| |
| Here is a quick look at the hits from the week's first Inside Cryptocurrency newsletter: - 📝 A Nigerian parliamentary committee's summons targeting Binance's CEO,
- 🔌 Bitdeer Technologies' new efficiency-focused Bitcoin mining chip,
- 📈 Tether's market cap hitting $100B, and more.
Enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | The U.S. Department of Energy, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have reached an agreement with The Texas Blockchain Council, an industry association for Bitcoin (BTC) miners, and crypto mining firm Riot Platforms over a controversial emergency survey. As part of the deal, the U.S. officials agreed to halt the survey, stopping gathering information from crypto mining firms. More: - The deal will see the U.S. agencies deleting all information already collected from the crypto miners as part of the survey.
- U.S. energy officials will also destroy any forthcoming data sent for the survey.
- The U.S. Department of Energy will pay the fees of attorneys of The Texas Blockchain Council and Riot Platforms, totaling around $2,200.
- The deal canceled a temporary restraining order on the survey, which was granted by a U.S. judge last month after The Texas Blockchain Council and Riot Platforms convinced the court that further data collection would cause irreversible harm.
- On the other hand, The Texas Blockchain Council and Riot Platforms also agreed that the EIA will collect public feedback on which information it should be allowed to collect for 60 days.
- The agency will still be able to choose to issue the survey after the feedback period ends.
Zoom Out: - Crypto miners have come under fire many times in recent years for their high electricity usage, burden on power grids, and adverse impacts on the environment due to the carbon emissions arising from their operations.
- In early February, the EIA launched a survey requiring select Bitcoin mining firms to respond in detail to the questions related to their energy use.
- At the time, the agency said the move was part of an emergency data collection request issued by the OMB, which runs directly under the executive office of the U.S. President.
- In response, The Texas Blockchain Council and Riot Platforms sued the U.S. Department of Energy, the EIA, the OMB, and their leadership, describing the move as an unprecedented and illegal data collection demand with clear political bias and a lack of legitimate grounds.
|     | |
| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: Tether (USDT) briefly surpassed the key $100B mark in market cap on Monday, becoming the first stablecoin whose circulating supply hits such a size. The figure reached as much as $100.2B within the day, up from $98.9B a few hours earlier. The popular token's market cap later started hovering around $99B again without seeing a major decline. The stablecoin experienced an over 9% increase in its market cap since the beginning of the year. Its share currently accounts for around 70% of the $142B stablecoin market. What it means: Stablecoins refer to the cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged to another reference asset like a fiat currency. Customers generally use these assets to trade with different cryptocurrencies without converting their funds back into fiat currencies. Relevance: The jump in USDT's market cap was mainly triggered by a broader crypto market rally that caused many leading cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), to experience a strong price surge. Bitcoin's price recently surpassed the $67,000 level, approaching its all-time high of around $69,000 in November 2021. Meanwhile, Ether also reached $3,500 with a more than 12% weekly price gain. The market rally similarly triggered a massive price rise in many other cryptocurrencies, such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Solana (SOL). Tether's market cap reacted positively to the strong upward trend in the crypto market as investors seek to trade cryptocurrencies more, increasing the demand for stablecoins. Brands that should care: Amid a positive trend in the stablecoin market, the U.S.-based technology startup accelerator Y Combinator Management (YC) recently added stablecoin finance as a category to its request for startups list. The move means that the accelerator would look to invest in and allocate funds to the startups focusing on stablecoin finance moving forward. | | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Meowtel. |  | | Calling all busy traveling business professionals, founders, and cat owners We understand that your hectic schedule often leaves you juggling multiple responsibilities and traveling making it challenging to ensure the best care for your beloved feline companions. Enter Meowtel – your ultimate solution for reliable and stress-free cat sitting services. Each reservation includes a free Meet & Greet so you can meet your sitter before you leave and cover cat care logistics, preferences, quirks, and your cat’s favorite hiding spot and toy. We work around your cat's routine to maintain their sense of normalcy and safety. Every visit includes: - Food & water refresh
- Litter box cleaning
- Message & photo updates
- Medications (if applicable)
…and of course our cat whisperers will provide lots of cuddles and playtime! Book your cat's staycation with us so you can travel with peace of mind. Learn More | |
|
| 3 | | Speaking at a recent interview, U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) dropped a serious accusation against anti-crypto Congress members. The famous politician said some Congress members want to ban Bitcoin (BTC) since they are paid by big banking monopolies like JPMorgan and BlackRock that make money on inflation. More: - During the interview, the candidate further defined Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, as an exit option from an inflationary system maintaining monopolies.
