Crypto Currency

Next year will see Binance lose its leadership position, a U.S. recession, new stablecoin market cap highs and a new peak price for Bitcoin, according to asset manager VanEck. Bitcoin ( BTC ) will hit a new all-time high in late 2024 on the backdrop of a long-feared United States recession and regulatory shifts after the next U.S. presidential election, asset manager VanEck predicts. On Dec. 8, VanEck made 15 crypto predictions for 2024, including price forecasts, timings of a spot Bitcoin ETF launch, the impact of the Bitcoin halving, and emerging dominant crypto platforms. Magazine: Asia Express: HTX hacked again for $30M, 100K Koreans test CBDC, Binance 2.0 Read more source https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-reach-high-fourth-quarter-2024-binance-lose-leadership-vaneck

Hive Digital made a sizeable ASIC miner purchase in December 2022. Just one year later, thanks to a Bitcoin boom, the crypto miner says the rigs have paid for themselves. Bitcoin ( BTC ) miner Hive Digital Technologies says the move to acquire a fleet of Bitmain mining rigs last year has already paid for itself, due in large part to a significant increase in the price of Bitcoin.  In a Dec. 8 statement , Hive Digital wrote that it had been acquiring mining rigs since the collapse of FTX, a decision it believes will put it in a favorable position for the upcoming Bitcoin halving , currently slated for April 2024. Overall, since the collapse of FTX,  Hive Digital has purchased 29,000 ASICs, with two separate acquisitions of 9,800 Bitmain S19k Pro mining rigs announced on Nov. 14 and Dec. 4 this year. Read more source https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-miner-hive-digital-asic-mining-rigs-break-even

Former Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao has been ordered to remain in the U.S. while awaiting his sentencing in February. Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao must stay in the United States until his February sentencing as he’s unlikely to return to the country if allowed to travel to the United Arab Emirates, a federal judge has ruled. On Dec. 7, Seattle District Court Judge Richard Jones ordered Zhao to stay in the U.S. until his Feb. 23, 2024 sentencing date. He faces up to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to money laundering on Nov. 21. “The defendant has enormous wealth and property abroad, and no ties to the United States,” Judge Jones wrote, and agreed with earlier arguments from federal prosecutors who said they “would not be able to secure his return” if Zhao decided not to come back to the U.S. Read more source https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-founder-cz-remain-united-states

Hong Kong game firm to add $100M of BTC and ETH to treasury, UAE and China strike CBDC deal, Victory Securities starts new HK Bitcoin fund. Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industrys most important developments. Boyaa Interactive International, a publicly-traded Hong Kong holding company specializing in online card and board games, wants to secure the approval of its shareholders to invest $100 million in crypto. According to this week’s announcement , Boyaa Interactive directors want to allocate $45 million of corporate funds to Bitcoin (BTC), $45 million to Ethereum (ETH), and $10 million to stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC). As for rationales for the investment, directors wrote: Read more source https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/hong-kong-game-company-90m-btc-eth-china-uae-cbdc-deal-asia-express/

The institute said it adopted a lightweight and efficient blockchain not intended to be computationally wasteful, where trading can be facilitated at little to no cost. An Abu Dhabi government-affiliated research center has announced the launch of a new blockchain-powered carbon tracking and trading platform, amid efforts from the United Arab Emirates government to lower emissions toward net zero. The new blockchain was unveiled at the latest the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) on Dec. 5, which will enable the international trade of carbon tokens linked to investments in green projects, such as forestation and carbon capture. The platform was built by Technology Innovation Institute’s (TII) Cryptographic Research Center, according to a Dec. 5 statement by the TII. The blockchain can track carbon emissions by registering the emissions from any worldwide public or private organization, the TII noted. Read more source https://cointelegraph.com/news/uae-research...

