• The cryptocurrency market has seen significant price movements in the last 24 hours, with three digital assets standing out: XinFin (XDC), JOE (JOE) and HEX (HEX).
• XinFin saw a 24-hour price increase of 21.37%, while JOE was up 19.94% and HEX surged 16.93%.
• All three coins are designed to facilitate different functions, including cross-border trade finance, supply chain finance, creating and trading limited-edition NFTs and earning interest on holdings respectively.

Coin Performance

The cryptocurrency market has seen some interesting movements in the last 24 hours, with three digital assets standing out from the rest regarding price performance. XinFin (XDC) is up over 21%, JOE (JOE) is almost 20% higher and Hex (HEX) rose 16.93%. Their respective 30-day increases are 58.09%, 45.25% and 48.31%.

What Is XinFin?

XinFin is a hybrid blockchain platform that facilitates cross-border trade finance, supply chain finance and other business processes such as financial inclusion for unbanked populations around the world. Founded by a team of entrepreneurs and blockchain experts, it has a market capitalization of $598 million — with a 24-hour trading volume of $12 million — and an all-time high of $0.19451 achieved on May 8 2021 (78% lower than its peak).

What Is Joe?

Joe is a decentralized platform for creating and trading limited-edition NFTs that are linked to real world collectibles like rare coins or sports memorabilia in order to address scarcity issues found in similar markets as well as verify authenticity. It has a market capitalization of $136 million — with a 24-hour trading volume of $86 million — while its ATH stands at $5.05117 on March 11 2021(92% lower than its peak).

What Is Hex?

Hex is another blockchain based certificate of deposit that allows users to stake their tokens to earn interest on their holdings through gamification elements incorporated into the platform’s design structure. Its current market capitalization stands at an estimated value with no exact figures available while its ATH was recorded at an undisclosed value earlier this year which it has been steadily increasing since then reaching 48.31% in growth over the past 30 days .

Conclusion

The crypto currency markets have experienced some major price fluctuations over the past day due to these top 3 coin movers; XinFin , Joe , & Hex . Each one offering unique services related to cross border trade finance , supply chain finance , NFTs & earned interests respectively .

• A large whale from Binance sold roughly 20,000 Bitcoin on the exchange, accounting for over $500 million in BTC.
• This was the highest amount of sell pressure since May 22, during the Luna collapse.
• Bitcoin’s perpetual funding rate turned negative ahead of CPI print and perspective is bearish.

Largest Bitcoin Deposit Hits Binance Since Luna Collapse

A massive single bitcoin deposit hit Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, since the Luna collapse earlier this year. The deposit amounted to over $500 million worth of bitcoin as a whale from Binance sold approximately 20,000 BTC back onto the platform. This selling pressure was recorded to be the highest amount since May 22nd when Luna dropped out of its previous high price range.

Bitcoin’s Perpetual Funding Rate Turns Negative Ahead Of CPI Print

The perpetual funding rate for Bitcoin has turned negative ahead of this week’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) print by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This shift in perspective suggests that buyers are beginning to outweigh sellers in terms of market sentiment and implies that prices may soon begin to rise again after a period of stagnation which saw values remain stagnant around $24K USD.

Silvergate: A Postmortem Report

CryptoSlate’s latest report dissects Silvergate — a crypto bank which went under recently — to analyze what led it to fail and how other banking giants could share Silvergate’s destiny if not careful enough. The report reviews various aspects such as Silvergate’s business model and its customer base before delving into possible causes for its downfall.

What Is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a decentralized currency that does not rely on any central bank or administrator; instead transactions are conducted electronically via peer-to-peer networks without intermediaries involved in order to facilitate payments between parties faster than traditional methods can offer. It has become increasingly popular over recent years due to its convenience compared with more established methods like cash or credit cards as it reduces transaction fees significantly while also providing greater security measures than conventional payment systems offer.

Disclaimer

CryptoSlate does not provide investment advice nor endorses any project mentioned or linked within this article; buying and trading cryptocurrencies should be considered a high-risk activity therefore readers need to do their own due diligence before taking any action related to content mentioned within this article. CryptoSlate takes no responsibility should you lose money trading cryptocurrencies

•Yuga Labs’ Bitcoin (BTC) NFT TwelveFold has reached a top bid of 2 BTC, with the lowest being 0.111222 BTC.
•The auction model used by Yuga Labs has been heavily criticized by some crypto community members.
•Bitcoin Ordinals creator Casey Rodarmor warned against using this method and said it was „establishing REALLY bad precedence“.

