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WBTC Scammer Transfers $71 Million Loot Following Poisoning Fraud

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The individual associated with a recent $71 million wallet phishing attack has finally begun transferring the funds to new addresses.

The scammer’s wallet remained inactive for the last six days after converting the stolen 1,155 WBTC into around 23,000 ETH.

Scammer Transfers Stolen Crypto

The bad actor stole Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) on May 3 after creating a wallet address closely resembling the victim’s in an “address poisoning” scam. The address featured similar alphanumeric characters and executed a small transaction to the victim’s account.

Typically, like many investors, the victim validated the authenticity of the wallet address by confirming the matching first and last few characters, a common practice. However, the discrepancy in the middle characters, often obscured on platforms to enhance visual aesthetics, went unnoticed.

On May 8, blockchain investigation firm PeckShield observed suspicious activity involving the stolen funds. The scammer initiated a process of breaking down the looted assets into smaller portions and dispersing them across numerous crypto wallets. This tactic was directed towards diluting the stolen funds and obscuring their traceability.

Approximately 400 crypto wallets were utilized by the scammer to distribute the funds across over 150 wallets. Despite the extensive effort to obfuscate the origin of the stolen funds, PeckShield’s investigation revealed that all the diverted assets can still be traced back to the unidentified scammer as of the current moment.

Crypto Scams Declined in April

The FBI’s 2023 Internet crime report highlighted a concerning rise in cryptocurrency-related scams, resulting in investors losing $3.94 billion last year. This represents over three-quarters of total losses from investment scams during the period.

Meanwhile, April saw a major decrease in crypto losses from hacks and scams. Crypto losses from hacks and scams hit a record low for the month, with only $25.7 million lost, marking the lowest figure since 2021.

The report attributes the 141% decline in losses primarily due to the absence of private key compromises. There were 11 attacks targeting protocols via private key compromises in March, whereas April witnessed only three such incidents.

Of the $25.7 million total losses reported for April, $21 million was due to exploits, with only three breaches surpassing $1 million in damages each. Flash loan attacks accounted for $129,000 in losses, with the largest incident causing $55,000 in damages, the lowest incidence of flash loan attacks since February 2022.

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BTC Price Rises Above $105K After Fed Decision, LINK Up 7% Daily (Market Watch)

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Bitcoin’s price experienced some expected volatility after yesterday’s FOMC meeting but has headed north and now sits above $105,000.

Most altcoins are in a similar position, with ETH increasing past $3,200 and SOL rising to $240.

BTC Above $105K

The primary cryptocurrency had a quiet weekend in which its price stood mostly in a tight range between $104,000 and $105,000. The landscape changed on Monday, similar to the previous one when the bears took charge of the market and initiated a substantial leg down.

Within hours during the morning Asian trading session, BTC plunged by several grand to a multi-week low of under $98,000. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency didn’t stay there for long and went back into six-digit territory by the end of the day.

The next couple of days were a lot less eventful, aside from another brief decline toward $100,000. The market anticipated the Fed’s decision on Wednesday evening, and bitcoin stood still. Once the expected decision of no interest rate cuts was announced, BTC headed south by over a grand from $103,000 to $101,500.

However, it bounced off and has added roughly $4,000 since then to trade at $105,500 as of press time. Its market capitalization has neared $2.1 trillion on CG, while its dominance over the alts is well above 56%.

BTCUSD. Source: TradingView
BTCUSD. Source: TradingView

LINK Jumps 7%

Most alternative coins have followed BTC on the way up. Ethereum defended the $3,000 level and now sits above $3,200 following a 3% daily increase. Similar price jumps are evident from SOL, ADA, and TRX.

Chainlink has gained 6.5% on the day and now trades close to $25. Even more impressive gains come from the likes of SIU, LTC, HYPE, and ONDO.

The cumulative market cap of all crypto assets had added more than $100 billion in a day. As a result, the metric sits above $3.710 trillion on CG.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto
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.

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How High Could Bitcoin Go in This Bull Cycle? Analyst Weighs In

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TL;DR

  • Analyst Ali Martinez suggests Bitcoin (BTC) has more room for growth during this bull run before a potential cycle shift.
  • Essential factors like reduced MVRV and negative exchange netflows support the thesis of further gains in the near future.

