The Incrypted team has prepared for you a digest of the main events in the cryptosphere this week. In it we will tell you about Bitcoin price fluctuations, forecasts regarding the approval of spot Ethereum-ETFs, crypto portfolios of Ukrainian officials and some hacks.
Main news About Bitcoin
- The price of the asset broke through the level of $43,000
On January 29, 2024, the price of Bitcoin crossed the $43,000 mark, reaching $43,787 at the moment. However, following this and against the backdrop of the Fed’s decision to leave the interest rate at the same level, the rate rolled back. By the end of the week, Bitcoin partially recovered its position and returned to a level above $43,000.
- Creative Planning announced a decrease in Bitcoin volatility
Analyst Charlie Bilello noted that the figure has reached a minimum in the last 12 years. As of the end of January 2024, it is 45%. For comparison, in January 2023 the figure was 63%.
- JPMorgan Chase announced a drop in interest in spot Bitcoin ETFs
Bank experts came to this conclusion based on an analysis of liquidity inflows into this sector. Despite this, the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs became the most successful in history in terms of trading performance, the organization believes.
Ivan Pavlovskyy- The expert predicted a drawdown of Bitcoin to $30,000
A native of the company Ark Invest, Chris Burnisk, believes that the price of the asset may fall before jumping to the previous historical maximum. He cited many factors, including macroeconomic ones, as the reason.
- YieldMax will release an ETF based on Bitcoin options
The company has filed an application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to register a new exchange-traded fund. It aims to generate returns from Bitcoin options, but the product does not directly invest in cryptocurrency.
- Harvest Fund has applied to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF in Hong Kong
The company’s local branch, Harvest Hong Kong, filed papers with the Hong Kong Securities and Exchange Commission. If the regulator approves the new product, the firm will begin trading on February 10, 2024.
- BlackRock will place advertisements for spot Bitcoin ETF on the facades of former financial institutions
This follows from an updated fund promotion plan that the company filed with the SEC.. The marketing campaign will cover three cities in the United States – New York, Miami and Los Angeles.
- Global X withdraws application to register spot Bitcoin ETF
The company filed with the SEC in August 2023, but did not receive approval along with other ETF providers. According to analyst James Seiffart, this was expected.
- Invesco and Galaxy Digital have reduced management fees for their spot Bitcoin ETF
The commission was reduced by 14 basis points – from 0.39% to 0.25%. According to Seyffart, this will strengthen the position of the exchange-traded fund in the competition.
- El Salvador has no plans to abandon Bitcoin
Current Vice President Felix Ulloa said this in an interview with Reuters on the eve of the elections.. He also confirmed that if he wins, the administration of President Nayib Bukele will continue to work on launching Bitcoin bonds.
About Ethereum
- Experts predicted the timing of approval of spot Ethereum-ETFs
Investment bank TD Cowen expects this to happen by the end of 2025. Standard Chartered Bank has already announced another deadline – May 2024. The former cite the slowness of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, the latter point to the approval of Ethereum futures ETFs in the fall of 2023.
- Ethereum options trading volume hits all-time high in January
As of January 31, 2024, the figure was $20 billion. At the same time, the Deribit exchange, which accounts for most of this volume, saw a concentration of call options with a strike price of $2,500.
- The Dencun update was successfully deployed to two of the three testnets
The upgrade took place on January 30, 2024. The package’s core features, including blobs, work reliably. Deployment to Holesky is expected to take place on February 7, 2024.
- Bloomberg spoke about “one of Ethereum’s biggest problems”
We are talking about the Geth client. The publication indicated that 80% of validators rely on it. A failure in a client’s work can lead to serious consequences for the network as a whole, says Bloomberg analyst Emily Nicollet.
Ukraine and crypto assets
- The head of the Nikolaev Regional State Administration invested almost $30,000 in Bitcoin
This follows from the declaration of Vitaly Kim for 2022. Judging by on-chain data, the official bought crypto assets in March 2022 at a rate of about $41,000.
- Ukrainian official earned more than ₴17 million from the sale of crypto assets in 2023
We are talking about the Minister for Strategic Industries of Ukraine Alexander Kamyshin. Before this, in 2022, he received about ₴1.8 million from the sale of crypto assets.
