🔮Leap Year, Earn Users to Make a Full Recovery, Reminiscent of Terra, Coinbase Expands Asset Recovery

Token Specific News

Ethena Labs Triggers Terra-Induced PTSD with High-Yield Stablecoin USDe

Ethena Labs' launch of the USDe stablecoin offering a record 27% yield has ignited discussions and skepticism in the crypto community. The stablecoin, collateralized with crypto assets like staked Ethereum and short futures positions on exchanges, presents an innovative approach to generating yield. Critics raise concerns over potential risks tied to Ethereum's price and infrastructure, prompting debate on whether USDe should be considered a stablecoin or a structured product. Despite skepticism, Ethena's $14 million seed funding round and significant total value locked highlight growing interest and investment in the project.

Source: Coinglass

Sports Illustrated Tickets moves NFT service to Avalanche

Avalanche has acquired a stake in Sports Illustrated Tickets and become the blockchain provider for its NFT-enabled ticketing service, Box Office. Box Office offers Super Tickets NFTs with features like NFT videos and exclusive offers. Since its launch on Polygon in May 2023, Box Office has issued approximately 300,000 tickets. Ava Labs, the company behind Avalanche, sees potential in NFT ticketing, investing in platforms like tixbase and collaborating with Dreamus. SI Tickets CEO David Lane highlights the advantages of NFT tickets over traditional barcode scans, emphasizing their ease of verification and value as mementos.

Harnessing Zero-Knowledge Coprocessors for Enhanced Ethereum Computing

Zero-knowledge (ZK) coprocessors are emerging as a solution to the limited computing capacity of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). These coprocessors allow applications to offload complex logic off-chain securely, providing increased computational power while maintaining on-chain result verification. While still in early development, ZK coprocessors are finding applications in areas such as general computation, interoperability, and machine learning. Despite the high costs associated with ZK technology, ongoing advancements and improved developer tools are gradually reducing barriers to adoption. ZK coprocessors offer smart contract developers the ability to leverage complex logic securely without introducing new trust assumptions into their applications, paving the way for innovation across various verticals.

Source: Messari

Uniswap Foundation Proposes Governance Changes and UNI Price Surges

The Uniswap Foundation has proposed governance changes, including adjusting Uniswap's decentralized exchange fee mechanism to reward users who delegate and stake their UNI tokens. A snapshot vote is scheduled for March 1, with an on-chain vote on March 8. UNI's price surged over 50% to around $11.40 following the announcement, indicating a positive market response. Additionally, Uniswap introduced free "uni.eth" subdomains, enabling users to access their addresses as human-readable names. These developments reflect Uniswap's efforts to enhance governance and user experience within its ecosystem.

Regulation

Genesis Bankruptcy Settlement: Earn Users to Receive 100% of Digital Assets

Gemini announces a settlement in principle with Genesis and other creditors in the Genesis Bankruptcy, ensuring that all Earn users will receive 100% of their digital assets back in kind. This includes any appreciation of assets since lending them into the Earn program. The settlement, if approved by the Bankruptcy Court, will return over $1.8 billion in value to users, $700 million more than when withdrawals were halted in November 2022. Earn users can expect to receive approximately 97% of their assets within two months and the remaining balance within 12 months. The settlement is subject to definitive documentation and the Bankruptcy Court process, with ongoing communication to users throughout. Gemini acknowledges the New York Department of Financial Services for its role in achieving this coin-for-coin recovery for Earn users.

ECB Officials Remain Skeptical Despite Surge in Bitcoin ETF Approval

Despite the recent approval of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., European Central Bank (ECB) officials Ulrich Bindseil and Jürgen Schaaf maintain their skepticism towards Bitcoin. In a blog post, they argue that Bitcoin's fair value is still zero, citing concerns about slow and costly transactions, environmental impact, and susceptibility to manipulation. Their sentiments have attracted mixed reactions from Crypto Twitter, with some viewing the ECB's stance as bullish for Bitcoin. The officials have previously expressed similar skepticism, stating that Bitcoin is on the "road to irrelevance." Nonetheless, Bitcoin's market capitalization remains high, reaching $1 trillion, despite recent fluctuations in its price.

