Cryptocurrency
SBF ordered to jail, Bitcoin ETF delayed and SEC to appeal Ripple case: Hodler’s Digest, Aug. 6-12
Top Stories This Week
Judge revokes Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail, remands him to custody
FTX’s former CEO, Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, had his bail revoked by a federal judge in response to the release of information to The New York Times allegedly intended to intimidate witnesses. During a hearing on Aug. 11, Judge Lewis Kaplan revoked Bankman-Fried’s bail and remanded him to custody, likely at the Putnam County Correctional Facility. Once his October trial begins, he could be moved to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Bankman-Fried was reportedly led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. In Kaplan’s view, Bankman-Fried’s interviews with NYT reporters resulted in sharing information with the likely intention “to hurt and frighten” former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, his former colleague and girlfriend.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed a decision on whether to approve or disapprove the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposed by ARK Investment Management and 21Shares. ARK originally filed to list the ETF in May, giving the SEC a maximum of 240 days — until January 2024 — to reach a final decision. The SEC’s latest move is fueling expectations that a final verdict will come as part of a batch that includes applications from key players on Wall Street, including BlackRock and Fidelity Investments.
SEC to seek appeal and stay in Ripple Labs court case
The U.S. SEC is moving to appeal a court decision from its lawsuit against Ripple Labs. In a letter to Judge Analisa Torres — the presiding judge in the case — the SEC said it believed her decision warrants a fresh look by an appellate court. The commission asked Judge Torres to put the case on hold during the appeal, saying there are multiple other pending court cases that could be affected, depending on the appeal’s outcome. The SEC is currently in a legal battle with a number of crypto firms, including Binance and Coinbase, over alleged securities violations. Judge Torres ruled, in July, that Ripple’s native token, XRP, is not a security when sold to retail investors. Torres plans to schedule the jury trial for the second quarter of 2024.
PayPal launches PYUSD stablecoin for payment
PayPal launched a new U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin called PayPal USD (PYUSD). Built on the Ethereum network, the stablecoin is backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term treasuries and similar cash equivalents. According to PayPal, the stablecoin will soon be available as a mode of payment for various purchases. The fintech company is home to over 350 million active users, putting it in a strong position to become a crypto payment giant with the introduction of the new stablecoin. PYUSD will be redeemable for U.S. dollars and can be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies on PayPal, as well as being transferable between PayPal and Venmo accounts.
Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Softbank, leading VCs face lawsuit for “abetting” FTX fraud
Eighteen leading venture capital investment firms, including Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Sino Global Capital and SoftBank, have been named as defendants in a class-action lawsuit filed in the United States for their links to the now-bankrupt crypto exchange, FTX. According to the lawsuit, the investment firms were responsible for “aiding and abetting” the FTX fraud. The suit further claims that the defendants used their “power, influence and deep pockets to launch FTX’s house of cards to its multibillion-dollar scale.”
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $29,379, Ether (ETH) at $1,842 and XRP at $0.63. The total market cap is at $1.17 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are THORChain (RUNE) at 20.74%, Shiba Inu (SHIB) at 20.16% and dYdX (DYDX) at 9.63%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are GMX (GMX) -12.47%, Mantle (MNT) at -10.10% and XDC Network (XDC) at -8.09%.
For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Read also
Most Memorable Quotations
“Stablecoins represent the issuance of a new form of money, making it integral that there are Federal guardrails.”
Maxine Waters, United States representative
“This is the Ethereum contract address for PayPal’s stablecoin. I can’t believe i get to tweet that. We’ve come so far.”
Ryan Sean Adams, crypto investor
“By offering users a relatively seamless way to execute transactions, bots have the potential to carve out their own niche in the crypto ecosystem.”
Jie Xuan Chua, analyst at Binance Research
“PayPal USD is the most significant leap forward for digital assets and the financial industry.”
Charles Cascarilla, CEO of Paxos Trust Company
“It is clear that the world needs and will need something like Worldcoin in the coming years. We just hope that happens in a privacy-preserving decentralized, open-source, permissionless way.”
Tiago Sada, head of product at Tools for Humanity
“By accepting digital currencies, we open our doors to a new segment of donors who are tech-savvy and wish to make a difference through their digital assets.”
Benjamin William, CEO of the Singapore Red Cross
Prediction of the Week
Bitcoin trader reveals ‘important’ BTC price zone as bulls hold $29.3K
Bitcoin faces a new battleground as bulls and bears fight for control of a sideways market. Popular pseudonymous trader Daan Crypto Trades flagged, in his latest analysis, a key level to reclaim as BTC price support.
