Hong Kong Crypto Robbers Strike Again: Gang Makes off with 450k Tether Haul.
Trading crypto in person is becoming increasingly risky in Hong Kong – with a second trader this month robbed by violent thugs after agreeing to swap cash for tokens offline.
Per the South China Morning Post and Apple Daily’s Hong Kong site, the latest victim was attempting to make an offline tether (USDT) transaction worth some USD 0.45m in the busy Chong Yip Street.
The media outlets stated that a female trader had sold a man USDT in two previous transactions worth around USD 77,000 and USD 90,000 each in previous transactions and had arranged for her uncle to wait outside an office building on the street while she conducted the third – much bigger – deal.
But instead, when she met the man for the third time, she received the nastiest of surprises, when she reportedly came face-to-face with a gang of three “20- to 30-year-old” thugs armed “with knives and sticks” who robbed her of the cash the man had given her in exchange for her USDT 450,000 transfer, as well as her mobile phone.
The man then forced her into an empty office room and locked her inside, although she was reportedly otherwise unharmed when police arrived on the scene.
The violent incident comes just days after a 37-year-old male bitcoin (BTC) seller in the equally busy Chai Wan district was locked into a car by a gang of men also led by a bogus buyer. The man was eventually bundled out of the car – but not before surrendering BTC 15 (around USD 558,000) and his mobile phone to the raiders.
Trading crypto in person is becoming increasingly risky in Hong Kong – with a second trader this month robbed by violent thugs after agreeing to swap cash for tokens offline.
Per the South China Morning Post and Apple Daily’s Hong Kong site, the latest victim was attempting to make an offline tether (USDT) transaction worth some USD 0.45m in the busy Chong Yip Street.
The media outlets stated that a female trader had sold a man USDT in two previous transactions worth around USD 77,000 and USD 90,000 each in previous transactions and had arranged for her uncle to wait outside an office building on the street while she conducted the third – much bigger – deal.
But instead, when she met the man for the third time, she received the nastiest of surprises, when she reportedly came face-to-face with a gang of three “20- to 30-year-old” thugs armed “with knives and sticks” who robbed her of the cash the man had given her in exchange for her USDT 450,000 transfer, as well as her mobile phone.
The man then forced her into an empty office room and locked her inside, although she was reportedly otherwise unharmed when police arrived on the scene.
The violent incident comes just days after a 37-year-old male bitcoin (BTC) seller in the equally busy Chai Wan district was locked into a car by a gang of men also led by a bogus buyer. The man was eventually bundled out of the car – but not before surrendering BTC 15 (around USD 558,000) and his mobile phone to the raiders.
First Grey Hat Hackers Ideas Competition 🚀🚀🚀
The high-profile event in 2021!🤩 Mr Leo Andreo leads the Hacken community in organizing the First Grey Hat Hackers Ideas Competition 🔥
🏆 The prize pool will be 35,000 USD.
The leading cybersecurity company Hacken will support the community’s initiative First Grey Hat Hackers Ideas Competition by providing 50% of the prize pool and applying its expertise at the ideas’ valuation stage.
Submit your product or service idea and get the attention you deserve by winning the competition! Who knows, maybe your project will become the next great sensation!
The high-profile event in 2021!🤩 Mr Leo Andreo leads the Hacken community in organizing the First Grey Hat Hackers Ideas Competition 🔥
🏆 The prize pool will be 35,000 USD.
The leading cybersecurity company Hacken will support the community’s initiative First Grey Hat Hackers Ideas Competition by providing 50% of the prize pool and applying its expertise at the ideas’ valuation stage.
Submit your product or service idea and get the attention you deserve by winning the competition! Who knows, maybe your project will become the next great sensation!
Bitcoin Spikes Above USD 32K as MicroStrategy Boosts Morale With a New Deal.
The world's number one crypto moved up and above USD 32,000 again as US-based business intelligence company MicroStrategy revealed its relatively small USD 10m bitcoin (BTC) deal.
On Friday afternoon, 14:37 UTC, bitcoin climbed from the USD 29,400 level to which it had dropped earlier in the day, and is trading at USD 32,565, after it appreciated almost 3% in the last day. It dropped 12% over the course of the past week, and went up nearly 37% in a month.
This rise comes as MicroStrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor announced that the company made an additional purchase of bitcoin: they bought approximately BTC 314 for USD 10m in cash in accordance with its Treasury Reserve Policy, at an average price of approximately USD 31,808 per bitcoin, said the CEO. BTC trading volume reached USD 62.77bn in the past 24 hours.
He added that MicroStrategy now holds approximately BTC 70,784, which at the current price translates to the value of USD 2.3bn.
In December last year, MicroStrategy confirmed it raised USD 650m by selling convertible senior notes due 2025 in order to buy more bitcoin. By that point, the company had already acquired approximately BTC 40,824. Meanwhile, in October, MicroStrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor revealed that he spent around USD 175m on his personal BTC stash.
The Cryptoverse was quick to comment on this major purchase. "Seems like a lot of people don't get it," argued popular BTC enthusiast and investor WhalePanda. "You keep selling your Bitcoin to large institutional investors on every dip hoping we'll go back down to USD 20k or lower. That's not going to happen. Make them all market buy."
The world's number one crypto moved up and above USD 32,000 again as US-based business intelligence company MicroStrategy revealed its relatively small USD 10m bitcoin (BTC) deal.
On Friday afternoon, 14:37 UTC, bitcoin climbed from the USD 29,400 level to which it had dropped earlier in the day, and is trading at USD 32,565, after it appreciated almost 3% in the last day. It dropped 12% over the course of the past week, and went up nearly 37% in a month.
This rise comes as MicroStrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor announced that the company made an additional purchase of bitcoin: they bought approximately BTC 314 for USD 10m in cash in accordance with its Treasury Reserve Policy, at an average price of approximately USD 31,808 per bitcoin, said the CEO. BTC trading volume reached USD 62.77bn in the past 24 hours.
He added that MicroStrategy now holds approximately BTC 70,784, which at the current price translates to the value of USD 2.3bn.
In December last year, MicroStrategy confirmed it raised USD 650m by selling convertible senior notes due 2025 in order to buy more bitcoin. By that point, the company had already acquired approximately BTC 40,824. Meanwhile, in October, MicroStrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor revealed that he spent around USD 175m on his personal BTC stash.
The Cryptoverse was quick to comment on this major purchase. "Seems like a lot of people don't get it," argued popular BTC enthusiast and investor WhalePanda. "You keep selling your Bitcoin to large institutional investors on every dip hoping we'll go back down to USD 20k or lower. That's not going to happen. Make them all market buy."
New Exchange To Offer Sharia-Compliant Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP Trading.
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has issued a license to CoinMENA, a Bahrain-headquartered new crypto exchange preparing for its launch, allowing the business to offer its services across the region in compliance with the Sharia law. CoinMENA aims to make its platform available in Bahrain, as well as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman.
The exchange said it will offer bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), XRP, litecoin (LTC), and bitcoin cash (BCH).
“As CoinMENA grows, we will be providing access to additional digital assets and expanding the jurisdictions we operate in, with the view of becoming one of the leading digital assets exchanges on a global scale,” Dina Sam’an, Co-Founder and Managing Director of CoinMENA, was quoted as saying in an announcement. The company aims to launch the platform "soon."
The CBB has issued a Category 2 Crypto Asset Services Company License to the company which states that the exchange complies with the rules of Sharia, or Islamic law. This paves the way for the platform in a number of Middle Eastern markets where Islamic finance dominate’s their economic landscapes. The sharing of profit and loss, and the ban on the collection and payment of interest are two of the foundations of Islamic banking.
