Hodler’s Digest

BlackRock updates its Bitcoin ETF application to enable banks, demand for El Salvador’s crypto-linked citizenship, and Sam Bankman-Fried’s attorney interview.

BlackRock has revised its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) application to make it easier for Wall Street banks to participate by creating new shares in the fund with cash rather than just crypto. The new in-kind redemption prepay model will allow banking giants such as JPMorgan or Goldman Sachs to act as authorized participants for the fund, letting them circumvent restrictions that prevent them from holding Bitcoin or crypto directly on their balance sheets.

El Salvadors National Bitcoin Office says its $1 million Freedom Visa program has already received hundreds of inquiries since its launch on Dec. 7 and expects it to sell out before the end of 2023. Launched by the local government in partnership with stablecoin issuer Tether, the Freedom Visa is a citizenship-by-donation program that grants a residency visa and pathway to citizenship for 1,000 people willing to make a $1 million Bitcoin or Tether donation to the country. The program is limited to 1,000 slots per calendar year.

The lawyer responsible for Sam SBF Bankman-Frieds criminal trial defense has admitted that the case was almost impossible to win from the outset. During an interview, Stanford Law School professor David Mills said he recommended the legal defense of SBF admit to the allegations of witnesses and state prosecution and convince the jury that Bankman-Fried intended to save the company. Mills also disclosed that he had agreed to lend his expertise to Bankman-Frieds defense at the behest of the FTX CEOs parents, and described Bankman-Fried as the worst person Ive ever seen do a cross-examination.

Read more

Binance’s CZ will have to wait for his sentencing in the United States, the U.S. Congress passed a bill supporting blockchain, and Elon Musk’s xAI seeks $1 billion in capital.

Binance founder Changpeng CZ Zhao has been ordered to stay in the United States until his sentencing in February, with a federal judge determining theres too much of a flight risk if the former crypto exchange CEO is allowed to return to the United Arab Emirates. On Dec. 7, Seattle District Court Judge Richard Jones ordered Zhao to stay in the U.S. until his Feb. 23, 2024 sentencing date. He faces up to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to money laundering on Nov. 21 and has agreed not to appeal any potential sentence up to that length.

A United States Congress committee has unanimously passed a pro-blockchain bill, which would task the U.S. commerce secretary with promoting blockchain deployment and thus potentially increase the country’s use of blockchain technology. The act covers an array of actions the commerce secretary must take if passed, including making best practices, policies and recommendations for the public and private sector when using blockchain tech. The bill will now go to the House for a vote. If passed, it must also pass in the Senate before returning for final congressional and presidential approval.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its decision on whether to approve or reject a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) offering from asset manager Grayscale. In a notice, the SEC said it would designate a longer period for considering a proposed rule change that would allow NYSE Arca to list and trade shares of the Grayscale Ethereum Trust. Grayscale first filed with the SEC to convert shares of its Grayscale Ethereum Trust into a spot Ether ETF in October, adding its name to the list of companies awaiting a decision from the regulator.

Read more

Bitcoin ETF race has a new entrant, Binance is ending support for the BUSD stablecoin, and ChatGPT’s first year in review.

Top Stories This Week

Bitcoin ETF race gets 13th entrant, BlackRock revises ETF model

Asset manager Pando Asset has become an unexpected late entrant into the spot Bitcoin ETF race in the United States. On Nov. 29, Pando submitted a Form S-1 used to register securities with the agency to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the Pando Asset Spot Bitcoin Trust. Like other ETF bids, the trust aims to track Bitcoins price with the custody arm of the crypto exchange Coinbase to hold Bitcoin on behalf of the trust. Pando is the 13th applicant for an approved spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. and joins the race with a dozen others, including BlackRock, ARK Invest and Grayscale.

Binance will end support for BUSD stablecoin in December

Crypto exchange Binance is winding down the services for its native stablecoin, Binance USD (BUSD). According to an announcement, the exchange will cease support for all BUSD products following Paxos halting the minting of new coins. Binance said users should withdraw or convert their existing BUSD into other assets before Dec. 15, prior to it beginning the process of disabling withdrawals for BUSD on Dec. 31. At that point, existing balances will automatically be converted into First Digital USD for certain users.

CME Bitcoin futures show investors betting on $40K BTC price

The demand of institutional investors for Bitcoin (BTC) became evident on Nov. 10 as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Bitcoin futures flipped Binances BTC futures markets in terms of size. According to BTC derivatives metrics, those investors are showing strong confidence in Bitcoins potential to break above the $40,000 mark in the short term. CMEs current Bitcoin futures open interest stands at $4.35 billion, the highest since November 2021, when Bitcoin hit its all-time high of $69,000 a clear indication of heightened interest. The impressive 125% surge in CMEs BTC futures open interest from $1.93 billion in mid-October is undoubtedly tied to the anticipation of the approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

ChatGPTs first year marked by existential fear, lawsuits and boardroom drama

With ChatGPT, OpenAI has developed the most popular artificial intelligence tool in the world. It was launched a year ago, on Nov. 30, 2022, and catapulted to 100 million monthly users within its first three months. In just 12 months, ChatGPTs existence has contributed to narratives surrounding the extinction of humankind, accusations that OpenAI built it by allegedly committing mass-scale copyright infringement, and a tumultuous CEO firing and rehiring that pundits are still trying to understand.

FTX and Alameda Research cash out $10.8M to Binance, Coinbase, Wintermut

Wallets linked to defunct crypto trading firms FTX and Alameda Research moved $10.8 million to accounts in Binance, Coinbase and Wintermute using eight cryptocurrencies. Blockchain analysis firm Spot On Chain spotted the movement, estimating that the defunct entities have transferred $551 million since Oct. 24 using 59 different cryptocurrency tokens. The funds movement dates back to March, when FTX and Alameda began the process of recovering assets for investors.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $38,673, Ether (ETH) at $2,084 and XRP at $0.61. The total market cap is at $1.45 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are TerraClassicUSD (USTC) at 294.40%, Terra Classic (LUNC) at 85.78% and IOTA (IOTA) at 31.53%. 

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Blur (BLUR) at 21.87%, dYdX (ethDYDX) at 13.90% and Gas (GAS) at 10.06%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraphs market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

I think [Binances settlement with the SEC is] a net positive for their company. I think its a net positive for our industry.

Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital

Obviously, the treatment of CZ and Binance is absurd and only highlights the arbitrary nature of punishment at the hands of the state.

Arthur Hayes, entrepreneur and former CEO of BitMEX

Let us not forget that innovation versus regulation is a false dichotomy that has for years been peddled by tech companies to evade meaningful accountability and binding regulation.

Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International

AI is […] a new type of mind that is rapidly gaining in intelligence, and it stands a serious chance of overtaking humans mental faculties and becoming the new apex species on the planet.

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum

Dont be a loser. Get out of FAKE money system. Get into gold, silver, Bitcoin now. Before its too late.

Robert Kiyosaki, author and entrepreneur

[Blast] crossed lines in both messaging and execution.

Dan Robinson, head of research at Paradigm

Prediction of the week

Bitcoin ETF will drive 165% BTC price gain in 2024 Standard Chartered

Bitcoin is in line to trade at six figures by the end of 2024, the latest forecast from Standard Chartered concludes. Thanks to the United States potentially approving Bitcoin spot price ETFs, BTC/USD has the ability to almost treble from its current $37,700 over the coming 12 months.

We now expect more price upside to materialize before the halving than we previously did, specifically via the earlier-than-expected introduction of US spot ETFs, Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartereds head of EM FX research, west and crypto research wrote. This suggests a risk that the USD 100,000 level could be reached before end-2024.