From Thailand to the Eastern Caribbean, the CBDC experience has been one of government waste. So why do financial authorities keep pushing them? Despite the risks and the failures associated with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) , global policymakers are pushing forward to make them a reality.  In November alone, officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bretton Woods Committee, and Bank for International Settlements (BIS) issued rallying calls for governments to push forward on CBDCs with courage and determination. But rather than double down on a bad idea and waste further resources in this pursuit, policymakers should let this idea go and focus on more fundamental reforms that would create a freer financial system. The November CBDC campaign began when IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva told policymakers, “If anything… we need to pick up speed [with CBDC development].” Bretton Woods Committee chair Bill Dudley likewise called not only for the ...

This court “hereby accepts the guilty plea of the defendant to the charge [...] and the defendant is adjudged guilty of such offense,” wrote Judge Richard Jones. A federal judge accepted Binance founder Changpang "CZ" Zhao's guilty plea to money laundering, but hasn't decided if he can leave the United States before his February sentencing date. In a Dec. 6 filing to a Seattle District Court, Judge Richard Jones said he accepted Zhao’s guilty plea to one count of Bank Secrecy Act violations , which the Binance founder submitted over two weeks ago on Nov. 21 alongside his exchange’s $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S. Part of the settlement deal saw Zhao step down as CEO of Binance and pay $150 million to regulators. Read more source https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-founder-cz-changpeng-zhao-guilty-plea-accepted

The SEC initially misled a court to freeze DEBT Box’s assets, which has since been reversed, and the firm cited the incident as grounds to dismiss the suit. DEBT Box and other defendants in a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit want the case tossed after the court found the agency lied to secure a temporary restraining order against them. “The SEC got this case wrong. Badly wrong,” lawyers for Digital Licensing Inc., which does business as DEBT Box, told Utah federal court Judge Robert Shelby in a Dec. The SEC won a temporary restraining order to freeze DEBT Box assets on Aug. The agency accused the firm of perpetrating a $50 million fraudulent crypto scheme. “Not only are such allegations false, but they also fail to meet the basic pleading standards,” it wrote in its latest motion. A Utah federal court reversed the asset freeze on Nov. The court found the firm didn’t close the bank accounts, and a $720,000 transfer the SEC alleged was sent overseas was actually ...

The futures positioning on CME shows Bitcoin could still move higher from its current price, says IG Australia analyst Tony Sycamore. Bitcoin ( BTC ) futures open interest has reached $5.2 billion on the global derivatives giant Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), $200 million shy of its late October 2021 all-time high. Open interest in CME’s Bitcoin futures has grown from $3.63 billion to $5.20 billion over the last 30 days, according to Coinglass data . CME’s Bitcoin futures open interest reached $5.2 billion on Dec. Source: Coinglass From Oct. The rapid uptick in open interest also coincided with a drastic price jump for Bitcoin, which grew from $45,000 to $66,000. IG Australia analyst Tony Sycamore told Cointelegraph the open interest uptick shows a renewed interest in Bitcoin, but it doesn’t explain how CME traders are positioned. Sycamore pointed to CME’s Nov. 28 report to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, which showed the “big players” on its platform were si...

Recipients need to download a Coinbase Wallet to receive the funds, but the crypto exchange says they’ve simplified the process for less tech-savvy users. A new feature from Coinbase Wallet allows for the transfer of crypto through a link that can be sent through some of the most popular social media sites and messaging apps as the crypto exchange looks to make its service accessible to a wider market. “Users can now send money on any platform that they can share a link,” Coinbase said in a Dec. There’s no payment fee when sending USD Coin ( USDC ), a U.S. Send money anywhere you can send a link. Easily. For free. ⤷ https://t.co/CKyLu1wYEw pic.twitter.com/XX9YaZZEPm — Coinbase Wallet ️ (@CoinbaseWallet) December 5, 2023 Clicking the link will take the recipient to their device’s app store to download Coinbase Wallet — if not already downloaded — where they can create a wallet in one click, Coinbase noted. If the funds aren’t claimed within two weeks, they will be return...