“Each transaction must be related to a real underlying economic transaction,” according to an analysis by the Vancouver-based Corporate Finance Institute. “Parties entering into the contracts in Islamic finance share profit/loss and risks associated with the transaction. No one can benefit from the transaction more than the other party.”
By expanding cryptocurrency trade into the world of Islamic finance, CoinMENA could tap into a market that was estimated to be worth about USD 2.1tn last year, according to a report released by S&P Global. Islamic finance has a strong foothold in the Middle East, but is also growing in other regions of the world with significant Muslim populations.
“Sharia-compliant assets represent 14% of total banking assets in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia region and 25% of banking assets in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, suggesting that Islamic banking continues to be systemically important in these countries,” according to the report.
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has issued a license to CoinMENA, a Bahrain-headquartered new crypto exchange preparing for its launch, allowing the business to offer its services across the region in compliance with the Sharia law. CoinMENA aims to make its platform available in Bahrain, as well as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman.
The exchange said it will offer bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), XRP, litecoin (LTC), and bitcoin cash (BCH).
“As CoinMENA grows, we will be providing access to additional digital assets and expanding the jurisdictions we operate in, with the view of becoming one of the leading digital assets exchanges on a global scale,” Dina Sam’an, Co-Founder and Managing Director of CoinMENA, was quoted as saying in an announcement. The company aims to launch the platform "soon."
The CBB has issued a Category 2 Crypto Asset Services Company License to the company which states that the exchange complies with the rules of Sharia, or Islamic law. This paves the way for the platform in a number of Middle Eastern markets where Islamic finance dominate’s their economic landscapes. The sharing of profit and loss, and the ban on the collection and payment of interest are two of the foundations of Islamic banking.
“Each transaction must be related to a real underlying economic transaction,” according to an analysis by the Vancouver-based Corporate Finance Institute. “Parties entering into the contracts in Islamic finance share profit/loss and risks associated with the transaction. No one can benefit from the transaction more than the other party.”
By expanding cryptocurrency trade into the world of Islamic finance, CoinMENA could tap into a market that was estimated to be worth about USD 2.1tn last year, according to a report released by S&P Global. Islamic finance has a strong foothold in the Middle East, but is also growing in other regions of the world with significant Muslim populations.
“Sharia-compliant assets represent 14% of total banking assets in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia region and 25% of banking assets in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, suggesting that Islamic banking continues to be systemically important in these countries,” according to the report.
‼️The First Grey Hats Ideas Competition hackathon received hackers' attention. The event's website, organized by the members of Hacken community with support from Hacken team, was hacked.
Company reports that access has been restored and user data is not affected. It was discovered, however, that hackers left a message, announcing their plans to create a project focused on improving DeFi products' security.
Company's representative reached out to hackers, expressing their interest in this project.
Official satatement from Hacken: https://hacken.io/hacken-news/official-statement-regarding-the-hacking-of-the-first-grey-hats-ideas-competition-site/
Company reports that access has been restored and user data is not affected. It was discovered, however, that hackers left a message, announcing their plans to create a project focused on improving DeFi products' security.
Company's representative reached out to hackers, expressing their interest in this project.
Official satatement from Hacken: https://hacken.io/hacken-news/official-statement-regarding-the-hacking-of-the-first-grey-hats-ideas-competition-site/
Crypto Fans 'LOL' At BIS GM Claims that Bitcoin 'May Break Down'.
The crypto community has reacted with incredulity after a senior Mexican economist and the boss of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) appeared to dismiss the notion of decentralized digital currencies such as bitcoin (BTC).
In a recent speech, Agustín Carstens, the General Manager of the BIS and the former Governor of the central Bank of Mexico, claimed that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) would roll out in the next three years, and called BTC a risky investment – adding that the token might ultimately fail.
He said,
“Investors must be cognisant that Bitcoin may well break down altogether. Scarcity and cryptography alone do not suffice to guarantee exchange.”
Carstens added that “bitcoin is increasingly vulnerable” as “other tokens already have been majority attacked,” giving examples of smaller altcoin tokens that have been the target of attempted 51% attacks.
But his remarks have sparked a Twitter storm, with crypto fans rushing to the defense of the token.
As reported, as the world’s central banks are increasingly looking into CBDC projects, their focus is shifting into more advanced stages of CBDC engagement, with more banks moving from conceptual work to experimentation.
Meanwhile, popular Bitcoin podcaster Stephan Livera bristled, “Central banks, created and supported by the government, are antithetical to the very idea of sound money.”
Some agreed wholeheartedly with this sentiment, writing that it was “fascinating to see” the BIS talk about "sound money" in the “context of digital currencies.”
Saifedean Ammous, the author of The Bitcoin Standard, wrote that “sound money” was “still a completely nonsensical marketing buzzword” on the lips of the BIS, adding,
The crypto community has reacted with incredulity after a senior Mexican economist and the boss of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) appeared to dismiss the notion of decentralized digital currencies such as bitcoin (BTC).
In a recent speech, Agustín Carstens, the General Manager of the BIS and the former Governor of the central Bank of Mexico, claimed that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) would roll out in the next three years, and called BTC a risky investment – adding that the token might ultimately fail.
He said,
“Investors must be cognisant that Bitcoin may well break down altogether. Scarcity and cryptography alone do not suffice to guarantee exchange.”
Carstens added that “bitcoin is increasingly vulnerable” as “other tokens already have been majority attacked,” giving examples of smaller altcoin tokens that have been the target of attempted 51% attacks.
But his remarks have sparked a Twitter storm, with crypto fans rushing to the defense of the token.
As reported, as the world’s central banks are increasingly looking into CBDC projects, their focus is shifting into more advanced stages of CBDC engagement, with more banks moving from conceptual work to experimentation.
Meanwhile, popular Bitcoin podcaster Stephan Livera bristled, “Central banks, created and supported by the government, are antithetical to the very idea of sound money.”
Some agreed wholeheartedly with this sentiment, writing that it was “fascinating to see” the BIS talk about "sound money" in the “context of digital currencies.”
Saifedean Ammous, the author of The Bitcoin Standard, wrote that “sound money” was “still a completely nonsensical marketing buzzword” on the lips of the BIS, adding,
Global Uncertainty Drops But Is Still 50% Above Historical Average.
Global uncertainty reached unprecedented levels at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak and remains elevated. The World Uncertainty Index—a quarterly measure of global economic and policy uncertainty covering 143 countries—shows that although uncertainty has come down by about 60 percent from the peak observed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2020, it remains about 50 percent above its historical average during the 1996–2010 period.
What drives global uncertainty?
Economic growth in key systemic economies, like those of the United States and European Union, is a key driver of economic activity in the rest of the world. Is this also true when it comes to global uncertainty? For example, given the higher interconnectedness across countries, should we expect that uncertainty from the US election, Brexit, or China-US trade tensions spill over and affect uncertainty in other countries?
To answer this question, we construct an index that measures the extent of “uncertainty spillovers” from key systemic economies—the Group of 7 (G7) countries plus China—to the rest of the world. In particular, we identify uncertainty spillovers from systemic economies by text mining the Economist Intelligence Unit country reports, covering 143 countries from the first quarter of 1996 to the fourth quarter of 2020.