The figure continues the consumer banking giants already optimistic vision of how Bitcoin will grow in the coming years. In July, research eyed the declining availability of the BTC supply as a reason to believe that much higher prices were in store.

FUD of the Week

Crypto thieves steal $363M in Nov, the most damaging month this year

The cryptocurrency industry has now seen its most damaging month for crypto thievery, scams and exploits in 2023, with crypto criminals walking away with $363 million in November, according to blockchain security firm CertiK. Around $316.4 million came from exploits alone, flash loans inflicted $45.5 million in damage, and $1.1 million was lost to various exit scams. 

Bankless controversy forces founders to burn tokens and separate from DAO

Amid the ongoing controversy around cryptocurrency media firm Bankless and the associated decentralized autonomous organization, BanklessDAO, the founders of Bankless have suggested separating the brand from the DAO. Bankless co-founders David Hoffman and Ryan Sean Adams plan to submit a governance proposal to BanklessDAO to separate the two entities. Hoffman and Adams decision to separate Bankless from BanklessDAO came in response to community criticism of BanklessDAOs application for a grant from Arbitrum.

KyberSwap hacker demands complete control over Kyber company

The hacker behind the $46-million KyberSwap exploit has finally released their conditions for the return of the stolen funds, which include complete executive control over the Kyber Network company. On Nov. 30, the KyberSwap hacker sent an on-chain message addressing all relevant and interested parties. The hacker laid out demands, including control over the company, temporary full authority and ownership of its governance mechanism, the KyberDAO, all documents related to the company, and all of the Kyber Network companys assets.

Top Magazine Pieces of the Week

Outrage that ChatGPT wont say slurs, Q* breaks encryption, 99% fake web: AI Eye

A blizzard of AI bullsh*t is taking over the web from the torrent of human outrage that currently lives there.

Real AI use cases in crypto, No. 3: Smart contract audits & cybersecurity

Experts believe AI will become an invaluable tool for smart contract auditing and cybersecurity but its not there yet.

Pudgy Penguins CEO says praise he gets is actually pretty sad: NFT Creator

You can’t really be an angry, miserable person and then go click buy on a Pudgy Penguin.

BlackRock meets with SEC over Bitcoin ETF, Binance’s new era begins after settlement in the United States and Sam Bankman-Fried loses release bid.

Top Stories This Week

US officials announce $4.3B settlement with Binance, plea deal with CZ

Binance and its co-founder, Changpeng CZ Zhao, have reached a settlement over criminal and civil cases with the United States Department of Justice. CZ will plead guilty to one felony charge as part of the negotiated agreement. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the settlement, claiming Binances policies allowed criminals involved in illicit activities to move stolen funds through the exchange. As part of the settlement, CZ announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he had stepped down as CEO and that Binances global head of regional markets, Richard Teng, will assume the position. He added he was proud to point out that U.S. officials didnt allege that Binance misappropriated funds or manipulated markets. CZ was released on bail and is battling government efforts to bar his return to the United Arab Emirates to be with his family. His sentencing is scheduled for February.

BlackRock met with SEC officials to discuss spot Bitcoin ETF

Representatives from BlackRock and Nasdaq met with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss the proposed rule allowing the listing of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). BlackRock provided a presentation detailing how the firm could use an in-kind or in-cash redemption model for its iShares Bitcoin Trust. Many reports have suggested the SEC could be nearing a decision on a spot BTC ETF for listing on U.S. markets. SEC officials also met with Grayscale representatives this week to discuss the listing of a Bitcoin ETF. BlackRock is one of many firms with spot crypto ETF applications in the SEC pipeline awaiting a response, including Fidelity, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, VanEck and Bitwise.

Bitcoin user pays $3.1M transaction fee for 139 BTC transfer

A Bitcoin user paid $3.1 million in fees for transferring 139.42 BTC. The transaction fee is the eighth-highest in Bitcoins 14-year history. A wallet address tried transferring 139.42 BTC only to pay more than half the actual value of the transaction fee. The destination address received only 55.77 BTC. The mining pool Antpool captured the absurdly high mining fee on block 818087. This is the largest Bitcoin transaction fee ever paid in dollar terms, knocking off Paxos’s September transfer of $500,000.

SEC sues Kraken alleging its an unregistered exchange, mixes user funds

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sued Kraken, alleging it commingled customer funds and failed to register with the regulator as a securities exchange, broker, dealer and clearing agency. Additionally, the SEC alleged Krakens business practices and deficient internal controls saw the exchange commingle up to $33 billion worth of customer assets with its own. The SEC said this resulted in a significant risk of loss for its clients. In a follow-up blog post, Kraken said the SECs commingling accusations were no more than Kraken spending fees it has already earned, and the regulator doesnt allege any user funds are missing.

Appeals court rejects Sam Bankman-Frieds bid for release

Sam Bankman-Fried will stay jailed after failing to convince a United States appellate court that he should be freed while his legal team appeals his conviction. Government prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried of leaking Caroline Ellisons journals to The New York Times in July, which caused his bail to be revoked by a New York District Court. Bankman-Fried was found guilty of seven fraud and money laundering-related charges on Nov. 2. The former FTX CEO will remain behind bars while he awaits his sentencing on March 28 next year.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $37,710, Ether (ETH) is at $2,079, and XRP is at $0.62. The total market cap is at $1.43 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Blur (BLUR) at 99.25%, FTX Token (FTT) at 39.05% and KuCoin Token (KCS) at 24.82%. 

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Celestia (TIA) at -19.89%, ORDI (ORDI) at -17.63% and THORChain (RUNE) at -15.53%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraphs market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

The U.S. has a financial regime that basically has been weaponized.

Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano

I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility.

Changpeng CZ Zhao, former CEO of Binance

We, the employees of OpenAI, have developed the best models and pushed the field to new frontiers, [but] the process through which you terminated Sam Altman […] has jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and company.

OpenAI employees

Get your crypto company out of the U.S. warzone.

Jesse Powell, co-founder of Kraken

The regulatory uncertainty that permeates the U.S. market is having an impact on the rest of the world.

Oliver Linch, CEO of Bittrex Global

Im looking forward to returning to OpenAI and building on our strong partnership with Microsoft.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI

Prediction of the week

Enjoy sub-$40K Bitcoin PlanB stresses $100K average BTC price from 2024

Bitcoin buyers should enjoy the chance to add to their stack below $40,000, according to PlanB, pseudonymous creator of the stock-to-flow family of BTC price models. He believes Bitcoin will rise much higher than its recent 18-month highs.

Bitcoin bear market bottoms are characterized by the spot price dipping below the realized price, while bull markets begin once the spot crosses the two-year and five-month realized price levels. BTC/USD is now once again above all three realized price iterations.

Enjoy sub-$40k bitcoin … while it lasts, PlanB commented on an accompanying chart.

Asked whether the market should expect lower levels from here, PlanB would not be drawn, saying that he simply expected an average BTC price of at least $100,000 between 2024 and 2028 Bitcoins next halving cycle.

FUD of the Week

HTX to restore services within 24 hours after $30M hack

Crypto exchange HTX, formerly known as Huobi Global, resumed deposits and withdrawals within 24 hours after suffering a $30 million exploit on Nov. 22. The exploit was reported to be $13.6 million around the time of the incident, but has since increased in value. HTX’s hot wallets were compromised alongside a coordinated $86.6 million attack against the HTX Eco (HECO) Chain bridge, consisting of HTX, Tron and BitTorrent. The company has promised to fully compensate users for any losses incurred as a consequence of the hack.