Bitcoin price keeps going up, but retail traders are not piling in yet. Cointelegraph explores why. The total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market surged past $1.55 trillion on Dec. 5, driven by remarkable weekly gains of 14.5% for Bitcoin ( BTC ) and 11% for Ether ( ETH ). Despite the recent bullish momentum, analysts have observed that retail demand remains relatively stagnant. Retail investors aren't paying attention to #bitcoin . They are more worried about whether or not they will be able to pay rent or put food on the table. They will likely start paying attention near the next top (IMO sometime in 2025) and they will FOMO into a position before… — Rajat Soni, CFA (@rajatsonifnance) December 2, 2023 Numerous United States economic indicators have surged to record highs, including wages, salaries and household net worth. However, analyst Ed Yardeni  suggested  that the “Santa Claus rally” might have already occurred earlier this year, with the S...

The anticipated Bitcoin halving and potential ETF approvals have lit “some serious fire in the cauldron" for crypto, said Zerocap investment chief Jon de Wet. Publicly traded crypto firms have notched triple-digit percentage returns this year and closed up in green on Dec. 4, as Bitcoin ( BTC ) reached a new year-high of over $42,000.  Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) closed the day at just over $141 with a 5.5% gain, up 320% from its price at the start of the year, per Google Finance data . Bitcoin miners Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) closed the day with over 8% gains, recording  337% and 345% year-to-date (YTD) gains, respectively. A visual map of the one-day price of S&P 500 stocks shows mixed results on Dec. 4 Source: Finviz Crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY) posted a daily gain of nearly 12% and is up 155% YTD and MicroStrategy (MSTR) — with the largest Bitcoin holdings of any public company valued at over $6.6 bi...

Nearly $1.8 billion flowed into crypto investment products over the last 10 weeks, which hasn’t been seen since Bitcoin futures were launched in October 2021. Bitcoin (BTC) -related investment products have become the “main beneficiary” of recent investor interest in crypto, amid growing anticipation of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval in the United States. A total of $1.76 billion of investors’ funds have flowed into crypto products over a 10-week period, making up for the largest inflows over such a period since October 2021 — when Bitcoin futures launched, according to a Dec. Record inflows! Last 10 weeks now total U$1.76bn inflows, the highest on record since October 2021’s futures-based ETF launch in the US. Week 49 inflows: U$176 million – #Bitcoin – $BTC : U$133m inflows Short Bitcoin: US$3.6m inflows Trading volumes in ETPs remain… pic.twitter.com/Elon1F2pHl — CoinShares (@CoinSharesCo) December 4, 2023 CoinShares’ weekly reports over the past 10 weeks shows at leas...

If approved, this third version of the plan will go into effect on Jan. 5, 2024, and see the company add 372 MW in capacity by 2027. Bitcoin ( BTC ) miner Core Scientific has released a presentation outlining its plans to emerge from bankruptcy in early January 2024. The presentation is based on the third amended joint Chapter 11 plan filed on Nov. Common shareholders and holders of two series of convertible notes are being planned for separately. Planned Core Scientific indicators through 2027. Source: Core Scientific Noteholders will receive $1.628 on every $1 of face value for notes due in April and $1.201 per $1 face value for notes with an August due date. If it reaches agreements with key shareholders, Core Scientific will emerge from bankruptcy with $709 million in net debt and $791 million in equity value on Jan. Related: ‘Unjustly enriched’ — Core Scientific knocks back $4.7M claim from Celsius Core Scientific operates seven facilities in five states and has a total...

According to the fiscal year 2023 report, the IRS unit investigated failures to disclose crypto holdings and report on capital gains for transactions. The Criminal Investigation (CI) Unit of the United Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reported an increase in the number of investigations around digital asset reporting. In its annual report released on Dec. 4, the IRS investigative arm said it had initiated more than 2,676 cases in which it had identified more than $37 billion related to tax and financial crimes in the 2023 fiscal year. “These investigations consist of unreported income resulting from failure to report capital gains from the sale of cryptocurrency, income earned from mining cryptocurrency, or income received in the form of cryptocurrency, such as wages, rental income, and gambling winnings,” said the Criminal Investigation Unit. Our FY23 Annual Report highlights more than 2,600 investigations, $37.1 billion identified from tax and financial crimes. #IRSC #ByTheNumb...

