• 70% of the top 30 crypto exchanges are located in offshore financial centers, such as Seychelles, the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
• Out of 30 major exchanges, six of them are incorporated in Hong Kong, accounting for 20%.
• Gibraltar and the British Virgin Islands follow Hong Kong as the second and third by hosting five and four exchanges, respectively.

Offshore Crypto Exchanges

The most recent CoinGecko report revealed that out of top 30 crypto exchanges, 70%, or 21, are registered in offshore financial centers. These locations have flexible regulations and low or zero-taxation schemes which attract businesses from abroad. The most popular offshore financial centers for crypto exchanges are Seychelles, the Cayman Islands, and the British Virgin Islands.

Worldwide Distribution

The top 30 largest crypto exchanges are distributed across 15 countries according to the report. Of these 30 exchanges, 11 are located in North America – with four incorporated in British Virgin Islands (BVI), three in Cayman Islands and two in U.S. When looking at country basis distribution, it appears that Hong Kong is hosting the most number of crypto exchanges – 6 out of the total count – making up for 20%. After Hong Kong comes Gibraltar with 5 hosting exchanges followed by BVI with 4 hosting ones while Seychelles has 3 large crypto exchange hubs namely OKX, KuCoin & MEXC Global.

Analysis & Conclusions

It is clear that cryptocurrency exchanges are taking advantage of tax havens to achieve more freedom when it comes to taxation and other business laws they would be subjected to otherwise within their respective countries. This gives them a great opportunity to expand their operations without much hassle while also providing users a secure platform to trade cryptocurrencies on – something which many users prioritize over tax regulations when selecting an exchange to use. Even though this might not affect one’s decision on which exchange to go for directly but it does provide insight into how much freedom these platforms actually have when it comes to taxes/regulations and how secure one’s funds might be if stored there .

Impact on Crypto Growth

Offshore locations can play an important role towards furthering cryptocurrency adoption since they may serve as a gateway between traditional finance world & blockchain industry where investors can access both markets easily without worrying about restrictions imposed due to their geographical location or regulatory framework applicable thereon . This could lead towards increased liquidity & trading activities thus driving more investments into this space & ultimately spurring growth within entire ecosystem .

Conclusion

Offshore locations offer an attractive option for cryptocurrency businesses who want flexibility when it comes to setting up shop while having access to global clientele base without being subject local restrictions/laws applicable within their own jurisdiction . It is definitely worth taking note of how many major distributed ledger technology companies have opted for jurisdictions like BVI , Cayman Island , etc as their operational base before making decisions related investment/trading opportunities available through them .

• Virtual world trading volume recorded a 229% growth in February and returned to its pre-Luna crash levels.
• The gaming and metaverse space raised a joint $148 million in funding during the month.
• The NFT market also showed parallelism to the metaverse and gaming’s growth and returned to pre-luna crash levels in February.

Virtual Worlds Trading Volume Grows 230% in February

The trade count for virtual worlds doubled to 51,000 in February, as the metaverse and gaming space received $148 million in investments.

Growth of Virtual Lands

The report noted that the trading volume of virtual lands has been growing over the past few months, and it continued its growth in February as well. According to the data, the trading volume of virtual land increased to $145 million in February from $44 million in January, marking a 229% growth.

Investments

According to the data, the gaming and metaverse space had raised $156 million in funding in January and remained firm on the investments front in February by raising $148 million. Over 65% of the total amount went directly to games and the metaverse, which equates to over $71 million.

NFTs Return To Pre-Winter Levels

The NFT market also showed parallelism to the metaverse and gaming’s growth and returned to pre-luna crash levels in February. The NFT trading volume recorded a 117% growth in February and increased to over $2 billion.

Contradiction Between Sales Counts & Trading Volumes

Despite this surge, however,the NFT sales count recordeda 31.46% decreaseand fellto 6.3millioninFebruary.This contradiction between sales countsandtrading volumesindicatesthatinvestorsarefocusingmoreonlongtermholdingsratherthanbuyingandspeculatingfortrades.

• Ripple and the U.S. Faster Payments Council conducted a survey that found 100% of respondents believe crypto and blockchain can result in benefits like efficiency and cost saving for the payments industry.
• Almost 90% of the respondents said that further growth in crypto payments adoption hinges on regulators providing the industry with clear rules around how to operate.
• Crypto and blockchain are expected to save the payments industry roughly $10 billion in costs by 2030, primarily due to lower transaction costs and faster settlement times.

Ripple Survey Reveals Overwhelming Support for Crypto Payments

A survey conducted by Ripple and the U.S. Faster Payments Council revealed an overwhelming support for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology as a catalyst for transforming the antiquated payments industry. The survey found that 100% of respondents believe crypto and blockchain can result in benefits like efficiency and cost saving for this sector.

