Bitcoin mining difficulty hits record high, Binance’s market share drops to 44.5% last year

Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance. The content covers key news of the week, mining information, project trends, technology progress and other industry trends. This article is one of the weekly news articles, giving you an overview of the major events in the blockchain industry this week.

Headlines

▌Bitcoin mining difficulty rises to 73.2T, continuing to hit a record high

BTC.com data shows that the Bitcoin mining difficulty has ushered in the latest mining difficulty adjustment at block height 824,544. The current mining difficulty has been raised to 73.2 T, an increase of about 1.65%, continuing to hit a record high. The current hash rate is around 541.35 EH/s. The next Bitcoin mining difficulty will be approximately 13 days later, and is expected to continue to rise by 0.08% to 73.25 T.

▌Kaiko: Binance’s market share dropped significantly to 44.5% last year

According to data from crypto intelligence platform Kaiko, last year the cryptocurrency exchange Binance The market share dropped significantly to 44.5%. The decline follows a three-year upward trend that saw Binance’s market share surge from 22% in 2020 to a peak of 60% in 2022. However, subsequent regulatory hurdles in multiple jurisdictions caused its market share to decline over the past year. Due to regulatory violations, Binance withdrew from Canada, the United Kingdom, and many European countries in 2023, including Austria, Cyprus, the Netherlands, etc.

▌The daily trading volume of Uniswap on the Arbitrum network exceeded US$1.1 billion on January 3, a record high

According to Dune data shows that on January 3, the daily trading volume of Uniswap on the Arbitrum network was US$1,114,847,305, a record high. The Arbitrum network was also the first L2 on Uniswap to have a daily trading volume exceeding US$1 billion.

Policy

▌ Central Bank: Steady implementation of digital RMB pilot program

Work of the People’s Bank of China in 2024 The meeting was held in Beijing from January 4th to 5th. The meeting pointed out that financial services and management levels continued to improve, and institutional reforms were steadily advanced. The "Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Non-Bank Payment Institutions" were promulgated. Strengthen the sharing of national financial basic database data. Carry out special rectification of the refusal to accept RMB cash, and steadily carry out digital RMB pilot projects. The service quality of the basic financial credit information database continues to improve.

▌The U.S. SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Publicity reminds investors of risks: Say no to FOMO

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Publicity yesterday "Say no to FOMO" on its official Twitter and reminds investors that just because others may buy a specific investment, it does not mean it is the right opportunity for you. Bitcoin Magazine analyzed that this move may be related to the market impact of the approval of a potential spot Bitcoin ETF.

▌Nigeria’s compliant Naira stablecoin cNGN will be launched on February 27

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the Africa Stablecoin Consortium (ASC) Conducting a pilot of the cNGN stablecoin in its regulatory sandbox, the cNGN stablecoin will be launched on February 27, 2024. The ASC, which is composed of several banks and fintech operators in Nigeria, said that the cNGN stablecoin complies with the regulatory requirements and standards set by the CBN, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit. The ASC said it is working with regulators to ensure compliance, consumer protection measures and transparency. It is reported that the cNGN stable currency is a complementary product to the Nigerian central bank’s digital currency eNaira, not a substitute. The ASC will be responsible for overseeing cNGN.

▌Shanghai: Accelerate the construction of urban blockchain infrastructure and explore the construction of a standardized Web3.0 ecosystem

The General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government issued the " Several policies and measures in Shanghai to promote the healthy development of the new online economy. It proposes to accelerate the construction of urban blockchain infrastructure. Promote the construction of the "Pujiang Digital Chain" urban blockchain digital infrastructure system, build dedicated computing power clusters and distributed open networks, and create a public basic service platform that supports convenient on-chain, use of chains, and cross-chains. Create a number of blockchain benchmark demonstration scenarios for government and public services, data circulation, cross-border trade, shipping logistics, supply chain finance, industrial Internet and other fields. Encourage high-quality enterprises, scientific research institutes, etc. to jointly carry out technological research and ecological co-construction, and create a full-chain technology independent innovation system for blockchain. Actively explore cooperation with overseas countries and create cross-chain open application pilots. Support online new economy enterprises to carry out research and development on Web3.0 smart contracts, network operating systems, digital identity authentication and other technologies. Open data asset ownership verification, supply chain management, business entity credit, commodity traceability, cross-border trade circulation and other scenarios to encourage online new economic enterprises to create distributed applications.