Uncertainty spillovers from each of the systemic economies are measured by the frequency that the word “uncertainty” is mentioned in the reports in proximity to a word related to the respective systemic-economy country. Specifically, for each country and quarter, we search the country reports for the words “uncertain,” “uncertainty,” and “uncertainties” appearing near words related to each country. The country-specific words include country’s name, name of presidents, name of the central bank, name of central bank governors, and selected country’s major events (such as Brexit).
Global uncertainty reached unprecedented levels at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak and remains elevated. The World Uncertainty Index—a quarterly measure of global economic and policy uncertainty covering 143 countries—shows that although uncertainty has come down by about 60 percent from the peak observed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2020, it remains about 50 percent above its historical average during the 1996–2010 period.
What drives global uncertainty?
Economic growth in key systemic economies, like those of the United States and European Union, is a key driver of economic activity in the rest of the world. Is this also true when it comes to global uncertainty? For example, given the higher interconnectedness across countries, should we expect that uncertainty from the US election, Brexit, or China-US trade tensions spill over and affect uncertainty in other countries?
To answer this question, we construct an index that measures the extent of “uncertainty spillovers” from key systemic economies—the Group of 7 (G7) countries plus China—to the rest of the world. In particular, we identify uncertainty spillovers from systemic economies by text mining the Economist Intelligence Unit country reports, covering 143 countries from the first quarter of 1996 to the fourth quarter of 2020.
Uncertainty spillovers from each of the systemic economies are measured by the frequency that the word “uncertainty” is mentioned in the reports in proximity to a word related to the respective systemic-economy country. Specifically, for each country and quarter, we search the country reports for the words “uncertain,” “uncertainty,” and “uncertainties” appearing near words related to each country. The country-specific words include country’s name, name of presidents, name of the central bank, name of central bank governors, and selected country’s major events (such as Brexit).
Ethereum Eyes USD 1,600, Bitcoin and Altcoins Could Keep Rising.
Bitcoin price remained well bid after it broke the USD 35,500 and USD 36,000 resistance levels. BTC even spiked towards USD 36,800 before correcting lower. It is currently (13:00 UTC) approaching USD 36,000, but there are chances of a fresh rise towards USD 37,000.
Similarly, most major altcoins are trading in a bullish zone. ETH/USD traded to a new all-time high near USD 1,570 before correcting to USD 1,540. XRP/USD seems to be facing a strong resistance near USD 0.392 and USD 0.400.
Bitcoin price
There was an upside extension in bitcoin price above the USD 36,000 resistance. BTC even made an attempt to surpass USD 37,000, but there was no follow through above USD 36,800. The price corrected lower and traded below USD 36,500. The first key support is near the USD 36,000 level, followed by the USD 35,500 pivot level.
As long as the price is above USD 35,500 and USD 35,500, it could continue to rise. The main resistance is now near USD 37,000, above which it could revisit the USD 38,000 hurdle.
Ethereum price
Ethereum price gained momentum above the USD 1,500 level and it even broke the USD 1,550 level. ETH traded to a new all-time high near USD 1,570 and it is currently correcting lower. An initial support is near the USD 1,520 level. The key support is now forming near the USD 1,500 level.
On the upside, the USD 1,565 and USD 1,570 levels are short-term hurdles. The bulls might test the USD 1,600 level in the near term.
Bitcoin cash, litecoin and XRP price
Bitcoin cash price is holding gains above USD 430, but it struggling to clear the USD 445 and USD 450 resistance levels. If there is a fresh bearish wave, the USD 425 level might provide support. Any more losses could lead the price towards the USD 405 support zone.
Litecoin (LTC) traded as high as USD 155 and it is consolidating gains near USD 150. If there is a downside correction, the previous resistance near USD 142 and USD 140 might provide support. On the upside, a clear break above the USD 155 resistance could open the doors for a move towards the USD 165 and USD 170 levels.
XRP price made an attempt to gain strength above the USD 0.492 resistance, but it failed. It is currently correcting lower towards the USD 0.465 support. As long as there is no close below USD 0.350, the price might make another attempt to surpass the USD 0.400 resistance zone.
Other altcoins market today
A few altcoins climbed over 8%, including FTM, UMA, SC, LUNA, MANA, OMG, SUSHI, NEAR, DASH, CHSB, AAVE, HEDG, and BTT. Out of these, SC is gaining momentum and it might test the USD 0.010 level.
To sum up, bitcoin price is trading in a bullish zone above USD 35,500 and USD 35,000. The overall price action suggests BTC could soon test USD 37,000.
Bitcoin price remained well bid after it broke the USD 35,500 and USD 36,000 resistance levels. BTC even spiked towards USD 36,800 before correcting lower. It is currently (13:00 UTC) approaching USD 36,000, but there are chances of a fresh rise towards USD 37,000.
Similarly, most major altcoins are trading in a bullish zone. ETH/USD traded to a new all-time high near USD 1,570 before correcting to USD 1,540. XRP/USD seems to be facing a strong resistance near USD 0.392 and USD 0.400.
Bitcoin price
There was an upside extension in bitcoin price above the USD 36,000 resistance. BTC even made an attempt to surpass USD 37,000, but there was no follow through above USD 36,800. The price corrected lower and traded below USD 36,500. The first key support is near the USD 36,000 level, followed by the USD 35,500 pivot level.
As long as the price is above USD 35,500 and USD 35,500, it could continue to rise. The main resistance is now near USD 37,000, above which it could revisit the USD 38,000 hurdle.
Ethereum price
Ethereum price gained momentum above the USD 1,500 level and it even broke the USD 1,550 level. ETH traded to a new all-time high near USD 1,570 and it is currently correcting lower. An initial support is near the USD 1,520 level. The key support is now forming near the USD 1,500 level.
On the upside, the USD 1,565 and USD 1,570 levels are short-term hurdles. The bulls might test the USD 1,600 level in the near term.
Bitcoin cash, litecoin and XRP price
Bitcoin cash price is holding gains above USD 430, but it struggling to clear the USD 445 and USD 450 resistance levels. If there is a fresh bearish wave, the USD 425 level might provide support. Any more losses could lead the price towards the USD 405 support zone.
Litecoin (LTC) traded as high as USD 155 and it is consolidating gains near USD 150. If there is a downside correction, the previous resistance near USD 142 and USD 140 might provide support. On the upside, a clear break above the USD 155 resistance could open the doors for a move towards the USD 165 and USD 170 levels.
XRP price made an attempt to gain strength above the USD 0.492 resistance, but it failed. It is currently correcting lower towards the USD 0.465 support. As long as there is no close below USD 0.350, the price might make another attempt to surpass the USD 0.400 resistance zone.
Other altcoins market today
A few altcoins climbed over 8%, including FTM, UMA, SC, LUNA, MANA, OMG, SUSHI, NEAR, DASH, CHSB, AAVE, HEDG, and BTT. Out of these, SC is gaining momentum and it might test the USD 0.010 level.
To sum up, bitcoin price is trading in a bullish zone above USD 35,500 and USD 35,000. The overall price action suggests BTC could soon test USD 37,000.
Bitcoin Returns Above USD 40,000 In Less Than A Month.
The most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin (BTC), rallied on Saturday, moving back above the USD 40,000 level for the first time in almost a month.
At the same time, other major cryptoassets are showing mixed results. After its recent rally to its new all-time high of USD 1,754 reached yesterday, ethereum (ETH) is down by 1% in a day, trading at USD 1,694. However it outperformed BTC in a week, increasing by 22%. Binance coin (BNB) is the best performer today as its price rallied by 25%, and jumped 73% in a week.