Regulatory Clarity Needed

The majority of respondents said that regulatory uncertainty is currently a barrier to crypto payments adoption — with only 10% believing that there are no benefits in using them at all. Therefore, further growth hinge on regulators providing clear rules around how to operate within this space.

Primary Benefits

Cryptocurrencies are expected to save up to $10 billion by 2030 due to their ability to reduce transaction costs, increase transparency, speed up settlements, and fill gaps efficiently over traditional payment solutions. The average cost of a cross-border remittance is 6%, 2x more than what was set by the U.N., making it obvious why cryptocurrency is being looked at as a viable solution due its cost savings potential alone.

Barriers Remain

Although there is significant support for cryptocurrencies, some barriers remain such as consumer trust issues, lack of widespread acceptance, scalability issues, liquidity problems, privacy concerns and security risks associated with wallets/exchanges being hacked or affected by scams . Despite these challenges , most agree that digital assets have become part of mainstream finance even though there is still much work needed before they become commonplace .

Conclusion

Cryptocurrency has been gaining traction lately as more people recognize its potential use cases beyond just transactions; however , more work needs to be done on regulatory clarity before it can achieve wider adoption . Nonetheless , nearly all those surveyed agreed that crypto could bring huge advantages compared to traditional payment systems while also reducing costs significantly across the entire industry .

• Coinbase announced the launch of its Base product, which is an Ethereum layer 2 enabling anyone to build dApps cost-effectively.
• Chris Blec argued that Coinbase’s Base is a WEF play for CBDCs and a cashless society.
• Coinbase stated that Base would not incorporate a token, instead Ethereum will be used as the native gas token.

Coinbase Launches ‚Base‘

Coinbase recently announced the launch of its new product, ‚Base‘. It is an Ethereum layer 2 enabling anyone to build dApps cost-effectively. It aims to make onchain the next online and onboard 1 billion users into the cryptoeconomy.

WEF Play for CBDCs?

Chris Blec, host of Proof of Decentralization Podcast, suggested that Coinbase’s Base could be a World Economic Forum (WEF) play for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) tech and a cashless society. He also noted that while Base will be permissionless to build on, there were no explicit narratives about it being permissionless to use – meaning only those who verify their identity will be granted access.

Ethereum as Native Gas Token

Coinbase has stated that Base would not incorporate a token; instead Ethereum will be used as the native gas token. Jesse Pollack, Head of Protocol at Coinbase, added that since Coinbase already has a captive userbase, developers have access to this large existing user group from the off when building applications on Base.

Network Neutrality Suspicions Rekindled

The announcement rekindled discussion about Ethereum being co-opted by entities who seek to censor and centralize the chain – especially after U.S Treasury’s announcement in August 2022 stating over $7 billion had been laundered through Tornado Cash mixer protocol including funds stolen by North Korean hacking group Lazarus.

Conclusion

Overall, although Coinbase’s Base sounds promising in terms of building applications cost effectively with easy access to users through Coinbase’s captive user base – there are still suspicions over network neutrality due to U.S Treasury’s announcements last year about illicit funds being laundered through Tornado Cash mixer protocol.

• Voyager Digital is transferring large amounts of Shiba Inu (SHIB) tokens and Ethereum (ETH) to Coinbase and Binance.
• The transfer comes as Voyager Digital has submitted a plan for customers to retrieve their assets through Binance US.
• This significant move follows the company’s bankruptcy filing last July due to the failure of Three Arrows Capital to repay a loan worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Voyager Digital Transfers Assets

News has emerged that bankrupt lender Voyager Digital is moving large amounts of Shiba Inu (SHIB) tokens and Ethereum (ETH) to Coinbase. According to Peckshield, a blockchain cybersecurity firm, Voyager Digital has transferred $28.7 million worth of digital assets to various crypto exchange platforms. This includes 250 billion SHIB tokens, worth approximately $3.4 million, being transferred to Coinbase, while 15,000 ETH worth $25.3 million were sent off both Coinbase and Binance US.

Voyager Digital’s Bankruptcy

This significant move by the distressed crypto firm follows its bankruptcy filing last July due to the failure of Three Arrows Capital to repay a loan worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Following this incident, FTX had agreed to buy Voyager’s assets; however, this deal ultimately fell through after a Texas regulator objected FTX’s purchase plans.

Binance Agreement

In an attempt for retail investors who had money on the site at the time not suffer calamity, Voyager was forced into making a deal with Binance which saw them agree in purchasing all remaining assets at a discounted rate. However, this agreement also included provisions that allowed customers affected by the closure access funds from their accounts via Binance US upon meeting certain requirements and conditions set out by the exchange platform itself.

