Blockchain Explained

🟠 Binance cuts support for Nigerian naira amid regulatory dispute Binance will discontinue all services for Nigeria’s fiat currency, the naira, amid an ongoing regulatory conflict in the country. The crypto exchange will automatically convert naira balances to USDT from March 8 at 8:00 a.m. UTC but will cease support for deposits after 14:00 UTC today. Withdrawals will become unsupported after March 8 at 6:00 a.m. UTC. The conversion rate for automatic conversions will be 1 USDT per 1,515.13 naira, according to an announcement. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🇭🇰 Hong Kong regulators warn of increasing crypto exchange impersonation scams Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has warned the public against suspicious websites impersonating the two licensed crypto exchanges in the city-state, according to a Mar. 4 notice. According to the notice, several sites impersonating the image and branding of both Hash Blockchain Limited and OSL Digital Securities Limited are attempting to trick users. In addition, the financial regulator cautioned that there might be other deceptive platforms impersonating licensed entities. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🇺🇸 U.S. Judge Enters Default Ruling Against Ex-Coinbase Insider, Says Secondary Market Sales are Securities Transactions In an insider trading case involving Coinbase’s former product manager Ishan Wahi, his brother Nikhil Wahi, and their friend Sameer Ramani, a U.S. court ruled on March 1, that the trading of certain crypto assets on a secondary market, which Coinbase is, are securities transactions. The court took this critical position in a default judgment against Ramani. A default judgment is given when the defendant fails to respond to a court summons or does not appear in court. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🟠 Binance CEO Richard Teng asked to appear before Nigerian committee Binance is in hot water in Nigeria in the aftermath of its settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Nigeria’s House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes issued an ultimatum to Binance CEO Richard Teng on Friday, according to a local news report. Ginger Onwusibe, the chairman of the committee, has asked Teng to appear before the committee by March 4. The summons was issued over its alleged involvement in financial crimes, including money laundering and terrorism financing. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🇺🇸 Biden administration’s notorious Bitcoin mining survey halted after legal backlash The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) agreed to stop the emergency survey of Bitcoin miners as part of an agreement to end the lawsuit filed by several industry players, including the Texas Blockchain Council. According to the March 1 court filing, the EIA must destroy any survey information it has already received and information yet to be received. It must also sequester or keep confidential that data until it is destroyed. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🇮🇩 Indonesia mulling changes to dual taxation on crypto: Report Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) has reportedly asked the nation’s Ministry of Finance to assess its stance on cryptocurrency taxation. According to a recent local report, executive staff members at Bappebti have requested to reassess the government-imposed value-added tax (VAT) of 0.11% on each crypto transaction in Indonesia, as well as the 0.1% income tax on crypto. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

💰 El Salvador and pro-Bitcoin businesses reaping rewards after years of skepticism El Salvador and several forward-thinking corporations, including Nexon and Tahini’s, are witnessing substantial returns on their Bitcoin investments, challenging the wave of skepticism they faced from the media and financial analysts. Despite enduring a barrage of negative press when they made their investments over the last few years, the Bitcoin stacks they built up are now positioned to reap significant profits as BTC approaches its all-time high price levels. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

💰 MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Bet Is Paying Off Big, Delivering 2x Returns MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holdings have become a major success, showcasing a strategy that has propelled the company to impressive unrealized gains. Co-founded by Chairman Michael Saylor, the business intelligence firm’s bold move into Bitcoin since 2020 has been a masterclass in foresight and conviction, especially during a time when the asset class was still considered the ‘Wild West of Finance.’. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

📉 Shido token plummets 94% as exploiter drains Ethereum staking contract The token for the layer-1 blockchain Shido dropped as much as 94% in just 30 minutes after suffering an exploit on its Ethereum-based staking contract. Blockchain security firm PeckShield alerted its followers to the drop in a Feb. 29 X post. In a follow-up post, it explained an exploiter managed to transfer the blockchain’s Ethereum staking contract to another address with the new owner then upgrading the contract with a hidden function to withdraw staked tokens. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

