Crypto
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Solana joins ranks of FTT, LUNA with SOL price down 97% from peak — Is a rebound possible?
Solana (SOL), the cryptocurrency once supported by Sam Bankman-Fried, pared some losses on Dec. 30, a day after falling to its lowest level since February 2021. Solana price down 97% from November 2021 peak On the daily chart, SOL’s price rebounded to around $10.25, up over 20% from its previous day’s low of approximately $8. SOL/USD weekly price chart. Source: TradingView Nevertheless, the intraday recovery did little to offset the overall bear trend — down 97% from its record peak of $267.50 in November 2021, and down over 20% in the past week. But while the year has been brutal for markets, Solana now joins the ranks of the worst-performing tokens of 2022, namely FTX Token and LUNA, which are down around 98%. FTT (red) vs. LUNA (green) vs. SOL (blue) ...
Nic Carter dives into proof-of-reserves, ranks exchange attestations
Bitcoin advocate Nic Carter has released an in-depth analysis of centralized exchange proof-of-reserves and ranked the attestations provided by some of the most prominent crypto trading platforms in the space. Carter published a detailed examination of the quality of several exchanges’ proof-of-reserves (PoR). The crypto executive used parameters such as attestation to assets held and a disclosure of liabilities, incorporating a third-party auditor, demonstrating credibility by taking a PoR for all assets and committing to an ongoing procedure to determine which PoRs are of the best quality. PoR scores of crypto exchanges. Source: Medium Crypto trading platforms Kraken and BitMEX topped the list. According to Carter, Kraken, which employed Armanino for its proof-of-reserves, gi...
False alarm: DOJ did not classify MNGO as a commodity
Avraham Eisenberg was arrested in Puerto Rico on Dec. 26 on commodities fraud and manipulation charges relating to the $110 million exploit of the decentralized Mango Markets exchange. Eisenberg had self-identified as the actor behind what he called a “highly profitable trading strategy” and insisted that he had taken “legal open market actions, using the protocol as designed.” Eisenberg’s arrest predictably lit up crypto Twitter, with some observers paying particular attention to the fact that commodities fraud charges were being pressed in a case involving a crypto coin: “AVRAHAM EISENBERG, the defendant, willfully and knowingly, directly and indirectly, used and employed, and attempted to use and employ, in connection with a swap, a contract of sale of a commodity in interstate an...
Vader will shut down stablecoin USDV, cannot find a ‘breakthrough’
The app that produces stablecoin Vader Protocol US Dollar (USDV) will be shut down, according to a Dec. 29 announcement from its developers. We are sunsetting Vader Protocol: https://t.co/C3AKHo9URj Existing $VADER and $USDV holders, please visit the webapp to redeem the treasury: https://t.co/SnRlvpXnaQ For all technical issues related to the claim, please check in at the channel on Discord. — Vader (@VaderProtocol) December 29, 2022 Vader protocol was an algorithmic stablecoin network similar to the failed Terra network. It was supposed to encourage arbitrages to keep USDV always equal to $1. When Terra assets depegged in May from the real-world assets they were supposed to represent, the Vader team paused the mint function of the app. It hoped to prevent users from exposing themselves t...
The 10 largest crypto hacks and exploits in 2022 saw $2.1B stolen
It’s been a turbulent year for the cryptocurrency industry — market prices have taken a huge dip, crypto giants have collapsed and billions have been stolen in crypto exploits and hacks. It was not even halfway through October when Chainalysis declared 2022 to be the “biggest year ever for hacking activity.” As of Dec. 29, the 10 largest exploits of 2022 have seen $2.1 billion stolen from crypto protocols. Below are those exploits and hacks, ranked from smallest to largest. 10: Beanstalk Farms exploit — $76M Stablecoin protocol Beanstalk Farms suffered a $76 million exploit on April 18 from an attacker using a flash loan to buy governance tokens. This was used to pass two proposals that inserted malicious smart contracts. The exploit was initially thought to have cost around $182 mil...
Crypto’s recovery requires more aggressive solutions to fraud
It’s hardly an exaggeration to say that our industry is facing tough times. We’ve been in the midst of a “crypto winter” for some time now, with the prices of mainstays, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), tumbling. Likewise, monthly nonfungible token (NFT) trading volumes have fallen more than 90% since their multibillion dollar peak back in January of this year. Of course, these declines have only been exacerbated by the numerous black swan events rocking the crypto world, such as the FTX and Three Arrows Capital meltdowns. Taken together, it shouldn’t be a surprise that crypto is facing a trust deficit. While the destructive actions of reckless CEOs must be addressed and the individuals responsible for these events must be held accountable, our industry cannot stop there if w...
