This week's crypto weekly was co-authored by @serdave
PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($24,462): +13% / +48%
- ETH ($1,685): +13% / +41%
- SOL ($25.14): +23% / +158%
- UNI ($7.25): +17% / +41%
- MATIC ($1.49): +28% / +98%
MARKET CAP CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- Crypto Market Cap ($1.1T): +12% / +40%
- BTC Dominance: 42%
- ETH Dominance: 19%
- Tether ($70B): +3% / +6%
- USDC ($42B): +2% / -6%
NFT 3M TRADING VOLUMES
THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- Bitcoin rose above $25,000 this week, driven partially by demand in ordinals, non-fungible tokens that exist on the bitcoin blockchain. In December, Bitcoin engineer Casey Rodarmor invented an algorithm to inscribe NFT data on a satoshi, the smallest unit of bitcoin. Link.
- The SEC has charged Terraform Labs and its CEO, Do Kwon, for securities fraud related to its UST stablecoin and its LUNA tokens. Link.
- The SEC complaint against Terraform Labs said that a third party purchased more than 62 million UST to help the stablecoin maintain its $1.00 peg. The third party was repaid in the form of LUNA tokens, which it received at a price of 40 cents even though the token was trading at $90 on the open market. The SEC alleges that the third party made $1.28 billion in profits on the trade. The SEC did not reveal the identity of the third party, though many speculate it was Jump Capital. Link.
- The Bank of Japan will launch a new pilot program for its CBDC in April that will involve “simulated transactions.” 114 central banks, or 58% of all countries, are exploring CBDCs. Link.
- Crypto-related crimes hit an all-time high of $20.6 billion in 2022, with 82.1% of all stolen funds coming from DeFi protocols, according to a Chainalysis report. The thefts represented less than 1% of all crypto volume last year. Link. Report (PDF).
- NFT marketplace Blur released its $BLUR token and amassed over $500 million in trading volume in its first day, and also passed competitor OpenSea in total NFT trading volume. Blur said that any projects that block trading on OpenSea would receive full creator royalties on its marketplace. Link. Link. Link. Link.
- OpenSea announced it will temporarily eliminate its marketplace fee and make creator royalties optional starting at 0.5%. Link.
- NFT collector Cozomo De Medici donated 22 NFTs to LACMA. The donation includes a rare zombie Cryptopunk and multiple high-valued Art Blocks NFTs. Link.
- Bitcoin Ordinals continue to gain momentum with 76,000 NFTs minted last week. Link.
- Binance is reportedly considering delisting any US based tokens on its exchange amidst increasing US regulatory pressure on crypto companies. Binance CEO CZ has denied the rumors. Link.
- For the first time since the US Treasury Department shut down Tornado Cash, fewer than half of new ETH blocks are OFAC compliant. Link.
- Blockchain.com is reportedly trying to sell parts of its business to raise capital, fueling speculation that the company is low on cash after lending $270 million to defunct hedge fudn Three Arrows Capital. The exchange has denied the rumors. Link.
- Former FTX Head of Engineering Nishad Singh, who lived with SBF and was part of his inner circle, is planning to plead guilty to US criminal charges over the collapse of FTX. Link.
- The SEC sued former NBA player Paul Pierce over promoting the Ethereum Max token without disclosing his payment for doing so. Pierce settled with the SEC for $1.4 million. Link.
- Collab.Land, a popular community management tool for token-gating, is introducing its own governance token, Collab, via an airdrop. The Collab.Land DAO will launch on Layer-2 network Optimism. Link.
- A judge granted a request by U.S. prosecutors to have the CFTC civil case against SBF delayed until after the criminal case against him is completed. The request for a delay in the SEC civil case is pending. Link. Prosecutors have also asked to limit SBF's access to devices and the internet, alleging SBF has been using VPN and auto-delete for messages on Signal. Link.
- L2 rollup ZkSync is entering a final phase of development before opening to the public. Developers can now test their apps on the L2 and the company made its zkEVM code open sourced. Link.
- Binance chief strategy officer Patrick Hillman acknowledged that the exchange is working with US regulators to settle claims against the exchange for noncompliance with bribery, corruption and money laundering rules. Link.
- Alexey Pertsev, the developer behind the crypto mixer Tornado Cash, will remain detained until his next hearing scheduled for April 21. The developer was first arrested in August. Link.
- The SEC voted 4-1 on a rule that would require registered investment advisers to hold crypto with a qualified custodian, a move that critics argue will cut off institutional investors from major exchanges. Link.
- Coinbase Custody, Anchorage Digital and BitGo have all publicly commented on the SEC crypto custody proposal, arguing they comply with the proposed rule because they are state-chartered trusts. Link.
- GQ launched its first-ever NFT collection this week. Holders will get perks such as a subscription to the magazine, merch and a ticket to a GQ party in New York. Link.
- Sony is teaming with multi-chain smart contract network Astar Network for a Web3 incubation program. Link.
- Tencent is reportedly scrapping its VR and Metaverse ambitions due to difficulties in achieving quick profitability, prompting layoffs at its XR unit, which it launched in June last year. Link.
- The number of unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) on the Bitcoin network are nearing all-time highs. Link.
- Two Stanford University employees were revealed to be the co-signers for SBF's $250 million bond, putting up $200,000 and $500,000 respectively. Link.
- NFT animation shop Superplastic closed a $20 million Series A funding with investors including Amazon, Google, Sony and Animoca Brands. Link.
- Art Blocks and Bright Moments have partnered with Michael Kozlowski to release the Metropolis collection, where each NFT will be tied to a specific city and have a second, physical activation that can only be minted in that city. Link.
- Square Enix has partnered with Polygon to launch a gamified art collecting experience. The video game studio behind the Final Fantasy series is investing heavily into blockchain gaming. Link.
- Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius proposed a plan for a sale to NovaWulf Digital Management. Smaller creditors would receive most of their funds back, while larger creditors would receive tokenized shares in the new entity. Link.
- English esports player Mongraal won the Yuga Labs Dookey Dash challenge, an endless runner game meant for Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT holders. Link.
- Lawmakers in the Senate Banking Housing and Urban Affairs Committee to discuss the future regulation of cryptocurrency, but no solid solutions were presented. Lawmakers urged SEC Commissioner Gary Gensler to join their next session. Link.
- Arbitrum DeFi exchange GMX last week generated more fees than every DeFi protocol on Ethereum combined. Link.
- Since its beta launch in December, Starbucks Odyssey has seen 360 total secondary sales on its stamp NFTs with over $143,000 in total volume traded. Link. Link.