❄️ Telegram ad platform to launch via TON blockchain Starting in March, Telegram channel owners in over 100 countries can start receiving financial rewards for their work after the ad platform opens for all advertisers. Channel owners will start receiving 50% of the total advertising revenue generated by Telegram from displaying ads in their channels, according to an announcement on Feb. 28 by Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

💰 Bitfinex hacker testifies in Bitcoin Fog trial as government witness Convicted Bitfinex hacker Ilya Lichtenstein has become a key government witness in a jury trial involving the alleged operator of crypto mixer Bitcoin Fog Roman Sterlingov, Bloomberg News reported on Feb. 27. US prosecutors arrested and charged Sterlingov in April 2021 over allegations that the mixer helped launder 1.2 million BTC — worth $335 million at the time — linked to illicit activities on the dark web. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

💰 Hut 8 to finance new Texas mining facility with Bitcoin reserves Bitcoin miner Hut 8 intends to use part of its reserve BTC holdings to finance establishing a new mining facility in Culberson County, Texas. According to a Feb. 27 statement, this decision is part of a new treasury strategy that would leverage the firm’s BTC reserves to bolster its balance sheet and support growth endeavors. Hut 8 is one of the largest Bitcoin mining firms in the industry. The company has a BTC reserve of more than 9,000 BTC, estimated to be worth $523 million. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

📊 Stablecoin Market Cap Hits $140B, Highest Since 2022 Amid USDC Resurgence, Tether Growth The stablecoin market's expansion is accelerating this year as fresh money continues to enter into the digital asset market, fueling the crypto rally. The total market capitalization of stablecoins recently climbed past $140 billion in February, according to CoinMarketCap. This is the highest level since December 2022, DefiLlama data shows. They thus serve a key role for digital asset markets, making the growing market cap an important milestone for the broader crypto market. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🆘 BitForex alleged $2.5 billion volume flatlines as exchange abruptly goes offline Hong Kong-based crypto exchange BitForex appears to have gone entirely dark following the suspension of its website and trading application on Feb 23. Users have been unable to initiate withdrawals or access the exchange for several days, which boasted over $2 billion in trading volume as recently as Feb 24. Data from CoinGecko shows trading volume decreasing from $2.5 billion to $1 billion between Feb 22 and Feb 24 before flatlining. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🆘 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 https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

💰 Grayscale continues Bitcoin sell-off on Coinbase with $175m transfer Crypto asset manager Grayscale has made a strategic move by transferring 3,443.1 Bitcoin, amounting to over $175 million, to an address associated with the Coinbase exchange. The transfer has sparked significant interest within the financial and cryptocurrency communities, as Grayscale has been known to influence market dynamics significantly. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🪙 Tron Fee Revenue Hits ATH $1.758M High: Data According to Tronscan data, Tron’s fee revenue soared to a record-breaking $1.758 million on February 20th. Tron’s revenue stems from fees levied on transactions, which are subsequently burned. This revenue is determined by multiplying the daily quantity of TRX burned by the closing price of TRX on CoinMarketCap. This milestone essentially underscored Tron’s growing adoption and activity within its network, reflecting investor confidence and increasing utility. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

💰 $540 Million in Bitcoin Withdrawn From Exchanges: Price Impact Bitcoin is experiencing a surge in outflows from centralized crypto exchanges, hitting its highest level in eight months, indicating a significant shift in market dynamics. On-chain data from IntoTheBlock, a prominent market intelligence platform, shows weekly net outflows from centralized exchanges have peaked. Approximately $540 million worth of Bitcoin was withdrawn this week, marking the largest net outflow since June 2023. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

