• Bitcoin miner revenue declined by 37.5% in 2022 YoY
• Poor market conditions, high electricity costs, and record mining difficulty contributed to the decline
• Mining difficulty reached a record high due to an increase in hash rate, leaving some miners struggling for profitability

As the cryptocurrency industry continued to struggle from volatile market conditions in 2022, Bitcoin miners were not spared from the effects. According to a recent report, Bitcoin miner revenue dropped to $9.55 billion in 2022 from $15.3 billion in 2021 – a 37.5% decline.

The decrease in miner revenue was attributed to several factors, such as poor market conditions, increasing electricity costs, and record mining difficulty. The overall crypto market cap has declined more than 70% since reaching its all-time high of nearly $69,000 in November 2021. In addition, several high-profile company and project failures had sent shock waves throughout the industry, such as the collapse of terraUSD, which brought down other firms like Three Arrows Capital, a crypto-oriented hedge fund. In November, FTX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, also failed and had a ripple effect on the industry.

Rising interest rates had also put pressure on risk assets, like stocks and crypto, not to mention crypto-specific failures. These conditions have put miners in an unfavorable position, especially with the increasing difficulty of mining. In 2022, mining difficulty reached a record high due to an increase in hash rate, which left some miners struggling for profitability. Thus, miners daily revenue declined sharply to $16.173 million – down from $63.548 million on Nov. 10, 2021.

Overall, the decrease in miner revenue was a direct result of the declining crypto market conditions and the increasing difficulty of mining. Despite the challenges, miners remain optimistic and continue to look for ways to remain profitable in the industry.

• Lido (LDO) is now the dominant DeFi protocol based on the total value of assets locked (TVL) in its ecosystem.
• Lido’s TVL overtook that of MakerDAO (MKR) in the last 24 hours after rising by 0.57% to $5.90 billion.
• Lido is also the dominant staking service provider — it controls 29.11% of the market.

The Ethereum (ETH) staking protocol Lido (LDO) has seen tremendous growth in the past 24 hours, with its Total Value Locked (TVL) surpassing that of MakerDAO (MKR) to become the largest DeFi protocol. According to DeFillama data, Lido’s TVL stands at $5.90 billion, representing 15.23% of the total DeFi TVL of $38.68 billion.

Lido’s website shows that their TVL is currently standing at $5.95 billion, with $5.86 billion of that coming from Ethereum staked via the platform. In addition, the platform has assets like Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), Kusama (KSM) and Polkadot (DOT) locked with a combined value of $83.7 million.

A tweet from Lido on December 20th highlighted that staking deposits had grown across all chains except Kusama. The platform noted that the negative price performance of the native tokens of these chains had contributed to their TVL performance.

In addition to its dominance in terms of TVL, Lido is also the dominant staking service provider. Dune analytics data shows that Lido controls 29.11% of the market, ahead of other competitors like Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance, which cumulatively control roughly 27% of the staked Ethereum.

This dominance of Ethereum staking by Lido has led several analysts to express concern that it could lead to a single point of failure for the blockchain network. However, the platform has been quick to respond to these concerns, stating that it has implemented numerous measures to ensure that Ethereum remains resilient and secure.

Overall, the growth of the Lido protocol is a testament to the power of DeFi and the potential of staking on Ethereum. With its TVL surpassing MakerDAO and its dominance in the staking market, Lido looks set to remain an integral part of the Ethereum ecosystem for the foreseeable future.

• The Bahamas Securities Commission (SCB) ordered former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and his associate Gary Wang to transfer nearly $300 million worth of digital assets to a Fireblocks wallet controlled by the regulator.
• FTX and its associated debtors are claiming that Bankman-Fried, Wang, and the SCB had no right to take control of the assets, and will now try to regain the assets and deliver them to creditors through its bankruptcy proceedings.
• The assets allegedly transferred by Bankman-Fried include 195 million FTT tokens, 1,938 ETH, and other assorted cryptocurrencies, though their value has since decreased to $167 million.

On December 30th, FTX and its associated debtors made claims that the Bahamas Securities Commission (SCB) had instructed former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and his associate Gary Wang to transfer $296 million of digital assets to a Fireblocks cryptocurrency wallet controlled by the regulator. This transfer was allegedly done without authorization and included 195 million FTT tokens, 1,938 ETH, and other assorted cryptocurrencies.

At the time of the transfer, the assets were worth $296 million, though since then their value has decreased to $167 million. The debtors have accused the SCB of orchestrating the transfers without the right to do so, and are now attempting to regain the assets and deliver them to creditors through its bankruptcy proceedings. FTX has noted that it may not be possible to sell this large quantity of FTT tokens at current spot prices, or at all.

The SCB issued an announcement on the December 30th about the seized assets, though it did not allude to FTX’s claims that the regulator had no right to transfer the funds. FTX and its associated debtors are standing by their claims and are now pursuing legal action in order to regain the assets.

This development highlights the importance of ensuring that digital assets are properly managed and transferred, as well as the risks associated with investing in cryptocurrencies. FTX and its associated debtors will be closely watching the situation to see if they can recover the transferred assets and deliver them to creditors.

