• Bitcoin has seen a 30% surge in price over the last seven days, reaching $26,600.
• The total value locked on Bitcoin has increased significantly, indicating that investors are willing to trust in cryptocurrency.
• On-chain metrics suggest a potential bull market for Bitcoin as it recovers from a bear market.

Bitcoin’s Strong 30% Weekly Surge

Bitcoin has surged impressively in the past seven days, bringing its price back to levels last seen in June 2022. Concerns over liquidity due to banking crashes have caused investors to diversify their portfolios and seek risk reduction, leading to an increase in the total value locked on Bitcoin of $142.31 million—the highest since May 5th, 2022. This impressive growth is instilling renewed confidence among investors and is signaling a positive outlook for the crypto market.

Traditional Banks Struggle

All three US-facing crypto banks were liquidated in the span of three days, leading some to speculate that it was a targeted attack. However, Bitcoin has emerged unscathed and even increased in value by 30%. In response to this situation, investors have been diversifying their portfolios and looking towards cryptocurrencies as means of reducing risk and addressing inadequacies of traditional financial systems.

On-Chain Metrics Indicate Positive Signs

Glassnode’s „Recovering from a Bitcoin Bear“ dashboard shows promising signs for Bitcoin’s recovery; monitoring eight key indicators which suggest that it is transitioning from a bear market into one of recovery or new growth. These on-chain metrics indicate potential for future bullish momentum across the cryptomarket.

Total Value Locked (TVL) Increases

The increase in total value locked on Lighting Network provides evidence that investors are optimistic about Bitcoin’s growth potential and willing to place their trust in cryptocurrency markets. This surge further indicates that traders recognize the value of digital assets such as Bitcoin during times of market chaos and instability caused by traditional banking collapses.

Cryptocurrency Market Cap Surpasses $1 Trillion Mark

The recent gains made by other cryptocurrencies have led to the total cryptocurrency market cap surpassing the $1 trillion mark—a significant milestone for digital asset markets worldwide. Such impressive growth is an indication that cryptocurrencies are increasingly being recognized as viable alternatives for investment amidst global macroeconomic uncertainty brought about by traditional finance sector issues such as banking collapses and liquidity concerns

Overview

• On March 9, Huobi’s native token HT Token had a sudden flash crash of 93%.
• Around the same time, Justin Sun withdrew $60 million in Ethereum stablecoins from Huobi.
• Justin Sun defended his withdrawal from Huobi by saying it was normal fund deployment, but many remain skeptical.

Justin Sun Withdraws Funds From Huobi

On March 9, Huobi’s native token HT Token suffered a sudden flash crash of 93%, sending shockwaves around the crypto space. At roughly the same time, Justin Sun withdrew ~$60 million in Ethereum stablecoins from Huobi. The funds were moved to DeFi protocol Aave. This sudden move has caused some to speculate as to why he would do so at such a critical moment–especially considering his close affiliation with Huobi.

Sun Defends His Withdrawal

Justin Sun took to Twitter to explain the movement of the Stablecoins and defend himself against any suspicions that may arise due to it. He said “It is just normal practice of fund deployment.“ Additionally, he clarified that the withdrawal happened hours before he issued an apology for the crash on Twitter, attributing it to “The impact of leveraged liquidation on the market caused by a few users.“

Twitter Reacts To Suspicious Move

Despite Sun’s explanation for his actions, many are still skeptical about what actually happened and have voiced their opinion on Twitter. Business Development and Marketing Executive Adam Cochran tweeted „Ok… shit is going to start actually getting real when Justin is getting his stables out“. Moreover, this isn’t the first time controversy has followed Justin Sun as there are allegations of insider trading with his team buying up TRX tokens and also securities fraud where he spun that BTT was a utility token–not a security–despite BitTorrent’s compliance officer saying otherwise.

ConclusionAlthough Justin Sun claims that moving $60 million off of Huobi was part of his normal fund deployment strategy and unrelated to the HT Token flash crash, many remain skeptical about this decision due to past controversies involving him and cryptocurrency companies collapsing fresh in mind.

• David Gokhshtein, crypto journalist and entrepreneur, forecasts that Bitcoin (BTC) will hit the $0 mark.
• Gokhshtein’s opinion was instantly met with immense backlash from crypto enthusiasts on Twitter.
• Dogecoin (DOGE) is showing strength against Bitcoin (BTC), however its market price has yet to reflect it.

