Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States have reached a significant milestone, recording a new all-time high (ATH) for daily inflows. On February 28, these ETFs garnered nearly $680 million in investments. This surge was primarily driven by iShares Bitcoin Trust, which saw the highest daily inflows at $612.1 million. Other contributors included Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, and WisdomTree Bitcoin ETF. However, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust experienced outflows of $216.4 million, reducing the total inflows to $676.8 million for the day.
The cumulative inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. since February 12 have amounted to $7,406.9 million, showcasing a strong interest in these investment vehicles. Despite the significant outflows from Grayscale, the overall sentiment remains positive, with the total inflow into spot Bitcoin ETFs reaching $7,399 million to date. This bullish trend in the U.S. market seems to be resonating globally, as seen by the increased retail interest in Bitcoin in Australia following the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. in January.
The rise in positive investor sentiment in Australia, with a 25% increase in Bitcoin sentiment, reflects a broader trend of renewed optimism and growth in the cryptocurrency market. This shift in sentiment is driving increased adoption rates, indicating a growing interest in Bitcoin as a long-term investment. However, there is still a split among investors on whether they prefer to access Bitcoin through a crypto exchange or ETF, highlighting the evolving nature of the cryptocurrency investment landscape.
Shido token, associated with the layer-1 blockchain Shido, faced a severe setback as it plummeted by 94% in a short span of 30 minutes due to an exploit in its Ethereum-based staking contract. The exploit allowed an attacker to gain control of the blockchain's staking contract and withdraw billions of Shido tokens. This incident was reported by blockchain security firm PeckShield, which highlighted the exploit's impact on Shido's token value.
PeckShield explained that the attacker successfully transferred the Ethereum staking contract to another address and then upgraded the contract with a hidden function to withdraw staked tokens. This resulted in the withdrawal of over 4.3 billion Shido tokens, accounting for nearly half of the circulating token supply. Additionally, efforts to trace the source of funding for the exploiter led to the discovery that the wallet owner, identified by ZachXBT, also appeared to have been hacked, as their assets were unexpectedly transferred before funding the exploiter.
Shido, a layer-1 proof-of-stake blockchain, was on the verge of launching its main net, as announced in a post on February 24. The project's associated ERC-20 token, SHIDO, could be staked on its decentralized exchange (DEX) to earn an 8% annual yield. This incident adds to the concerning trend of crypto-related hacks, with over 600 hacks reported last year, resulting in $2.1 billion in losses. Despite efforts to enhance security measures, such as those undertaken by PeckShield, the crypto space remains susceptible to exploits, as demonstrated by the recent events surrounding the Shido token.
Gauntlet, a DeFi risk management firm, has quickly found a new partner in Morpho after recently parting ways with Aave, another DeFi lending protocol. The partnership, announced on February 27, entails Gauntlet creating lending products on MorphoBlue, a protocol that enables firms to establish their own lending and borrowing pools, known as "vaults." This move allows risk managers like Gauntlet to have more control over the lending protocols they advise and manage.
Morpho's approach to borrowing and lending differs from Aave's, as lending pools on Aave are governed by the AaveDAO. Gauntlet's decision to partner with Morpho comes shortly after the firm's split with Aave, which was announced by Gauntlet co-founder John Morrow on February 21. The split, which occurred just two months into a $1.6 million contract with AaveDAO, was attributed to challenges in navigating the decentralized governance and objectives of Aave's largest stakeholders.
The partnership with Morpho clarifies Gauntlet's direction in the DeFi space following its departure from Aave. Morpho co-founder Paul Frambot has highlighted Morpho's competitive stance against Aave and Compound, the two dominant players in DeFi lending. Frambot emphasized Morpho's Blue protocol as a direct competitor to AaveV3 and CompoundV3, offering enhanced transparency and risk management for users. Despite this, Aave remains the market leader in DeFi lending, with over $9.3 billion in total value locked (TVL) compared to Morpho's $2.7 billion and Compound's $978 million, according to DefiLlama data.
