Arbitrum's turbulent tides

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Bitcoin ETFs break surface silence, initiating noteworthy impact

Key points:

• Over 50,000 Bitcoin aged between 5 to 7 years were transferred on 16 January

• The aggregate trading volume of U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs surged beyond $10 billion within a three-day period

News - The recent approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs has paved the way for increased mainstream adoption of the leading cryptocurrency, fueling hopes for significant price surges. This excitement has triggered the movement of long-held coins that were previously inactive for years.

The ETF effect - AMBCrypto's analysis revealed that over 50,000 Bitcoins aged between 5 to 7 years were transferred on 16 January. This movement led to a notable increase in the Coin Days Destroyed (CDD) on the same day, signifying a substantial shift by long-term holders.

Additionally, Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart noted that the aggregate trading volume of U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs surged beyond $10 billion within a three-day period. Grayscale GBTC led the way with a trading volume of $5.174 billion, followed by BlackRock’s IBIT at $1.997 billion and FBTC at $1.479 billion.

Which way is Bitcoin's boat sailing? Despite the positive aspects, Bitcoin fell by 0.6% over the past 24 hours, trading at $42,455 at press time, as per CoinMarketCap. The price slump also contributed to a somewhat bearish investor sentiment.

Nevertheless, most analysts have predicted that ETFs could result in a significant influx of capital into the Bitcoin market over the long term. This outlook suggests that the king coin is expected to navigate short-term difficulties with ease.

Binance users to serve class action lawsuit docs to Cristiano Ronaldo via X

Key points:

• Filed on 16 January, the motion seeks alternative service for legal proceedings, citing challenges in conventional methods

• The proposal suggests using email, X, and website publication to notify the defendant, in compliance with international agreements

News - Binance users who initiated a class-action lawsuit against Cristiano Ronaldo for endorsing the crypto exchange have filed a motion to serve legal documents to the soccer player through alternative channels, such as X.

Why this approach? Filed on 16 January, the motion seeks alternative service for legal proceedings, citing challenges in conventional methods. It emphasizes the uncertainty regarding Cristiano Ronaldo's current address in Saudi Arabia and argues that the Hague Conventions do not prohibit these service methods, especially when the person's address is unknown.

The proposal suggests using email, X, and website publication to notify the defendant, in compliance with international agreements. Additionally, it details that the plaintiffs have established a dedicated website for case materials, intending to send them to both the verified Twitter accounts of Ronaldo and the email addresses of his U.S. counsel involved in ongoing federal litigation.

For context - The class-action lawsuit stems from allegations that Binance users suffered financial losses due to Cristiano Ronaldo's promotion of the crypto exchange. The initial filing, dated 27 November 2023, claimed that Ronaldo played a role in promoting, assisting, and/or actively participating in the offering and sale of unregistered securities in conjunction with Binance.

The lawsuit also alleged that Cristiano Ronaldo failed to disclose payments for endorsing cryptocurrencies, violating U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission guidance.

Arbitrum's TVL hits all-time high despite price volatility

Key points:

• At the time of writing, ARB had resumed its decline and was trading at $2, with a drop of over 3% in the last 24 hours

• Despite this, the TVL stood at $2.6 billion, marking the highest point in the network's history

News - Since the year began, Arbitrum has experienced price fluctuations, yet the Total Value Locked (TVL) within its network has achieved an all-time high, indicating resilience amid the uncertainty.

The ups and downs - Between 12-14 January, ARB's daily timeframe chart recorded consecutive declines. The most substantial drop, reaching about 6.7% on 14 January, marked the second-largest decrease within the year so far.

In the aftermath of these downturns, Arbitrum attempted a rebound, displaying successive uptrends on 15 and 16 January. This effort resulted in a combined uptick of almost 6%.

The impact - Due to the price fluctuations, there was a decline in traders' enthusiasm, as evidenced by the decrease in the Arbitrum's Funding Rate. Coinglass data revealed a drop in the Funding Rate from about 0.06% to approximately 0.009%, with the rate standing at around 0.01% at press time.

The Open Interest also witnessed a decline from over $340 million on 12 January to around $313 million at the time of writing, indicating reduced activity. These findings suggested that although buyers remained dominant, their aggressiveness had decreased.

