📧🎙️Kalam Crypto #21: On-chain BTC, Ethereum Foundation coffers, and Metamask tip
“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” Nikola Tesla
Ahlan wa sahlan, and welcome to the 21st edition of CoinMENA’s weekly newsletter, Kalam Crypto. Every week we will bring you the latest news and developments from the exciting world of cryptocurrencies. This week we have some on-chain bitcoin news, Ethereum Foundation reveals details of their treasury, and Metamask users are advised to disable iCloud backups! All that and more, so let's dive into this week’s letter, and talk crypto:
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Global News 🌍
Bitcoin News: Since this is the 21st edition of Kalam Crypto, and 21 is a special number for Bitcoin, we thought it would be appropriate to include some updates on the current state of the market. Price action has been relatively stable for a few months now, which is surprising given all the geopolitical and equities and bond market instability. Bitcoin 30-day volatility, measured in standard deviation on daily returns, is currently at a three-month low of 2.46%. Bitcoin has also been trading at an almost 1:1 ratio with the Nasdaq. However, on-chain data shows that long-term holders are accumulating. Lastly, the percentage of total bitcoin supply that has not moved in over a year is at an all-time high of 64%. Onchain analyst Will Celemente interprets this as evidence that Bitcoin’s long-term believer/HODLer base is growing.
Ethereum Foundation opens up their books: The Ethereum community has been waiting to see what is in the Ethereum Foundation’s treasury, and the answer is: a lot! In total, the Ethereum Foundation, a non-profit organization, has $1.6 billion in assets in its treasury. Unsurprisingly, 80% of that is held in ETH, and about 19% is in non-crypto assets. The report also revealed that the Ethereum Foundation spent $48 million in 2021, 45% of it on Layer 1 research and development. This is the first time the Ethereum Foundation has publicly revealed details of its treasury.
Metamask advises users to disable automatic iCloud backups of its wallet data to prevent hacks: Metamask wallets, one of the most popular and widely used crypto wallets, notified users this week of a potential security compromise in their iPhone application. The good news is that the fix is to simply disable automatic backups of the Metamask wallets. Step by step details was shared on their Twitter account.
Keep an eye on 👀
Algorithmic stablecoins: The Luna foundation has been making a lot of waves in the crypto world lately when they started using bitcoin to partially back their stablecoin UST (Terra). UST has now become the third-largest stablecoin behind USDT and USDC, increasing by over 500% since November 2021. Inspired by this massive growth perhaps, this week, Tron announced that they would also launch an algorithmic stablecoin called USDD. USDD will be partially backed by a mix of cash and bitcoin reserves and is expected to be launched on May 5th, 2022.
Flared gas-powered bitcoin mining: Bitcoin mining company Crusoe Energy Systems raised $505 million to accelerate the growth of its mining operations powered by flared natural gas, which is typically burned as a waste product of oil extraction. This is a win-win-win situation for all parties involved. It's positive for environmentalists because capturing flared natural gas to mine bitcoin reduces methane emissions. It is good for oil companies that can now monetize a waste product, and it strengthens the Bitcoin network as it increases the number of miners.
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CoinMENA News 🗞
YallaMarket partners with CoinMENA for crypto payments: Now you can buy groceries and pay with crypto! UAE grocery market delivery service YallaMarket is now accepting stablecoins USDT (Tether) and USDC as a form of payment on its mobile app in partnership with CoinMENA. More use cases for crypto are being adopted every day!
One more week left of CoinMENA Ramadan Giveaway Carnival: As our giveaway concludes in a week, we will have airdropped $6,000 in BTC (0.15468171 BTC). All other users who participated but did not win will qualify for our $4000 to 40 winners Eid giveaway.
$25 bonus offers are back for a limited time: Our hottest offers are back: get $25 when you sign up and verify your CoinMENA account and a $25 referral bonus for you and your friend when you invite them to CoinMENA. Both offers are valid until midnight on Friday, 29th April (Bahrain time.)
Tweet of the week 🐥
Quiz corner ✅
Last week’s question: What is the second-largest stablecoin in terms of market capitalization? Answer: USDC
This week’s question: Which was the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender?
See the answer in next week’s newsletter.