Hodler’s Digest

Coming every Saturday, Hodlers Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

Top Stories This Week

 

3AC founders reveal ties to Terra founder, blame overconfidence for collapse

After five weeks of being AWOL, the founders of defunct crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, resurfaced via an interview with Bloomberg. The duo admitted to operating the firm with overconfidence as a result of the multi-year bull market. They also noted that they were very close with Terra founder Do Kwon and, despite running a major hedge fund, were shocked that the project’s extremely risky algorithmic stablecoin went bust. Zhu and Davies said they overlooked several red flags as a result of the kinship.

 

Mojang Studios bans Minecraft NFT integrations

Minecraft developers Mojang Studios banned nonfungible token (NFT) integrations in their wildly popular flagship game this week. The firm cited issues with NFTs being associated with price speculation, exclusion and rug pulls. To ensure that Minecraft players have a safe and inclusive experience, blockchain technologies are not permitted to be integrated inside our client and server applications, the firm announced. Crypto-skeptic gamers also called on Fornite developer Epic Games to follow suit, but the company said it definitely wont institute a similar ban.

 

 

SEC listing 9 tokens as securities in insider trading case could have broad implications CFTC

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has listed nine crypto assets as securities as part of the insider trading case against former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi. The SEC named Powerledger (POWR), Kromatika (KROM), DFX Finance (DFX), Amp (AMP), Rally (RLY), Rari Governance Token (RGT), DerivaDAO (DDX), LCX, and XYO. These were just nine of a total of 25 different assets that were allegedly used for insider trading.

 

Experts reveal what Teslas $936M sell-off means for Bitcoin

Following the news that Tesla sold 75% of its Bitcoin in Q2 for roughly $936 million, experts have remained relatively unfazed. Markus Thielen, chief investment officer at digital asset manager IDEG, told Cointelegraph that Tesla likely sold off its BTC as it was seen as a distraction from their core business. Financial consultation site Finders share trading expert, Kylie Purcell, suggested that many firms have moved to shore up capital in cash currencies amid the current macroeconomic climate. Some Twitter users even called the move a nothingburger, implying that Tesla’s move may ultimately be insignificant.

 

Amazon.eth ENS domain owner disregards 1M USDC buyout offer on OpenSea

On Tuesday, the Amazon.eth ENS domain belonging to an anonymous OpenSea user fetched a bid of 1 million USD Coin. It has become a common practice for speculators to register ENS domains under the names of prominent entities in hopes of scoring a big payday. The bid went unanswered, however, and it is unclear why such a large sum of money was ignored. The next largest bid on the domain totaled just 6,300 USDC.

 

 

 

Winners and Losers

 

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $23,478.96, Ether (ETH) at $1,598.64 and XRP at $0.36. The total market cap is at $1.06 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Ethereum Classic (ETC) at 71.03%, Bitcoin Gold (BTG) at 50.95% and Lido DAO (LDO) at 48.60%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are TerraClassicUSD (USTC) at 17.08%, Elrond (EGLD) at 5.05% and Internet Computer (ICP) at 1.85%.

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

 

 

 

 

Most Memorable Quotations

 

All the Ethereum killers from back in the day didn’t succeed, and I don’t expect them to succeed at all.

Freddy Zwanzger, Ethereum ecosystem lead at Blockdaemon

 

Developers should be free to decide how to build their games, and you are free to decide whether to play them.

Tim Sweeney, Founder and CEO of Epic Games

 

Don’t try to fix fraudsters or Nazis or terrorists. They will remain. They existed before the internet and they’ll exist after.

Tomer Poran, vice president of business development at ActiveFence

 

Crypto revolutionized how people use the web, as weve seen Chrome extensions utilized. If we can prove this in mobile devices, that will be a game changer.

Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana

 

The Merge upgrade is like changing the engine on a plane mid-flight. We are overhauling everything from the consensus algorithm to the execution environment.

Vasily Shapovalov, co-founder of Lido

 

I would not be surprised if Tesla keeps nibbling in Bitcoin when Bitcoin stabilizes, otherwise they would have sold 100%.

Markus Thielen, chief investment officer at IDEG

 

Prediction of the Week

 

Bitcoin may hit $120K in 2023, says trader as BTC price gains 25% in a week

The price of BTC could be heading to $120,000 next year, according to a Bitcoin trader who goes by TechDev on Twitter. They flagged the True Strength Index (TSI) for BTC as evidence, a metric that uses several base calculations to determine how overbought or oversold the asset is at a particular price. According to TechDev, the assets price decline since November has remained on trend, and if historical patterns repeat themselves, BTC could pump to a peak of between $80,000 and $120,000 next year.