Kraken Challenges SEC Lawsuit as Politically Motivated

Kraken has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit from the SEC, denouncing it as politically motivated and warning against agency overreach. The SEC's November lawsuit accused Kraken of various charges, including operating an unlicensed platform and failing to prevent conflicts of interest. Kraken refuted these claims, arguing that the assets in question don't qualify as "investment contracts" under existing legal definitions. CEO Dave Ripley suggested the lawsuit was retaliation for Kraken's critique of the SEC's regulatory approach. This legal battle underscores the tensions between crypto exchanges and regulatory agencies, highlighting concerns over regulatory clarity and government overreach in the cryptocurrency space.

Coinbase Expands Asset Recovery Tool to BNB Smart Chain and Polygon Networks

Coinbase has broadened its asset recovery tool to include BNB Smart Chain and Polygon networks, allowing users to recover unsupported tokens mistakenly sent to Coinbase addresses. The tool, which has already recovered over $160 million for more than 10,000 users since its launch in December 2022, incurs a 5% fee for transactions over $100, in addition to network fees. Developed in-house, Coinbase's proprietary technology facilitates the recovery process. In contrast, rival exchange Binance does not offer a similar service but may assist with significant losses on a discretionary basis. This move by Coinbase aims to enhance user experience and provide support for users facing token-related issues.

Bitcoin ETF Trading Volumes Surge Amidst Market Rebound

After a slow start, trading volumes for newly launched spot Bitcoin ETFs surged, coinciding with Bitcoin's rally above $50,000. From January 11th to February 5th, ETF volumes dropped 85%, mirroring Bitcoin's decline. However, volumes exceeded $1 billion since February 7th, with February 20th recording the fourth-highest trading volume ever at $2.59 billion. Surprisingly, tickers like VanEck's HODL and WisdomTree's BTCW saw significant volume spikes, disrupting the usual top 5 ETFs. The surge may have been triggered by algorithm testing or arbitrage opportunities, but VanEck's fee reduction the day before could have contributed to the uptick. These developments highlight the growing interest in Bitcoin ETFs amidst market volatility. See more: New bitcoin ETFs surpass 300,000 BTC holdings in under two months

Source: Yahoo Finance

Other Domestic Regulation Updates

• Reddit Invested In Bitcoin and ETH: IPO Filing
• Prominent Lawyer Gabriel Shapiro Introduces Effort to Synthesize Crypto and Law
• Binance Says It Recovered $4 Billion in Mishandled Users’ Funds
• Winklevoss Twins' Gemini Promises to Return $1.1B to Earn Customers
• Genesis lawyer pushes back against DCG getting ‘a cut’ of customer recoveries

Other International Regulation Updates

• Terraform Labs' Do Kwon set to be extradited to the U.S., according to local media
• Binance Must Pay $4.3 Billion In Federal Case as CZ Awaits Sentencing
• Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers ask for prison sentence of 63 to 78 months

Pain & Gain

Pain

• Sky Mavis co-founder hacked for $9.7 million
• Down Goes Coinbase
• LDO Spikes 10% On Fake Revenue Sharing Proposal
• Bitcoin could face severe headwinds amid macroeconomic growth warnings, analyst says

Gain

• Nifty Island's New Quest Lets Gamers Boost Their Play-to-Airdrop Rewards
• Bitcoin Ordinals project Runestone is preparing to launch its first airdrop

• MicroStrategy buys additional 3,000 bitcoin, taking total holdings to 193,000 BTC
• You Can Now Move Brave Browser Rewards On-Chain With a Solana Wallet
• Parcl Announces Airdrop For DeFi Real Estate Traders
• Portal Fever: Record $8.6 Billion Staked for Binance Rewards Ahead of Game Token Airdrop
• Andreessen Horowitz invests $100 million in restaking project EigenLayer