Crypto | Ethereum | Bitcoin

📈Crypto Stocks Surge as Bitcoin Approaches All-Time Highs U.S.-listed crypto companies showed healthy gains in pre-market trading on Monday as bitcoin {{BTC}} topped $65,000 for the first time since November 2021. With the world’s largest cryptocurrency's all-time high price of just over $69,000 firmly in its sights, crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) gained over 6% while software company MicroStrategy (MSTR), which holds more than 190,000 BTC on its balance sheet, rose around 8.2% in pre-market trading. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🇺🇸 Trading certain crypto assets on secondary markets are securities transactions, US court rules A court in the United States has ruled that the trading of certain crypto assets on secondary markets, such as crypto exchanges, are securities transactions — a position in opposition to that taken by Coinbase and the wider crypto industry. The ruling comes in an insider-trading case against former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi, brother Nikhil Wahi and friend Sameer Ramani. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🇺🇸 WSJ faces defamation lawsuit tied to Tether-Bitfinex article Over a year after alleging fraud and money laundering associated with Tether-Bitfinex, the Journal has now removed any mention of Christopher Harborne and his business from the article. The Wall Street Journal reportedly faces a defamation lawsuit for allegations made in an article published in 2023 describing illegal activities involving crypto firms Tether and Bitfinex. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Galaxy Digital Sees 'Tremendous Global Demand for Bitcoin' — CEO Says 'There's a New Army of Buyers' Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz sees “a tremendous global demand for bitcoin,” emphasizing: “This is probably the first time in the history of bitcoin that we have true price discovery.” Noting that there is “a new army of buyers” and there is also “an army of salespeople,” he expects the price of bitcoin to be “much higher.” Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🇳🇬 Nigerian Government Imposes $10 Billion Fine on Binance The Nigerian government has reportedly slapped the cryptocurrency exchange Binance with a $10 billion fine. According to a Nigerian government official, Binance is being punished for causing the local currency’s recent plunge against major currencies. These operations have reportedly contributed to the rapid depreciation of the naira in recent weeks. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Grayscale lobbying for regulatory approval of options for spot Bitcoin ETFs Grayscale is lobbying for the US SEC to approve options on its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), Reuters reported on Feb. 29. The SEC approved Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF (GBTC) in January. Unlike most of the other newly approved spot Bitcoin ETFs, GBTC was converted to an ETF from an existing fund. According to Sonnsenshein, the SEC’s rejection of options on GBTC would unfairly discriminate against shareholders because the regulator has approved options on Bitcoin futures ETFs. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Bitcoin closes in on posting the biggest monthly candle in its history Bitcoin is set to close February posting a gain of almost $20,000 since the beginning of the month. In U.S. dollar terms, this is the largest monthly gain ever for the digital asset, according to Coingecko data. Bitcoin's green candle for February, as shown on candlestick price charts, is approaching the $20,000 mark, registering specifically at $19,976 as of 10:42 a.m. ET. Following in second place is October 2021's monthly candle, which reached $17,978. The third spot is held by February of the same year, with a length of $15,467. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Bitcoin rocked by 'demand shock' as ETFs gobble up BTC faster than it is mined, says CoinShares Rising demand for the world's largest cryptocurrency by market cap, thanks to the surging popularity of spot bitcoin ETFs, is having a profound impact on the market. "While 900 bitcoins are produced daily, the newly issued US ETFs are demanding 2,800 bitcoins per day," CoinShares's Head of Research James Butterfill told The Block. "This has led to a 28% reduction in exchange holdings since 2020, indicating a market experiencing a significant demand shock.” Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

⚫️ Coca Cola HBC to use Solana-based ALL ART verification system for staff qualifications Coca-Cola HBC, a leading bottling partner for the Coca-Cola Company, is leveraging blockchain technology to revamp its internal certificate verification process, partnering with Solana-based platform ALL.ART. Coca-Cola HBC has adopted a secure blockchain system for issuing and verifying employee qualifications obtained through its Coca-Cola Digital Academy training program. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🇭🇰 Hong Kong to roll out regulatory sandbox for stablecoin issuers, says financial secretary The Hong Kong Monetary Authority plans to introduce a regulatory sandbox for stablecoin issuers in the near future, the city’s financial secretary, Paul Chan, said during the 2024 budget announcement on Wednesday. Chan stated in the announcement that the sandbox is designed to enable companies to test stablecoin initiatives, explore business models, and implement investor protection and risk management strategies in a controlled environment. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino predicts more bitcoin buy-in from funds post spot bitcoin ETF approval Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino predicts bitcoin will increasingly integrate into traditional finance, with hedge funds, pension funds, and corporations showing growing interest in the world's first cryptocurrency. Companies will also keep bitcoin on their balance sheets, Ardoino said, adding that spot bitcoin ETFs have since provided legitimacy. So far, only a handful of companies have bitcoin holdings including Tesla, Inc. and MicroStrategy Inc., according to CoinGecko. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