Crypto industry figures are backing a judge’s threat to sanction the United States securities regulator in court, while the brothers behind the Platypus Finance hack are out free. Debt Box case judge ‘not fucking having it’ with SEC conduct A Utah federal judge’s threat to sanction the United States Securities and Exchange Commission over alleged deceptive statements about a crypto company it sued shows its conduct is “exceptionally bad,” according to one crypto executive. On Nov. 30, District Judge Robert Shelby alleged the SEC lied about Debt Box moving funds outside of the United States so a court would grant a freeze on its assets. The SEC sued the company in August, accusing it of running a $50 million fraudulent enterprise. “This sort of conduct is exceptionally bad, even by SEC standards,” crypto consulting firm Zero Knowledge founder Austin Campbell said in a Dec. 1 X (Twitter) post . “The most insulting part of this is that in the process of being mustache-twirling vil...

A malicious actor behind at least $5 million in crypto theft through “address poisoning" significantly ramped up attacks against Safe Wallet users in the last week. A crypto hacker specializing in “address poisoning attacks" has managed to steal over $2 million from Safe Wallet users alone in the past week, with its total victim count now reaching 21.  On Dec. 3, Web3 scam detection platform Scam Sniffer reported that around ten Safe Wallets lost $2.05 million to address poisoning attacks since Nov. According to Dune Analytics data  compiled by Scam Sniffer, the same attacker has reportedly stolen at least $5 million from around 21 victims in the past four months. Scam Sniffer, reported that one of the victims even held $10 million in crypto in a Safe Wallet, but "luckily" only lost $400,000 of it.  about ~10 Safe wallets have lost $2.05 million to "address poisoning" attacks in the past week. the same attacker has stolen $5 million from ~21 vic...

U.S. Space Force Major Jason Lowery wants the U.S. military to prioritize the investigation of proof-of-work systems like Bitcoin for the country’s defense. The United States needs to formally investigate using proof-of-work networks such as Bitcoin (BTC)  to protect the country from cyber-inflicted warfare, according to Jason Lowery, a member of the United States Space Force. In a four-page letter  to the U.S. “As a result, this misconception underplays the technology’s broad strategic significance for cybersecurity, and consequently, national security.” The Defense Innovation Board is an independent advisory board set up to bring the technological innovation and best practices of Silicon Valley to the U.S. Lowery used the letter to urge the board to advise the Secretary of Defense to investigate the "national strategic importance” of PoW systems like Bitcoin. In his letter, Lowery explained that a proof-of-work system like Bitcoin could work to deter adversaries from ...

Bitcoin has hit a 19-month high, and Matrixport predicts it will keep climbing well into next year. Bitcoin ( BTC ) has reached the $40,000 level for the first time since late April 2022, climbing around 2% in 24 hours. Bitcoin surged from under $39,500 to strike above $40,000 on Dec. 3 to hit a 19-month high, according to CoinGecko data . It also marks a new year-to-date high for Bitcoin, which is up over 140% since Jan. The price of Bitcoin over the last 12 months, which has gone from under $17,000. Source: CoinGecko In a Nov. 30 note , Matrixport research head Markus Thielen predicted that Bitcoin would hit over $60,000 by April next year and $125,000 by the end of 2024. Thielen said the last three crypto bear markets saw a following three year bull cycle and an analysis suggested "another three years of this bull market, with 2023 being the first year." “Historically, the years when Bitcoin mining rewards were halved were generally bullish,” Thielen explained. ...

Peter Szilagyi, Ethereum's team lead, voiced dissatisfaction with his former university's lack of enthusiasm in recommending students for collaboration with Ethereum. Peter Szilagyi, the team lead of Ethereum, has expressed frustration over his alma mater's lack of interest in providing opportunities for students to collaborate with Ethereum ( ETH ). In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Szilagyi explained that he had always felt a lack of genuine interest when he returned to his old university to deliver talks about Ethereum. He stated that the students appeared to be more focused on the price of Ethereum rather than the project itself. “The audience seems to have been stuck in the number go up aspect; and the organizers always used it as an ad campaign.” Over the past years I've been asked many times to do talks at my old university about #Ethereum . I did a couple of them, but didn't feel genuine interest. The audience seems to have been stuck i...

