Cryptocurrencies

US Fed 2024 rate cut could prove perfect catalyst for BTC halving

A cut in the U.S. Federal Reserve rate is seen as bullish, as it boosts risk appetite among investors.

Goldman Sachs, the second-largest investment bank in the world, has predicted that the United States Federal Reserve could cut interest rates twice in the next two years, starting as early as the third quarter of 2024.

Interest rates have a strong correlation to investors’ risk appetite. Goldman Sachs predicted the first Fed rate cut by December 2024, but this forecast has been brought forward to Q3 of 2024 due to cooling inflation, Reuters reported on Dec. 11.

The lender expects the two Fed cuts to bring interest rates to 4.875% by the end of 2024, rather than its previous forecast of 5.13%.

Bitcoin price correction hints start of altseason, trader suggests

BTC price momentum started in October and helped the world’s top cryptocurrency make significant strides, gaining nearly $10,000 in the past month.

The Bitcoin (BTC) price recorded a sharp correction on Dec. 11, dipping 7% and wiping out the gains of the past seven days. The strong price correction pushed BTC to a four-month low of $41,329.

A decline in prices of altcoins followed the Bitcoin price correction, many of which recorded double-digit drops. However, market pundits and analysts believe the recent price crash is a part of the ongoing price cycle, and after two months of bullish surge, a correction is no surprise.

Crypto analyst and co-founder of Reflexivity Research Will Clemente said that correction and market volatility shake out weak hands and cool the highly leveraged crypto markets.

KyberSwap exploiter linked to $50M HXA token movement

Blockchain security firm Cyvers said the KyberSwap exploiter’s acquired funds were spread across various externally owned accounts now recognized as the top HXA tokenholders.

Blockchain security firm Cyvers detected a movement of $50 million in HAXcoin (HXA), the native utility token of the Herencia Artifex nonfungible token project, linked to the KyberSwap exploiter.

The KyberSwap exploiter’s address got these tokens from an Ethereum address using the “transfer from function.”

Decentralized application users commonly use the “transfer from” function. It refers to a mechanism by which one party (sender) can transfer or send tokens from the balance of another party (owner) to a third-party address. However, improper use or vulnerabilities in implementing such functions can lead to security concerns.

FTX and Alameda move $23.59M in assets to Binance, Coinbase, OKX

The latest transfer of $23.59 million was spread across 19 tokens, including ETH, ALEPH, CRV, AVAX, LINK, DOGE, MATIC, UNI and SOL.

Over four days, wallets linked to defunct crypto trading firms FTX and Alameda Research moved $23.59 million worth of digital assets to top cryptocurrency exchanges.

Blockchain analytics firm Spot On Chain identified the movement, estimating that the defunct entities have transferred $591 million since Oct. 24 using 59 different cryptocurrency tokens.

The wallets linked to FTX spread the latest transfer of $23.59 million across 19 tokens: 3,150 Ether (ETH) worth $6.8 million, 59.6 million Aleph.im (ALEPH) worth $6.41 million, $2.48 million of Curve DAO (CRV) tokens, $990,000 of Avalanche (AVAX) and $848,000 of Chainlink’s (LINK).

Kyberswap comes to the rescue of hack victims, Platypus hacker walks free: Finance Redefined

The Platypus hacker managed to walk free from a court after claiming to be an ethical hacker despite stealing $8.5 million from the protocol.

Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you the most significant developments from the past week.

Cointelegraph interviewed Velvet Capital’s CEO on the challenges facing DeFi and the key barriers it needs to overcome to go mainstream. Cosmos-based Umee and Osmosis merge to create “DeFi Hub,” where Umee’s UX Chain code will be reimplemented on the Osmosis chain, combining features of the two networks.

The Platypus hacker has managed to evade accountability for the $8.5 million exploit on the protocol after claiming to be an ethical hacker. The court allowed the exploiter to walk free.

Developers of Bitcoin sidechain MVC prepare for BRC-20 DEX launch

The MVC governance token has surged in 2023 to a fully diluted market cap of over $400 million.

Developers of Bitcoin side-chain MicroVisionChain (MVC) have unveiled a BRC-20 decentralized exchange (DEX) as part of its roadmap for Q1 2024.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, MVC chief operating officer Jason Kwok claims to have developed a “1:1 mapping relationship” with Bitcoin on its sidechain. “This essentially creates a parallel version of your Bitcoin assets, such as BRC-20, on MVC,” said Kwok, explaining that the bridge allows users to swap BRC-20 token assets on the MVC sidechain, thus bypassing the high transaction and gas fees required to deploy decentralized applications (DApps) on the Bitcoin mainnet.

In keeping with the spirit of Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, Kwok explains that MVC has no particular founders or corporate headquarters. Instead, the sidechain is a “collaborative endeavor” involving many development teams that form the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Can cryptocurrencies be frozen on a blockchain?

Cryptocurrencies can be frozen on a blockchain under certain legal, regulatory and technical conditions.

Frozen funds typically mean access to such funds has been restricted or temporarily halted.

Several factors, such as technological errors, security precautions, disagreements, investigations and regulatory compliance, can lead to such circumstances. So, can a crypto exchange freeze your account?

SEC discussing ‘key technical details’ with spot crypto ETF applicants: Report

In November, the commission separately met with representatives of BlackRock and Grayscale to discuss their spot crypto exchange-traded funds.

Officials with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission are reportedly discussing aspects of Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, proposed by asset managers.

According to a Dec. 7 Reuters report, industry insiders said the SEC and certain asset managers were discussing “key technical details” related to U.S. exchanges listing shares of a spot Bitcoin ETF. To date, the commission has never given the green light to any spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded product, instead postponing decisions on applications for the maximum allowable time.

Memos released by the SEC in November showed the commission separately met with representatives of BlackRock and Grayscale. Both asset managers and Hashdex, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck and Fidelity have filed for spot BTC or Ether (ETH) ETF listings.

Jack Dorsey's Block Inc. launches self-custody Bitcoin wallet

Users who lose their Bitkey wallet don’t need to input a seed phrase to recover funds, the company said.

Financial payment processor Block, co-founded by Jack Dorsey, has launched its self-custody Bitcoin (BTC) wallet.

Dubbed “Bitkey,” developers said during the Dec. 7 announcement that the wallet, available as a mobile app or hardware storage, will be accessible in over 95 countries. Bitkey will feature a two-of-three multi-signature wallet consisting of a mobile key, a hardware key, and a server key, with a secure hardware device alongside recovery tools in the event of loss. It will require both the user’s fingerprint and phone to approve transactions. The first global partners for Bitkey include Coinbase and Cash App.

“Bitkey uses three keys to secure Bitcoin, and any two keys working together are needed to move Bitcoin or approve other security-related actions like initiating recovery or modifying security settings,” Block stated. “Because Bitkey only has access to one, not two or three keys in this 2-of-3 multi-signature wallet, Bitkey cannot access or move a customer’s bitcoin without them.”

Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc. launches self-custody Bitcoin wallet

Users who lose their Bitkey wallet don’t need to input a seed phrase to recover funds, the company said.

Financial payment processor Block, co-founded by Jack Dorsey, has launched its self-custody Bitcoin (BTC) wallet.

Dubbed “Bitkey,” developers said during the Dec. 7 announcement that the wallet, available as a mobile app or hardware storage, will be accessible in over 95 countries. Bitkey will feature a two-of-three multi-signature wallet consisting of a mobile key, a hardware key and a server key, with a secure hardware device alongside recovery tools in the event of loss. It will require both the user’s fingerprint and phone to approve transactions. The first global partners for Bitkey include Coinbase and Cash App.