The Incrypted team has prepared a weekly digest about important events in the crypto industry this week. In this article we will talk about the drawdown of the Bitcoin exchange rate, the decision of the National Bank and the Verkhovna Rada on bills on digital assets, the outflow of funds from spot Bitcoin ETFs and much more.
Top News Bitcoin News
- The rate of the first cryptocurrency dropped below $39,000
On January 23, 2023, the price of Bitcoin showed a sharp drop. The rate of the first cryptocurrency dropped below $39,000. Against the backdrop of the drawdown, the volume of liquidations on futures contracts reached $337 million.
The day before the sharp decline in the value of Bitcoin, the founder of the BitMEX exchange, Arthur Hayes, predicted that the rate of the first cryptocurrency would fall below $40,000. The expert expected that the asset price would drop to these values towards the end of the month, but everything happened much earlier.
A few days later, Bitcoin regained its lost ground and broke through the $41,000 mark last Friday, January 26, 2024.
- PlanB predicted Bitcoin’s growth to $60,000
An investor and analyst under the pseudonym PlanB expects the Bitcoin rate to rise to $60,000 in the near future.. In his opinion, the first cryptocurrency entered the accumulation stage after it dropped below $40,000.
- CoinShares experts allowed the creation of a new stablecoin in the Bitcoin network
CoinShares analysts believe that 2024 will be a decisive year for Bitcoin in the stablecoin market. They allowed the creation of a project that could compete with a number of other “stable coins” in terms of speed and ease of use.
Cryptocurrency ETFs
- Arkham discovered accounts of four spot Bitcoin ETFs
Experts from the analytical platform Arkham Intelligence have identified ETF addresses from BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Bitwise and Franklin Templeton. The company was the first to publicly acknowledge these data. You can now view the balance and transaction history of spot exchange-traded funds in Arkham.
- Nine Spot Bitcoin ETFs Control Over 100,000 BTC
K33Research analyst said nine spot Bitcoin ETFs hold more than 100,000 BTC in their accounts. This includes ETFs from firms such as BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitwise, Ark 21Shares, Invesco, VanEck, Valkyrie, Franklin Templeton and WisdomTree.
- During the day, the net outflow of spot Bitcoin ETFs amounted to $159 million
On January 24, 2024, net outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs reached $159.04 million, according to SoSo Value. This is the largest daily figure since the start of trading for this position.. An outflow of funds from cryptocurrency ETFs was observed throughout the week.
This trend is primarily due to the withdrawal of assets from the GBTC fund of Grayscale Investments. Since it was converted into a spot Bitcoin ETF and began trading on the open market, it has lost $4.4 billion.
- Analysts Don’t Believe XRP-ETF Approval ‘Soon’
Some experts have said that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will not approve spot XRP ETFs in the foreseeable future. They believe that the ongoing litigation between Ripple and the SEC, as well as the lack of an XRP futures ETF, reduce the chances of approval of a new crypto exchange-traded fund.
SEC and Industry Regulation
- Binance and SEC lawyers presented their arguments on the status of cryptocurrencies in court
On January 22, 2024, a hearing was held in the District Court for the State of Columbia on Binance’s motion to dismiss the SEC’s lawsuit.. During the meeting, the exchange’s lawyers criticized the Commission for its handling of cryptocurrencies under the current legal and regulatory framework.
- SEC postpones consideration of application for spot Ethereum-ETF from BlackRock
SEC delays decision on BlackRock’s Ethereum spot ETF. New review deadline set for March 10, 2024. According to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seiffarth, delays on this issue will occur regularly.
- The SEC filed 46 lawsuits against crypto companies in 2023
According to a report from consulting firm Cornerstone Research, the agency has carried out 46 enforcement actions related to cryptocurrencies.. Compared to 2022, this figure has increased by 53%, experts said.
Since 2013, the agency has taken a total of 173 enforcement actions against cryptocurrency organizations. At the same time, a new record was set in 2023.
- SEC Chief: Approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs Shouldn’t Be Seen as Anything More
The head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, urged not to regard the decision to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs as something more. This is how he commented on the likelihood of launching exchange-traded funds based on Ethereum.