⬜️ OKX opens crypto exchange in Turkey, expanding its international footprint OKX officially launched a crypto exchange in Turkey on Tuesday as part of its international expansion plans. OKX TR offers Turkish Lira direct deposits and withdrawals as well as bilingual support in both Turkish and English, according to a statement shared with The Block. OKK’s web3 non-custodial wallet is also now available to Turkish customers via its global platform. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Bitcoin Explodes to New 26-Month High of Over $53,500, Leaving Almost $200M in Liquidations The price of the largest cryptocurrency by market cap took a sudden liftoff and shot up by more than two and a half grand in minutes to a new 26-month peak of over $53,500. As such, Bitcoin had declined to $51,000, and it seemed like the consolidation around that level would continue. However, that wasn’t the case. The bulls took charge of the market minutes ago and initiated a massive leg-up that resulted in BTC soaring by nearly three grand. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🆘 MicroStrategy’s X account hacked, shilling Ethereum token phishing scam Hackers took over the official MicroStrategy X account, posting a series of malicious links to a fake airdrop for a so-called Ethereum-based $MSTR token. Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy’s X account has been hacked, posting malicious links to a fake airdrop of a so-called "official" Ethereum-based MSTR token. According to independent blockchain sleuth ZachXBT and anti-scam platform Scam Sniffer, losses incurred from the scam have already tallied over $440,000. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

📊 Defi sector surges past $80 billion TVL milestone DeFi has undergone a striking transformation, witnessing a notable surge in total value locked (TVL), surpassing $80 billion. This resurgence signifies a remarkable turnaround, particularly after the tumultuous downfall of Terra’s stablecoin in May 2022. With its decentralized nature and innovative financial products, the DeFi landscape has attracted widespread attention from investors and enthusiasts. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Bitcoin network congestion eases as mempool clears in February Bitcoin’s mempool is a holding area for transactions broadcast to the network but not yet included in a block. Analyzing the mempool provides insight into network congestion, transaction demand, and fee trends, offering a unique vantage point on the state of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Bitcoin network experienced significant congestion, as evidenced by the swelling size of the mempool. In mid-December, the mempool contained 117,813 transactions waiting to be processed, and transaction fees totaling 50.9 BTC. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Cash App Records 90% Surge in Bitcoin Sales Gross Profit In the recently released earnings report for the fourth quarter, Jack Dorsey-led payments firm Block showcased impressive growth in its Bitcoin-related activities. Block, which operates the popular Cash App, disclosed a substantial increase in gross profit from selling bitcoin, reaching $66 million. The report unveiled the total sale amount of bitcoin to customers, denoted as Bitcoin revenue, standing at $2.5 billion for the fourth quarter, indicating a robust 37% year-over-year increase. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Bitcoin halving ‘blood bath’ could push US miners offshore Hashlabs Mining co-founder and chief mining strategist Jaran Mellerud said Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Argentina and Paraguay could pick up more hash rate in the coming years. Potential sluggishness in the price of Bitcoin after the Bitcoin halving could tank the share prices of high-cost public miners in the United States, forcing some to even move offshore. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Bitcoin hits new all-time highs against 14 national currencies – Balaji Analysis shared by Network State author Balaji Srinivasan indicates that Bitcoin has surpassed its all-time highs against currencies of fourteen different countries, which collectively represent over a billion people and account for more than $7 trillion in GDP. Among these countries are Argentina and Japan, which just entered a technical recession due to their recent economic developments. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🟠 Binance faces scrutiny as presidential adviser calls for Nigeria ban An adviser to Nigeria’s president has called for a ban on Binance, KuCoin and other trading platforms in the country. Bayo Onanuga — President Bola Tinubu’s adviser on information and strategy — took to the X social media platform to allege that the platforms manipulated the country’s fiat currency, the Nigerian naira, contributing to the ongoing decline of the currency in the forex market. This is coming amid speculations that the government is already considering a ban. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🇿🇦 South Africa to Start Work on Stablecoin Regime, Will Start by Considering Use Cases South Africa's Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group will conduct analytical work on use cases for stablecoins and consider an appropriate policy and regulatory response during the course of this year. The group is also considering the impact of tokenization on domestic markets. Tokenization is the representation of real-world assets (RWA) like securities on a blockchain. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Bitcoin Could Hit $150K This Year, Says Fundstrat's Tom Lee Bitcoin (BTC) may have stalled over the past week, but FundStrat head of research Tom Lee doubled down on his bullish outlook and said it could reach as high as $150,000 this year. "You have demand improving with the new ETFs, you have supply shrinking with the halving, and if monetary policy eases which we expect, that's supportive for risk assets," Lee told CNBC on Wednesday. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

