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Why Obasa Is Yet To Resume At Lagos State Assembly – Lawyer Reveals, Addresses Resignation Plan
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Afolabi Fashanu (SAN), Obasa’s lead counsel, confirmed on Tuesday that they are fully prepared for the February 28 court hearing, despite ongoing political efforts to resolve the Assembly crisis.
Fashanu emphasized that Obasa will not return to the Assembly until a judgment is obtained, arguing that any attempt to resume the speakership before the court’s ruling would be illegal.
Obasa, who was impeached on January 13, 2025, by a majority of lawmakers, filed a suit at the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, challenging his removal and the emergence of Mojisola Meranda as the new Speaker.
Political Mediation Efforts
The Lagos Assembly crisis has proven difficult to resolve, even for the powerful Governors Advisory Council (GAC). In an attempt to mediate, President Bola Tinubu reportedly assigned Chief Bisi Akande and Aremo Olusegun Osoba, both former governors, to intervene.
Following marathon meetings from Sunday through Monday, reports suggest that the mediating panel recommended that both Obasa and Meranda should step down for another lawmaker from Lagos West Senatorial District.
Additionally, Obasa was reportedly asked to withdraw his court case and voluntarily resign, with the panel expected to brief President Tinubu on its intervention.
Obasa’s Legal Team Unmoved
However, when asked about these reports by The PUNCH, Fashanu denied any official communication regarding a settlement.
He said: “Well, that intervention, for me, is still a rumor because nothing of such has been communicated to us, as the legal team. So, what we all read in newspapers, we don’t even know the genuineness or authenticity of the news on the purported settlement.
“Our client has not communicated anything to us in the nature of withdrawal. So, we are still preparing for the case until otherwise.”
Restating the legal team’s commitment, Fashanu added:“Nothing is certain in life except death. But on our part, we will put in our maximum effort, and we believe he has a very good case. So, subject to the overriding power of the deciding judge, we are good to go.”
No Resignation, No Illegal Moves
A source close to Obasa also dismissed claims that he would voluntarily resign, insisting that “it has not gotten to that level.”
On whether Obasa would return to the Assembly before the court ruling, Fashanu clarified that such a move would be illegal, stating:
“That means he will be taking laws into his own hands, and I don’t think he would want to do that. If he had wanted to do that, I’m sure from day two or day three, he would have done that.”
[NaijaNews]
The United Kingdom Foreign and CommonWealth Development Office in Nigeria through its programme, strengthening peace and resilience, has organised a four-day training workshop for traditional rulers on conflict resolution and mediation
Declaring the training open, Katsina Governor, Mallam Dikko Umar Radda who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Abdullahi Faskari, highlighted the role of the traditional rulers on peace resolution which he said cannot be overstretched.
He said: “We all know that peace is fundamental and significant for socio-economic development in the society and without peace, nothing can be achieved.
”Any attempt to.strengthen the issue of having peace in the society is very significant and important for all of us,as these traditional rulers were the closest to the people and everything starts from there.
“This is surely inherent in their own activities from time immemorial for them to settle people for peaceful coexistence.so attempts to bring about modernisation, new ideas, ways and knowledge that will improve their activities, I think is a welcome development”.
Radda further added that bringing peace in Nigeria is the sole responsibility of everyone and that It is a religious duty for everyone and whoever comes to assist on this regard
Underscoring the importance of the training in Katsina State, the team lead, SPRiNG programme, Dr. Ukoha Ukiwo, noted that considering the laudable contribution of the Nigerian government in maintaining peace especially in Africa, the UK government has indicated interest to promote efforts to restore peace and establish security.
He said: “The interest in Nigeria is because of its important role played especially in maintaining peace and security across Africa and there are concerns all over the world that if Nigeria is not stable, Africa will also be unstable”
“Nigeria is very important to the world that is why the UK government is quite interested in supporting the effort of the Nigerian actors and institutions to address issues that affect peace and security in Nigeria.
“All it has to do is to work with Nigerian stakeholders like you to ensure that we are better even to respond to issues around conflict, security, stability particularly that are also related to access to natural resources in a more peaceful way.
The Training Coordinator, Green Horizon, Prof Muhammed Tabiu, said the programme was aimed at equipping and strengthening the traditional rulers’ skills on mediation as well as basic knowledge of the justice system in Nigeria.
He further added that Katsina State and the rest of the North-West region of Nigeria have become even more important because of the destructions that were brought about by the criminality, banditry and terrorism and that traditional rulers are up to the task if they are equipped with relevant skills, techniques for maintaining law and order and conflict resolution.
