Bitcoin is down 2% at $44,612
Ethereum is down 2% at $1356
and Cardano is down 3% at $1.24

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Vite up 94%
Cortex up 52%
Puma Pay up 47%

DeFi Protocol Furucombo exploited for $14M.

Ethereum scaling startup Optimism lands a $25M series A led by a16z

DeFi protocol revenue hit a record monthly high this month.

Craig Wright wants a piece of all the legends.

Links:

• Investing in Optimism - Andreessen Horowitz
• DeFi protocol revenue has reached a record monthly high in February
• Mt. Gox Victim Issues Legal Notice to Craig Wright Over Stolen Funds - CoinDesk
• Twitter

Bitcoin is down slightly at $9,152
Ethereum is down slightly at $229
and XRP is down 2% at 18 cents

Those are your leaders by market cap

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Cortex up 27%
and Request Network, up 20%

The AVA blockchain project pulled in 12 million with a private token sale

Ebang’s Nasdaq listing went live yesterday

Australian Bitcoin goes postal.

Kadena open sources Covid-19 test tracker.

Links:

• Blockchain project AVA raises $12 million in a private token sale - The Block
• Blockchain Maker Kadena Announces App to Track Covid Tests, Token Listing on Bittrex Global
• Shares of bitcoin miner maker Ebang slide after trading begins on Nasdaq - The Block
• Australia Post Now Lets Customers Buy Bitcoin at Over 3,500 Outlets - CoinDesk

Bitcoin is up half a % at $8,129
XRP is up 1% at 21 cents
and Ethereum is up slightly at $143

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Bitcapital vendor up 186%
Cortex up 30%
Educare up 24%

Ethereum classic complete its Agharta update this morning.

CES saw two blockchain devices pick up accolades.

LedgerX has named the former chief technology officer as the new CEO.

The SEC has filed documents indicating that telegram kept selling tokens after their 1.7 billion ICO

Links:

• Ethereum Classic Successfully Completes ‘Agharta’ Hard Fork - CoinDesk
• Hardware Is Hard: Two Blockchain Devices Win Plaudits at CES 2020 - CoinDesk
• LedgerX Names Former Chief Tech Officer as New CEO - CoinDesk

Today's blockchain and cryptocurrency news

Bitcoin is up 5 % at $7,572
XRP is up 1% at 19 cents
and Ethereum is up 3% at $133

Those are your leaders by market cap

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Cortex, up 17%

Blockforce filed a proposal for an exchange traded fund composed of 15% bitcoin and 85% global currencies.

Poloniex has dropped KYC for their new level one account tier that has a daily withdrawal limit of $10k per day.

Coinbase announced that they will be "sunsetting Earn.com to focus exclusively on Coinbase Earn."

Links:

• Poloniex exchange drops KYC for withdrawals of up to $10,000 per day - The Block
• Coinbase to begin 'sunsetting Earn.com'; will focus on Coinbase Earn product - The Block
• Why the SEC Asked Blockforce Capital to Pull a Bitcoin ETF Proposal as Soon as It Was Filed - CoinDesk

Bitcoin is up slightly at $8,671
XRP is down slightly 26 cents
and Ethereum is down 1% at $183

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Verge up 48%
Cortex up 40%
Horizon up 19%
and QuarkChain up 19%

Blockchain.com’s lending business is coming out of stealth mode.

Two men have been arrested and charged in a US district court in Boston for a nationwide SIM-swap plot.

Walmart’s Canada unit has built a blockchain solution to track, verify and automte payments for its carriers.

Coinmine has added interest to its at-home crypto miners.

Links:

• Walmart builds blockchain solution to automate payments of its carriers in Canada - The Block
• US authorities arrest 2 in alleged SIM swap cryptocurrency theft scheme - The Block
• As credit concerns loom in crypto, Blockchain.com secretly builds multi-million dollar loan desk - The Block
• WATCH: Coinmine Adds Interest Payments to Its At-Home Crypto Miners - CoinDesk

Bitcoin is down 1.5% at $8,610
XRP is down 2.5% 26 cents
and Ethereum is down 1% at $186

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Cortex up 48%
and Dentacoin, up 15%

Coinbase’s visa debit card has added support for XRP, BAT, Augur, Stellar and 0x.

Iran has announced new power tariffs for crypto miners, and is offering a bounty for exposing illegal mining operations.

Hackers are demanding 5 million in bitcoin as they hold Mexico’s national oil company Pemex in a cyberattack.

Justin Sun has confirmed his involvement in the investor group that acquired Poloniex from Circle.

Google is partnering with Citi bank to offer checking accounts under the moniker Cache.

Links:

• Google plans to offer checking accounts in partnership with Citi bank - The Block
• Hackers demand $5M in bitcoin from Mexico's national oil company Pemex - The Block
• Iran announces power tariffs for crypto miners; offers bounty for exposing illegal operations - The Block
• Coinbase’s crypto Visa debit card adds support for XRP and 4 more coins - The Block

Bitcoin is up 2% at $8,167
XRP is up 1% at 24 cents
and Ethereum is up 5% at $173

Top gainers in the last 24 hours:
Dent up 23%
Metal up 23%
Cortex up 21%
and Particl up 20%

Proposals of a treasure tax on cryptocurrency mining have been put forth by the Association of Banks of Russia.

The NBA has rejected Spencer Dinwiddie's proposal to tokenize his multi-million dollar contract.

ING’s chief economist predicts central banks will be issuing their own digital currencies in 2 to 3 years.

Links:

• Russia could tax bitcoin and other crypto mining as a treasure - The Block
• NBA rejects Nets player Spencer Dinwiddie's attempt to tokenize his $34.4 million contract - The Block
• ING's Chief Economist Predicts Central Bank Digital Currencies in 2-3 Years - CoinDesk
• A Dangerous Bug in Bitcoin's Lightning Network Has Been Fixed - CoinDesk