CZ an unacceptable risk of flight, should stay in US: DOJ

United States prosecutors are trying to stop former Binance boss Changpeng CZ Zhao from leaving the country, expressing concern about his potential flight risk. The government requested a review and overturn of a judges decision that would allow Zhao to return to his home in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a $175 million bond under the condition that he returns to the U.S. two weeks before his February 2024 sentencing. In a proposed order, prosecutors wrote that Zhao presents an unacceptable risk of flight, arguing that his ties and favored status in the UAE, along with the countrys lack of an extradition treaty with the U.S., are reasons to block him from leaving the country.

KyberSwap hacker offers $4.6M bounty for return of $46M loot

The decentralized exchange KyberSwap has offered a 10% bounty reward to the hacker who stole $46 million on Nov. 22 and left a note of negotiation. The exchange wants 90% of the loot returned. The hacker made away with roughly $20 million in Wrapped Ether, $7 million in wrapped Lido-staked Ether and $4 million in Arbitrum tokens. The hacker then siphoned the loot across multiple chains, including Arbitrum, Optimism, Ethereum, Polygon and Base.

Top Magazine Pieces of the Week

This is your brain on crypto: Substance abuse grows among crypto traders

According to some addiction experts, the high-stress atmosphere of cryptocurrency trading can provide a perfect environment for substance abuse.

Michael Saylors a fan, but Frisby says bull run needs a new guru: X Hall of Flame

Bitcoin enthusiast Dominic Frisby has a wild journey, from penning one of the first-ever Bitcoin books to plastering Bitcoin fixes this on the Bank of England.

6 Questions for Alex O’Donnell about financial journalism and the future of DeFi

Alex ODonnell spoke to Cointelegraph Magazine about his career as a financial journalist and how it led to his involvement in crypto and Umami DAO.

Sam Altman is ousted from OpenAI, BlackRock and Fidelity seek Ether ETF approval and Australia to tax gains from wrapped tokens.

Top Stories This Week

Sam Altman ousted from OpenAI, CTO Mira Murati named interim CEO

ChatGPT developer OpenAI removed founder Sam Altman from his CEO position on Nov. 17. Chief technology officer Mira Murati is now serving as interim CEO. According to a blog post, the board of directors engaged in a deliberative review process, which resulted in the conclusion that Altman was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. Shortly after, OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman revealed his exit from the organization.

BlackRock files S-1 form for spot Ether ETF with SEC

The worlds largest asset manager, BlackRock, officially filed for a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Nov. 15. The ETF, dubbed the iShares Ethereum Trust, aims to reflect generally the performance of the price of Ether, according to the S-1 filed with the SEC. The iShares brand is associated with BlackRock’s ETF products. The move by BlackRock comes nearly a week after it registered the iShares Ethereum Trust with Delawares Division of Corporations and almost six months after it filed its spot Bitcoin ETF application. Following BlackRocks filing, asset manager Fidelity also sought a green light for its own Ether ETF.

Australia to impose capital gains tax on wrapped cryptocurrency tokens

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has issued guidance on capital gains tax (CGT) treatment with regard to decentralized finance and wrapping crypto tokens for individuals, confirming that Australians are liable for capital gains taxes when wrapping and unwrapping tokens. The transfer of crypto assets to an address that the sender does not control or that already holds a balance will be regarded as a taxable CGT event, the ATO said in its statement. The CGT event will trigger depending on whether the individual recorded a capital gain or loss. A similar approach has been considered for taxing liquidity pool users, providers and DeFi interest and rewards. In addition, wrapping and unwrapping tokens will also be subject to triggering a CGT event.

FTX Foundation staffer fights for $275K bonus promised by SBF

An employee of FTXs charity wing recruited by Sam Bankman-Fried is trying to get paid $275,000, the remainder of his claimed 2022 salary bonus. Ross Rheingans-Yoos lawyers argued in a court filing that only $375,000 of his $650,000 bonus was paid by FTX. They claim the remaining funds were owed when the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. The fate of Rheingans-Yoos bonus will be determined by a Delaware bankruptcy judge who is overseeing FTXs Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

WisdomTree amends S-1 form spot Bitcoin ETF filing as crypto awaits SEC decisions

WisdomTree filed an amended Form S-1 spot Bitcoin ETF prospectus with the U.S. SEC on Nov. 16. The update comes a few months after WisdomTree refiled its spot Bitcoin ETF application in June 2023, proposing a rule change to list and trade shares of the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust. The amended prospectus mentions that the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust ETF will trade under ticker symbol BTCW, with Coinbase Custody Trust serving as the custodian holding all of the trusts Bitcoin on its behalf.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $36,419, Ether (ETH) at $1,946 and XRP at $0.61. The total market cap is at $1.38 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Celestia (TIA) at 103.39%, yearn.finance (YFI) at 88.04% and THORChain (RUNE) at 54.38% . 

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Gas (GAS) at -64.85%, FTX Token (FTT) at -35.17% and Neo (NEO) at -20.27%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraphs market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

Education and utility-based projects where there is real utility for usage is how we can get regulators onboard.

Navin Gupta, managing director of South Asia, Middle East and North Africa at Ripple

We believe derivatives will foster additional liquidity and hedging opportunities in crypto and represent the next critical step in this markets continued growth.

John Palmer, president of Cboe Digital

I am very bullish about a whole bunch of different things going on in crypto. […] It will be a multichain world.

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple

Phone and the internet arent to be blamed for terror financing and crypto shouldnt either.

French Hill, United States Representative

I believe that code is a form of speech and is protected by the First Amendment.

Vivek Ramaswamy, entrepreneur and U.S. presidential candidate

The digital euro would also mean that each and every one of us could be totally monitored. […] Anyone who is against surveillance and for freedom does not need a digital euro!

Joana Cotar, member of the German Bundestag

Prediction of the week

Bitcoin traders BTC price dip targets now include $30.9K bottom

Bitcoin circled $36,000 on Nov. 16 as analysis hoped for a deeper price comedown. Having failed to establish a breakout beyond 18-month highs during the week, Bitcoin was uninspiring for market participants, some of whom hoped to see a fresh correction to retest lower levels.

Would be happy to see this latest rally complete the round trip back to $35k. Would be even happier to see a retest of $33k, monitoring resource Material Indicators wrote in part of the days commentary on X (formerly Twitter).

A snapshot of BTC/USDT order book liquidity showed support building at $35,000. Material Indicators co-founder Keith Alan added that Bitcoins rising 21-day simple moving average had been functioning as support in recent days.

BTC continues to fight for the range above $36.5k, he commented.

Popular pseudonymous trader Daan Crypto Trades likewise flagged $35,700 and $38,000 as the main downside and upside levels to watch, respectively. Fellow pseudonymous trader Gaah, a contributor to on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, meanwhile warned that a steeper correction could take the market closer to $30,000.

FUD of the Week

Cybersecurity team claims up to $2.1B in crypto stored in old wallets is at risk

Cybersecurity company Unciphered disclosed a vulnerability dubbed Randstorm, which it said affects millions of crypto wallets that were generated using web browsers from 2011 to 2015. According to the firm, while working to retrieve a Bitcoin wallet, it discovered a potential issue for wallets generated by BitcoinJS and derivative projects. The issue could affect millions of wallets and around $2.1 billion in crypto assets, according to the cybersecurity company.

Swan Bitcoin to terminate customer accounts that use crypto-mixing services

Bitcoin services platform Swan Bitcoin warned its customers that it would be forced to terminate accounts found interacting with crypto-mixing due to the regulatory obligations of its partner banks. Customers learned about the new policy in a letter suggesting the changes are due to the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Networks proposed rule establishing new responsibilities on firms processing transactions from mixing services.

