Bitcoin has been struggling to break out of its recent trading range below $42,000 after the ETF sell-offs. But crypto adoption continues marching forward, as evidenced by some of the developments covered in today's top news stories.
Here's a TLDR of what we'll be diving into today:
Canadian court overturns government's freezing of crypto donations to protestors
OKX promises to compensate users after its token's flash crash
Crypto-friendly commissioner argues for approval of Ethereum ETFs
Hackers drain $15M in tokens from Animoca-backed blockchain game Gamee
Top NFT marketplace Magic Eden launching native token rewards
Avalanche Foundation sets standards for $100M memecoin investments
Now let's get into the details of each of these topics!
Court Slams Ottawa's Crypto Freeze Decision
Canada overstepped its authority by freezing trucker protest crypto donations, a federal court has ruled.
Judge Richard Mosley determined the government's use of emergency powers to block funds given to the Freedom Convoy was unreasonable and unconstitutional.
The landmark decision sides with civil rights groups who argued officials had plenty of other tools to end the vaccine mandate protests that rocked Ottawa last year.
Invoking sweeping emergency laws to seize cryptocurrency and other assets donated to the truckers was a disproportionate violation of rights, per the court.
The protesters had raised millions in crypto before the government crackdown halted the flow of funds.
Crypto’s use case in the form of donations is clearly growing. Read the full story!
OKX Users Will Be Compensated
The native token of OKX suffered a flash crash on Tuesday.
OKB prices crashed by 48% out of nowhere, liquidating leveraged traders before recovering. Over $6.5 billion in market cap vanished instantly.
OKX blamed the mega-dump on cascading liquidation triggered after OKB slipped below key support levels in an overall bearish day for crypto markets.
But while prices bounced back, the scale of the plunge was an anomaly that calls for new risk controls, per the exchange.
In a rare move for such a fast-moving industry, OKX promised to "fully compensate" affected users.
Did they announce a plan? How are they going to compensate the affected users? Read the full story!
Cascading liquidation refers to a cycle in cryptocurrency markets where the liquidation of one leveraged position leads to sharp price drops that trigger further liquidations, fueling further price crashes and setting off a domino effect as positions rapidly become undercollateralized, leading to massive forced selling and flash crashes.
Proper risk management is necessary to avoid becoming caught in such liquidation cascades.
But what exactly triggers this liquidation? And how can you as a trader identify and avoid it? Read more!
Now back to our daily stories!
Top Regulator Speaks in Support of Ethereum ETF
The SEC shouldn't require yet another lawsuit to start approving Ethereum ETFs, says crypto-friendly commissioner Hester Peirce.
Speaking to reporters, Peirce argued the recent court order forcing the SEC's hand on Bitcoin ETFs should sufficiently demonstrate when the agency is overstepping.
With key disclosures in place, Peirce believes there's no reason to stall multiple pending spot Ether fund applications any longer.
Did the SEC make any statement in this regard? What’s the deadline for the Ethereum ETF decision? Read the full story!
Hackers Drain $15M in Tokens From Animoca-Backed Gamee
Blockchain game Gamee suffered a devastating exploit this week resulting in $15 million worth of tokens stolen.
Hackers compromised a Polygon address to steal 600 million Gamee tokens (GMEE) and instantly convert them to over $15 million in ETH and MATIC.
The stolen assets came from Gamee’s own reserves. No player funds were affected, per the Web3 gaming startup.
How did this event impact the price of the token? Who was behind this attack? Did they trace the hackers? Read the full story!
Top NFT marketplace Magic Eden is undergoing a major decentralization push - including rewards for its loyal users.
The company revealed Monday it will open-source key parts of its platform to a new Non-Fungible DAO. The peer-led group will distribute a new crypto token called NFT to active traders across Magic Eden's markets.
The ambitious move aims to put more control into the hands of Magic Eden's community. It also provides an incentive for traders to stick around as the top NFT marketplace opens up to outside developers.
But can users claim these tokens for their participation? Read the full story!
Avalanche Foundation Sets Standards for $100M Memecoin Investments
The Avalanche Foundation is getting selective about its memecoin investments.
This week, the non-profit overseeing the development of the Avalanche blockchain revealed strict criteria for its $100 million Culture Catalyst memecoin allocation.
Only fairly launched, decentralized tokens with 2K+ holders and $1M+ market caps can apply. Whale concentration must also stay under 60% to align with Avalanche's values.
Which memecoins qualify for this so far? Does this mean those tokens will experience a boost pretty soon? Read the full story!