He said: “The subject matter is mediation and conflict resolution aimed at sharpening the participant’s skills and to improve their capabilities to make peace, mediate between members of their communities as well as maintain law and order”.
The participants were expected to be equipped with the basic knowledge of the justice system in Nigeria in order to build their confidence especially when interacting with law enforcement agents during conflict resolution ,mediation and family disputes.
[TheNation]
The national secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress was a beehive of activities on Wednesday morning as governors elected on the platform of the APC and party chieftains trooped in for the long-awaited meeting of the National Executive Committee.
Early arrivals at the meeting include members of the National Working Committee, APC State Chairmen, former governor of Zamfara state, Sen. Abdulaziz Yari, former governor of Kebbi state and Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Goodwill Akpabio and Speaker, House of Representatives, and Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas are expected to be in attendance.
As early as 8.30am, there was heavy vehicular movement and party supporters blaring music and displaying APC banners around the party headquarters and neighbouring streets.
Stern-looking security operatives including agents of the Department of State Security were also manned at the entry and exit point of the venue to provide security.
[Punch]
US President Donald Trump unveiled plans Tuesday to sell new “gold card” residency permits for a price of $5 million each — and said Russian oligarchs may be eligible.
Trump said sales of the new visa, a high-price version of the traditional green card, would bring in job creators and could be used to reduce the US national deficit.
“We’re going to be selling a gold card. You have a green card, this is a gold card. We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The Republican president, who has made the deportation of millions of undocumented migrants a priority of his second term, said the new card would be a route to highly prized US citizenship.
“A lot of people are going to want to be in this country, and they’ll be able to work and provide jobs and build companies,” Trump said. “It’ll be people with money.”
Sales of the cards would start in about two weeks, Trump added.
“We’ll be able to sell maybe a million of these cards. We have it all worked out from a legal standpoint,” Trump added.
The billionaire former real estate tycoon said that all applicants for the new gold cards would be carefully vetted.
But asked if wealthy Russians would also be able to apply, Trump said it was a possibility.
“Possibly. I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people. It’s possible,” Trump said. “They’re not as wealthy as they used to be. I think they can. I think they can afford $5 million.”
A number of Russian oligarchs have been hit by western sanctions since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
Trump has caused shock in European capitals by suddenly opening negotiations with Russia to end the war, amid fears that he could be willing to sell Ukraine short.
The US president told reporters that lifting sanctions on Russia was possible “at some point” but was not currently on the table.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, standing at Trump’s side in the Oval Office, said of the gold cards that “we can use that money to reduce our deficit.”
Trump, who has branded a series of hotels and casinos in a long business career, even suggested the new cards could also be named after him.
“Somebody said, ‘Can we call it the Trump gold card?’ I said, ‘If it helps, use the name Trump,'” he said.
AFP
“How many seconds do we have?”
“Forty-five!” shouted back Hollywood’s biggest stars, from Timothee Chalamet and Ariana Grande to Ralph Fiennes and Isabella Rossellini.
Just five days before the Oscars, this year’s nominees gathered in Los Angeles on Tuesday for an intimate dinner — and a few words of warning about the length of their acceptance speeches.
Nobody really expects Oscar winners to stick to those exact limits, but it is the job of Academy President Janet Yang to at least try.
“I feel like a schoolmarm,” joked Yang, as she politely requested this year’s crop of movie stars to keep their moments in the spotlight “heartfelt, humorous if you’d like, poignant, inspirational, but brief.”
As if to exemplify the challenge, “A Complete Unknown” director James Mangold arrived several minutes late for the annual nominees “class photo,” which had finally been taken, forcing a hasty reshoot.
“It’s the Mangold edition!” quipped one star, as “Wicked” actors Grande and Cynthia Erivo sat politely, side-by-side and front-and-centre of the group, while “A Complete Unknown” star Chalamet chatted to “Anora” director Sean Baker in the back rows.
In a typical year, the Academy holds a celebratory, champagne-soaked luncheon for nominees and invites press in early February.
This year, it was scrapped in the wake of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
Instead, a smaller, scaled-back dinner was held at the last minute, with Yang emphasizing “an atmosphere of support for so many amongst us who are recovering from the fires that devastated large swaths of Los Angeles.”
Still, the event allowed nominees the chance to catch up and swap stories at the end of the lengthy campaign trail.
