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Crypto News Updates: Tether, one of the world’s largest crypto platforms, has become a hotbed for money laundering in Southeast Asia, the United Nations has warned. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, an increasing number of fraudsters are using Tether’s crypto token to execute fake romance scams, otherwise known as “pig butchering.”
Meanwhile, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index on Monday slipped into “neutral”, for the first time since October last year, with the OG cryptocurrency Bitcoin seeing a 0.4% decline in its prices over the last 24 hours. BTC’s price stood at $42,554 at the time of writing. This comes as the launch of US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) failed to lift Bitcoin prices.
Also in crypto news, reports show that on January 15, investment products for cryptocurrency saw inflows of $1.18 billion last week. It falls short of the $1.5 billion record set by futures-based Bitcoin ETFs in October 2021, despite the enormous fanfare surrounding spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Elsewhere, Flare Networks has bought Google’s Cloud division as an infrastructure provider to validate the network and contribute to the Flare Time Series Oracle.
Research outlining eight major sectors where major breakthroughs are anticipated in 2024 has been issued by Binance Research. The research emphasizes how the dominance of Bitcoin has returned, how the total value locked in Layer 2 solutions has increased by 321%, and how the decentralized finance industry has grown significantly thanks to advances in liquid staking tokens and the integration of physical assets.
CNBC says that (there is) ‘Very good chance’ that U.S. passes stablecoin laws this year for the $135.3 billion market.
According to The Block, Renzo, an Ethereum restaking protocol built on EigenLayer, has raised $3.2 million in its seed fundraising round.
Maven11 Capital led the round, with Figment Capital, SevenX Ventures, IOSG Ventures, and many other investors participating, according to the report.
It’s noteworthy that GBTC occasionally saw negative spread, or an ask price that was lower than the bid, according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas. He adds, this is unusual, and people are willing to accept a cheaper price in order to leave.
According to the Block, Aave’s governance committee is now examining a proposal to implement version 3 on Neon EVM, a framework for smart contracts that allows Ethereum decentralized applications (dApps) on the Solana network.
Chief Technology Officer of Ripple, David Schwartz, expressed his apprehensions about the notion of limiting access to open-source artificial intelligence technology in a recent conversation on the social networking site X. In response to an IEEE Spectrum article, he emphasized the possible risks associated with elite control in the field of artificial intelligence. He also emphasized the importance of decentralization in AI.
In a recent announcement, Evernode (EVR), a global, permissionless “layer 2” smart contract platform, celebrated its first Centralized Exchange (CEX) listing on Bitrue. The long-awaited launch of Evernode on the XRP Ledger as a Layer 2 has garnered immense attention, with enthusiasts eagerly anticipating the implications of this development.
The digital currency exchange Gate.io has announced that it has partnered with Shibarium, the Shiba Inu layer-2 network. Shibarium is gaining recognition and backing from one of the biggest names in the business, which is a significant turning point for the company. The partnership will open new doors for users to easily access BONE tokens and dApps.
According to a report by The Block, Ethereum Layer 2 rollup project Taiko has launched Katla which is its final testnet before the expected mainnet. According to the reports, the mainet is slated to go live by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
The global financial services giant Moody’s, which is well-known for its credit ratings, has released a report emphasizing the growing traction of tokenized funds based on blockchain technology and the possible efficiency improvements in investing in securities such as government bonds. While noting the benefits, Moody’s analysts have also recommended caution, underlining the rising technology hazards connected with these digital investment vehicles.
Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas called the Bitcoin ETF approval a landmark day for digital assets. In an interview with Bloomberg, she also said that the ETF approval now brings crypto currencies to a larger investable asset class that can be used by many.
"This was a landmark day for crypto"
Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas explains the impact she expects Bitcoin ETFs to have on the industry, as she talks to Bloomberg at Davos https://t.co/XniOuCY2eb pic.twitter.com/tKOAnNZum4
— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) January 15, 2024
Circle on Monday released its USDC Economy Report. The report highlights that over $12 trillion in blockchain transactions have been settled using USDC since its launch in 2018.
Owing to the approval of the Bitcoin ETF, JPMorgan says it is “skeptical of the optimism… that a lot of fresh capital will enter the crypto space.”
Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment has updated their main website page to include their Bitcoin ETFs on home page.
Flare Networks has bought Google’s Cloud division as an infrastructure provider to validate the network and contribute to the Flare Time Series Oracle.
Google Cloud will be in charge of suggesting and approving new blocks for the Flare blockchain in its capacity as a network validator, supporting the proof of stake consensus process of the chain.
According to The Block, Binance Futures had a long to short ratio for bitcoin reach a multi-month high on Monday. This measure is considered an indicator of investor anticipation, with a high long-short ratio indicating that more investors have a favorable forecast for the bitcoin price.
The modular L2 for ZK applications, Manta (MANTA), was launched by Binance as the 44th project on the Binance Launchpool. To farm MANTA tokens over a two-day period, users will be able to stake their FDUSD and BNB into distinct pools.
In response to the Financial Intelligence Unit’s show-cause warning to Binance, Mudrex is providing support for more than 200 tokens and introducing free and easy crypto transfers from Binance.
Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon has again requested for Montenegro Extradition.
Do Kwon currently faces charges of breaking the Capital Markets Acts in South Korea, which carries a maximum 40-year prison sentence. Additionally, the cryptocurrency tycoon has been the target of legal proceedings from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for allegedly utilizing misleading marketing techniques and providing unregistered securities.
Hitachi US has formally joined the Hedera Council, marking a major advancement in the real-world uses of Web3 technology. In the meanwhile, this partnership seeks to use Hitachi’s experience with industrial solutions to develop proof-of-concepts for sustainability and end-to-end supply chain solutions on the Hedera Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform.
The Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) plans to oversee crypto businesses by the end of the year, according to reports by Finance Magnates. KNF plans to introduce a new bill regarding the matter in the second quarter of the year, which will precisely allow the government body to impose financial penalties on companies in the cryptocurrency sector.
The modular blockchain Celestia TIA surpassed the $20 mark. The price created a new record high and has increased by more than 10 times since the airdrop, according to CoinAnk statistics.
According to CoinAnk data, the modular blockchain Celestia TIA broke through $20, setting a new all-time high and has risen more than 10x since the airdrop. At the same time, the TIA contract holdings on the entire network reached US$214 million, setting a record high, of which…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 15, 2024
Elon Musk’s Tesla is off to a nightmarish start in 2024, with over $94 billion of its market cap wiped out in the first two weeks, South China Morning Post reported. The losses come amid a decline in demand for EVs, especially in the US.
The research team of crypto exchange Binance has unveiled key trends that will drive the crypto market in 2024. Binance expects stellar growth in areas such as Bitcoin ecosystem, ownership economy applications, artificial intelligence, institutional investment, on-chain liquidity, real-world assets, among others.
Digital-asset investment products saw inflows worth $1.18 billion in the second week of 2024, buoyed by the launch of US-listed exchange-traded funds tracking Bitcoin, according to data from CoinShares. Meanwhile, trading volumes reached a lifetime high of $17.5 billion last week, as against an average of $2 billion per week in 2022.
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez said on X (formerly Twitter) that more than 82% of SushiSwap (SUSHI) investors are “out of the money”, implying that the token is currently undervalued. Martinez said the investors were bearing the brunt of the bearish sentiment in the crypto market.
Despite continuous development on #SushiSwap, the bear market's impact is evident to investors. Data from @intotheblock reveals that over 82% of $SUSHI holders are currently 'out of the money.' This also implies that #SUSHI might be undervalued! pic.twitter.com/6br3fqG7Ys
— Ali (@ali_charts) January 15, 2024
Crypto exchange HTX announced that it would use 20% of its revenue to burn nearly 3 million of its native cryptocurrency Huobi (HT) in the final quarter of 2023.
South Korea is mulling over regulation on virtual asset mixers, or crypto blenders, which have increased threats of money laundering and illegal financial activities.
The crypto market sentiment slipped into “neutral” on Monday, with the Crypto Fear and Greed Index score hitting a three-month low of 52. This comes amid a decline in optimism around the newly-launched spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the US.
Crypto trading platform OKX has kicked off an airdrop campaign that would allow users of its On-Chain Earn product to earn rewards. Users must stake at least 1 SOL, 2 DOT, 1 MATIC, or 20 TRX between January 11 and January 25 on the platform to be eligible for these exclusive airdrops.