Exchange: KuCoin New Trade for #ODDZ/USDT (Chart: 4 Hour TF) ODDZ/USDT Looks good on 4 Hour time frame moving trendline support price has taken reversal several times from here. Also on a Breakout. ◼️Entry: $0.01529 - $0.001383 🟢 Target 1 : 0.01606 🟢 Target 2 : 0.01684 🟢 Target 3 : 0.01842 🟢 Target 4 : 0.01993 🟢 Target 5 : 0.02301 🛑SL : 0.01297 @ChartsSignalsTrading

💰 Bitcoin options worth $3.7 billion approaching expiration Feb. 23, the last Friday of the month, marks the expiration of an impressive $3.7 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) options, a situation that could notably influence the Bitcoin market, according to Deribit data. Deribit data shows that the options, totaling $3.7 billion for BTC, feature a significant open interest – a total of 71,340 contracts for both calls and puts combined. The put/call ratio for BTC stands at 0.76, reflecting 76 put options for every 100 call options. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🇭🇰 Hong Kong's Central Bank Issues Guidance for Firms Offering Crypto Custodial Services Hong Kong's central bank issued guidance for authorized institutions interested in offering custody services for digital assets as the territory attempts to reclaim its title as a crypto hub. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) guidance issued Tuesday adds to the licensing regime introduced last year that gives crypto exchanges a pathway to operate in a regulated manner. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🏦 Coinbase Commerce Ditches Support for Bitcoin Payments Using Self-Custody Wallets Coinbase Commerce, the cryptocurrency payments solution of U.S.-based exchange Coinbase, has removed support for bitcoin payments using self-custody wallets. Brian Armstrong, CEO of the exchange, clarified it maintains support for payments from UTXO-based chains from Coinbase accounts. However, Commerce will focus on supporting ERC-20 tokens on layer 2 protocols, like Base and Polygon. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🇰🇷 South Korea’s ruling party considers allowing spot bitcoin ETFs in election pledges: report South Korea’s ruling People Power Party is looking into ways to allow spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) as part of its campaign promises for the upcoming general election in April, according to a local media report on Monday. Aside from spot bitcoin ETFs, the right-wing party said it will review legislative measures to approve other cryptocurrency-related investment products that have been greenlit in the U.S., South Korean news agency News1 reported. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🇭🇳 Honduras Issues Ban on Crypto Trading Honduras’ National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBS) issued a ban prohibiting financial institutions in the country from engaging in crypto trading or holding digital assets. The regulatory landscape in Honduras currently lacks provisions specifically addressing crypto assets. This absence poses risks for users, leaving them vulnerable to fraud, operational pitfalls, and legal uncertainties. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

