Mind The Block | January Week 3

Mind The Block: Your Weekly Dose of Web3 News and Insights

Mind The Block Headlines This Week

• Manta Overtakes Coinbase’s Base
• Google Cloud Joins Flare Network
• South Korea Eyes Mixer Regulations
• Nyan Heroes Announces NYN Airdrop
• HashKey has Raised $100 Million
• Protocol Prism’s Blockchain Tradeoffs
• Solana Price Drop Spurs Liquidations
• Crypto Security in 2024

News

• Manta Network surpasses Coinbase’s Base network as the fourth largest Ethereum layer-two scaling solution.
• The digital asset market saw a $1.2 billion net inflow, with Grayscale and Purpose Bitcoin experiencing strong outflows.
• OKX Middle East Fintech FZE has secured Dubai’s Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license.
• Tether has reached 100 billion tokens in circulation, solidifying its position as the market leader.
• Bitfinex has partnered with Synonym to improve user access to the Lightning Network.
• SAXO Bank, an online investment and trading platform, has reduced fees for Australian and US market trades.
• Taiko has launched its final testnet, Katla, before its expected mainnet release by Q1 2024.
• XRP Healthcare has become a network validator on the XRPL network.
• Chainlink and Circle have partnered to enable cross-chain stablecoin transfers.
• IMF Chair Kristalina Georgieva has emphasized thatcryptocurrency is not moneybut rather an investment vehicle.
• Hackers have stolen over $4 million in crypto assets from Solana users in the last month, using fake airdrops and scams.
• UN Office on Drugs and Crime has emphasized the growing misuse of cryptocurrency in illicit economies in East and Southeast Asia.
• Sui has surpassed Bitcoin in total value locked (TVL) and is approaching the TOP 50 by global market capitalization.
• Aave governance forum is considering a proposal to deploy Aave v3 on Neon EVM.
• South Korean Daejeon City’s servers were compromised by hackers for cryptocurrency mining.
• LBank has announced its fourth Launchpad, featuring the project EchoLink, a decentralized IoT oracle based on Solana.
• Animalia has announced its migration to the Arbitrum Chain.

Major Companies Making Moves

• Google Cloud has joined the Flare network as a validator and infrastructure provider.
• Polygon zkEVM is launching a grants program for DeFi builders, marking the first initiative of the mainnet beta stage 2.
• Binance Thailand has opened its crypto exchange services to the public.
• Vanguard’s decision to block clients‘ access to the recently approved spot Bitcoin ETFs has sparked a mass exodus from its products.
• Cronos Labs has announced the third cohort of its $100 million-backed Web3 Accelerator Program.

Government, SEC & Regulation

• South Korea’s FIU is exploring potential regulatory frameworks to combat the misuse of cryptocurrency mixers for money laundering.
• Coinbase faces a legal battle with the SEC, accusing it of operating without proper registration.
• Alex Mashinsky has filed a motion in federal court to dismiss charges related to commodities fraud and market manipulation.
• European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is preparing for the implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.
• India’s Ministry of Finance Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has banned offshore crypto exchanges like Binance and OKX.
• Genesis Global Trading has agreed to pay an $8 million fine and surrender its BitLicense to the New York Department of Financial Services.
• Argentina’s third-most populated city, Rosario, has signed its first-ever Bitcoin rental agreement.

Raises & Major Investments rounds

• Hong Kong crypto exchange HashKey has raised $100 million, becoming a “unicorn” with a valuation of $1.2 billion post-raise.
• Digital Infrastructure Inc, a decentralized car data network developer, raised $11.5 million in a Series A funding round led by CoinFund.
• Ethereum restaking protocol Renzo raised $3.2 million in a seed funding round led by Maven11 Capital.
• TRAX has raised $2.9 million in a decentralized funding round on the Internet Computer (ICP) blockchain.

Trends & Narrative

• Cronos POS Chain developers have proposed updating parameters to stabilize CRO staking yields amid fluctuating participation.
• Protocol Prism: Unveiling the Architectural Tradeoffs of Modern Blockchains.
• Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin has introduced a new rollup strategy, contrasting traditional rollups with the “Validium” solution.
• Polygon Founder Sandeep Nailwal announced plans to upgrade the Layer-two blockchain this year.

NFTs, Gaming, Metaverse

• Nyan Heroes, a Solana-based hero shooter, plans to launch an early access playtest in February.
• Mercedes-Benz has updated its in-car virtual assistant, MBUX Virtual Assistant, with an NFT gallery.
• Taki Games has merged with Unite, expanded to the Polygon network, and partnered with Quickswap on Polygon.
• SBI Holdings, a partner of Ripple Labs, is set to issue a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) for EXPO2025.
• Magic Leap executives believe the metaverse will thrive once it aligns with market needs.
• Nike plans to explore video game wearables and NFT fashion, launching Nike In-Game Wearables.
• WEMADE has signed a deal with Crypto Rogue Games to develop its new action role-playing game, Crystals of Naramunz.
• OpenSea is developing a platform upgrade called OpenSea 2.0 to enhance user experience and differentiate NFT categories.

Onchain Data

• Solana price has dropped by over 8% in the past 24 hours, leading to a significant spike in long liquidations.
• Celestia (TIA) reached an all-time high of $20.18 today, following an ascending parallel channel pattern since November 2023.

• Dark Defender predicts XRP’s price will surge in 2024, with analysts predicting a massive breakout in the next eight weeks.
• PEPE price bounced from a long-term descending resistance trend line, validating it as support.
• Flare (FLR), the native token of the Flare Network, experienced a 20% price surge in the past 24 hours.

Educational Guides and Tips from Mind the Block

• How to Enhance Crypto Security in 2024.
• KoinBay is a leading crypto platform offering various trading options for both seasoned and novice users.
• Spot Bitcoin ETF, custody vs exchange custody, is crucial for investors, as it ensures the underlying asset of the products is safe.
• How Learning Blockchain Programming Can Be Easy.

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