ETF disclosure failures.
• Solana and Filecoin teamed up to enhance decentralized storage.
• Apple was asked to delete a counterfeit Rabby Wallet app after users lost funds.
• FixedFloat suffered a $26M loss due to a hacker attack.
• Chiliz partnered with South Korea's Football League and added PSG Football Club as a network validator.
• Binance announced the closure of several leveraged token services.
• PIXEL launched with a $441M market cap, rewarding Ronin gamers with airdrop tokens.
• Hack VC secured $150 million for a venture fund targeting web3 and AI startups.
• Mumbai unveiled a metaverse to display infrastructure innovations in India.
• MetaMask integrated Blockaid security alerts for users across various chains.
• eBay reportedly cut 30% of its Web3 & NFT team amid restructuring.
• Stellar began a phased introduction of 'Soroban' smart contracts.
• Optimism allocated $41 million in OP tokens to NFT artists in its fourth airdrop.
• Japan's GameFi community discussed liquidity issues with a lawmaker.
• Hong Kong pushed for stablecoin and OTC crypto trading licensing bills.
• Montenegro's Supreme Court approved the extradition of Terra founder Do Kwon to the USA.
• DCG criticized Genesis' settlement with New York as undermining.
• Nvidia became the most-traded stock, surpassing Tesla as AI spurred a 265% revenue jump.
• Shiba Inu prepared ERC-404 NFTs for release.
• KuCoin addressed concerns over user funds being locked.
• Aave launched its DeFi protocol on the BNB Chain.
• ZCash's value increased after Grayscale applied for a privacy ETF with the SEC.
• Euler Finance aimed for a comeback with its V2 launch.
• Andreessen Horowitz invested $100 million in crypto startup EigenLayer.
• FTX received permission to sell its $1B stake in Anthropic for creditor repayment.
• Blueberry DeFi protocol halted lending after an unidentified exploit.
• Injective showcased an 'ERC-404' port, leveraging the experimental token standard's buzz.
• PancakeSwap introduced an 'Affiliates' program, benefiting CAKE holders.
• Siacoin's price spiked, fueled by network upgrades and market optimism.
• Layer-1 network Flare raised $35M from Kenetic and Aves Lair.

Reddit Embraces Bitcoin and Ethereum

Reddit strategically invested cash into Bitcoin and Ethereum, aligning with tech giants. As of December 31, 2023, the company confirmed holdings, considering the amounts "immaterial." This move featured in its IPO filing, emphasizing belief in blockchain potential. 

Reddit's experimentation with Ether and Polygon indicated deeper blockchain exploration. The company engaged in a partnership with Google for AI model training and search capabilities, utilizing user-generated content. Despite a $90.8 million net loss, Reddit's revenue rose by 20.6% year-on-year, reflecting evolving business strategies ahead of a public offering.  

Token Airdrop Sparks Debate

Starknet's 728M token airdrop generated excitement but faced backlash due to eligibility criteria and the token unlock schedule. The community response led to user exodus, despite efforts to address concerns. StarkWare revised the STRK token lockup schedule following community feedback, reducing the initial release and committing to a more gradual unlock rate. 

Despite the turbulence, Starknet's TVL remained resilient, and its market cap grew to $1.4 billion. The saga serves as a case study for decentralized governance and equitable distribution in the DeFi ecosystem, showcasing StarkWare's adaptability and commitment to fostering a sustainable network.  

Technical Glitch Halts Avalanche

Avalanche faced a block production halt due to a newly launched inscription wave, disrupting network functionality on February 23. The issue lasted over an hour, attributed to an "esoteric bug" related to mempool handling and excessive gossip among validator nodes. Co-founder Kevin Sekniqi anticipated a swift resolution. A software patch was deployed to address the bug and restore block finalization. 

Despite initial suspicions, inscriptions were not the primary cause. The native token, AVAX, experienced a 3% drop, slightly underperforming the market. This incident sheds light on the technical challenges and swift response within the Avalanche network.  

