Bitcoin struggled to maintain its position near monthly lows as it approached the Wall Street opening on January 20th, while Ether encountered significant resistance in its upward journey.
Bitcoin faced substantial sell-side pressure, with its price hovering around $40,600 overnight, marking its lowest point since December 18th. Bulls repeatedly failed to regain lost ground, creating a tense atmosphere in the market.
Michaël van de Poppe, the founder and CEO of MN Trading, suggested that a potential price floor for Bitcoin might be in the mid-$30,000 range, although he believed further testing of lower levels might occur before a reversal.
He expressed personal interest in accumulating Bitcoin between $36,000 and $40,000.
Rekt Capital, a popular trader and analyst, supported the idea that Bitcoin was following patterns typically observed before block subsidy halvings.
This pattern could indicate a retreat in the coming month before the halving event scheduled for April.
Additionally, a significant number of Bitcoin sales occurred during the recent dip, with approximately 59,000 BTC moving on-chain for the first time in three to six months.
These coins were originally acquired at an average cost of $26,000, resulting in a realized profit of nearly $900 million.
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Earlier research had attributed the drop from $49,000 the previous week to large-scale whale selling.
In the world of altcoins, attention shifted to ETH/BTC, which had been on a downward trendline for an extended period.
Ether had made notable gains against Bitcoin in the past week, surpassing the 0.06 BTC mark before consolidating at that level, its highest since April 2022.
This consolidation was occurring at a resistance trendline and above the 200-day moving average cloud, according to Caleb Franzen, a senior analyst at Cubic Analytics.
Franzen’s analysis referenced data indicating that ETH/USD was likely to outperform BTC/USD in the future.
In summary, Bitcoin faced significant sell-side pressure and hovered near monthly lows, with experts suggesting potential price floors.
Meanwhile, Ether encountered resistance against Bitcoin and consolidated near a crucial resistance trendline, indicating potential strength in the ETH/USD pair going forward.
On January 19, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made a significant move by acknowledging the proposals submitted by Nasdaq and the Cboe regarding the introduction of options trading for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Nasdaq initiated a rule change request to facilitate the listing and trading of options linked to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, while the Cboe applied for permission to trade options linked to “ETPs (exchange-traded products) that Hold Bitcoin.”
Notably, the Cboe had recently launched six out of the ten BTC ETFs that had received SEC approval.
The much-anticipated BTC ETFs commenced trading on both the Nasdaq and Cboe platforms on January 11, just one day after obtaining approval from the SEC.
Catherine Clay, the Executive Vice President of Cboe, disclosed that the exchange was experiencing “good inflows” into the BTC ETFs, which were closely tracking the price of Bitcoin, aligning with expectations.
According to Clay, introducing BTC ETF options trading was the “next logical step” for these products, as it would enhance their utility and provide risk mitigation capabilities.
Nasdaq supported this notion by stating that options would deliver “cost efficiencies and increased hedging strategies.”
Options are financial derivatives that grant the holder the right to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price and time.
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Analyst Dave Nadig from VettaFi suggested that this move could attract various hedge fund players to the BTC ETF options space who may not have previously ventured into the cryptocurrency ecosystem directly.
Cboe submitted its request for options trading permission just last week, and Clay expressed uncertainty regarding the regulatory approval process, emphasizing that it was challenging to predict the outcome.
Moreover, Cboe’s options clearing corporation had to make corresponding filings with both the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, adding an additional layer of complexity to the situation.
James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, noted the unexpected speed at which Nasdaq had made its announcement, suggesting that approval for options trading could potentially be granted as early as the end of February, or at the latest, around September 21.
These proposals are now open for public comment for a period of 21 days after their publication in the Federal Register, allowing stakeholders and interested parties to provide their input and perspectives on this pivotal development in the cryptocurrency and financial markets.
On the fifth day of trading, issuers of Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) made a significant addition to their crypto holdings, accumulating a net total of 10,667 Bitcoins.
The trading activity was accompanied by a surge in trading volumes, indicating growing interest in these investment products.
Data provided by the X (formerly known as Twitter) account CC15Capital for January 17 reveals that a substantial $440 million worth of Bitcoin was added to the ETF holdings by the end of the trading day.
