Crypto Today (1 Feb): ZETA Lists Coinbase At Around $1.1
THE US STOCK MARKET IS DOWN AS FED MAINTAINS INTEREST RATES
The Dow Jones plummeted over 300 points in its worst session since December 2023. Simultaneously, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq experienced their worst days since September 2023 and October 2023, respectively. This decline followed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's statement on January 31 that a rate cut in March would be challenging.
The Dow Jones index dropped by 317.01 points (0.82%), closing at 38,150.30. The S&P 500 fell 1.61% to 4,845.65, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.23%, finishing at 15,164.01. The trading session on Wednesday was deemed "dreadful" for major indices, representing their worst performance since December 2023 for the Dow Jones, September 2023 for the S&P 500, and October 2023 for the Nasdaq.
US stock market down as Federal Reserve maintains interest rates | Source: Reuters
Chairman Powell stated, "I don't think the committee will have enough confidence in the March meeting to determine that that's the time to raise interest rates". Major indices hit their lowest points in the session right after these comments. Investors closely monitored the Fed's announcements for signals on when the central bank might initiate interest rate cuts. Powell seemed to temper market expectations for a March cut, emphasizing the need for more positive inflation data.
Despite market hopes for a rate cut, the central bank maintained a cautious tone, removing language indicating a tightening trend. Powell added, "We believe interest rates may have reached their highest point in this tightening cycle. If the economy evolves as expected, beginning policy normalization at some point this year may be appropriate".
US Treasury bond yields fluctuated, with the 10-year yield most recently around 3.9%. Alphabet stocks declined by over 7%, marking their worst session since October 25, driven by disappointing ad revenue overshadowing anticipated income and revenue. Technology company stocks, including Microsoft and AMD, both decreased nearly 3% due to lower-than-expected future prospects following quarterly business results.
Boeing stocks increased by over 5% after beating analysts' estimates for Q4 revenue and profit. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun mentioned recent challenges related to the 737 Max 9 but emphasized the company's focus on future safety issues.
Wednesday's market downturn impacted January's positive momentum, yet all three major indices ended the month positively. The S&P 500 rose by 1.6%, Dow Jones increased by 1.2%, and Nasdaq saw a 1% gain.
ZETA LISTS COINBASE AT AROUND $1.1
In a recent development, Zetachain (ZETA) is set to be listed on the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange, operating on the Ethereum network. Coinbase, in its official statement, mentioned that Zetachain would be listed with the "experimental" label, and trading is scheduled to commence later today, subject to meeting necessary liquidity conditions.
Zetachain operates as a Layer 1 blockchain on the Cosmos SDK platform, sharing similarities with LayerZero, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, among others. The platform is designed to facilitate the connection of various blockchains through the Omnichain mechanism, enabling developers to create decentralized applications (DApps) akin to those on Ethereum or Polygon.
ZETA lists Coinbase at around $1.1 | Source: Medium
According to information provided on ZetaChain's blog, a total of 31.5 million ZETAs were distributed to over 800,000 different wallet addresses, following a snapshot taken on August 20, 2023. Eligibility for the airdrop required recipients to accumulate a minimum of 50,000 ZetaPoints.
Additionally, Bybit and OKX are also set to list Zetachain at 10 AM today.
FTX WILL NOT RESTART TRADING
FTX, the defunct cryptocurrency exchange, anticipates a full repayment to its customers and creditors following its collapse over a year ago, abandoning plans to relaunch the exchange in light of the challenges left behind by its former leader, Sam Bankman-Fried.
During a recent court hearing, FTX lawyer Andrew Dietderich expressed confidence in achieving the objective of 100% repayment, emphasizing the work and risks involved. The repayment strategy aims to fully reimburse customers based on the dollar value of their crypto assets at the time of the company's collapse, as ruled by US Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey.
While some claims may be affected by the decline in the value of cryptocurrencies during that period, FTX's commitment to repayment offers a positive outlook, though not as optimistic as some might have hoped. The decision to abandon the exchange's relaunch stems from the deemed high cost and risk associated with salvaging a profitable business from the aftermath of Bankman-Fried's actions, which involved fraud and conspiracy.
The collapse of FTX had repercussions on the broader crypto industry, leading to increased regulatory scrutiny and enforcement actions against major exchanges.
CELSIUS WILL REPAY $3 BILLION TO CREDITORS THROUGH PAYPAL AND COINBASE
Celsius will repay $3 billion to creditors through PayPal and Coinbase | Source: Bitcoinist
Celsius Network LLC has successfully emerged from bankruptcy after completing transactions under its confirmed plan of reorganization. The plan, approved by 98% of account holders and confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court, involved distributing over $3 billion in cryptocurrency and fiat to creditors.
Additionally, a new Bitcoin mining company, Ionic Digital, Inc., was created and will be owned by Celsius' creditors, with mining operations managed by Hut 8 Corp. Following the Plan's confirmation and feedback from the SEC, Celsius transitioned to the "MiningCo Transaction," increasing cryptocurrency available for distribution by nearly $250 million.
Today, distributions have commenced, and Ionic Digital is expected to go public pending approvals. Celsius will now undertake an orderly wind-down of its operations.
RIPPLE CO-FOUNDER CHRIS LARSEN'S WALLET HACKED
Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen has fallen victim to a significant XRP hack, losing around $112 million from his personal accounts. The incident, one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in 2024, has sent shockwaves through the global crypto community.
The unauthorized access to Larsen's personal XRP accounts led to the loss of funds, with the stolen XRP already laundered through major crypto exchanges like Binance and Kraken. The mystery surrounding the hacked wallet, named "Ripple (50)", raises questions about ownership.
The hack prompted a 5% drop in XRP's price within an hour. Calls for transparency and accountability in the aftermath highlight the ongoing threat of cybercrime in the crypto space.
Ripple Co-Founder Chris Larsen's personal wallet hacked, losing $112.5 million worth of XRP | Source: Klarda
WORLDCOIN (WLD) FACES SCRUTINY OVER POTENTIAL PRIVACY VIOLATIONS IN HONG KONG
The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data in Hong Kong is investigating several Worldcoin stores for potential serious privacy violations. Acting on a court order, the commissioner conducted surprise checks on six Worldcoin outlets in Hong Kong, suspecting a breach of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO). The Worldcoin project, founded by Sam Altman, launched its iris-scanning digital identity platform in Hong Kong in 2023. The project offers WLD tokens to users who register and scan their irises using Orb, attracting a large number of users. The commissioner raised concerns about the biometric data collection, particularly iris scans, possibly violating PDPO.
Despite ongoing investigations, the price of WLD reacted negatively, dropping over 3% to 2.313.