“Well, here we are!” said Mikey Madison, taking a brief break from chatting to Rossellini.
“I’ve never gone before” to the Oscars, she told AFP. “I’m excited. We’ll see what happens”.
Madison is a favorite to win best actress for her role as a sex worker in “Anora,” up against Demi Moore for gory body-horror “The Substance.”
Moore was concerned that she had not brought her dog Pilaf, a minuscule Chihuahua who accompanied her to the Cannes film festival last May.
“They were expecting her, I should have!” she told AFP.
Fiennes, twice an Oscar nominee in the 1990s without winning, praised a “great crop of movies this year.”
His twisty Vatican-set thriller “Conclave” now appears to be locked in a two-horse race for best picture, Hollywood’s ultimate accolade, with “Anora.”
Insisting the dinner was “good fun,” British actor Fiennes admitted he had been flying back and forth across the Atlantic “quite a bit.”
Indeed, other than excitement for Sunday’s gala, a repeated sentiment among the Oscar nominees was relief that soon the campaigning marathon would be over.
“What am I working on next? I’m working on sleeping for a week,” said “Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” director Merlin Crossingham.
AFP
Senate President Godswill Akpabio says lawmakers who reclaimed their electoral mandate through the courts are part of the problem of the upper legislative chamber.
Akpabio spoke on Tuesday while announcing that Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, lawmaker representing Kogi central, would face disciplinary action over her outburst regarding seat reallocation.
The lawmaker had on February 20 disrupted plenary by rejecting her assigned seat, defying Akpabio’s order and repeatedly raising a point of order despite being overruled.
During plenary on February 25, Akpabio described the altercation as stemming from a lack of understanding of senate guidelines and directed the national assembly management to organise periodic orientation for senators.
“I think part of the problem is when people come from court… court-declared senators; they missed the orientation,” the senate president said.
“The management of the national assembly is hereby ordered to organise periodic orientation, particularly for senators who are midstreamers, who came midstream and did not start when their colleagues started.
“I remember that this particular senator (Natasha), on the day she was sworn in, raised her hand to speak. I was scared, but I had to recognise her, because I was saying we just gave her the rule book.
“Part of what we give to you when you are sworn in is the standing order of the senate. I asked if she opened the rule book to know what to say, but she made a contribution on that day. I think two days later she brought a motion.
“There is nothing wrong in being vibrant, but there is a lot wrong when you don’t know anything about the procedure.”
LAWSUIT
Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a N100 billion defamation suit against Akpabio.
In the suit filed at the federal capital territory (FCT) high court, Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that Akpabio and Mfon Patrick, his legislative aide, made defamatory comments against her.
The Kogi lawmaker asked the court to compel the respondents to withdraw the defamatory comments and apologise to her in a national newspaper.
In February 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Abubakar Sadiku-Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the Kogi central senatorial district election.
Not satisfied with the outcome of the polls, Akpoti-Uduaghan filed a petition seeking to nullify the election over “irregularities”.
The national assembly petitions tribunal upheld the prayers of the PDP candidate and nullified Sadiku-Ohere’s election.
The court of appeal in Abuja later affirmed Akpoti-Uduaghan as winner of the election.
In November 2023, she was sworn in as the senator representing Kogi central.
[TheCable]
Communique Issued At The End Of The Monthly General Meeting Of The Afenifere Held At The Country Home Of The Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo At Isanya Ogbo Ogun State On Tuesday 25Th Day Of February 2025
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1. 000 PREAMBLE.
The Afenifere held its regular monthly General Meeting today, the 25thday of February 2025, at the country home of the late Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo at Isanya Ogbo, Ogun State.
The Meeting which was attended by delegates from the six South West states, Kogi, Kwara and the Itsekiri of Delta State Resolved as follows:
2.00 RESOLUTIONS.
2.01 On the Transition of The Afenifere Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo:
2.02 Delegates were formally briefed of the demise of The Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo. The Meeting proudly acknowledged the enviable contributions of our late Leader to nation-building as reflected by the glowing tributes in his memory from all walks of life within Nigeria and the world over.
2.03 Meeting commiserated with the children and the immediate family members of our Leader and applauded them for their untiring courteous engagement of large number of people who daily throng the Lekki Lagos and Isanya-Ogbo Ogun State residence of our great Leader.
3.00 APPOINTMENT OF OBA OLADIPO OLAITAN AS THE NEW LEADER OF AFENIFERE.
3.01 Meeting considered the recommendations of the National Caucus and approved the appointment of Oba Oladipo Olaitan as the new Leader of Afenifere.
