Daily Report | Nigeria sues Binance for $81.5 billion in economic losses and taxes; Trump: We want to be at the forefront in all areas, and cryptocurrency is one of them
February 20 News OverviewOrganizer: Luan Peng, ChainCatcher
Important News:
- Hashdex approved to launch the world's first XRP spot ETF in Brazil
- Trump: We want to be at the forefront in all areas, and cryptocurrency is one of them
- JPMorgan: CME Bitcoin and Ethereum futures nearing "backwardation," institutional demand weakens
- Kaito AI releases KAITO tokenomics, with 10% allocated for initial community and ecosystem airdrops
- Nigeria sues Binance for $81.5 billion in economic damages and taxes
- Aptos research head accuses Monad of plagiarism, Monad co-founder denies allegations
- Stacks co-founder: More than two-thirds of Bitcoin L2 projects will not exist in three years
- Binance to adjust leverage and margin tiers for BONK, INJ, EOS, and OMU perpetual contracts
"What important events occurred in the past 24 hours"
Hashdex approved to launch the world's first XRP spot ETF in Brazil
The Brazilian Securities Commission (CVM) has approved Hashdex to launch the world's first XRP-based spot ETF------HASHDEX NASDAQ XRP INDEX FUND.
Currently, the ETF is in the pre-operational phase and is managed by Genial Investimentos, with the official listing date yet to be announced.
Trump: We want to be at the forefront in all areas, and cryptocurrency is one of them
According to The Block, Trump stated at the Future Investment Initiative Institute conference in Miami on Wednesday: "Bitcoin has hit multiple all-time highs because everyone knows I am committed to making America the capital of cryptocurrency."
He added, "We want to be at the forefront of everything, and one of those is cryptocurrency, and Miami seems to be the center of action. Think about it carefully; maybe it will always exist."
Washington is expected to have the most pro-cryptocurrency Congress to date, with pro-crypto lawmakers like Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott and House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill leading key committees that dominate crypto regulation.
JPMorgan: CME Bitcoin and Ethereum futures nearing "backwardation," institutional demand weakens
According to The Block, JPMorgan analysts warned in their latest research report that institutional demand for CME Bitcoin and Ethereum futures is weakening, which poses recent downside risks for the crypto market.
The report noted that CME Bitcoin and Ethereum futures are nearing "backwardation" (where futures prices are lower than spot prices), indicating weak demand from institutional investors seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies through CME futures contracts. Analysts believe this phenomenon is primarily influenced by two factors: a lack of positive catalysts leading some institutions to take profits, and momentum-driven funds reducing exposure.
JPMorgan Managing Director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou stated that the new U.S. government is unlikely to introduce significant crypto-related initiatives before the second half of 2025, putting investors in a wait-and-see mode. Currently, Ethereum's momentum signals have turned negative, and momentum signals for both Bitcoin and Ethereum have continued to weaken over the past few months.
Kaito AI releases KAITO tokenomics, with 10% allocated for initial community and ecosystem airdrops
Kaito AI has released KAITO tokenomics, with a total supply of 1 billion tokens, including:
25% - Core contributors;
32.2% - Ecosystem and network growth;
2% - Binance holders;
10% - Initial community and ecosystem claims;
7.5% - Long-term creator incentives;
5% - Liquidity incentives;
8.3% - Early supporters;
10% - Foundation.
Nigeria sues Binance for $81.5 billion in economic damages and taxes
According to Reuters, Nigerian authorities have filed a lawsuit against Binance, claiming $79.5 billion in economic damages and $2 billion in unpaid taxes. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria accuses Binance of operating illegally in the country.
The FIRS stated that Binance's operations in the country are illegal. Previously, in March 2024, the agency had sued Binance over four tax violations, including failure to pay corporate income tax and failure to submit tax returns.
Aptos research head accuses Monad of plagiarism, Monad co-founder denies allegations
Aptos research head Alexander Spiegelman posted on X, stating: "I don't understand why Monad is spending so much time plagiarizing Aptos's technology. It's all open source, and there are already many peer-reviewed papers; instead of being secretive, they might as well just copy directly."
In response, Monad co-founder James Hunsaker stated: "While you were still in diapers, I was already researching Software Transactional Memory (STM) in the Haskell environment; BlockSTM is a simple extension of these things. I have never looked at any Aptos code; in fact, if you hadn't published this nonsense, I wouldn't even think of Aptos."
Stacks co-founder: More than two-thirds of Bitcoin L2 projects will not exist in three years
Stacks co-founder Muneeb Ali stated that as the initial excitement fades, more than two-thirds of existing Bitcoin Layer 2 projects will not exist in three years.
When discussing the Bitcoin L2 ecosystem, Ali mentioned that most projects have begun to realize that "the market is very tough."
