• The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently filed charges against Justin Sun, CEO of TRON Foundation, and two BitTorrent-related companies.
• Huobi Global, a cryptocurrency exchange for which Sun is an advisor, experienced only minimal impact from the SEC charges.
• Justin Sun announced plans to invest tens of millions of dollars in Huobi to improve the exchange.

SEC Files Charges Against Justin Sun

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently filed charges against Justin Sun and three companies he is linked with; TRON Foundation; which he served as founder and CEO until 2021, as well as two BitTorrent related firms which he briefly served as CEO after TRON acquired the project in 2018.

Huobi Global Experiencing Minimal Impact

Justin Sun commented on his Chinese-language Twitter account that Huobi „feels that [the issue] has come to an end.“ He stated that the exchange only saw a net withdrawal of $30 million in one day following the SEC charges, compared to a net deposit average of $20 million per day prior to this. Additionally, there was a wave of coin withdrawals but still experienced a net deposit of $7 million throughout this time period.

Reinforcing Huobi’s Position

Sun has announced plans to reinforce Huobi with a “to-do list” that includes depositing tens of millions of dollars into the exchange, launching new tokens and introducing other improvements. The value for Huobi Token (HT) has decreased by 10% within the past week and currently experiences moderate trading volume at $840 million per day.

Conclusion

Overall it appears that despite recent legal issues affecting Justin Sun’s other projects, his current role as advisor at Huobi Global has been minimally affected. With efforts now being put in place such as investing large amounts into the platform coupled with token launches and additional improvements, this could help further strengthen their position within the industry going forward.

• Silicon Valley Bank parent firm, SVB Financial Group, has filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code.
• The filing will allow them to explore strategic alternatives as determined by a board-appointed restructuring team.
• Customers will receive funds elsewhere through Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Biden administration and US Treasury emergency plan.

SVB Financial Group Files For Bankruptcy Protection

SVB Financial Group, the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, has filed for bankruptcy protection according to a press release from the company on March 17. The filing was submitted in the Southern District of New York and aims to preserve company value. The legal process will allow it to explore strategic alternatives as determined by a board-appointed restructuring team made up of five members. Any sale that is arranged must be approved in court before being executed.

Liquidity and Debt Details

The company believes it has $2.2 billion of liquidity, $3.3 billion of debt in aggregate principal amount of unsecured notes, and $3.7 billion of outstanding preferred equity. Joele Frank, a shareholder activism claims firm is involved in the case to assist with reorganization proceedings.

Impact on Other Services

Though Silicon Valley Bank has failed, SVB’s other services — SVB Capital and SVB Securities — will continue to provide services while they are no longer associated with Silicon Valley Bank following its collapse on March 10th due to US regulators control over customer assets leading to an overnight bank run amid plans for over $2 billion cash withdrawal announcement..

Where Will Customers Receive Funds?

Customers will regain access to their funds elsewhere outside of Silicon Valley Bank’s direct operations through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) which provides customers with their insured funds portion as well as through Biden administration and U.S Treasury emergency plan announced shortly after failure took place .

Conclusion

Though bankruptcy protection may potentially help lead to recovery for SVB Financial Group, customers can rest assured that they have ways that they can receive their funds back from this incident either through FDIC or Biden administration/U.S Treasury emergency plan .

• The cryptocurrency market cap saw net outflows of $77.63 billion over the last 24 hours and currently stands at $917.63 billion, down 7.8% from $995.26 billion.
• Bitcoin and Ethereum’s market cap fell 8.9% and 10% to $381.71 billion and $169.6 billion, respectively, while Cardano fared best with a 4.6% loss in the market carnage.
• Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) increased to $71.76 billion and $43.51 billion while Binance USD (BUSD) stayed flat at $8.4 billion during this period of time .

Crypto Market Massacre

The cryptocurrency market cap saw net outflows of about 78 billion dollars over the last 24 hours, dropping from 995 to 917 billions dollars – a 7,8 percent decrease in value overall compared to the previous day’s value of 995 billions dollars..