- Kennedy also said the banking monopolies benefit from the regulatory suppression against the leading cryptocurrency.
- The candidate also pointed out that the U.S. government needs to ensure that people who want to protect themselves from inflation can transact with Bitcoin.
- The politician added that the government should make the popular token available for transactions to the middle class, underlining that transactional freedom is as important as freedom of speech.
- In the interview, RFK Jr. also revealed that he still holds Bitcoin on his portfolio.
- In July last year, the presidential candidate confirmed that he bought 14 BTC in May, adding that he decided to be a crypto investor after the media outlets criticized him for promoting Bitcoin when he did not own any.
Zoom Out: - RFK Jr., the nephew of the 35th U.S. President John F. Kennedy, hit the headlines several times with his support for Bitcoin over the past year.
- Last year, the crypto-friendly candidate praised Bitcoin as an exercise in democracy and freedom, pledging to ensure policies supporting Bitcoin and the freedom to transact when elected.
- Kennedy became the first politician in U.S. history to accept campaign donations in Bitcoin in May 2023.
| | | |
| 4 | | Nigeria's House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes has summoned crypto exchange Binance's CEO, Richard Teng, to appear before the committee by March 4 over suspicions of terrorism financing and money laundering conducted on the platform. The request was sent to Binance's management through an ultimatum issued by the committee's chair, Ginger Onwusibe. More: - Onwusibe said the committee will exercise its constitutional authority and take necessary actions if Binance ignores the request.
- The chair also pointed out that the committee previously urged Teng to appear for a hearing several times, but the Binance CEO did not respond to the invitations.
- Binance came under scrutiny in Nigeria after some governmental officials blamed foreign crypto exchanges for devaluing the country's official currency, the naira, stating that the crypto trading platforms establish unofficial market prices for the currency.
- In February, Bayo Onanuga, a special adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accused Binance of setting the exchange rate for Nigeria and hijacking the central bank's role as the main currency rate setter, proposing a crypto ban.
- In response, Binance removed the naira from its peer-to-peer (P2P) payments service, preventing users from trading through the official currency without tapping on a third party.
- However, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, also recently raised concerns about Binance, pointing to suspicious fund flows on the platform in 2023.
- Nigerian authorities detained two Binance executives who flew into the country and seized their passports last month, stating that the platform operates illegally in Nigeria.
Zoom Out: - Binance is currently the largest crypto exchange by trading volume.
- Over the past year, the platform also faced heightened regulatory scrutiny in several other countries, including the U.S., Australia, France, Belgium, and Brazil.
- The exchange had to withdraw from many markets in recent months, such as Russia, Canada, Austria, the Netherlands, Cyprus, the U.K., and Germany, mainly due to compliance issues.
| | | |
| A message from our sponsor, RAD AI. |  | | Now is the Time to Add AI to Your Portfolio Marketing is an art, not a science — or, at least, it was. RAD AI is solving an age-old advertising pain point by pinpointing exactly what works and drives quantifiable ROI. Dubbed the “essential AI” for brands — RAD AI decodes the language of the internet into actionable, highly valuable insights. These insights can be used to deliver outsized ROI and, sometimes, help brands avoid disaster. They’re disrupting the $633B marketing technology industry and its success is evident by the numbers… - $27M raised from 6,500+ investors, including VCs, and execs at Google, Amazon and Meta. Backed by Adobe Fund for Design.
- ~3X revenue growth in 2023 — while landing major clients, including Hasbro, Skechers, Sweetgreen and more.