Lawyers representing Binance, Binance US, and its co-founder Changpeng Zhao have filed a joint response in federal court against the US SEC’s attempt to leverage the Terraform Labs ruling in a separate case against the crypto exchange.
Ethereum Foundation has extended the registration deadline for Ethereum Next Billion Fellowship program by one week. The last date of submission is Jan 21, 2024.
⏰Pssst! Writing your @EFNextBillion Fellowship application this weekend but need more time? 📢 The submission deadline has been extended by one week! Please submit your application ASAP but definitely before Jan 22, 2024https://t.co/NIxPo7iONj
— EF Next Billion (@EFNextBillion) January 14, 2024
Spot ETF issuers BlackRock, Fidelity and VanEck have updated their homepage to showcase their respective Funds. The move comes in the backdrop of exchange-traded funds tracking Bitcoin getting approved in the US.
NEW: 🇺🇸 BlackRock, Fidelity, and VanEck put #Bitcoin on the homepage. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/cx2ooU2IZ6
— Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive) January 14, 2024
South Korea-based crypto exchange Bithumb has announced plans to introduce RAD (Radworks) and MAGIC Korean won trading pairs. As per the announcement, the trading pairs will go live on Monday.
Tether, one of the world’s largest crypto platforms, has become a hotbed for money laundering in Southeast Asia lately, with an increasing number of criminals relying on Tether’s crypto token for nefarious, activities, UN has warned.
Popular NFT marketplace OpenSea is said to be working on a version 2.0 upgrade, which will allow users to distinguish between different NFT categories and offer a wide range of services.
Bitfinex Chief Technology Officer Paolo Ardoino has dismissed rumours that nearly 50% of XRP’s total supply was moved in a single transaction. While someone did attempt to attack Bitfinex, the bid was foiled because of the platform’s effective security measures.
Bitcoin adoption rate is poised to grow in Latin America in 2024 as authorities discuss a regulatory framework for digital assets, asset manager Fidelity said in its recent report.
Blockchain security firm SlowMist warned users against buying hardware wallets from unofficial channels, saying they are vulnerable to theft and fraud.
此前我们收到几起被盗反馈，大家务必注意下这类风险，非官方店铺/渠道购买的硬件钱包容易被动手脚。如果你拿到一款硬件钱包，至少参考 imKey 的建议：
– PIN 码由用户设置，任何预创建 PIN 码都存在欺诈风险；
– 新设备首次使用时必须先激活，必须创建并备份助记词；反之，存在欺诈风险。 https://t.co/jagfUIRMBs— Cos(余弦)😶🌫️ (@evilcos) January 14, 2024
Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has listed Neon EVM (NEON) on its platform, with trading and deposits for NEON/USDT going live on 10:00 on January 15, 2024 (UTC).
📢 New Listing@Neon_EVM $NEON Gets Listed on #KuCoin!
💎Pair: NEON/USDT
💎Deposit: now open (network: SPL)
💎Trading: 10:00 on January 15, 2024 (UTC)— KuCoin (@kucoincom) January 15, 2024
Crypto exchange KuCoin expanded its list of offerings, adding Manta to its spot trading platform. The Manta/USTD will start trading on January 18, as per the recent announcement.
🚀 Exciting news! #KuCoin is thrilled to welcome @MantaNetwork to our Spot trading platform!
🌐 Trade MANTA/USDT starting at 10:00 on January 18, 2024 (UTC). Get ready for new opportunities! https://t.co/aM3q1hFIVr
— KuCoin (@kucoincom) January 15, 2024
As spot Bitcoin ETF issuers accelerate plans to attract customers to their funds, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, has joined the fray. BlackRock recently kicked off an ad campaign for its Bitcoin ETF, iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), in a bid to lure rich “boomers”.
This is how you market to rich boomers, folks. The calm disposition, easy to understand inv case, soft new age music, suit with no tie.. everything about it says “it’s ok now, the adults are here” https://t.co/LmI2Ydy9rM
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 14, 2024
OKX Wallet recently integrated with Minterest, a decentralized lending protocol that aims to woo long-term liquidity providers by allocating the lion’s share of the platform fees captured.
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