Daily Report | Argentine President Milei: Not promoting but merely sharing cryptocurrency information; total losses of nearly 75,000 users in LIBRA token trading reach 286 million dollars
February 18 News OverviewOrganizer: Luan Peng, ChainCatcher
Important News:
- Argentinian President Milei: Not promoting, just sharing cryptocurrency information
- Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission: Virtual asset development roadmap to be announced this month
- Jupiter co-founder: Meteora head Ben announces resignation
- Russian power grid company Rosseti: $14.2 million loss in 2024 due to illegal crypto mining
- Scam Sniffer: Beware of phishing links appearing in Google searches for "Four Meme"
- QCP Capital: Options market positioning for Ethereum Pectra upgrade, altcoin weakness may suppress upward momentum
"What important events occurred in the past 24 hours"
Argentinian President Milei: Not promoting, just sharing cryptocurrency information
Argentinian President Milei stated on a television program: "I acted in good faith and was hit for it. Did the country lose? No. Did Argentinians lose? At most four or five. The vast majority of investors are Chinese and Americans.
I share this information just like I have shared hundreds of things before. My tweet was sent three minutes after the currency was created because I am passionate about these matters and understand them. These people are volatile traders who know what they are doing.
Saying that 44,000 people were affected is false; at most, only 5,000. The likelihood of involving Argentinians is very small. These are all very professional people in this financial instrument. Those involved are very clear about the risks they are taking— they are volatile traders. This is a private matter between individuals, and they participated voluntarily.
I did not promote LIBRA; I merely shared information about LIBRA. I did this because I am a firm technological optimist. Any initiative that can improve financing for tech entrepreneurs attracts me. I did not make a mistake because I acted in good faith. But when I saw the consequences, I realized I still have a lot to learn. I need to understand that after becoming president, I still need to act as I did before. Unfortunately, this situation made me realize that I need to raise my standards and not be so easily accessible."
According to reports from Hong Kong Radio, the Executive Director of the Intermediaries Division of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Yip Chi-hang, expects to announce the virtual asset development roadmap within this month. The roadmap will not only outline development principles but also mention the areas the Commission hopes to research in the short term and the aspects that platform participants wish to optimize.
Moreover, the focus of the virtual asset roadmap is not on the content itself but on the Commission's courage to demonstrate principles to the market and the stance for the market to consider.
Jupiter co-founder: Meteora head Ben announces resignation
According to a post by Jupiter co-founder meow, Ben, the head of the decentralized trading platform Meteora project, has chosen to resign. Meow stated that while he has full confidence in Ben's character, it is unacceptable that Ben has not adequately judged and focused on the core aspects of the project in recent months.
In response to recent controversies, meow reiterated that neither Jupiter nor Meteora has been involved in any insider trading or financial misconduct. He stated that the company has hired the well-known law firm Fenwick & West as an independent third party to conduct an investigation and release a report.
At the same time, he emphasized that the JUP token has always maintained a high standard of transparency, being the only major protocol to provide detailed explanations for each token during three audits and has never engaged in over-the-counter (OTC) trading.
Russian power grid company Rosseti: $14.2 million loss in 2024 due to illegal crypto mining
According to The Block, Russian power grid company Rosseti Group disclosed that it incurred losses exceeding 1.3 billion rubles (approximately $14.2 million) in 2024 due to illegal cryptocurrency mining. The North Caucasus region suffered the largest losses, exceeding 600 million rubles; the Novosibirsk region lost 400 million rubles.
The company has investigated 130 cases of unauthorized access and electricity theft, with the largest case occurring in Novosibirsk, involving 3,200 mining devices and resulting in a loss of 197 million rubles. Currently, over 40 cases are being prosecuted under Russian criminal law.
Scam Sniffer: Beware of phishing links appearing in Google searches for "Four Meme"
Scam Sniffer has issued a warning that currently using Google to search for "Four Meme" will lead to phishing links impersonating the official Four.Meme platform, and users should be vigilant.