What is Swan Bitcoin and how does it work?
When someone wants to buy Bitcoin (BTC), they usually take the route of a cryptocurrency exchange. Newbies may buy BTC on just any exchange they come across, while those with some sort of experience may opt for a reputable one. The exercise though bears little fruit as most exchanges function almost identically as centralized entities, often working as custodians of the crypto assets of the buyers. The security factor is generally limited to passwords and 2-factor authentication (for the buyers who have opted for it). Customer support, wallet support and ease of use are other factors that buyers might consider when zeroing in on an exchange to buy Bitcoin. Exchanges have a drawback when it comes to supporting customers who want to buy Bitcoin. With an array of digital coins on their platfo...
BTC price preserves $16.5K, but funding rates raise risk of new Bitcoin lows
Bitcoin (BTC) staged a modest recovery on Dec. 29 as United States stock markets rebounded in step. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView $10,000 BTC price targets stick Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD recovering above $16,600 at the Wall Street open after wicking below $16,500 for a second day. The pair remained unappealing to traders, many of whom feared a deeper retracement may still occur around the new year. In a list of potential “capitulation targets,” Crypto Tony doubled down on a price of $10,000 and lower for Bitcoin, while also revealing expectations for Ether (ETH) to dip as low as $300. “Things change quick, but if we hit these areas I begin to ladder,” part of accompanying commentary read. Daan Crypto Trades, meanwhile,...
Chinese Communist Party official pleads guilty to helping Bitcoin miners
According to a report published by state-owned daily news program Xinwen Lianbo on Dec. 29, Xiao Yi, the former Communist Party secretary of the City of Fuzhou, pleaded guilty to corruption charges in the Zhejiang Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court. During his tenure as director from 2008 to 2021, Yi was accused of accepting over 125 million Chinese yuan ($18 million) in bribes related to construction programs and illicit promotions. In addition to the aforementioned counts, Yi also pleaded guilty to charges related to business transactions between himself and Bitcoin (BTC) miners from 2017 to 2021. It is unclear if the series of charges were related. As reported by Xinwen Lianbo: “During his 2017 to 2021 tenure as the Communist Party Secretary of the City of Fuzhou, Xiao Yi provided sup...
An overview of the metaverse in 2022
Recognized as one of the most turbulent years for the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, 2022 has still been vigorous for the metaverse. With over $120 billion invested in the first half of the year alone — according to a McKinsey report — the industry is anything but broken. Some of the most significant partnerships to date were sealed throughout 2022, with even a few unexpected institutions — JP Morgan, for instance — embracing the Web3 revolution despite their proverbial distaste for the decentralization concept. Here’s what you need to know about the influential developments, projects and events that shaped the metaverse in 2022. The metaverse, first coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash and described as a computer-generated universe accessible through high...
Celsius wants to extend the deadline for claims as lawyer fees mount
Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network is planning to file a motion that would extend the deadline for users to submit their claims by another month. The crypto community has started to grow impatient, noting that Celsius’ lawyer fees have continued to stack up and are eating away at the lender’s estate. In a Dec. 29 tweet, Celsius announced that it would seek to extend the current deadline for claims from Jan. 3 to early February. The bankruptcy court is set to hear the motion on Jan. 10, and according to Celsius, the Jan. 3 deadline will be extended until at least then. Celsius is preparing to file a motion later this week requesting an extension of the bar date, which is the deadline to file a claim, from January 3, 2023, until early February. — Celsius (@CelsiusNetwork) Dec...
Bitcoin price would surge past $600K if ‘hardest asset’ matches gold
Bitcoin (BTC) is due to copy gold’s explosive 1970s breakout as it becomes the world’s “hardest asset” in 2024. That was one forecast from the latest edition of the Capriole Newsletter, a financial circular from research and trading firm Capriole Investments. Bitcoin due big moves “and more” in 2020s Despite BTC price action flagging at nearly 80% below its latest all-time high, not everyone is bearish about even its mid-term outlook. While calls for a further drop before BTC/USD finds its new macro bottom remain, Capriole believes that 2023 will be bright for Bitcoin as a reserve asset. The reason, it says, lies in the world economy’s financial history of the past century, and in particular, the United States after the dollar deanchored from gold completely in 1971. Gold, as t...