ENS developers urge Unstoppable Domains to drop patents or face lawsuit

The founder and lead developer of Ethereum Name Service (ENS), Nick Johnson, is urging blockchain domains company Unstoppable Domains to drop a recently awarded patent or face a lawsuit, according to an open letter shared on X (formerly Twitter). According to Johnson, Unstoppable’s recently awarded patent is based entirely on innovations that ENS developed and contains no novel innovations of its own. Unstoppable Domains’ founder Matthew Gould responded in the thread, claiming that there are multiple naming systems.

Top Magazine Pieces of the Week

I spent a week working in VR. It was mostly terrible, however

Cointelegraph Magazine journalist Felix Ng spent a week working in virtual reality. It was mostly terrible… but does have some potential.

Breaking into Liberland: Dodging guards with inner-tubes, decoys and diplomats

Bitcoin is really one of the most foundational parts of Liberland 99% of our reserves are in BTC.

No civil protection for crypto in China, $300K to list coins in Hong Kong? Asia Express

Hong Kong exchanges expand amidst continued investor interest, Philippines to issue $180M in tokenized bonds, China rules out civil protection for crypto, and more!

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange surpasses Binance by one metric, OneCoin legal officer pleads guilty, Bitcoin’s cycle high could be $110K.

Top Stories This Week

CME overtakes Binance to grab largest share of Bitcoin futures open interest

Bitcoins futures market is showing an interesting shift as global derivatives marketplace the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has surpassed Binance in terms of Bitcoin futures open interest. This change occurred after Bitcoin exceeded the $37,000 mark for the first time in over 18 months.

However, James Seyffart, a research analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence specializing in exchange-traded funds, questioned whether the increasing open interest in Bitcoin futures on CME would address historical concerns of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the depth of Bitcoin markets and the potential for market manipulation.

Okay this is interesting… Does this constitute a ‘market of significant size’ now? Seyffart stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Cryptoqueens OneCoin legal chief pleads guilty to fraud

The former head of legal and compliance at OneCoin is looking at a potential 10-year prison term for her involvement in the $4 billion cryptocurrency trading scheme. In Manhattan federal court, the ex-compliance chief of OneCoin, Irinia Dilkinska, pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos accepted Dilkinska’s guilty plea. She admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. 

Dilkinska is scheduled for sentencing on February 14, 2024, facing a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for her role in the OneCoin scheme.

Genesis seeks courts approval to reduce Three Arrows Capital claim from $1B to $33M

Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Genesis has asked the court to approve its proposed settlement agreement with the collapsed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC).

In a recent court document, Genesis stated that 3AC should be given a claim of $33 million against Genesis. This represents 3.3% of the total claims initially made against Genesis, which amounted to $1 billion.

According to Genesis, 3ACs claims against Genesis were the largest asserted claims in Chapter 11 cases associated with the collapse of the FTX exchange. Genesis stressed that the 3AC debtor was one of Genesiss largest borrowers from 2020 to 2022, up until the time of its collapse.

SafeMoon CEO bail release goes on hold after Feds cite flight risk

SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony’s bail release has been delayed by U.S. federal prosecutors, who argue that he may try to leave the country due to his alleged access to funds and connections abroad. The prosecutors expressed concerns that his release could pose a flight risk and be a potential danger to the community.

The delay comes after a New York District Judge, LaShann DeArcy Hall, decided to put a hold on the bail release order issued on Nov. 8 by a Utah Magistrate judge, who had allowed Karony to be released on a $500,000 bail. However, prosecutors contested this decision, claiming that the release order was made without consideration of the defendants substantial financial means and ability to flee, and they emphasized that his release could be a continued danger to the community.

Binance to terminate Russian ruble deposits next week

Binance users in Russia need to take note: They have a little over two months, until Jan. 31, 2024, to withdraw their rubles from the platform. Binance is wrapping up its operations in Russia and plans to stop accepting deposits in Russian rubles from November 15, 2023.

This comes after Binance declared its complete exit from Russia by selling its business to a newly established crypto exchange called CommEX in September 2023. However, there’s been limited information about the details of the deal, including the size of the transaction and the founders of CommEX, causing some controversy.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $37,249, Ether (ETH) at $2,078 and XRP (XRP) at $0.67. The total market cap is at $1.42 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week were FTX Token (FTT) at 250.48%, Kaspa (KAS) at 67.23% and Cronos (CRO) at 52.20%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Maker (MKR) at -3.39%, Tether Gold (XAUt) at -2.60% and PAX Gold (PAXG) at -2.51%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraphs market analysis. 

Most Memorable Quotations

SEC Chair Gensler cannot continue to abuse the powers of his agency to fulfill a political agenda of driving the new and promising digital asset industry offshore.

Tom Emmer, United States Republican congressman

Ordinals help to express the core values of Bitcoin in a much more friendly way than Bitcoin, which is too technical or harsh for some people.

Lugui Tillier, commercial director for Lumx Studios

Binances Chief Compliance Officer crudely but succinctly summed up this case when he admitted that Binance was operating as a fking unlicensed securities exchange in the USA bro. He was right.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission

As we have witnessed with cryptocurrency, heavy-handed constraints have hindered the exploration of potentially revolutionary applications.

Matthew Putman, CEO and co-founder of Nanotronics

In Web3, its not the code thats king, but the community. Instead of perfecting backend logic, focus on front-end transparency.

Tiago Serdio, head of community at Partisia Blockchain

I say, Sorry, we are boring. But we are one of the oldest projects. We are very big We are the one who has the most changes on GitHub, and we have not been down for over 2000 days Boring sometimes is good.

Frederik Gregaard, Cardano Foundation CEO

Prediction of the week

Bitcoin Terminal Price hints next BTC all-time high is at least $110K

As the price of BTC hovers around its highest levels in the past 18 months, analysts are already speculating about the potential upward trajectory it may take in the upcoming months and years. Bitcoin may next be a sell at $110,000 as its new bull cycle plays out, a classic on-chain indicator suggests.

Analyzing its Terminal Price, Look Into Bitcoin creator Philip Swift described its value as a simple method of estimating long-term BTC price peaks. Terminal Price is calculated from Bitcoins so-called Transferred Price a value derived by dividing Coin Days Destroyed by the existing supply. Not every all-time high reaches Terminal Price, but BTC/USD did hit the trendline during its 2017 all-time and initial peak in April 2021. The current all-time high of $69,000, seen in November of that year, fell short.

As Terminal Price increases with time, $110,000 may ultimately end up a conservative target should the next all-time high occur only later in the next cycle.

FUD of the Week

JPEX scandal: Taiwan determines new suspects in alleged fraud Report

Taiwanese prosecutors are seeking to detain Chang Tung-ying, the chief partner at JPEXs Taiwan office, on charges of fraud related to the JPEX cryptocurrency exchange. The situation surrounding the collapsed exchange is unfolding, with the Taipei District Prosecutors Office (TDPO) reportedly identifying new suspects. According to a report from local TV channel TVBS News on November 9, the TDPO has requested the custody of Chang Tung-ying over allegations of fraud. 

As part of the ongoing JPEX investigation, prosecutors in Taipei searched nine locations and summoned Chang along with three other individuals believed to be involved. Chang and JPEX lecturer Shih Yu-sheng (also known as Shi Yu) are considered suspects in the case for violating the Banking Act and the Money Laundering Control Act.

Crypto exchange CoinSpot reportedly suffers $2M hot wallet hack

Blockchain security firm CertiK indicates that the recent $2.4 million theft from Australian cryptocurrency exchange CoinSpot hot wallet likely occurred due to a private key compromise. CoinSpot appears to have experienced a hack, involving the probable compromise of a private key in one of its hot wallets.