The Possible Cycle Top

The primary cryptocurrency has been on an evident uptrend in the past several months, charting substantial gains after Donald Trump’s win in the US presidential elections.

Recall that Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at less than $70K prior to the voting, whereas a month later, it surpassed the psychological level of $100K for the first time in its existence. Despite the volatility, the solid performance continued, and on January 20 (hours before Trump’s inauguration), the asset tapped a new all-time high of almost $110,000. The next 10 days offered more turbulence before BTC stabilized at its current $105,000 (per CoinGecko’s data).

BTC Price
BTC Price, Source: CoinGecko

According to numerous industry participants, the valuation has yet to reach unseen peaks during this bull cycle. The popular X user Ali Martinez recently suggested that BTC could soar to as high as $184,000 before entering a bearish mode. He based his prediction on the assumption that cycle shifts typically occur once the price surpasses 2.4x the 200-day Simple Moving Average (which is set at the depicted mark). 

Many factors signal that BTC might indeed flourish in the following months. One of those includes the asset’s historical performance in February. As CryptoPotato reported, 8 of the last 12 Februaries saw BTC jumping by double digits. It is important to note that next month is a post-halving February, and all previous ones have resulted in impressive spikes. 

Bitcoin’s Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) and exchange netflow are also worth mentioning. The former metric has been hovering below the healthy level of 2.5 over the last several days, suggesting that the asset might have shifted toward undervalued territory.

BTC’s exchange netflow has been predominantly negative in the past week, with outflows surpassing inflows. This could be interpreted as a transition from centralized platforms toward self-custody methods, which reduces the immediate selling pressure. 

Additional Bullish Predictions

Martinez is not the only one envisioning further pumps for BTC in the near future. X user Captain Faibik observed the formation of a “broadening wedge pattern” to set a $120,000 target potentially reached in February. 

Michael van de Poppe and Jelle were also bullish. The former thinks a new ATH may occur in the coming weeks, while the latter believes $110K is “the final hurdle” before “a new leg of price discovery awaits.”

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Fed Chair Calls for Crypto Regulation, Warns Banks Against ‘Excess Risk Aversion’

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“I do think it would be helpful if there were a greater regulatory apparatus around crypto,” the US central bank chair said at the Federal Open Market Committee press conference on Jan. 29. He added that it is something Congress and the Fed have been “working on quite a lot.”

“We’ve actually spent a lot of time, you know, with House Financial Services, working together with them on various things, and I think that would be a very constructive thing for Congress to do,” he said.

The comments came as the Federal Reserve maintained interest rates at 4.25% to 4.5% following last week’s CPI data that showed inflation was not as high as many anticipated.

Don’t Debank Crypto Customers

Powell also said the central bank was “not against innovation” with regard to cryptocurrencies.

Speaking about banking restrictions, he added, “We certainly don’t want to take actions that would cause banks to, you know, terminate customers who are perfectly legal just because of excess risk aversion, maybe related to regulation and supervision.”

Powell’s remarks at the first FOMC meeting under the Trump administration came as concerns about so-called “debanking” efforts have risen to the highest ranks of government.

“Banks are perfectly able to serve crypto customers, as long as they understand and can manage the risks, and it’s safe and sound,” Powell said before adding, “The threshold has been a little higher for banks engaging in crypto activities, and that’s because they’re so new.”

He noted that individual investors needed better protection as the risks may not be fully understood. He also compared crypto to stocks and mutual funds, saying that similar consumer safeguards should apply.

No Disagreements With Trump

The central bank chair has avoided responding directly to comments made or actions taken by Donald Trump in recent weeks. He said there has been “no contact” with the new president, noting that disagreements would undermine the Fed’s credibility.

“We stand ready to take appropriate action to support the smooth transmission of monetary policy, including adjusting the details of our approach for reducing the size of our balance sheet in light of economic and financial developments,” he said.

More economic data is expected this week, with fourth-quarter GDP Growth Annualized advance estimates due on Thursday and December’s Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report due on Friday.

Crypto markets were up marginally during the Thursday morning Asian trading session, with Bitcoin leading the pack and reclaiming $105,000.

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