According to the trader, both Bitcoin bulls and bears are caught in a “strongly contested” range, resulting from various trips above and below the current spot price, making the midpoint the level to watch next.
“Pretty clear that the $29.5–29.7K region is an area that’s strongly contested by the bulls and bears,” Daan Crypto Trades wrote.
Bitcoin price has essentially remained the same since mid-June — $28,500 as fundamental support, $31,800 as resistance. Gaining control of the area around $29,700 is, thus, an essential move if bulls are to build the necessary momentum to change the landscape for good, the trader added.
FUD of the Week
Only 6 out of 45 crypto wallet brands have undergone penetration testing: Report
Cybersecurity platform CER found that only six of 45 cryptocurrency wallet brands, or 13.3%, have undergone penetration testing to find security vulnerabilities. Of these, only three brands have performed tests on the latest versions of their products: MetaMask, Zengo and Trust Wallet. An overall ranking of the security of each wallet lists MetaMask, Zengo, Rabby, Trust Wallet and Coinbase Wallet as being the most secure wallets on the market.
US Fed steps up oversight of banks’ involvement with crypto firms
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expanding the scope of its supervision for banks engaged with the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. Under the Novel Activities Supervision Program, companies providing banking infrastructure to digital asset firms or working with companies that use distributed ledger technologies will be regulated. The policies apply to both insured and uninsured U.S. banks supervised by the Fed. Activities regulated under the program include the custody, lending, trading, issuance or distribution of crypto including stablecoins.
SEC announces $24M settlement for case against Bittrex and its former CEO
The U.S. SEC announced an agreement with crypto trading platform Bittrex and its co-founder and former CEO, William Shihara, for operating an unregistered exchange.Bittrex and Bittrex Global agreed to pay $14.4 million in disgorgement (the repayment of ill-gotten gains), $4 million in prejudgment interest, and $5.6 million in civil penalties to settle the legal dispute with the federal regulator. The agreement is still subject to court approval. The SEC’s complaint, filed in April, claimed Bittrex and Shihara operated an unregistered national securities exchange, broker and clearing agency.
Best Cointelegraph Features
Blockchain games aren’t really decentralized… but that’s about to change
Putting video games fully on chain is a terrible idea and can’t work … or can it?
AI Eye: Apple developing pocket AI, deep fake music deal, hypnotizing GPT-4
Apple is developing AI to run locally on your phone, researchers ‘hypnotize’ GPT-4 to turn it evil, and Google negotiates a deep fake music deal.
Grails’ lucky dip of famous NFT artists, new hope for PFP holders: NFT Collector
Pudgy Penguins CEO reveals why PFT holders aren’t doomed, Grails offers a blind tasting to buy famous NFT artists, and free Amazon Prime NFTs.
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Cybercriminals are once again exploiting trusted tools for malicious gains.
This time, a phishing campaign centered around fake Zoom meeting links has left victims counting massive losses in cryptocurrency.
Fake Zoom Invites Mask Malware
A recent report by blockchain security firm SlowMist detailed a sophisticated phishing campaign targeting cryptocurrency users through fake Zoom meeting links. The attack has reportedly resulted in the theft of millions of digital assets.
It involved the use of a fraudulent domain resembling the authentic one. This site mimicked the genuine Zoom interface to trick unassuming victims into downloading a malicious installation package. Once executed, the malware prompted users to enter their system passwords which enabled the collection of sensitive information such as KeyChain data, browser credentials, and cryptocurrency wallet details.
Upon analysis, SlowMist said that it identified the malware’s code as a modified osascript script. The script extracted and encrypted user data before transmitting it to a hacker-controlled server flagged as malicious by threat intelligence platforms.
The server’s IP address was traced to the Netherlands, and the attackers’ monitoring tools, including logs showing Russian script usage, suggest a connection to Russian-speaking operatives.
On-chain tracking through SlowMist’s MistTrack tool revealed that the hackers’ primary wallet amassed over $1 million, converting stolen assets into 296 ETH. Further transfers led to a secondary address which is now linked to transactions across popular crypto exchanges such as Binance, Gate.io, and MEXC. A complex network of smaller wallets and flagged addresses, including those tagged “Angel Drainer” and “Pink Drainer,” facilitated fund dispersal.
“These types of attacks often combine social engineering and Trojan techniques, making users vulnerable to exploitation. The SlowMist Security Team advises users to carefully verify meeting links before clicking, avoid executing unknown software and commands, install antivirus software, and update it regularly.”