Pseudonymous blockchain investigator ZachXBT highlighted two transactions on Nov. 8 that entered the wallet belonging to the alleged hacker. Subsequently, the wallet’s owner transferred the funds to the Bitcoin network via THORChain and Wan Bridge. CertiK stated that the apparent exploit was likely the result of a probable private key compromise on at least one of CoinSpot’s hot wallets. 

According to Etherscan data, a transaction of 1,262 Ether, valued at $2.4 million at current prices, originated from a recognized CoinSpot wallet and entered the wallet linked to the alleged hacker.

Poloniex exchange suffers $100M exploit, offers 5% bounty

A crypto wallet linked to the digital exchange Poloniex has experienced suspicious outflows, evident on the blockchain explorer Etherscan. Blockchain security experts suspect a breach, resulting in attackers draining up to $100 million in crypto. 

On Nov. 10, millions in crypto assets were moved from an account labeled Poloniex 4 on Etherscan. Initially estimated at $60 million, later assessments revealed the loss exceeded $100 million. CertiK, a blockchain security firm, suggests a private key compromise as the likely cause and notes that the funds have already been transferred to four externally owned accounts, with some converted into Ether.

Top Magazine Pieces of the Week

Exclusive: 2 years after John McAfees death, widow Janice is broke and needs answers

Two years after John McAfees death, his wife, Janice, is still unable to get closure. All I want is to see his body for myself and know that really happened.

$10K JPGs scare away gamers, Animocas crypto game streaming plans: Web3 Gamer

Animoca buys Twitch-like platform and Web3 gaming was a major talking point at Binance Blockchain Week.

6 Questions for Lugui Tillier about Bitcoin, Ordinals, and the future of crypto

Lugui Tillier is the commercial director for Lumx Studios, one of the top cryptocurrency firms in Rio de Janeiro a city with a burgeoning crypto industry.

Sam Bankman-Fried is found guilty of fraud, other crimes; PayPal receives subpoena from the U.S. SEC, and Invesco Galaxy’s spot Bitcoin ETF joins DTCC website.

Top Stories This Week

Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty, what’s next for the crypto king?

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of all seven charges by a jury in his criminal trial in New York after about four hours of deliberation. He was convicted of two counts of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of securities fraud, one count of commodities fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering conspiracy. He will return to court for sentencing by New York District Judge Lewis Kaplan on March 28, 2024. Government prosecutors will recommend a sentence, but Judge Kaplan will have the final say. Bankman-Frieds crimes each carry a maximum sentence of between five and 20 years in prison with the wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy carrying a maximum 20-year sentence. His lawyers, however, say the fight isnt over yet.

PayPal faces SEC action related to PYUSD stablecoin: Official

Payment giant PayPal has received a subpoena from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin. The subpoena requested that PayPal produce certain documents, the firm said. We are cooperating with the SEC regarding this request, PayPal noted in a financial report. The SEC has sued several of the largest local companies in the crypto industry, including its ongoing lawsuit against Coinbase. In October 2023, the regulator moved to dismiss its lawsuit against Ripple, the company behind the XRP token, one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap.

Invesco Galaxy spot Bitcoin ETF joins BlackRock on DTCC site

The ticker for Invesco and Galaxys spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) BTCO has appeared on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporations (DTCC) website, marking a step forward in the application process for the two asset managers. A ticker added to the list of ETF Products on the DTCCs site is not a guarantee of future approval for that product. However, according to a DTCC spokesperson, it is standard practice to add securities to the NSCC security eligibility file in preparation for the launch of a new ETF to the market. Recently, BlackRock and 21Shares’ application for a similar product were added to the DTCC website as well.

Top Swiss bank launches Bitcoin and Ether trading with SEBA

Switzerlands St.Galler Kantonalbank (SGKB), one of the largest banks in the country, is moving into cryptocurrency by introducing Bitcoin and Ether trading to its customers. The bank has partnered with the SEBA Bank to offer its clients digital asset custody and brokerage services. SGKB plans to expand its offerings to additional cryptocurrencies based on client demand. Founded back in 1868, St.Galler Kantonalbank is reportedly the fifth largest bank in Switzerland, having had a total of 53.6 billion Swiss francs ($58.9 billion) in assets under management at the end of 2022.

Jack Dorseys Block had $5.62B in revenue, $44M in Bitcoin profits in Q3

Jack Dorsey-led Block published its third-quarter earnings report on Nov. 2, revealing a profitable quarter and surpassing analyst expectations. The firm had $5.62 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2023, boosted by solid revenue growth in Cash App and Square, with $44 million in profit on its Bitcoin holdings thanks to a price surge in recent months. Block generated a gross profit of $1.90 billion, up 21% year-over-year.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $34,634, Ether (ETH) at $1,829 and XRP at $0.61. The total market cap is at $1.29 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are THORChain (RUNE) at 39.73%, Arweave (AR) at 32.15%, and Oasis Network (ROSE) at 24.88%.  

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Quant (QNT) at -7.34%, Pepe (PEPE) at -6.49%, and Mina (MINA) at -4.13%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraphs market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

He [Sam Bankman-Fried] lied to get customers trust.

Danielle Sassoon, U.S. assistant attorney 

We respect the jurys decision. But we are very disappointed with the result. Mr. Bankman Fried maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him.

Mark Cohen, attorney of Sam Bankman-Fried

[Bitcoin] demand is going to increase, and supply is going to contract and this is fairly unprecedented in the history of Wall Street.

Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy

The Bitcoin Ordinal protocol is better designed for decentralization and security than the Ethereum NFT protocol. High-value NFTs will win on Bitcoin.

Danny Yang, CEO of Metagood

I dont own any Bitcoin, to be frank, but I should.

Stanley Druckenmiller, billionaire investor

Fuck regulators.

Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX

Prediction of the Week 

Bitcoin to the moon! Top 5 BTC price predictions for 2024 and beyond

A lot can happen in Bitcoin within a short space of time, and with 2024 less than two months away, there is plenty of time for fresh BTC price volatility to take hold. Before the yearly candle close, some say BTC/USD will be higher than at present to the tune of another 30%.

In a blog post in late October, Matrixport doubled down on a $45,000 year-end price target, which it initially revealed in January. It was based on a handful of in-house models, with Matrixport also successfully predicting Bitcoins October gains. Bitcoin is breaking above the July $31,500 resistance level, showing that $45,000 is achievable by year-end, it summarized.

For many, the halving is a watershed moment in every Bitcoin price cycle. In September, BitQuant stated that BTC/USD would surpass its current $69,000 peak before April 2024.

FUD of the Week 

SafeMoon executive team charged with multiple fraud counts, arrests made

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Nov. 1 that it was charging SafeMoon and three of its executives with fraud and unregistered securities sales in connection with its SafeMoon Token. According to the SEC, SafeMoon executives Kyle Nagy, John Karony and Thomas Smith withdrew assets worth $200 million from the project and misappropriated investor funds. The Justice Department is charging the three with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

Bitget, Floki teams accuse each other of manipulation after token listing

The teams behind the Floki protocol and Bitget crypto exchange have accused each other of market manipulation after the protocols token, TokenFi, was listed and delisted by Bitget. According to a social media post from the Floki team, Bitget listed the token before it was launched, referring to the Bitget listing as a fake token. In a blog post, Bitget claimed that the Floki team was suspected of market manipulation by maliciously controlling the initial liquidity.

Oyster Protocol founder gets 4 years jail for $5.5M tax evasion

Amir Elmaani, founder of the now-defunct Oyster Protocol, has been handed the maximum sentence of four years in prison for tax evasion. The United States Attorneys Office said on Oct. 31 that Elmaani also known by the alias Bruno Block was sentenced to prison following his guilty plea where he admitted to secretly minting and selling Pearl tokens while not paying income tax on a swath of profits from the project. In addition to his four-year prison sentence, Elmaani was sentenced to one year of supervised release and was ordered to pay $5.5 million in restitution.

