Top 10 news this week
1. Bitcoin reaches record high again after 846 days link
BTC rose again to a record high of $69,000 on November 10, 2021 at 23:04 on March 5, reaching a new record high again after 846 days. After reaching a historical high of $69,000, BTC turned around and fell, once falling to the $59,000 mark. In 24 hours that day, the entire network liquidated $1.183 billion, of which long positions liquidated $892 million and short positions liquidated $291 million; A total of 319,000 people were liquidated, and the largest single liquidation order occurred on Bitmex — LINKUSD, worth $11.354 million. On March 4, the Bitcoin Volatility (BitVol) Index reached 79.92, the highest since mid-November 2022. On March 5, it dropped slightly to 78.81; on March 5, the Ethereum Volatility (EthVol) Index reached 81.1, the same high since mid-November 2022.
2. BlackRock IBIT’s asset management scale has exceeded the largest silver ETF link
In terms of asset management (AUM), BlackRock IBIT’s asset management ($12.6 billion) has surpassed the largest silver ETF SLV ($9.626 billion), ranking third among commodity ETFs. Additionally, Fidelity FBTC, ARK 21Shares ARKB, and Bitwise BITB ranked fifth, ninth, and 11th respectively.
As of writing, the total market capitalization of Bitcoin ETFs (including spot and futures ETFs) is US$55.496 billion, and total assets under management (AUM) are US$49.321 billion. Among them, the top three Bitcoin ETFs by asset management scale are: Grayscale GBTC with an asset management scale of US$27.517 billion; BlackRock IBIT with an asset management scale of US$10.009 billion; Fidelity FBTC with an asset management scale of US$6.472 billion.
3. Tether’s stablecoin USDT briefly exceeded US$100 billion in market capitalization for the first time link
USDT, a stablecoin issued by Tether, briefly topped $100 billion in market cap for the first time in its history as the crypto market rally widened. While the number of USDT tokens is around 99.5 billion, the token’s $1 price peg is at a slight premium on some exchanges, enough to push the market cap above that level for a short period of time, according to Tether’s website.
4. Powell: Policy rates may have peaked in this tightening cycle link
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell will attend the semi-annual monetary policy report hearings of the House and Senate. The original testimony released in advance stated that policy interest rates may have reached a peak in this tightening cycle. If the economy performs broadly as expected, it may be appropriate to begin easing policy restrictions at some point this year. It would not be appropriate to lower the interest rate target range until there is greater confidence that inflation will continue to move towards 2%. Remaining highly concerned about inflation risks and acutely aware of the serious difficulties that high inflation can cause, the FOMC is firmly committed to returning inflation to its 2% objective. He will also take questions and inquiries from members of Congress at the hearing.
5. The British government currently holds more than 61,000 BTC, worth more than $4 billion link
The Metropolitan Police seized 61,000 Bitcoins (currently worth $4 billion) from Jian Wen and Zhimin Qian in 2018 and gained access to the seized Bitcoins in July 2021. Qian reportedly purchased the bitcoins between 2014 and 2017 with funds from an investment fraud case in China, and the British government still holds the seized bitcoins.
6. US court rules that trading certain crypto assets on Coinbase is a securities transaction link
A U.S. court ruled that trading certain crypto assets on Coinbase was a securities transaction. Previously, former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi provided information about tokens that were about to be listed on Coinbase to his brother Nikhil Wahi and his friend Sameer Ramani, and Nikhil Wahi and Sameer Ramani profited from buying these tokens in advance through insider information.
7. Variant Chief Legal Officer: Much lower confidence than many in ETH spot ETF approval this year link
Variant chief legal officer Jake Chervinsky said that confidence in the approval of the ETH spot ETF this year is much lower than many people. The SEC has encountered huge political resistance for approving the BTC spot ETF, although it was basically forced by the court to do so; today Sentiment already controls the market, and the ETH ETF will only make that worse; BlackRock’s near-perfect record in getting ETF approvals has to do not only with its partnership with the SEC, but also with its ability to apply pressure if the SEC asks BlackRock to Ryder and other ETH ETF promoters quit (which is common practice), I bet they will.
8. Grayscale Report: Accelerating inflation and interest rate cuts delay or hinder rise in cryptocurrency valuations link
Grayscale analysts pointed out in a report that the acceleration of U.S. inflation last month and the reduced possibility of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates may be the main reasons that hinder the rise of cryptocurrency prices in the future. The report emphasizes that macro factors such as the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy and economic conditions have a significant impact on the valuation of crypto assets. If inflation remains high, Fed officials may delay rate cuts until later this year or 2025, and rising U.S. interest rates could be positive for the dollar but negative for Bitcoin. Nonetheless, Grayscale believes U.S. consumer price inflation may continue to decline, prompting the Federal Reserve to eventually cut interest rates.
9. Nigeria’s House of Representatives Financial Crimes Committee calls for subpoena of Binance CEO link
Nigeria’s House of Representatives Financial Crimes Committee has subpoenaed Binance CEO Richard Teng. Ginger Onwusibe, chair of the committee, issued a seven-day ultimatum to Binance management at a panel on Friday to appear before the committee on or before March 4, 2024. Ginger Onwusibe said if the call was not heeded, the committee would be forced to invoke its constitutional powers to take appropriate measures.
10. FTX has opened a claim window, and users can log in to their account to view the claimable value link
FTX will open a claim window in the near future, and users can log in to their claim account to view the claimable value. PwC’s official website states: “Under Bahamian law, there is an obligation to allocate each qualifying claim, regardless of size, to U.S. dollars.” Claims for major crypto assets on FTX are currently priced at $16,871 for BTC, $1258 for ETH, $16.24 for SOL, and $286 for BNB, all at a significant difference from the current price. However, users can also dispute the value of the claim and submit specific reasons.
On March 2, FTX’s joint official liquidators notified customer and non-customer creditors to submit electronic claims by May 15, 2024, to obtain possible distributions in the Bahamas proceedings. The PwC-managed claims portal is expected to make its first interim distribution in late 2024 or early 2025, with all eligible claims denominated in U.S. dollars.
Key financing events
Ethereum Layer 2 network Taiko announces completion of $15 million Series A funding link
Solana-based decentralized DePIN project io net announced the completion of 30 million in financing link
Open source cryptography company Zama announced the completion of a $73 million Series A round of financing, led by Multicoin Capital and others link
Decentralized artificial intelligence network Sahara completes $6 million in seed round link
Cryptocurrency payments company Baanx announces it has raised $20 million in Series A funding link
Bitcoin L2 network Mirror L2 announces completion of first round of financing link
Privasea completes US$5 million in seed round financing, Binance Labs invests and incubates link
Sui ecological lending protocol Scallop announces completion of US$3 million in strategic financing link
On-chain points infrastructure development company Stack completes US$3 million in seed round financing link
Zest Protocol announces completion of first round of financing and will be launched on Blast mainnet link
For more industry financing events, please visit crypto-fundraising.info.
