As I waited with the rest of the world for the first bitcoin ETF to be approved, one thing has been gnawing at me: With a handful of exceptions including Fidelity and VanEck, nearly every applicant for a spot bitcoin ETF intends to use Coinbase as its custodian.David Schwed is chief operating officer of Halborn.As a cybersecurity leader focused on blockchains, this concentration of risk along with the inherently high-risk nature of crypto custodianship and the still-evolving nature of security best practices gives me pause.It’s not Coinbase itself that worries me here. The firm has never been hit by a known hack, which explains why so many traditional institutions trust its know-how. However, there is no such thing as an unhackable target – anything and anyone can be compromised, given enough time and resources, which is a lesson I've learned over a career at the intersection of cybersecurity and asset management.What worries me is the extreme asset concentration in a single custodian. And given the cash-like nature of crypto assets, that makes the situation inherently concerning.See also: Gary Gensler's Bitcoin ETF Clown ShowIt may be time to rethink the “qualified custodian” designation, a regulatory sign-off which in its current form doesn’t necessarily ensure risky blockchain-based assets are necessarily (or best) secured. Further, ideally, digital asset custodians should be subject to more oversight by better-trained regulators, under more rigorous state and federal standards, than they are right now.Most qualified custodians today secure equities, bonds or digitally tracked fiat balances, all of which are fundamentally legal agreements, which can’t simply be “stolen.” But bitcoin [BTC], like cash and gold, is what’s known as a bearer instrument. A successful crypto hack is like a bank robbery in the Wild West, as soon as it’s in the hands of a thief, the money is simply gone.So for a crypto custodian, one mistake is all it takes for the assets to disappear entirely.We also know the forces of global crypto-crime are formidable and determined. To pick just one notorious example, North Korea’s Lazarus Group hacking cohort is believed to have stolen $3 billion worth of crypto over the past six years, and it shows no signs of stopping. Inflows to a bitcoin ETF have been projected at somewhere above $6 billion in the first trading week — making these funds a prime target.If Coinbase winds up with tens of billions in bitcoin sitting in its digital vaults, North Korea can easily organize a $50 million operation to steal those funds, even if it takes multiple years. Threat actors like Russia’s Cozy Bear/APT29 group might also find going after institutional crypto increasingly appealing as those pools get bigger — potentially much, much bigger.This is the level of threat that major banks prepare for. One widespread model of risk management for financial institutions utilizes three layers of oversight. First, the business management layer designs and implements security practices; second, the risk layer oversees and evaluates those practices; and third, the audit layer makes sure that risk mitigation practices are actually effective.On top of that, a legacy financial institution will have external auditors and external IT oversight, as well as numerous state and federal regulators looking over their shoulders. Many, many eyes will examine every aspect of risk and security.But these multiple levels of redundancy and nesting failsafes require one deceptively simple thing: headcount.During my time as global head of digital assets technology at BNY Mellon, the investment bank had roughly 50,000 employees, of whom around 1,000 – or 2% – were in security roles. Coinbase, even after recent expansion, has fewer than 5,000 employees. BitGo, also a qualified custodian certified by the State of New York and other jurisdictions, has only a few hundred.This is not to impugn the intentions or skill of any of these organizations or their employees. But real oversight requires redundancy that these new institutions may struggle to provide at a level appropriate for securing tens of billions of dollars in bearer instruments.See also: Bitcoin ETFs: The Bull CaseBefore those numbers get even bigger (and more enticing for the bad guys), it is well past time to refine the cybersecurity standards for qualified custodian designation. Right now, the designation accompanies trust or banking licensing, overseen by state and federal regulators. These are financial regulators largely focused on traditional banking, not cybersecurity experts, and certainly not crypto experts. They understandably focus on balance sheets, legal processes, and other financial operations.But for crypto custodians, those aren’t the only kinds of oversight that matter, or even necessarily the most important. There are no industry-wide standards for cybersecurity and risk management practices by crypto custodians specifically, meaning that “qualified custodian” status isn’t quite as reassuring as it might sound. That exposes not just investors but an entire nascent sector to opaque risk with potentially dire consequences.The approval of a cast of bitcoin ETFs is just the latest step in the continued integration of digital assets into the financial system. You don’t have to trust crypto partisans on that prediction – just ask Blackrock, a legacy giant that championed the ETF. As these developments continue, regulators truly interested in investor protection will focus on adapting to this new world: one in which rigorous cybersecurity standards are just as important to financial stability as honest disclosures and financial audits.#BTC-ETF. #BTCETFS #BTC

