Infinity RUNZ & #FastCrypto [12.26 — 12.30]

Infinity RUNZ & #FastCrypto Weekly Recap

The backwardation of CME March ‘23 ETH Futures saw a steeper decline closing on Thursday at $1,163 per ETH, widening to a -3.19% discount to ETH spot. The week also saw total crypto market cap fall below $800MM range for the first time since Jan 2021, as Solana’s market cap dropped -19% this week to $3.6B market cap.

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FastCrypto 12.28.2022
Fidelity Wants to Give Investment Advice in the Metaverse Say Trademark Filings
The three U.S. trademark applications are to provide services in the metaverse and other virtual worlds in its latest step into the realm of digital assets. Fidelity wants to provide its traditional services in alternate realities, according to the filings. The applications mention NFTs and NFT marketplaces, virtual real estate investing, crypto trading and metaverse investment services.

1inch upgrades to offer gasless custom swaps and MEV protection
The protocol upgrade called Fusion that offers DeFi users the ability to place custom swap orders at specific prices without having to pay gas fees — a feature usually missing on DEXs. The upgrade will also help protect users against maximum extractable value (MEV), which refers to a common type of front-running prevalent on blockchains.

Stablecoin DEX Mercurial rebrands to distance itself from FTX
Mercurial, which provides liquidity for major stable and pegged assets on Solana, said it will replace its MER tokens with Meteora tokens. Out of a supply of 100 million Meteora tokens, 20% will circulate and be and fully liquid, while 80% will be given to the DAO to manage.

DEX Trader Joe is live on Arbitrum amid trend to move to multiple chains
Trader Joe launched its mainnet on Arbitrum, its first move expanding to a chain beyond Avalanche. They are launching on multiple chains in the hopes of growing and reaching a larger user base from a diminished pool as Layer 1 blockchains see a drop in transactions.

Mango Markets exploiter arrested in Puerto Rico for alleged market manipulation
Federal authorities arrested Avraham Eisenberg in Puerto Rico for his exploit of DEX Mango Markets. Eisenberg was charged with commodities fraud and commodities manipulation. Authorities are not buying that code was law in the $114 million exploit.

Japan Mulls Reversing Ban on Foreign-Issued Stablecoins
Japan’s FSA’s new framework will be applied in conjunction with the revised Payment Services Act coming into force in 2023, allowing domestic distributors to handle foreign-issued stablecoins on the condition that they maintain sufficient collateral. Currently, none of the 31 Japanese crypto exchanges registered with the FSA list any stablecoins.

FastCrypto 12.29.2022
China to Launch First National ‘Digital Asset’ Marketplace
The platform will be run by a trio of state-owned & private entities: China Technology Exchange and Art Exhibitions China, both of which are government-backed, and Huban Digital. The marketplace, whose name translates to “China Digital Asset Trading Platform,” will also be used to trade digital copyrights and property rights along with collectibles. The platform’s underlying blockchain is called China Cultural Protection Chain.

DeFi Yields Platform Midas Investments Becomes Latest Casualty of FTX Turmoil
Midas announced its closure in as a result of significant losses in 2022, the platform saw its DeFi portfolio suffer a 20% loss of its AUM in the spring of 2022. A hit totaling 50 million dollars. The situation worsened after the collapse of FTX and Celsius when users withdrew over 60% of AUM, creating a large asset deficit.

Anonymous Twitter User Leaks 3Commas API Database
The Twitter user has obtained around 100,000 API keys belonging to users of the crypto trading service 3Commas. The leaker published over 10,000 of the keys on and says the rest “will be published full randomly in the upcoming days.” 3Commas CEO Yuriy Sorokin confirmed the authenticity of the leak adding that "as an immediate action, we have asked that Binance, Kucoin, and other supported exchanges revoke all the [API] keys that were connected to 3Commas."

Kraken quits Japan as crypto exchange volumes slide
A month after laying off 30% of its workforce, the crypto exchange will cease operations in the country as of Jan. 31. “Current market conditions in Japan in combination with a weak crypto market globally mean the resources needed to further grow our business in Japan aren’t justified at this time.

Alameda-Linked Addresses Begin Swapping Ethereum, ERC-20 Tokens for Bitcoin
Several wallets associated with Alameda came to life swapping various crypto consolidated into two main wallets, which were later swapped for ETH and USDT. ZachXBT revealed that the funds had been swapped for BTC. Though it’s unclear at the moment who is responsible for the transactions, the timing is questionable.

FastCrypto 12.30.2022
Vader will shut down stablecoin USDV, cannot find a ‘breakthrough’
Upon rigorous research, the team found no notable breakthrough in the algorithmic stablecoin design that is capital efficient.  In order to distribute the funds fairly, the developers have broken the Curve and Uniswap liquidity pools and snapshotted existing shares, allowing them to distribute the remaining funds to holders.

Over 1,400 Chinese firms operating in blockchain industry, national whitepaper shows
CAICT, published a document titled “2022 Blockchain Whitepaper.” with more than 1,400 blockchain firms are currently based in mainland China. Also around 48 post-secondary institutions across China have introduced “blockchain engineering” related degrees and certifications.

BITDAO’s bit token rises 20% in 24 hours ahead of $100 million buyback
The voting passed the minimum threshold with no opposition. The buybacks begin on Jan 1., and the DAO will purchase bit at $2 million in USDT a day for 50 days. BitDAO has funded various research, development, and grant programs including Mantle and zkSync’s zkDAO, which was allocated $200 million from BitDAO and funds grants for its ecosystem.

DeFi Blockchain Behind Cardano’s New Djed Stablecoin Announces Successful Hard Fork and Updated Fees
COTI Network, the scalable layer-1 behind ADA’s upcoming Djed stablecoin, transitioned the blockchain to a multi-token network that now supports the creation of private payment networks. COTI announced its deposit fee will be decreased by 50%, and its withdrawal fee will switch from a set price to a dynamic one but the early withdrawal fee will remain intact.

Galaxy Digital pops day after Argo mining acquisition announcement
Galaxy shares rose more than 13% a day after saying it would buy Argo Blockchain's Helios mining facility. The company will pay $65 million for the facility and will also provide a $35 million loan to Argo.