Kalam Crypto #102: Tether Announce Monster Q4 Profits

“Hope is a powerful weapon, and no one power on earth can deprive you of” Nelson Mandela

Ahlan wa sahlan, and welcome to the 102nd edition of CoinMENA's weekly newsletter, Kalam Crypto. This week, Tether reports monster profits in Q4 2023, Valkyrie appoints BitGo as custodian, and we launched a $3,000 referral competition! All that and more on this week’s Kalam Crypto.

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Global News 🌍

Tether Reports Monster Q4 Profits: The issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT released their Q4 attestation, and the numbers were nothing short of spectacular. Tether reported Q4 profits of $2.85 billion, setting a new record in excess reserves of cash and cash equivalents backing the circulating USDT. For context, Tether made more money last quarter than Goldman Sachs, $2.85 billion compared to $2.01 billion in Q4 of 2023. The difference is that Goldman Sachs has 48,500 employees, while Tether has 60.

Valkyrie appoints BitGo as a custodian of their spot bitcoin ETF: In a move to enhance security and reliability, Valkyrie is now working with leading custodian provider BitGo to safeguard their funds. The company said it still plans to have Coinbase Trust Company stay on as a custodian also. BitGo is the custodian of choice for CoinMENA as well. Big congratulations to the BitGo team on this well-deserved achievement.

Ripple Co-Founder Hacked: Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen reported unauthorized access to some of his personal XRP accounts, not Ripple itself, following speculation of a hack involving 213 million XRP (valued at $112.5 million). The issue was swiftly addressed, with affected addresses frozen after detection. Larsen emphasized the incident's isolated nature, assuring the security of Ripple wallets, and confirmed that the majority of affected funds had been converted out of XRP. 

Local News 📍

The First Bitcoin Only Conference in Dubai: Bitcoin Oasis Dubai (February 8-9, 2024): For the first time, an intimate circle of global leaders of the bitcoin industry, private sector, and governmental bodies will get together in Dubai to discuss the transformative potential of bitcoin. Space is limited, so attendees will need to apply through the event’s website to book their spots. If you consider yourself a bitcoiner, this is an event you don’t want to miss!

Blog of The Week ✍️

Check out our latest report from our partnership with Onramp Bitcoin titled “Bitcoin Blocks Are Like Container Ships”. You can download the full PDF here or from our blog website.

CoinMENA News 🗞️

🥇$3,000 Referral Competition: 🤳Invite > 🤑Earn >🏅Win: $3,000 to the top three referrers this month! 

🏅First place: $1,500

🥈Second place: $1,000 

🥉Third place: $500

Earn $5 for every successful referral (when your friend verifies their account), and the top three referrers earn an additional bonus at the end of this month! (February 2024). The more successful referrals, the more you earn!

Earn 20 USDC for trying our latest product: Did you know you can deposit and withdraw USDC via the Stellar network on CoinMENA? Deposit or Withdraw USDC via the Stellar network and you can earn your $20 USDC too! This offer is limited to the first 1,000 CoinMENA users to complete such deposit or withdrawal. Terms and conditions apply, see full campaign details in this blog post.

Tweet Of The Week 🐥

Quiz Corner ✅ 

Last week’s question: According to our latest report from our partnership with Onramp Bitcoin titled “Increasing Scarcity: Bitcoin's Value Appreciation”, how does the limited supply of 21 million Bitcoins contribute to Bitcoin's growth engine?

Correct Answer: B) It creates scarcity, driving up demand and value.

This week’s question, what is the maximum number of friends you can invite in the CoinMENA Referral Competition?

a) 50

b) 100

c) 200

d) Unlimited

See the answer in next week’s newsletter. Or check out our new learning platform https://university.coinmena.com/