Welcome to another edition of Datawallet Daily. Here’s your rundown of the essential crypto news from the past 24 hours.
- Bitcoin’s $56,000 Surge Sparks Short Liquidations
- Ether Surpasses Bitcoin in Institutional Holdings: Bybit Research
- Blast TVL Hits $2B Ahead of Feb. 29 Mainnet Launch
- Tornado Cash Faces Backend Exploit, User Deposits at Risk
Bitcoin’s $56,000 Surge Sparks Short Liquidations
In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin’s price surged past $56,000, leading to a significant impact on short positions with over $164 million in Bitcoin shorts liquidated. This rise to a multi-year high, alongside increased spot Bitcoin ETF trading volume, contributed to a more than 10% price increase, with Bitcoin trading at $56,566 early in the day. The overall market volatility resulted in over $188 million in Bitcoin position liquidations, primarily affecting shorts.
Major altcoins like Ether and Solana also experienced notable gains. Liquidations across the crypto market exceeded $280 million in shorts, amidst a backdrop of a record $2.4 billion spot Bitcoin ETF trading volume. Peter Brandt’s forecast suggests a potential rise to $200,000 by 2025, contingent on Bitcoin maintaining its current momentum.
Ether Surpasses Bitcoin in Institutional Holdings: Bybit Research
Ether has overtaken Bitcoin as the preferred crypto asset among institutions, according to a Bybit report. This shift in preference is attributed to the anticipated benefits of the upcoming Dencun upgrade. Institutions have now allocated 80% of their portfolios to Ether and Bitcoin, significantly leaning towards Ether.
In contrast, retail investors show a stronger preference for Bitcoin. The report also notes a decrease in institutional interest in volatile assets like meme coins, with a pivot towards more stable investments such as layer-1 tokens and DeFi protocols. Solana has seen a decline in interest from both institutional and retail investors, now making up only a small percentage of institutional portfolios.
Blast TVL Hits $2B Ahead of Feb. 29 Mainnet Launch
The Ethereum layer-2 network, Blast, has reached a milestone with its TVL surpassing $2.1 billion, indicating significant interest ahead of its mainnet launch on February 29. This surge, a 2200% increase since its bridging protocol debuted on November 22, is largely fueled by anticipation of a May airdrop, attracting airdrop hunters to lock their Ethereum.
However, Blast has faced criticism for its handling of funds and a recent controversy involving a gambling protocol “RiskOnBlast” accused of a rug pull. Despite these challenges, Blast, known for offering native yields on Ethereum and stablecoins, remains a key player in Ethereum scaling solutions.
Tornado Cash Faces Backend Exploit, User Deposits at Risk
Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing service, has reportedly suffered a backend exploit due to malicious code, putting user deposits and deposit data at significant risk. This vulnerability was highlighted in a Medium post by Gas404, a community member, who detailed that the exploit originated from a hidden javascript code within a two-month-old governance proposal.
This code was designed to redirect deposit data to an external server managed by the proposer, leading to the leakage of sensitive information and the theft of at least one deposit. The issue has prompted a proposal to revert the protocol’s IPFS deployment to a safer, previous version.
Other breaking news
- MicroStrategy Adds 3,000 Bitcoin, Total Holdings Reach 193,000 BTC
- New Bitcoin ETFs Amass 300,000+ BTC in Under 2 Months
- Avail Lands $27M Seed Investment from Founders Fund, Dragonfly
- LDO Surges 10% on False Revenue Sharing Plan
- ENS Ends eth.link Domain Suit with $300K Settlement
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