💰 Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms generated record $281 million total revenue in 2023 Bitcoin mining and data center hosting firm Riot Platforms generated record total revenue in 2023, according to its annual report for the year ending 31 Dec. filed today. Riot’s total revenue rose 8% from $259.2 million in 2022 to $280.7 million in 2023. Bitcoin mining revenue accounted for $189 million (67%) of the total revenue — up 20% from 2022 — driven by higher Bitcoin production and the rising price of Bitcoin, the company said. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🔴 Avalanche confirms block finalization stall, developers currently investigating Avalanche has confirmed a block finalization stall, preventing blocks from being accepted on the network, with developers currently investigating. “Developers across the community are currently investigating a stall in block finalization that is preventing blocks from being accepted on the Primary Network.” Avalanche stated in an incident report at 6:30 a.m. ET. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🟠 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 https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🇳🇬 Nigerians turn to VPN as government blocks access to Binance, Coinbase, others Binance has acknowledged reports of Nigerian users encountering difficulties accessing its official website following the government’s directive to block prominent crypto platforms’ sites. In a Feb. 22 email sent to its users and obtained by CryptoSlate, Binance clarified that the restriction only affects attempts to reach its official Binance.com site, leaving its app users unaffected by the measure. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

💰 Lido adds 1inch for faster withdrawals of stETH and wstETH Liquidity staking protocol Lido added support for decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch. The addition of 1inch facilitates the swapping of stETH (staked ether) and wstETH (wrapped staked ether), as well as ETH, Ethereum's native token, when unstaking. 1inch enables faster exits onto Ethereum, Arbitrum and Optimism, according to an official release. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🪙 Former FTX executives Backpack exchange expands to 11 US states Amid tightening global crypto regulations, Backpack, a crypto exchange founded by former FTX executives, has broadened its reach to 11 US states, including California, Colorado, Indiana, Missouri, Wyoming, and others. In a Feb. 21 announcement on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the company disclosed its availability to residents within the states above, with CEO Armani Ferrante outlining plans to consolidate the exchange’s presence in the US. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🦊 MetaMask integrates Blockaid security alerts for wallet users across multiple chains Crypto wallet app MetaMask has enabled, by-default, integration of security alerts — powered by security firm Blockaid — for its extension and mobile app users across multiple chains. These security alerts were integrated by default on Ethereum (via extension) in January 2024 and are now available for mobile and extension on the following networks: Linea, BNB Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism and Avalanche. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

📊 Crypto exchange-traded products hit bull run levels with $67B AUM A record week of inflows for crypto-derived exchange-traded products (ETPs) has pushed their combined assets under management (AUM) to levels not seen since the last bull market peak in 2021, according to CoinShares. Crypto investment products’ AUM now stands at $67 billion, “marking the highest level since December 2021,” CoinShares research head James Butterfill wrote in a Feb. 19 report, pinning the AUM rise on year-to-date inflows of $5.2 billion and positive crypto market price action. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

💰 Bitcoin ETFs See Record $2.4B Weekly Inflows; BlackRock's IBIT Leads: CoinShares Demand for bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETF) accelerated again last week as they raked in a record $2.4 billion of the $2.45 billion that flowed into digital asset investment products, crypto asset management firm CoinShares said Monday. Allocations to the newly approved U.S.-based spot bitcoin ETFs overwhelmed the $623 million outflows from Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), the incumbent fund that converted into an ETF structure. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

