The use of Bitcoin by Hamas militants to fund recent attacks on Israel could hamper Coinbase’s crypto lobbying efforts in the United States, Berenberg Capital Markets has said in a new investment analysis.
Berenberg lead analyst Mark Palmer said in a research note published on October 18, 2023 that the key driver of his “cautious stance” towards Coinbase is the multiple regulatory proceedings being launched against it in the United States, as well as political headwinds arising from the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“While Hamas announced last April that it would no longer use crypto for fundraising due to the ability of authorities to track its movement on Blockchain ledgers, we believe the recent headlines are likely to make clarity around the question of crypto’s legal status even more elusive,” Palmer wrote in a blog post.
The Financial Times reported last week that Israeli officials had shut down and seized over 100 accounts on Binance and other cryptocurrency exchanges that were being used to boost Hamas’ fundraising operations. As part of the raid, Israeli officials seized cryptocurrencies worth millions of dollars.
Coinbase has significantly increased its lobbying efforts in the United States over the last few years as part of a campaign to see clearer and more crypto-friendly regulations implemented in the country. Berenberg maintained their “hold” recommendation on Coinbase (COIN) stock with a $39 price target.
Gamers Can Now Explore Mars In Tesla-Inspired Cybertrucks
The fourth planet from the Sun, Mars, was once a landscape only scientists could examine. But now, a topographically accurate game has opened the Red Planet to the masses. Mars4, a Web 3.0 game that allows users to explore Mars’ surface, has launched two exclusive rovers inspired by Tesla’s Cybertrucks.
NASA data has enabled the creation of precise 3D representations of Mars’ landscape, transforming it into a game where players can interact in an actual Martian landscape, battling for survival on the Martian landscape.
The AAA 3D game has been built using the Unreal Engine 5.1, a game engine made by Epic Games. Players have the chance to own a piece of land on the Red Planet, with each offering a distinctive environment. According to this play-to-earn game, more than 60,000 plots have already been sold.
From here, the goal of the title is simple: explore, expand your land, construct dream buildings, gather resources, establish a colony, and create value. While it may be an unforgiving and harsh atmosphere, establishing a fully-fledged habitat creates a better chance of survival — and any resources found can be traded with fellow explorers.
Ethereum LSDFi Sector Grew 60x Since January
The Ethereum liquid staking derivatives finance (LSDFi) ecosystem has seen a boom in growth this year as Ether holders choose to stake rather than liquidate. This is despite the fact that ETH withdrawals were possible with the Ethereum Shapella upgrade in April 2023, an LSDFi analysis from crypto data aggregator CoinGecko stated an October 16, 2023. It said that the sector has expanded by 58.7x since January.
By August 2023, LSD protocols accounted for 43.7 per cent of the total 26.4 million ETH staked, with Lido accounting for about a third of the whole staked market. Since withdrawals were enabled, the exit queue has remained at zero for more than half of the time (55 per cent) and has remained below 10 validators for 77 per cent of the time.
According to the LSDFi industry growth figures, ETH investors would rather re-stake for higher yield prospects than sell their assets after withdrawing.
LSDs were developed to allow smaller ETH holders to participate in staking and unleash liquidity following the launch of the Ethereum Beacon Chain in December 2020.