QCP Capital's latest analysis points out that the term structure of the options market has shown significant distortion around the March expiration date, particularly in Ethereum options, which may reflect the market's positioning for the Ethereum Pectra upgrade currently in testing and expected to go live in early April.
Looking back at past upgrades, the September 2022 merge upgrade followed the typical "buy the rumor, sell the news" pattern—ETH rose over 100% from the June low before retreating post-upgrade. In contrast, the April 2023 Shanghai upgrade, which enabled staking withdrawals, faced pessimism due to concerns about oversupply. However, once the market realized that the sell-off pressure did not materialize as expected, ETH rose 30% in the following months.
As expectations for the upgrade heat up, traders may be positioning for another volatility event, with options volatility skewed towards call options after March 28—this could lay the groundwork for the next thematic positioning in the crypto market following the Trump tariff turmoil.
One suppressing factor is the general weakness in the altcoin market—LIBRA's collapse, SOL and ETH retreating to pre-election levels, and Bitcoin's market cap nearing historical highs. Beyond market catalysts, altcoins may need to achieve substantial progress in real-world applications and network development to sustain a recovery, rather than relying solely on speculative capital flows.
According to Financial界, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and seven other departments have issued the "Action Plan for High-Quality Development of the New Energy Storage Manufacturing Industry." It proposes to promote the widespread application of new generation information technologies such as blockchain, big data, artificial intelligence, and 5G in the new energy storage manufacturing industry.
Accelerate the construction of smart factories, encourage the digital transformation of key processes in the production of new energy storage products and system integration, and apply online detection technologies such as machine vision, ultrasound, and infrared thermal imaging to optimize quality control systems. Improve the automation level of various new energy storage product raw material production, packaging, and other links. Support manufacturing enterprises in extending service chains and developing new service-oriented manufacturing models.
Due to trademark issues, Ethereum Beam Chain will be renamed
Ethereum core developer Justin.eth Drake shared on Twitter the progress of the first community conference call for Beam Chain, stating that due to trademark issues with the name "Beam," the project will be renamed.
The meeting summarized the addition of eight new teams, support from six mainnet consensus layer teams, and the introduction of two new coordinators joining the Ethereum Foundation. Currently, Beam Chain has a total of 14 consensus layer teams covering all continents except Antarctica, using various programming languages including Zig, C, C++, and C#, and several self-funded teams have emerged.
Data: Nearly 75,000 users lost a total of $286 million in LIBRA token trading
According to data disclosed by crypto lawyer wassielawyer, a total of 74,698 traders suffered losses in LIBRA token trading, with total losses amounting to approximately $286 million.
Specific data shows that 25 traders lost over $1 million; 2,409 traders lost between $10,000 and $50,000; and 71,369 traders lost between $0 and $10,000.
Binance to adjust leverage and margin tiers for multiple perpetual contracts including BNX and OM
According to an official announcement from Binance, on February 18, 2025, at 17:30 (Beijing time), adjustments will be made to the leverage and margin tiers for seven USDⓈ-M perpetual contracts including AMB, STMX, MKR, ETC, TIA, OM, and BNX.
This adjustment will affect existing positions, and contract grid strategies may expire due to the adjustments, so users are advised to make corresponding adjustments in advance.
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On January 31, Argentinian President Milei tweeted on his X account: "He is providing me with advice on the impact and application of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence in the country," along with a photo with a young man in a suit and gold-rimmed glasses.
This person is Hayden Mark Davis, a key figure in the LIBRA token issuance storm.
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Meme Popularity Rankings
According to the meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN, as of February 18, 19:50:
In the past 24 hours, the top five popular Ethereum tokens are: LINK, ONDO, UNI, USDe, PEPE
In the past 24 hours, the top five popular Solana tokens are: TRUMP, WPEPE, PENAI, RAY, Fartcoin
In the past 24 hours, the top five popular Base tokens are: AI, GPS, AERO, VIRTUAL, BRETT