 

 

FUD of the Week

Gemini cuts more staff as many crypto prices increase: Report

Gemini, the crypto exchange owned by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, reportedly cut another 7% of its employees this week. The move came just two months after the firm laid off 10% of its employees as a result of the current bear market. The report came from TechCrunch, which cited a source close to the firm who noted that Gemini had 68 fewer employees on the companys Slack channel this month.

 

FBI issues public warning over fake crypto apps

This week, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a public warning over fake crypto apps. The FBI estimates that the apps have duped investors out of a whopping $42.7 million so far. Cybercriminals are said to have created the apps using the same logos and branding as legitimate crypto firms to scam investors. The FBI stated that 244 people had already fallen victim to these fake apps.

 

Skybridge announces suspension of withdrawals from one of its crypto-exposed funds

Taking a cue from firms such as Celsius and Voyager, SkyBridge Capital has suspended withdrawals from its crypto-exposed Legion Strategies fund. Founder Anthony Scaramucci stated the decision was made to temporarily suspend until we can raise capital inside the fund. He stated that there was definitely no fear of any liquidation whatsoever.

 

 

Best Cointelegraph Features

The godfather of crypto risked lifetime in jail, laying foundation for Bitcoin

Widely credited as the inventor of digital cash, David Chaum is sometimes known as the father of online anonymity or the godfather of cryptocurrency, whose work inspired the near-mythical group called the Cypherpunks from which Bitcoin emerged.

Will intellectual property issues sidetrack NFT adoption?

In posting NFT artwork on social media, a new owner could be breaking intellectual property laws. A wave of litigation has already begun.

How blockchain technology is used to save the environment

Its hard to overestimate the role blockchain technology will play in achieving more sustainability and lessening the climate crisis.

 

The best of blockchain, every Tuesday

Subscribe for thoughtful explorations and leisurely reads from Magazine.

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Leave this field empty if you’re human:

 

 

Coming every Saturday, Hodlers Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

Top Stories This Week

 

OpenSea lays off 20% of its staff, citing crypto winter

Leading NFT marketplace OpenSea plans to lay off around 20% of its staff, with co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer citing an unprecedented combination of crypto winter and broad macroeconomic instability as the reasons behind the move. He also added, The changes were making today put us in a position to maintain multiple years of runway under various crypto winter scenarios (5 years at the current volume), and give us high confidence that we will only have to go through this process once.

 

Celsius has filed for bankruptcy

Celsius, the crypto lending platform that has had customer funds locked up for several weeks but previously claimed to be more trustworthy and safer than a bank, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday. According to an email received by Celsius customers, the company voluntarily filed petitions for Chapter 11 reorganization and used the same firm as Voyager Digital for its bankruptcy proceedings. It is unclear what will happen with users’ funds at this stage, given there may be a $1.2 billion hole in the firms balance sheet.

 

 

Polygon selected to participate in Disneys 2022 Accelerator Program

Earlier this week, Disney invited Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Polygon to participate in its prestigious 2022 accelerator program. Polygon was the only blockchain to receive an invite despite this years program being focused on augmented reality (AR), NFTs and AI. Disney offers participants mentorship from the Disney Accelerator team and guidance from the leadership of Disney itself.

 

3AC co-founder returns to Twitter, blames liquidators for baiting

Su Zhu, the co-founder of defunct and insolvent crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Captial (3AC), returned to Twitter on Tuesday after nearly a month of inactivity. In his first tweet upon returning, he cryptically suggested that liquidators baited the firm regarding StarkWare token warrants. Unsurprisingly, Zhu did not take any time to explain how he and his team ran the company into the ground, nor did he discuss the $650 million from Voyager Digital that it defaulted on.

 

Voyager can’t guarantee all customers will receive their crypto under proposed recovery plan

Speaking of the $650 million loan that 3AC defaulted on, Voyager Digital revealed this week that it cant guarantee that it can return all its customers locked assets on the platform, as it is uncertain how much of the 3AC loan it will be able to reclaim. The exact numbers will depend on what happens in the restructuring process and the recovery of 3AC assets, the lending firm said.

 

 

 

 

Winners and Losers

 

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $20,877.21, Ether (ETH) at $1,219.26 and XRP at $0.33. The total market cap is at $939.8 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Quant (QNT) at 66.94%, Lido DAO (LDO) at 63.32% and Aave (AAVE) at 34.44%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are UNUS SED LEO (LEO) at 8.15%, Dogecoin (DOGE) at 8.74% and Basic Attention Token (BAT) at 7.71%.

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

 

 

 

 

Most Memorable Quotations

 

Deposits in banks aren’t even customer assets, let alone assets under management’. They are unsecured loans to the bank. They are thus liabilities of the bank and fully at risk in bankruptcy.

