Headline
BTC breaks through 64000 USDT in short-term overnight trading, reaching a new high since December 2021; Bitcoin exchange rate reaches record high against various fiat currencies
With Bitcoin reaching a two-year high, in the past few days, the exchange rates of Bitcoin against the Japanese Yen, Malaysian Ringgit, Indian Rupee, New Taiwan Dollar, Korean Won, Chilean Peso, Australian Dollar, Chinese Yuan, South African Rand, Norwegian Krone, and Turkish Lira have all reached historical highs.
In addition, according to Coinglass data, there have been 749 million dollars worth of liquidations across the entire network in the past 24 hours, with short positions liquidated at 405 million dollars and long positions liquidated at 344 million dollars; 292 million dollars in Bitcoin liquidations and 122 million dollars in Ethereum liquidations.
Bitcoin spot ETF daily trading volume reaches nearly 7.7 billion dollars, setting a new record
James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, stated on X platform that the trading volume of Bitcoin spot ETF reached 7.69 billion dollars yesterday, setting a historical high. The previous record was 4.66 billion dollars.
According to Arkham Data, the address labeled "U.S. Government: Bitfinex Hacker Seized Funds" transferred 2818 BTC, worth about $173 million, to a new address a few hours ago. Another related address then transferred its holdings of 12,300 BTC, worth about $923 million, to a new address.
These bitcoins are said to come from the Bitfinex hacker funds confiscated by the U.S. Department of Justice, and the department has not yet responded to the motive behind the transfer.
According to Arkham, there is also a U.S. government wallet containing approximately 94,600 BTC, also part of the confiscated Bitfinex hacker funds, with a calculated value of about $5.79 billion at the current price.
Insiders reveal that SBF has been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since last summer and has spent most of the time dealing with their own case. In addition, SBF has also shared investment advice on the cryptocurrency market with prison guards and recommended investing in Solana (SOL).
Coinbase states that all services on the official website have been restored. A small number of customers may still see inaccurate balances in their accounts. The team is working to resolve this display issue for these users.
Prior to this, during market fluctuations, the Coinbase platform briefly went down, causing some users to be unable to access it, and the balances of some users showed as zero.
Industry News
Gemini Trust announced on X platform that it has reached a preliminary settlement with Genesis and other creditors in the Genesis bankruptcy case. If approved by the bankruptcy court, all Gemini Earn users will receive a 100% return of digital assets in physical form. This means that Gemini Trust will return digital assets worth over $1.8 billion, $700 million more than when Genesis stopped withdrawals on November 16, 2022.
If the bankruptcy court approves the settlement in principle, it is expected that Earn users will receive approximately 97% of the physical assets within about two months and will receive the remaining asset balance within the next 12 months. This settlement is based on the determined documents. The required bankruptcy court procedures may take up to two months to complete, and we will notify Earn users promptly.
El Salvador Holds Bitcoin Worth Over $147 Million, Profits Over 40%
According to data from Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele posted on the X platform, El Salvador holds Bitcoin worth over $147 million, with profits exceeding 40%. If it sells its Bitcoin holdings today, it will make a profit of nearly $41.6 million. It is reported that the average cost of El Salvador's cumulative holdings is $44,292, and the country's treasury holds a total of 2,381 Bitcoin.
Nigeria Detains Two Binance Executives in Crackdown on Cryptocurrency
According to foreign media reports, Nigeria has detained two Binance executives in a crackdown on cryptocurrency.
SBF Proposes Sentencing Range of 63 to 78 Months
Court documents show that SBF has proposed a sentencing range of 63 to 78 months.
US SEC Seeks to Extend Deadline for Dispositive Motions in Ripple Case to March 22, 2024
Former U.S. federal prosecutor James K. Filan stated on the X platform that in the U.S. SEC v. Ripple litigation, the SEC seeks to modify the deadlines for dispositive motions, including extending the deadline for the opening brief to March 22, 2024, extending the deadline for Ripple to file opposition briefs to April 22, 2024, and extending the deadline for the SEC to file reply briefs to May 6, 2024.
