Market Update: 28th February 2023

Digital Assets. For Realists.

 

Blockchain insights. Without the hype.

 

 

Week in Review

 

The crypto world was abuzz last week with Coinbase’s announcement of its Ethereum layer 2 protocol, Base. Base’s testnet launched on Thursday, allowing developers to begin building and testing decentralized applications in preparation for the mainnet launch.

In Australia, Binance was caught red-faced when it was forced to liquidate the positions of its wholesale investor users, later citing a misclassification error in some users’ onboarding.

Meanwhile, FTX users with frozen deposits were given a glimmer of hope this week as FTX Japan reopened allowing for full withdrawals of user funds, although it should be noted this was possible thanks to the Japanese entity being ringfenced from other entities in FTX’s broader corporate structure.

Finally, the SEC has warned that certain emojis can be interpreted as investment advice – so be mindful of what you tweet!

Bitcoin and Ethereum are down 2.8% and 1.6% respectively for the week.

Digital Asset Market

• IMF publishes framework suggestions for comprehensive crypto policies.
• Coinbase’s new network, called Base, has been created to provide users with a cost-effective, secure, and user-friendly environment, acting as a conduit to introduce them to the world of cryptocurrency.
• Binance accidentally closes all Australian derivatives positions of “wholesale investors.”
• FTX Japan is the first in its group to resume withdrawals, following stringent measures imposed by Japan’s financial regulator to safeguard its clients. 
• The crash of Polygonscan on Wednesday left numerous users bewildered, as it remained offline for hours, creating a misconception that the entire Polygon network had gone down.
• After rumors about his identity circulated online, one of the founders of the Paradigm-backed NFT marketplace Blur, known as ‘Pacman’, has revealed himself to be a 24-year-old high school and MIT dropout.
• A US court has ruled that the use of emojis depicting rocket ships, stock charts, and money bags may be considered as providing investment advice. 
• Jump Crypto has reportedly counter-exploited the Wormhole hacker, retrieving the 120,000 ether that was stolen during the 2022 exploit, amounting to $140 million in value for the Chicago-based trading firm.
• A liquid price market for Goerli ETH puts pressure on developers. Testnet tokens are designed to have no “real-world” value, but token holders are causing trouble for developers.
• Police have reported that a former employee of a Massachusetts town is being charged for purportedly creating a covert cryptocurrency mining setup in a secluded crawl space at a school. 
• Solana network stumbles, on-chain trading slows after ‘forking’ incident. 

 

Podcast of the Week

 

Podcast episode: Will Weinraub – A Toy Company from the Future

Eric Golden, the host, is joined by Will Weinraub, who is the CEO and co-founder of OnChain studios, the company responsible for developing Cryptoys.

Cryptoys is a digital toy company that embraces different elements of web3 innovation, from collectible NFTs to play-to-earn gaming. They discuss the evolution of Cryptoys, how kids are increasingly used to digital products, and an interesting discussion on the importance of different blockchains to build upon. 

Podcast: Web3 Breakdowns.  Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

 

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