3.02 Oba Olaitan was called to the Nigerian Bar as a lawyer in 1971, a Political Adviser to Governor Lateef Jakande and member of the Lagos State Executive Council 1979 – 1983; elected Member House of Representatives and Leader of AD in the House 1999 – 2003. He has been a member of Afenifere for over 45 years serving in various capacities including the National Financial Secretary under the leadership of Chief Reuben Fasoranti and Deputy Leader under Chief Ayo Adebanjo.
3.03 Oba Olaitan will function as the Leader in acting capacity till after the final burial of Papa Ayo Adebanjo when he will assume the office as substantive Leader.
3.04 In his acceptance speech the new Leader committed himself to the ideals of Afenifere as a social political organisation and unrelenting advocate of restructuring and true federalism adding that he would ensure the unity of the organisation.
4.00 ON SECURITY
4.01 Afenifere decried the worsening security situation in the country. Members received reports of a young man, Prince Eniola Ojajuni, the videos of whose ordeal, in the den of kidnappers have been on social media for almost a week.
4.02 The Meeting called on the governments of Ondo and Kogi States around which common boundaries the kidnapping was reported to have taken place and the relevant security agencies to act without further delay and ensure the rescue and safety of the young man.
5.00 ATTENDANCE
5.01 Delegates in attendance include 1. The Leader, Oba Oladipo Olaitan 2. Senator Femi Okunrounmu 3. Senator Gbenga Kaka, former Deputy Governor of Ogun State 4. Pekun Awobona, 5. Chief Tola Mobolurin, 6. Tokunbo Ajasin, 7 Engr. Bayo Adenekan, Hon Leke Mabinuori, Olayemi Olajuyinu; Canon Goke Omigbodun, Olu Pessu, Chief Olusegun Olawoyin
Chief Sola Ebiseni
Secretary General
Justice Faloye
National Publicity Secretary.
Crypto traders are feeling the jitters today.
The widely-watched Crypto Fear and Greed Index, a market indicator that uses social media posts, volatility, trends and prices to gauge trader sentiment, dropped to a five-month low of 25 in its latest update.
That’s a big fall from yesterday’s figure of 49, landing it in the “extreme fear” zone, coming as overall market capitalization fell 10% in the past 24 hours as bitcoin and major tokens such as Solana (SOL) and xrp (XRP) fell more than 14%.
The Fear and Greed Index measures how people feel about crypto on a scale from 0 to 100. A low number, like 25, means fear is taking over, while a high number shows excitement or greed. Tuesday’s drop from 49 to 25 is one of the sharpest since September and indicative of a quick shift toward overly bearish sentiment.
Reasons for the panic range from money flowing out of bitcoin ETFs, with over $1 billion pulled out in the last two weeks, to the general lack of catalysts to sustain a run that started with crypto-friendly Republican Donald Trump’s win in the November elections.
Elsewhere, Nasdaq futures pointed to continued losses in technology stocks ahead on Tuesday, and strength in the Japanese yen is sparking fears of an August-like risk aversion.
There’s hope for bulls, however. Extreme fear can be a sign that investors are too worried, turning into a buying opportunity in the short term as assets are considered oversold. Some traders also say poor U.S. economic data could mean central banks are forced to take steps to recharge the economy — a move that may eventually fuel a rally.
[CoinDesk]
C
Dogecoin, the original meme coin, has seen a sharp decline, falling to $0.225 per coin after a 7% drop in the past 24 hours.
The price dipped as low as $0.2239, nearing its lowest point of 2025. Over the past week, DOGE has lost nearly 18% of its value, making it one of the worst-performing top cryptocurrencies.
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez, who previously predicted a $4 price target for Dogecoin, now warns that the coin could fall further if it loses a key support level.
"Is Dogecoin following PEPE? If so, a breakdown below $0.31 could trigger a correction toward $0.20 for DOGE!" Martinez wrote on X.
He also pointed out that network activity has dropped to its lowest level since October 2024, with only 66 whale transactions and fewer than 60,000 active addresses per day.
Can Dogecoin hold above $0.19?
Despite the recent downturn, Martinez suggests that if Dogecoin maintains a key support level, it could see another rally.
“Dogecoin has been trading inside an ascending channel since 2014. Dogecoin has tended to rebound from this channel's lower support trendline to the resistance trendline. From this level, it tends to drop back to the support trendline and then rebound again, repeating the whole cycle,” he explained.