"Bitcoin and ethereum inflows to exchanges have declined slightly, with 7 day average inflows below the 30 day average, reducing sell pressure. Trade intensity has also declined slightly, which typically suggests buy pressure is reducing. However, for bitcoin at least, it is still high relative to the past," Philip Gradwell, Chief Economist at Chainalysis, wrote in his weekly report on Friday.
According to him, people cashing out after making a 25% or more USD gain has also declined since the large increase in the first week of January, suggesting people continue to hold despite their potential gains, now that some profit was taken following the price gains over the holiday period.
The most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin (BTC), rallied on Saturday, moving back above the USD 40,000 level for the first time in almost a month.
At the same time, other major cryptoassets are showing mixed results. After its recent rally to its new all-time high of USD 1,754 reached yesterday, ethereum (ETH) is down by 1% in a day, trading at USD 1,694. However it outperformed BTC in a week, increasing by 22%. Binance coin (BNB) is the best performer today as its price rallied by 25%, and jumped 73% in a week.
"Bitcoin and ethereum inflows to exchanges have declined slightly, with 7 day average inflows below the 30 day average, reducing sell pressure. Trade intensity has also declined slightly, which typically suggests buy pressure is reducing. However, for bitcoin at least, it is still high relative to the past," Philip Gradwell, Chief Economist at Chainalysis, wrote in his weekly report on Friday.
According to him, people cashing out after making a 25% or more USD gain has also declined since the large increase in the first week of January, suggesting people continue to hold despite their potential gains, now that some profit was taken following the price gains over the holiday period.
Fed-Published DeFi Study By a European Professor Boosts Industry Morale.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) remains a niche market, but its efficiency, transparency, accessibility, and composability make for interesting characteristics, enabling it to potentially contribute to a more robust and transparent global financial infrastructure, according to a study published by the St. Louis branch of the US Federal Reserve (Fed).
However, it is written not by the Fed but by Fabian Schär, Professor of distributed ledger technologies and fintech and Managing Director of the Center for Innovative Finance at the Faculty of Business and Economics of Switzerland’s University of Basel.
“DeFi still is a niche market with relatively low volumes — however, these numbers are growing rapidly. The value of funds that are locked in DeFi-related smart contracts recently crossed 10 billion USD,” the author said.
“The spectacular growth of these assets alongside some truly innovative protocols suggests that DeFi may become relevant in a much broader context and has sparked interest among policymakers, researchers, and financial institutions.”
Also, in his research, Schär used a multi-layered framework to analyze DeFi’s architecture and building blocks. These include token standards, decentralized exchanges, decentralized debt markets, blockchain derivatives, as well as on-chain asset management protocols. The framework enabled him to highlight the opportunities and potential risks within the DeFi ecosystem.
“DeFi has unleashed a wave of innovation. On the one hand, developers are using smart contracts and the decentralized settlement layer to create trustless versions of traditional financial instruments. On the other hand, they are creating entirely new financial instruments that could not be realized without the underlying public blockchain,” according to the paper. “Atomic swaps, autonomous liquidity pools, decentralized stablecoins, and flash loans are just a few of many examples that show the great potential of this ecosystem.”
This said, the researcher recognized that, while “this technology has great potential, there are certain risks involved. Smart contracts can have security issues that may allow for unintended usage, and scalability issues limit the number of users.”
eanwhile, the paper is already echoing through the cryptosphere, triggering the enthusiasm of various industry representatives, including Jay Hao, CEO of crypto exchange OKEx who called the study “the gem of the day”. Others, such as a DeFi investor who tweets as Arthur, admitted they “didn't expect it to come this early”.
Some industry observers even claimed that the study’s publication could indicate a forthcoming re-orientation in the Fed’s conservative approach to DeFi.
“Someone at the Fed had to accept the article for publication. Someone at the Fed decided it was adequately reviewed. The St. Louis Fed is promoting the article through its Twitter feed. Don’t downplay it too much,” a user who goes by the name Notorious PtG, replied to a remark that the Fed is not the author of the report.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) remains a niche market, but its efficiency, transparency, accessibility, and composability make for interesting characteristics, enabling it to potentially contribute to a more robust and transparent global financial infrastructure, according to a study published by the St. Louis branch of the US Federal Reserve (Fed).
However, it is written not by the Fed but by Fabian Schär, Professor of distributed ledger technologies and fintech and Managing Director of the Center for Innovative Finance at the Faculty of Business and Economics of Switzerland’s University of Basel.
“DeFi still is a niche market with relatively low volumes — however, these numbers are growing rapidly. The value of funds that are locked in DeFi-related smart contracts recently crossed 10 billion USD,” the author said.
“The spectacular growth of these assets alongside some truly innovative protocols suggests that DeFi may become relevant in a much broader context and has sparked interest among policymakers, researchers, and financial institutions.”
Also, in his research, Schär used a multi-layered framework to analyze DeFi’s architecture and building blocks. These include token standards, decentralized exchanges, decentralized debt markets, blockchain derivatives, as well as on-chain asset management protocols. The framework enabled him to highlight the opportunities and potential risks within the DeFi ecosystem.
“DeFi has unleashed a wave of innovation. On the one hand, developers are using smart contracts and the decentralized settlement layer to create trustless versions of traditional financial instruments. On the other hand, they are creating entirely new financial instruments that could not be realized without the underlying public blockchain,” according to the paper. “Atomic swaps, autonomous liquidity pools, decentralized stablecoins, and flash loans are just a few of many examples that show the great potential of this ecosystem.”
This said, the researcher recognized that, while “this technology has great potential, there are certain risks involved. Smart contracts can have security issues that may allow for unintended usage, and scalability issues limit the number of users.”
eanwhile, the paper is already echoing through the cryptosphere, triggering the enthusiasm of various industry representatives, including Jay Hao, CEO of crypto exchange OKEx who called the study “the gem of the day”. Others, such as a DeFi investor who tweets as Arthur, admitted they “didn't expect it to come this early”.
Some industry observers even claimed that the study’s publication could indicate a forthcoming re-orientation in the Fed’s conservative approach to DeFi.
“Someone at the Fed had to accept the article for publication. Someone at the Fed decided it was adequately reviewed. The St. Louis Fed is promoting the article through its Twitter feed. Don’t downplay it too much,” a user who goes by the name Notorious PtG, replied to a remark that the Fed is not the author of the report.
PwC Chief: Mexican Companies Want to Follow Tesla into Bitcoin Investment.
Mexican companies are developing an interest in following the lead of companies north of the border – and could seek to emulate the bitcoin (BTC)-buying leads of United States-based companies like Tesla.
These were the conclusions of a report from El Economista, which quoted Mauricio Hurtado, managing partner of PwC Mexico as stating that Mexican firms were now keen to climb aboard the bitcoin bandwagon.
Hurtado claimed that while in the past firms were concerned that a lack of regulatory oversight body made crypto too risky as an investment asset, things have changed in recent times – and added that many feel they simply cannot afford to stay out of “what is happening” around them.
He claimed that Mexican firms’ confidence in crypto investment has been “raised” by other players’ transactions, with MicroStrategy and Square also active in the bitcoin-buying field, while major international banks have also made their crypto intentions clear.
And the PwC executive added that “a significant number of players” see “these currencies” as a “reliable transaction mechanism.”
He said,
“Therefore, businesses are adjusting to market realities in order to prevail and gain an advantage over their competitors. We are seeing an important change in this regard.”
Hurtado also opined that “technological changes” have made many entrepreneurs, such as Tesla’s chief Elon Musk, develop “a greater acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in commercial transactions.”