David Gokhshtein’s Pessimistic Forecast

Entrepreneur David Gokhshtein expects the bearish trend to persist until the leading crypto asset Bitcoin (BTC) hits the $0 mark. After news of Silvergate, a crypto-focused bank, broke and sent the whole crypto market plunging in the early hours of Friday, Mr. Gokhshtein shared his take on the situation via Twitter: „I think #bitcoin is going to $0“. Naturally, his unpopular opinion was met with backlash from crypto enthusiasts on Twitter.

Dogecoin’s Relationship with BTC

What Mr. Gokhshtein did not mention in his Friday tweets is Dogecoin’s relationship with Bitcoin (BTC). The price correlation coefficient between them is just 0.34 which indicates weak diversification. Crypto trader The Doge Coach argued that DOGE/BTC is showing a possibility of a massive breakout which could be considered as a bullish signal for DOGE but its market price has yet to reflect it as at press time DOGE is changing hands at $0.076346 according to CoinGecko with a 4.9% daily decline after dropping by 20.8%.

The Backlash

Gokhenshein’s pessimistic forecast was immediately met with criticism from cryptocurrency enthusiasts on Twitter who accused him of wanting extra views and some even went so far as to joke about getting their McDonald’s application ready while one user tried to counter his statement saying that „the SEC loves BTC“ referring to Gary Gensler’s recent revelation that he’d only consider Bitcoin (BTC) as a non-security; To this Gochshein sarcastically remarked „Apparently; #Bitcoin isn’t going to $0.“ before reinstating his original opinion: „It’s going to zero“.

Conclusion
Although David Gochshein believes BTC will eventually drop down to zero there are still many investors who remain optimistic about its future prospects despite this bearish outlook due in part to Dogecoin’s performance against BTC being seen as a bullish signal for DOGE and SEC Chairman Gary Genler recently claiming he would only consider Bitcoin (BTC) as a non-security which could provide further support for the digital asset moving forward..

Takeaway
Cryptocurrency enthusiast should be aware of both bullish and bearish outlooks regarding digital assets such as Bitcoin and Dogecoin when making investment decisions in order make more informed choices when investing their money into these markets

• Dogecoin (DOGE) overtook Binance USD (BUSD) and claimed its spot in the TOP 10 by global market cap.
• The leading canine coin was able to make the most out of BUSD’s mismanagement, which resulted in a 50% drop in its market cap.
• The SEC forbade Paxos, the stablecoin issuer of BUSD, from minting new coins, resulting in a decrease of BUSD value.

Dogecoin Flips Binance USD Stablecoin

Dogecoin (DOGE) has reclaimed its spot in the TOP 10 by global market cap after surpassing the widely-used stablecoin – Binance USD (BUSD). This unusual achievement came despite DOGE slipping by 2.2%.

Binance USD Loses 50% of Its Market Cap

The leading crypto platform Binance has been under scrutiny this month due to close competitors Circle informing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about mismanagement concerning their Paxos-issued stablecoin – BUSD. As a result of over $3 billion being moved away from it within 6 days, DOGE made the most out of it and surpassed the market share for the first time ever.

Delisting USDC Causes Losses for Binance

In September, Binance delisted USD Coin (USDC), automatically converting all assets to their own stablecoin – BUSD. Two months later, Circle reported quarterly losses and miscalculations as direct consequences of this move. However, things got worse when USDC and BUSD had similar sized global market capitalizations before the SEC officially forbade Paxos from minting any more coins.

Market Shifting Away From BUSD

As a result of these events, there was a drastic decrease to $11 billion in global market capitalization for the once popular stablecoin. At press time, USDT saw an increase of $2 billion while USDC also declined by 739 million dollars due to their shift away from other CeFi solutions such as Paxos’s offering – demonstrating how much influence these developments have on shifting marketscape dynamics across multiple cryptocurrencies .

Crypto History Made: DOGE Overtakes Popular Stablecoin

The recent issues surrounding BUSD may be seen as an act of vengeance from Circle but ultimately were caused by SEC regulations rather than any malicious intent on behalf of either company involved directly with it or indirectly through delisting actions taken against other coins like USDC. Nevertheless, Dogecoin took full advantage and made history by flipping one of today’s most used stablecoins – demonstrating how quickly cryptocurrency markets can change even with just one key event or announcement .

• Decentraland has announced an emote contest ahead of its second annual Metaverse Fashion Week.
• Participants can participate to win fun and exciting awards.
• The judging panel will evaluate the emotes based on fluidity, movement, creativity and style.

Decentraland Holds Emote Contest

Decentraland has announced it is holding an emote contest ahead of its second annual Metaverse Fashion Week. Players can participate in the event to win fun and exciting awards.

Metaverse Fashion Week 2023

The Metaverse Fashion Week 2023 is coming back to Decentraland with virtual runway shows, after parties, shopping and panel talks. In celebration of the event, Decentraland is hosting an emote contest with several rewards for contestants.