Deribit data shows that BTC options with a nominal value of over $1.48 billion and ETH options with a nominal value of $659 million will expire and settle this Friday (March 1). The maximum pain point price for BTC is $53,000; for ETH, it is $2,850.
DWF Labs launches OTC trading platform Liquid Markets
DWF Labs announced the launch of institutional-grade OTC trading platform Liquid Markets. The platform provides compliant OTC trading for blue-chip tokens and altcoins, available 24/7. Liquid Markets is integrated with Fireblocks and Talos.
VanEck launches NFT marketplace and digital asset platform SegMint
Global investment management company VanEck, in collaboration with Nueva.Tech, Delegate.xyz, MINTangible.io, Portals.to, and Walletchat.fun, has launched the NFT marketplace and digital asset platform SegMint.
SegMint's model aims to simplify self-custody sharing of digital assets. The company states that the process is similar to having a secure vault to store digital assets and issuing keys to others, granting them shared access and ownership without compromising security.
SBF persists in vegetarianism while in prison, cellmate writes to judge requesting leniency
Former New York Police Department official Carmine Simpson, who is incarcerated with SBF, wrote a letter to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan on behalf of SBF requesting leniency. Kaplan will sentence SBF on March 28. SBF was convicted in November last year on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy.
It is reported that SBF still adheres to a vegetarian diet in prison, but the food conditions are very poor. Simpson wrote in a letter: "Although Sam (SBF) eats 12 out of every 14 meals a week that are uncooked rice, a spoonful of disgusting-looking beans, and week-old lettuce, he has always kept his commitment to not abusing animals."
Simpson said he initially doubted SBF's motivation, but changed his mind after spending some time with him. He wrote: "When he (SBF) first told me that the main reason he worked so hard to become a successful and wealthy person was to donate all his money to noble causes and people in need, to be honest, I thought he was deceiving me. But soon I concluded that Sam is the most selfless person I have been fortunate to meet. If Sam Bankman-Fried is released from prison, the world will be much better off."
Simpson added that it is expected the judge will not take his letter seriously, as he himself is facing criminal charges.
Top News of the Project
Gas Hero game will be suspended and return to closed testing state, rules to be redesigned
According to official news, Gas Hero has encountered major difficulties and challenges in optimizing its product, causing harm to a large number of players. Due to the difficulties of making a comeback, after repeated discussions, it was decided to let Gas Hero return to closed testing. Here are the details of the closed testing: open registration for the game will be suspended, but players can invite new players through recommendations. The team may make frequent adjustments, additions, or deletions to any features during the closed testing period. The team may redefine the game rules during the closed testing period. Players can participate more deeply in the game design during the closed testing period.
For existing players, two options are provided for continuing or not continuing to participate in the closed testing: Option 1: Choose to stay: can continue to communicate directly with the game developers and participate in game design and discussions. The account will be fully retained. Option 2: Choose to leave: need to bind all in-game assets and destroy them actively, except for the following assets: Gas Hero x STEPN badge, Gas Hero Genesis Heroes, Gas Hero vouchers.
Important information: The decision window will end 5 days after the announcement is made, and Gas Hero will officially enter the closed testing phase. Prior to the maintenance time before the announcement was made, the team has completed a snapshot on February 28, 2024, at 8:10 AM UTC (approximately block height 54050886). All matters related to this announcement are based on this snapshot node.
Based on Solana's DePIN protocol, the io.net will launch the first phase of the reward program on March 1st. The program, named Ignition, will run until April 28th. The program will reward points based on the GPU provided by users to the network.
When asked if the reward points will be converted to io.net's native token IO, io.net's founder and CEO Ahmad Shadid declined to comment but mentioned that the token is expected to launch on April 28th.
io.net stated that the upcoming Ignition reward program is the first step towards decentralization and transferring governance to the community.
Jupiter LFG Launchpad voting will start next week
The Jupiter Exchange's LFG Launchpad voting will commence during the week of March 4th.