Frances Coppola, economist and author of Coppola Comment blog

 

In the past, innovative firms would have been pleading for less regulation. Now they understand and appreciate that rules are there to help provide certainty.

Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the U.K.s Financial Conduct Authority

 

This could be Mt. Gox 2.0. Court proceedings may drag out the process of Celsius customers receiving any of their deposits back well into the future.

Danny Talwar, head of tax at Koinly

 

Inside growing companies, theres a danger that product and engineering teams start shipping great slide decks instead of great products.

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase

 

Crypto winters are always the best time to drill down on these core concepts, do the work and build for the future.

Alex Tapscott, managing director at Ninepoint Digital Asset Group

 

I am confident that this latest judgment using NFT service has the potential to show the way to digital service over the blockchain, with all the benefits of immutability and authentication.

Demetri Bezaintes, associate at Giambrone & Partners

 

Prediction of the Week

 

NFT market worth $231B by 2030? Report projects big growth for sector

Global research and consulting firm Verified Market Research (VMR) published a report this week that predicted that the NFT market’s total value could surge past $231 billion by 2030. The company estimated the global NFT market to be worth $11.3 billion as of 2021 in a 202-page deep dive into the sector. VMR predicted that the entire NFT market would expand at a compound annual growth rate of 33.7% over the next eight years.

 

 

FUD of the Week

Nobody is holding them back North Korean cyber-attack threat rises

During an interview with CNN on Sunday, former CIA analyst Soo Kim suggested that the notion of generating foreign income via crypto cyber attacks has become a way of life for North Koreans due to several issues the current regime faces. In light of the challenges that the regime is facing food shortages, fewer countries willing to engage with North Korea, […] this is just going to be something that they will continue to use because nobody is holding them back, essentially, she said.

 

Tencent shuts down NFT platform as gov policy makes it impossible to thrive

Chinese technology giant Tencent shut down one of its two NFT marketplaces this week, with the firm citing a strong downturn in sales as a result of the regressive policies of the government. Its been reported that sales have slowed down mainly because of a flawed government policy that prohibits buyers from selling their NFTs in private transactions after purchase, removing all speculative behavior and making the asset class not so lucrative.

 

Sri Lanka central bank reiterates crypto warning following protestors seizing president’s residence

With Sri Lanka facing economic and political turmoil, and the presidents house being overrun by protestors, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has oddly warned against using cryptocurrencies due to a lack of regulatory oversight and risks associated with the assets. Given that the warning comes amid Sri Lankas inflation rates reaching more than 54% in June, a lack of regulation in crypto is probably a non-issue for a local citizen.

 

 

Best Cointelegraph Features

After Terras fall to Earth, get ready for the stablecoin era

Did Mays algorithmic stablecoin crashes kill the concept, or is there still a role for fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies?

US crypto regulation bill aims to bring greater clarity to DAOs

The Responsible Financial Innovation Act proposes a comprehensive set of regulations for the digital assets sector, and one potentially impactful section is DAOs.

Your crypto wallet is the key to your Web3 identity

Web2 identity has been all about linked email addresses and social media accounts. Now that Web3 is poised to move in, heres why crypto wallets will be the new key to ID.

 

The best of blockchain, every Tuesday

Subscribe for thoughtful explorations and leisurely reads from Magazine.

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Leave this field empty if you’re human:

 

 

Coming every Saturday, Hodlers Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

Top Stories This Week

 

 

Peter Schiffs bank closure strengthens Bitcoin case for financial freedom

Avid Bitcoin hater and gold peddler Peter Schiff saw his bank in Puerto Rico, Euro Pacific International Bank, shut down this week, with regulators pulling the plug on the grounds that the bank was not maintaining the net minimum capital requirements. Schiff noted that, as a result, accounts are frozen and customers may lose money. The crypto community on Twitter was quick to swoop in, with pseudonymous user HodlMagoo noting the priceless irony: Do you understand why you need bitcoin now?

 

Bitcoin tourists have been purged, only hodlers remain: Glassnode

According to Glassnodes The Week On-Chain report published on Monday, supposed market tourists have been completely purged from the BTC market, leaving only seasoned hodlers or investors transacting with the asset. The report also stated that shrimps those holding less than 1 BTC, and whales those with 1,000 to 5,000 BTC were increasing meaningfully.

 

 

Ethereum testnet Merge mostly successful Hiccups will not delay the Merge.