Submission Rules

Starting February 16th, participants can submit their best stylish and sassy catwalk emotes until March 20th for a chance to win MANA and be featured in the Community Fashion Show. Emotes must be approved and published in the DCL Marketplace before the deadline. Participants can submit up to three emotes but can only claim one prize by submitting them via a dedicated form accompanied by their email address and wallet address for MANA deposits if they win.

Judging Panel

Shibu, Art Director at Decentraland, Isa Souza Gomes, 3D animator at Decentraland, and PeanutButta, Community Manager at Decentraland will be judging the contest against criteria such as fluidity, movement, creativity and style.

Rewards

The first-place winning emote will be featured in the Community Fashion Show alongside 800 MANA distributed to them while second to fifth-place winners get 600 MANA each as reward money from Decentraland.

• SEC is considering crypto staking regulations in the US.
• Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano (ADA) and IOG, has shared his opinion on the matter.
• He believes that one-size-fits-all regulation will not work when it comes to nuanced staking models.

SEC Plans to Regulate Crypto Staking

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking into regulating cryptocurrency staking services in the U.S., which has raised alarm bells across the crypto community. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has claimed that this would be a “terrible path for the U.S.“

Charles Hoskinson’s Response

In response to this conversation, IOG and Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson shared a video discussing the possible staking regulations in the U.S., which has been a hot topic on Crypto Twitter this week. Hoskinson opines that it is an „inconvenience to the industry as a whole“ when regulatory bodies try to apply „one-size-fits-all“ interpretations to different staking mechanisms like Cardano versus Ethereum, because they are not cut from the same cloth.

Differences Between Proof of Stake Models

Hoskinson mentions that some of the many differences between Proof of Stake models include liquid or illiquid staking, custodial or non-custodial staking, and bonding and slashing mechanisms – all of which present their own risks for potential returns dependent on access to funds by regulated actors. This causes him concern about exchanges getting out of the staking business, as he wants stake pool operators and staking to be “distributed and decentralized” in order to reduce risk for U.S./global investors alike.

Possible Good News?

Hoskinson suggests that there are other consensus models with more sensible frameworks that could help fight against these regulations – keeping stake pools distributed and decentralized rather than being centralized by exchanges or other regulated actors who may take advantage of information asymmetries about returns etcetera for their own gain at investor expense..

Conclusion

It remains unclear how exactly SEC will regulate crypto staking services in US but Charles Hoskinson believes one size fits all approach might do more harm than good here given nuances involved with different proof of stake models like Ethereum or Cardano . Therefore he suggests better alternative solutions should be considered instead so as to keep stake pools distributed and decentralized rather than being centralized by exchanges etcetera .

• Doritos is launching a new musical metaverse on Polygon with a $25,000 crypto and NFT giveaway.
• Players can explore the Doritos Triangle Studios Metaverse to use drum pads and mini-games, create custom beats, and get awarded in NFTs.
• The event will last three days and the last mystery boxes NFT will be airdropped on February 10th, 2023.

Doritos Launches Polygon (MATIC) Metaverse

Tortilla chip brand Doritos has launched its Triangle Studios Web3 project in collaboration with Polygon (previously Matic). As part of the launch, they are offering a $25,000 crypto and NFT giveaway.

Giveaway Prizes

The prizes include limited edition wearables compatible with Decentraland, exclusive NFTs from the Meebits collection, Web3 sneakers from RTFKT (a subsidiary of Nike), and two custom-made gaming PCs. The top tier prize is an iconic surrealist writer Takashi Murakami crafted one-of-a-kind NFT.

Music Experience

Players can explore a world inspired by Doritos with wearables for their avatars like Soaring Sizzle Suit topped with ChipChain and a rather cheesy Nacho Headset. Furthermore, they can jam in the musical metaverse with drum pads and mini-games to create custom beats that get awarded in NFTs.

No Purchase Necessary

Participants don’t need to pay an entrance fee or connect their wallet as they can access Decentraland’s Doritos Triangle in guest mode at coordinates -68; -120.

Event Timing

The sweepstakes will begin on February 8th until February 10th when the last mystery box NFT will be airdropped at 3:00 PM GMT.

• North Korean hackers have attempted to launder 17,278 ETH, worth $27 million, from the 2022 Harmony Bridge hack.
• ZachXBT, a Crypto Investigative Researcher, reported the attempted laundering via Twitter on January 29th.
• Upon notification from ZachXBT, some exchanges acted quickly and froze part of the stolen assets.