⚪️ Worldcoin price sets all-time high on back of Sora AI launch, up 100% in a week The price of worldcoin has set a new all-time high on the back of the launch of OpenAI's Sora AI model. Worldcoin has rallied strongly over the last week, doubling in price on the way to its current value of $5.36, according to The Block's Price Page. It now has a roughly $700 million market cap. Worldcoin is backed by Tools of Humanity, a company with Sam Altman as a co-founder and Chairman. Altman is also the CEO of OpenAI, which launched Sora, an AI model that lets users turn text into video, on Feb. 16. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Spot Bitcoin ETFs reach $37B in AUM, roughly one-third of gold ETF assets US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated close to $37 billion in assets under management (AUM) within the first 25 days of trading, according to market data. Incidentally, the total AUM of Bitcoin ETFs is a sizeable fraction of the overall AUM of gold ETFs, according to data shared by Bitcoin Archive. The $37 billion AUM of spot Bitcoin ETFs is equal to 39.8% of the $93 billion AUM of gold ETFs and 28.5% of both classes’ combined $130 billion AUM. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🥇 Mark Yusko Predicts Bitcoin Surge to $150,000 Post-Halving Morgan Creek Capital Management CEO Mark Yusko has recently made bullish predictions for bitcoin, foreseeing a rise to $150,000 post-halving. Moreover, he believes that the digital asset’s current “fair value” is $75,000. Speaking on Scott Melker’s “Wolf Of All Streets” podcast, Yusko attributed the upward rally to on-chain activity, Bitcoin Ordinals, and the application of Metcalfe’s law as a fundamental metric. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Coinbase Vaults Beyond 1 Million Bitcoin Mark, Stash Valued Over $52 Billion On Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, bitcoin’s value hovered between $51,850 to $52,350, with onchain insights from Arkham Intelligence revealing that the Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange giant, Coinbase, now possesses over 1 million bitcoin. Based on the current market prices, the stash secured by the San Francisco-headquartered firm is valued at just above $52 billion. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🇺🇸 U.S. Regulators Do Have Some Control Over Stablecoin Tether: JPMorgan Tether’s (USDT) dominant position as the largest stablecoin is vulnerable due to its dependence on the American market and pending regulations, JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report Thursday. Despite Tether not being based in the U.S., regulators are able to exert some control on the stablecoin issuer’s offshore usage through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the report said. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 VanEck slashes spot Bitcoin ETF fee to 0.20%; Fidelity cuts EU ETP fee to 0.35% VanEck will reduce fees on its spot Bitcoin ETF later this month, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Feb. 15. VanEck described the sponsor fee as an expense that is “paid by the Trust to the Sponsor as compensation for services performed under the Trust Agreement.” The filing identifies the trust as the VanEck Bitcoin Trust and identifies the sponsor as VanEck Digital Assets, LLC. Sponsor fees can affect the overall performance of the fund in question. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Solana’s SOL Futures Rack Up $1B in Record Bullish Bets Bets on futures tracking Solana’s SOL have risen to a lifetime peak of $1.7 billion in the past week, with bulls leading the charge. Notional open interest – or the dollar value locked in the number of unsettled futures contracts – has risen over $700 million since the start of February to $1.7 billion, with $400 million added since Feb.8. This exceeds the $1.4 billion figure set in late December, the previous record when the ecosystem saw a meme coin-led frenzy. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

#Bitcoin analysis in the daily time frame: The price has crossed the important level of $47000 - $52000 and the next main target is expected to be the price of $70000 . Of course, before reaching this price, it is possible that the price will decrease to the specified level and then perform a good pump. @Altcoin_Charts

💰 Bitcoin whales on the rise as numbers hit three-year high as ETFs join cohort The Bitcoin landscape has witnessed a significant uptick of Bitcoin whales—entities holding 1,000 BTC or more. Their numbers have surged in recent weeks, coinciding with Bitcoin’s rise from $38,000 to $51,000. Currently, there are 1,602 Bitcoin whales, a considerable uptick from 1,482 in January. This surge not only eclipses the March and April 2022 peak of 1,601 whales, but also marks a three-year high unseen since March 2021. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🏴 Aptos implements passwordless passkey authentication for transactions Aptos Labs has introduced a new way for users to sign transactions on its Layer 1 blockchain network: passkeys that eliminate the need for setting up passwords. "We have made changes on the blockchain and created a novel passkey authenticator on Aptos that will take a transaction, the passkey signature, the passkey public key, and validate the transaction with that information," Avery Ching, co-founder and CTO of Aptos Labs, told The Block. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

💰 Craig Wright Fails To Name Anyone He Sent Bitcoin To As “Satoshi” The computer scientist said his memory fails him in naming one of the hundreds of supposed recipients of “Satoshi’s” Bitcoin. The seventh day of the COPA v. Wright trial kicked off on Tuesday, exposing a glaring weakness in the latter’s argument to convince the court that he is the creator of Bitcoin. When pressed by prosecutors, Craig Wright failed to name a single person outside of the public domain to whom he had sent Bitcoin under the name of Satoshi. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹

🏦 Coinbase unfreezes Debt Box assets amid SEC controversy Coinbase has lifted the freeze on Debt Box’s assets after discovering discrepancies in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) representation of its case against the firm. According to Grewal, Coinbase challenged the SEC’s order because the regulator “sat silently” instead of “immediately pulling its order after admitting that it deceived the Court.” The exchange attempts to get an explanation from the authorities proved futile as it was met with “more silence.”. Source 🔹 @Crypto_Ethereum_Bitcoin 🔹