Now, you have a limited-time opportunity to get up to 20% bonus shares with your investment. But you’ll want to act quickly; this bonus will be gone soon! Learn More | |
|
| 5 | | Hungary's Ministry for National Economy has prepared a draft law to allow banks, investment funds, and asset managers to offer crypto services in the country. If approved, the legislation will take effect on June 30. More: - The draft law will authorize the country's central bank, the Hungarian National Bank, to regulate and oversee the banking institutions' crypto services.
- The proposed legislation mainly aims to establish a regulatory framework for the digital asset market in Hungary.
- The move also came as a response to the European Union's (EU) efforts to harmonize and create standards for the crypto regulations across the bloc.
Zoom Out: - The EU increased its efforts to establish a legal framework to regulate the crypto market over the last few years.
- The European Parliament (EP), the legislative body of the EU, approved the region's long-awaited crypto regulations, Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), with a final vote in April 2023 after three years of development.
- The law's provisions related to stablecoins will come into effect as of July 2024 in all 27 member states of the EU, including Hungary, while other aspects regarding the crypto asset service providers will enter into force as of January 2025.
| | | |
| 6 | | Singapore-headquartered crypto mining firm Bitdeer Technologies has announced that it developed a new Bitcoin (BTC) mining chip dubbed the SEAL01. The chip was designed with the 4-nanometer process technology of a semiconductor manufacturer. More: - The firm said it has successfully tested the chip.
- The new chip will be used in the firm's upcoming mining rig, which refers to computers customized for crypto mining.
- The company pointed out that the chip will offer enhanced mining performance with minimized power consumption, reducing operating costs and negative environmental impacts.
- The mining firm underlined that the SEAL01 will allow it to optimize efficiency, stability, and performance ahead of the Bitcoin halving event, expected to happen sometime in April or May.
- The launch date of the chip and Bitdeer Technologies' upcoming mining rig has yet to be specified.
Zoom Out: - The halving event will decrease miners' Bitcoin mining reward by half, reducing the number of new bitcoins entering the network by 50%.
- Many other crypto mining companies, including Marathon Digital and CleanSpark, have also recently made attempts to increase the computing power of their facilities and their total mining capacity ahead of halving to ensure that they are well-prepared for the drop in rewards and, indirectly, in revenue.
- The nanometer on the chips refers to the distance between transistors on a central processing unit (CPU), and the lower distance promises a faster and more power-efficient performance.
| | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Top Performers are seeing a 56% increase in deal generation and productivity when they use this sales framework.*
- Hong Kong's regulator for securities and futures markets has issued a warning against the local crypto exchange BitForex, which recently went offline after around $56.5M was withdrawn from its hot wallets.
- South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission has started investigating OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's crypto project, Worldcoin, over concerns about the project's personal data collection practices.
- In an insider trading case involving the crypto exchange Coinbase, a U.S. court has ruled that trading certain crypto assets on secondary markets like crypto exchanges is a securities transaction.
- The U.K.-headquartered banking giant Standard Chartered's head of crypto research, Geoffrey Kendrick, has forecasted that Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, will hit $200,000 in price by the end of 2025.
*This is a sponsored post. | | | |
| Upcoming Events | | MAR
7 | | Portfolio Diversification - Learn from knowledgable experts on the latest trends in alternative investment assets like private equity, crypto, real estate, and the art market. | | | | | | | MAR
27 | | Discover how generative AI can speed up your enterprise, expand your business model, and improve your value proposition. Network with hundreds of AI leaders.* | | | | | | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
 | Staff Writer | | Doga is a tech and science editor who has been writing news for nearly 10 years. She worked for leading tech platforms and mainstrem media channels as an editor and presenter throughout his career. Then, she carried her know-how to more than one platform. She is a part-time cat lover and binge-watcher, and also fond of science, space, and emerging tech. She always has a story to tell. She is a bit addict to the laughter and -unfortunately- the '90s culture. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
| |
 | Meowtel: Purrfect In-home Cat Care Anytime! | |
|
 | RAD AI is the future of digital marketing. Execs from Hasbro & Skechers trust its tech to boost ROI. | |
|
| |
Comments
Post a Comment