1. Popular Currencies:

TROLL (Token):
TROLL, a meme coin, gained significant attention in April 2023 when Elon Musk playfully changed his profile to Chief Troll Officer. This move generated market hype, causing the coin's price to surge. The 24-hour trading volume reached $24 million, with 7647 transactions and an increased token holder count from 2000 to 8706.
SMILEY (Token):
SMILEY, another meme coin featuring a smiling face, experienced a recent surge without fundamental improvements. The DEX reported a 24-hour trading volume of $16.8 million, including $3.3 million from MEV trading
ZUZALU (Token):
ZUZALU, propelled by a tweet from V God, exhibited a pattern similar to TROLL's price movements. Recently, the coin saw a 40x increase in 24 hours, reaching a new high. The 24-hour DEX trading volume stood at $8.02 million, with 4110 transactions.
ligo (BRC-20 Token):
ligo, a BRC-20 token representing the Bitcoin Layer 2 concept, experienced a sudden surge in popularity with over 12,000 holders and 100% mint out. However, 40% of transactions are still pending confirmation.
USDC (Token):
Circle's stablecoin, USDC, is expected to see a 44% supply drop in 2023, while the number of wallets holding $10 USDC is projected to increase by 59%. Circle's CEO, Jeremy Allaire, expressed optimism about the U.S. passing a stablecoin law.
2. Popular NFT Aspects:

Pudgy Penguins (NFT):
Pudgy Penguins, collaborating with Lao Fuzi to celebrate its 60th anniversary and the Chinese Year of the Dragon, saw its NFT floor price surpassing 14 ETH. The project experienced a 23% one-day and 30% seven-day increase.
3. Popular DApp Aspects:

Jupiter (Dapp):
Jupiter, a Solana Ecosystem Transaction Aggregator, announced the launch of its protocol token JUP on January 31. The team plans to test the new release platform and finalize the Jupiter whitepaper before the launch.
Memecoin/Memeland (Dapp), MEME (Token):
Memecoin/Memeland recently initiated a farming rewards verification activity, requiring users to deposit at least 69 $MEME tokens for real verification. This increased on-chain transfer activity, attracting more community participation.
Orbiter Finance (Dapp):
Orbiter Finance, a cross-chain bridge project, revealed plans to launch its native token in gratitude to its loyal community. The O-Points program will play a crucial role in setting rules for the airdrop.
StarryNift (Dapp):
StarryNift, a co-created metaverse, aims to expand Metaverse Horizons with innovative use cases. The project team announced the token economy in December, with plans to issue coins.
Web3Go (Dapp):
Web3Go, an AI-native digital asset tool and real-time data infrastructure project, closed a $4 million seed round led by Binance Labs. The funds will accelerate the development of its Data Intelligence Network (DIN) project.
QnA3 (Dapp):
QnA3, an AI-based Web3 knowledge-sharing platform on the BNB Chain, allows users to contribute idle computing resources for data mining. Users are rewarded with points for contributing computing power.
4. Twitter Buzz:

Unfortunately, no data is available for this section today.
5. Regional Hot Search:
#MantaNetwork (Token):
Manta Network announced the Into the Blue airdrop available for collection on January 18. The L2beat data showed an 11.21% rise in Manta Pacific TVL, reaching $841 million on the 7th.
Feel free to let me know if you'd like further details or if there's anything else you'd like to add!
#ETH-ETF
#BTC-ETF.