Web3 On Fire: Binance To Halt Swift Transfers?

GM, frens! Ambire here with our weekly newsletter. Today we’ll be talking about what happened during the week, including Binance halting SWIFT transfers, BTC logo appearing on Fernsehturm Tower in Berlin, Porsche’s NFT launch, Kevin Rose of Proof Collective losing millions worth of NFTs to a scam and eToro’s survey that reveals that around 69% of crypto holders weren’t fazed by the crypto winter. Let’s get down to it:

Binance to halt SWIFT bank transfers

Some troubles on the horizon for users of Binance and U.S Dollar-held bank accounts, as the firm has announced it will be halting on and off-ramp bank payment transfers that involve transactions of less than $100,000 via the SWIFT payment system.

The service disruption will go into effect on February 1, and Binance is now actively seeking a new partner to avoid any further interruptions to service for future bank payments. In the meantime, users are encouraged to look into alternative payment methods and services that don't involve U.S Dollar-held bank accounts.

The news comes as a timely reminder for the users to stay informed on the latest updates from their exchange platforms, in order to ensure you don't get stuck in unfortunate situations due to system outages or service disruptions. Better yet, keep your coins off exchanges.

BTC fans project BTC logo onto the Berliner Fernsehturm Tower

Someone over in Berlin decided to make a bold statement and show their support for Batman BTC. On January 21st, the iconic tourist attraction called Berliner Fernsehturm tower was illuminated with a projection of the Bitcoin logo. The individual or group behind this initiative remains anonymous, though a Twitter user by the name of Tilo Neumann has been promoting the campaign.

The video that Neumann shared shows off just how impressive the display was - a bright and glowing symbol of Bitcoin lighting up the night sky in Berlin. Standing tall at 368 meters, the Berliner Fernsehturm is more than just a city symbol and tourist attraction - it's now become a visual representation of the growing support for crypto around the world, even if at least for a brief moment.

This display in the city of Berlin is sure to have an impact and spread awareness of crypto (even if it's just a glowing BTC logo), so it's a worthwhile investment for whoever was behind the trick. BTC and crypto in general have been gaining more adoption worldwide, but this is a particularly noteworthy display of support in a major city.

Porsche NFT launch

You’ve probably heard that Porsche was trying to get on the NFT hype a few months ago, but when it came to the actual sale the whole deal turned into a disaster. With the NFTs priced at 0.911 ETH, or about $1,475 a piece, it was way too expensive for most people so digital Porsches only ended up alienating potential buyers.

Many were quick to point out that Porsche had overestimated what their collection was worth in the current market - an unfortunate misstep in an industry already prone to scandals. The company had hoped to leverage their reputation as a luxury car brand, but it turned out that wasn’t enough.

Crypto Twitter, which had been mostly positive about Porsche's venture into the NFT world until then, quickly turned negative. Community members immediately called it a "cash grab" and criticized the company for being "tone deaf" and "clueless," leaving Porsche with more than a million impressions of mockery.

It's clear that Porsche didn't understand what they were getting into when launching their NFT collection.

Porsche minted just about 2000 NFTs out of 7500 planned, and then the floor price of these NFTs dropped below the mint price 0.905 ETH (about $1,465). At first. But on Tuesday, Porsche said it would halt the mint, ending with 2,363 tokens created, creating a supply shock and sending the price up.

According to data that we can see on OpenSea, the NFTs currently have floor price of 3.3 ETH, or roughly $5,200. The collection’s total trading volume is around 1300 ETH, or about $2 million.

Kevin Rose loses hundreds of ETH worth of NFTs after falling victim to scam

CEO and the co-founder of PROOF NFT Collective (a community of NFT creators behind a couple of successful NFT launches), Kevin Rose, just realized the hard way how valuable the NFTs he owned were.

He tweeted that his wallet had been hacked after buying NFTs from a project called Chromie Squiggles. 25 Squiggles, along with “a few other NFTs” he had been holding were gone. While the floor price of a single Squiggle on OpenSea's secondary marketplace is around 13 ETH some NFTs have sold for up to 945 ETH, so the actual value of the stolen NFTs can only be speculated.

Kevin was most likely scammed into signing a contract that created a bundled private listing, which was then exploited by hackers to steal his NFTs.

In response to Kevin's tweet, the NFT community came out in droves with advice on safe handling of tokens and how to spot malicious contracts.

The lesson here is clear: no matter how much you know about NFTs and the blockchain, it's always important to be extra cautious.

Research corner: 69% of retail investors are not worried about the crypto winter

Despite the crash last year, an increasing number of retail investors are still eager to invest in digital assets and believe that crypto will rebound despite the bear market.

A survey report by the social trading platform eToro revealed that 69% of retail investors remain positive or have mixed feelings about the potential impact of crypto winter on the crypto market. The report also found that younger investors are more optimistic about the future of digital assets, even after experiencing one of the worst bear markets in history.

The survey results showed that retail investors are continuing to invest in digital assets because they believe that the market will eventually rebound. With a growing consumer base, the crypto industry could be setting itself up for a much-needed rally in 2023 and beyond.

It's clear that retail investors have faith in the future of digital assets, and this could be a sign of a crypto resurgence in the years to come. As the crypto market continues to mature, it is likely that more institutional investors will join the fray and help drive up prices. The long-term potential for digital assets remains strong,

The fun page: our weekly meme collection

That's all for now, frens.

We'll see you next week. And remember, the market conditions are temporary, but our commitment to building a better DeFi is here to stay. Thanks for joining us and we look forward to seeing you back next week. Cheers!

Yours, The 🔥 Team

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