Jupiter DAO will vote on the first two projects expected to be launched on the Launchpad. The two projects with the most votes will be officially approved by the DAO. 75% of the Launchpad fees will be distributed to the voters to increase participation in the voting process.
BounceBit to launch testnet on March 8th
BounceBit announced that they will launch the testnet on March 8th. Users who register an account and deposit at least $100 will be able to experience BounceClub (formerly BounceBox) during the testnet launch.
Serenity Shield: Project wallet hacked, trading suspended and SERSH token will be relaunched
The Serenity Shield blockchain data storage protocol announced on platform X that the MetaMask wallet associated with the project has been attacked. The team has taken measures to safeguard the interests of the community, including an immediate suspension of SERSH token trading on PancakeSwap, as well as suspending trading on Gate.io and MEXC.
In addition, Serenity Shield has decided to relaunch the SERSH token. The team is actively addressing the current situation and will disclose more details as soon as possible. Holders of SERSH prior to the incident will receive the new tokens at a ratio of 1:1.
Please note that any transactions made after the snapshot timestamp will not qualify for the replacement, this rule only applies to DEX purchases. For transactions made on CEX platforms, Serenity Shield will communicate with the corresponding CEX platform to determine the replacement process and update the information accordingly.
According to blockchain detective ZachXBT, 6.9 million SERSH tokens with a value of approximately $586,000 have been stolen from Serenity Shield.
PlayDapp: Token Migration Portal for self-hosted PLA holders to be launched in March
According to official sources, PlayDapp has provided the following updates regarding token migration:
1. For self-hosted PLA holders (non-coordinated CEX PLA holders): The migration portal is planned to be launched in March, and the specific date will be announced later.
2. For CEX PLA holders: The team is discussing the migration methods and procedures with CEX platforms in certain cases. Based on these discussions, the migration methods and schedules may vary for PLA holders on each exchange.
Earlier reports stated that PlayDapp suffered a total loss of $290 million in tokens due to two hacking attacks.
PlayDapp plans to introduce a new PDA token to replace the 1.79 billion PLA tokens that were minted invalidly due to the smart contract attack. PlayDapp will collaborate with some coordinated CEX platforms to compensate PLA holders by migrating to PDA. Compensation for affected users will be based on the balance held by users at the time of the snapshot and will be given at a ratio of 1:1.
Matrixport HK applies for virtual asset trading platform license in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission website data shows that Flying Hippo Technologies Limited has submitted a virtual asset trading platform license application on February 26, and the name of its virtual asset trading platform is "Matrixport HK".
Investment and Financing
ether.fi announces completion of $27 million financing
Liquidity repledging protocol ether.fi announces completion of $27 million financing, led by Bullish and CoinFund, with support from over 95 investors.
Backpack valued at $120 million completes $17 million strategic financing, led by Placeholder
Backpack.exchange, the exchange and ecosystem project, announces completion of $17 million strategic financing, with a valuation of $120 million. This round of financing is led by Placeholder, with participation from Hashed, Wintermute, Amber Group, Robot Ventures, Selini, Delphi Digital, and others.
It is reported that the Backpack ecosystem includes the Backpack wallet, exchange, and the top-ranked Mad Lads NFT project in the Solana ecosystem. The core team of Backpack is also the developer of the Solana smart contract framework Anchor and the "executable NFT" (xNFT) token standard.
BounceBit completes $6 million seed financing, led by Blockchain Capital and Breyer Capital
Bitcoin collateral L1 project BounceBit completes a $6 million seed round, led by Blockchain Capital and Breyer Capital, with participation from dao 5, CMS Holdings, Bankless Ventures, NGC Ventures, Matrixport Ventures, DeFiance Capital, OKX Ventures, and HTX Ventures. Individual investors include Calvin Liu, Chief Strategy Officer of EigenLayer.
Geodnet completes $3.5 million financing, led by North Island Ventures
DePIN project Geodnet completes a $3.5 million financing round, led by North Island Ventures, with participation from Modular Capital, Road Capital, Tangent, Reverie, and existing investors Borderless and IoTeX.
