Monat: Februar 2023

• Block Inc. exceeded expectations of industry analysts and experienced a rise in its share price after-hours.
• However, the company’s bitcoin (BTC) revenue is falling due to the price drops.
• The bitcoin sales made by Block Inc.’s Cash App totaled $1.83 billion in Q4, representing a 7% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Block Inc.’s Quarterly Report

Block Inc. reported an increase in its share price through after-hours trading despite a drop in its bitcoin (BTC) revenue due to the declining prices of BTC.

Bitcoin Sales Revenue

Cash App, Block’s mobile payment application, offers Bitcoin sales to its consumers via the app which brings in money. In Q4, Bitcoin sales dropped by 7% totaling $1.83 billion compared to the same period from last year.

Price Drops Affecting Revenue

The decrease in sales has caused Cash App’s Bitcoin gross profit to drop by 25%, coming in at $35 million for the quarter which is the lowest quarterly total since reporting began.

Gross Profit Increases

Despite this, Block Inc.’s gross profit increased by 40%, bringing adjusted profits before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) up to $281 million or 53%. The aggregate amount of revenue during this period was $4.65 billion.

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After Hours Trading Increase

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• Norway’s Økokrim unit has seized NOK 60 million in cryptocurrency as part of their investigation into a Sky Mavis cyber-attack.
• This hack is linked to North Korea’s primary intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau.
• Økokrim is aiming to prevent the funds from being used for criminal activities and are taking steps to compensate victims of the attack.

Norway Seizes Crypto Linked to North Korean Hackers

Sky Mavis Cyber Attack

In March 2022, hackers associated with North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau stole $600 million worth of cryptocurrency from Axie Infinity, a popular play-to-earn (P2E) gaming platform. Norway’s economy crimes unit, Økokrim, then conducted an investigation and seized a whopping NOK 60 million (or $5.9 million) in cryptocurrency as part of this case.

International Collaboration

To track stolen assets via cryptocurrency transactions, Økokrim partnered with FBI specialists in an international collaboration effort aimed at preventing funds from being used for criminal activities. Marianne Bender, the Økokrim first states attorney highlighted the importance of such global initiatives in combating profit-driven cybercrime.

Compensating Victims

Økokrim has plans to communicate with Sky Mavis so that victims can be compensated for their losses. Attention was also given to what hackers could do with the stolen funds; Bender revealed that they could potentially funnel it into North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

Advanced Tactics

The criminals attempted to outsmart authorities by using advanced tactics on blockchain technology but were ultimately unsuccessful due to global efforts in tracking down cryptocurrency transactions associated with illegal activity.

Conclusion

This case shows that international cooperation is key when it comes to tackling cybercrime and ensuring that stolen assets are not used for criminal activities or other malicious purposes like funding nuclear programs.

• Ethereum’s Beacon Chain has been powering the liquid staking industry, which has seen a 20-40% increase in TVL over the past month.
• The top three liquid staking protocols in terms of TVL are Lido, Coinbase, and Rocket Pool.
• Liquid staking offers users rewards while retaining their asset liquidity, with the shorter staking window allowing for strategies to capitalize on market trends.

Liquid Staking Industry Booming on Ethereum

The liquid staking industry has been thriving on the Ethereum (ETH) network since its introduction of the Beacon chain. As of Feb. 9, the total value locked (TVL) in three top Ethereum-based liquid staking protocols had risen above $11b, with Lido (LDO), Coinbase (COIN), and Rocket Pool (RPL) all recording gains in the 20-40% range over the past month according to DeFi LIama.

Benefits of Liquid Staking

Liquid staking is an automated process that allows users to stake their ETH on the Beacon chain, a proof of stake blockchain. It provides users with rewards when they stake their tokens but also enables them to move their assets around while still being able to benefit from rewards. This enhances overall liquidity as well as giving investors more flexibility when it comes to capitalizing on market trends due to its shorter staking window.

Leaders In The Space

Lido currently controls 27.5% of all liquid stakings and boasts a total locked value (TVL) of around $8.39b as per Gnosis co-founder Martin Köppelmann’s survey; followed by Coinbase at 14.5%, with $1.77b in wrapped ETH according to CoinMarketCap data for Feb 9th 2021 . Meanwhile, Rocket Pool and Frax Ether have seen the biggest gains out of the top five projects over the last month at 40% and 97%, respectively.

Coinbase Ventures Joining Oracle DAO

Coinbase Ventures recently announced that they would join Rocket Pool’s Oracle DAO which sparked a debate about whether Ethereum is becoming too centralized or not; with Bitcoin maximalists arguing that this proves so. According to CoinMarketCap data for Feb 9th 2021 , Lido registered 17% gain over 7 days taking its price up to $2.71 with a market cap of $2 billion making it 30th largest crypto by market cap while Rocket pool registered 11%.

Conclusion

Overall this shows that Liquid Staking Protocols are surging due to its ability provide users rewards along with maintaining asset liquidity while offering flexibility through its shorter staking windows enabling investors capitalize on market trends effectively resulting in higher returns for them leading these protocols gaining popularity amongst other cryptocurrencies thus driving up their prices significantly

• Ethereum (ETH) has seen impressive gains in the start of 2023, reaching a 90-day high of $1,674.
• The crypto community is looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rate hikes, expecting lower than December’s 50-basis points increase.
• Ethereum is ushering in a new era with the impending launch of the Shanghai upgrade (EIP-4895), transitioning from proof-of-work consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake one and allowing users to stake 32 ETH to become validators.

Ethereum Price Analysis

Ethereum price analysis indicates potential gains in 2023. After kicking off the new year at $1,192, ETH surged to a 90-day high of $1,674 on Jan. 21 representing an increase of 40.43% YTD (year-to-date). As of Jan. 30, ETH was trading at $1,572.

Factors Affecting Ethereum Price

Ethereum has become the go-to platform for developers entrepreneurs and investors due to its wide range of capabilities such as decentralized finance (DeFi) gaming and data storage. With this in mind what will be the defining factors determining Ethereum’s future?

Upcoming Ethereum Upgrade

Ethereum is ushering in a new era with the impending launch of the Shanghai upgrade (EIP-4895). After their September 2022 upgrade dubbed The Merge Ethereum transitioned from proof-of work consensus mechanism to a proof -of -stake one allowing users to stake 32 ETH to become validators.

Impact On Cryptocurrency Market

The crypto market will be monitoring any potential impact that this may have on digital assets such as Ethereum with Federal Reserve adjusting its policy tools to respond to economic trends.

Outlook For 2023

With various vital themes and questions influencing its path it remains uncertain how ethereum will settle throughout 2023.