Good Morning Crypto Enthusiasts!

Glad to have you back for another edition of the UseTheBitcoin.com newsletter.

1. Starknet Airdrop Success Amid Controversies: Starknet's airdrop distributes approximately 700 million STRK tokens, propelling its fully diluted market cap beyond $20 billion. Controversies arise regarding alleged inclusion of airdrop squatters in eligibility lists, prompting discussions within the crypto community about token distribution strategies.

2. Optimism's Fourth Airdrop Rewards NFT Artists: Optimism's fourth airdrop distributes over 10.3 million OP tokens worth approximately $40.8 million to 22,998 addresses, targeting web3 artists. The airdrop incentivizes NFT creators based on the popularity of their projects, fostering positive-sum behavior and community engagement.

3. MetaMask Enhances Security with Alerts: MetaMask extends default security alerts to web extension and mobile app users across multiple blockchains, aiming to protect users from potential threats such as phishing scams and malicious DApps.

4. VanEck's Bitcoin ETF Records Dramatic Volume Surge: VanEck's spot Bitcoin ETF witnesses a significant uptick in trading volume, reaching $258 million on Feb. 20, nearly 15 times higher than the previous day.

5. 💡Feature of the Day - Turkey's CBDC & How It Effects You:

   Central Bankers from around the world are looking at Turkey as a testing ground for their world wide CBDC plans. What you need to know!
   
   Whether or not this is a good thing.. is up to you to decide.
   
   All this and more in today’s headlines!

📰 News Highlights:

🚀 Starknet Airdrop Success Amid Controversies [Source][Source][Source]

Starknet's highly anticipated airdrop, aimed at rewarding various stakeholders including Ethereum solo and liquid stakes, developers, and users, has propelled the protocol's fully diluted market cap beyond $20 billion.

Despite controversies surrounding alleged inclusion of airdrop squatters in eligibility lists, the protocol distributed approximately 700 million STRK tokens out of a total supply of 10 billion, with claimed tokens surpassing 220 million within the first 90 minutes.

However, concerns arose when Yearn Finance developer Banteg raised allegations of airdrop squatters being included despite prior warnings. The protocol aims to address these concerns promptly.

Airdrop hunters, leveraging scripts to farm tokens, have become a focal point of discussion within the crypto community, highlighting the complexities of token distribution strategies.

🔵 Optimism's Fourth Airdrop Rewards NFT Artists [Source][Source]

Optimism's fourth airdrop, targeting web3 artists, distributed over 10.3 million OP tokens worth approximately $40.8 million to 22,998 addresses. Eligible users who created engaging NFTs on the Ethereum Mainnet or Optimism's Superchain before Jan. 10 were rewarded.

The airdrop's structure incentivizes NFT creators based on the popularity of their projects, with rewards scaling according to the gas spent by users on minting or trading their NFTs.

With the aim of fostering positive-sum behavior, Optimism has allocated remaining tokens for future airdrops, emphasizing its commitment to community engagement and development.

🔒 MetaMask Enhances Security with Alerts [Source][Source][Source]

MetaMask, a leading Ethereum-based self-custody wallet, has extended default security alerts to web extension and mobile app users across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Polygon, and others.

The feature, developed in collaboration with security partner Blockaid, provides privacy-focused transaction warnings, aiming to protect users from potential threats such as phishing scams and malicious DApps.

The success of MetaMask's security alert system, initially introduced as an experimental opt-in feature, underscores its effectiveness in safeguarding user assets. By integrating security measures directly into the wallet interface, MetaMask empowers users to make informed decisions and mitigate risks effectively.

💼 VanEck's Bitcoin ETF Records Dramatic Volume Surge [Source][Source][Source]

VanEck's spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), symbolized by "HODL," witnessed a significant uptick in trading volume, reaching $258 million on Feb. 20, nearly 15 times higher than the previous day.

The surge, marked by an influx of individual trades, has puzzled analysts, with speculations ranging from retail investor interest to fee adjustments by market competitors.

The unexpected trading volume increase mirrors a broader trend of heightened activity in the cryptocurrency ETF space, with other funds experiencing similar spikes in trading activity.

VanEck's ETF now stands as one of the top spot Bitcoin ETFs, reflecting growing investor appetite for regulated cryptocurrency investment products.

💡 Feature of the Day: 

💰 Turkey's CBDC & How It Effects You [Source]

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has released an English translation of its report evaluating the first phase of its Central Bank Digital Turkish Lira Research and Development (R&D) Project.

The project, is interesting because it’s aimed at developing a retail CBDC with so called “self-sovereign identity” and offline transfer capabilities, which is interesting, because it hint’s at the possibility of working along side the existing financial systems instead of completely replacing it all together.

The Turkish central bank “aims to create a regulatory framework conducive to digital currency adoption.”

So is this the future of CBDCs?

The answer… maybe.

What we do know for sure is this, central bankers from the around the world are reading the newly released English translations. Additionally “top” economists from the World Economic Forum (WEF) have stated that they are using Turkey as a testing ground for their CBDC plans.

Whether or not this is a good thing.. is up to you to decide.

That said, we’re going to “hodl” … just in case.

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😂 Crypto Meme of the Day: 

And that’s it for this today.

With all of the recent hacks taking place, remember to protect your crypto assets with today’s sponsor Trezor hardware wallets.

See you all tomorrow’s edition!

Jonathan Gibson
UseTheBitcoin.com