"Dogecoin recently rebounded from the support trend line. If history repeats as long as Dogecoin holds above 19 cents, it could rally to the resistance trend line at around $4," he added.
Market sentiment turns bearish
Dogecoin was flying high just months ago after billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk reignited interest in the meme coin. In December, DOGE hit a three-year high of $0.48, but it has since fallen significantly.
DOGE remains the eighth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap but has been struggling alongside the broader meme coin market.
Data from CoinGecko shows that nearly every major meme token is in the red. Shiba Inu (SHIB) is down 9% in the last 24 hours, while Pepe (PEPE) and Bonk (BONK) have lost over 14% each.
Adding to the bearish outlook, open interest in Dogecoin has dropped to just $2.16 billion, the lowest level of the year, according to CoinGlass. This suggests traders are losing confidence in the coin's ability to rebound.
Dogecoin remains a significant part of Musk’s influence in the crypto space. The billionaire, who once fueled its rallies with tweets, now runs a U.S. government department called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
[TheStreet]
More...
Will the biggest and best-known crypto assets of today, like Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), continue to hold up against newer players like Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA), or will they go the way of the dodo?
To address this question, let's examine how and why these two coins might flourish during the coming decade and which is more likely to provide a good return for investors.
Bitcoin is about to get a shot in the arm
You're probably already familiar with the investment thesis for Bitcoin: It's a asset with a firm supply cap that's hard for any given set of actors to control or disrupt. There can only ever be 21 million Bitcoins in circulation (about 19.8 million now circulate), which means that it should, in theory, maintain its purchasing power against fiat currencies. Furthermore, because it gets more and more difficult to mine over time, there's a structural basis for rising prices, as any increase in demand will be chasing less and less supply. Notably, its blockchain doesn't need to be upgraded at all for this process to occur.
That thesis calls for the asset to be continually relevant over the long term, even longer than the decade we're thinking about right now. During the last 10 years, Bitcoin's price has risen by a mind-boggling 41,640%, suggesting that there was indeed some real meat on the bone.
The coin could soon be getting a big catalyst, too. People around the globe already hold it, but now many states and countries are buying it to hold as part of their asset mix. In the U.S., there's even a proposal for it to be the biggest holding in a hypothetical national cryptocurrency repository. That would represent perhaps the final frontier of mainstream acceptance and adoption.
But here's the thing. Bitcoin doesn't need to be included on any government's balance sheet for its thesis to keep playing out. That makes it a very compelling asset.
Keeping pace with a glacier is harder than it sounds
Cardano's appeal is very different from Bitcoin's.
Cardano was created to address many of the problems associated with Ethereum, specifically its technical constraints, which kept Ethereum's gas (user) fees high and its transaction times too long. Cardano's solution is a slow development cycle that relies heavily on collaboration, consensus, and peer review to bypass Ethereum's problems and provide a consistent framework for users and developers on the chain to work within.
So Cardano's investment thesis is essentially that its better technical leadership and more careful planning process will let it unseat Ethereum and other blockchains over time by undercutting them and outperforming their ecosystems. If this turns out to be true, a blossoming set of decentralized finance (DeFi) projects on its chain would be a key sign, along with plenty of trading volume. And as the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, it isn't a laggard.
But this is a case where the long-term view does not necessarily favor buying the coin.
After all, technical innovation is not necessary for Bitcoin's thesis to continue working and generating value. For Cardano, winning against other chains over time is the only way forward -- and that's a tall order. The longer you look, the more precarious Cardano's position seems, as it will likely need to fend off more and more contenders for its share of the cryptocurrency sector.
So investors should probably go with Bitcoin if they're interested in buying and holding a coin for the next 10 years. Even if Cardano does well for a while, it's hard to see it outpacing Bitcoin over the long run.
[The Motley Fool ]
Japanese investment firm Metaplanet announced on Tuesday that it has acquired an additional 135 Bitcoin, investing approximately $12.9 million in the top crypto. This latest purchase brings the company's total holdings to 2,235 BTC, a significant increase from 1,761 BTC at the end of 2023 and 141 BTC recorded at the end of June 2024.
The acquisition was made at an average price of 14.3 million yen, or about $95,951 per Bitcoin. Metaplanet has outlined a strategic goal to increase its total Bitcoin holdings to 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025, with a longer-term target of 21,000 BTC by the end of 2026.
This move underscores the firm's commitment to its Bitcoin treasury operations, which it officially designated as a core business line in December 2024.
