Scenius Sync (Issue #85)
BlackRock’s ETF Passes $2B AUM, U.S. Govt. To Dispose of $117M of Silk-Road-Seized BTC, dYdX Chain Adds Liquid Staking, & ALT Airdrop Tops $100 Million
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Essential News 🗞
BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF First to Reach $2B in AUM
The BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) on Friday became the first of the recently launched spot bitcoin products to reach $2 billion in assets under management. This doesn't include Grayscale's GBTC, which had nearly $30 billion in AUM at the time of its conversion from a closed-end fund to a spot ETF. Investors added about $170 million to IBIT on Thursday, with the fund purchasing nearly another 4,300 bitcoin, pushing total tokens held to 49,952. With the price of bitcoin rising well above the $40,000 level early Friday, that brought AUM to above $2 billion.
In more ETF news, Spot bitcoin ETF race heats up as Invesco and Galaxy slash fee and Analysts predict Charles Schwab will eventually offer its own Bitcoin ETF
SEC charges founders of $1.7 billion HyperFund scheme with fraud
The SEC has charged $1.7 billion HyperFund scheme with fraud and unregistered securities offering, the agency announced. Xue Lee and Brenda Chunga — also known as Sam Lee and Bitcoin Beautee, respectively — raised over $1.7 billion from investors around the globe from June 2020 through early 2022, the SEC said in a press release on Monday. Lee and Chunga advertised HyperFund as an opportunity to invest in profitable mining operations, but in reality, it was a pyramid scheme with no real sources of revenue, the SEC alleged, adding that both Lee and Chunga "knew or were reckless in not knowing." In 2022, the project imploded and investors lost their money.
US files intent to dispose $117 million in bitcoin seized from Silk Road drug dealer
The U.S. government filed a notice announcing its intention to dispose of about $117 million worth of bitcoin seized in a dark web drug bust. In the notice dated Jan. 8, the U.S. government said it planned to dispose, "in such manner as the United States Attorney General may direct," nearly 2,875 bitcoin seized from Ryan Farace and Sean Bridges in 2021, in addition to another roughly 59 bitcion that belonged to Farace alone.
Coinbase to charge fees on USDC to USD conversions over $75 million
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said it will begin charging a fee of 0.1% when institutional clients make USDC to USD net conversions in excess of $75 million. Clients that hold over $500 million of assets with Coinbase or keep an average balance of $100 million in USD or USDC over a calendar month will be exempt.
Republican French Hill says he's optimistic about prospect for new crypto legislation in 2024
Top Republican Rep. French Hill said he is feeling optimistic about the prospects of a bill to regulate stablecoins and another focused on market structure in 2024. He's also open to hearing views from top Democrats about illicit finance. The Arkansas Republican spoke about the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act and the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, both of which advanced out of the House Financial Services Committee last year, during an event on Monday hosted by the Foundation for Defense Democracies.
Innovation & Adoption 💡📈
dYdX Chain adds liquid staking support with latest upgrade
Cosmos-based dYdX Chain now supports liquid staking on the network.
dYdX Chain was upgraded to its v3.0 version today. The upgrade introduced interchain accounts, enabling support for liquid staking protocols to join the Cosmos-based network. This move allows users to continue to stake and secure the dYdX Chain, while converting staked DYDX into a liquid asset that can be traded or utilized in DeFi applications.
In related news, dYdX Tops Uniswap as Largest DEX by Volume
Hong Kong SFC receives first spot Bitcoin ETF application
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) reportedly received its first spot Bitcoin ETF application just weeks after the U.S. SEC approved the first spot BTC ETF in the United States.Harvest Hong Kong — one of China’s largest fund managers — submitted an application to the Hong Kong SFC on Jan. 26, reported Tencent News. The report added that the regulatory body is actively working to expedite the process for approval of ETFs in the country to launch the first Hong Kong spot Bitcoin ETF after the Chinese New Year on Feb. 10.
Polygon-powered Immutable zkEVM mainnet launches in early access mode
Web3 gaming project Immutable has launched its Polygon-powered zkEVM mainnet for select game studios and ecosystem partners. Immutable zkEVM leverages zk-rollup technology for compatibility with Ethereum apps, operating separately from the project’s existing StarkEx-based Layer 2 chain.
AltLayer Airdrop Puts $100 Million Into the Wallets of Ethereum Users
Airdrop season continues on, and the latest sizable token distribution comes from the Ethereum ecosystem, thanks to AltLayer. The scaling protocol launched its ALT airdrop on Thursday, and the number of tokens offered up to eligible community members tops $100 million worth.
Magic Eden launches multi-chain wallet for Solana, Bitcoin, Polygon and Ethereum
NFT marketplace Magic Eden has launched a multi-chain self-custodial wallet. The wallet is compatible with the four blockchains currently supported on the platform — Solana, Bitcoin, Polygon and Ethereum.