Ethereum developers completed the second-to-last Merge trial on the Sepolia public testnet this week. There was a minor hiccup, with 25-30% of validators going offline after the Merge due to wrong configs. However, devs such as Terence Tsao stated that hiccups will not delay the Merge. The final Merge trial on Goerli is slated to go through in the next few weeks, and it appears the official Ethereum Merge is on track for now.

 

Voyager Digital files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, proposes recovery plan

On Tuesday, Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy as part of a reorganization plan just days after the crypto exchange paused trading, withdrawals and deposits. Under the plan, Voyager is looking to make users whole again by offering a combination of Voyager tokens, crypto, proceeds from the Three Arrows Capital recovery, and common shares in the newly reorganized company.

 

The bottom is in: CNBCs Jim Cramer says crypto has no real value

The crypto community on Twitter has joked that the crypto bottom is in after Jim Cramer predicted that the market will plunge further, saying that crypto has no real value. Cramer has developed a reputation in the crypto community for giving stock/crypto tips that generally end up being at odds with how the market behaves. How many companies can Sam Bankman-Fried save? he said.

 

 

 

 

 

Winners and Losers

 

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $21,804.19, Ether (ETH) at $1,239.99 and XRP at $0.35. The total market cap is at $960.9 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Curve DAO Token (CRV) at 49.12%, Convex Finance (CVX) at 41.45% and THORChain (RUNE) at 25.95%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Amp (AMP) at 8.52%, KuCoin Token (KCS) at 7.17% and UNUS SED LEO (LEO) at 5.98%.

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

 

 

 

 

Most Memorable Quotations

 

Celsius has refused to acknowledge the truth or their failures in risk management and accounting.

Jason Stone, CEO and founder of KeyFi

 

In the future, we see blockchain as one way to bring more empowerment and independence to communities on Reddit.

Reddit, social media platform

 

Theres a lot of peripherals that are just not getting tested and thats unavoidable and probably fine.

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum

 

Crypto really does seem to be imploding. Went from $3 trillion to $1 trillion. Why should it stop at $1 trillion? Theres no real value there.

Jim Cramer, host of CNBCs Mad Money

 

We need now to bring in the regulatory system that will manage those risks in the crypto world in the same way that we manage them in the conventional world.

Jon Cunliffe, deputy governor for financial stability at the Bank of England

 

The Bitcoin network is approaching a state where almost all speculative entities, and market tourists have been completely purged from the asset.

Glassnode, blockchain analytics firm

 

Prediction of the Week

 

Bloomberg analyst tips bullish BTC recovery in next six months

Bloombergs senior commodity strategist, Mike McGlone, has predicted that BTC could be due for one of the greatest bull markets in history during the second half of 2022, arguing that the bottom is in and the floodgates could be primed to slam open. He cited the market activity in the first half of 2022 as being similar to the bottom of the bear market in 2018, which then went on to surge in the first six months of 2019.

 

 

FUD of the Week

PennyWise crypto-stealing malware spreads through YouTube

According to cyber intelligence company Cyble, a new strain of crypto malware is being spread via YouTube. The malware, named PennyWise, tricks users into downloading software thats able to siphon data from more than 30 crypto wallets and crypto-browser extensions. PennyWise can also take screenshots and steal sessions from chat applications such as Discord and Telegram.

 

Celsius moved $529M worth of wBTC to FTX exchange: Should we be worried?

On Friday, it was reported that Celsius had transferred nearly 25,000 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) worth $528.9 million to the FTX crypto exchange. The move has raised concerns that a dump could soon follow, resulting in a potential plunge in the price of BTC.

 

Bombshell allegations of fraud as KeyFi takes Celsius to court

KeyFi, an investment firm that previously managed $2 billion worth of Celsius assets, has filed a lawsuit against the troubled lending company over an alleged failure to honor a profit-sharing agreement worth millions of dollars. KeyFi has accused Celsius of refusing to honor a handshake agreement that would see it take home certain percentages of the profits it made on Celsius behalf via staking and DeFi strategies.

 

 

Best Cointelegraph Features

Bear market? So what, says World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov

Cointelegraph sat down with Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov at Consensus 2022 to get his thoughts on the crypto and NFT market.

How the Metaverse can revolutionize the fashion industry

By amalgamating the world of fashion with the Metaverse, brands and their clients stand to benefit a lot.

What does a bear-market cleanse actually mean?

The latest bear market should send a clear signal to projects: Its all about finding a problem that needs to be solved, and actually using your product to solve it.

 

The best of blockchain, every Tuesday

Subscribe for thoughtful explorations and leisurely reads from Magazine.

