Curated news from this week in crypto includes bitcoin's 7-year inflows record and Sam Bankman-Fried's attorney's assertion that he needs $450 million in Robinhood shares to pay his legal fees.

Bitcoin breaks a 7-year record for inflows. All this means is that investors are not ready to put their money into the hat just yet. The market is waiting to see what happens with the Sam Bankman-Fried trial and, of course, the Ripple case, which is drawing to a close very soon. There are 73 percent fewer bitcoin millionaires than a year ago. Nevertheless, there are more whole coiners than ever. See what the market has wrought? Where is bitcoin mining headed next? This week, bitcoin celebrated its 14th birthday.

Ethereum validators will be able to withdraw ETH beginning in March.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) lawyers argue SBF needs $450 million in Robinhood shares to pay his legal fees. I’m sure he does. He’s pleading not guilty. That means there is going to be a long drawn out court case and plenty of opportunity for his lawyers to rack up the charges. The trial date is set for October 2. SBF’s attorney, Mark Cohen, specializes in white collar defense. You can bet he’ll put together a strong legal team that uses every possible legal tactic, administrative as well as litigative, in order to secure a win for his client. And since this is a criminal trial, not a civil trial, all Cohen and his team must do to secure a victory for SBF is plant a seed of doubt that his client is guilty. The biggest hurdle is that SBF is facing eight charges, so there needs to be eight seeds of doubt. Still, the stakes are high so you can bet the bill will be high, and Cohen will likely win his argument for SBF on the $450 million because to deny access to that money could be perceived as a violation of due process.

Coinbase settles with New York State Department on Financial Services for $100 million. This is the path of least resistance for Coinbase.

XRP holders will receive FLR tokens today. XRP sentiment is high despite its ongoing case with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). I’d say holding XRP right now has way more upside than downside.

Crypto.com has been accused of misleading advertising practices in the UK. The UK is much more strict on advertising standards than the U.S. is.

Huobi lays off 20 percent of work force. SuperRare is ditching 30 percent.

It’s official: The U.S. Department of Justice, SEC are investigating Digital Currency Group. You knew it was going to happen.

Solana daily active wallets are 3 times higher than pre-FTX collapse levels. This signals a nice bounce back for Solana and is a good omen going into 2023.

3 worst case crypto scenarios for 2023. Of course, things can get worse. That doesn’t mean they will. Things can also get better. That doesn’t mean they will.

Wyre imposes 90 percent withdrawal limit on customer accounts. Imagine your bank or investment custodian telling you that you can’t withdraw all of your money from youraccount. This is the environment crypto fans are facing. Virtually every centralized crypto exchange, lender, moneymaker, etc. is imposing these limitations, which is why you shouldn’t hold your crypto on third-party platforms. Repeat after me: Not your keys, not your crypto. All together now: Not your keys, not your crypto.

NFT sales are up 26 percent in first week of 2023. OpenSea daily volume plunges 99 percent from peak. Have a Sangria. You’ll feel better.

Chainlink enters the new year with new partnerships.

Mastercard launches Web3 accelerator for musicians using Polygon. The transition to Web3 is picking up speed.

10 Funko NFT collectibles.

Thailand’s SEC launches a crypto academy. This is a brilliant move as it shows that the regulatory agency is serious about protecting consumers through a knowledge campaign rather than more heavy-handed approaches.

What is Sango Coin is why does a country where bitcoin is legal tender need it?

Snark and commentary are in italics. Inclusion of an item doesn’t mean I agree or endorse the ideas presented. Of course, it also doesn’t mean I don’t.

Cryptocracy is a decentralized newsletter published several times a week. I curate the latest news and crypto analysis from some of the brightest minds in crypto, and sometimes offer a little insightful and snarky commentary. Always fresh, always interesting, and always crypto. Original articles on Fridays.

First published at Cryptocracy. Not to be construed as financial advice. Do your own research.

Image credit: CoinJournal