Decentral Block Post

Emin Gün Sirer, creator of the Avalanche Consensus protocol and Ava Labs CEO, believes that there is one very straightforward method to spot a long-standing cryptocurrency project.

On Feb. 7 ​​Sirer discussed blockchain venture capital and crypto regulation in a fireside chat with MarketAcross chief operations officer Itai Elizur at the Web3 builder-focused event, Building Blocks 23.

During the discussion, the Avalanche founder pointed out the crucial role of “staying power” in the crypto industry, condemning players that run from one project to another or jump into “every single new coin offering” in the hopes that they will go up. According to ​​Sirer, the desire to reap quick profits from crypto will only turn the space into a terrible thing, and VCs are not to blame.

“I will tell you who’s to blame; it’s us,” ​​Sirer declared, urging the community to support solid crypto initiatives and avoid scammy projects with a short life span. He then shared his “very simple test” of how to spot long-standing projects in crypto and stay away from those who make grand promises and then disappear.

“So look at the team behind any project, look at their staying power,” Ava Labs CEO said, adding that the regulating jurisdiction of a cryptocurrency firm provides one of the most important hints about its long-term capabilities. He stated:

Bitcoin (BTC) rebounding 40% in January sparked the largest inflows of institutional cash since June 2022, data shows.

In its "Digital Asset Fund Flows" Weekly" report on Jan. 30, digital asset investment and trading group CoinShares confirmed $117 million headed into crypto in the last week of the month.

Institutions "not sold" on post-merge Ethereum

Bitcoin is still on the radar as an institutional investment opportunity.

As demonstrated by CoinShares’ latest data, it took a matter of weeks of BTC price action recouping prior losses to spark a major turnaround in investment habits — and not just in the United States.

“Last week's US bears seem to have changed their mind with US$117m inflows, including US$26m from the United States,” CoinShares wrote in a Twitter thread accompanying the report.

Bitcoin (BTC) lingered near $23,000 on Feb. 7 as a key chart phenomenon hit for the first time in 18 months.

Battle of the Bitcoin crosses begins

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD tracking sideways overnight, having shunned volatility at the week’s first Wall Street open.

While failing to flip $23,000 to support, the pair nonetheless saw a potentially significant event on Feb. 6 in the form of a “golden cross” on the daily chart.

This refers to the rising 50-period moving average crossing over the 200-period moving average. The last time that this occurred on daily timeframes was in September 2021 — two months before Bitcoin’s latest all-time high.

Some crypto analysts have keenly watched the cross, with Venturefounder, a contributor to on-chain data platform CryptoQuant, arguing that $25,000 could reappear as a result.

A confidential United Nations report has revealed North Korean hackers stole more crypto assets in 2022 than in any other year so far.

The UN report, seen by Reuters, was reportedly submitted to a 15-member North Korea sanctions committee last week.

It found North Korean-linked hackers were responsible for between $630 million and more than $1 billion in stolen crypto assets last year and targeted networks of foreign aerospace and defense companies.

The UN report also noted that cyber attacks were more sophisticated than in previous years, making tracing stolen funds more difficult than ever.

"[North Korea] used increasingly sophisticated cyber techniques both to gain access to digital networks involved in cyber finance, and to steal information of potential value, including to its weapons programmes,” according to independent sanctions monitors in its report to the UN Security Council Committee.