- The deputy was suspected of incorrectly declaring crypto assets worth ₴24 million
The media reported that Alexander Marikovsky, a member of the Servant of the People party, had come under suspicion.. Law enforcement officers established that the politician entered into the declaration for 2020 a crypto-wallet that never belonged to him.
Hacking and fraud
- In Germany, police seized 50,000 BTC in a piracy case
This is the result of a joint operation between the Dresden General Prosecutor’s Office and the State Criminal Police Office of Saxony. The cryptocurrency is valued at $2.2 billion.
- English police confiscate 61,000 BTC in fraud case
The attackers, two Chinese citizens, were detained back in 2018. At the same time, the police seized four crypto wallets on which the assets were stored. The trial did not begin until January 2024.
One of the defendants is accused of money laundering, the other of investment fraud amounting to about £5 billion.. According to the case file, she defrauded over 128,000 investors.
- Media: Amazon will make a film about Bitfinex hackers
Information has appeared in the press that Amazon MGM studio is working on a film adaptation of the hacking of the Bitfinex exchange. The media also stated that Anna Marks would direct.. Previously, the film will be dedicated to the two main defendants in the case – Heather Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein.
Earlier, the streaming service Netflix announced plans to make a film based on this story.
- The Ripple platform was hacked for $105 million
An analyst under the pseudonym ZachXBT was the first to announce this.. Later, information appeared that the personal accounts of Ripple Labs co-founder Chris Larsen were affected.. The addresses were frozen, in particular, with the assistance of the WhiteBIT and Binance exchanges.
Denis Solomyanyuk- Hacken: in 2023, the total damage from scams and hacks amounted to $1.9 billion
A total of 447 such precedents were recorded. Landing protocols remain the most vulnerable sector. Most cases recorded in BNB Chain. You can read the report in detail by following the link.
Google allows advertising of cryptocurrency ETFs
The company updated its internal policy at the beginning of December 2023, but the changes came into force on January 31, 2024. Some ETF issuers, including VanEck and BlackRock, rushed to take advantage of the opportunity and advertise their exchange-traded funds.
Elon Musk presented the first Neuralink implant. The token of the same name soared by 3400%
According to the billionaire, the implantation of the device was successful. In the future, such a chip will allow a person with disabilities to control a phone or computer with the power of thought.
Against this background, the NEURALINK token jumped from $0.048 to $2.46 instantly. At the same time, the asset is in no way connected with the company.
Liechtenstein allowed payment for government services with crypto assets
The initiative was implemented as part of cooperation between local authorities and the xMoney platform. The project team said the partnership sets global benchmarks for other jurisdictions.
Other news
- OpenSea CEO did not rule out the possibility of selling the company;
- trading volume on the friend.tech platform decreased by 96%;
- Magic Eden developers presented their crypto wallet;
- Vitalik Buterin spoke about the prospects of AI in the cryptosphere;
- The media reported that the Spanish Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina is actively interested in memcoins;
- Argentine authorities removed the clause on the taxation of crypto assets from the bill “On the foundations and starting points of the freedom of Argentines”;
- Vitalik Buterin spoke about the four components of the cryptosphere;
- The media reported that WorldCoin’s offices in Hong Kong were searched;
- The Fed left interest rates unchanged. The next meeting will be held in March 2024;
- FTX abandoned the idea of restarting the exchange in favor of liquidation. FTT collapsed;
- Media reported that some Hamas victims sued Binance;
- Tether’s net profit in the fourth quarter of 2024 amounted to $2.85 billion;
- blogger Ben Armstrong will close his show about crypto assets due to financial problems.
What’s up with Incrypted? Articles and interviews
As Dencun rolls out on the testnet, Sepolia has prepared material for you about this update and its key features.
Ivan BabiukWe also recommend that you read the article on how to correctly declare crypto assets in Ukraine. An expert opinion was expressed by Alexander Melnik, a lawyer from the Business Security practice at Juscutum.
Alina SaganskaAn overview of the USDC cryptocurrency has appeared in the “Beginners” section.
Updates:
- Aptos Ecosystem Fundamentals – Quest Three;
- Berachain – Contract; – Mantle Journey – Claim Rewards;
- WormHole – Quest on Layer3.
Token sales:
- Meson Tokensales.
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.