Cryptocurrency

Sam Bankman-Fried’s life in jail, Tornado Cash’s turmoil, and a $3B BTC whale: Hodler’s Digest, Aug. 20-26

Published

2 years ago

August 27, 2023

Tornado Cash co-founders charged with money laundering, sanctions violations

United States officials pressed charges against the co-founders of crypto mixer Tornado Cash on Aug. 23. Roman Storm and Roman Semenov were both charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit sanctions violations and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Storm was arrested and released on bail a few days later, while Semenov was added to the U.S. list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. Combined, the charges carry a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison. The third Tornado Cash co-founder, Alexey Pertsev, was arrested in the Netherlands on money laundering charges in August 2022. The law enforcement actions are a continuation of a U.S. government crackdown on Tornado Cash that began last year due to its alleged role in laundering funds of the Lazarus Group, a North Korean-linked hacking collective. Tornado Cash has been implicated in several other hacks as well. All told, the mixer has laundered over $1 billion in ill-gotten gains, the U.S. Department of Justice alleges.

Sam Bankman-Fried is low on meds, living on $3 peanut butter in prison

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried appears to be having a tough time behind bars, eating only bread with peanut butter to accommodate his vegan diet while exhausting his supply of prescription medication. In the same hearing where Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to seven fraud-related charges, his lawyers pleaded for the former FTX CEO to receive better treatment inside Brooklyn’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center. Also this week, Bankman-Fried was granted permission to meet with his legal team outside of jail with 48 hours’ notice. Every day, he will have roughly seven hours to prepare for his upcoming trial expected to begin in October.

Mystery solved: Bitcoin wallet accruing $3B in 3 months is identified

The mysterious Bitcoin wallet that surged up the ranks to become the third-largest holder of Bitcoin in the world in just over three months, has been identified. Blockchain intelligence platform Arkham Intelligence labeled the wallet as Robinhood: Jump Trading Custody. According to data from crypto statistics platform BitInfoCharts, the wallet address first received Bitcoin on March 8. Over the course of the next three months and two weeks, the wallet had accrued a staggering 118,000 BTC — worth $3.08 billion at current prices. The current largest Bitcoin wallets in the world, according to BitInfoCharts, are reportedly owned by Binance and Bitfinex — as Bitcoin cold wallets.

Prime Trust parent company lost $8M investing in TerraUSD

The parent company of crypto custodian Prime Trust — currently involved in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings — has reported losing roughly $8 million in client and treasury funds through TerraUSD investments, presumably when the algorithmic stablecoin collapsed in May 2022. The company described the investment as well as a ramping up of spending in October and November 2022 — in the midst of FTX’s collapse — as contributing to its bankruptcy filing. Court documents show Prime Trust owed more than $85 million in fiat and $69.5 million in crypto to its clients. The collapse of the Terra ecosystem triggered a major market crash in 2022, affecting several firms including FTX, BlockFi, Celsius Network and Voyager Digital.

PEPE whale seizes dip opportunity, buys $529K worth of tokens

A Pepe holder bought 640 billion Pepe tokens for 320 Ether valued at $529,000 after the price of the frog-themed memecoin dropped by approximately 15% due to recent changes to a multisig wallet and concerns about potential developer manipulation. According to on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain, the whale purchased PEPE at an average price of $0.000001163. The value of the once-popular memecoin plunged after changes related to the amount of signatures required to sign transactions led to worries about a potential “rug pull,” which was later confirmed by one of the project’s co-founders.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $26,040, Ether (ETH) at $1,653 and XRP at $0.52. The total market cap is at $1.05 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Bone ShibaSwap (BONE) at 18.58%, Sui (SUI) at 12.86% and Toncoin (TON) at 11.97%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Pepe (PEPE) at -21.07%, XDC Network (XDC) at -9.62% and ApeCoin (APE) at -8.35%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

“If history were to repeat itself, the next halving would see bitcoin rising to $35k before the halving and $148k after.”

