Bitcoin ‘weak’ if sold, Saylor says: Plus — HashKey raises $30m, Pump.fun launches app | Weekly Recap

Today’s edition of the weekly recap spotlights recent comments from Bitcoin investor Michael Saylor, in addition to the latest venture capital activity in the crypto sector.

Strategy expands Bitcoin holdings

• The company formerly known as MicroStrategy acquired 7,633 BTC for $742.4 million at an average price of $97,255 per Bitcoin (BTC) during the week ending February 9.
• The acquisition brings Strategy’s total holdings to 478,740 BTC.
• On Saturday, Feb. 15, Strategy founder Michael Saylor told his over $4 million followers: “When you buy Bitcoin, you strengthen the network. When you sell Bitcoin, you weaken it.”
• Singapore-based entrepreneur Julian Hosp clapped back: “This is literally the textbook definition of a Ponzi scheme. Reminds me of that scene in The Big Short: ‘Why are they confessing?’ ‘They’re not confessing… they’re bragging.'”
• At last check Sunday, Bitcoin was down 0.8%.

• Milei faces backlash over LIBRA token crash

  • President Javier Milei’s endorsement of $LIBRA, a meme coin aimed at supporting Argentine small businesses, helped drive the project to $4.4 billion market capitalization before a 95% collapse.
  • Eight wallets connected to the LIBRA team withdrew $107 million shortly after the peak, according to Lookonchain analysis.
  • Milei subsequently deleted his endorsement and denied any connection to the project, condemning “filthy rats of the political caste” attempting to exploit the situation.

  Crypto VC funding shows strength in February

  • HashKey Group secured $30 million at a $1.50 billion valuation, leading a week that saw total funding exceed $150 million.
  • Payment solutions and infrastructure projects dominated the investment sector during the second week of February.

  • NFT market records volume decline

    • NFT sales volume dropped 35.15% to $112.7 million, according to CryptoSlam data, with notable changes across leading collections.
    • Major collections, including Pudgy Penguins and Azuki, experienced sales drops of 55.29% and 79.17%, respectively.

    Pump.fun launches mobile app amid legal challenges

    • The meme coin generator expanded its platform accessibility by releasing iOS and Android applications, offering features similar to its web interface, including free Solana-based token creation and trading capabilities.
    • The mobile launch comes shortly after the platform faced a proposed class-action lawsuit over alleged U.S. securities law violations.

    Tether invests in Juventus soccer club

    • Tether Investments acquired a minority stake in Italian Serie A team Juventus, though financial details remain undisclosed.
    • The investment aims to create new connections between sports and digital assets.

    Ethereum developers debate network upgrade approach

    • Ethereum ETH-1.62%Ethereum core developers face critical disagreements over the implementation of EVM Object Format (EOF).
    • The proposed EOF system would perform safety checks on EVM bytecode before execution rather than during.