• Bitcoin price fell 65% in 2022, making it the second-worst year for Bitcoin since 2018.
• Binance’s dominance in BTC spot volume grew by 47%, increasing to 92% at the end of the year.
• BTC’s correlation with other equities, such as Nasdaq, S&P 500, Gold, DXY, and ETH, was significantly high in 2022.

Crypto markets ended the year 2022 on a sour note, with Bitcoin (BTC) recording its second-worst annual performance in the last four years. With a 65% decrease in its price, Bitcoin was only beaten by the 73% decrease recorded in 2018. Although the leading crypto fell significantly throughout the year, other assets such as Binance Coin (BNB), Ethereum (ETH), S&P 500, and Gold saw lower losses.

Binance, one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges, had a successful year as its dominance in BTC spot volume grew by 47%. At the end of the year, the exchange accounted for 92% of the crypto market’s spot volume, compared to the 45% recorded on the first day of the year. Furthermore, Binance was responsible for 66% of the crypto perp volume and 61% of the BTC derivatives volume as the year concluded, with a 10% increase in both areas, compared to 49% and 56% at the beginning of the year.

Additionally, Bitcoin’s correlation with other equities was significantly high in 2022. Arcane Research’s year-end report looked into BTC’s annual correlation with Nasdaq, S&P 500, Gold, DXY, and ETH since 2017. The data showed that BTC’s correlation with the S&P 500 was the highest at 0.75. The report also predicted that Binance’s dominance in the spot market would decline, and the BUSD dominance would increase.

Although Bitcoin’s performance was the second-worst of the year, ETH recorded the most significant decrease by falling 69%. Gold was the most resilient, recording only a 1% fall. As the year comes to an end, crypto enthusiasts will be hoping that the markets recover in 2021, and that the year brings better returns for Bitcoin and other digital assets.

• BMW has integrated blockchain solutions through BNB Chain and Coinweb to automate its routine operations and provide its customers with blockchain loyalty programs in Thailand.
• The first phase of the integration will focus on automating all BMW business activities, while the second phase will involve a new customer loyalty program built by Coinweb.
• The customer loyalty program will use reward points to determine each customer’s position in the BMW ecosystem, allowing customers to buy products with transactions settled on the BNB chain.

BMW, one of the world’s leading car manufacturers, has recently announced the integration of blockchain solutions through BNB Chain and Coinweb to automate its routine operations and provide its customers with blockchain loyalty programs in Thailand. This move marks a major shift in the way BMW’s operations are conducted and is a testament to the company’s commitment to utilizing the latest technologies available.

The integration of blockchain technologies into BMW’s operations will be completed in two phases. The first phase will focus on fully automating all the business activities of BMW, particularly its financial operations. This will streamline the company’s operations, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction. The second phase will involve the implementation of a new customer loyalty program built by Coinweb. This program will use reward points to determine the position of each customer in the BMW ecosystem, allowing customers to use their rewards to purchase products from BMW. All transactions settled on the BNB Chain will be secure and immutable.

The integration of blockchain technologies into BMW’s operations represents a major milestone for the company and for the industry as a whole. This move will allow BMW to remain competitive in the ever-changing automotive market and will provide the company with an edge over its competitors. It will also open up new avenues for customer loyalty programs, which will allow BMW to build stronger relationships with its customers.

BMW’s adoption of blockchain technologies is a major step forward for the automotive industry and is sure to have a ripple effect across the industry. As other companies begin to take notice of the advantages of blockchain technologies, the possibilities for the automotive industry are endless. It is likely that we will see more companies following in BMW’s footsteps in the near future and that the industry will continue to reap the benefits of blockchain technologies for many years to come.

Bullet Points:
• Several former FTX customers have asked for their names to be removed from court filings.
• Customers suggested that their personal information being disclosed puts them at risk of becoming targets of identity theft and online scams.
• The U.S. Department of Justice and various media organizations have asked for FTX customer data to be revealed in public filings.

FTX, a bankrupt lending firm, has been embroiled in a legal battle concerning the disclosure of customer names and other identifying information in court filings. Several former customers of the firm have requested a court order to have their names and other personal information redacted from the documents. They claim that if their identities are revealed, they will be at risk of becoming targets of identity theft and online scams, as well as having a diminished ability to maximize the recovery of their assets.

The request for secrecy has been met with resistance from the U.S. Department of Justice and various media organizations. The Department of Justice has argued that FTX’s customer data should be revealed in public filings and media outlets have sought to keep customer names and information public.

FTX’s lawyers had previously supported the idea of keeping customer information private, but it appears that bankruptcy proceedings typically require transparency, and FTX was not given an exception.

The legal filing from the day prior which requested for customer names and information to be redacted was signed by several former customers of FTX. They stated that any risk that might “arise from disclosing FTX customers’ names … far outweighs any potential benefits of public disclosure.” The customers argued that their personal information being revealed would put them in a vulnerable position and reduce their ability to recover their assets.

It is yet to be seen how the courts will respond to the customers’ request for anonymity. However, the case serves as a reminder of the need for caution when investing in crypto-related firms, especially those with a history of bankruptcy. As the situation continues to unfold, it is important to stay informed and take all necessary precautions to protect your personal information and assets.