Phishing Scams Hit Alarming Highs
There has been a surge in crypto phishing scams lately. Earlier this month, a fraudulent work meeting link sent via KakaoTalk caused a person to lose $300,000 in cryptocurrency. The malware-compromised funds were transferred to a BingX-associated wallet. The link installed malware and compromised Ethereum and Solana wallets.
Another blockchain security expert, Scam Sniffer reported over $9.4 million was lost in phishing attacks in November alone. Malicious blockchain signatures remain a top threat, as scammers exploit fraudulent transaction permissions to drain wallets, including high-profile thefts exceeding $36 million.
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Bitcoin’s price actions at the end of the year are quite underwhelming as the asset tumbled from $97,000 to under $94,000 yesterday and is down by fourteen grand since last Tuesday’s peak.
The altcoins have suffered as well, with many violent price corrections from the likes of AVAX, LINK, SUI, and others.
BTC’s Struggles See No End
The Fed-induced correction began last week as bitcoin dumped from its latest all-time high of over $108,000 to $92,000 in just a few days. It managed to recover some ground last weekend and even spiked to $99,000, but that was short-lived, and the asset headed straight south on Monday.
After another slump toward $92,000, the bull took charge and pushed it to a multi-day peak of just under $100,000. However, this rally was halted quickly as well, and bitcoin started losing value once again in the following days.
After failing at $97,000 yesterday, the bears drove it down once more to under $94,000. Although it has been able to recover some ground since then and now trades above that line, BTC is still more than 2% down on the day.
Its market capitalization has dumped to $1.870 trillion on CG, and its dominance over the alts has retraced to 54.4%.
Alts in Red Only
The alternative coins are deep in red today as well. Ethereum was stopped on a few occasions at $3,500 and is down to $3,360 now. XRP is well below $2.2, while BNB fights to remain above $700. SOL, ADA, DOGE, and TON have produced losses of up to 3%.
Even more painful declines come from AVAX, SUI, LINK, DOT, and HBAR. In fact, Chainlink’s token has plummeted by nearly 10% and is deep beneath $22.
Most lower- and mid-cap alts are in a similar state as well. Consequently, the total crypto market cap has dumped by $150 billion in the past two days to just over $3.4 trillion on CG.
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Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.
TL:DR;
- XRP went on a wild ride at the end of 2024 but still came short when it was a matter of breaking above $3 and potentially reaching a new all-time high.
- Will that finally change for the asset in 2025? Here’s ChatGPT’s answer.
Can XRP Break Above $3.4 in 2025?
It’s safe to say that the Trump-induced rally after his decisive win in the 2024 US presidential elections benefited some assets more than others. XRP stood quietly below $0.6 but on the hopes that the SEC lawsuit will finally be resolved during a more favorable administration and better regulations, it skyrocketed within several weeks to almost $3.
However, its run was halted there and Ripple’s native cross-border token even slipped below $2 on a couple of occasions. It now stands at around $2.15, which is more than 35% away from its January 7, 2018 all-time high of $3.4.
With just a few days left in 2024, it seems highly unlikely that this record will fall by January 1. But, what are XRP’s chances for a new all-time high in 2025? Well, ChatGPT’s answer was quite bullish, actually.
In the first part, the AI chatbot indicated that numerous analysts and forecasts envision XRP going to $4.5 in H1 of 2025, driven by “factors such as increased adoption and favorable regulatory develpoments.” Furthermore, the AI tool asserted that the asset could shot up to $7 if the aforementioed factors align with better market conditions and investor sentiment.
Nevertheless, it also had a second part to its answer, suggesting that “XRP may underperform in 2025 as investors might shift their focus to newer cryptocurrencies, potentially impacting its growth prospects.”
And Perplexity Says…?
ChatGPT’s rival also outlined XRP’s spectacular price growth at the end of 2024 and highlighted three probable scenarios for the asset for the next year. The conservative one sees XRP stabilizing between its current level and $3. The more optimistic one foresees a price rally to uncharted territory of $4.44 and $5.25.
The more outrageous prediction indicates a run toward $8 by the end of 2025. Such a price tag would put XRP’s market capitalization at roughly $500 billion, which would make it the second-largest by that metric if ETH’s stays the same.
Perplexity mentioned essentially the same factors that could propel a price rally for XRP, including better regulatory landscape in the US, bullish market sentiment across the entire crytpo fieled, and growing institutional adoption. The last part could be fastlaned if the upcoming SEC administration approves a Ripple ETF, just like it did with BTC and ETH in 2024.
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