• The SEC recently fined Kraken $30 million for not registering its staking-as-a-service program in the US.
• Juthica Chou, Kraken’s Head of OTC Options Trading, revealed that institutional trading interest in crypto remains high despite the SEC’s regulatory crackdown.
• She mentioned that there are “possible assets with opportunities both for short- and long-term investments”.

SEC Fines Kraken for Not Registering Staking as a Service

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently penalized San Francisco-based crypto exchange Kraken with a fine of $30 million for failing to register its staking-as-a-service program in the U.S. Immediately following this announcement, two of Kraken’s registered companies – Payward Ventures, Inc., and Paywayrd Trading Ltd., – agreed to settle the fine issued by the SEC

Insitutional Interest in Crypto Remains High

According to Juthica Chou, head of over-the counter (OTC) options trading at Kraken, institutional investors remain interested in cryptocurrencies despite the recent regulatory crackdown by the SEC. She stated that trading interest is still very strong for proof-of-work networks as well as proof-of stake networks, adding that many clients are trying to gain directional exposure and see possible assets with opportunities both for short and long term investments.

Kraken’s Response To The Fine

Kraken responded to the fine by immediately closing down its staking service to U.S customers and agreeing to pay a sum of $30 million as part of their settlement agreement with the SEC.

Future Outlook For Staking

Chou remains optimistic about future prospects for staking as she believes that institutional interest in crypto continues to remain strong even after these events have taken place. Despite this optimism, she has urged potential investors to be aware of all regulations before investing into any form of cryptocurrency asset class due its highly volatile nature.

Conclusion

Cryptocurrencies have become increasingly attractive investment vehicles due their potential returns but also come with certain risks associated with them such as regulatory uncertainty or market volatility which can quickly erase gains if not managed properly.. As such it is important for potential investors to take necessary precautions before investing into any form of digital currency asset class or related services like staking offered by exchanges like Kraken so they understand what they are getting themselves into

• TrueFi’s TRU token surged over 200% after Binance issued TUSD stablecoin.
• The rally appears to be sparked by traders mistakenly connecting TRU with TUSD.
• TrustToken and TrueFi have been separated since 2020 and TrueFi is now embarking on a road to decentralization.

TRU Token Rallies After Binance’s TUSD Mint Sparks Speculation

The rally of the governance token of decentralized lending protocol TrueFi, called the TRU token, surged 220% on Thursday in an hour due to speculation surrounding a Binance stablecoin transaction. Binance minted $50 million of the TrueUSD (TUSD) stablecoin which caused traders to speculate about its potential role in trading on Binance after a regulatory crackdown on the Paxos-issued Binance USD (BUSD).

Separation of TrustToken & TrueFI

TrustToken sold TUSD in 2020 to a firm called Techteryx and also separated from the TrueFi protocol, becoming renamed Archblock last year as TrueFi began its journey towards decentralizing the platform. The TrueFi Foundation, the legal entity for their DAO, is currently in the process of transferring all IP and assets from Archblock.

TRU Rally & Price Parity

The speculation around TRU caused it to surge as high as 14.6 cents from 4.4 cents on Binance before later paring some gains, trading at around 11 cents at press time. This was shortly followed by Paxos stating that they would be halting mintings of their own stablecoin; BUSD, which further increased speculation around other players in this market such as TUSC and TRU.

Stablecoins’ Role In Crypto Trading

Stablecoins have become increasingly popular within crypto markets due to their low volatility and ability to be used as a reliable store of value or unit of account similar to fiat currencies without needing government backing or regulation. This has made them highly attractive for both investors looking for security and traders looking for leverage when trading digital assets. However, with more regulatory scrutiny being placed upon these coins it is important that users be aware of who is actually issuing these coins before investing any money into them.

TrueFI & Decentralization

TrueFI has begun its path towards becoming fully decentralized in order to increase transparency within the platform while allowing users more control over their investments without needing trust any third party entities or intermediaries while still enjoying all the benefits associated with blockchain technology such as lower transaction fees and quicker settlement times than traditional banking systems offer today.. With this move towards decentralization comes increased responsibility for users when investing into any asset and should not be taken lightly before risking any capital into highly volatile markets such as cryptocurrency

• Chainalysis’s blockchain data showed that after Hydra was shut down, its vendors quickly switched to another marketplace – OMG!OMG!.
• Hydra used to be the most successful platform for drugs and other illicit goods and services.
• Competitors such as OMG!OMG!, Blacksprut and Mega Darknet Market have been able to pick up the slack since Hydra’s collapse.

Hydra’s Shutdown

The infamous darknet market Hydra was shut down last year, but competitors quickly occupied its place according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. After Hydra was shut down, the wallets that were previously interacting with Hydra started transacting with OMG!OMG!, a new marketplace, with more than half of OMG!OMG!’s revenue coming from former Hydra clients – indicating that the operators of Hydro may have had a hand in running it too.

Hydra’s Dominance

Before being taken offline, Hydra had been the most successful market for drugs, counterfeit documents, money laundering and other illegal goods and services in the world; mostly operating in Russia and neighboring countries. The platform offered crypto cash-out services and even announced an initial coin offering (ICO) of its own token in 2019 which unfortunately never happened due to U.S sanctions imposed on their crypto wallets in April 2022.

Competitor’s Emergence

Following this shutdown competitors emerged including OMG!OMG!, Blacksprut and Mega Darknet Market all of whom used similar deposit addresses at a “high-risk exchange with a heavy presence in Russia” according to Chainalsysis. Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs reported that since Hydras collapse these competitors have received $820 million worth of crypto combined over 8 months.

Drug Delivery System

Both Hydro and OMG!OMG! shared a similar method for drug delivery whereby buyers would receive geographic coordinates for packages hidden in parks or other locations however no further information is known on whether this system remains active post-Hydro closure or not.

Conclusion

After Hydras closure it appears as though competitors were quick to take up any lost space however it remains unclear how much influence former Hydro operators are having over these new markets or whether their drug delivery system is still being utilised by these new platforms today.

• The HODL Waves indicator created by Unchain Capital and tracked by Glassnode shows that the percentage of unspent transaction outputs (UTXO) older than five years has increased by 17% in the past six months.
• This indicates aging of unspent outputs, a sign of some investors maintaining their coin stash during the market swoon.
• Joe Burnett, head analyst at Blockware Solutions, called the aging of UTXOs a bullish development.

Bitcoin has been the subject of much attention over the past few years, with its volatile price movements and its role in the wider blockchain world. Now, data from the Bitcoin blockchain is providing evidence that some investors have been HODLing during the recent bear market.

The HODL Waves indicator, created by Unchain Capital and tracked by Glassnode, has recorded a sharp rise in the percentage of unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) older than five years. UTXOs are the amount of cryptocurrency someone has after executing a transaction. Every BTC transaction creates a UTXO, and its age indicates the block it was first included in and the last time the said bitcoin was moved. The increase in the percentage of UTXOs older than five years suggests that some investors have been holding their coin stash during the bear market.

Joe Burnett, head analyst at Blockware Solutions, has noted the bullish implications of this data. He commented that “the aging of UTXOs is a sign of HODLing and is a bullish development”. This further supports the idea that some investors have been confident in Bitcoin’s long term prospects, despite the bear market.

The HODL Waves indicator is an important tool for understanding Bitcoin’s market movements. It provides insight into the behaviour of Bitcoin investors and offers evidence for the trend of HODLing during bear markets. This data is a testament to Bitcoin’s continued strength and resilience, with investors showing faith in its long term potential.