Bitcoin & Ethereum Price Changes

The market capitalization of Bitcoin dropped 8,9 percent to 381 billions dollars while Ethereum’s market cap decreased by 10 percent to 169 billions dollars as well during this time period..
Cardano recorded losses as well but it was the least impacted among top 10 crypto assets with only 4,6 percent decrease in its value during the same period of time..

Tether & USD Coin Increase

Tether increased in market capitalization reaching 71 billions dollars whereas USD Coin rose up to 43 billions dollars during this same period.. Binance USD on the other hand remained relatively stable at 8,4 billions dollars on this reporting period..

Biggest Gainers & Losers

GensoKishi MetaverseMV emerged as the biggest gainer with an 8,7 percent increase followed by aelf which jumped 6,3 percent over these last 24 hours.. HashflowHFT also had a 2,8 percent increase as Radio CacaRACA went up 1,7 percent during this same time frame..

On the other hand Dogecoin recorded 11percent loss being one of the biggest losers alongside Solana which had 11,9percent decrease in its price during these last 24 hours according to CryptoSlate reportings..

• Ethereum Shanghai upgrade is on the horizon with 17.4M ETH staked by the community
• The current realized price for Ethereum is $1,380, while the ETH 2.0 deposits realized price is roughly $2,153
• Roughly $8.5 billion of unrealized losses, while most staked ETH is currently at a loss

Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade

The Ethereum network is gearing up for its upcoming upgrade later this month – Ethereum Shanghai. As part of this upgrade, stakers can withdraw their tokens from Ethereum POS smart contracts.

ETH Staked

The total staked amount in ETH is roughly 17.4 million; this has grown by 4 million since the merge in September 2022. The current realized price for Ethereum is $1,380, while the ETH 2.0 deposits realized price is roughly $2,153. This implies that roughly 8.5 billion USD worth of unrealized losses exist when accounting for the difference between spot and deposit prices multiplied by total ETH value staked.

Realized Price

The Realized Price captures the average price at which the entire ETH supply last moved on-chain and likewise captures the average deposit price for all staked ETH . This provides valuable insights into how much value has been added or removed from Ethereum over time due to changes in market conditions or user behaviour such as staking activities.

Unrealized Losses

Most of these deposits are currently at a loss given that they were made at higher prices than what they are now worth on-chain which results in an aggregate unrealized loss of 8.5 billion USD across all users who have deposited into PoS contracts so far .

Conclusion

Finally, it’s important to note that this large increase in Ethereum deposits suggests a strong sentiment towards investing long term into Ethereum despite recent volatility and bearish markets overall; indicating confidence behind upcoming projects like Eth 2 and possibly signaling a short term bullish trend ahead for Etheruem’s future prospects .

Paxos and the Binance USD Stablecoin

• Paxos recently published a letter from its CEO, Charles Cascarilla, in which he discussed the company’s ill-fated BUSD stablecoin.
• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a Wells Notice prospectively alleging that BUSD is a security.
• Paxos is engaging with regulators on other matters and is pursuing an application with the SEC through which it intends to offer tokens as securities.

Paxos Asserts Binance USD Is Not A Security

Paxos recently published a letter from its CEO, Charles Cascarilla, in which he discussed the company’s ill-fated BUSD stablecoin. Action from New York regulators led Paxos to stop issuing its Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin on February 13th. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) separately issued a Wells Notice prospectively alleging that BUSD is a security.

Cascarilla wrote that Paxos does not believe that under either the Howey or Reves tests, their stablecoins meet the criteria to be considered securities. According to him, these coins are always backed by cash equivalents such as dollars or US Treasury bills but never securities. He also stated that Paxos is involved in “constructive discussions” with the SEC on this matter but will share more information when it can do so publicly. Additionally, if necessary they may “vigorously litigate” their position against any claims made by the SEC.

BUSD Redemptions So Far

Cascarilla reported that Paxos has facilitated more than $2.8 billion in Binance USD redemptions without disruption in the cryptocurrency market since February 14th when Crypto Slate reported $300 million of redemptions completed at that time. He also mentioned that they are engaged with regulators on other matters – they are pursing an application with the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) through which they aim to obtain a bank charter as well as an application with the SEC through which they intend to offer tokens as securities .