Yuga Labs‘ Bitcoin NFTs Top Bid is 2 BTC

Yuga Labs‘ TwelveFold Bitcoin (BTC) Non Fungible Token (NFT) collection has achieved a top bid of 2 BTC, with the lowest being 0.111222 BTC ($250). The collection consists of 300 generative art pieces inscribed onto satoshis on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Auction Model Criticised

The auction model used by Yuga Labs for their NFTs has drawn heavy criticism from some crypto community members who have labelled it as “stone age”. The method requires participants to deposit their bids into an address provided by the company and requires them to provide a separate address to receive their tokens if they win. Additionally, the exchange advised participants only to make bids with self-custodied wallets as those made with third parties like Coinbase would not be able to receive refunds.

Casey Rodarmor’s Warning

The creator of Bitcoin Ordinals, Casey Rodarmor, also issued a warning against using this method saying it was “degenerate bullshit” and threatened to wash his hands off Yuga Labs if they repeated it again. He added that such actions prove that “for some entities and people: ‚Once a shitcoiner always a shitcoiner’”. Other crypto community members also agreed that there were more efficient and trustless ways available on the Bitcoin network for conducting auctions than what had been employed by Yuga Labs.

Risk of Malicious Players Copying Method

Ordinally pointed out that this method was “establishing REALLY bad precedence” because malicious players could copy the same method without returning unsuccessful bids as promised by Yuga Labs which would be detrimental to innocent participants in these auctions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while Yuga Lab’s auction model seemed initially attractive due to its simplicity; however, its lack of efficiency and trustlessness makes it prone to exploitation at the hands of malicious actors who can copy its methods without adhering to any standards or promises set forth by the creators themselves.

• The US court ruled that using emojis related to rocket ships, stock charts and money bags can be classified as investment advice.
• A lawsuit was filed against Dapper Labs and its CEO Roham Gharegozlou for allegedly violating securities laws by offering their NBA Top Shot Moments.
• Former SEC branch chief Lisa Braganca warned the public against using certain emojis in promotional materials following the ruling.

SEC Chief Warns Against Using Emojis

Former SEC branch chief Lisa Braganca has issued a warning to the public about using certain emojis in promotional materials following a recent court ruling against DapperLabs. The US court ruled that using emojis relating to rocket ships, stock charts, and money bags could be classified as investment advice.

Lawsuit Filed Against DapperLabs

A lawsuit was filed against Dapper Labs and its CEO Roham Gharegozlou for allegedly violating securities laws by offering their NBA Top Shot Moments which are non-fungible tokens (NFT) that capture key highlights and video clips from NBA games. The plaintiffs accused Dapper Labs of promoting NBA Shot Moments as investment opportunities, through its marketing materials with carefully selected emojis.

Court Ruling on Emoji Use

The court filing referenced a tweet in which DapperLabs used the rocket ship, stock market, and money bags emoji to show market performance. Judge Victor Marrero stated that “… although the literal word „profit“ is not included in any of the Tweets, the „rocket ship“ emoji, „stock chart“ emoji, and „money bags“ emoji objectively mean one thing: a financial return on investment.“

Dapper Labs Argument

Dapper Labs has argued that the use of the emojis in the tweets was intended to provide accuracy to market data and not a means of promoting sales. However several members of the crypto community have argued that Emojis could mean different things to different folks hence a rule on its usage could impede freedom of speech.

Conclusion

In conclusion, former SEC branch chief Lisa Braganca has warned against using certain emojis in promotional materials due to it being seen as investment advice after a recent court ruling involving DapperLabs. Despite their argument that it was only meant for providing accuracy to market data there is still an ongoing debate over whether this impairs freedom of speech or not.

• FTX’s former exchange employee, Nishad Singh, is reportedly approaching a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors.
• The charges come from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and may be supported by the CFTC and SEC as well.
• Singh was previously involved in developing software used by FTX and Alameda, as well as campaign financing activities related to FTX’s co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

FTX Employee Approaches Plea Deal

According to Bloomberg News, former exchange employee of FTX, Nishad Singh, is reportedly preparing to reach a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors. This comes after Manhattan prosecutors prepare to file charges against him based on an investigation launched by the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). Additionally, it has been reported that both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may be filing charges as well in support of SDNY’s case against Singh.

