• Gold is pricing in global financial distress while oil prices are facing a recession.
• Bitcoin reacted to the news of contagion spread and has risen by 25% from its lows.
• Crude oil, an indicator of inflation and recession, has plummeted by 15% in the past month.

Financial Distress Priced Into Gold

Gold is reflecting global financial uncertainty with a 5% rise since Friday’s session when Bitcoin touched its low of $19,500 due to the fallout of SVB. This suggests that markets are aware that further contagion may spread as rate hikes at this moment in time are planned to go ahead.

Bitcoin Reacts To News Of Contagion Spread

Bitcoin reacted to the news of contagion spread by increasing 25% from its lows on Friday. This suggests that investors believe there will be an increase in demand for safe-haven assets such as Bitcoin as there is continued global financial distress.

Oil Prices Predict Economic Downturn

Crude oil, an indicator of inflation and recession, has plummeted by 15% over the past month which could suggest that there is an economic downturn occurring or about to occur. This indicates that investors are pessimistic about future economic growth and could be preparing for a prolonged period of economic hardship.

Credit Suisse Major Headlines

Credit Suisse got major headlines due to their involvement with SVB’s fallout but it can be assumed that contagion may spread further if rate hikes go ahead as planned at this stage in time.

Conclusion

In conclusion, gold appears to reflect global financial uncertainty while oil prices predict an upcoming or ongoing economic downturn. Further developments need to be monitored closely so investors can make informed decisions about their investments during times of market volatility and uncertainty.

• The stablecoin market has significantly changed and lost $12 billion in value since November 2022.
• Tether has emerged as the clear winner, with a 55% market share, while BUSD woes have caused its dominance to halve.
• USDC’s dominance has increased to 34%, while DAI and BUSD remain relatively flat at 4%.

Stablecoin Market Shakeup

The global stablecoin market has seen significant changes since November 2022, resulting in a $12 billion devaluation of the market. Despite this downturn, one token stands out from the rest – Tether (USDT).

Tether Dominance

Tether’s dominance of the stablecoin market has grown significantly over the past four months, increasing to a whopping 55% of the entire market share. This is in contrast to BUSD’s decreasing market share which fell from 14% to 7%, due to ongoing issues with its reserves.

DAI & USDC Balances

DAI’s dominance remains relatively flat at 4%, however its balance held on exchanges is trending downwards since May 2022. On the other hand, USDC’s dominance in the market has increased to 34%, with its exchange balance spiking close to April 2022 highs.

Binance & Crypto.com Hold Most Stablecoins

Binance holds an overwhelming majority of both BUSD and DAI tokens while Crypto.com trails closely behind with 645 million USDC tokens in reserves. This shows that these two exchanges have become major players in the stablecoin space, despite current instability within the sector.

Conclusion

In conclusion, despite recent turbulence within the global stablecoin sector it appears that Tether continues to extend its lead as a dominant force within this space – accounting for more than half of all tokens issued so far. With Binance and Crypto.com holding large reserves for multiple tokens, these two exchanges are likely set for further success should conditions improve in future months and years ahead .

• Crypto exchange Coinbase will suspend Binance USD (BUSD) trading starting March 13 at noon Eastern Time.
• The SEC requested Paxos to halt further BUSD production on Feb. 13, claiming violations of securities and investor protection laws.
• Between Feb. 13 and Feb. 17, Binance lost 16% of its BUSD holdings, with over $2 billion idle BUSD burned on the BNB Chain in the last seven days.

Coinbase Suspending BUSD Trading

Crypto exchange Coinbase announced via their official Twitter account that they will be suspending the trading of Binance USD (BUSD) starting March 13 at noon Eastern Time. This suspension will include Coinbase.com, Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Exchange, and Coinbase Prime platforms for users to access and withdraw their holdings from after Mar. 13.

SEC Requests Paxos To Halt Further Production

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requested Paxos to halt any further production of the stablecoin on Feb. 13 due to violations against securities and investor protection laws.

Binance Loses 16% Of Its Holdings

Between Feb.13 and Feb 17th, there was a notable decrease in total holdings of the coin as it dropped by 16%. In an effort to counter this loss over $2 billion idle BUSD have been burned on the BNB chain in the last seven days alone..

Impact On Users

Users will still be able to access their funds held in the stablecoin even after trading is suspended but they will no longer be able to trade them on or around 12pm ET March 13th when it takes effect officially..

