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SBF ordered to jail, Bitcoin ETF delayed and SEC to appeal Ripple case: Hodler’s Digest, Aug. 6-12

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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.

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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.

Editorial Staff

Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.

Cryptocurrency

1,000,000 ETH: Could This Massive Move Ignite Another Price Rally?

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TL;DR

  • Ethereum’s massive exchange outflows and increased whale accumulation fuel optimism for a continued uptrend.

  • However, ETH’s RSI on the daily scale has climbed to 71, entering overbought territory and signaling a potential short-term correction.

Ready for Another Catapult?

The second-biggest cryptocurrency has taken center stage lately, with its valuation soaring in the past few weeks and outperforming bitcoin (BTC) and many other leading digital assets. On Мay 13, the price for one ether (ETH) surged past $2,700 for the first time since late February. 

In the following days, there was a slight retracement, and currently, the asset is worth roughly $2,550 (per CoinGecko’s data). Still, this represents a significant increase compared to the crash below $1,400 observed at the start of April and a 54% rise on a monthly scale.

ETH Price
ETH Price, Source: CoinGecko

According to some important metrics, there’s much more room for growth. The popular X user Ali Martinez revealed that around one million ETH had been withdrawn from exchanges in the last month alone. The USD equivalent of this significant stash is more than $2.5 billion. As CryptoPotato previously reported, nearly half of the amount was withdrawn in the past seven days.

The development indicates a shift from centralized exchanges toward self-custody methods and is generally considered a bullish factor since it reduces the immediate selling pressure. 

Additionally, many well-known X users have pointed to the increased whale activity lately. CryptoJack claimed that large investors have been loading up ETH “like never before.” It is worth mentioning that he showed the buying spree of Abraxas Capital, an investment company that recently acquired millions of tokens. 

The whales’ actions are closely monitored by smaller players who may decide to follow suit and hop on the bandwagon. Large-scale accumulation also reduces the available supply of ETH, and when paired with steady or rising demand, this can create upward pressure on the price.

Meanwhile, multiple analysts have recently made optimistic predictions about the short term. X user Kamran Asghar set the next target at $2,800, while CRYPTOWZRD expects a successful breakout of the $2.8K resistance level, which could push the price toward $3,550. 

Those willing to explore additional forecasts involving ETH can take a look at our dedicated article here.

This Indicator Suggests a Possible Pullback

Despite the overall bullish conditions and opinions, ETH’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) warns about a potential downward trajectory in the short term. The momentum oscillator measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes to help traders assess possible trend reversals. 

It varies from 0 to 100, and readings above 70 typically signal that ETH has entered overbought territory and could soon experience a correction. The RSI on a daily scale is set at 71.

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Sportsbet.io launches 1 million USDT giveaway to mark Champions League finale

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[PRESS RELEASE – Tallinn, Estonia, May 15th, 2025]

Sportsbet.io, the crypto-led sportsbook, has launched a major giveaway offering users the chance to win 1 million stablecoin, USDT, as the UEFA Champions League enters its decisive final stages.

Open to all verified users of the platform, the initiative requires a 1 USDT entry fee. Participants must correctly answer a set of twenty football-focused questions. Those who submit all correct answers may be eligible to claim the full 1 million USDT prize.

The launch is timed to coincide with the conclusion of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season, one of the most-watched sporting events globally. With global interest at its peak, the campaign provides football fans an opportunity to engage directly with a skill-based challenge that blends sporting knowledge in a format that blends skill, timing, and reward. In addition to the main challenge, Sportsbet.io is running a Cup Finals Leaderboard, which tracks user performance across a set of upcoming fixtures. A separate campaign will also reward participants who place qualifying multi-leg bets using the platform’s BetBuilder tool. Together, these two initiatives carry a combined prize pool of 20,000 USDT, distributed based on performance.

Shane Anderson, Chief Brand Officer for Sportsbet.io (Yolo Entertainment), commented:

“The Champions League is a pinnacle of global football – not just for the clubs competing but for fans around the world. As the tournament nears its conclusion, this initiative offers our community a chance to take part in the energy of the final weeks in a meaningful and interactive way.”

Sportsbet.io has a track record of activations aligned with key football moments. Recent campaigns have included VIP ticket giveaways and matchday engagements tied to major events, such as El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid. The platform also maintains club-level partnerships across top-tier European football with fan engagement experiences through digital assets.

Further information, including full entry terms, eligibility requirements, and prize details, can be found on their website.

About Sportsbet.io

Founded in 2016 as part of Yolo Group, Sportsbet.io is the leading crypto sportsbook. Sportsbet.io has redefined the online betting space by combining cutting-edge technology with cryptocurrency expertise and a passion for offering its players the ultimate fun, fast, and fair gaming experience.

Official Regional Partner of LALIGA, Official Betting Partner of English football team, Hull City, and a Club Partner of Premier League team Newcastle United, Sportsbet.io provides an expansive range of betting action across all major sports and eSports, offering players more than 1M pre-match events per year and comprehensive in-play content.

As the first crypto sportsbook to introduce a cash-out function, Sportsbet.io is recognised as a leader in both online sports betting and within the crypto community.

In December 2023, a lucky Sportsbet.io player won the biggest ever online slots jackpot while playing on the site, turning a $50 spin into a prize of more than $42 million.

Sportsbet.io prides itself on its secure and trustworthy betting service, with withdrawal times of less than 90 seconds, among the fastest in the industry.

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Bad News for Ripple as XRP Lags Behind BTC, ETH in This Key Metric

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TL;DR

  • A key metric showcasing the network and investor activity on a certain blockchain has revealed a massive difference in user engagement among the four largest cryptocurrencies by market cap.
  • Nevertheless, analysts remain confident in XRP’s future price movements, as long as the asset remains above a critical support line.

Santiment’s analysis shows the substantial lead BTC has in terms of new wallets being created on average every day for the past month. This aligns with previous reports on CryptoPotato’s website claiming that retail investors have returned for the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

Ethereum, whose price also picked up the pace in the past few weeks, has enjoyed over 110,000 new wallets created daily on average within the past month, while USDT sits far behind with 36,400.

However, Ripple’s situation is rather worrisome as only 3,500 new wallets emerge on a daily basis (again, on average). This suggests that retail investors have remained on the sidelines when it comes to new engagement with XRP, which is in stark contrast with the developments in December 2024.

At the time, the newly established wallets shot up to well over 20,000 while XRP was in the middle of its spectacular run to and beyond $3. Now, though, the lack of actual retail demand could spell trouble for the asset.

The past 24 hours have been somewhat painful for XRP, whose price has tumbled by over 5% and sits below $2.5 after getting rejected at $2.7 earlier this week. However, analysts are adamant that Ripple’s cross-border token has a clear sky ahead of it and will continue to rise as long as it doesn’t lose the $2.38 support level.

You can check some of the latest developments surrounding Ripple here, which also include a few big price predictions.

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