Cryptocurrencies and Ukraine
- The National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine has updated the list of “dubious” investment projects
The National Commission for Securities and Stock Market of Ukraine (NCSM) presented an updated list of projects that pose a risk to investors. According to them, this is the main reason why companies choose other jurisdictions to operate.
- The number of crimes using cryptoassets has increased in Ukraine
Over the past ten years, the number of crimes involving cryptocurrencies has increased in Ukraine, according to a report from the Economic Truth publication.
According to the document, during the mentioned period, more than 1,500 decisions relating to the mentioned category of crimes were entered into the Unified State Register of Judicial Decisions of Ukraine. At the same time, cases involving digital assets still account for less than 0.5% of all criminal proceedings in 2023.
Hackers
- US Pastor Accused of Cryptocurrency Fraud for More Than $1.3 Million
The regulator of the state of Colorado (USA) filed a lawsuit against pastor Eli Regalado and his wife, accusing them of fraud with the INDXcoin cryptocurrency. The suspect reportedly created the digital asset and website Kingdom Wealth Exchange, the only trading platform where INDXcoin can be bought and sold.
In August 2022, in one of his messages, Regalado stated that he received a “divine” message:
“God brought me cryptocurrency. He told me to take it to the people to transfer wealth. Soon many of you will have a lot of money if you take part.”
However, on November 1, 2022, the exchange ceased operation, and any transactions became unavailable.
According to law enforcement, a married couple sold INDXCoin tokens for $3.4 million. At least $1.3 million was spent on personal expenses, including a Range Rover, jewelry, boat rentals and snowmobiling.
- Hackers stole $32 million using automated scam scheme
Analysts of the Blockfence platform discovered a large-scale automated scam scheme on the network, the victims of which were over 42,000 users. According to available information, since April 2023, unknown hackers have created more than 1,300 fictitious tokens, allowing them to steal over $32 million in various assets.
- The SEC page was hacked due to disabling multi-factor authentication
The SEC published the interim results of its investigation into the incident on January 9, 2024. According to the report, the agency’s page on social network X (formerly Twitter) was hacked because multi-factor authentication was disabled in the account settings.
The commission noted that the unidentified hacker did use the SIM card swap method. At the same time, he received access to the phone number to which the page was registered through the operator, and not from the SEC system.
- MailerLite suffered a hacker attack causing $3.3 million in damages
On January 23, 2024, the MailerLite database was compromised, resulting in attackers gaining access to the accounts of large companies in the Web3 industry. The damage from the subsequent wave of phishing attacks is estimated at $3.3 million.
- Ozys accuses former employee of involvement in $81.5 million hack
The South Korean company behind the Orbit Bridge internet protocol, Ozys, has filed charges against a former security officer.. Allegedly, his actions led to a hack of $81.5 million.
- US to sell $117 million worth of Bitcoin seized in Silk Road case
The US government announced its intention to sell part of the cryptocurrency associated with the case of the darknet site Silk Road. Authorities plan to sell 2,934 BTC seized from drug dealers Ryan Faras and Sean Bridges. As of January 26, 2024, the assets were valued at $117 million.
Sui Network’s TVL tops $376 million for first time
The total value of locked funds (TVL) in the first level network of Sui reached $376 million. Since September 2023, this figure has grown more than 15 times, according to DeFi platform Llama.
Ape Terminal was accused of fraud with the SatoshiVM token
Decentralized platform Ape Terminal was accused of fraud with the SatoshiVM protocol token (SAVM). Against the backdrop of the news, the asset rate fell by more than 50%.
A discussion broke out between a project representative and the Ape Terminal platform related to ambiguous data on IDO SatoshiVM. A MacnBTC user posing as a protocol consultant accused the platform of fraud and receiving millions of dollars in improper benefits.
The Ape Terminal team responded by stating that MacnBTC is one of the founders of the project and is behind the token scam. According to them, the user and his entourage earned about $20 million from IDO fraud.