Pantera Capital

“A new computing era has begun. Companies worldwide are transitioning from general-purpose to accelerated computing and generative AI.”

Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA

“Some of the people who currently think that there should not be effective law enforcement on-chain would feel differently if they got hacked, defrauded, or lost their private keys.”

Mike Kanovitz, CEO of Jurat

“You could never underestimate the damage the SEC’s lawsuit has caused – not only against Ripple – but #XRP. Three years of adoption – that’s what it’s caused.”

John Deaton, pro-XRP lawyer

“AI will never replace human creativity because it will always lack the essential spark that drives the most talented artists to do their best work, which is intention.”

Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube

“Blockchain and AI can certainly co-exist — they’re both pillars of Web3.”

Aydin Kilic, CEO of Hive Digital Technologies

Prediction of the Week

Bitcoin ‘overconfidence reigns’ but bulls must reclaim $27.8K — Trader

Bitcoin needs to reclaim one key moving average to “regain its bullish status,” argues popular pseudonymous analyst CryptoCon, warning that bulls remained too optimistic about the $26,000 BTC price support holding.

For CryptoCon, the 20-week exponential moving average (EMA), now at $27,750, must be won back as support in order for the uptrend to be safe. “I have been covering this moving average a lot recently, but I believe it is critical for Bitcoin to regain its bullish status,” he wrote.

The analysis compared current BTC price action to its rebound from 2018 cycle lows. “It is very important that Bitcoin both rises above and retests the 20 Week EMA as support,” CryptoCon noted with a chart showing the similarities between 2019 and 2023, with the retest and subsequent successful EMA reclaim circled.

FUD of the Week

Chinese official sentenced to life in prison for Bitcoin mining, corruption

A Chinese government official has been sentenced to life in prison for illegitimate business operations related to running a 2.4 billion Chinese yuan ($329 million) Bitcoin mining enterprise and for unrelated charges of corruption. Prosecutors say Xiao Yi — a former member of the Jiangxi Provincial Political Consultative Conference Party Group — “covered up” the mining operation by instructing relevant departments to fabricate statistical reports and adjust the classification of electricity consumption. From 2017 to 2020, his facility’s electricity consumption accounted for 10% of the city of Fuzhou’s total electricity consumption.

FBI flags 6 Bitcoin wallets linked to North Korea, urges vigilance in crypto firms

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has flagged six Bitcoin wallets linked to North Korean state-backed hacking group Lazarus. The six wallets contain 1,580 BTC worth $40 million believed to be hoarded from various cryptocurrency hacks over the past year. The FBI in its investigation found that Lazarus Group moved approximately 1,580 BTC linked with several crypto exploits. The hacking group has been actively involved in multiple crypto-linked exploits over the years and are believed to have stolen nearly $2 billion in crypto since 2018.

OpenSea manager accused of insider trading sentenced to 3 months in prison, $50K fine

A federal judge has sentenced former OpenSea product manager Nathaniel Chastain to three months in prison for wire fraud and money laundering related to insider trading on the platform. He was accused of using insider information in his position at OpenSea to profit off the trading of NFTs. In his position as product manager, he had the authority to choose which NFTs would be featured on the OpenSea website. He purchased 45 NFTs prior to them being featured and then resold them.

Recursive inscriptions: Bitcoin ‘supercomputer’ and BTC DeFi coming soon

Some believe that Ordinals and recursive inscriptions could supercharge the Bitcoin network as a viable competitor to smart contract platforms. It’s not going to be easy, though.

AI Eye: Get better results being nice to ChatGPT, AI fake child porn debate, Amazon’s AI reviews

Being nice to ChatGPT gets better results, Wired’s weird child porn debate and the end of CATPCHAs.