12% of El Salvador locals opt for Bitcoin purchases in 2023, survey finds

Key points:

• 77.1% of participants indicated a preference for the government to discontinue using public funds for Bitcoin

• The use of Bitcoin for purchases among Salvadorans declined by approximately half from 24.4% in 2022 to 12% in 2023

 News - An annual survey conducted in December 2023 by José Simeón Cañas Central American University in El Salvador found that 12% of the local population had used Bitcoin for purchasing goods and services at least once during that year,  based on responses from 1,280 participants. 

Other standout findings include -

• Nearly half of the surveyed individuals (49.7%) made Bitcoin purchases between one and three times, while only 20% used it for purchases on 10 or more occasions.

• Bitcoin was used the most for covering expenses related to groceries (22.9%) and supermarkets (20.9%), followed by veterinary clinics (15%).

• The use of Bitcoin among Salvadorans had notably declined from the previous year, when it was utilized by 24.4% of the population for purchases.

• On a positive note, the percentage of people who believe their family's life improved in the past year, following the legalization of Bitcoin as tender, increased from 3% in 2022 to 6.8% in 2023.

• Additionally, 34.3% of respondents felt that the country's overall economic situation improved in 2023; however, only 0.5% of Salvadorans believed Bitcoin had anything to do with the improvement.

More stories from the crypto ecosystem

• BNB maintains $300 range amid seller skepticism, minor dips 

• Cardano development activity skyrockets with record code commits over the last year

• SOL goes green, clocks 4% gain following second smartphone announcement

• Canadian exchange delisting sends SHIB and DOGE into flux

• Socket protocol loses $3.3 million in exploit

Crypto scams uncovered

• EtherDelta, a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange, fell victim to a hacking incident in 2017. Attackers manipulated the platform's DNS server, redirecting users to a malicious website and gaining control of private keys. As a result, users unknowingly transferred funds to the hackers. The breach highlighted security vulnerabilities in decentralized exchanges and raised concerns within the crypto community.

• In 2019, Cryptopia, a New Zealand-based cryptocurrency exchange, fell victim to a major hack. Hackers exploited vulnerabilities in the exchange's security systems, resulting in the theft of significant amounts (estimated to be >$16M) of cryptocurrency. Cryptopia eventually declared bankruptcy as a consequence of the attack, leaving users and investors with substantial losses.

• Cryptocurrency mining marketplace NiceHash suffered a significant hack in 2017. Hackers infiltrated the platform and stole approximately 4,700 bitcoins, equivalent to tens of millions of dollars at the time. The breach temporarily halted NiceHash's operations and raised concerns about the security of decentralized mining platforms.

Top 3 coins of the day

Solana (SOL)

• The daily active addresses on the Solana network have decreased by more than 52% over the past week

• There has also been a continuous decline in Solana's transaction fees since 27 December 2023

What you should know - SOL has been facing resistance in breaking above its current consolidation range. At the time of writing, the crypto was trading at $98.64, after falling 3.1% over the last 24 hours. The RSI stood at 53, above neutral 50, showing signs of a weak bullish market. Increased selling is expected near the $104 mark, where the short-term resistance lies. However, if the buyers are able to hold the price above the $104 level, they may face a challenge again at the crucial resistance of $125. 

Injective (INJ)

• INJ will unlock 100% of its total supply on 21 January 2023

• The aforementioned is expected to help increase the token's social metrics, resulting in a positive price movement

What you should know - INJ has been trading in a closed range between $36.5 and $41.5 for over 30 days.  At press time, it was changing hands at $37.81, after a sharp decline of 8.1% in the last 24 hours. Despite multiple attempts, the token has failed to overcome sideways market resistance at the $41.5 level. The RSI was seen dipping towards the 50-mark to reflect bearish market sentiment. If the sellers continue to dominate the market, the price could plunge below the sideways market support of $36.5. 

Fantom (FTM)

• FTM's supply held by top addresses registered a considerable drop since the year began 

• At its press time price of 0.38, FTM is down by over 88% from its all-time high of $3.46 recorded on 28 October 2021

What you should know - For the last 7 days, FTM has been in a downward trend, thus declining by 10%. In the past 24 hours, the crypto dipped by 4.4%, reaching a press time value of $0.38. The Fear & Greed Index displayed a score of 56 (Neutral), suggesting that there was no strong selling or buying bias. The Awesome Oscillator appeared to confirm this trend, displaying both the red and green bars below 0 in bearish territory.