Crypto Weekly Roundup: Market Enters Extreme Greed, EigenLayer Surges, & More

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The crypto market has entered a new sector in the Fear and Greed Index, while multiple cryptos, including Bitcoin, have started soaring in the aftermath of the ETFs. Let’s find out more. 

Bitcoin

With Bitcoin up around 4% on the day so far at $51,700, Ethereum up 4.3% at $2,750, and some altcoins matching or far surpassing these gains, the market has entered into the extreme greed sector of the Fear and Greed Index.

Bitcoin mining giant Marathon Digital is expanding its business and reportedly exploring Africa as an option. 

Ethereum

Franklin Templeton joins the competition for Ethereum ETF approval amidst growing interest from traditional financial institutions as regulatory delays persist.

DeFi

The Uniswap Foundation has announced that the highly anticipated Uniswap v4 upgrade will launch in Q3 2024. 

Liquid restaking platform EigenLayer has become the 5th largest DeFi protocol, following fresh inflows of over $4 billion after the removal of the staking cap.

Solana-based crypto project Jito has allocated 12 million JTO tokens to its initial governance delegates, which include individuals from Coinbase Cloud, the Solana Foundation, and the Jito community. 

Technology

Citigroup has become the latest major financial institution to complete a proof-of-concept to tokenize private equity funds. 

Business

Crypto exchange Coinbase’s earnings report for Q4 of 2023 revealed that the company made a profit for the first time in two years. 

Genesis Global has secured approval from a bankruptcy court to sell around 35 million shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), valued at a staggering $1.3 billion.

Hardware wallet maker Ledger and Coinbase have announced a strategic partnership to simplify crypto transactions and purchases for users. 

Ripple will be acquiring Standard Custody & Trust Company to secure a New York trust charter in its ongoing expansion of US regulatory licensing. 

Web3

Aptos has partnered with Jambo Technologies to launch the $99 JamboPhone to boost Web3 access in emerging markets. 

Security

The dreaded North Korean hacker collective Lazarus Group is now using the YoMix Bitcoin mixer to launder stolen funds after the recent crackdown on the Sinbad mixer. 

Notorious phishing group Angel Drainer has managed to siphon over $400,000 from over 128 crypto wallets by deploying a malicious Safe vault contract. 

Highly popular Web3 gaming platform PlayDapp has fallen victim to a major hack, leading to an estimated loss of $31 million worth of assets. 

CBDC

Instead of building on a decentralized blockchain network, the Philippine government has opted to develop a central bank digital currency to introduce digital assets in the country.

Regulation

The US Treasury refutes claims of significant crypto funding for Hamas, clarifying that reported amounts likely misrepresented total wallet assets. 

SEC Chair Gary Gensler has released a new statement responding to lawmakers in the House of Representatives regarding an unauthorized tweet about the spot Bitcoin ETF.

New Zealand central bank governor Adrian Orr has come down heavily on stablecoins, calling them an oxymoron and only as stable as their issuer’s balance sheet. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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