According to Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten, Bitcoin ETFs are set to replace the chaotic entry points tainted by flashy crypto marketing campaigns since 2017. Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten has suggested that spot Bitcoin ( BTC ) exchange-traded funds (ETF) will suppress the loud and flashy marketing strategies that have served as the initial gateway for many into the crypto space since 2017. During a recent interview with Bloomberg on December 1, Klippsten reiterated that Bitcoin ETFs offer an alternative entry into the market at a time when it has been tainted by well-funded crypto marketing schemes: “The past six years from 2017 through 2023, the top of the funnel for people looking to get into Bitcoin has been extremely noisy, polluted by all of the crypto marketing schemes funded by $50 billion of venture capital, trying to essentially market and dump crypto tokens.” Cory Klippsten speaking on Bloomberg Radio. Source: Bloomberg He went on to clarify that an ETF function...

According to Kaiko Research, Bybit experienced a rise in market share around the clock, whereas Coinbase witnessed significant growth outside of the United States trading hours. Following cryptocurrency exchange Binance reaching a substantial multi-billion-dollar settlement with United States regulators last week, an on-chain data analytics firm reported a surge in Coinbase's market share. On November 21, Binance and the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) reached a settlement of $4.3 billion, settling allegations related to anti-money laundering. However, the legal challenges have led to other crypto exchanges seeing an increase in market share, according to research firm Kaiko Research. The firm recently published a report that indicates that Coinbase has seen an uptick in its trading volume, during the European trading day, outside the regular United States trading hours: “Coinbase’s share grew the most outside of U.S. trading hours (14-22 UTC), instead surging in ...

The grant is designed to ease the financial burden on affected individuals and will equal the USD equivalent of the assets lost in the security breach. KyberSwap intends to provide financial assistance to users affected by a significant exploit on Nov. The grant is designed to ease the financial burden on affected individuals and will equal the USD equivalent of the assets lost in the security breach. Examinations into the security breach have unveiled that the weakness originated from the tick interval boundaries within KyberSwap’s concentrated liquidity pools. This loophole enabled an attacker to manipulate liquidity artificially , resulting in a substantial depletion of funds. Initially assessed at $47 million, the loss was later verified to be $48.8 million. Related: KyberSwap hacker wants control, law firm says Aussie DeFi tax rules ‘non-binding’: Finance Redefined Interestingly, KyberSwap has successfully recovered $4.7 million of the stolen funds, which were separately ...

Initially, the SEC, led by attorney Michael Welsh, had convinced the court to freeze DEBT Box’s assets, arguing the company was moving to Dubai, beyond U.S. regulatory reach. United States District Judge Robert Shelby has cautioned the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawyers, hinting at possible sanctions due to purportedly deceptive statements in a legal action against Digital Licensing Inc., also recognized as DEBT Box, a crypto company. Lodged in the federal court of Utah, the SEC’s legal action alleged that DEBT Box deceived investors by around $50 million via the vending of unregistered securities known as “node licenses.” Judge Shelby’s decision revealed notable discrepancies in the SEC’s case. Initially, the SEC, led by attorney Michael Welsh, had convinced the court to freeze DEBT Box’s assets , arguing the company was moving to Dubai, beyond U.S. The judge raised apprehensions regarding the behavior of the SEC lawyers. The intricacy of the case is underscored b...

The Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Kraken for selling cryptocurrencies, but it looks like a recycled version of a losing lawsuit. The legal duel between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Kraken, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, looks like another misguided attempt by the SEC to exert control over an industry that fundamentally challenges an outdated regulatory playbook. The agency’s lawsuit, filed in November, accuses Kraken of operating as an unregistered securities exchange . The lawsuit isn’t just a repeat of the SEC’s past failures. The lawsuit isn’t just a repeat of the SEC’s past failures. Related: Expect some crypto companies to fail in the wake of Bitcoin's halving Unlike traditional securities exchanges, platforms like Kraken offer a diverse range of digital assets that do not fit neatly into the securities framework. The SEC lawsuit against Kraken shamed the exchange for telling users they could attempt to profit by dol...