NFT Collector: Giant Swan’s gothic VR dreamscapes… royalty nightmare on OpenSea

From crying in his car to putting the first 3D object onchain — the story of Giant Swan. Plus royalties race to the bottom accelerates due to OpenSea.

Editorial Staff

Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.

Cryptocurrency

Ripple Price Alert: Calm Before The Storm as XRP Prepares for Massive Move?

Published

4 hours ago

April 21, 2025

TL;DR

Ripple’s cross-border token has recorded a mere 0.5% increase on a weekly scale.
However, the tightening bands of an important technical tool signal potential turbulence ahead.

Buckle up for Potential Volatility

Ripple’s XRP has been range-bound between $2.04 and $2.18 over the past week, currently hovering at $2.13 (per CoinGecko’s data). One key metric, though, suggests that this more or less calm period could be coming to an end as a major price action may be just around the corner.

The indicator in question is the Bollinger Bands, which, according to popular analyst Ali Martinez, has squeezed on the 4-hour chart.

The technical tool, developed by John Bollinger in the 1980s, helps traders spot when an asset might be overbought or oversold, thus signaling possible reversal points. When the bands start to tighten, it usually means the token’s price has experienced relatively low volatility for a certain period. But that silence sometimes comes before a storm – either a massive surge or a sharp drop could be next.

The bands squeezed substantially towards the end of December when XRP’s price stood at around $2.10. In the following weeks, the asset experienced a real bull run and almost matched its all-time high.

While the tightening bands might have played their role, it is important to note that the token’s rally coincided with the exponential pump of the entire cryptocurrency market, where bitcoin (BTC) reached a peak of almost $110,000.

The Next Targets?

Some of the well-known analysts who made recent bullish predictions include the X users Brett and Captain Faibik. The former thinks XRP “eyes $2.60 as next frontier,” while the latter set a midterm target of $5.

Captain Faibik also advised investors to increase their exposure, assuming that the next bullish leg “will be explosive.”

Outside of the aforementioned technical aspects, XRP might need a news catalyst to begin a new bull run. The lawsuit between Ripple and the US SEC seems to be coming to an end, and its future developments are unlikely to cause any major price swings.

The focus has shifted to the potential approval of a spot XRP ETF in the US, which might drag more investors into the ecosystem and positively impact the asset’s valuation. The prominent entities racing to introduce such a product include Grayscale, 21Shares, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, and others. The chances of a nod from the SEC before the end of 2025 currently stand at roughly 76% (according to Polymarket).

Partnerships, which Ripple might ink in the near future, can also play a positive role. Recall that earlier this month, the company spent over $1.2 billion to acquire prime brokerage giant Hidden Road, which many analysts believe could be a game-changer for XRP’s future price trajectory.

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Cryptocurrency

Crypto Markets Add Almost $100 Billion as Bitcoin Jumps to 3-Week High (Market Watch)

Published

4 hours ago

April 21, 2025

Bitcoin’s good streak as of late continued in the past 24 hours as the asset jumped past $87,500 for just the second time this month.

The altcoins are also with notable gains, led by LINK, AVAX, and XLM from the larger-cap cohort.

BTC Rises Past $87K

Ever since the multi-month low of under $75,000 charted two weeks ago, the primary cryptocurrency has been gradually reclaiming its lost value. It surged past $80,000 at the end of that week (April 11) and hasn’t looked back.

The past trading week went calmly but positively for BTC as it remained within a healthy consolidation range of between $84,000 and $86,000. The weekend was also going quietly until the early Monday Asian trading session changed the landscape.

After sitting at around $84,500 for the past day or so, bitcoin went on the offensive hard and skyrocketed to over $87,600, where it currently stands. This became its highest price tag since April 2, and just the second time this month, the asset has jumped so far ahead. Perhaps one of the reasons behind this is the weakening dollar, more of which you can find here.

For now, though, its market cap has surged to over $1.735 trillion on CG, while its dominance over the alts is back to 61%.

