It’s been an eventful week out there in the world of crypto: The death of Binance USD, Ethereum’s switch to a proof-of-stake protocol, Saudi Arabia partnering with The Sandbox for metaverse plans, and the industry’s efforts to help Turkey. It’s enough to make your head spin! But worry not! The Wise Guy is here to help.
BUSD Shock!
Paxos has taken a stand against the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), announcing that it will no longer mint new Binance USD (BUSD) tokens as of February 21. According to the NYDFS, their authorization only applies to the Ethereum version of BUSD—not the Binance one.
But all is not lost! Curve Finance recently teased its own decentralized stablecoin, CRV, which has since gained serious traction, with $1 billion in reported trading volumes. Looks like there’s still hope for the future of stablecoins after all.
Did Ethereum Commit Suicide?
An unexpected twist of events last week – a settlement between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and leading crypto exchange Kraken – has cast a precarious shadow of uncertainty over the future of staking on blockchains like Ethereum. Currently, about $25 billion worth of ETH is staked on Ethereum, and 18% of this amount is staked by Coinbase and Kraken – the two main providers of staking-as-a-service products.
The settlement has ignited a flurry of speculation – might this be the nail in the coffin for Proof of Work and the reign of Ethereum? Could it spell the end of an affordable, user-friendly ways to stake with low up-front costs? Only time will tell, but for now, the looming Kraken-SEC agreement has definitely given us food for thought. Better get staking quick, before it’s too late!
“The fact the SEC charged Kraken for violating securities laws for its staking services will force a larger national discussion about the issue”
Charles Hoskinson, co-founder, Cardano
“Regulation by enforcement doesn’t work”
Brian Armstrong, CEO, Coinbase
“Using enforcement actions to tell people what the law is in an emerging industry is not an efficient or fair way of regulating”
SEC’s Hester Peirce
Saudi’s Big Metaverse Plans
At the Leap 2023 conference in Saudi Arabia, history was made when The Sandbox and the government of Saudi Arabia took a giant “leap” into the future with an MOU for future metaverse development. Sure, there are no details yet – but the sand is already shifting!
The UAE is already creating waves of excitement and innovation in the metaverse, with aims to generate 40,000 jobs by the end of the decade. The country’s Ministry of Economy has even gone as far as to open a virtual world office. Could Saudi Arabia be next? Let’s stay tuned and see what the future holds!
Vitalik Helps Turkey
Over the past week, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proved to be a real crypto hero! With a not-so-subtle reminder of cryptocurrency’s true potential, the world’s most prolific networker donated 50 ETH (which amounts to a whopping $77,000!) to Anka Relief. Unsurprisingly, this generous gift did not go unnoticed – global crypto companies followed suit, with Binance donating a total of $5 million, in addition to $100 BNB airdrops to those in the hardest-hit areas in Turkey.
Crypto Knight
What do you get when you combine Bitcoin, 8%, and trading above $24,000? A winning combination! The second largest crypto by market capitalization Ethereum is up 2.94%, clocking in at a whopping $1,681. If you’re feeling especially cheeky, why not take your chances with this crypto-craze?
Crypto Market Watch
Despite broad risk aversion on US CPI data that suggests the economy could handle much more Fed tightening, Bitcoin is showing remarkable resilience by starting the week higher.
Crypto Analyst Michael Van de Poppe said corrections in an upwards trending market are typically short-lived. Prices tend to bounce back up as traders who have shorted the market during the correction jump back in to buy, resulting in a spike in prices. Once prices break the $25K level, we can expect the market to continue its upwards trend towards the $30-35K range for Bitcoin.
It looks like today was a very profitable day for some lucky traders on the rising Blur NFT marketplace! They snagged more than $1 million in BLUR tokens at the price when the airdrop was held, but the top trader managed to bag themselves a cool $1.9 million – not bad!
Polygon is on a mission to elevate Ethereum to new heights – and this time, they’re shooting for the stars! This scaling project aims to bring a revolutionary approach to the blockchain with “Zero Knowledge” or ZK tech.
Nakamoto Facts
Behold! A state of Satoshi in Hungary – the mythical creator of Bitcoin has taken form in the world’s first Statue of Satoshi Nakamoto. Unveiled in September of 2021 in the Grafisof Park, located in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, the statue stands as an anonymous general human figure.
It’s made of bronze with a face of a special bronze-aluminum composite, allowing every visitor to see their own face when they look at Satoshi.
The idea was brilliantly proposed by András Györfi, editor of Kripto Akadémia, a crypto news site from Hungary, and quickly backed by others in the nation’s crypto scene. If you’re passing through Hungary, stop by and marvel at the mysterious –statue of Nakamoto. It’s free to visit and open 24/7, so why not make that dream stop for every crypto fan out there!
