The cryptocurrency market witnessed significant developments this week, with Bitcoin ETFs experiencing high trading volumes, Binance announcing the delisting of Monero, and ARK proposing to stake Ether in its ETF holdings. Here’s a detailed look at the top stories from February 4-10, 2024.
Bitcoin ETFs See Record Trading Volumes
On February 7, the total daily trading volume for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) surpassed a billion dollars, marking a significant milestone. BlackRock led the charge with its iShares Bitcoin Trust, which recorded a daily trading volume of $341.2 million. This figure eclipsed the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s $296.5 million in volume. Fidelity’s FBTC fund came in third with $200 million in volume, while the remaining seven funds collectively contributed $188 million, bringing the total to over a billion dollars for the day.
Binance to Delist Monero and Other Tokens
Binance announced its decision to delist Monero (XMR) along with other tokens such as Aragon, Multichain, and Vai, effective February 20, 2024. This announcement led to a significant drop in XMR’s value, hitting a five-month low on February 6. Binance will remove all trading pairs involving Monero, including those against Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, and Binance’s native coin, BNB. Withdrawals for XMR tokens will be suspended after May 20, 2024. The decision was based on factors like the token’s contribution to the crypto ecosystem’s health, ethical conduct, and responsiveness to due diligence requests.
ARK Plans to Stake Ether in Its ETF Holdings
ARK 21Shares has amended its spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) application to adopt a cash-creation model, similar to its approved spot Bitcoin ETF. The firm also plans to stake a portion of the ETF’s Ether to generate additional income. Under the cash-creation model, ARK 21Shares would purchase Ether equivalent to the order amount and deposit it in the trust’s account with the custodian. The filing also proposes adding a staking element to its spot Ether ETF, where the staked Ether from the trust’s cold vault balance would generate staking rewards treated as income for the trust. Meanwhile, the U.S. SEC has delayed its decision on whether to approve an Ether ETF proposed by Invesco and Galaxy Digital.
FTX and Alameda Transfer $39M to Exchanges
Crypto wallets linked to the defunct FTX exchange and its sister company, Alameda Research, have transferred over $38.8 million in digital assets to various crypto exchanges since January 2024. This fund movement occurred amid the fallen exchange’s restructuring efforts and its plans to fully repay its customers. On January 31, FTX stated in a U.S. court hearing that its restructuring plans would focus on repaying its customers in full, although this objective is not guaranteed.
AI-Generated Fake IDs Pass Crypto Exchange KYC Checks
A new service claiming to use artificial intelligence to create fake driver’s licenses and passports has reportedly succeeded in passing Know Your Customer (KYC) checks on multiple crypto exchanges. These fake documents are available for only $15 and can be generated for 26 countries, including the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, and several European Union countries. The site accepts payment in multiple cryptocurrencies through Coinbase’s commercial payments service.
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) was at $47,497, Ether (ETH) at $2,491, and XRP at $0.52. The total market cap stood at $1.78 trillion. Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the biggest gainers were Dymension (DYM) at 79.19%, Kaspa (KAS) at 31.70%, and BitTorrent (New) (BTT) at 29.38%. The biggest losers were Monero (XMR) at -27.20%, Jupiter (JUP) at -17.89%, and Ronin (RON) at -10.52%.
Memorable Quotations
- “You cannot transform how society moves, manages, tokenizes and stores value if you don’t understand the foundations and history of the problem.” — Monica Long, president of Ripple
- “I would like to see a future where we don’t talk about Web2 versus Web3.” — Khori Whittaker, executive director at ENS
- “A federal regulator should have the ability to decide if a stablecoin issuer should be barred from issuing such an asset.” — Janet Yellen, United States Treasury secretary
- “Investments that self-audit, self-authenticate, prove reserves and are publicly viewable 24 hours a day have never existed until the Bitcoin ETF.” — Darin Feinstein, founder of Core Scientific and Blockcap
- “ETFs are eating the world. They ate every other asset class, and they’re having Bitcoin for dessert.” — Fred Krueger, investor and author
- “Digital dollars are happening around the world, other governments are regulating dollar digital currencies before the United States. So I think there is a very strong desire to act and assert U.S. leadership.” — Maxine Waters, United States representative
Prediction of the Week
Bitcoin’s strong performance this week has led to some analysts predicting that Bitcoin shorters are in for a risky game. Popular trader Jelle noted that Bitcoin is attacking the $48,000 mark and that not much stands in the way of new all-time highs once it breaks this level. However, Keith Alan, CEO and co-founder of Material Indicators, observed significant sell-side liquidity below the two-year range highs and $50,000, suggesting caution.
FUD of the Week
Hut 8 CEO Steps Down Amid Short Seller Accusations
Bitcoin mining firm Hut 8 announced a leadership transition, replacing its CEO weeks after “pump-and-dump” allegations were published by short-selling firm J Capital Research. Former CEO Jaime Leverton will be replaced by Asher Genoot, the president and a board member of the company. The transition comes as Hut 8 completed its merger with US Bitcoin Corp (USBTC).
Bakkt Faces Financial Uncertainty
Crypto company Bakkt, backed by the Intercontinental Exchange, has warned it may not have enough cash to stay in business over the next 12 months. The company is considering raising additional capital by issuing registered securities in the public markets to fund its long-term vision.
Ransomware Payments Hit Record $1B in 2023
Criminals made off with a record $1 billion in cryptocurrency ransomware payments in 2023, targeting high-profile institutions and infrastructure. The resurgence of ransomware was marked by an increase in the frequency, scope, and volume of attacks.
Top Magazine Pieces of the Week
- Real-life Doge at 18: Meme that’s going to the moon: As SpaceX’s Doge-1 space probe prepares to launch, a look back at the history of Dogecoin and its namesake, Kabosu.
- ChatGPT trigger happy with nukes, SEGA’s 80s AI, TAO up 90%: AI Eye: AI doomsday scenarios, Bittensor surges, SEGA’s 1986 AI, GPT-4 updates, and more.
- Wen Notcoin listing? MetalCore beta & more: Web3 Gamer: Notcoin exceeds Axie Infinity’s peak user count, and MetalCore CTO advises skepticism on release dates.
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Sources
- Bitcoin ETFs see high volume, Binance delists Monero, and ARK plans staking Ether: Hodler’s Digest, Feb. 4-10 – Cointelegraph Magazine, Cointelegraph.
- Bitcoin ETF race has a new player, Binance ends support for BUSD, and more: Hodler’s Digest: Nov. 26 – Dec. 2 – Cointelegraph Magazine, Cointelegraph.