Notably, BlackRock’s ETF led the pack, acquiring 8,700 BTC, which translates to nearly $358 million in value.
The data further demonstrates that nine ETFs, excluding Grayscale, have collectively purchased approximately 68,500 BTC since their launch, currently valued at around $2.8 billion.
However, these recent Bitcoin acquisitions by ETFs were partly offset by ongoing outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which saw 10,824 BTC, approximately $445 million, being sold off.
Since its conversion to a spot ETF on January 11, GBTC has witnessed nearly 38,000 BTC exiting its holdings.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas shared data indicating that the “Newborn Nine,” a term he coined for the new spot Bitcoin ETFs excluding GBTC, experienced a remarkable 34% surge in daily trading volume on their fifth day of operation.
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Balchunas noted that it’s unusual to see such an increase in volume after a highly anticipated launch.
It’s important to note that data regarding Bitcoin purchases reported by ETF managers are subject to delays due to purchase settlement processes, causing a lag in real-time transaction figures.
Investors have shown strong interest in these new funds, with both BlackRock and Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETFs amassing over $1 billion in assets under management as of the close of trading on January 18, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart.
Balchunas also highlighted that BlackRock and Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETFs rank fourth and fifth in terms of weekly capital inflows among all U.S. ETFs, trailing only the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF, which seeks to replicate the returns of the S&P 500 index.
CC15Capital additionally shared that Bitwise is the sole asset manager to disclose its Bitcoin holdings for January 18, revealing an addition of 491 BTC on that day, amounting to over $20 million.
While Bitcoin experienced a slight decrease of less than 1% on January 17, it has seen a more significant decline of over 3.5% in the past 24 hours, as reported by Cointelegraph Markets Pro.
In just a span of three hours after the debut of the SatoshiVM (SAVM) token, a cryptocurrency trader managed to amass a staggering $6.77 million in profits.
This astounding feat was achieved through the strategic use of a powerful tool known as the Banana Gun sniping tool, enabling the trader to seize the opportunity and capitalize on the token’s price surge.
To kickstart this remarkable venture, the trader employed the Banana Gun trading bot to secure 2.61 million SAVM tokens, valued at $681,000, by parting with 277.66 Ether.
The Banana Gun trading bot, introduced to the market in July 2023, offers users the ability to engage in rapid presale token sniping and crypto trading.
Users can opt for either the “Manual Trade” or “Automatic Sniper” mode, each accompanied by its own fee structure – with manual trades incurring a 0.5% fee and the automatic sniper mode carrying a slightly higher fee of 0.75%.
However, what followed was a significant twist in the story. Within the first three hours of its launch, the price of SAVM plummeted by a staggering 99%.
Developers attributed this sudden collapse to a bug during the v1 launch.
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In an effort to recover the locked liquidity, the team decided to sell treasury funds, ultimately ensuring that everyone involved in v1 was compensated for their losses, at the expense of the Banana Gun team.
The Banana Gun trading bot has garnered a fair share of controversy since its inception, characterized by instances of mysteriously disappearing funds after sniping attempts.
While the Banana Gun spokesperson has insisted that this issue isn’t tied to the tool itself, some token contracts do possess functions that allow the contract deployer to move funds out of wallets, leading to instances where tokens failed to reach the buyers’ wallets due to malicious contract activity.
The trader at the center of this remarkable story employed the sniping strategy by paying a premium of 141.66 ETH to secure the first batch of SAVM tokens upon launch, acquiring over 2.5 million tokens in the process.
Subsequently, the trader sold 2.16 million tokens for an impressive $4.38 million, and currently retains 450,000 SAVM tokens, estimated to be valued at $3 million, translating to a remarkable total profit of approximately $6.77 million.
This trader’s astounding success using the Banana Gun tool earned widespread acclaim on social media, particularly on X (formerly Twitter).
Many hailed the trader as a legend, while others praised their willingness to invest 141 ETH in sniping fees for a shot at life-changing wealth.
The cryptocurrency exchange Debiex is facing intense scrutiny from U.S. regulators following allegations that senior staff members orchestrated romantic relationships with potential customers to deceive them and misappropriate their funds.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a statement on January 19, revealing that Debiex staff engaged in misleading tactics to gain the trust of potential customers before persuading them to open accounts with the exchange.