Binance to adjust leverage and margin tiers for BONK, INJ, EOS, and OMU perpetual contracts
According to an official announcement from Binance, Binance Futures will adjust the leverage and margin tiers for the 1000BONKUSDT, INJUSDT, EOSUSDT, and OMUSDT perpetual contracts on February 20, 2025, at 17:30 (Beijing time). This adjustment will affect existing positions and may cause futures grid strategies to fail. Binance advises users to make timely adjustments before the changes take effect.
Developers: Lightning Network vulnerability allows hackers to remotely steal funds via LND nodes
According to Protos, developer "Calle" warned of a vulnerability in the Lightning Network, stating that nodes running versions lower than LND 0.18.5 or LITD 0.14.1 are at risk. This vulnerability allows hackers to remotely manipulate the payment status of Lightning invoices, thereby stealing funds.
Pavol Rusnak, co-founder of Satoshi Labs, also issued a similar warning, urging Lightning Network users to update their node software as soon as possible. Versions LND 0.18.5 and LITD 0.14.1 have fixed the vulnerability, but since LND 0.18.5 was only released last week, many nodes have yet to update and remain at risk.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik responded during a text AMA held on the Tako platform to the question, "Have there been times in the past year when you felt frustrated or disappointed with EF, the community, or the industry?" by saying: "Of course. Perhaps the most disappointing moment recently was when someone said that Ethereum is bad and intolerant because we do not respect 'casinos' on the blockchain, while other chains are willing to accept any application, so they are better.
If the blockchain community has this 'moral issue,' I have no interest in participating in blockchain. However, I found an interesting point: many people say those things on the internet, but when I chat with the community in person, everyone's values are still the same as before, so I feel I have a responsibility to this community and cannot abandon them; Ethereum needs to work together to create the world we want to see.
This will require some changes, such as the foundation not being overly neutral at the application layer and needing to specifically support certain things, but this project must be worth our effort."
Thailand plans to issue $148 million tokenized government bonds before October
According to Ledger Insights, Thailand's Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira stated that the government plans to directly issue 5 billion baht ($148 million) in government bonds to the public before the end of the fiscal year (September 30). The initial issuance will be considered a sandbox project and can be traded on a digital bond platform.
The minister stated: "We will allow retail investors to participate, regardless of their financial situation. They can invest any amount and trade directly on the platform, bypassing traditional bank counters. There are currently many platforms available, and with private sector participation, we expect management costs to decrease, with a minimum investment of 1,000 baht."
Additionally, the minister mentioned that the government is considering merging the Securities Act with the Digital Assets Act.
Vitalik: My parents bought ETH after Ethereum's birth and have been following and supporting me
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik stated during a text AMA held on the Tako platform that his parents bought ETH after Ethereum's birth and have been following and supporting him. Before Ethereum was born, they also worked hard to arrange and purchase a lot of materials to learn coding.
"What are some great articles worth reading in the past 24 hours"
From 36% to zero tax rate: The "Trump variable" behind the EU's crypto tax reform tug-of-war
President Trump recently announced that he plans to hold talks with Putin to end the Ukraine conflict. Trump's recent actions have caught European leaders off guard, and they are now concerned that potential peace negotiations may bypass them. In addition to security issues, the Ukraine conflict has had a significant economic impact on Europe. In this article, we will discuss how Trump's recent actions affect the European economy, including its crypto tax policies, and introduce the existing personal capital gains tax rates for crypto users in the EU.
99% of Meme trades are destined for losses, the house always wins
My Meme trading account is currently down -60%. Am I a terrible trader? Yes, I certainly am. But it's not just because of bad decisions; I prefer to believe that I'm not worse than an average gambler. So, where exactly is the problem? Inspired by data from @0xngmi (who pointed out that the returns from playing Memecoins are even worse than at the casino), I decided to delve deeper to see what the root of the issue is.
On the evening of February 19, invited by FSL Chief Revenue Officer Mable Jiang, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin held a special flash text AMA in the "Flash Interview Circle" on the Tako App. This interview solicited anonymous questions from the community in advance, aiming to address concerns and confusion about the future development of Ethereum.
The interview covered topics such as the future adoption and ultimate narrative of ETH, views on the relationship between L2 and the Ethereum main chain, and the centralized sequencer plan for MegaETH. Vitalik even answered a community user's question about whether he is a "communist." Notably, this was also the first time in recent years that Vitalik conducted an AMA in Chinese.
Consensus conference short essay: The most "consensus-less" consensus conference
The on-chain world has become the hope for most people in the crypto space, but compared to the difficulty of making money in the CEX secondary market, the pure speed PVP environment on-chain is also a significant challenge for most audiences.
Meme Popularity Rankings
According to the meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN, as of February 20, 19:50:
In the past 24 hours, the top five popular Ethereum tokens are: LINK, SHIB, ONDO, UNI, USDe
In the past 24 hours, the top five popular Solana tokens are: TRUMP, RAY, Fartcoin, arc, PAIN
In the past 24 hours, the top five popular Base tokens are: AI, GPS, AERO, B3, VIRTUAL
