On April 1, 2023, Russia’s central bank plans to launch the first consumer pilot for digital currency (CBDC), involving 13 local banks and several merchants. The pilot will involve real-world operations and real-world customers in Russia, but it will be limited to a certain number of transactions and customers. The Bank of Russia intends to determine how to further scale the digital ruble. News Sorce

According to Chainalysis, cryptocurrency investors spent $4.6 billion last year on ‘pump and dump’ tokens. The most prolific purported pump and dump creator is suspected of launching 264 such tokens by himself. Chainalysis classified a token as “worth analyzing” as a potential “pump and dump” if it had at least 10 swaps and four consecutive days of trading on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) in the week following its launch. Only over 40,500 of the 1.1 million new tokens launched last year met the criteria, and 24% of the 40,500 tokens analyzed met the secondary criterion. According to Chainalysis, only 445 individuals or groups are behind the suspected pump-and-dump tokens, with a total profit of $30 million from selling their holdings. However, revenues from crypto scams were cut almost half in 2022 due to depressed crypto prices. News Sorce

Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital Holdings, believes Bitcoin could reach $30,000 or higher by the end of March, a lower prediction than others he has made in the past. This is due to a slowing of inflation in the United States, as well as the excitement of customers calling and FOMO building up. Bitcoin has gained nearly 12% in the last 24 hours, reaching its highest level since mid-August 2022, with the Crypto Fear and Greed index rising nine points to 62 out of 100, moving the scale from “neutral” to “greed” territory. The index hasn’t risen above 60 since mid-November 2021, just before the price crash that ushered in the 2022 crypto winter.  Bitcoin will still need to gain another 22% by March 31 to reach the $10,000 mark. Bitcoin will still need to gain another 22% by Mar. 31 to reach Novogratz’s predicted price. News Sorce

Lido’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) is debating whether to sell or stake $30 million in Ether (ETH) from its treasury. Steakhouse Financial submitted four proposals, one of which involves staking a portion or all of its ETH on Lido as Lido Staked ETH (stETH). Another option would be for LidoDAO to sell 20,304 ETH in exchange for a stablecoin. The proposal comes as Ethereum’s Shanghai and Capella upgrades are set to enable ETH staking withdrawals. The DAO is concerned that excessive staking may result in a lack of Ether in the event of a crisis. ETH currently accounts for 9% of the DAO’s total treasury holdings of over $350 million. Steakhouse Financial suggested that LidoDAO may need to swap Ether for a stablecoin in order to “preemptively secure additional runway”. Between February 6 and 13, the total value locked (TVL) of stETH fell 6.66%, following a -7.22% drop in the price of ETH. Lido led in new Ethereum stakes, accounting for 27% of weekly deposits. Lido’s TVL is currently $8.13 billion. News Sorce

In the future, the crypto industry will likely shift to non-dollar stablecoins, reducing its reliance on US dollar-based stablecoins. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has argued that the US government’s recent actions against US dollar stablecoins will force the global crypto industry to rely on other currencies to back stablecoins, such as the Euro, Yen, and Singapore Dollar. Although algorithmic stablecoins may play a larger role in the crypto ecosystem, they must be disclosed to users in a transparent manner, and reserves for fiat-backed stablecoins must also be disclosed. News Sorce

With the regulatory onslaught on BUSD issuer Paxos, the head of research at Matrixport argues that regulators are not specifically targeting all stablecoins. Although Markus Thielen speculated that Paxos’ control over the token may not have been strict enough, the problem does not seem to be with stablecoins. Binance offers a service for pegged tokens in which Binance-Peg BUSD is issued on BNB Chain and other blockchains while BUSD is locked on Ethereum. NYDFS is concerned that the $4.8 billion in BUSD may not be adequately backed or may not be backed exactly one to one. According to Paxos, BUSD tokens created by Paxos Trust are and always will be entirely segregated, stored in bankruptcy distant accounts, and backed 1:1 by US dollar-denominated reserves.Thielen cautioned the sector not to take the future of BUSD too seriously. News Sorce

If stablecoinBinance USD (BUSD) is recognized as a security, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has warned of “deep consequences” on the cryptocurrency market. This comes after an alleged lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States against Paxos, the BUSD’s issuer. With a market cap of almost $16 billion, BUSD is the third-largest stablecoin and the seventh-largest cryptocurrency in the world. Binance will keep supporting BUSD for the foreseeable future, but it will make product changes to protect consumers from any unintended harm. News Sorce