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Leave this field empty if you’re human:

 

 

Coming every Saturday, Hodlers Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

Top Stories This Week

 

 

After 8 years dumping billions of XRP, Jed McCalebs stack runs out in weeks

Ripple Labs co-founder and former chief technology officer Jed McCaleb is nearing the end of his eight-year-long XRP dumpathon. The former Ripple exec has been gradually shedding his stash of 9 billion XRP since his departure in 2014. As of June 30, McCaleb only had 81.53 million XRP worth $26.55 million remaining, much to the delight of die-hard Ripple supporters.

 

80,000 Bitcoin millionaires wiped out in the great crypto crash of 2022

The number of wallets holding over $1 million worth of Bitcoin has decreased by roughly 80,000, from 108,886 on Nov. 12 to a mere 26,284 as of June 30. That represents a 75% plunge within nine months. However, with the price of BTC crashing down to the $20,000 region and potentially lower, it may also give more people a chance to become whole coiners.

 

 

Ethereum fork a success as Sepolia testnet gears up to trial the Merge

On Thursday morning, the Gray Glacier hard fork designed to delay the difficulty bomb successfully went live on Ethereum. The hard fork will delay the difficulty bomb by roughly 100 days as developers work to get the final stages of the Merge completed. Over the next few days, the Sepolia testnet is also set to run through its Merge trial, making it the second of three public testnets to do so.

 

Bear market will last until crypto apps are actually useful: Mark Cuban

Billionaire investor and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban thinks the current bear market wont be over until theres a stronger focus on applications that provide utility. Speaking on the Bankless podcast, he noted, It lasts until theres a catalyst and that catalyst is going to be an application, or we get so low people go fuck it, I’ll buy some.

 

BlockFi announces deal with FTX US, including option to acquire for $240M

Amid rumors that FTX US was planning to acquire beleaguered crypto lender BlockFi for as little as $25 million, BlockFi CEO Zac Prince revealed Friday that the actual deal was more costly. According to Prince, BlockFi signed agreements with the derivatives exchange for a $400-million revolving credit facility. As part of the deal, FTX US will have the ability to purchase BlockFi outright for up to $240 million. Still, thats a drop in the bucket compared with BlockFis valuation this time last year, which was roughly $5 billion.

 

 

 

 

 

Winners and Losers

 

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $19,433.55, Ether (ETH) at $1,058.95 and XRP at $0.31. The total market cap is at $867.7 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are TerraClassicUSD (USTC) at 164.07%, Amp (AMP) at 7.52% and Compound (COMP) at 6.15%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Storj (STORJ) at 30.28%, Polygon (MATIC) at 21.52% and Zcash (ZEC) at 21.67%.

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

 

 

 

 

Most Memorable Quotations

 

Anonymous is looking into Do Kwons entire history since he entered the crypto space to see what we can learn and bring to light.

Anonymous, hacktivist group

 

In the midst of this, Bitcoin and Ethereum have both traded below their previous cycle ATHs which is a first in history.

Glassnode, Blockchain analysis firm

 

A very solid use case for crypto is becoming apparent in the gaming industry, where people invest time that you can earn from it, and that’s all arranged by the blockchain.

Maurice Mureau, CEO of Hodl

 

There has been a real spike in the interest from traditional hedge funds who are taking a look at Tether and looking to short it.

Leon Marshall, head of institutional sales at Genesis

 

The metaverse is a market opportunity, a way to re-engage talent, and a path to connect people across the globe through a new collaborative experience.

Laura Newinski, deputy chair and chief operating officer at KPMG

 

Weve been so focused on tokens and money and Web3. I think its time to refocus on the underlying infrastructure layers that make all of that possible.

Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at CoinShares

 

Prediction of the Week

 

Dogecoin price could rally 20% in July with this bullish reversal pattern

The price of OG memecoin DOGE appears to have been running through a bump-and-run-reversal (BARR) bottom since May 11, a technical pattern that points to extended trend reversals in a bear market. The pattern consists of three phases: lead-in, bump, and run. As it stands, DOGE appears to be in the bump phase and could be set for a 20% pump to $0.00941 in the near future.

 

 

FUD of the Week

Infamous North Korean hacker group identified as suspect for $100M Harmony attack

Prominent North Korea-based hacking syndicate the Lazarus Group has been identified as a key suspect behind the recent $100 million Harmony protocol hack. According to a report published on Thursday by blockchain analysis firm Elliptic, the way in which Harmonys Horizon bridge was hacked and the stolen assets laundered bears a striking resemblance to previous Lazarus hacks, such as the $600 million Axie Infinity hack in April.

 

Singapore reprimands 3AC for providing false information

The potentially insolvent crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) has been reprimanded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for providing inaccurate information regarding the number of assets it owned. When 3AC was registered in Singapore in 2013, it was permitted to manage funds for up to 30 investors worth up to $180 million, but it appears there may have been some alleged smudging of the lines in the name of supposed compliance.