He concluded that the trend toward crypto was something that PwC, “as a firm” was “very” aware of “in terms of market consumption patterns.”
Mexican companies are developing an interest in following the lead of companies north of the border – and could seek to emulate the bitcoin (BTC)-buying leads of United States-based companies like Tesla.
These were the conclusions of a report from El Economista, which quoted Mauricio Hurtado, managing partner of PwC Mexico as stating that Mexican firms were now keen to climb aboard the bitcoin bandwagon.
Hurtado claimed that while in the past firms were concerned that a lack of regulatory oversight body made crypto too risky as an investment asset, things have changed in recent times – and added that many feel they simply cannot afford to stay out of “what is happening” around them.
He claimed that Mexican firms’ confidence in crypto investment has been “raised” by other players’ transactions, with MicroStrategy and Square also active in the bitcoin-buying field, while major international banks have also made their crypto intentions clear.
And the PwC executive added that “a significant number of players” see “these currencies” as a “reliable transaction mechanism.”
He said,
“Therefore, businesses are adjusting to market realities in order to prevail and gain an advantage over their competitors. We are seeing an important change in this regard.”
Hurtado also opined that “technological changes” have made many entrepreneurs, such as Tesla’s chief Elon Musk, develop “a greater acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in commercial transactions.”
He concluded that the trend toward crypto was something that PwC, “as a firm” was “very” aware of “in terms of market consumption patterns.”
The Bond King Goes From 'Bitcoin Is A Lie' To BTC 'Maybe The Stimulus Asset'.
DoubleLine Capital LP chief Jeffrey Gundlach, known as the Bond King, now says that bitcoin (BTC) "maybe The Stimulus Asset" after claiming last October that it is "a lie." (Updated at 15:01 UTC with a comment from Anthony Pompliano and a video.)
"I am a long term dollar bear and gold bull but have been neutral on both for over six months. Lots of liquid poured into a funnel creates a torrent. Bitcoin maybe The Stimulus Asset. Doesn’t look like gold is," he tweeted today.
Indeed, gold dropped by 68% vs BTC in the past 3 months and by 79% in a year. Meanwhile, USD dropped by 66% in the past 3 months and by 81% in a year.
As reported, Gundlach made a name for himself in the investment community in his former role as the head of the USD 9.3bn TCW Total Return Bond Fund, and Forbes claimed in 2018 that he was worth a cool USD 2bn. In a recent video interview, Gundlach stated that he was “not at all a bitcoin hater.” However, in the same interview, he also dropped this pearl: "I don't believe in bitcoin. I think that it's a lie. I think that it’s very tracked and traceable. I don’t think it's anonymous.” Well, he's right about this - BTC is not really anonymous and its users can be traced. But let's see how the Taproot upgrade will change this.
"The question that I keep asking myself is "how long will gold bugs hang on to their gold while they watch the digital store of value gain market adoption?" The short answer is that no one actually knows. Some people are likely to bail in the short term because of the US dollar price of bitcoin. Some people will take time to critically think about their world view and then change their mind. And a few people are more focused on being "proven right" than actually "being right," Anthony ‘Pomp’ Pompliano of Morgan Creek Digital wrote in his newsletter today.
DoubleLine Capital LP chief Jeffrey Gundlach, known as the Bond King, now says that bitcoin (BTC) "maybe The Stimulus Asset" after claiming last October that it is "a lie." (Updated at 15:01 UTC with a comment from Anthony Pompliano and a video.)
"I am a long term dollar bear and gold bull but have been neutral on both for over six months. Lots of liquid poured into a funnel creates a torrent. Bitcoin maybe The Stimulus Asset. Doesn’t look like gold is," he tweeted today.
Indeed, gold dropped by 68% vs BTC in the past 3 months and by 79% in a year. Meanwhile, USD dropped by 66% in the past 3 months and by 81% in a year.
As reported, Gundlach made a name for himself in the investment community in his former role as the head of the USD 9.3bn TCW Total Return Bond Fund, and Forbes claimed in 2018 that he was worth a cool USD 2bn. In a recent video interview, Gundlach stated that he was “not at all a bitcoin hater.” However, in the same interview, he also dropped this pearl: "I don't believe in bitcoin. I think that it's a lie. I think that it’s very tracked and traceable. I don’t think it's anonymous.” Well, he's right about this - BTC is not really anonymous and its users can be traced. But let's see how the Taproot upgrade will change this.
"The question that I keep asking myself is "how long will gold bugs hang on to their gold while they watch the digital store of value gain market adoption?" The short answer is that no one actually knows. Some people are likely to bail in the short term because of the US dollar price of bitcoin. Some people will take time to critically think about their world view and then change their mind. And a few people are more focused on being "proven right" than actually "being right," Anthony ‘Pomp’ Pompliano of Morgan Creek Digital wrote in his newsletter today.
MicroStrategy Raises "Free" USD 1B to Buy More Bitcoin As It Hits USD 1T Market Cap.
One of the most bullish non-crypto companies, US-based software developer MicroStrategy, confirmed that its latest offering of convertible senior notes was sold out and it aims to spend over USD 1 billion on bitcoin (BTC) again. The market capitalization of the most popular cryptocurrency just surpassed USD 1 trillion today, per market data aggregators.
"The aggregate principal amount of the notes sold in the offering was USD 1.05bn," the company said, adding that it estimates that the net proceeds from the sale of the notes will be approximately USD 1.03bn.
"MicroStrategy intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the notes to acquire additional bitcoin," the company confirmed.
As reported, this offering was different from the previous one last year because the company this time raised the money "for free" by selling 0% convertible senior notes due 2027.
The notes are convertible into cash, shares of MicroStrategy’s class A common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of MicroStrategy’s class A common stock, at MicroStrategy’selection.
At the end of January, the company owned approximately BTC 70,784 (currently USD 3.9bn). At today's prices, for USD 1.03bn they could buy BTC 18,685.
At the time of writing, BTC trades at USD 55,133, hitting another all-time high. The price is up by 6.5% in a day and 15.5% in a week. It rallied by 53% in a month. Meanwhile, as market data aggregators claim that BTC's market capitalization surpassed USD 1 trillion today, some analysts say this number might be overstated.
"Bitcoins market cap hitting USD 1trn demonstrates the mainstreaming of cryptocurrency as a store of value. Most of us in the market view this milestone as validation for the entire market. In this way, Bitcoin acts as a rising tide that raises all boats. We expect that Bitcoin is only the first of many USD 1trn market caps that we'll see in the blockchain economy," Adam Liposky, Ecosystem Operations Lead at Pocket Network, a blockchain data ecosystem for Web3 applications, said in an emailed comment.
One of the most bullish non-crypto companies, US-based software developer MicroStrategy, confirmed that its latest offering of convertible senior notes was sold out and it aims to spend over USD 1 billion on bitcoin (BTC) again. The market capitalization of the most popular cryptocurrency just surpassed USD 1 trillion today, per market data aggregators.
"The aggregate principal amount of the notes sold in the offering was USD 1.05bn," the company said, adding that it estimates that the net proceeds from the sale of the notes will be approximately USD 1.03bn.
"MicroStrategy intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the notes to acquire additional bitcoin," the company confirmed.
As reported, this offering was different from the previous one last year because the company this time raised the money "for free" by selling 0% convertible senior notes due 2027.
The notes are convertible into cash, shares of MicroStrategy’s class A common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of MicroStrategy’s class A common stock, at MicroStrategy’selection.
At the end of January, the company owned approximately BTC 70,784 (currently USD 3.9bn). At today's prices, for USD 1.03bn they could buy BTC 18,685.