Conclusion

Overall this news has come as a shock for many especially for those who were actively trading these digital assets but nonetheless users are still able to access their funds held within these tokens without issue so long as they take appropriate security measures into consideration as always when dealing with digital assets online .

• A trader used confidential information to purchase and sell Gains (GNS) tokens on Binance, making over $100,000 in profit in under an hour.
• This practice is known as front running, which gives traders an unfair advantage by using non-public information.
• Front running is illegal in many countries around the world and can harm the integrity of markets.

Front Running on Binance

A trader recently made a large profit by purchasing and selling Gains Network (GNS) tokens shortly before it was listed on the leading crypto exchange Binance. According to Lookonchain, the trader made over $100,000 in less than an hour by utilizing confidential information about the upcoming listing.

What Is Front Running?

Front running is a practice that involves trading with insider knowledge of a customer’s order. It can occur when a trader or exchange employee uses non-public information to place their trade before the customer’s trade is executed, allowing them to make profits at the expense of the customer. This type of activity breaches any duty of confidentiality that may exist between parties involved in a transaction and is considered unethical due to its unfair advantages.

Legal Implications

Insider trading and front running are illegal in many countries including United States, Canada, and European Union jurisdictions. The use of non-public information for personal gain can negatively impact market integrity and fairness for all users involved in trading activities.

Binance Scrutiny

Over the past year numerous prominent crypto exchanges have been subject to scrutiny for allegations or confirmation of misconduct related to front-running activities. These allegations include traders taking significant positions prior to token listings that are likely to appreciate due to increased demand associated with their listing on exchanges such as Binance.

Conclusion

The recent incident involving GNS tokens serves as yet another reminder that traders must remain vigilant when dealing with digital asset exchanges and protect themselves from potential fraudulent activities such as insider trading or front running which can lead to severe repercussions both financially and legally if caught engaging in these practices

• Ordinal Punks NFTs have been called out as „sketchy“ due to their inadequate infrastructure and strong FOMO.
• The lack of smart contracts and the „square peg, round hole“ approach with Bitcoin Punks has created a frenzy on Discord to snap one up.
• Concerns have been raised about the legitimacy of these collections given that there is no infrastructure to verify information such as sales or even to accommodate sales in a click-and-buy process.

Ordinal Punks NFTs Called Out As ‚Sketchy‘

A look into the world of Bitcoin NFTs reveals an inadequate infrastructure and strong FOMO, even for clone collections.

Concerns Over Legitimacy

Given that the Bitcoin chain was not originally designed to accommodate NFT functionality, there is no infrastructure to verify information such as sales or even to accommodate sales in a click-and-buy process.

Details about Ordinal Punks are restricted to people’s accounts of what happened rather than openly accessible data derived from on-chain information.

Citing the Director of Research at PROOF Collective, who got this information from a „Google doc,“ TheNorweigan said Ordinal Punks have a current price floor of 55.4 ETH ($85,500). He added that this is the ballpark figure for a blue chip NFT collection but then questioned whether Ordinal Punks are worthy of being classed as blue chip.

TheNorwegian’s Concerns

• „Everything is happening OTC“
• „There are a lot of scams.“
• „Low to none transparency.“
• „You need to run a Bitcoin node to mint.“

.

FOMO With Bitcoin Punks

< p > Despite the lack of smart contracts and the „square peg, round hole“ approach, people are going crazy in Discord, trying to snap one up a Bitcoin Punk. @seanbonner tweeted that Bitcoin Punks ,a clone of Ethereum’s CryptoPunsk, is taking off right now .

< h2 >Advice Against Falling For The FOMO < p > @seanbonner advised against falling for the FOMO due to: < ul >< li >< strong >< em >„There’s no market so you have to rely [on] someone else’s price discovery.“ < / li >< li >< strong >< em > „You can’t mint it yourself because you don’t control your private key – you trust someone else with it .“ < / li >< / ul >< / p>.

-Litecoin’s (LTC) hashrate has recently hit an all-time high of 742.30 TH/s, indicating increasing strength and security on the network.
-This is a result of miners using their collective computing power to solve increasingly complex blockchain algorithms on the network.
-A higher hashrate also makes it more difficult for bad actors to launch 51% attacks, as they would need to yield control of a greater proportion of the network’s hashrate in order to make such an attack viable.