 

OpenSea data breach causes massive leak of users email addresses

NFT marketplace giant OpenSea issued a warning to users on Thursday that a list of customers emails had been leaked to an outside party. The leak happened via an employee of Customer.io, a platform for managing email newsletters and campaigns. The firm warned users to be on the lookout for potential phishing attacks.

 

 

Best Cointelegraph Features

Thailands Crypto Utopia 90% of a cult, without all the weird stuff

The story of how a Bitcoin OG set up a libertarian crypto community and commune for digital nomads on beautiful islands in Thailand three times and why he hasnt yet given up on the dream.

Governments, enterprise, gaming: Who will drive the next crypto bull run?

With all the recent turbulence in the crypto space, the question of the moment is: What will drive the next crypto bull run?

Metaverse fractional ownership to form similarly to property loans: Casper exec

Ralf Kubli said that smart contracts can create fractionalization agreements and divide plots of metaverse land that can be leased out individually.

 

The best of blockchain, every Tuesday

Subscribe for thoughtful explorations and leisurely reads from Magazine.

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Leave this field empty if you’re human:

 

 

Coming every Saturday, Hodlers Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

Top Stories This Week

 

 

Anonymous hacker served with restraining order via NFT

In whats perhaps an industry first, an anonymous defendant in an exchange-hacking legal case has received a temporary restraining order via NFT. The defendant is part of legal proceedings surrounding the January 2022 LCX exchange hack. Two legal firms served the service token NFT to the defendant as a restraining order, with the event touted as the first official NFT usage in the legal world.

 

FTX will not freeze hiring amid layoffs at other crypto firms, CEO states

As the crypto bear market presses on, some industry players have chosen to reevaluate staff numbers, but not FTX. The derivatives exchange will continue to add personnel, according to CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. In contrast, recent weeks have seen Gemini decrease its employee headcount and Coinbase curb new staff pickups. The last major crypto bear market in 2018 was worse in terms of employee cuts, however.

 

 

Lummis-Gillibrand bill establishes SEC-CFTC balance of power over crypto markets

A new bill from U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis, subject to appropriate approvals, aims to regulate the crypto industry on a number of levels under the shared watch of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Understanding that most digital assets are much more similar to commodities than securities, the bill gives the CFTC clear authority over applicable digital asset spot markets, a government statement detailed. However, later comments from the two senators seem to contradict this view, with Lummis and Gillibrand seeing altcoins largely as securities.

 

Metaverse tokens up 400% year on year despite altcoin bloodbath

Although the overall crypto market has floundered in terms of price action, assets related to the Metaverse are up about 400% on average compared to May 2021, according to a Kraken Intelligence report. Despite the year-on-year gains, metaverse assets are down significantly in price over the last 30 days (as of Krakens May report). All crypto-asset sectors that Kraken evaluated showed a decline in price in the last 30 and 90 days. Over the course of 2022 thus far, NFT and blockchain-powered metaverse games have seen continued participation.

 

PayPal enables transfer of digital currencies to external wallets

In the latter half of 2020, PayPals platform welcomed crypto buying and selling, but the experience was restricted to the platform. Now, PayPal has made the move to allow the transfer of certain crypto assets to and from its platform, typically pending one-time verification of identity. Armed with a New York BitLicense, PayPal has opened the feature to certain customers but aims to broaden the availability in the weeks ahead.

 

 

 

 

 

Winners and Losers

 

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $29,066, Ether (ETH) at $1,682 and XRP at $0.38. The total market cap is at $1.18 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Helium (HNT) at 35.12%, Chainlink (LINK) at 22.63% and UNUS SED LEO (LEO) at 12.29%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Elrond (EGLD) at -25.25%, Waves (WAVES) at -25.02% and Convex Finance (CVX) at -24.90%.

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

 

 

 

 

Most Memorable Quotations

 

I thought [Anchor Protocol] was going to collapse from the beginning (I designed it), but it collapsed 100%.

Mr. B, Anchor Protocol developer

 

The idea of absolute fixed money is something that weve never seen in history.

Ali Hamam, chief marketing officer and co-founder of Tahinis

 

The approach is very simple: We arent going to ignore [the crypto] market. We want to extract the maximum profit from the innovative potential these technologies give us.

Galymzhan Pirmatov, chairman of the Kazakhstan National Bank

 

For wealth management firms, digital assets are a US$54bn revenue opportunity that most are ignoring.”

Accenture

 

[Myself and my wife] believe that kids should learn things that will be needed in the future, rather than what we think is needed now.