At the time of writing, BTC trades at USD 55,133, hitting another all-time high. The price is up by 6.5% in a day and 15.5% in a week. It rallied by 53% in a month. Meanwhile, as market data aggregators claim that BTC's market capitalization surpassed USD 1 trillion today, some analysts say this number might be overstated.
"Bitcoins market cap hitting USD 1trn demonstrates the mainstreaming of cryptocurrency as a store of value. Most of us in the market view this milestone as validation for the entire market. In this way, Bitcoin acts as a rising tide that raises all boats. We expect that Bitcoin is only the first of many USD 1trn market caps that we'll see in the blockchain economy," Adam Liposky, Ecosystem Operations Lead at Pocket Network, a blockchain data ecosystem for Web3 applications, said in an emailed comment.
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Craig Wright Sends His Lawyers Against Bitcoin Developers.
The outspoken Australian, Craig Wright, dubbed “Faketoshi” due to his unproven claims that he's Satoshi Nakamoto, made another move that left the cryptoverse bewildered.
UK-based litigation law firm Ontier said it begun legal proceedings against a number of unspecified Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and even Bitcoin SV (BSV) developers on behalf of Tulip Trading Limited (TTL), controlled by Wright.
Per the firm, TTL "is requesting that the developers enable TTL to regain access to and control of its bitcoin," allegedly stolen from Wright in February 2020.
"The Developers owe Bitcoin owners both tortious and fiduciary duties under English law as a result of the high level of power and control they hold over their respective blockchains," Ontier said, adding that the value of the claim as at today’s market rates will be in excess of GBP 3.5bn (USD 4.94bn).
According to Paul Ferguson, Partner at Ontier, "the fact that someone has stolen Tulip Trading's digitally-held private Bitcoin keys does not prevent developers from deploying code to enable the rightful owner to regain control of its bitcoin."
The cryptoverse was quick to react.
"This is crazy. The developers don’t run these chains, they just maintain the codebases. This is like threatening [Linux developer] Linus Torvalds because you lost your Bank of America password," a partner at US-based law firm Anderson Kill, Preston Byrne, said.
The outspoken Australian, Craig Wright, dubbed “Faketoshi” due to his unproven claims that he's Satoshi Nakamoto, made another move that left the cryptoverse bewildered.
UK-based litigation law firm Ontier said it begun legal proceedings against a number of unspecified Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and even Bitcoin SV (BSV) developers on behalf of Tulip Trading Limited (TTL), controlled by Wright.
Per the firm, TTL "is requesting that the developers enable TTL to regain access to and control of its bitcoin," allegedly stolen from Wright in February 2020.
"The Developers owe Bitcoin owners both tortious and fiduciary duties under English law as a result of the high level of power and control they hold over their respective blockchains," Ontier said, adding that the value of the claim as at today’s market rates will be in excess of GBP 3.5bn (USD 4.94bn).
According to Paul Ferguson, Partner at Ontier, "the fact that someone has stolen Tulip Trading's digitally-held private Bitcoin keys does not prevent developers from deploying code to enable the rightful owner to regain control of its bitcoin."
The cryptoverse was quick to react.
"This is crazy. The developers don’t run these chains, they just maintain the codebases. This is like threatening [Linux developer] Linus Torvalds because you lost your Bank of America password," a partner at US-based law firm Anderson Kill, Preston Byrne, said.
MoneyGram Slapped With Lawsuit Over Ripple, XRP Partnership.
The money transfer firm MoneyGram is facing a class action lawsuit claiming that the company made false and/or misleading statements about its partnership with American blockchain company Ripple and the legal status of the XRP token.
Per a press release by Rosen Law Firm, the suit has already been filed, and on behalf of purchasers of the securities of MoneyGram between June 17, 2019 and February 22, 2021.
The law firm claims that those who purchased "MoneyGram securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement."
A lead plaintiff is yet to be chosen.
MoneyGram and Ripple became partners, after the latter made a USD 30m initial investment in MoneyGram equity in June 2019. However, Ripple found itself in a long battle with the SEC over XRP, as the regulator claims that XRP is an unregistered security, which Ripple disputes.
MoneyGram recently claimed that its support for Ripple stayed in place, but still announced that it would suspend the receipt of "market development fees." Alex Holmes, the MoneyGram CEO, said at the time that they are "definitely supportive of Ripple's efforts, but at the same time, we have to do what is right for the organization."
In 2020, MoneyGram received USD 38m in net market development fees from Ripple in 2020, representing about 15% of the company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. The company said it also faced logistical challenges in using the platform, as well as legal and reputational risks, following the lawsuit against Ripple.
The money transfer firm MoneyGram is facing a class action lawsuit claiming that the company made false and/or misleading statements about its partnership with American blockchain company Ripple and the legal status of the XRP token.
Per a press release by Rosen Law Firm, the suit has already been filed, and on behalf of purchasers of the securities of MoneyGram between June 17, 2019 and February 22, 2021.
The law firm claims that those who purchased "MoneyGram securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement."
A lead plaintiff is yet to be chosen.
MoneyGram and Ripple became partners, after the latter made a USD 30m initial investment in MoneyGram equity in June 2019. However, Ripple found itself in a long battle with the SEC over XRP, as the regulator claims that XRP is an unregistered security, which Ripple disputes.
MoneyGram recently claimed that its support for Ripple stayed in place, but still announced that it would suspend the receipt of "market development fees." Alex Holmes, the MoneyGram CEO, said at the time that they are "definitely supportive of Ripple's efforts, but at the same time, we have to do what is right for the organization."
In 2020, MoneyGram received USD 38m in net market development fees from Ripple in 2020, representing about 15% of the company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. The company said it also faced logistical challenges in using the platform, as well as legal and reputational risks, following the lawsuit against Ripple.
Consider These Legal Questions Before Spending Millions on NFTs.
There are lots of intellectual property (IP) issues that are raised by non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Let's dive in to cover a few.
The main IP issues raised by NFTs have to do with copyright law. Copyright law has a mixed reputation in the world of software and cryptocurrency, but it is definitely a major concern in the art world.
What copyright issues come up because of NFTs? Ownership.
Who really owns the copyright in the work? The creator? The purchaser of the NFT? A downstream purchaser? The platform? Platforms? The smart contract?
Now you might say that copyright ownership is figured out and governed by the smart contract, but would it be recognized in all jurisdictions that the blockchain exists in? Have the requirements of the various copyright treaties been taken into consideration?
What about situations where there is more than one creator? What about situations where creators disagree after creation about how the work can and should be used?
What about "moral rights?" Is that on the radar of the NFT community? Do they know or care about these rights that are so important in Europe?
What happens when things break? Also, known as "what happens when people sue?" Do they sue platforms? Do they sue artists? Do they sue buyers? Are these questions even contemplated?
What about when a third-party copyright holder chimes in claiming their copyright is violated by a piece of NFT art? Is there a resolution process in place for platforms? Do they know or care?
Copyright is not the only issue for NFTs.
What about trademarks?
Trademarks are traditionally thought of as being concerned with consumer protection. So, if you have a NFT that incorporates a trademarked brand/slogan do you have infringement risks? If so, who should be liable?
Copycats. This is both a trademark risk and a copyright risk for NFTs. Big companies and small companies are rightly protective of their IP assets in these classes. A devil may care attitude to honoring such rights is risky.
It is easy to dismiss these concerns when a market is frothy, new, exciting and built on a YOLO mentality. It will be much harder to dismiss all this when the market is more mature and elbows are sharp.
