| Hey Cryptonews, here's our curated daily bundle of crypto news. | | New yearly 'peak' for Bitcoin [BTC]
|  | - Bitcoin's mining difficulty is now close to hitting 40.0T
- Hike in difficulty corresponded to the surge in network hash rate
2023 has been a good year for the world's largest cryptocurrency on the price front, with BTC hiking by double-digits on the charts since the year began. This has been accompanied by the network difficulty surging too, with the same now close to 40.0T - Its highest level in over a year.
Needless to say, the same corresponded with the appreciation in the network's hash rate. With the value of BTC hiking on the price charts, miners have been incentivized to improve their hashrate. When BTC's price is on the up, mining becomes more lucrative, something that brings in more miners to the network.
Similarly, January 2023 also saw Miners' Revenue rise from its December 2022 levels. Figures for the same were recorded to be over $20M, at press time.
| | Learn More | | Ripple remains bullish, but where is XRP at
|  | - Ripple is confident it will emerge victorious in the lawsuit against the SEC
- XRP suffered a decline in key ecosystem metrics in Q4 2022
In its newly published Q4 earnings report, Ripple Labs appeared confident about its chances in the SEC lawsuit. Ripple attacked the SEC for its "regulation by enforcement" approach and stated that the case is fully briefed and they are proud of their defense.
In terms of on-chain activity in Q4 2022, its XRP ledger saw a decrease in the number of wallets and transaction counts compared to the same period in the previous year. However, there was an increase from the figures logged in Q3 of the same year.
As far as XRP is concerned, the report revealed a decrease in XRP's trading volume and a drop in the sale of the cryptocurrency. These factors, combined with technical indicators, could potentially harm the interests of XRP holders and result in a significant retracement. | | Learn More | | Cardano's Djed is finally here |  | - Cardano's overcollateralized stablecoin is now live on the mainnet
- It has been listed on three decentralized exchanges native to the Cardano network
After several years of preparations, the much-awaited Caradano's overcollateralized stablecoin Djed has launched on the mainnet. The public mainnet launch is a significant milestone for the Cardano ecosystem and the DeFi industry as a whole, as it brings an opportunity for users to hold, mint, and burn DJED and SHEN.
Djed is pegged to USD and backed by the base coin ADA with SHEN as its reserve coin. It has a mechanism of over-collateralization by 400%-800% with on-chain proof of reserves to protect its value in different market scenarios. SHEN holders stand to benefit from delegation rewards, mint and burn fees, LP rewards, and farming rewards.
In 2023, the Djed team plans to continue to build and improve the product. The team also plans to add other assets besides ADA as collateral to mint DJED, including wrapped assets like WBTC and WETH.
| | SushiSwap intends to make more money in 2023
|  | | By sending 100% of its revenue to its treasury instead of distributing the same to its token holders, leading decentralized exchange (DEX) SushiSwap is looking to make an extra $15 million in 2023. In 2022, Token Terminal found that the protocol's revenue totaled $16.75 million, far behind the figures recorded by MakerDAO and Lido Finance within the same period.
On the daily chart, a look at the alt's Exponential Moving Average (EMA) revealed a bullish outlook in the long term. However, in the short term, SUSHI's price appeared to have consolidated as the 20 EMA, and 50 EMA were positioned close to each other.
A look at the asset's Directional Movement Index (DMI) confirmed the fact that buying pressure was waning as sellers were spotted attempting to regain control of the SUSHI market.
| | Learn More | | Celsius might have turned up the heat, illegally
|  | | A report by a court-appointed examiner on the crypto-lender Celsius has revealed the company's lack of transparency and deceptive practices. The report stated that the crypto-lending platform, which filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, was insolvent since its inception and that its business model differed from what was advertised to customers.
The report also claimed that Celsius was involved in price manipulation of its own token, CEL. The crypto-lender purchased CEL tokens to increase its price, resulting in an inflated price by June 2021. The inflated price benefited Celsius insiders who held the token.
Furthermore, the report claimed that Celsius used customers' Bitcoin and Ethereum to buy back CEL tokens. This resulted in a shortfall in funds and a hole in its balance sheet. As a result, the crypto-lender had to spend nearly $300 million to make up for the shortfall, and the improper reporting system failed to keep track of the growing shortfall over time.
| | Tesla logs losses on its BTC holdings
|  | - Due to 2022's volatility, Tesla recorded losses on its BTC holdings
- To hedge against that loss, it converted some of its BTC into fiat in 2022
Tesla disclosed in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it recorded a $204 million gross impairment loss in 2022 on its Bitcoin holdings. The company also recorded a gain of $64 million from converting Bitcoin into fiat currency at various points during the year, resulting in a net loss of $140 million from its cryptocurrency trading activities.
In the first quarter of 2021, Tesla invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and announced that it would start accepting Bitcoin payments from US-based consumers. However, the policy was retracted months later as Elon Musk cited the need to confirm reasonable clean energy usage by Bitcoin miners before the company would accept the payment again.
The SEC filing emphasized the effect of the unstable crypto-market on Tesla's financial performance. It stated that if the value of any digital asset decreases below their carrying value, Tesla may need to recognize impairment charges, something that could negatively impact its profitability over those periods.
| | Core Scientific allowed to borrow $70M to replace existing loan
|  | - Bankruptcy court has sanctioned Core Scientific's request
- $70M loan will be taken from investment bank B. Riley
A bankruptcy court in the Southern District of Texas has agreed to Core Scientific's request to borrow $70M in an effort to pay off the miner's existing debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing loan. This loan will be taken from investment bank B. Riley, a major creditor, with the aforementioned DIP Financing loan coming from the same institution as well.
The popular Bitcoin miner has long shared its intention to replace the terms of the original DIP loan, claiming that better terms would allow for more flexibility and leeway. This new loan will ensure that Core Scientific has,
"sufficient liquidity to operate their businesses and administer their estates in the ordinary course for the duration of these Chapter 11 cases."
Core Scientific, like many miners, struggled in 2022 on the back of falling BTC prices and surging electricity prices. However, Celsius defaulting on its loans was the final straw for this miner. | | Only marginal recovery for Bitcoin [BTC] |
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