250 Billion SHIB Transfer

The 250 billion SHIB token transfer reveals part of how these provisions are being met as some users have begun accessing funds that were previously inaccessible before now thanks largely in part due to Voyager’s transfer activities as they seek refunds or reimbursement from other exchanges like Coinbase or Binance US among others depending on where they held their funds when all accounts were frozen last summer during bankruptcy proceedings against them.

Customer Reimbursement Plan

As such customer reimbursement plans have been put forward by Voyager in order for customers affected by these events get access once more after having their accounts frozen for months on end since last summer when it all began until now when many are getting refunded or reimbursed one way or another depending again on which exchange they held their funds with during those times though things still remain far from clear what will happen next exactly despite some progress being made thus far towards achieving that goal either way here today overall

• Concerns are being raised about the legitimacy of Ordinal Punks NFTs on Bitcoin.
• There is a lack of infrastructure to verify information or facilitate sales process.
• Despite the drawbacks, there is strong FOMO for Bitcoin NFTs like Ordinal and Bitcoin Punks.

Ordinal Punk NFTs Called Out as ‚Sketchy‘

Rising Popularity of Bitcoin NFTs

CryptoSlate reported on the rising popularity of Ordinal Punks, covering the sale of three NFTs according to social media posts, including #94, which reportedly sold for 9.5 Bitcoins ($215,800). The novelty of NFTs on the Bitcoin chain and the chain’s provenance seems to be driving demand for these NFTs.

Concerns with Legitimacy

Anonymous Twitter account TheNorwegian expressed concerns about Ordinal Punks NFTs, questioning whether this is „the biggest NFT scam of all time?“ Given that the Bitcoin chain was not originally designed to accommodate NFT functionality, there is no infrastructure to verify information such as sales or even to accommodate sales in a click-and-buy process. Details about Ordinal Punks are restricted to people’s accounts rather than openly accessible data derived from on-chain information.

FOMO for Clone Collections

@SeanBonner tweeted that Bitcoin Punks, a clone of Ethereum’s CryptoPunks is taking off right now. However, due to using an inappropriate undeveloped infrastructure on Bitcoin they suffer from similar drawbacks as Ordinal Punks. Nonetheless, people are trying hard to snap one up in Discord due to strong FOMO despite lack of smart contracts and “square peg round hole” approach.

Price Floor Established

The Director of Research at PROOF Collective shared that based on a Google doc there is currently a price floor for Ordinals Punk collection at 55 ETH ($85,500). This could indicate that it has been classified as blue chip but considering all other factors some are questioning its validity.

Conclusion

Given the inadequate infrastructure and strong FOMO surrounding ordinal punk and other bitcoin punk collections it is important not be taken in by hype without considering all factors firstly before investing in any collection like this one.

• Craig Wright is suing 15 Bitcoin developers in an attempt to obtain 111,000 BTC worth $2.5 billion
• The U.K.’s Court of Appeal has ruled that developers may owe duties to owners of a blockchain
• If Wright wins the case, the developers could be required to write software patches that would help his company, Tulip Trading, recover the full amount

Craig Wright Suing Bitcoin Developers

Craig Wright is suing fifteen different bitcoin developers in order to regain access to 111,000 BTC – worth $2.5 billion – which he claims was taken from him years ago during a hack. He hopes that if he wins this case, the developers will be forced to write software patches in order for his company Tulip Trading to recover its losses.

Court Rules on Duty of Developers

The U.K.’s Court of Appeal has ruled that bitcoin developers may owe duties to those who own cryptocurrency on their blockchains. Judge Colin Birss stated that there is a „realistic argument“ suggesting they should introduce code which moves crypto into a safe location owned by its owner.

Implications for Developers

If Craig Wright wins this case, then it could have serious implications for the affected bitcoin developers. Not only would they have to pay money out of their own pockets but it could also impact development on a much broader scale too.

Background Information

Craig Wright has had a controversial relationship with the cryptocurrency community due to his insistence that he is Satoshi Nakamoto – creator of bitcoin – although this has never been proven and many people dispute this claim. Despite this, he has had certain legal victories over copyright cases and technical wins and non-final losses in defamation cases as well as pursuing legal action in the UK since 2021 over these issues related to cryptocurrency ownership rights.

Conclusion

It remains uncertain what will happen next with regards Craig Wright’s lawsuit against these fifteen different bitcoin developers but one thing is for sure: if he succeeds then it could have serious repercussions for them as well as wider development on blockchains themselves within the industry now and into the future too so time will tell what happens next here!

• Kevin Rose, the founder of the NFT collection Moonbirds, had his personal wallet hacked on January 25, draining it of NFTs worth millions.
• The attack was connected to a malicious signature Rose granted to the attackers via OpenSea’s Seaport protocol.
• The attackers were able to make off with 40 assets, including notable NFTs from projects such as Cool Cats, OnChainMonkeys, Chromie Squiggles, Autoglyphs, QQL Mint Pass, Admit One Pass, and more.

