Bitcoin Price: US$49,699.59 (-0.44%)
Ethereum Price: US$ 2,639.99 (-0.75%)
Bitcoin’s total market value has surpassed $1 trillion once again as the price of BTC surged above $51,000, with the cryptocurrency’s circulating supply representing 93.46% of its hard-capped total supply of 21 million. This milestone reflects rising positive investor sentiment, driven by a sustained bull market and the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States. The upcoming Bitcoin halving is expected to further boost its market price, as Grayscale analysis suggests that Bitcoin ETFs could offset the halving’s sell pressure. Meanwhile, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has proposed measures to protect users from fraudulent transactions involving crypto assets, including suggesting banks to consider suspending transfers to crypto exchanges if the sender’s name differs from the account name, potentially disrupting the peer-to-peer (P2P) market. Additionally, Ethereum layer-2 scaling protocol Starknet is set to distribute its native token, STRK, with around 1.3 million wallets eligible to claim tokens, including Ethereum stakers, developers, and users, as well as external projects and developers. These developments underscore the growing maturity and evolution of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Robinhood traders have predominantly favoured direct spot Bitcoin trading over spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with only 5% of crypto trading occurring through ETFs, according to Robinhood’s chief financial officer, Jason Warnick. While some traders transitioned from spot to ETF trading, Warnick emphasised that the overall impact was additive rather than cannibalistic. The bulk of Robinhood’s fourth-quarter revenue growth was attributed to increased crypto transaction revenue, reaching $43 million, up 10% year-over-year, contributing to the platform’s total revenue of $471 million for the quarter and $1.87 billion for the full year of 2023. Despite challenges in its share price performance, Robinhood continues to see growth in its user base and overall trading volumes, with crypto trading volume up 89% over the previous quarter. Additionally, OpenAI has introduced a memory feature to ChatGPT, allowing the chatbot to recall past discussions and provide more personalised responses. This update aims to enhance user experience and efficiency while addressing potential biases and privacy concerns. Meanwhile, phishing group Angel Drainer has reportedly stolen over $400,000 from 128 crypto wallets using a new attack vector that leveraged Etherscan’s verification tool to mask the malicious nature of a smart contract. The incident highlights ongoing security challenges in the crypto space, with attackers adapting their tactics to exploit vulnerabilities and target unsuspecting users.
In the midst of a potential bull market resurgence, a crypto user made headlines by spending a staggering $113,000 in gas fees to acquire $26,000 worth of a newly launched token, only to suffer losses as the token’s value crashed within 35 minutes, leaving them ‘rugged.’ The token, NO, was flagged as high risk, with its contract unrenewed and token distribution concentrated among a few addresses. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr sparked controversy by joking about the central banking system’s reliance on printing money during a parliamentary committee meeting, drawing attention to Bitcoiners’ criticisms of traditional monetary systems. In the blockchain space, cross-chain messaging protocol Wormhole achieved a significant milestone, surpassing 1 billion messages sent since its inception in September 2021, facilitating the transfer of funds, oracle feeds, and NFTs across multiple blockchains, with plans for a token airdrop and token-based governance system announced.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com
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