Scenius Sync (Issue #89)

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Set Daily Volume Record, MicroStrategy’s X Account Hacked, Binance “Accepts Responsibility”, Celestia Rival Avail Raises $27m, & UNI Jumps 60% On Proposal To Reward Holders

Scenius: The intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. The communal form of the concept of genius.

Welcome to The Scenius Sync.

Our mission with this concise publication is twofold:

1. Share the essential stories driving the crypto industry and markets.

2. Highlight innovative applications and mainstream adoption of crypto and blockchain technology.

If you find this newsletter valuable, please subscribe and share The Scenius Sync with your network 💪

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Essential News 🗞

1. Binance says it 'accepts responsibility' for past actions as judge approves plea deal

   • Binance Holdings Ltd. will pay one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history after a judge approved a plea agreement on Friday requiring the exchange to pay $4.3 billion. "Binance accepts responsibility for the company’s past actions and has already made significant progress in taking the steps required under the terms of this plea agreement," a Binance spokesperson said in a statement sent to The Block. Judge Richard Jones approved the plea agreement during a hearing in Seattle on Friday. 

2. Bitcoin-Holder MicroStrategy’s X Account Hacked

   • MicroStrategy Inc., the largest publicly-traded corporate holder of Bitcoin, suffered a hack on its X account that tricked some people into handing over funds to the attacker, according to crypto security analysts.

   • In related news, MicroStrategy has acquired an additional 3,000 BTC for ~$155 million at an average price of $51,813 per Bitcoin between Feb. 15 and Feb. 25. See Tweet from Michael Saylor, here.

3. FTX reaches $33 million settlement over failed European expansion

   • Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has settled a lawsuit that sought to claw back $323 million that it had spent acquiring a European startup, instead agreeing to sell the company back to its founders for $32.7 million. FTX had concluded that no other buyer would agree to purchase its fledgling European subsidiary, FTX Europe, and that the proposed settlement is the best outcome for FTX creditors, according to documents filed Thursday in Wilmington, Delaware bankruptcy court.

4. BitForex Website Goes Dark Amid Reported $57M Outflow

   • Cryptocurrency exchange BitForex has gone offline after $57 million was reportedly withdrawn from the exchange's hot wallets on Feb. 23.

     Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT said that withdrawals have stopped processing and the BitForex team is unresponsive to user requests. When trying to access the BitForex website, users are met with a page that says: "Sorry, you have been blocked."

5. HTX, formerly Huobi, withdraws Hong Kong crypto licence application three days after submission

   • Cryptocurrency exchange HTX, formerly Huobi Global, has withdrawn its application for a license to operate in Hong Kong, in a dramatic retreat from its highly publicized plans to win customers in the city after exiting the mainland market.

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Innovation & Adoption 💡📈

1. New bitcoin spot ETF trading volume sets daily record, besting launch day: Bloomberg

   • The nine new spot bitcoin ETFs set a daily volume record on Monday by registering a combined $2.4 billion in buying and selling, according to Bloomberg. The $2.4 billion in trading, led by BlackRock’s ETF, was enough to snap the previous daily record set on the first day the instruments traded on Jan. 11.

   • Meanwhile, Bitcoin Price Surges Above $53,000 for First Time Since 2021.

2. Uniswap's UNI Jumps 60% on Proposal to Reward Token Holders in Major Governance Overhaul

   • Uniswap's governance token UNI gained 60% after a proposal by a key Uniswap Foundation leader to overhaul the protocol's decision-making. The proposal would distribute protocol fees among UNI holders who stake and delegate tokens to rejuvenate the protocol's decision-making.

3. Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms generated record $281 million total revenue in 2023

   • Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms generated record total revenue of $280.7 million in 2023, according to its annual report filed today. Riot produced 6,626 BTC last year, supported by a peak hash rate capacity of 12.4 EH/s.

4. Avail, an Ethereum Data Network to Rival Celestia, Raises $27M In Seed Round

   • Avail, among a handful of new "data availability" blockchain projects designed to handle transaction data produced by the increasingly sprawling networks, announced on Monday a $27 million fundraising led by the venture capital firms Founders Fund and Dragonfly.

5. Bitcoin Ordinals Wallets Will Soon Be Showered With Runestones—Here’s What You Need to Know

   • Runestone, a Bitcoin Ordinals project spearheaded by pseudonymous NFT historian and Ordinals collector Leonidas, is preparing to launch its first airdrop. The largest inscriptions airdrop will commemorate the first year of the Ordinals protocol and pave the way toward the release of Casey Rodamor's Runes project.