On January 25th, Kevin Rose, the founder of the NFT collection Moonbirds, had his personal wallet hacked, resulting in the loss of NFTs worth millions of dollars. Rose tweeted about the attack and promised to look into the matter, with the attack later being linked to a malicious signature Rose had granted to the attackers via OpenSea’s Seaport protocol.

OpenSea, a Web3 protocol, bills itself as focusing on trading safety and efficiency. It was developed with Solidity Assembly language and is capable of a variety of functions on the Ethereum blockchain, such as filling orders, tipping, filtering, and eliminating redundant transfers. Unfortunately, Rose was the victim of a phishing attack, a cybercrime in which an attacker tries to trick victims into giving away sensitive information, like passwords or credit card numbers, by disguising themselves as a trustworthy source.

The malicious attackers were able to make off with 40 NFTs, including notable ones from projects such as Cool Cats, OnChainMonkeys, Chromie Squiggles, Autoglyphs, QQL Mint Pass, Admit One Pass, and more. Despite being flagged as stolen and reported to OpenSea as such, several of the stolen NFTs have already been resold on the secondary market.

The attack on Rose’s wallet shows that Web3 protocols such as OpenSea are not immune to malicious attacks, and that developers should be cautious when granting access to their wallets. The larger lesson here is that cybersecurity is of paramount importance when dealing with blockchain protocols, and that users should always be mindful of the risks associated with granting access to their wallets.

• Bitcoin and gold have the highest correlation in over a year, with a 93% correlation.
• Gold is on the verge of breaking out to an all-time high, nearing $2k an ounce.
• The correlation between BTC and gold increased after the FTX collapse.

The recent correlation between Bitcoin (BTC) and gold has been a topic of discussion among investors and analysts in the crypto space. Data suggests that the correlation between the two assets has been steadily increasing in the past year, and has recently hit a one-year high of 93%. This comes as gold is on the brink of an all-time high, nearing $2k an ounce.

The correlation between BTC and gold has been a long-standing narrative in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Proponents of the asset often refer to it as „digital gold“ due to its fixed supply and high demand. As such, the two assets have often mirrored each other in terms of price movements and sentiment. This has been especially true in the past year, as the two assets have experienced similar price movements and have had a significant correlation.

However, the correlation between the two assets weakened in early 2021 when the FTX collapse occurred. The crypto derivatives exchange had a significant amount of Bitcoin on its balance sheet, but the incident had nothing to do with BTC itself. After the dust settled from the FTX collapse, the correlation between BTC and gold shot up to its highest level in more than a year.

The recent surge in the correlation between the two assets has come as gold is on the verge of breaking out to an all-time high. The precious metal has been trading near the $2k an ounce level for the past few weeks, and analysts predict that it will soon break through this level. This will be a significant milestone for gold, and could potentially create a positive sentiment around BTC as well.

All in all, the recent surge in the correlation between BTC and gold is a positive sign. As gold nears its all-time high and the correlation between the two assets strengthens, it could be a sign that investors are increasingly viewing Bitcoin as a safe-haven asset, like gold. This could be a positive sign for the future of the asset, and could indicate that Bitcoin is on its way to becoming a mainstream asset.

1. Bitcoin has broken the $21,000 mark and is currently valued at $21,083 with a market cap of $403 billion.
2. Over the past 24 hours, $245 million of shorts have been liquidated and $255 million of Bitcoin was bought on spot markets.
3. The entire crypto market cap is currently at $1.02 trillion and outperformed the stock market today.

Bitcoin is making waves on the market. At 12:59 a.m. UTC on Jan. 14, the crypto asset broke the $21,000 threshold and is currently valued at $21,083 with a market cap of $403 billion. This is a 12% increase from the 24 hours prior, indicating a significant rally over the past several days.

The rising sentiment towards Bitcoin appears to be due to a lack of negative news and the fading of major crises like FTX’s collapse. The round number of $20,000 also serves as a psychological barrier, and as such investors are becoming more optimistic as Bitcoin crosses it.

Not only is Bitcoin doing well, but its performance has also contributed to the overall growth of the crypto market. Over the past 24 hours, $245 million of shorts have been liquidated and $255 million of Bitcoin was bought on spot markets. The entire crypto market cap is now at $1.02 trillion, up 8% from the 24 hours prior and outperforming the stock market today.

It is clear that Bitcoin is leading the way in terms of performance, and its growth is further encouraging investors to see the potential of the crypto space. With Bitcoin breaking the $21,000 barrier, the future of crypto is looking brighter than ever.