Marcin, father of Amelia (creator of Amis Cats NFT collection)

 

Whats incredible about crypto is that it has the potential to decentralize power and give rise to economies that are struggling.

Nikki Farb, venture partner at Headline

 

Prediction of the Week

 

Bitcoin will finish 2022 ‘flat, possibly up’ says analyst as Saylor bets on $1M BTC

Bitcoins price traded mostly sideways this week, largely between $29,000 and $32,000, according to Cointelegraphs BTC price index.

A historically bullish figure in the crypto space, Fundstrat co-founder Thomas Lee spoke about Bitcoins price with less exuberance, seeing the potential for sideways action to close out 2022, although he left the door open for it going possibly up.

Meanwhile, the ever-bullish CEO of MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor, ultimately sees BTC in terms of an all-or-nothing outcome $0 or $1 million per coin. He, however, thinks BTC has already counted out $0 as an outcome, leaving his $1 million expectation on the table.

 

 

FUD of the Week

Lithuania aims to tighten crypto regulation and ban anonymous accounts

Additional government-approved crypto regulatory requirements could come into play in Lithuania, pending parliamentary action. Among other details, the requirements include banning anonymous crypto accounts. The rationale behind this move is to decrease money laundering and prevent Russian elites from evading sanctions. The start of 2023 would see the brunt of the new rules come into play.

 

Blockchain-based move-to-earn app STEPN under DDoS attacks after upgrade

STEPN, a crypto project game rewarding users for physical activity, recently added a mechanism called STEPNs Model for Anti-Cheating (SMAC) to its platform. The upgrade aims to cut down on cheating in the game. A number of difficulties ensued after the upgrade, however, including denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. The project aimed to correct its servers within a specific timeframe, although the self-imposed deadline passed with no updates announced.

 

Bad day for Binance with SEC investigation and Reuters expos

Binance is the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The probe questions if the exchanges 2017 initial coin offering of its BNB asset was in line with regulatory standards.

An article from Reuters additionally claimed that a significant amount of funds tied to nefarious activities filtered through Binances platform between 2017 and 2021. A spokesperson from Binance denied the articles allegations. Binance also refuted the claims in a detailed blog post.

 

 

Best Cointelegraph Features

Thailand’s crypto islands: Working in paradise, Part 1

Increasing numbers of crypto digital nomads are heading to live and work on tropical islands such as Thailands Koh Pha-ngan. Maybe you should join them.

A life after crime: What happens to crypto seized in criminal investigations?

Like with any kind of property, law enforcement has the right to sell your coins and spend the money.

Crypto 401(k): Sound financial planning or gambling with the future?

Cryptocurrencies may be coming to Americans retirement plans. Some see it as a sound financial strategy, while others remain skeptical.

 

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Coming every Saturday, Hodlers Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

Top Stories This Week

 

 

Fed money printer goes into reverse: What does it mean for crypto?

Over the last two years or so, the United States Federal Reserve has flooded the financial system with excess liquidity benefiting stocks, crypto and other markets as well. Now, the Fed is going in the opposite direction in order to combat inflation. In addition to raising interest rates, the central bank has begun the process of quantitative tightening (QT). Its not entirely clear how the crypto markets will respond to the Feds QT efforts, but the short-term outlook probably isnt good for risk assets.

 

CFTC sues Gemini claiming crypto exchange lied in futures contract evaluation

United States crypto exchange Gemini faces action from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for certain alleged activity dating back to 2017. The CFTC essentially asserts that Gemini acted dishonestly in 2017 during its push to add Bitcoin futures trading contracts to its offerings. The commission claims Gemini was not honest during its evaluation process.

Gemini has been a pioneer and proponent of thoughtful regulation since day one, Gemini told Cointelegraph in response to the lawsuit. We have an eight year track record of asking for permission, not forgiveness, and always doing the right thing. We look forward to definitively proving this in court.

 

 

City of Shenzhen airdrops 30M in free digital yuan to stimulate consumer spending

Residents of the city of Shenzhen could receive some of Chinas central bank digital currency, the e-CNY, as part of an airdrop. Shenzhen is working with one of Chinas top food delivery apps to airdrop a total of 30 million e-CNY in a lottery-style giveaway for certain app users. At least 15,000 in-app merchant portals allow the e-CNY as a form of payment. China has stuck to a strict COVID restriction playbook, leading to economic difficulties. The airdrop is intended to spur consumer spending and reinvigorate the economy.

 

South Korean government becomes an early investor in the Metaverse

South Korea has made several crypto-centric headlines in recent weeks, ranging from its interest in crypto regulation to it now investing in the Metaverse. The country plans on putting roughly $177 million toward the Metaverse as part of its Digital New Deal program. The money will go into developing a Metaverse platform touting government services for citizens, as well as toward different Metaverse projects. This investment tags South Korea as a global pioneer in terms of government Metaverse interest.