There are lots of intellectual property (IP) issues that are raised by non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Let's dive in to cover a few.
The main IP issues raised by NFTs have to do with copyright law. Copyright law has a mixed reputation in the world of software and cryptocurrency, but it is definitely a major concern in the art world.
What copyright issues come up because of NFTs? Ownership.
Who really owns the copyright in the work? The creator? The purchaser of the NFT? A downstream purchaser? The platform? Platforms? The smart contract?
Now you might say that copyright ownership is figured out and governed by the smart contract, but would it be recognized in all jurisdictions that the blockchain exists in? Have the requirements of the various copyright treaties been taken into consideration?
What about situations where there is more than one creator? What about situations where creators disagree after creation about how the work can and should be used?
What about "moral rights?" Is that on the radar of the NFT community? Do they know or care about these rights that are so important in Europe?
What happens when things break? Also, known as "what happens when people sue?" Do they sue platforms? Do they sue artists? Do they sue buyers? Are these questions even contemplated?
What about when a third-party copyright holder chimes in claiming their copyright is violated by a piece of NFT art? Is there a resolution process in place for platforms? Do they know or care?
Copyright is not the only issue for NFTs.
What about trademarks?
Trademarks are traditionally thought of as being concerned with consumer protection. So, if you have a NFT that incorporates a trademarked brand/slogan do you have infringement risks? If so, who should be liable?
Copycats. This is both a trademark risk and a copyright risk for NFTs. Big companies and small companies are rightly protective of their IP assets in these classes. A devil may care attitude to honoring such rights is risky.
It is easy to dismiss these concerns when a market is frothy, new, exciting and built on a YOLO mentality. It will be much harder to dismiss all this when the market is more mature and elbows are sharp.
Breaking: Seychelles FSA Issues Caution Notice Against Huobi Crypto Exchange; Denies Claims of Operations in the State
The Financial Service Authority of Seychelles issued a regulatory warning against Huobi Global Limited, the largest crypto exchange originating from China for allegedly claiming to be functioning under the International Business Company (“IBC”) FSA act 2013. FSA clarified that it had not issued any such operating license to the crypto exchange and never regulated the platform.
The FSA also issued a warning to investors to be wary of making any investment in the crypto platform as it could lead to fraudulent activities given the platform does not fall under the jurisdiction of the regulatory body.
Huobi Claims Similar to Binance?
The regulatory warning against Huobi Global is quite similar to Malta issuing a similar warning against Binance in 2020 where the exchange had claimed throughout its operation to be headquartered in Malta which eventually turned out to be false. The news came as a surprise back then, since Binance is one of the top crypto exchanges with revenue growing into billions. The exchange back then tried downplaying the incident claiming to be a decentralized organization with no physical headquarter.
Huobi is yet to make any official statement on the warning raised against them, however, it won’t be a big surprise if they play it down too.
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Read more
The Financial Service Authority of Seychelles issued a regulatory warning against Huobi Global Limited, the largest crypto exchange originating from China for allegedly claiming to be functioning under the International Business Company (“IBC”) FSA act 2013. FSA clarified that it had not issued any such operating license to the crypto exchange and never regulated the platform.
The FSA also issued a warning to investors to be wary of making any investment in the crypto platform as it could lead to fraudulent activities given the platform does not fall under the jurisdiction of the regulatory body.
Huobi Claims Similar to Binance?
The regulatory warning against Huobi Global is quite similar to Malta issuing a similar warning against Binance in 2020 where the exchange had claimed throughout its operation to be headquartered in Malta which eventually turned out to be false. The news came as a surprise back then, since Binance is one of the top crypto exchanges with revenue growing into billions. The exchange back then tried downplaying the incident claiming to be a decentralized organization with no physical headquarter.
Huobi is yet to make any official statement on the warning raised against them, however, it won’t be a big surprise if they play it down too.
👇👇👇👇
Read more
CoinGape
Breaking: Seychelles FSA Issues Caution Notice Against Huobi Crypto Exchange; Denies Claims of Operations in the State
The Financial Service Authority of Seychelles issued a regulatory warning against Huobi Global Limited, the largest crypto exchange originating from China
A Year Since Big Market Crash: Bitcoin Up 1,370%, Ethereum - 1,740%.
It has been a year since the infamous Black Thursday (USA time) / Black Friday (UTC time) - one of the "droppiest" events in Bitcoin (BTC)'s, Ethereum (ETH)'s, and altcoins' history. And the world's first crypto has come a long way since.
On the night (UTC time) from Thursday, March 12, to Friday, March 13, 2020, the crypto markets turned very bloody. The focus was on the number one crypto by market capitalization which had abruptly taken a steep dive - some 40%. It went from the USD 9,000 level to below USD 5,000, and at one point even below USD 4,000.
Numerous industry insiders, analysts, researchers, and many outside the industry - all gave their insights into what had happened, why it might have happened, and took to social networking sites, research papers, and blog posts to share what they expect to see next.
Nic Carter, Partner at venture capital firm Castle Island Ventures said this loss marked the second-biggest one-day loss in bitcoin’s history, while crypto analysis firm Glassnode revealed that more than half of all circulating bitcoin was held at a loss, for the first time in over a year.
Hot on the heels of this massive event, there was major selling in altcoins, including ethereum (ETH), XRP, and litecoin (LTC). And soon after, BTC safe-haven status was questioned.
Vijay Ayyar, head of business development at crypto exchange Luno, said at the time that “investors are moving out of any risky assets.” While BTC is compared to gold as a safe-haven asset, "it’s very under-penetrated and is considered more as a risky asset to hold at this point,” he added. Jonathan Leong, CEO of fintech BTSE, also argued that "it is difficult to consider bitcoin as a safe haven at this time," while crypto trader Alex Krüger said that bitcoin was trading like “the exact opposite” of a safe-haven.
Yet Ross Middleton, Chief Financial Officer at decentralized exchange DeversiFi, noted that BTC will show "its safe-haven credentials" longer-term, while Mike Novogratz argued that the crash set "the narrative of bitcoin as a store of value ... back 12 to 18 months," adding that "we’re going to have to get through this, and then we’re going to have to rebuild confidence."
It has been a year since the infamous Black Thursday (USA time) / Black Friday (UTC time) - one of the "droppiest" events in Bitcoin (BTC)'s, Ethereum (ETH)'s, and altcoins' history. And the world's first crypto has come a long way since.
On the night (UTC time) from Thursday, March 12, to Friday, March 13, 2020, the crypto markets turned very bloody. The focus was on the number one crypto by market capitalization which had abruptly taken a steep dive - some 40%. It went from the USD 9,000 level to below USD 5,000, and at one point even below USD 4,000.
Numerous industry insiders, analysts, researchers, and many outside the industry - all gave their insights into what had happened, why it might have happened, and took to social networking sites, research papers, and blog posts to share what they expect to see next.
Nic Carter, Partner at venture capital firm Castle Island Ventures said this loss marked the second-biggest one-day loss in bitcoin’s history, while crypto analysis firm Glassnode revealed that more than half of all circulating bitcoin was held at a loss, for the first time in over a year.
Hot on the heels of this massive event, there was major selling in altcoins, including ethereum (ETH), XRP, and litecoin (LTC). And soon after, BTC safe-haven status was questioned.