Debiex had assured customers that their funds would be invested in cryptocurrencies, but the CFTC’s complaint alleges that these funds were instead diverted for personal gain.
The complaint states, “The CFTC’s complaint alleges Debiex’s unidentified officers and/or managers cultivated friendly or romantic relationships with potential customers by communicating falsehoods to gain trust, and then solicited them to open and fund trading accounts with Debiex.”
Despite only identifying five victims over a two-year period, the regulator asserts that more than $2 million was stolen through this deceptive scheme.
The statement reads, “From approximately March 2022 through the present, it’s alleged Debiex accepted and misappropriated approximately $2.3 million from approximately five customers as part of this scheme.”
As Valentine’s Day approaches, individuals are cautioned to exercise caution.
The FBI had previously issued a warning in February 2022 about romance scammers attempting to persuade individuals to invest in cryptocurrencies during the week of Valentine’s Day.
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These scammers have increasingly leveraged the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies to exploit victims for financial gain.
In a separate incident in May 2023, the cryptocurrency exchange Binance faced allegations of responsibility in a case where a Texas woman claimed to have been swindled out of $8 million by a man she met on Tinder.
She argued that Binance played a role by providing exchange services to the scammer. However, a U.S. judge ruled that there was no evidence implicating Binance in the theft.
More recently, romance scammers have adopted a faster and more sophisticated strategy, moving away from the traditional method of building trust through extended interactions on dating apps.
In December 2023, an emerging tactic known as targeted approval phishing was reported.
This method involves convincing victims to sign transactions, granting scammers access to their wallets and enabling them to rapidly drain funds.
In light of these incidents, it is crucial for individuals to exercise vigilance and skepticism, particularly when it comes to engaging in cryptocurrency-related activities through romantic connections or online interactions.
Interpol’s Metaverse Expert Group has unveiled a white paper suggesting that metaverse platforms could prove invaluable in the realms of law enforcement training and crime scene preservation and analysis.
The report explores the multifaceted dimensions of the metaverse, highlighting potential use cases that could benefit law enforcement agencies worldwide.
Established in October 2022, the working group has crafted a set of recommendations and guidance aimed at both preventing the misuse of metaverse platforms and utilizing them as a tool for law enforcement.
The white paper underscores various concrete applications of the metaverse for law enforcement, encompassing physical, augmented, and virtual reality elements.
One promising aspect is immersive training through metaverse environments, enhancing the effectiveness of frontline policing.
By recreating crime scenes, sharing information, and planning tactics in virtual settings, agencies can enhance situational awareness and the overall competencies of frontline officers.
Furthermore, metaverse platforms can be employed to create virtual replicas of crime scenes, facilitating continuous access and analysis.
This approach enables exhaustive examination of evidence and allows juries or judges to virtually visit crime scenes to better comprehend case context and details.
Augmented, virtual, and extended reality tools are spotlighted as transformative resources for investigations and law enforcement. Leveraging spatial perception and cognition, these tools offer immersive 3D workspaces that aid in addressing complex knowledge challenges.
The use of extended reality tools has proven crucial in cryptocurrency-related investigations, enabling visualization of transactions and token movements within virtual environments, as exemplified by services like Chainalysis.
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The white paper also endeavors to define metaverse-related crimes and harmful actions, essential for effective policing and platform safety.
It highlights issues such as nonfungible token fraud, cyber-physical attacks, digital identity theft, 3D property and digital asset theft, child grooming, stalking, and sexual harassment.
Metacrime, particularly financial crimes, poses a growing concern in the metaverse, as more individuals shift into virtual spaces daily.
As the metaverse attracts a growing user base, it is anticipated to become a vital source of data and evidence for investigators.
Consequently, law enforcement and legal systems must adapt to this evolving landscape, learning to access data from virtual reality headsets, haptic devices, and metaverse infrastructure.
This shift necessitates training for first responders, forensic specialists, and the broader criminal justice system.
In conclusion, Interpol emphasizes that effectively addressing metacrime in the metaverse requires a holistic approach, involving multi-stakeholder engagement and cross-border collaboration.
