Welcome to the February 29, 2024 edition of the Genfinity News Recap! As you navigate through your busy workday, staying informed about the latest developments in the realms of Web3 and finance can be a challenge. However, we are here to provide you with an overview of the crypto news you might have overlooked today.
February 29, 2024 Genfinity News Recap
Bitcoin
US-listed spot bitcoin ETFs continued their hot streak, reaching their biggest single-day net inflow on Wednesday. BlackRock’s IBIT ETF, the second-largest among them, saw over $1 billion in trading volume for the fourth consecutive day.
CoinDesk notes that this follows Wednesday’s record-breaking day, where spot bitcoin ETFs traded a total of $7.7 billion. IBIT’s share of that volume was $3.3 billion. Additionally, spot bitcoin ETFs attracted a record $673 million in net inflows on Wednesday, with IBIT attracting a record $612 million alone.
The news outlet also reported that, while Bitcoin hasn’t reached its all-time high in USD, it has set new local currency records in many countries. This is partly due to the strong US dollar, which has gained value against other currencies since November 2021.
Countries seeing record Bitcoin prices include major economies like China, Japan, and the UK, as well as developing nations like Argentina and Turkey. Analysts believe the US dollar’s strength is linked to Bitcoin prices, and may weaken in the future, potentially impacting Bitcoin’s value.
Memecoins
Memecoins surged over 27% in the past day, significantly outperforming the broader crypto market’s 5% gain. Dogecoin, Bonk, and Shiba Inu saw increases of 33%, 54%, and 27% respectively, while Bitcoin and Ethereum only rose around 3%. The Block stated that this rally is attributed to growing risk appetite as the market approaches all-time highs, attracting speculative investors to memecoins. Venture capitalists are also showing increased interest, with DWF Labs committing $10 million to Floki, fueling further speculation in the memecoin space.
Coinbase
The research firm Citron advised shorting Coinbase (COIN) stock after a temporary outage on Feb. 28. They suggested going long on Bitcoin through ETFs and shorting Coinbase as a hedge. Cointelegraph writes that while this could suggest a bearish view on Coinbase, Citron has not always been accurate in its predictions. The firm previously called for a short on Ethererum in late 2022, an incorrect call that saw Ethereum later climb 182%.
Conversely, The Block reported that Coinbase’s stock surged to multi-month highs despite the glitch, triggered by heavy trading volume, exceeding previous daily averages significantly. They speculate that the rise coincides with the increasing price of Bitcoin and potentially signals the return of retail investors to the market. However, despite the recent gains, the stock remains below its all-time high. Furthermore, investment firm Ark Invest has been selling off its Coinbase shares as the price continues to climb.
Did you lose money yesterday due to the Coinbase glitch? Notably, Coinbase previously sued individuals who happened to profit from the exchange’s technical mishaps.
Regulation
The US House Financial Services Committee advanced a resolution aiming to eliminate a controversial SEC guideline, SAB 121. CoinDesk elaborated on the regulation, reporting that this rule forces banks to hold customer crypto assets on their own books, hindering their ability to offer crypto custody services.
Supporters of the resolution argue that SAB 121 stifles innovation and restricts banks from competing with non-bank crypto custodians. Opponents, however, believe the guidance is crucial to protect investors and prevent situations like the FTX collapse. The resolution needs formal committee approval and potentially a full House vote to pass. Even if successful, Senate approval is also required for it to become law.
The committee also approved a bill granting the US Secret Service more resources to investigate crypto-related illicit activity and cybercrimes. This bill aims to close the gap in investigating cybercrimes involving digital assets and empower the Secret Service to better combat financial crimes using crypto.
Ethereum
The Ethereum blockchain has undergone significant upgrades, improving scalability, efficiency, and security. These upgrades address the challenge of balancing security, decentralization, and scalability — the blockchain trilemma. The upcoming “Dencun” upgrade aims to further enhance these aspects through proposals like EIP-4844, which introduces data blobs to improve scalability and potentially reduce transaction costs.
This paves the way for mass adoption of Layer-2 rollups, which offer off-chain processing while maintaining the main chain’s security. Dencun is expected to be a positive catalyst for Ethereum, with CoinDesk speculating it could potentially drive the price of Ethereum upward.
Outside of the Dencun upgrade, here are some other project developments for March:
We hope you enjoyed our February 29, 2024 Genfinity News Recap! Come back tomorrow evening for another news summary, and please leave a comment below.
*Disclaimer: News content provided by Genfinity is intended solely for informational purposes. While we strive to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, we do not offer financial or legal advice of any kind. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with qualified professionals before making any financial or legal decisions. Genfinity disclaims any responsibility for actions taken based on the information presented in our articles. Our commitment is to share knowledge, foster discussion, and contribute to a better understanding of the topics covered in our articles. We advise our readers to exercise caution and diligence when seeking information or making decisions based on the content we provide.