Alts Turn Green

Most altcoins were trading sideways during the weekend as well, but the situation is different now. Ethereum has jumped past the $1,600 resistance and now sits about $50 higher after a 3.3% daily increase. XRP is above $2.1 after a similar jump. DOGE and ADA have marked increases of around 3-4% as well.

Even more impressive daily gains come from the likes of LINK, AVAX, XLM, SUI, HBAR, PEPE, APT, LTC, and others.

The lower-cap alts are led by STX, which has surged by 14% since yesterday, and INJ, which is up by 8%.

The total crypto market cap has added over $80 billion in a day and has increased to $2.855 trillion on CG.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto

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Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.

Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.

Cryptocurrency

MEXC Ventures Launches IgniteX: A $30 Million Initiative to Foster Web3 Talent and Innovation

Published

4 hours ago

April 21, 2025

[PRESS RELEASE – Victoria, Seychelles, April 21st, 2025]

MEXC Ventures, has announced a $30 million allocation to support Web3 talent and accelerate innovation across the decentralized ecosystem. The investment initiative foresees a 5-year span and is part of the broader Corporate Social Responsibility effort by MEXC Ventures, “IgniteX,” in line with its global strategy of fostering sustainable blockchains through support and empowerment of young talents.

The purpose of the initiative undertaken by MEXC Ventures is to create a launchpad program that will serve as a hotbed for talent nurturing and idea development. MEXC will work closely with the institute on blockchain development, academic exchanges, and talent cultivation. MEXC Ventures encourages submissions from early-stage Web3 startups, research initiatives, developer communities, and academic institutions working on decentralized infrastructure, AI-integrated blockchain solutions, stablecoins, and fintech tools. MEXC Ventures aims to include mentorship, educational efforts, and funding as part of the program to create a future-ready blockchain ecosystem, thus ensuring a smooth transition for the next generation of users into Web3 and preparing a willing, enthusiastic, and well-trained pool of leaders to develop it further.

The impact-driven campaign will entail a comprehensive and multi-pronged approach that includes several key elements. The foundation will be the $30 million pledge, which will serve to fund education, project support, and development initiatives. The second part of the campaign will focus on organizing hackathons and developer engagement programs in the form of global events to identify and support emerging talents.

Education will form a major part of the campaign, with university scholarships and blockchain courses offered through partnerships with academic institutions. This step is crucial to making blockchain technologies and the underlying coding and programming languages more accessible to a greater number of potential developers and IT students. Mentorship programs will be launched in tandem to make sure talents have access to adequate training, event participation, and the experience of current Web3 leaders.

Lastly, strategic sector support will be implemented to ensure that funding is provided to promising projects. Special focus will be placed on initiatives developing stablecoins, AI-based solutions, and blockchain infrastructure elements.

As a CSR initiative, “IgniteX” adheres to achieving strategic objectives, which are based on building a pipeline of high-potential Web3 startups with early MEXC involvement for future cultivation and capitalization. This will have a positive impact on brand recognition for MEXC and position it as a strategic and valuable contributor to the development of Web3 space. The campaign will also help foster cross-border collaboration among all participants of the blockchain sector and promote diversity and inclusion based on shared blockchain values.

Through “IgniteX”, MEXC Ventures aims to create an impact on the global Web3 ecosystem by empowering potential future leaders and developers through education and responsible mentorship.

About MEXC Ventures

MEXC Ventures is a comprehensive fund dedicated to driving innovation in the cryptocurrency sector through investments in L1/L2 ecosystems, strategic investments, M&A, and incubation. Upholding the principle of “Empowering Growth Through Synergy,” MEXC Ventures is committed to supporting innovative ideas and active builders.

MEXC Ventures is an investor and supporter of TON and Aptos, and looks forward to staying at the forefront of TON and Aptos innovations while actively engaging with builders to drive ecosystem growth.

For more information, users can visit: MEXC Ventures Website

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