USDe Challenges Stablecoin Norms

Ethena Labs recently launched its USDe stablecoin, boasting a 27.6% annualized yield through a delta-neutral strategy. With over $343 million in minted USDe since its debut, the platform's Shard Campaign incentivizes user engagement, further propelled by a $50 million deposit opportunity and a $14 million funding round. Despite skeptics citing yield inversion risks and liquidity concerns, Ethena's risk management playbook, emphasizing historical testing and insurance funds, reassures investors. 

The company's cautious scaling approach involves expanding collateral to include Bitcoin. Ethena's high-yield alternative aims to challenge stablecoin market norms, albeit amidst concerns about long-term sustainability and aggressive leveraging strategies in DeFi.  

Compliance Leads to USDC Withdrawal

Circle, a leading stablecoin issuer, ceased USDC support on the Tron blockchain due to compliance reasons. Tron's founder, Justin Sun, responded optimistically, emphasizing the network's decentralization vision. Sun likened Tron to Bitcoin and Ethereum, stressing community support. Circle advised Tron USDC users to switch to other chains or redeem their tokens. 

The decision aligns with Circle's commitment to transparency and safety. Tron USDC transfers will be supported until February 2025. Despite the snub, Sun remains focused on Tron's goal of becoming a major decentralized financial protocol.  

Crypto Theft Hits Axie Co-Founder

Axie Infinity co-founder Jeff “Jihoz” Zirlin had two personal crypto wallets compromised, resulting in a theft of $9.7 million worth of Ether (3,248 ETH) transferred to Tornado Cash. While no specific details were shared about the hack, it's suspected that Zirlin's private keys were leaked. The stolen funds were split and moved to different wallets before being transferred to Tornado Cash for anonymity. 

Binance froze $4.2 million worth of stolen XRP from a separate hack involving Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen. Unlike the Axie Infinity hack, Binance was able to track down and block some of the funds from the hacker's access.  

Kraken Fights SEC Overreach

Kraken filed to dismiss the SEC lawsuit, arguing it sets a "dangerous precedent" for overreach. The SEC accused Kraken of unlawfully profiting from "crypto asset securities," lacking proper registrations, and commingling assets. Kraken contests the SEC's claims, stating there was no investment contract and customers had no common enterprise with issuers. They fear the SEC's definition of a security could extend to ordinary assets. 

Kraken cites the major questions doctrine and Congress' debate on crypto regulation. In May, Kraken recommended a framework to limit the SEC’s authority. Shortly after, the SEC announced its lawsuit. Other crypto firms have also cited the doctrine in their attempts to dismiss SEC lawsuits.  

Crypto Giants Sue SEC for Clarity

A consortium led by the Crypto Freedom Alliance of Texas, including Coinbase and Andreessen Horowitz's a16z Crypto, is suing the SEC in Texas, seeking clarity on the agency's regulatory authority over digital asset transactions. 

The lawsuit argues against the SEC's broad interpretation of "investment contracts" and its enforcement actions. Additionally, legal experts are divided on the likelihood of success for Coinbase and CFAT, with widespread criticism of the SEC's treatment of the crypto industry. The SEC's legal cases against Ripple and Grayscale collapsed, fueling optimism for Coinbase's case. Furthermore, a top SEC crypto unit lawyer resigned, joining the private sector to support the crypto industry.  

Uniswap Proposal Surges UNI Value

UNI token surged 60% following a proposal to revamp Uniswap's governance. The plan, authored by Uniswap Foundation's Erin Koen, aims to enhance governance and reward UNI holders who stake and delegate their tokens. 

If approved, it will permit the collection of protocol fees and their proportional distribution to staked UNI token holders. Despite recent flat Bitcoin and CoinDesk 20 Index prices, UNI hit $12, up nearly 60% in 24 hours, its highest since April 2022. This proposal marks a notable departure from a previous initiative and could rejuvenate decision-making for the largest decentralized exchange by trading volume.