Cryptos pro-rioter glitch artist stirs controversy Patrick Amadon, NFT Creator

Digital disobedience is in all of us, says provocative glitch artist Patrick Amadon.

Slumdog billionaire: Incredible rags-to-riches tale of Polygons Sandeep Nailwal

Sandeep Nailwals life story is an incredible rags-to-riches tale that goes one better than Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

Slumdog billionaire 2: Top 10 brings no satisfaction says Polygons Sandeep Nailwal

Part 2 of our Sandeep Nailwal special tells how Polygon nearly died in 2020 but went on to be one of the biggest projects in the space.

Sam Bankman-Fried testifies in court, searches for ‘buy Bitcoin’ surge, and Gemini sues Genesis over collateral.

Top Stories This Week

Sam Bankman-Fried takes the stand on FTXs collapse

Sam SBF Bankman-Fried testified this week in his ongoing criminal trial in the Southern District of New York, denying any wrongdoing between FTX and Alameda Research while acknowledging making big mistakes during the companies’ explosive growth. Highlights of his testimony include denying directing his inner circle to make significant political donations in 2021, as well as claims that FTX’s terms of use covered transactions between Alameda and the crypto exchange. Additionally, Bankman-Fried testified that he requested additional hedging strategies for Alameda in 2021 and 2022, but they were never implemented. The trial is expected to conclude within the next few days.

Buy Bitcoin search queries on Google surge 826% in the UK

Google searches for buy Bitcoin have surged worldwide amid a major crypto rally, with searches in the United Kingdom growing by more than 800% in the last week. According to research from Cryptogambling.tv, the search term buy Bitcoin spiked a staggering 826% in the U.K. over the course of seven days. In the United States, data from Google Trends shows that searches for should I buy Bitcoin now? increased by more than 250%, while more niche searches, including can I buy Bitcoin on Fidelity? increased by over 3,100% in the last week. Zooming out further, the search term is it a good time to buy Bitcoin? saw a 110% gain worldwide over the last week.

US court issues mandate for Grayscale ruling, paving way for SEC to review spot Bitcoin ETF

The United States Court of Appeals has issued a mandate following a decision requiring Grayscale Investments application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to be reviewed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In an Oct. 23 filing, the formal mandate of the court took effect, paving the way for the SEC to review its decision on Grayscales spot Bitcoin ETF. The mandate followed the courts initial ruling on Aug. 29 and the SECs failure to present an appeal by Oct. 13. To date, the SEC has yet to approve a single spot crypto ETF for listing on U.S. exchanges but has given the green light to investment vehicles linked to Bitcoin and Ether futures.

Coinbase disputes SECs crypto authority in final bid to toss regulators suit

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission overstepped its authority when it classified Coinbase-listed cryptocurrencies as securities, the exchange has argued in its final bid to dismiss a lawsuit by the securities regulator. In an Oct. 24 filing in a New York District Court, Coinbase chastised the SEC, claiming its definition for what qualifies as a security was too wide, and contested that the cryptocurrencies the exchange lists are not under the regulators purview. The SEC sued Coinbase on June 6, claiming the exchange violated U.S. securities laws by listing several tokens it considers securities and not registering with the regulator.

Gemini sues Genesis over GBTC shares used as Earn collateral, now worth $1.6B

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini filed a lawsuit against bankrupt crypto lender Genesis on Oct. 27. At issue is the fate of 62,086,586 shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. They were used as collateral to secure loans made by 232,000 Gemini users to Genesis through the Gemini Earn Program. That collateral is currently worth close to $1.6 billion. According to the suit, Gemini has received $284.3 million from foreclosing on the collateral for the benefit of Earn users, but Genesis has disputed the action, preventing Gemini from distributing the proceeds. Genesis filed for bankruptcy in January. It had suspended withdrawals in November 2022, which impacted the Gemini Earn program.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $34,143, Ether (ETH) at $1,789 and XRP at $0.54. The total market cap is at $1.26 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Pepe (PEPE) at 72.08%, Mina (MINA) at 55.47% and FLOKI (FLOKI) at 53.33%. 

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Bitcoin SV (BSV) at -10.27%, Toncoin (TON) -3.14% and Trust Wallet Token (TWT) at -0.82%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraphs market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

The witness [Sam Bankman-Fried] has an interesting way of responding to questions.

Lewis Kaplan, senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

When it comes to illicit finance, crypto is not the enemy – bad actors are.

Cynthia Lummis, U.S. senator

I should say, I am not a lawyer, I am just trying to answer based on my recollection. […] At the time [at] FTX, certain customers thought accounts would be sent to Alameda.

Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX

Without prejudging any one asset, the vast majority of crypto assets likely meet the investment contract test, making them subject to the securities laws.

Gary Gensler, chair of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

I do not believe there has been a single serious conversation regarding a settlement between Ripple […] and the SEC. The SEC is pissed and embarrassed and wants $770M worth of flesh.

John Deaton, attorney

He [Sam Bankman-Fried] thought he was going to take that money, and […] he would out-trade the market and put the money back and end up as a half-a-trillionaire, but it never works like that.

Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital

Prediction of the Week 

Bitcoin beats S&P 500 in October as $40K BTC price predictions flow in

Bitcoin surfed $34,000 at the end of the week as attention turned to BTC price performance against macro assets. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD holding steady, preserving its early-week gains.

The largest cryptocurrency avoided significant volatility as the weekly and monthly closes a key moment for the October uptrend drew ever nearer.

I think Bitcoin will hang around this range for some time, popular pseudonymous trader Daan Crypto Trades told X subscribers in one of several posts on Oct. 27. Roughly $33-35K is what Im looking at as a range. Eyes on potential sweeps of any of these levels for a quick trade, he wrote.

FUD of the Week 

UK passes bill to enable authorities to seize Bitcoin used for crime

Lawmakers in the United Kingdom have passed legislation allowing authorities to seize and freeze cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin if used for illicit purposes. Introduced in September 2022, the passed legislation aims to expand authorities ability to crack down on the use of cryptocurrency in crimes like cybercrime, scams and drug trafficking. One of the provisions of the bill permits the recovery of crypto assets used in crimes without conviction, as some individuals may avoid conviction by remaining remote.

Scammers create Blockworks clone site to drain crypto wallets

Phishing scammers have cloned the websites of crypto media outlet Blockworks and Ethereum blockchain scanner Etherscan to trick unsuspecting readers into connecting their wallets to a crypto drainer. A fake Blockworks site displayed a fake BREAKING news report of a supposed multimillion-dollar approvals exploit on the decentralized exchange Uniswap and encouraged users to visit a fake Etherscan website to rescind approvals. The fake Uniswap news article was posted on Reddit across several popular subreddits.

Kraken to suspend trading for USDT, DAI, WBTC, WETH and WAXL in Canada

Kraken will suspend all transactions related to Tether, Dai, Wrapped Bitcoin, Wrapped Ether and Wrapped Axelar in Canada in November and December. The suspensions may not surprise many Canadian cryptocurrency users, as they come on the heels of several other notable exchanges taking similar actions throughout 2023. OKX ceased operations in Canada in June after Binance announced its intention to do so in May.

5,050 Bitcoin for $5 in 2009: Helsinkis claim to crypto fame

Helsinki has a long and fascinating history with cryptocurrency, including the first exchange of Bitcoin for United States dollars.