Geodnet is a community-based DePIN project where anyone can contribute to the network by installing and operating Satellite Miner.
Pantera Capital announces investment in a16z-backed DeFi lending protocol Morpho Labs
Cryptocurrency investment firm Pantera Capital announced its investment in DeFi lending protocol Morpho Labs on the X platform. The specific amount has not been disclosed.
In 2022, Morpho raised $18 million through a native token sale. The round was led by a16z and Variant, with participation from Nascent, Semantic Ventures, Cherry Crypto, Mechanism Capital, Standard Crypto, and Coinbase Ventures.
Humanity Protocol completes strategic financing with participation from Hashed
Humanity Protocol announced the completion of strategic financing with participation from more than 20 institutions including Hashed, CMCC, Cypher Capital, Foresight Ventures, and Mechanism Capital. The specific amount has not been disclosed.
This round of financing will be used to accelerate the development and deployment of the Humanity Protocol, improve its scalability, efficiency, and user accessibility, and prepare for the upcoming testnet.
Wormhole Foundation announced that it has received a 1.8 million ARB grant from Arbitrum DAO to facilitate the migration of 100 million native issued USDC to the Arbitrum network.
This plan will distribute ARB rewards to users who bridge USDC using the Circle Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) through Wormhole Connect. Users can deposit bridged USDC into Aave, Compound, and Beefy, or keep it in the bridging address to accumulate rewards.
The participation methods include: bridging USDC to Arbitrum using the Portal Bridge, providing USDC on Compound, Aave, or Beefy to continue earning ARB rewards (optional), and claiming ARB rewards. Rewards will be accumulated every seven days, up to three months, and can be claimed within one year. Unclaimed rewards will be returned to Arbitrum DAO.
Data
On-chain data shows that Bitcoin's third largest holding address increased its BTC holdings by 4,809 coins today, equivalent to approximately 293 million dollars. This is the first increase in holdings by this address since January 5th of this year.
Currently, this address holds a total of 131,945.15 BTC, approximately 8.135 billion dollars, with unrealized profits of 4.283 billion dollars.
Ordinals developer Leonidas wrote on X platform that Inscription 2 was just sold for a price of $1.4 million (24.48 BTC), setting a new record for the highest transaction in Ordinals inscriptions history.
Kaiko: AI token trading volume reached a historical high of $13 billion last week
Kaiko wrote on X platform that the weekly trading volume of AI tokens reached a historical high of $13 billion last week, with WLD ranking first on the list.
0x Scope: 138 AI encryption companies raised over $1.24 billion in total
Web3 data analytics company 0x Scope released the "Crypto+AI Industry Deep Map Report", which tracks 138 AI-related encryption companies. The data shows that these companies collectively raised at least $1.24 billion from investment institutions, and the market value of the AI-related tokens of these 138 companies is approximately $17.86 billion.
Bitcoin ETP's daily trading volume expected to reach $2 billion in 2024
James Butterfill, Director of Research at CoinShares, wrote on X platform that the average daily trading volume of Bitcoin ETPs has increased from $34 million in 2023 to $2 billion in 2024.
Ethereum Foundation affiliated address deposits 4,000 ETH to Kraken
According to Lookonchain monitoring, a wallet associated with the Ethereum Foundation deposited 4,000 ETH, equivalent to $13.3 million, into Kraken when the price of ETH exceeded $3,300. This is the first time since January 6, 2022, that the wallet has deposited ETH into Kraken, when the price of ETH was around $3,350. The wallet received 39,006 ETH (equivalent to $130.6 million) from EthDev and currently holds 33,006 ETH (equivalent to $110 million).
Amber Group extracted 13,800 ETH, equivalent to $44.9 million, from Binance
According to Scopescan monitoring, Amber Group extracted 13,800 ETH (equivalent to $44.9 million) from Binance; subsequently, 7,000 ETH was transferred to a new address, and 6,800 ETH was transferred to the Amber Group recharge address.