Given the metaverse’s diverse jurisdictions, dimensions, and organizations, this collaborative effort is essential for law enforcement to stay ahead of evolving challenges and emerging threats.
On January 18th, Bitcoin mining company Hut 8 experienced a significant setback as its share price plummeted by over 23%.
This decline occurred on the same day that Hut 8 celebrated its listing on Nasdaq by ringing the opening bell.
Simultaneously, an unverified report started circulating, alleging that insiders were preparing to offload their Hut 8 stock holdings.
Hut’s share price fell sharply, dropping from $9.30 to as low as $7.10 in after-hours trading.
The decline coincided with the release of a report by JCapital Research, an activist short-selling firm, titled “The Coming HUT Pump and Dump.”
This report raised concerns about Hut 8’s recent merger with fellow Bitcoin miner US Bitcoin (USBTC), which took place on November 30, 2023.
JCapital Research, known for its short-side bias, criticized the $725 million merger, claiming that USBTC had a history of legal issues.
They also alleged that a significant portion of the merged company’s shares were held by an undisclosed related party.
According to the report, USBTC had defaulted on a loan and faced government fines for securities violations in its short existence.
Furthermore, JCapital accused USBTC’s CEO, Michael Ho, who had become Hut 8’s chief strategy officer post-merger, of concealing his association with stock promoters known as the Honig Group.
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The Honig Group had faced accusations from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2019, including involvement in “classic pump and dump” schemes. Honig had settled these charges and agreed to a ban on trading penny stocks.
The report’s conclusion was grim, suggesting that Hut 8 shareholders might suffer from an over-leveraged pump-and-dump scenario, ultimately holding shares in an inefficient Bitcoin mining company that remained unprofitable even with Bitcoin prices over $60,000.
The credibility of the report came under scrutiny within the crypto community, with some members expressing uncertainty about its authenticity.
This uncertainty triggered panic selling among investors, contributing to the share price decline.
Cointelegraph reached out to JCapital to validate the claims made in their report and also contacted Hut 8 for their response to the allegations.
Notably, the report coincided with the day Hut 8’s CEO, Jaime Leverton, marked the completion of the all-stock merger with USBTC by ringing the opening bell at Nasdaq’s headquarters in New York.
Unlike some other cryptocurrency miners that had to sell portions of their Bitcoin holdings due to challenging market conditions, Hut 8 reported an increase in its self-mined Bitcoin reserves.
In early January, the company revealed that it had mined 453 Bitcoin in December 2023, bringing its total reserves to 9,195 BTC, valued at approximately $377 million at current Bitcoin prices.
Bitcoin’s price is currently in a precarious position, and veteran analyst Filbfilb is warning that the cryptocurrency may have more to lose if a particular price chart pattern unfolds as it typically does.
In his recent update on X (formerly Twitter) on January 19, the founder of the trading suite DecenTrader raised concerns about Bitcoin’s descent to monthly lows.
Overnight, BTC’s price dropped to $40,600, representing a nearly 20% decline from last week’s local highs, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.
While it subsequently bounced back above $41,000, many traders and analysts remain unconvinced of the market’s strength in the short term.
Filbfilb is among those expressing concerns, particularly with regards to the three-day timeframes.
He shared a comparative chart illustrating that when the three-day chart crosses below the daily 50-period simple moving average (DMA), it often leads to further downside.
This chart extends back to Bitcoin’s previous all-time high of $69,000, which was witnessed in November 2021.
Notably, Filbfilb has a history of successfully predicting Bitcoin’s price movements, such as foreseeing the cryptocurrency topping out at $48,000 around the time when the approval of United States-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) was announced.
He has also set a similar price target for Bitcoin in anticipation of April’s block subsidy halving.
In the wake of the overnight dip, BTC/USD dropped below its 2024 opening price. Financial commentator Tedtalksmacro pointed out that $40,000 is the next crucial level that Bitcoin needs to hold.
Additionally, some market participants view the mid-$30,000 range as a potential bounce zone in the near future.
Popular trader Crypto Ed, who is the creator of the trading group CryptoTA, expressed caution, stating, “I think we need 1 more (smaller) leg down before we can bounce.
