PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD

- BTC ($8,530): -14% / +18%
- ETH ($217): -20% / +66%
- LTC ($58): -26% / +40%
- XRP ($0.23): -18% / +19%
- Crypto Market Cap ($243B): -16% / +27%
- BTC Dominance: 64%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO

- Many analysts and traders in crypto have debated whether bitcoin should trade as a hedge against bearishness in traditional markets or if it's more vulnerable to a sell-off alongside risky assets in down markets. The recent coronavirus outbreak has led to a significant decline in cryptocurrency prices; some analysts believe the sharp decline is driven by investors who are indiscriminately selling all assets perceived as risky, including cryptocurrencies. Crypto enthusiasts are optimistic that investors will soon increase their allocations to cryptocurrencies, as interest rates are falling and investors are looking to diversify to assets uncorrelated with yields such as gold, artwork, and cryptocurrencies. Link. 

- DeFi apps now have to deal with flash loans. Recently, two hackers used flash loans to attack the margin trading protocol bZx, taking $950,000 across two transactions. Attackers instantaneously borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars of ETH, threaded it through a chain of vulnerable on-chain protocols, extracted hundreds of thousands in stolen assets, and then paid back their massive ETH loans - all in a single ethereum transaction. Flash loans occur instantaneously in a single transaction, unlike traditional smart-contract platforms which process transactions one at a time. While flash loans are interesting because lenders no longer have to assume risk (they're paid back instantaneously at the end of the transaction), flash loans make the network overall more susceptible to hacking. Link. 

- Crypto prime broker Tagomi is joining the Libra Association, making it the 22nd member of the project. Tagomi provides large traders and institutional funds with services to easily access crypto markets. The company has raised $28 million to date. Link. 

- Victims have paid $144 million in bitcoin as ransom from 2013 to 2019, according to research from the FBI. Nearly 64% of the ransomware went to exchanges, though the FBI didn't disclose the names of those exchanges, except BTC-e.com which no longer exists. Link. 

- Crypto exchange Gemini is working with regulators to support trading of Filecoin when it launches, which is expected to occur in June or July of this year. Link. 

- Dapper Labs, creator of CryptoKitties, has struck a licensing deal with UFC to develop and deploy UFC-branded digital collectibles. Link. 

- Square sold $178 million worth of bitcoin in Q4, up ~20% from the prior quarter and up 240% year over year. For 2019 the company sold more than $516 million of bitcoin. According to The Block, demand for bitcoin on Square increased while it decreased on platforms like Coinbase (~40% quarter over quarter decline), Gemini (~60% decline qoq), and Kraken (~10% growth qoq). Square also said that active bitcoin users on its platform generate 2-3x annual revenue compared to regular Cash App users. LInk. 

- Japanese messaging giant LINE has shut down its Singapore crypto exchange BITBOX and launched a global platform based in the US called BITFRONT. BITFRONT supports trading in five coins: bitcoin, ether, bitcoin cash, tether, and LINE's native token LINK. Trading is available for all US investors except those located in New York, Hawaii, and Nevada. Link. 

- Berkshire Hathaway chairman and billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNBC in an interview, "Cryptocurrencies basically have no value and they don't produce anything," adding "I don't have any cryptocurrency and I never will". Link. 

- Coinbase Wallet now allows users to send crypto using short human-friendly addresses instead of traditional long addresses. An integration with Ethereum Name Service allows users to send crypto to ".eth" addresses. The app now also allows users to send funds to people using their usernames that being with an @ symbol. The company wants to make crypto much easier to use. Link. 

- The SEC rejected Wilshire Phoenix's bid for a bitcoin ETF, writing that the company had not proven the bitcoin market is sufficiently resistant to market manipulation. The SEC has rejected all bitcoin ETF proposals to date. Wilshire hoped to buck the trend by basing its ETF proposal on US Treasury bonds in addition to bitcoin, to help with price stabilization. Link. 

- Actor Steven Seagal settled charges with the SEC over his failure to disclose payments he received in connection with the Bitcoiin (B2G) ICO in early 2018. The SEC found that Seagal failed to disclose he was promised $250,000 in cash and $750,000 worth of B2G tokens in exchange for promoting the cryptocurrency, which could be used for staking. Link. 

- Commercial real estate marketplace Red Swan has tokenized $2.2 billion in real estate through security token platform Polymath. The $2.2 billion represents 15 different commercial properties in Austin, Houston, Brooklyn, Oakland, and Ontario. Red Swan believes tokenization will open its platform to the 30,000 accredited investors in its network. Link.