Cipher buys 37K Bitminers ⛏️, Ripple, Coinbase, a16z invest $78M 💵, Improbable sells gaming biz for $97M 🎮

📌 Daily Crypto, Blockchain & Web3 Update 2023-12-18

CRYPTOCURRENCY

Bitcoin miner Cipher buys 37K Bitmain Antminers for $99.5M (2 min read)

The new crypto-mining equipment to be bought by Cipher is expected to deliver 7.1 EH/s of self-mining capacity by the first half of 2025.

Ripple, Coinbase, a16z invest $78M in pro-crypto PAC ahead of US elections (3 min read)

Prominent cryptocurrency companies and investors intend to support pro-cryptocurrency candidates during the 2024 U.S. election cycle.

Hut 8 agrees to develop mining site to build equity with Celsius creditors (1 min read)

Hut 8’s new mining site in Cedarvale, Texas, will house almost 66,000 miners and be powered by more than 215 MW of energy.

Improbable sells gaming venture for $97M, shares 2024 metaverse predictions (2 min read)

The metaverse developer Improbable sold its gaming venture, The Multiplayer Group, as a part of its venture strategy for 2024.

QUICK LINKS

FTX loses $53K every hour on ‘bankruptcy fees,’ latest filings show (3 min read)

More than $118 million in legal and advisory fees were billed to the bankrupt crypto exchange between August and October, amounting to $1.3 million per day.

Spot Bitcoin ETF will be ‘bloodbath’ for crypto exchanges, analyst says (3 min read)

Spot Bitcoin ETFs could trigger unwanted consequences for crypto exchanges like Coinbase due to lower transaction fees, according to ETF analysts.

Bitcoin won’t be beaten as digital store of value: VanEck CEO (2 min read)

“It’s impossible for me to imagine some other internet store of value [will] leapfrog Bitcoin,” said Jan van Eck, making a bullish case for BTC.

Trader gambles $226K on Solana memecoin, hits $1.69M in 5 days (3 min read)

Another dog-themed crypto token comes into the limelight as the Solana memecoin frenzy continues.

Blockchain-based private loans hit $582M, doubling from 2022 (3 min read)

The average APR offered by blockchain credit protocols is 9.65% compared to an average personal loan interest rate of 11.5%, data shows.

Solana Saga sells for up to $5K on eBay as Bonk frenzy causes sell-out (3 min read)

After months of tepid sales, the Solana Saga phone is now “SOLD OUT” on its official website amid a recent frenzy for the free Bonk memecoin airdrop.

OKX NFT Marketplace tops Blur and OpenSea in daily trading volume (2 min read)

OKX NFT Marketplace recorded a 24-hour trading volume of $50 million on Dec. 18, surpassing its competitors in the NFT space.

Daily gas spent on EVM inscriptions surges to record high of $8M (3 min read)

Bitcoin is not the only network getting clogged up with Ordinals inscriptions, with weekend activity on EVM chains also spiking.