The cryptocurrency Litecoin (LTC) has recently seen a surge in its hashrate, hitting an all-time high of 742.30 TH/s. This is a sign of increasing strength and security on the network, indicating that Litecoin is being used more and more. This hashrate surge is a result of miners using their computing power to solve increasingly complex blockchain algorithms on the network.

The hashrate of a cryptocurrency is the numerical value generated by active miners during the proof-of-work process. The higher the hashrate, the more miners that are actively participating in the network, and the more secure it is. This is because a higher hashrate makes it more difficult for bad actors to launch what is known as a 51% attack, as they would need to control a greater proportion of the network’s hashrate in order to be successful.

The recent surge in Litecoin’s hashrate is a sign that more and more miners are using the network, and that Litecoin is becoming an increasingly secure and reliable cryptocurrency. This also indicates that Litecoin is gaining in popularity, as more miners are joining the network and showing their support for the cryptocurrency.

This is good news for the future of the cryptocurrency, as more miners joining the network means that Litecoin is becoming more secure and reliable. This could lead to more adoption of the cryptocurrency, as more people feel secure and safe using it. This could also lead to Litecoin becoming a more mainstream cryptocurrency, as more people use it and more businesses start accepting it as a payment method.

Overall, the recent surge in Litecoin’s hashrate is a sign of increased strength and security on the network, and could lead to an increase in mainstream adoption of the cryptocurrency. This is an encouraging sign for the future of Litecoin, and is something that investors and users should keep an eye on.

• OKX has reported its Proof-of-Reserves (PoR) for the first time, revealing $7.5 billion in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether (USDT).
• OKX reserves are 100% clean, meaning that the exchange reserves do not contain the exchange’s native token, according to CryptoQuant data.
• OKX has also published over 23,000 addresses for its Merkle Tree PoR program — allowing the public to view reserve asset flows.

OKX, one of the top five crypto exchanges, has recently released its first Proof-of-Reserves (PoR) report, revealing an impressive $7.5 billion in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether (USDT). This is an important milestone for the industry, as it shows that OKX is dedicated to transparency and providing users with secure and reliable services.

What makes OKX unique is that its reserves are 100% clean, meaning that the exchange reserves do not contain the exchange’s native token, according to CryptoQuant data. This is a huge achievement, as most other exchanges have some degree of reserve asset contamination. Binance reserves, for example, are considered 87.6% clean, while Bitfinex and Crypto.com reserves are considered 69.88% and 95.51% clean, respectively.

In addition to its clean reserves, OKX has also published over 23,000 addresses for its Merkle Tree PoR program. This program allows the public to view the asset flows of OKX reserves, ensuring that the exchange is accurately reporting its balances. OKX CMO Haider Rafique said, “We’ve already taken a leadership position by publishing our PoR monthly. As industry standards for PoR continue to take shape, we expect that our reserve asset quality will be one of many key differentiating factors for OKX in the market.”

In the future, OKX is looking to further increase its transparency and security, ensuring that users feel confident in trading on the platform. With its impressive reserves and commitment to transparency, OKX is in a good position to become one of the leading exchanges in the industry.

• Coinshares, Europe’s largest digital asset investment group, believes there is only „minor negative sentiment“ in the crypto markets.
• Bitcoin is threatening to hit $18,000 for the first time since mid-December, and outflows from global crypto funds are starting to wane.
• Coinshares analysis reveals that Bitcoin saw just $6.5 million in outflows, while global crypto funds had outflows totaling $9.7 million.

Crypto markets have been on a rollercoaster ride in recent months, and the bear market of 2022 has left a lasting impression on investors. However, Coinshares, Europe’s largest digital asset investment group, believes that sentiment is beginning to turn, as Bitcoin threatens to touch $18,000 for the first time since mid-December.

Coinshares recently published a blog post that reveals outflows from global crypto funds are starting to wane, indicating that sentiment remains negative but only just. According to the analysis, Bitcoin saw just $6.5 million in outflows, while global crypto funds had outflows totaling $9.7 million. This shows that there is only “minor negative sentiment” within the crypto markets.