 

Japan passes bill to limit stablecoin issuance to banks and trust companies

A new bill from Japan, reportedly going into play in 2023, will only allow licensed banks and registered money transfer agents to issue stablecoins. The regulation aims to provide more protection around stablecoins, given their growing popularity. Japans intent to regulate stablecoins comes amid a crypto bear market that has seen declining asset prices and the downfall of a major stablecoin, TerraUSD Classic (USTC).

 

 

 

 

 

Winners and Losers

 

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $29,540, Ether (ETH) at $1,750 and XRP at $0.38. The total market cap is at $1.21 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Waves (WAVES) at 114.63%, Cardano (ADA) at 24.19% and Helium (HNT) at 22.49%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Convex Finance (CVX) at -7.51%, Solana (SOL) at -6.93% and 1inch Network (1INCH) at -3.40%.

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

 

 

 

 

Most Memorable Quotations

 

We could actually imagine the entire global economy running on the blockchain like 30 or 50 years from now.

Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)

 

If properly managed, if well managed, I think algorithmic stablecoins in theory should work.

Changpeng CZ Zhao, CEO of Binance

 

How will we ever reduce wealth inequality when our regulatory system has financial discrimination at its core? Its time to remove the Sophisticated Investor discrimination rules that advisors use to hide behind and allow everyone access to financial advice and services.

Ian Love, CEO and founder of Blockchain Assets

 

We have changed our position on mining, and also permit the use of cryptocurrency in foreign trade and outside the country.

Ksenia Yudaeva, first deputy governor for the Central Bank of Russia

 

I dont think were living in a single-chain world.

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs

 

There are too many general-purpose blockchains that are effectively competing with Ethereum (and one another) in a race to the bottom on fees. Only so many of them can survive.

Andrew Levine, CEO of Koinos Group

 

Prediction of the Week

 

Bitcoin may hit $14K in 2022 but buying BTC now ‘as good as it gets:’ Analyst

Although Bitcoin charts saw some positive moves during the first part of this week to close out May, June brought back sub-$30,000 price action, based on Cointelegraphs BTC price index.

Using former BTC price data as a backdrop in line with Bitcoins halving cycle (roughly four years), pseudonymous Twitter user and CryptoQuant contributor Venturefounder suggested the asset could see a macro price bottom in the next half-year. As part of a tweet thread, the analyst said Bitcoin could reach a depth between $14,000 and $21,000. The analysis included parallels to 2018, the focal year of the last crypto bear market. Price action currently lines up with historical Bitcoin cycles.

 

 

FUD of the Week

Investors dumping on Terra as LUNA 2 tanks 70% in two days

In the aftermath of the Terra ecosystem collapse, Terra 2.0 and its related LUNA 2.0 asset launched on May 28, with the price of token falling sharply after the unveiling. Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwons revival plan included distributing LUNA 2.0 to certain participants of the old Terra ecosystem. Roughly a day later, Binance announced that it had completed its first airdrop of the new LUNA tokens to certain users. Between the time of Cointelegraphs Monday article (linked above), and the writing of the Binance airdrop article on Tuesday, LUNA 2.0 rose in price from $5.71 to $9.25.

 

New York State Senate passes Bitcoin mining moratorium

Additional proof-of-work (PoW) mining operations in New York could be put on hold for a two-year period, pending approval from the states governor. A bill temporarily banning new PoW mining outfits, as well as license renewal of current players, was passed by the New York State Senate. One exception to the bill, however, is the allowance of fresh PoW mining players that only use renewable energy for their work.

 

Former product manager at OpenSea charged with insider trading

Former OpenSea employee Nathaniel Chastain has been charged with insider trading, wire fraud and money laundering. During his time as product manager for the NFT exchange, Chastain allegedly traded numerous NFTs based on non-public knowledge. Claims include that his job allowed him to influence which NFTs the platforms main page featured, which he then used to his personal advantage. Chastain quit his post at OpenSea after the entity requested his exit as a result of discovering the foul play, according to OpenSea. The development raises questions as to NFTs possibly being tagged as securities.

 

 

Best Cointelegraph Features

You can now clone NFTs as ‘Mimics’: Here’s what that means

I think I just broke the NFT market.

Fail better: Scott Melker on defying the odds with crypto trading

It’s a math game of taking small losses and big wins.

Anonymous culture in crypto may be losing its relevance

Although anonymous teams have built some of the leading infrastructure in crypto, many new participants in the ecosystem are using their real identities.

 

The best of blockchain, every Tuesday

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