Response From Crypto Community

The crypto community has been largely supportive of Paxos’ stance against claims made by the SEC regarding their stablecoins being classified as securities; many have pointed out how this move could be beneficial for long-term growth of blockchain projects throughout America and beyond if successful .

Conclusion

Though there is still much uncertainty surrounding this case due to lack of clarity from both sides , it seems clear that Paxos will continue working closely with regulatory bodies while defending their position when necessary . They have shown commitment towards making sure all redemptions go smoothly while pushing forward various applications related to banking charters and token offerings .

• Terra’s classic stablecoin (USTC) saw gains of 19% today in response to news that issuance of Binance USD (BUSD) will be halted.
• USTC had been trading at $0.027 or less for several months before the surge, indicating that investors are turning to decentralized stablecoins like USTC as a safe-haven asset.
• Gains were also seen in other decentralized stablecoins such as Neutrino USD, USDX [Kava], and VAI.

Terra’s Classic Stablecoin Sees Surge

Terra’s classic algorithmic USD stablecoin, Terra Classic USD (USTC), saw a surge of 19% today on Feb 13th. The surge was in response to news that issuance of Binance USD (BUSD) will be halted, causing a loss of confidence in centrally backed stablecoins among some investors who have turned to decentralized options instead, such as USTC.

USTC Price History

USTC had been trading at $0.027 or less for several months until Feb 3rd when it began gaining value again. This indicates that some investors are turning to decentralized stablecoins like USTC as an alternative safe-haven asset given the failure of centrally controlled BUSD.

Gains In Other Decentralized Stablecoins

Today’s gains weren’t limited to USTC alone; other decentralized stablecoins also saw growth over the same period — Neutrino USD rose by 13.11%, now worth $0.20; USDX [Kava] rose 0:78%, now worth $0.84; and VAI increased by 1:96%, now worth $0.97 respectively.

Recovery From Collapse

Despite these gains though, it is unlikely that USTC will manage to reclaim its former price peg of $1 due to its collapse in May 2022 and because it is no longer associated with the revived Terra project which does not use a stablecoin as a core feature anymore.. However these modest gains may still provide enough room for holders to earn on their investments if they choose to do so wisely..

Conclusion

Overall this recent surge shows that decentralized cryptocurrencies remain resilient even against central bank failures and can still offer potential returns despite their past collapses or lack of association with larger projects — providing users with an alternative option for investing should they decide so wisely

Justin Sun Backs FTX Debt Token ‚FUD‘

• Justin Sun, the founder of exchange Huobi, has put his name behind Debt DAO and its project to issue FTX users‘ debt as a bond token, FUD.
• The bond token will have an initial supply and circulation of 20 million, representing 20% of the notified FTX debt.
• After FTX confirms the debt amount through official disclosure, Debt DAO will issue additional tokens proportional to the confirmed debt amount.

Details About FTX Debt Token ‚FUD‘

Debt DAO has been notified of around $100 million in debt by FTX creditors and has issued 20 million FUD tokens valued at $1 each. After FTX confirms the debt amount through official disclosure, Debt DAO will issue additional tokens proportional to the confirmed debt amount. These tokens will then be distributed to FUD holders through an airdrop. For instance, if the debt amount confirmed by FTX is $60 million then Debt DAO will issue another 40 million FUD tokens in addition to the initial 20 million and holders of 1 FUD before the secondary public offering will receive an additional 2 FUDs from the airdrop.

Justin Sun’s Statement onFTX Debt Token ‚FUD‘

Crypto exchange Huobi listed the FUD token for trading on Feb 5th and Justin Sun said that it is a „top quality“ asset that would benefit everyone in crypto world by providing creditors with new levels of liquidity and enabling them to trade their debts on open market. Moreover, after an airdrop; DebtDAO will do a 1:1 debt buyback for FUD holders.