Australias $145M exchange scandal, Bitget claims 4th, China lifts NFT ban: Asia Express

Australian police bust $145 million money laundering scam, Bitget gains market share in Q3, China unblocks NFTs, and more.

How blockchain games fared in Q3, Upland token on ETH: Web 3 Gamer

$2.3B tipped into Web3 games so far this year, ex-GTA devs’ studio teams up with Immutable, Brawlers to launch on Epic Games Store, and more.

Nishad Singh testifies in Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial; New York sues Gemini, Genesis and Digital Currency Group; and Grayscale files for new spot Bitcoin ETF.

Top Stories This Week

Grayscale files for new spot Bitcoin ETF on NYSE Arca

Major cryptocurrency investment firm Grayscale Investments has filed a new application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a new spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The new filing aligns with Grayscales ongoing effort to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF, according to a statement from the firm. The news comes weeks after Grayscale won an SEC lawsuit for its spot Bitcoin ETF review, with a court of appeals ordering the SEC to explain why it rejected Grayscales application in June 2023. The company also filed with the SEC to list an Ether futures ETF in September.

New York Attorney General sues Gemini, Genesis, DGC for allegedly defrauding investors

New Yorks attorney general has filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency firms Gemini, Genesis and Digital Currency Group (DCG) for allegedly defrauding more than 23,000 investors through the Gemini Earn investment program. The suit claims that Gemini assured investors that the program was a low-risk investment, while investigations carried out by the office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James found that Genesis financials were risky. The lawsuit also charges Genesis’ former CEO, Soichiro Moro, and its parent companys CEO, Barry Silbert, with defrauding investors by attempting to conceal more than $1.1 billion in losses. In addition, the court case looks to ban Gemini, Genesis and DCG from operating in the financial investment industry in New York.

Former FTX engineering director faces up to 75 years in prison following guilty plea

Nishad Singh, the former engineering director at now-defunct crypto exchange FTX, faces up to 75 years in prison for charges related to defrauding users of the crypto exchange. He pleaded guilty to fraud charges as part of his cooperation agreement with the U.S. prosecutors. During his testimony this week, Singh said that when liquidity issues at FTX began in November 2022, he felt suicidal for some days while dealing with alleged inconsistencies between the exchanges public statements and its activities behind the scenes. Singh also claimed that Bankman-Fried had the habit of deciding on purchases through Alameda Research by himself.

Binance shutting down European Visa debit card in December

Binance Visa debit card services will close down in the European Economic Area in December, marking the latest setback for Binance. The termination of the card services was announced a day after the exchange restored euro deposits and withdrawals, which had been unavailable for a month after payments processor Paysafe dropped the exchange. Binance is still not onboarding new users in the United Kingdom due to the loss of a third-party service provider.

Elon Musk, Mark Cuban team up to contest SEC trial strategies

Elon Musk, Mark Cuban and others have collaboratively submitted a shared amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States to raise concerns about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissions (SEC) approach to conducting internal proceedings without the inclusion of juries. The context of this legal challenge centers around the SEC vs. Jarkesy case. George Jarkesy argues that the SECs internal adjudication process, which lacks a jury and is overseen by an administrative law judge appointed by the commission, contradicts his Seventh Amendment rights. Effectively resulting in a single entity fulfilling the roles of judge, jury and enforcer.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $29,590, Ether (ETH) at $1,607 and XRP at $0.52. The total market cap is at $1.12 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Bitcoin SV (BSV) at 59.00%, Stacks (STX) at 25.91% and MX TOKEN (MX) at 25.26%. 

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Conflux (CFX) at -8.03%, Frax Share (FXS) and Sui (SUI) at -6.35%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraphs market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

We are all part of a bigger game, and Bitcoin is one of the strongest levers in that.

Edward Snowden, technologist and whistleblower

Using publicly available information to learn is not stealing. Nor is it an invasion of privacy, conversion, negligence, unfair competition, or copyright infringement.

Google

I felt betrayed, something Id put in blood, sweat and tears for five years turning out so horrible.

Nishad Singh, former engineering director of FTX

The games funded 2 years ago are going live over the next 12 months. We will see hits.

Robbie Ferguson, co-founder and president of Immutable

After extensive DAO forum discussion followed by community vote, the sunsetting of the Lido on Solana protocol was approved by Lido token holders and the process will begin shortly.

Lido Finance

Any innovation especially this one with financial impact, cultural value and status will attract questioning during its downs.

Anjali Young, co-founder of Collab.Land

Prediction of the Week 

BTC price hits 2-month high amid bet Bitcoin will break $32K soon

On Oct. 20, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView captured new two-month Bitcoin highs of $30,233 on Bitstamp. BTC price showed continued strength during the Asia trading session on the same day, with a slight comedown taking the spot price back below $29,500.

With volatility still evident, market participants argued that a weekly candle close was needed in order to establish the rallys true staying power. For Keith Alan, co-founder of monitoring resource Material Indicators, the 100-week moving average (MA) at $28,627 was of particular importance.

This move is one to watch, but what Im watching for right now is to see if this Weekly candle closes above the 100-Week MA and if next weeks candle can stay above it with no wicks below, Alan wrote in part of an X post on the day. Some might consider that a confirmation of a bull breakout, but this market is known for squeezes and fake outs so Im looking for more confirmations. For me BTC will also need to take out prior resistance at $30.5k, $31.5k and ultimately $33k to call a bull breakout confirmed and validated.

FUD of the Week 

Fantom Foundation hot wallet hacked for $550K

The Fantom Foundation, the developer of the Fantom network, has been hacked for over $550,000 worth of cryptocurrency. The foundation confirmed the attack on X, claiming that most of the funds stolen belonged to other users and that 99% of the foundations funds remain safe. Blockchain security researchers initially reported that the attacker stole approximately $7 million in crypto. The Fantom Foundation later released an official statement saying that some of the wallets labeled Fantom: Foundation wallet were mislabeled by block explorers and that not all the stolen funds were from the foundation.

TrueCoins third-party vendor breach potentially leaks TUSD user data

TrueUSD (TUSD) announced a potential leak of certain Know Your Customer (KYC) and transaction history data after one of TrueCoins third-party vendors was compromised. The company was the operator of the TUSD stablecoin until July 13, 2023. The impact of the attack and the resultant data leak is yet to be identified, as the total number of users data was not revealed during the announcement. Data collected from such breaches names, email addresses and phone numbers, among others are typically used for phishing attacks. Attackers reach out to unwary investors by mimicking various crypto services, often promising high profits in short amounts of time.

Web3 game project allegedly hired actors to pose as executives in $1.6M exit scam

The development team for gaming project FinSoul carried out an alleged exit scam, siphoning away $1.6 million from investors through market manipulation, according to a recent report from blockchain security platform CertiK shared with Cointelegraph. The FinSoul team allegedly hired paid actors to pretend to be its executives, then raised funds for the sole purpose of developing a gaming platform. However, instead of actually creating the platform, the FinSoul team allegedly transferred $1.6 million in bridged Tether from investors to itself. Blockchain data indicates developers then laundered the funds through cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash.

Big Questions: What did Satoshi Nakamoto think about ZK-proofs?

What was once a passing interest of Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, zero-knowledge-proof technology is now a major part of the crypto world.

Ethereum restaking: Blockchain innovation or dangerous house of cards?

Restaking involves reusing staked Ether to earn fees and rewards. The restaked tokens can then help secure and validate other protocols. But many fear restaking could disrupt Ethereums chain itself.

Bitmains revenge, Hong Kongs crypto rollercoaster: Asia Express

Bitmain allegedly fires staff for speaking out against salary cuts, Hong Kong investors lose faith in crypto after JPEX scandal, Bitget gets a new crypto credit card and more.

