| Hey Cryptonews, here's our curated daily bundle of crypto news. | | Institutions may be coming to Bitcoin's [BTC] rescue
|  | - A recent Arcane Research report revealed that BTC's rally has been slowing down
- However, institutional participation remains high
2023 has been a very productive year for Bitcoin [BTC] on the price front, with the cryptocurrency hiking by double digits on the charts. According to Arcane Research, however, this rally has been slowing down lately. Even so, institutional participation could come to the rescue of BTC's fortunes.
The surge in CME Open Interest in Bitcoin is a case in point. The proportion of Open Interest in Bitcoin that is not related to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) increased from 53% to 57%. This finding, along with a strong presence of institutional investors in Bitcoin Futures, is a positive sign.
In correspondence with the same, Bitcoin's implied volatility fell too, with the cryptocurrency holding fairly steady around the $23,000-mark on the charts. Here, it's worth pointing out, however, that retail investors aren't lacking in interest either, with the no. of addresses with more than 0.01 coins appreciating over the month. | | Learn more | | Deflationary Ethereum [ETH] doesn't tell us the whole story |  | - In January, ETH's supply fell by over 10,000 units
- It is projected that February will see ETH fall down the price charts
According to Ultrasound Money, the month of January saw ETH's supply decrease by over 10,145 units. This resulted in a net deflationary value of approx. $16 million. By extension, the annual growth rate of ETH's supply is down to -0.012%.
A decrease in supply leads to an increase in demand as less of the asset is available for purchase. This can drive up the price of ETH, making it more valuable. Also, its deflationary characteristics can ensure ETH is likely to hold a stable value in time, one fueled by scarcity more than anything else.
The price charts, however, at press time, didn't quite flash truly bullish signs. In fact, it revealed that January saw a lot of investors rushing to take profits. This subsequently led to a significant fall in buying pressure across the board.
| | Learn more | | Defiance to shut down world's first-ever NFT ETF
|  | - Defiance ETFs will 'close and liquidate' NFTZ by 28 February
- CEO Slyvia Jablonski claimed fund failed to meet projected demand
The world's first-ever NFT ETF will be shutting down towards the end of February, with its performance now seen as a broader reflection of how the NFT market has done over the past year or so. Official liquidation of all portfolio assets will commence from 16 February.
NFTZ tracked companies involved in the NFT and cryptocurrency space, with the shares for the fund even listed on the likes of the New York Stock Exchange.
The fund closed January with $5.3 million in assets. This was a significant decline from its worth back in March 2022, when interest in the NFT market was incredibly high. During this period, NFTZ assets were worth $14 million The latter part of 2022, however, saw the market turn hawkish, with the NFT market suffering accordingly.
At press time, there seemed to be some revival in floor prices though, especially as far as Ethereum and Solana blue-chip collections are concerned. | | Learn more | | BonqDAO protocol loses $120M following oracle hack
|  | | $120M has been stolen from BonqDAO protocol after an oracle hack on 1 February. The same was first revealed by the project itself, with its developers claiming that the exploiter manipulated ALBT by increasing ALBT's price and minting large amounts of BEUR. The exploiter did so by modifying the updatePrice function of the oracle in one of the protocol's smart contracts.
Following the same, the BEUR was swapped for tokens on Uniswap. When the price fell to almost zero, a liquidation of ALBT troves was soon triggered.
According to a statement made by Bonq,
"Other troves remain unaffected. Bonq protocol has been paused. We're working on a solution that will allow users to withdraw all remaining collateral without repaying BEUR in the troves." | | MakerDAO to allocate $5M to Legal Defense Fund
|  | | MakerDAO, the issuer of DAI, the popular USD-pegged stablecoin, has announced that it will allocate 5M in DAI to "reimburse legal defense expenses in case of legal or regulatory action against specific participants of MakerDAO."
According to a statement,
"Initially, the coverage will be provided to Recognized Delegates, Core Unit Facilitators, Core Unit permanent contributors, and active MKR holders."
Here, it's worth noting that the aforementioned MakerDAO Self Defense Fund will serve as a self-insurance tool for its participants. On the contrary, the pre-existing DAI Foundation Fund will be used to take action against those who infringe on Maker's intellectual property.
| | Judge dismisses proposed class-action lawsuit against Coinbase
|  | - Suit claimed 79 tokens listed on Coinbase were securities
- It also alleged that these were sold without proper registration
A United States District Court has dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit against popular crypto-exchange Coinbase. The same alleged that Coinbase used its platform to sell 79 tokens that were actually securities, with the same sold without proper registration or customers being warned.
The lawsuit cited not just the Securities Act of 1933, but also the Exchange Act of 1934 and the Howey Test. Here, it's worth pointing out that the aforementioned have been at the heart of several ongoing proceedings lately, including the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple Labs and its execs.
In his judgment, the judge argued that Coinbase's user agreement contradicted the plaintiff's claims that the exchange was the actual 'seller' of the tokens. He also ruled that Coinbase didn't exactly solicit sales under the strict definition of the law.
As expected, $COIN reacted positively to the news, with the same up by over 5% on the charts immediately after the ruling.
| | Meta's Metaverse division sees no reason to change strategy
|  | - Meta's Zuckerberg doubled down despite Reality Labs incurring losses of $13.7B in 2022
- Q4 alone saw the Metaverse-building division lose $4.3B
2022 was not a good year for the Metaverse and Meta, by extension, with the latter losing billions over the course of the year. In fact, according to the latest Earnings report, Reality Labs lost almost $14B, with over $4.3B being lost over the last quarter alone.
And yet, despite losses for the division peaking, it would seem that Mark Zuckerberg remains steadfast in his belief that Meta's strategy will eventually work out. During a recent earnings call, Meta's Founder and CEO claimed,
"None of the signals that I've seen so far suggest that we should shift the Reality Labs strategy long term."
CFO Susan Li reiterated these sentiments, with the exec claiming that losses will be expected in 2023 too. Even so, Meta will "invest meaningfully in this area given the significant long-term opportunities that we see," she added.
| | Bitcoin & co. stay steady
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