▌Coinbase requires UK users to fill out a risk confirmation form in accordance with FCA regulations

Coinbase requires its UK users to tell the exchange what type of investor they are. and complete a form confirming they understand the high risk nature of cryptocurrency investing, in line with UK financial regulator guidance. According to an email notification, the FCA considers crypto assets to be high-risk investments. Suitability assessments are critical to helping Coinbase ensure users can make informed investment decisions.

Blockchain Application

▌Saga Monkes launches new PFP series, which will be airdropped to Solana Saga mobile phone users for free

According to SolanaFloor’s disclosure on the X platform, Saga Monkes has launched a new PFP series, which will be airdropped to Solana Saga mobile phone users for free. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko retweeted the post. It is reported that Saga Monkes is an exclusive generative art series airdropped to Saga Genesis Token holders. Magic Eden data shows that the floor price of Saga Monkes is currently at 4.376 SOL.

▌The total number of Shibarium network blocks exceeds 2.5 million

ShibariumScan data shows that the current total number of Shibarium network blocks has reached 2,502,488 , the total number of transactions exceeds 262 million, and the number of wallet addresses exceeds 1.326 million. According to Shibburn data, the current market value of SHIB is approximately US$5.64 billion, and the transaction volume in the past 24 hours exceeded US$150 million.

▌The decentralized AI project Worldbrain has completed a new round of financing, with Morgan Stanley participating in the investment

The decentralized AI project Worldbrain has completed a new round of financing and announced that it has completed a new round of financing. Morgan Stanley participated in the round of financing, and the specific amount has not yet been disclosed. WorldBrain is an innovative project launched by the Worldbrains Foundation, a foundation under OpenAI. It combines artificial intelligence, neuroscience and blockchain technology to develop a comprehensive, multi-functional, decentralized artificial intelligence system. It is reported that this This investment will promote WorldBrain's innovation in WorldModel, Web3 technology applications, and Depin facilities.

▌ZKFair: Fairswap has been identified as a fraud project

ZKFair issued an important notice on social media. Fairswap has been identified as a fraud project. ZKFair stated that in order to For users' safety, please avoid any interaction, including wallet connections. If the user has previously participated in the project or connected a wallet to the project, it is strongly recommended to revoke authorization immediately, remain vigilant, and protect assets.

▌Solana Labs Joint Venture: Developers will not be prevented from creating Layer 2 solutions on Solana

Solana Labs Joint Venture Founder Anatoly Yakovenko said that we will not prevent developers from creating Layer 2 solutions on Solana. However, Solana's goal is to synchronize the global atomic state machine as quickly as the laws of physics allow. In this end state, any Layer 2, sidechain, or zero-knowledge proof valadium is the same thing. They are both external execution environments and are not guaranteed to be atomic with the rest of Layer 1 state. Technologies such as sidechains, data availability verification bridges, and zero-knowledge proof valadium are all innovative and welcome technologies, but they do not extend the atomic global state machine. Therefore, the question about whether Solana requires a Layer 2 solution may not be entirely applicable or important. Solana is focusing on continuing to scale Layer 1 directly and enhancing individual VM instances on Layer 1, possibly through hardware upgrades in the future.

▌Visa pilots Web3 customer loyalty platform, allowing brands to create digital wallets

Payment Giant Visa announced Thursday that it will launch a Web3 loyalty service that includes gamified giveaways and immersive treasure hunts. The customer engagement platform, called Visa Web3 Loyalty Engagement Solution, will allow brands to create digital wallets where reward points and experiences are stored on behalf of consumers. Visa has a large number of existing cryptocurrency partners and projects. It has a card program that works with a large number of exchanges, started settling transactions in USDC back in 2020, and recently started allowing partners to send or receive USDC payments through the Solana blockchain.

Cryptocurrency

▌Paxos releases USDP December Transparency Report: Total outstanding tokens dropped to approximately US$372 million

Paxos officially released the December Pax Dollar (USDP) transparency report, which disclosed the unaudited financial data of USDP as of 06:00 on December 30, Beijing time, mainly including: 1. Total Tokens Outstanding is approximately US$372,639,175, a decrease of more than US$74 million from November, a decrease of nearly 20%; 2. The total current market value of the U.S. Treasury collateralized reverse repurchase agreement is approximately US$181 million, and the nominal position value of the collateral provided exceeds US$177 million; 4. Cash deposits through the FDIC deposit network exceeded US$185 million, and other cash deposits of insured depository institutions were approximately US$10.9677 million, totaling approximately US$196 million. Paxos said a U.S. Treasury reverse repurchase agreement is a contractual arrangement between two parties in which one party agrees to sell a security to another party at a specified price and promises to buy the security back later at another (usually higher) specified price. If a counterparty defaults, Paxos is able to liquidate U.S. Treasury collateral to cover losses, and since all trades are overcollateralized, the risk of loss is not considered material.