Last night’s bounce is not convincing me…” This suggests that market sentiment remains cautious, and traders are closely monitoring Bitcoin’s price movements.
In conclusion, Bitcoin is facing a critical juncture, with analysts like Filbfilb warning of potential downside if certain price patterns continue.
Traders are advised to exercise caution and closely watch key support levels as the cryptocurrency market remains volatile.
According to a recent report by Reuters, the social media behemoth Reddit is gearing up to embark on its maiden Initial Public Offering (IPO) in March.
This much-anticipated move is set to mark a significant moment in the company’s history and the broader social media landscape.
Based in San Francisco, Reddit is rumored to offer approximately 10% of its shares in the IPO, with its exact valuation yet to be disclosed, though it was valued at a staggering $10 billion after a successful funding round in 2021.
Should Reddit proceed with its IPO plans in March, it would be the first prominent social media IPO since Pinterest’s public offering back in 2019.
Established in 2005, Reddit swiftly became an internet phenomenon, serving as a bustling online forum where users convene to discuss an array of topics within specialized subreddits.
Moreover, Reddit has made strides in staying at the forefront of emerging technology trends, including the likes of Web3 and artificial intelligence.
The platform has not been shy about embracing cryptocurrency, becoming one of the pioneers in integrating crypto tipping features.
In 2022, Reddit made headlines by launching its nonfungible token program.
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Nevertheless, the company encountered backlash when it revealed plans to charge businesses for access to its Application Programming Interface (API), a vital tool for tech companies in training large AI language models.
Insider sources cited by Reuters divulged that Reddit confidentially filed for its IPO in December 2021, with intentions to make its public filing in late February, followed by an official launch in early March.
The decision to go public was reportedly delayed until the company reached profitability, marking a strategic move.
The bulk of Reddit’s revenue stems from advertising and premium subscription plans, with an estimated $800 million in advertising revenue anticipated for 2023, as reported by Reuters.
However, it is worth noting that, as cautioned by Reuters in its report, the IPO timeline may face potential delays, echoing past occurrences.
These setbacks may be attributed to a multitude of factors, as the company navigates the complexities of the IPO process and reacts to evolving market conditions.
Nevertheless, Reddit’s IPO remains a highly anticipated event that could potentially reshape the landscape of social media finance, much like its predecessors.
TrueUSD (TUSD), the stablecoin associated with Tron founder Justin Sun, has faced challenges maintaining its dollar peg and recently took measures to address this issue.
On January 15, TUSD experienced a significant drop in value, falling to $0.984 at 11:15 pm UTC.
This depreciation coincided with traders selling more than $339 million worth of TUSD on the Binance exchange within a 24-hour period, resulting in a net outflow of $42.3 million from the exchange.
Some users on X (formerly known as Twitter) speculated that TUSD’s loss of peg might be linked to its exclusion from Binance’s Manta launch pool initiative.
Additionally, reports emerged on January 10, suggesting that TUSD struggled to provide real-time attestations of its reserves, causing concerns among investors and the crypto community.
In response to the depeg event, the TrueUSD team took action by upgrading its fiat reserve audit system.
They enlisted the services of Moore Hong Kong, an accounting firm, to provide daily attestations of the stablecoin’s fiat reserves.
Moore Hong Kong’s involvement supplements the existing services offered by The Network Firm. Under this new system,
TrueUSD committed to providing comprehensive reports, including details about the reserve funds held by their financial partners.
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Michelle Chu, an executive at Moore Hong Kong, stated that they would work in collaboration with The Network Firm to enable TUSD users to monitor the stability of the coin’s reserves.
Despite these efforts to enhance the transparency and trustworthiness of its reserve system, TUSD’s price continued to decline.
As of the latest available data, on January 18, TUSD’s price dropped as low as $0.97, according to CoinMarketCap, a platform that tracks cryptocurrency prices.
However, at the time of this publication, TUSD’s price has slightly recovered, hovering around $0.99 on both CoinMarketCap and the Binance exchange.
In conclusion, TrueUSD has faced challenges in maintaining its peg to the US dollar, which has triggered actions to improve its fiat reserve audit system.
These efforts, including daily attestations by Moore Hong Kong, aim to restore confidence in the stablecoin’s value and stability within the crypto market.