Despite the positive trajectory of its Bitcoin investments, Metaplanet's stock experienced a decline of 1.3% during midday trading on Tuesday.
However, the company's stock price has seen substantial gains, rising 67.5% since the beginning of 2025 and climbing 233.7% over the past year, according to data from Google Finance.
Metaplanet's ongoing accumulation strategy reflects a growing trend among institutional investors in the cryptocurrency market. As firms increasingly recognize the potential of Bitcoin as a long-term asset, Metaplanet's aggressive purchasing strategy positions it as a notable player in the evolving landscape of digital currencies.
[Coin Market Cap]
Bitcoin tumbled below $90,000 to hit the lowest level since mid-November, as the rally that followed Donald Trump’s election to the White House reverses under the weight of his trade tariffs and a string of industry setbacks.
Bitcoin dropped as much as 7.6% and traded around $89,0420 at 7:51 a.m. New York on Tuesday. Other cryptocurrencies also fell, with Ether, XRP and Solana down sharply for the session. An index tracking top digital tokens was on pace for its largest four-day drop since early August.
The recent turmoil in digital assets is a stark shift from the risk-on rally that drove crypto markets higher following Trump’s election in early November. Bitcoin has tumbled roughly 20% since his January inauguration, as Trump’s combative stance against allies and geopolitical rivals alike shakes investor confidence, and concerns about elevated inflation linger.
“The fall in Bitcoin prices is likely related to broader macro uncertainty that has hit most financial markets in the last couple of days and is linked to the various tariffs being announced by President Trump,” said Adrian Przelozny, chief executive of crypto exchange Independent Reserve.
Tumbling crypto prices mirror a broader retreat from risky assets that gained momentum late last week when a string of disappointing economic reports pushed the Nasdaq 100 to what is now its worst three-day drop in two months. In turn, money has flowed into bond havens, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield down for five straight sessions.
Exchange-traded fund investors, whose hand-over-fist buying helped power the post-election crypto advance, have been stepping back. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (ticker IBIT), the largest spot Bitcoin fund, shed $158 million on Monday in a rare outflow, while investors pulled nearly $250 million from the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund — the third-largest withdrawal among all ETFs. More than $956 million has exited from US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs in February, the worst month on record for the category, Bloomberg Intelligence data show.
In derivatives markets, more than $1.34 billion of bullish crypto positions were liquidated over a 24-hour period, according to data on CoinGlass.
Memecoins, Giant Hack
Sentiment has also soured following a series of recent industry-specific setbacks, including the biggest-ever crypto hack targeting exchange Bybit and a memecoin scandal involving Argentina’s President Javier Milei. That helps explain why digital coins have underperformed other risk assets like technology stocks in recent weeks.
The Bybit hack, in particular, has added to fears about the safety of digital-asset platforms. Hackers which analysts say are linked to North Korea made off with about $1.5 billion of Ether in last week’s attack and have started quickly laundering the haul. Several researchers say the heist revealed a rising level of sophistication among North Korea’s army of hackers.
Memecoins launched by Trump and his wife Melania just before the inauguration have also performed poorly, undermining confidence in his pro-crypto policies. The Trump token has tumbled more than 80% since peaking almost immediately after he launched it, based on CoinGecko data.
“The Bybit hack was the latest in a string of events, such as questionable memecoin launches, that have brought back unhappy memories for crypto market participants,” said Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, a provider of liquidity for crypto derivatives.
[ Bloomberg]
Microsoft has made an undisclosed equity investment in Veeam Software as part of an expanded partnership to build artificial intelligence products, the cloud data company said on Tuesday.
Veeam's software is designed to help customers quickly recover their data after cybersecurity incidents, ransomware attacks or accidental data loss.
Its core product supports immutable backups to prevent ransomware from modifying or deleting data, ensuring that clean copies remain available for recovery even if hackers encrypt files.
Microsoft had invested in cybersecurity firm Rubrik in 2021, which also offers data backup and recovery solutions.
Veeam said it would focus on research and development investments and design collaboration, among others, with the support of Microsoft. It will also integrate Microsoft's AI services into its products.
U.S. private equity firm Insight Partners, which is the largest shareholder in Veeam, sold a $2 billion stake in the company in a secondary sale valuing the firm at $15 billion, it said in December last year.
Veeam was acquired by Insight Partners for about $5 billion in 2020.
Founded in 2006, Veeam has more than 550,000 customers globally including corporations such as Deloitte and Canon, according to its website.
[Reuters]