North Korean hackers have recently made an attempt to launder an additional $27 million in Ethereum (ETH) from the 2022 Harmony Bridge hack. On January 29th, Crypto Investigative Researcher ZachXBT reported via Twitter that the hackers had just finished laundering the funds. The funds were reportedly sent to six exchanges using three main wallet addresses.

The Harmony Bridge exploit, which was confirmed to have been carried out by two groups of North Korean government hackers, had already seen a successful laundering of 41,000 Ether ($63.9 million) two weeks prior. This latest attempt to move funds marks the second time that the hackers have made a concerted effort to move funds from the hack.

Upon receiving notification from ZachXBT of the attempted laundering, some exchanges acted quickly and froze part of the stolen assets. However, when asked how much was frozen, ZachXBT refrained from disclosing the amount.

The attempted laundering of the additional $27 million is yet another example of North Korean hackers using cybercrime to generate funds for the country, as well as the lengths they are willing to go to in order to hide their tracks. It also demonstrates the need for more stringent security measures to be put in place by both exchanges and law enforcement agencies, in order to prevent such thefts from occurring in the future.

• Aave V3 has been deployed on the Ethereum mainnet, introducing new risk mitigation features and improved capital efficiency.
• High-Efficiency Mode allows users to increase their capital efficiency when staking or borrowing.
• Isolation Mode allows for more assets to be listed on Aave as collateral while keeping the security of the protocol.

Aave, the decentralized finance (DeFi) lending and borrowing platform, has officially deployed the third version of their protocol, Aave V3, on the Ethereum mainnet. This new upgrade is the most significant since Aave’s inception in January 2017 and has the potential to revolutionize the DeFi space.

Aave V3 introduces a variety of new risk mitigation features, improved capital efficiency, and decentralized liquidity. The most notable of these features is High-Efficiency Mode, which allows users to increase their capital efficiency when staking or borrowing, making it easier and more cost-effective to use the platform. Additionally, Isolation Mode allows for more assets to be listed on Aave as collateral while maintaining the security of the protocol.

The upgrade also focuses on gas optimization, reducing gas costs across all functions by 20-25%. This is a significant development as gas fees have become a major concern for many users of the Ethereum network.

Aave’s governance token, AAVE, remained flat after V3 was deployed. It’s currently trading at $88.12.

The launch of Aave V3 on the Ethereum mainnet is a major milestone for the DeFi space and is sure to have a positive impact on the wider Ethereum ecosystem. With the introduction of new risk mitigation features, improved capital efficiency, and gas optimization, Aave is poised to become the leading DeFi platform in the coming months.

Bullet Points:
• Decrypt Studios held the inaugural Crypties Awards in Miami in December 2022.
• The evening was hosted by Josh Ostrovsky and sponsored by Polygon, Filecoin Foundation, Lamina1, Async, and other crypto projects.
• Onstage panels and interviews from conferences and summits featured Tezos co-founder Kathleen Breitman and venture capitalists from Slow Ventures, Volt Capital, Conviction, and AngelBlock.

In December of 2022, Decrypt Studios hosted the inaugural Crypties Awards in Miami, Florida. The evening was hosted by Josh Ostrovsky, also known as „The Fat Jewish“, and sponsored by Polygon, Filecoin Foundation, Lamina1, Async, BeetsDAO, The Gold Mask, Gem Set, Breakout, Anonymous, Infinite Objects, Ape Water, Decentralized Pictures, and Vault 721.

The Crypties Awards is an annual event that celebrates the best crypto projects and initiatives of the year. At the ceremony, statuettes were awarded in nine different categories, such as Best Game, Best Wallet, Best DeFi Protocol, and Best Crypto Art Project. Katrina Wolfe accepted the Cryptie for Crypto Unicorns from presenter Avery Akkineni of Vayner3, and the other nominees in the category were Stepn, Zed Run, and Blankos Block Party.

In addition to the awards ceremony, the event also included onstage panels and interviews from conferences and summits. Tezos co-founder Kathleen Breitman spoke about how the Tezos blockchain has used a proof-of-stake mechanism since its inception, her admiration for Tendermint, Ethereum and sharding, progressive decentralization, and NFT gaming with Decrypt’s Stephen Graves onstage at Web Summit in Lisbon. Meanwhile, venture capitalists from Slow Ventures, Volt Capital, Conviction, and AngelBlock joined Decrypt’s Jason Nelson at 0xpo Summit in San Francisco for an extensive panel on raising venture money even during Crypto Winter.

The Crypties Awards 2022 was an amazing event that celebrated some of the most innovative and revolutionary projects in the crypto space. It was a night of celebration, recognition, and collaboration that brought together developers, entrepreneurs, and investors in the blockchain industry.