Read in the Digest;
- Coinbase’s Super Bowl QR Code Ad Crashes App, Hacker Comes to Exchange’s Rescue.
- Bitcoin Hashrate Hits All-Time High, ETH’s Gas Fee Drops to 6-Month Low.
- Uber (NYSE:UBER) to Accept Crypto, Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) to Undertake ‘Crypto First’ Global Expansion.
- Elon Musk’s ‘Starlink’ Could Accept Dogecoin Soon, Shiba Flips Polygon as Most Traded Coin By ETH Whales.
Coinbase’s Super Bowl QR Code Ad Crashes App, Hacker Comes to Exchange’s Rescue
With over 106 million viewers, the Super Bowl was one of the day’s most viewed events. With massive audience looking on, America’s biggest crypto exchange made its ad debut, with a 60-second commercial almost entirely depicting a colorful, bouncing QR code.
The advert, which set Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) back a cool $14 million, was accompanied by a $15 giveaway for those who logged into Coinbase. However, the exchange’s app was evidently not prepared for the level engagement the advert received, as its app temporarily crashed.
In another event that could have caused the exchange some embarrassment, a white-hat hacker, going by the pseudonym @Tree_of_Alpha, notified Coinbase of a vulnerability in its trading systems. According to the hacker, they found a “potentially market-nuking” exploit in Coinbase.
Within two hours of the Tree of Alpha’s initial tweet, Coinbase had shut trading on its advanced trading platform. In the wake of Coinbase’s quick response, the hacker remarked that they were “glad we caught this one before any real harm was done.”
Flipsider:
- Shortly after Coinbase’s ad caused its app to crash, Meta’s ‘Quest’ account tweeted its own bouncing QR code, stating: “Hopefully, this doesn’t break.”
Bitcoin Hashrate Hits All-Time High, ETH’s Gas Fee Drops to 6-Month Low
After several disruptions to mining operations in various different parts of the world, the Bitcoin mining hashrate has recovered and even managed a push to set a new all-time high.
On February 12th, Bitcoin’s hashrate hit a lifetime high of 248.11 million terahashes per second, up from 189.3 on January 31st. After falling slightly by 15%, the Bitcoin hashrate now stands at 248.11 million terahashes/sec as of this writing.
The 1-year Bitcoin Hashrate chart: Source: Y-Charts
Bitcoin’s biggest competitor, Ethereum, has also recorded significant improvements of late, with its gas fees dropping to their lowest point in six months. Gas fees on the Ethereum network are now 71% cheaper than they were in January.
According to data from BlockChair, the average Ethereum network gas fee today is 0.0035 ETH, or $11.39 USD per transfer. This is a significant drop in ETH gas fees which were recorded at as high as $70.83 back in May 2021.
Flipsider:
- Despite the drop in gas prices, the number of transactions carried out on the Ethereum network has taken a 60% nosedive over the past month.
Why You Should Care
Both Bitcoin and Ethereum continue to improve on the shortcomings faced by their respective networks as they work to increase both their usability and values.
Uber to Accept Crypto, Robinhood to Undertake ‘Crypto First’ Global Expansion
As the adoption of cryptocurrency continues to rise around the world, the CEO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, recently revealed that the mobility service company will being accepting crypto as a payment option on its app “at some point.”
According to Khosrowshahi, Uber could consider leaning into crypto a little more. However, he also emphasized that he is waiting to see how the crypto market matures, and when it will grow out of its current volatile phase.
Stock trading platform Robinhood is looking to expand internationally with a “crypto-first” approach. According to Robinhood’s chief brokerage officer, Steve Quirk, crypto would facilitate the “easiest” means through which to go global.
Quirk further disclosed that Robinhood is actively looking for compliant ways to list additional cryptocurrencies. The brokerage firm’s plans for international expansion through crypto could be a move to shore up last year’s poor earnings and raise its share value.
Flipsider:
- Uber’s CEO, Khosrowshahi, underlined that environmental concerns and power consumption linked to crypto mining has kept the company away from digital assets thus far.
Why You Should Care
The adoption of cryptocurrencies as a trend is expected to continue and has been predicted to be a key linchpin to drive the industry’s growth.
Elon Musk’s ‘Starlink’ Could Accept Dogecoin Soon, Shiba Flips Polygon as Most Traded Coin By ETH Whales
One month after Elon Musk announced that his electric car company, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), would accept Dogecoin as a payment for merch, the centibillionaire has hinted that ‘Starlink,’ another of his companies which provides satellite internet, could follow suit.
In response to Doge community member Johnna Crider raising the idea that SpaceX and Starlink should accept DOGE, Musk simply posted a winky face emoji. His reply has raised optimism among the meme coin community that DOGE could soon find another use case.
Dogecoin’s major competitor, Shiba Inu, has hit yet another milestone, surpassing Polygon to become the most traded token by Ethereum whales. According to WhaleStats, SHIB is now the most traded coin among the 1,000 biggest ETH wallets.
On-chain data shows that these 1,000 wallets now hold 54.64 trillion SHIB tokens worth approximately $1.611 billion. Shiba Inu is now the most favored coin by ETH whales, second only to Ethereum itself.
Flipsider:
- Both of the prominent meme coins are yet to recover from their late downfalls, with DOGE still down from its ATH by 81%, and SHIB by 67%.
Why You Should Care
The recent declaration of support for Dogecoin and Shiba Inu by NASDAQ-listed ‘IZEA‘ shows just how respected meme coins are becoming.
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