▌Data: Investors bet on Bitcoin call options before the announcement of the Bitcoin ETF decision, with the exercise price concentrated at $50,000

On Deribit Analysis of Bitcoin options market data shows that traders are preparing for large price swings in January. As of January 5, the total number of open contracts for Bitcoin options on Deribit was 228,646.70 BTC, with a notional value of $10.05 billion. This number indicates high levels of market participation and interest in Bitcoin’s future price movements. Among them, the open interest for call options is 162,694.50 BTC, and the open interest for put options is 65,952.20 BTC, indicating that bullish sentiment is dominant among investors, who appear to be anticipating or hedging a potential increase in the price of Bitcoin. Additionally, the highest concentration of call options has a strike price of $50,000, worth $1.05 billion. This price can be seen as an important psychological threshold, and many investors are betting that Bitcoin will reach or exceed this price. This is followed by strike prices of $45,000 and $60,000, suggesting investors are optimistic about higher prices but less confident about the $50,000 mark. Regarding open interest by expiration date, the data shows a strong concentration of call options expiring on January 26, with $2.21 billion in call options and $988.49 million in put options. This points to a more pronounced bullish sentiment in the medium term, with a large portion of the market expecting significant developments from the Bitcoin ETF ahead of this date.

▌Data: StarkNet bridging TVL has reached approximately US$2 billion

According to Dune Analysis data, StarkNet bridging TVL has reached Breaking through 850,000 ETH and reaching 851,744 ETH at the time of writing this article, the TVL bridge value is nearly US$2 billion based on current prices, and there are currently more than 1.2 million bridge user addresses.

▌Grayscale CEO: We are at an inflection point for spot Bitcoin ETFs

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein said in an interview: “We are at an inflection point An inflection point for spot Bitcoin ETFs. Perhaps a new asset is created only once in a generation (if ever). We fundamentally believe that cryptocurrencies are one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.”

▌CertiK: Web3 security incidents in 2023 will cause losses of approximately US$1.84 billion

According to CertiK on social media, the number of Web3 security incidents in 2023 will be 751 cases, resulting in losses of approximately US$1.84 billion, a 51% decrease from 2022. Among them, the total loss from private key leakage incidents in 2023 exceeded US$880 million, the highest among all types of incidents; the total loss from security incidents on Ethereum was US$686 million, the highest among all chains; in addition, 35 cross-chain security incidents The incident caused huge losses of nearly US$800 million, suggesting that interoperability vulnerabilities need to be focused on.

▌Scam Sniffer: Cryptocurrency phishing attacks cost nearly $300 million in 2023

According to statistics from Scam Sniffer, in 2023, approximately 324,000 Users fell victim to cryptocurrency phishing scams, with losses totaling nearly $300 million. Inferno Drainer was reportedly used to steal the most funds, taking $81 million from 134,000 victims.

Important economic developments

▌The Federal Reserve unanimously believes that the interest rate hike cycle may be over, and there is no discussion on what to do. Start cutting interest rates

The minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting showed that Fed officials agreed at the meeting in December last year that the interest rate hike cycle that began in 2022 may have ended. They pointed to a moderation in inflation, especially the six-month annualized rate, and signs that supply chains are returning to normal and that the labor market is starting to loosen as more people join the workforce. They also say raising interest rates above 5% has dampened consumer demand, thereby easing inflation. They did not discuss when to start cutting interest rates. The Fed's dot plot shows the bank plans to cut interest rates three times in 2024.

▌The number of non-farm employment in the United States increased by 216,000 in December

The number of non-farm employment in the United States increased by 216,000 in December, and the estimate is to increase by 17.5 million, compared with an increase of 199,000 from the previous value.

▌Federal Reserve meeting minutes: Federal Reserve officials believe that policy will remain tight for a period of time

The minutes of the Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting show that Federal Reserve officials believe that for a period of time Policies will remain tight during this period. Some officials said rates could stay at their peak longer than expected. Officials acknowledged that forecasts point to rate cuts by the end of 2024, and several participants highlighted uncertainty about how long restrictive policies will need to remain in place.

Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and not as actual investment advice. Please establish a correct investment philosophy and be sure to increase your risk awareness.