Previous Involvement With FTX

Prior to being under investigation, Singh had allegedly been involved in developing software that was used to transfer funds between FTX and Alameda Research – another crypto exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried – according to Bloomberg’s report at the time of January 10th 2021 when Singh was said to have discussed a cooperation deal that would likely lead to a plea deal without being accused of any wrongdoing himself at this point in time . Moreover, he had also been implicated in campaign financing activities related directly or indirectly to Bankman-Fried who is currently awaiting trial after being charged back in December 2020 for fraudulently inflating trading volumes on his exchanges including both FTX and Alameda Research .

Additional Plea Deals Made

If Singh were indeed able to reach a plea deal with authorities then this would make him the third individual working closely with either FTT or Alameda Research who have reached such an agreement thus far following Caroline Ellison – former CEO of Alameda Research – and Gary Wang – co-founder of FTT – reaching their respective agreements back in December 2020 where they agreed cooperate with authorities against Bankman-Fried which could prove damaging evidence should his case go ahead as planned .

Current Status Of Investigation

Summary

• Bitcoin recently broke below the key resistance level of $22,264.
• This is not the first time Bitcoin has broken this key resistance level in a bear market.
• Long-term holders on aggregate are now underwater with their investments.

Analysis of Long-Term Holder Metrics

The chart presented here shows two classic on-chain metrics for Long-Term Holders (LTH): Realized Price and MVRV Ratio. LTH Realized Price is calculated as the average price of the LTH BTC supply at the day each coin last transacted on-chain. This serves as an ‘on-chain cost basis’ for these investors. The MVRV Ratio is the ratio between the market value (MV) and realized value (RV) for this cohort, which allows visualization of Bitcoin market cycles and unrealized profitability.

Breaking Below Key Resistance Level

On February 9th 2021, Bitcoin broke down below its long-term holder’s cost basis—currently priced at $22,264. This has happened multiple times before during bear markets in June 2012, November 2015, and April 2019. Breaking below this resistance level indicates that long-term holders on aggregate are now underwater with their investments.

Implications of Breaking Resistance Level

Breaking below this key resistance level can have a range of implications for investors in Bitcoin, especially long-term holders who may be feeling particularly wary right now due to their current losses. It could indicate that further downside could be coming if Bitcoin stays below this support level or it could suggest that we may already be near a bottom so investors should start looking to buy back in soon.

Conclusion

Overall, breaking below this key resistance level is an important indicator for all investors to pay attention to when assessing how much risk they want to take when investing in Bitcoin. It also provides insight into what other types of traders are doing with their coins and whether they believe there will be further downside volatility or if we may already be at a bottom point from which exploration can begin again soon.

• According to Chainalysis, hackers stole a record $3.8 billion in 2022.
• Most of the funds were stolen from DeFi protocols via bridge exploits targeting vulnerabilities in code.
• A new crypto mixer called Sinbad has become hackers‘ go-to protocol to wash stolen funds after the demise of Tornado Cash.

Hackers Stole Record Amount in 2022

According to the latest report from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, hackers stole roughly $3.8 billion during 2022, making it a record year for stolen digital assets. Most of these funds were stolen from DeFi protocols via bridge exploits targeting vulnerabilities in code, with North Korea-linked hackers Lazarus Group stealing around $1.7 billion out of the total over the year.

DeFi Protocols Targeted By Hackers

Chainalysis reported that 82.1% of the amount was stolen from DeFi protocols, mainly via bridge exploits targeting vulnerabilities in code. The biggest exploit of the year was Axie Infinity’s Ronin bridge hack in March 2022, which saw hackers exploit the bridge and steal $612 million before moving it through mixers like Tornado Cash and Chip Mixer. In October 2022 alone, hackers managed to steal around $775.7 million from various DeFi protocols – making it the worst month for hacks throughout the entire year.

Lazarus Group Responsible for Bulk Exploits

Cybercriminal syndicate Lazarus Group is believed to be behind most of these attacks; an organization which has already been linked to North Korea by US authorities such as the FBI due to their advanced tools and tactics when carrying out cyberattacks on cryptocurrencies and exchanges worldwide.