Vijay Ayyar, head of business development at crypto exchange Luno, said at the time that “investors are moving out of any risky assets.” While BTC is compared to gold as a safe-haven asset, "it’s very under-penetrated and is considered more as a risky asset to hold at this point,” he added. Jonathan Leong, CEO of fintech BTSE, also argued that "it is difficult to consider bitcoin as a safe haven at this time," while crypto trader Alex Krüger said that bitcoin was trading like “the exact opposite” of a safe-haven.
Yet Ross Middleton, Chief Financial Officer at decentralized exchange DeversiFi, noted that BTC will show "its safe-haven credentials" longer-term, while Mike Novogratz argued that the crash set "the narrative of bitcoin as a store of value ... back 12 to 18 months," adding that "we’re going to have to get through this, and then we’re going to have to rebuild confidence."
Hack Sunday: NFT Theft Follows a Personal Token Attack.
After personal tokens (aka social or community tokens) had gotten hit this weekend, a non-fungible token (NFT) hack emerged as well.
A number of personal tokens saw a sudden plunge this past Sunday, following a reported security breach at social money startup Roll, which issues social tokens on the Ethereum (ETH) network - with allegedly nearly ETH 3,000 (USD 5.4m) lost.
WHALE, RARE, Friends With Benefits (FWB), Kerman Kohli (KERMAN), and Alex Masmej (ALEX) are just some of the affected tokens - and all of these had plunged between 48% and 100%.
Per Roll's report, a security incident occurred on March 14, at around 7:30 UTC, Roll’s hot wallet was hacked, with the attacker completely emptying it and selling all the tokens on Uniswap for ETH. "As of this writing, it seems like a compromise of the private keys of our hot wallet and not a bug in the Roll smart contracts or any token contracts," they said.
As the investigation continues, with an audit and a forensic analysis announced, Roll said that they have temporarily disabled withdraw from the Roll wallet of all social money until the hot wallet has been migrated. They also announced a USD 500,000 fund "to help the creators and their communities affected by this."
They provided the attacker contract and the attacker contract creator address, with a balance of nearly USD 2m in ETH. It also shows ETH 1,900 transferred to privacy tool Tornado Cash.
The creator of WHALE, one of the affected social tokens, said that "this represented 2.17% of total supply and it has been fully diluted into the market." The founder also said that the incident will not have "a material effect" on WHALE's plans, near- or long-term, and that all tokens meant for community distribution have been secured in cold wallets.
To the hacker the creator said: "You did not steal from large corporations, you stole from hardworking individuals," but also noting that the team noticed "a large number of long term holding new wallets."
Igor Igamberdiev, an analyst at The Block, said that the victims actually approved the transfers, and that this " indicates a possible private key compromise or inside job."
After personal tokens (aka social or community tokens) had gotten hit this weekend, a non-fungible token (NFT) hack emerged as well.
A number of personal tokens saw a sudden plunge this past Sunday, following a reported security breach at social money startup Roll, which issues social tokens on the Ethereum (ETH) network - with allegedly nearly ETH 3,000 (USD 5.4m) lost.
WHALE, RARE, Friends With Benefits (FWB), Kerman Kohli (KERMAN), and Alex Masmej (ALEX) are just some of the affected tokens - and all of these had plunged between 48% and 100%.
Per Roll's report, a security incident occurred on March 14, at around 7:30 UTC, Roll’s hot wallet was hacked, with the attacker completely emptying it and selling all the tokens on Uniswap for ETH. "As of this writing, it seems like a compromise of the private keys of our hot wallet and not a bug in the Roll smart contracts or any token contracts," they said.
As the investigation continues, with an audit and a forensic analysis announced, Roll said that they have temporarily disabled withdraw from the Roll wallet of all social money until the hot wallet has been migrated. They also announced a USD 500,000 fund "to help the creators and their communities affected by this."
They provided the attacker contract and the attacker contract creator address, with a balance of nearly USD 2m in ETH. It also shows ETH 1,900 transferred to privacy tool Tornado Cash.
The creator of WHALE, one of the affected social tokens, said that "this represented 2.17% of total supply and it has been fully diluted into the market." The founder also said that the incident will not have "a material effect" on WHALE's plans, near- or long-term, and that all tokens meant for community distribution have been secured in cold wallets.
To the hacker the creator said: "You did not steal from large corporations, you stole from hardworking individuals," but also noting that the team noticed "a large number of long term holding new wallets."
Igor Igamberdiev, an analyst at The Block, said that the victims actually approved the transfers, and that this " indicates a possible private key compromise or inside job."
BNY Mellon Doubles Down On Its Bitcoin Plans, Invests In Fireblocks.
The oldest bank in the US, New York Mellon Corp., joined other investors and made a strategic investment in digital asset storage, transfer, and issuing platform Fireblocks.
Today, Fireblocks said they raised USD 133 in Series C funding led by Coatue, Ribbit, and Stripes with strategic investment from BNY Mellon and SVB.
"Developing products to bridge digital and traditional assets is foundational to the future of custody," Roman Regelman, CEO of Asset Servicing and Head of Digital at BNY Mellon, was quoted as saying in an announcement.
As reported, in February, the bank said it will hold, transfer and issue bitcoin (BTC) and other unspecified cryptoassets on behalf of its asset-management clients later this year.
Meanwhile, after raising USD 179m in total, Fireblocks said it "will continue to expand global resources to service the world’s biggest banks and fintechs and connect them to the entire crypto capital markets."
"Engineering is going to be a major part of our spend," Fireblocks’ CEO and Co-founder Michael Shaulov told Forbes, adding that the firm closely advises 50% of the top 70 banks in the world and is developing pilot products with five undisclosed multinational banks.
The company claims that its platform allows banks and fintechs to deploy custody, tokenization, asset management, trading, lending, and payment solutions across public and private blockchain networks. Fireblocks said it serves over 200 financial institutions and has secured over USD 400 billion in digital assets. Per Forbes, over the past couple of months, the firm has onboarded 70 new clients and will likely have 80 new customers by the end of this quarter, twice more than forecasted.
"While we have no plans to become a bank, we believe our infrastructure will lend itself perfectly to power an entirely new era of financial services," Shaulov said in the announcement
The oldest bank in the US, New York Mellon Corp., joined other investors and made a strategic investment in digital asset storage, transfer, and issuing platform Fireblocks.
Today, Fireblocks said they raised USD 133 in Series C funding led by Coatue, Ribbit, and Stripes with strategic investment from BNY Mellon and SVB.
"Developing products to bridge digital and traditional assets is foundational to the future of custody," Roman Regelman, CEO of Asset Servicing and Head of Digital at BNY Mellon, was quoted as saying in an announcement.
As reported, in February, the bank said it will hold, transfer and issue bitcoin (BTC) and other unspecified cryptoassets on behalf of its asset-management clients later this year.
Meanwhile, after raising USD 179m in total, Fireblocks said it "will continue to expand global resources to service the world’s biggest banks and fintechs and connect them to the entire crypto capital markets."
"Engineering is going to be a major part of our spend," Fireblocks’ CEO and Co-founder Michael Shaulov told Forbes, adding that the firm closely advises 50% of the top 70 banks in the world and is developing pilot products with five undisclosed multinational banks.
The company claims that its platform allows banks and fintechs to deploy custody, tokenization, asset management, trading, lending, and payment solutions across public and private blockchain networks. Fireblocks said it serves over 200 financial institutions and has secured over USD 400 billion in digital assets. Per Forbes, over the past couple of months, the firm has onboarded 70 new clients and will likely have 80 new customers by the end of this quarter, twice more than forecasted.
"While we have no plans to become a bank, we believe our infrastructure will lend itself perfectly to power an entirely new era of financial services," Shaulov said in the announcement