Caroline Ellison testifies in Sam Bankman-Fried trial, reveals more on FTX-Binance war; SEC reportedly has no plans to appeal on Grayscale Bitcoin ETF case.

Top Stories This Week

Caroline Ellison wanted to step down but feared a bank run on FTX

Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, testified for over 10 hours this week at Sam Bankman-Frieds trial, offering deeper details on the events that anticipated the FTX debacle in November 2022. From Ellison’s testimony, jurors learned that she planned to leave Alameda months before its collapse, but feared a bank run on FTX amidst the crypto market downturn. The week also featured a recording presented as evidence in the case showing the exact moment Ellison told employees about Alameda’s use of FTX customer deposits. Among the key moments of Bankman-Fried’s trial were revelations of fabricated balance sheets in order to deceive crypto lenders, as well as BlockFi CEO Zac Princes testimony. Check out this week’s highlights from Cointelegraph’s team on the ground.

Sam Bankman-Fried blamed Binance for balance sheet leak to media: Court evidence

Months before the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was freaking out about buying shares in Snapchat, raising capital from Saudi royalty and getting regulators to crack down on rival crypto exchange Binance, according to evidence presented in court this week as a part of the ongoing criminal trial. Bankman-Fried believed Binance leaked an Alameda balance sheet to the media in 2022. According to a document from Nov. 6, 2022, Bankman-Fried wrote that Binance had been engaging in a PR campaign against us. It continued, saying that Binance leaked a balance sheet; blogged about it; fed it to Coindesk; then announced very publicly that they were selling $500m of FTT in response to it while telling customers to be wary of FTX.

SEC reportedly wont appeal court decision on Grayscale Bitcoin ETF

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly has no plans to appeal the recent court decision that favored Grayscale Investments. The ruling requires the SEC to review the firms spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) application. The SECs supposed decision not to appeal doesnt necessarily mean Grayscales application is set to be approved. If the reports are true, the SEC will need to follow the courts August order and review Grayscales application to change its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Terraform Labs contends Citadel Securities had a hand in its stablecoin collapse

Terraform Labs has again pointed the finger at market maker Citadel Securities for its role in an alleged concerted, intentional effort to cause the depeg of its TerraUSD stablecoin in 2022. On Oct. 10, Terraform Labs filed a motion in the United States to compel Citadel Securities to produce documents relating to its trading activity in May 2022, when TerraUSD Classic depegged. In its motion, Terraform argued that the documents are crucial for its defense in the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in February, which alleged Terraform Labs and its founder, Do Kwon, had a hand in orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud. Citadel Securities has, however, previously denied trading the TerraUSD stablecoin in May 2022.

Mastercard announces successful wrapped CBDC trial results

Mastercard has completed a trial involving wrapping central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) on different blockchains, similar to wrapped Bitcoin and wrapped Ether. The trial was conducted with the Reserve Bank of Australia and the countrys Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre CBDC. Mastercard said the solution allowed a CBDC owner to purchase a nonfungible token (NFT) listed on Ethereum. The process locked the required amount of a pilot CBDC on the RBAs pilot CBDC platform and minted an equivalent amount of wrapped pilot CBDC tokens on Ethereum, the payment processor wrote.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $26,892, Ether (ETH) at $1,551 and XRP at $0.48. The total market cap is at $1.05 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Loom Network (LOOM) at 86.71%, Trust Wallet Token (TWT) at 16.72% and Tether Gold (XAUt) at 5.16%. 

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Mantle (MNT) at -17.27%, Rocket Pool (RPL) at -14.39% and Avalanche (AVAX) at -13.39%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraphs market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

Thats our homework, actually. To really educate people about the benefit of using blockchain.

Grace Sabandar, co-founder of the Indonesia Blockchain and Metaverse Center

Crypto-assets markets, including DeFi, do not represent meaningful risks to financial stability at this point.

European Securities and Markets Authority

I was worrying about customer withdrawals from FTX, this getting out, people to be hurt. […] I didnt feel good. If people found out [about Alameda using FTX funds], they would all try to withdraw from FTX.

Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research

Its alarming and should be a wakeup call for lawmakers and regulators that digital wallets connected to Hamas received millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies.

Elizabeth Warren, U.S. senator

Bitcoin and Ethereum may seem like opposites, but they can co-exist and complement each other.

Willem Schro, CEO of Botanix Labs

People who believe SBFraud is a good guy who made mistakes, and FTX grew too fast and it all got away from him, should NEVER be in charge of other peoples money.”

John Deaton, attorney and crypto advocate

Prediction of the Week 

Ethereum losing streak vs. Bitcoin hits 15 months Can ETH price reverse course?

The price of Ethereum’s native token, Ether, is trading around a 15-month low versus Bitcoin, and the lowest since Ethereum switched to proof-of-stake. The ETH/BTC pair dropped to as low as 0.056 BTC earlier this week. In doing so, the pair broke below its 200-week exponential moving average (200-week EMA; the blue wave) near 0.058 BTC, raising downside risks further into 2023.

The 200-week EMA has historically served as a reliable support level for ETH/BTC bulls.

ETH/BTC stares at similar selloff risks in 2023 after losing its 200-week EMA as support. In this case, the next downside target looks to be around its 0.5 Fibonacci line near 0.051 BTC in 2023, down about 9.5% from current price levels.

Conversely, ETH price may rebound toward its 50-week EMA (the red wave) near 0.065 BTC if it reclaims the 200-week EMA as support.

FUD of the Week 

Mistake or money laundering? User pays $1.6 million for CrypToadz NFT

One of the CrypToadz NFTs, whose average price doesnt exceed $1,000, was bought for an astonishing 1,055 wrapped Ether, an equivalent of $1.6 million. The CrypToadz collection was launched during the NFT boom of 2021 and surpassed a trading volume of $38 million worth of Ether during its first 10 days on the market. The price paid by the anonymous user for the NFT raised questions among the community. Two weeks ago, this item was acquired for 0.95 ETH (around $1,600), only to be sold for a price a thousand times higher.

USDR stablecoin depegs to $0.53, but team vows to provide solutions

Real estate-backed stablecoin USDR lost its peg to the United States dollar after a rush of redemptions caused a draining of liquid assets such as Dai from its treasury. USDR, backed by a mixture of cryptocurrencies and real estate holdings, is issued by the Tangible protocol, a decentralized finance project that seeks to tokenize housing and other real-world assets. During the crisis, a trader reportedly exchanged 131,350 USDR for 0 USD Coin, resulting in a complete loss on investment.

HTX claws back $8M in stolen funds, issues 250 ETH bounty to hacker

Huobi Globals crypto exchange HTX has confirmed the return of the funds stolen by a hacker in late September and issued a 250 Ether bounty after resolving the issue. One of HTXs hot wallets was drained of 5,000 ETH on Sept. 25, worth roughly $8 million at the time. Shortly after the hack occurred, the firm contacted the hacker and claimed to know their identity. HTX ultimately offered to pay a 5% bounty worth around $400,000 and not to take any legal action if they returned 95% of the funds before a deadline of Oct. 2.

Beyond crypto: Zero-knowledge proofs show potential from voting to finance

An emerging cryptographic technology may provide help with two gaping 21st-century needs: Privacy and truth.

Eleanor Terrett on impersonators and a better crypto industry

Fox Business producer Eleanor Terrett’s following exploded after she began providing commentary on the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit.

SBFs alleged Chinese bribe, Binance clarifies account freeze: Asia Express

SBF allegedly bribes Chinese officials with $150 million to unfreeze accounts, Binance justifies blocking Hamas users, meanwhile, Huobi hacker returns all $8M in stolen assets.