The chart below showcases outflows from crypto funds over the past six months, with only five weeks of inflows throughout the period. However, outflows have failed to amass any substantial volume, as figures suggest inflows and outflows canceled out to remain reasonably flat. The largest weekly outflow over the past 52-week period reached roughly $175 million, while the most significant inflow hit around $350 million. Eighteen weeks of outflows compare to seventeen weeks of inflows throughout a challenging bear market across the past 52 weeks.

The outflows from crypto funds are a sign that investors are still wary of the market, but the overall sentiment appears to be slowly improving. As the market recovers, investors are likely to become more confident in the asset class, and this will be reflected in the outflows from crypto funds. For now, however, there is still only “minor negative sentiment” in the markets, and investors should proceed with caution.

• Bitcoin’s mining difficulty fell 3.6% at 3:49 a.m. UTC on Jan. 3.
• The difficulty change suggests that a fraction of Bitcoin (BTC) miners withdrew from the network — most likely due to reduced mining profitability.
• Bitcoin’s overall mining hash rate fell temporarily to 156.46M on Dec. 24, 2022, from 232.05M on Dec. 23, 2022, according to YCharts.

On January 3rd at 3:49 a.m. UTC, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty fell 3.6%, according to the latest data from Bitrawr. This decrease suggests that a fraction of Bitcoin (BTC) miners withdrew from the network due to reduced mining profitability, which likely has to do with the winter energy curtailments that occurred in the United States.

The winter energy curtailments involved higher winter electricity prices and power outages. As a result, miners faced increased electrical costs and, in some cases, restricted access to energy. This is reflected in the data from YCharts, which showed that Bitcoin’s overall mining hash rate fell temporarily to 156.46M on Dec. 24, 2022, from 232.05M on Dec. 23, 2022.

The fluctuations in the price of BTC are unlikely to be the reason behind this most recent adjustment. Despite this year’s market crash, BTC price remained steady since the blockchain’s last difficulty adjustment two weeks ago. The price of BTC is down 0.7% over the last seven days and 3.64% over the past 30 days.

It is clear that the energy curtailments have had an impact on Bitcoin miners, with some miners having to withdraw from the network due to reduced mining profitability. This has resulted in a decrease in Bitcoin’s mining difficulty, which could continue to fall if miners are unable to find a way to keep up with the rising costs of mining. It remains to be seen how miners will cope with the current situation and if the mining difficulty will continue to drop.

• Three users of Gemini Earn have filed a class arbitration case against Genesis Global Capital, Digital Currency Group (DCG), and Genesis Global Trading, with the American Arbitration Association on Dec. 30
• The claimants allege that Genesis breached its agreement with Gemini Earn users and engaged in the unregistered sale of securities
• Class arbitration is a dispute resolution process where a neutral third-party arbitrator resolves the disputes between parties

On December 30th, three users of Gemini Earn filed a class arbitration case against Genesis Global Capital, Digital Currency Group (DCG), and Genesis Global Trading, with the American Arbitration Association. The claimants allege that Genesis breached its agreement with Gemini Earn users and engaged in the unregistered sale of securities.

Gemini, a crypto exchange owned by the Winklevoss twins, offered an ‚Earn‘ program where user assets were lent out to Genesis Global Capital, allowing users to earn interest. On November 16th, five days following the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research, Gemini announced that Genesis had halted withdrawals, leaving users unable to access their funds.

The claimants in the class arbitration want Genesis to return their digital assets as per the Master Digital Asset Loan Agreements made between the two parties. The arbitration case alleges that Genesis breached its Master Agreement when it became insolvent and concealed the fact from its lenders, including Gemini Earn users. Furthermore, the claimants allege that Genesis succeeded in concealing its insolvency partly by “orchestrating a scheme to transfer funds to other related entities.”

Class arbitration is a dispute resolution process where a neutral third-party arbitrator resolves the disputes between parties. While class arbitration is less formal, the decision of the arbitrator is binding and cannot be appealed, unlike class-action lawsuits. In the case of the Gemini Earn users and Genesis, the arbitrator will decide the fate of the $900 million in assets that Genesis owes to the claimants, and will determine whether or not the claimants are due any additional damages.

The class arbitration provides a unique alternative to class-action lawsuits for users who have been wronged by Genesis Global Capital. While the outcome of the arbitration is yet to be determined, it is likely that the decision of the arbitrator will have far-reaching implications for the parties involved, and could set a precedent for future disputes between crypto exchanges and their users.