Major cryptocurrencies rebound from the aftershocks of FTX collapse, a string of bankruptcies

Major cryptocurrencies, after reeling under intense pressure from the FTX contagion resulting in a prolonged crypto winter and a string of bankruptcy protection filed by crypto firms, traded in the green on Tuesday. While the world’s largest crypto by market capitalization Bitcoin traded up 1.5% over the last 24 hours, Ethereum jumped up 4% in trade on Tuesday. Other cryptocurrencies like Binance’s BNB, Ripple’s XRP, Dogecoin, Polygon, and Polkadot all traded up 1.5%, 2.5%, 7%, 2.2%, and 3%, respectively. Read full here.

MakerDAO is voting to raise the Dai Stablecoin's yield

The dai (CRYPTO: DAI) savings rate (DSR), or the rate of interest the protocol pays to dai stakers, is up for a vote in MakerDAO's governance forum. The MakerDAO Open Market Committee has proposed that the DAO members vote on whether to boost the current yield rate of 0.01% to one of four rates: 1%, 0.75%, 0.5%, and 0.25%. Additionally, voters have the option to reject the proposal outright or to maintain the present yield of 0.01%. 99.7% of the votes were in support of increasing the rate to 1% as of the time of publication, though the result could change as more votes are counted. Full story here.

Hut 8 stops mining of Bitcoin due to energy conflict

Bitcoin miner Hut 8 is looking for third-party energy supplier mediation after disagreements over a joint power purchase agreement caused portions of its operations to cease. The Canadian company was forced to halt mining bitcoin at its facility in North Bay, Ontario, after the energy supplier Validus stopped supplying the location with energy. The mining company runs two other mining locations in Southern Alberta. The service provider alleges Hut 8 has missed payments on time. Hut 8 issued a statement on Monday refuting those claims. Continue reading.

Ukraine is mulling a CBDC that could help with Cryptocurrency trading

Index provider FTSE Russell launches first multi-asset digital asset index series

The company behind the benchmark FTSE 100 stock index of the London Stock Exchange, FTSE Russell, on Tuesday, announced the launch of its first multi-asset, market cap index series covering the investable digital asset market. The newly launched FTSE Global Digital Asset Index series covers eight indices from large to micro-cap and is the second FTSE Russell index series based on FTSE DAR Reference price data. We are pleased with the progress the FTSE Global Digital Asset Index Series launch represents for our digital asset capability, as transparency in this asset class becomes more important than ever, Arne Staal, CEO at FTSE Russell, said. Full story here.

FTX hacker sends bitcoin worth $4.1 million to a cryptocurrency exchange

Days after over $600 million in cryptocurrency mysteriously vanished from the wallets of bankrupt exchange FTX, the hacker has sent as many as 255 Bitcoin to crypto exchange OKX, through ChipMixer. On-chain detective, ZachXBT stated that the hacker has transferred a portion of the stolen funds into Bitcoin mixer ChipMixer and then to OKX and that till now, 255 Bitcoin worth $4.1 million are confirmed to have been sent to the crypto exchange. He added that each of the addresses follows a similar pattern, first, withdrawal from ChipMixer, 50% is peeled off and 50% is deposited into OKX. Continue reading.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried says he secretly donated as much money to Republicans as Democrats

Reeling from scathing criticism over his massive donations to the Democrats, the disgraced founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX has claimed he made “dark donations” to the Republicans as well which are not publicly known. In a phone call with Tiff Fong – a crypto investor-turned-whistleblower, Bankman-Fried also claimed that most journalists are "secretly liberal" and that he "didn't want to have that fight" as to why he tried to make these payments covertly. Asked to explain why he prioritized withdrawals in the Bahamas, the founder said, “I gave [the Bahamian government] a one-day heads-up that we were going to do it. They didn't say yes or no. They didn't respond, and then we did it. The reason I did it was it was critical to the exchange being able to have a future.” Full story here.

Just for Speculation? More Americans use crypto for purchases than you may think

A recent survey of American crypto investors has thrown up some surprising insights surrounding the use of cryptocurrencies in real-life transactions. With a thousand crypto investors participating in the survey that was done in November, 55.1% of those who answered confirmed having made at least one purchase using cryptocurrencies. With one in four respondents completing the survey, the results are based on a sizeable sample size and are reflective of the true state of crypto adoption in countries like the USA. In fact, with more than 16% of all Americans have invested in cryptocurrencies, we could see a rapid increase in the number of crypto transactions being made for physical purchases as more crypto investors turn into avid users. More here.