Issuance Of Contracts Or Notarized Proofs Of The Debt

Debt DAO will issue contracts or notarized proofs of the debts at an appropriate time and also urged FTX creditors with over $10 million in debts to contact them for a „debt audit and issuance“ so they can circulate their debts in secondary market.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Justin Sun’s backing of this project could potentially help many creditors get back their funds from FTX exchanges while also giving them opportunities to trade their debts on open market with new level of liquidity options provided by this tokenization process initiated by Huobi exchange under Justin Sun’s supervision.

• DeFi experienced a major downturn in 2022, with the total TVL decreasing from $267B to $53B.
• NFTs and GameFi overtook DeFi in public and investor interest during the year’s second half.
• Footprint Analytics collected 25 important stats about the DeFi industry in 2022.

The year 2022 marked a major downturn in the DeFi industry, with the total value locked (TVL) decreasing from $267B at the beginning of January to $53B by the end of the year. This downturn was kicked off due to a variety of factors, the most prominent being the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes and the collapse of the Terra project. The collapse of Terra was a major setback for the DeFi industry, and was followed by a series of hacks, collapses, and macro conditions that further exacerbated the bear market.

Despite this, the DeFi industry was far from dead. Even though many DeFi projects ceased to be active, several protocols and categories performed well, indicating that they were able to weather the storm and have the potential to thrive in the future. NFTs and GameFi also overtook DeFi in public and investor interest during the year’s second half, further cementing the importance of DeFi in the blockchain space.

In order to provide a comprehensive analysis of the DeFi industry in 2022, Footprint Analytics has collected 25 important stats about the DeFi industry from that year. These include the total TVL, the percentage of DeFi projects that were active, the number of new DeFi projects launched, the number of DeFi protocols with the most assets locked, and much more. Looking at these stats can help investors and analysts make smarter investments and analyses in the future, and can provide an interesting perspective on the DeFi industry as a whole.

For example, the stats collected by Footprint Analytics show that the total TVL in DeFi decreased from $267B at the beginning of January to $53B by the end of the year. This is a significant drop, and reflects the downturn that the DeFi industry experienced in 2022. Additionally, the stats show that only 28.6% of DeFi projects were active by the end of the year, indicating that the majority of projects had failed.

Overall, the stats collected by Footprint Analytics show that DeFi experienced a major downturn in 2022, but also that several protocols and categories performed well, indicating that the industry is likely to survive the bear market and thrive in the future. By looking back on the year, investors and analysts can make smarter investments and analyses in the future, and can gain a better understanding of the DeFi industry as a whole.

• New York Assembly Bill 2532 would allow state agencies to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for payments such as taxes, rent, fines, penalties, and interest.
• The bill does not seem to encourage commercial adoption of crypto, but rather to amend existing laws to allow state agencies to accept cryptocurrency for their purposes.
• The bill specifically names Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash as acceptable currencies, and also allows for other cryptos to be accepted.

New York is taking a major step towards legalizing cryptocurrency payments for state purposes. On Jan. 26, Assembly member Clyde Vanel introduced New York Assembly Bill 2532, which would allow state agencies to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for payments such as taxes, rent, fines, penalties and interest.

The bill does not seem to encourage the commercial adoption of cryptos, but rather to amend existing laws to allow state agencies to accept cryptocurrency for their purposes. It allows for the state to charge a fee if it would otherwise be made to pay the costs of a transaction, and suggests that some cryptocurrency payments could be conditional until the final payment is received in full.

The bill specifically names Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash as acceptable currencies, and also allows for other cryptos to be accepted. In addition, the term “issuer” is used broadly, suggesting that it extends to services that handle crypto, not just those who create it.

This is a major development for the cryptocurrency industry, as it gives more legitimacy to the notion that cryptocurrencies can be used for payments. The potential implications of this bill are huge – if it passes, it could open up a whole new world of possibilities for cryptocurrency payments within the state of New York. It could also encourage other states to follow suit and allow for crypto payments for state purposes.

New York Assembly Bill 2532 is a major step forward for the cryptocurrency industry. It shows that the state is open to the idea of crypto payments, and could pave the way for more widespread adoption in the future.