Sinbad Crypto Mixer Used For Washing Funds

After authorities cracked down on popular crypto mixer Tornado Cash following its involvement in several high-profile hacks, Chainalysis noted that new crypto mixer Sinbad has become hackers‘ go-to protocol for washing their stolen funds without detection by law enforcement or other third parties tracking their transactions online.

Increased Security Needed To Prevent Further Exploits

As more money continues pouring into decentralized finance (DeFi) projects over time and more potential weaknesses are exposed within individual protocols due to a lack of sufficient security measures being implemented by developers, it becomes increasingly important for project teams to focus on increasing security standards across all platforms if they want to prevent further attacks from taking place in future months and years ahead .

• Sorare and the English Premier League have signed a multi-year NFT deal
• The partnership allows users to buy, sell and trade virtual player cards
• Sorare is valued at $4.3 billion with investors like SoftBank, Accel and Benchmark

Sorare and English Premier League Sign Multi-Year Deal

The Paris-based startup Sorare has signed a multi-year licensing agreement with the English Premier League for an NFT backed fantasy football league featuring top players from the league. The deal was initially reported to be valued at £30 million.

Overview of Sorare Platform

Sorare specializes in using blockchain technology to bring fans into contact with digital collectibles through fantasy leagues. Founded in 2018, it is currently valued by investors at $4.3 billion, backed by industry leaders like Japan’s SoftBank and venture capital firms Accel and Benchmark. It also counts among its shareholders, athletes like Lionel Messi, Serena Williams and Kylian Mbappe.

Opportunity for Players to Buy/Sell/Trade Virtual Player Cards

The partnership between an NFT start-up and one of the world’s biggest football leagues will allow its 3 million users to play its fantasy football game with Premier League-specific player cards. This includes being able to buy, sell and trade virtual cards of their favorite players as part of the deal.

Allegations of Gambling

However this agreement comes amidst allegations that Sorare encourages gambling, with the UK Gambling Commission called to investigate whether or not it requires an operating license or if it does not constitute gambling according to a 2021 notice. The company responded to these allegations by stating that 80% of its players play the free version of the fantasy league game.

Total Sales on Platform Over Last Month

According to data compiled by CryptoSlam, total card sales on the platform amounted to $891,789 between Dec 31 – Jan 30 which is a 45% increase from last month alone; while overall in 2022 totaled $500 million nearly doubling its 2021 total of $270 million

• NFTs accounted for 28% of the ETH gas usage in January, according to CryptoSlate analysts.
• The second, third, and fourth largest share of gas usage was 8%, 8%, and 6%, respectively, for Defi, ERC20, and stablecoins.
• The categories used to analyze gas usage included Vanilla, ERC20, Stablecoins, DeFi, Bridges, NFTs, MEV Bots, and others.

The Ethereum (ETH) network continues to grow and is becoming increasingly popular among users around the world. As such, CryptoSlate analysts have taken a closer look at the gas usage shares of different transaction categories on the ETH network, and the results show that the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) category accounted for 28% of the total gas usage in the first month of the year.

The analysis divided all transactions on the Ethereum network into eight categories – Vanilla, ERC20, Stablecoins, DeFi, Bridges, NFTs, MEV Bots, and others. The Vanilla category includes pure ETH transfers between Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) issued without calling any contracts, while the ERC20 class counts all transactions that call ERC20 contracts, excluding stablecoin transactions. Stablecoins, meanwhile, represent all fungible tokens that have their value pegged to an off-chain asset either by the issuer or by an algorithm. This category includes over 150 stablecoins, such as Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD), and DAI (DAI).

The Defi category covers all on-chain financial instruments and protocols implemented as smart contracts. Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) also fall under this category and more than 90 Defi protocols are represented. The Bridges category includes all transactions that pass through the ETH network from other chains, while the MEV Bots category includes all transactions that exploit front-running to make a profit.

NFTs, however, accounted for the largest share of gas usage by far, with 28%. The Defi, ERC20, and stablecoins categories occupy the second, third, and fourth largest share of gas usage with 8%, 8%, and 6%, respectively. The other categories such as Bridges, MEV Bots, and others made up a combined total of less than 1%.

Overall, the analysis shows that NFTs are the most actively used transaction type on the Ethereum network. This is likely due to the increasing popularity of the DeFi and NFT markets in recent months, with Ethereum being the most popular platform for these activities. With more users entering the space and taking advantage of the Ethereum network’s capabilities, it is likely that the gas usage associated with NFTs will continue to increase in the future.