Messari Report: BNB Chain Transaction Volume Up 35%
BNB Chain saw significant growth in activity in Q4 2023. Messari analysts came to this conclusion.. Project revenue grew by 27%, while market capitalization increased by 48%.
Aleo mainnet will launch in the first quarter of 2024
The developers of the first level blockchain Aleo announced the launch of the main network. It will begin work in the next few weeks once some bugs are ironed out, the project team said.
Trustee Plus spoke about plans to issue a token
Trustee CEO Vadim Grusha announced plans to issue a token. The entrepreneur is not yet ready to announce specific deadlines for the implementation of the project. This will happen as soon as the Trustee team feels ready to start working on it, Grusha said.
UK Supreme Court rejects Wright’s appeal in libel suit against Peter McCormack
The UK Supreme Court has rejected self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator Craig Wright’s appeal in a libel suit against blogger Peter McCormack. Previously, he was ordered to pay nominal compensation of £1 ($1.27).
The Ethereum Foundation announced the dates for the Dencun hard fork in the Sepolia and Holesky test networks
Ethereum Foundation representative Tim Beiko announced the deployment of the Dencun update, which includes proto-dunksharding (EIP-4844), on the Sepolia and Holesky test networks. According to him, the update will be activated on Sepolia on January 30, and on Holesky on February 7, 2024.
Changpeng Zhao tried to leave the US using Binance.US shares as collateral
Former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance Changpeng Zhao tried to travel to the United Arab Emirates at the end of 2023. As a guarantee that CZ would return to the United States, it was proposed to make a deposit in the form of a block of Binance.US shares owned by the entrepreneur. Following the hearing, Judge Jones rejected the request to travel to the UAE.
Nexo filed a lawsuit against the Bulgarian authorities for $3 billion
Crypto-lander Nexo filed a lawsuit against the Bulgarian authorities with the World Bank’s International Center for Resolution of Investment Disputes. The company demanded compensation in the amount of $3 billion for unjustified harassment.
Core Scientific announced its return to the NASDAQ stock exchange and an increase in capacity to 1 GW
Bitcoin miner Core Scientific announced its return to the NASDAQ stock exchange. On January 24, 2024, the company’s securities began trading under the tickers CORZ, CORZW and CORZZ. The company noted that in the next four years they intend to increase the total capacity of data centers to 1 GW.
Other news:
- Bitcoin miner Hut 8 has denied accusations of market manipulation in its merger with US Bitcoin.
- JPMorgan Chase downgraded Coinbase shares.
- The expert said that Bitcoin Core developers may change the maximum supply of the asset.
- The ZetaChain team has announced an airdrop for early adopters.
- Binance has partnered with Trustee Plus.
- The co-founder of Three Arrows Capital enjoyed his time in a Singapore prison.
- Media reported that FTX sold about $1 billion worth of GBTC shares.
- The number of owners of crypto assets reached 580 million at the end of 2023.
- The head of OSL predicted the launch of a cryptocurrency ETF in Hong Kong by mid-2024.
- CBDC opponent Ron DeSantis has dropped out of the US presidential race.
- Another candidate for the post of head of NAPC invested in Bitcoin and Ethereum.
What’s up with Incrypted?
Co-founder of Incrypted Ivan Pavlovsky spoke with the head of Trustee Vadim Grusha. During the interview, they discussed the creation and development of the company, plans to attract investments and launch their own token, as well as the regulation of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine:
In addition, the editors have prepared a short translation of a new essay from Arthur Hayes:
The Incrypted team has launched a section with a token sale calendar, where the most current ICOs, IEOs and IDOs are collected:
Airdrops
New materials from this section:
- Metis Testnet Activity;
- Trustee Plus – Activity;
- Taiko Testnet Katla;
- Florence Finance Activity;
- SkyArk – Activity;
- ZeroLend – Activity;
- Masa New Quest.
Updates:
- Galxe Quests New Module.
Upcoming token sales:
- Nibiru – Coinlist Sale.
Besides…
- We have collected for you in one material key investments in the field of blockchain, crypto assets and AI.
- We regularly update the Incrypted crypto calendar, in which you will find a lot of interesting events and announcements.