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🏦 Coinbase Commerce Teases 💰 Solana and Lightning Network Integration Coinbase Commerce, the offshoot of the American crypto trading platform designed to enable acceptance of crypto payments by merchants has unveiled its plans to integrate Solana (SOL) and Lightning Network in the long term. With the ongoing evolution in the digital currency ecosystem, Coinbase Commerce is restrategizing in a bid to further empower its users and onboarded merchants. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🆘 FixedFloat appears to have been exploited for $26.1 million in bitcoin, ether Crypto exchange FixedFloat appears to have been exploited for $26.1 million in bitcoin and ether, according to on-chain data. Since the unexpected fund movements, the exchange has been put into maintenance mode and remains down. On X, the exchange said, "We encountered some minor technical problems and have switched our service to maintenance mode." The exchange has not confirmed the extent of the exploit and its website says, "Technical work is underway, we will be back soon." Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🪙 Mondelēz International Partners With Hedera on Distributed Ledger Technology The Hedera Council announced a new partnership with food giant Mondelēz International, the company behind popular brands such as Toblerone, Cadbury, and Oreo. As the governance body for the Hedera public network, the council will assist Mondelēz in developing distributed ledger technology solutions for internal use. Currently, the Hedera network is governed by a wide array of industry leaders such as Dell, IBM, Google, Deutsch Telekom, Ubisoft, and plenty more. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🏴 Aptos Foundation and Blockchain Phone Maker Jambo Partner to Bolster Global Web3 Access The Aptos Foundation has revealed its collaboration with Jambo, a creator of blockchain-enabled smartphones, to bolster emerging markets through Web3 innovation. The pair state that their alliance seeks to improve Web3 access and knowledge in areas that would benefit greatly, by utilizing the layer one (L1) blockchain technology of Aptos in tandem with Jambo’s dedication to Web3 empowerment. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🏦 Coinbase donates $3.6 million to support Bitcoin developer funding through Brink Coinbase is donating $3.6 million to Bitcoin supporting nonprofit Brink as it winds down GiveCrypto, an organization that gave out crypto to those in poverty. In December, the exchange said that it was ending the initiative due to its inability to create a lasting impact. At the time, Coinbase said it was splitting the remaining funds between Brink and a charity platform called GiveDirectly, but didn't specify amounts. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

💰 Crypto Traders See 20% Chance of Bitcoin Topping $70K by April End: DeFi Options Marketplace Lyra There is a one-in-five chance of bitcoin (BTC) crossing $70,000 by the end of April, according to options data from decentralized marketplace Lyra Finance. "Lyra’s markets are implying a roughly 20% chance of bitcoin hitting fresh all-time highs (trading higher than $70,000) by April 26," Nick Forster, Lyra's founder and former Wall Street options trader, told CoinDesk in an interview. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

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💰 Blackrock’s Bitcoin ETF Holdings Near 110K BTC Blackrock has amassed nearly 110,000 bitcoins for its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), since its launch about a month ago. The world’s largest asset manager’s bitcoin ETF has a total net inflow of nearly $5 billion, leading the pack among all spot bitcoin ETFs. Blackrock CEO Larry Fink has stated that he is now a big bitcoin believer. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

💰 Bitcoin ETFs attract $4.1 billion amid $3 billion gold outflows A data analysis snapshot from Bitcoin Munger presents an interesting nuance in the financial landscape. Historically considered a safe haven asset, Gold has experienced significant outflows from its ETFs. Bloomberg’s chart shows a downward trend, with roughly $3 billion outflows from various gold ETFs YTD and approximately $9 billion over the past year. Specifically, SPDR Gold shares and iShares Gold Trust witnessed about $2.5 billion and $500 million outflows YTD, respectively, with gold prices dropping 3% YTD. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🇺🇸 Treasury official confirms crypto makes up ‘small fraction’ of Hamas’ fundraising Brian Nelson, Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the US Department of the Treasury, provided critical testimony to Congress on Feb. 14, challenging widely held beliefs about the role of crypto in funding terrorist activities. Amidst a backdrop of concerns over digital assets, Nelson’s insights during the House Financial Services Committee hearing painted a picture starkly different from previous reports, particularly concerning the involvement of Hamas. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

💰 Bitcoin is “A Critical Concern”: New Zealand Central Bank Governor The New Zealand Central Bank governor, Adrian Orr, has stated that Bitcoin is not a store of value, and that he is “critically concerned” about decentralized digital assets. Moreover, he believes that digital currencies cannot replace fiat currencies but pose a risk to the current financial infrastructure. In a statement given to the parliamentary finance committee on February 12, Orr stated that stablecoins are “the biggest misnomers” and “oxymorons.”. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained

🇺🇸 Cathie Wood Doubts SEC Approval for Crypto ETFs Beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum Cathie Wood, founder of ARK Investment Management, has expressed skepticism regarding the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) stance on approving spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) following cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. Wood’s sentiment was echoed in her recent remarks on WSJ’s Take On the Week podcast: “We’d be surprised to see anything but Bitcoin and Ether being approved by the SEC.”. Source https://t.me/Blockchain_Explained