Take Bitcoin profits at 0K, CME tops Binance in BTC futures open interest: Hodler’s Digest, Nov. 5-11

Take Bitcoin profits at $110K, CME tops Binance in BTC futures open interest: Hodler’s Digest, Nov. 5-11

Published

1 year ago

November 13, 2023

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Cryptoqueen’s OneCoin legal chief pleads guilty to fraud

The former head of legal and compliance at OneCoin is looking at a potential 10-year prison term for her involvement in the $4 billion cryptocurrency trading scheme. In Manhattan federal court, the ex-compliance chief of OneCoin, Irinia Dilkinska, pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos accepted Dilkinska’s guilty plea. She admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Dilkinska is scheduled for sentencing on February 14, 2024, facing a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for her role in the OneCoin scheme.

Genesis seeks court’s approval to reduce Three Arrows Capital claim from $1B to $33M

Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Genesis has asked the court to approve its proposed settlement agreement with the collapsed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC).

In a recent court document, Genesis stated that 3AC should be given a claim of $33 million against Genesis. This represents 3.3% of the total claims initially made against Genesis, which amounted to $1 billion.

According to Genesis, 3AC’s claims against Genesis were the largest asserted claims in Chapter 11 cases associated with the collapse of the FTX exchange. Genesis stressed that the 3AC debtor was one of Genesis’s largest borrowers from 2020 to 2022, up until the time of its collapse.

SafeMoon CEO bail release goes on hold after Feds cite flight risk

SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony’s bail release has been delayed by U.S. federal prosecutors, who argue that he may try to leave the country due to his alleged access to funds and connections abroad. The prosecutors expressed concerns that his release could pose a flight risk and be a potential danger to the community.

The delay comes after a New York District Judge, LaShann DeArcy Hall, decided to put a hold on the bail release order issued on Nov. 8 by a Utah Magistrate judge, who had allowed Karony to be released on a $500,000 bail. However, prosecutors contested this decision, claiming that the release order was made “without consideration of the defendant’s substantial financial means and ability to flee,” and they emphasized that his release could be a “continued danger to the community.”

Binance to terminate Russian ruble deposits next week

Binance users in Russia need to take note: They have a little over two months, until Jan. 31, 2024, to withdraw their rubles from the platform. Binance is wrapping up its operations in Russia and plans to stop accepting deposits in Russian rubles from November 15, 2023.

This comes after Binance declared its complete exit from Russia by selling its business to a newly established crypto exchange called CommEX in September 2023. However, there’s been limited information about the details of the deal, including the size of the transaction and the founders of CommEX, causing some controversy.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $37,249, Ether (ETH) at $2,078 and XRP (XRP) at $0.67. The total market cap is at $1.42 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week were FTX Token (FTT) at 250.48%, Kaspa (KAS) at 67.23% and Cronos (CRO) at 52.20%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Maker (MKR) at -3.39%, Tether Gold (XAUt) at -2.60% and PAX Gold (PAXG) at -2.51%.

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

Most Memorable Quotations

SEC Chair Gensler cannot continue to abuse the powers of his agency to fulfill a political agenda of driving the new and promising digital asset industry offshore.”

Tom Emmer, United States Republican congressman

Ordinals help to express the core values of Bitcoin in a much more friendly way than Bitcoin, which is too technical or harsh for some people.”

Lugui Tillier, commercial director for Lumx Studios

Binance’s Chief Compliance Officer crudely but succinctly summed up this case when he admitted that Binance was ‘operating as a fking unlicensed securities exchange in the USA bro.’ He was right.”

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission

As we have witnessed with cryptocurrency, heavy-handed constraints have hindered the exploration of potentially revolutionary applications.”

Matthew Putman, CEO and co-founder of Nanotronics

In Web3, it’s not the code that’s king, but the community. Instead of perfecting backend logic, focus on front-end transparency.”

Tiago Serôdio, head of community at Partisia Blockchain

I say, ‘Sorry, we are boring.’ But we are one of the oldest projects. We are very big… We are the one who has the most changes on GitHub, and we have not been down for over 2000 days… Boring sometimes is good.”

Frederik Gregaard, Cardano Foundation CEO

Prediction of the week

Bitcoin ‘Terminal Price’ hints next BTC all-time high is at least $110K

As the price of BTC hovers around its highest levels in the past 18 months, analysts are already speculating about the potential upward trajectory it may take in the upcoming months and years. Bitcoin may next be a “sell” at $110,000 as its new bull cycle plays out, a classic on-chain indicator suggests.

Analyzing its Terminal Price, Look Into Bitcoin creator Philip Swift described its value as a “simple” method of estimating long-term BTC price peaks. Terminal Price is calculated from Bitcoin’s so-called “Transferred Price” — a value derived by dividing “Coin Days Destroyed” by the existing supply. Not every all-time high reaches Terminal Price, but BTC/USD did hit the trendline during its 2017 all-time and initial peak in April 2021. The current all-time high of $69,000, seen in November of that year, fell short.

As Terminal Price increases with time, $110,000 may ultimately end up a conservative target should the next all-time high occur only later in the next cycle.

FUD of the Week

JPEX scandal: Taiwan determines new suspects in alleged fraud — Report

Taiwanese prosecutors are seeking to detain Chang Tung-ying, the chief partner at JPEX’s Taiwan office, on charges of fraud related to the JPEX cryptocurrency exchange. The situation surrounding the collapsed exchange is unfolding, with the Taipei District Prosecutors Office (TDPO) reportedly identifying new suspects. According to a report from local TV channel TVBS News on November 9, the TDPO has requested the custody of Chang Tung-ying over allegations of fraud.

As part of the ongoing JPEX investigation, prosecutors in Taipei searched nine locations and summoned Chang along with three other individuals believed to be involved. Chang and JPEX lecturer Shih Yu-sheng (also known as Shi Yu) are considered suspects in the case for violating the Banking Act and the Money Laundering Control Act.

Crypto exchange CoinSpot reportedly suffers $2M hot wallet hack

Blockchain security firm CertiK indicates that the recent $2.4 million theft from Australian cryptocurrency exchange CoinSpot hot wallet likely occurred due to a “private key compromise.” CoinSpot appears to have experienced a hack, involving the probable compromise of a private key in one of its hot wallets.

Pseudonymous blockchain investigator ZachXBT highlighted two transactions on Nov. 8 that entered the wallet belonging to the alleged hacker. Subsequently, the wallet’s owner transferred the funds to the Bitcoin network via THORChain and Wan Bridge. CertiK stated that the apparent exploit was likely the result of a “probable private key compromise” on at least one of CoinSpot’s hot wallets.

According to Etherscan data, a transaction of 1,262 Ether, valued at $2.4 million at current prices, originated from a recognized CoinSpot wallet and entered the wallet linked to the alleged hacker.

Poloniex exchange suffers $100M exploit, offers 5% bounty

A crypto wallet linked to the digital exchange Poloniex has experienced suspicious outflows, evident on the blockchain explorer Etherscan. Blockchain security experts suspect a breach, resulting in attackers draining up to $100 million in crypto.

On Nov. 10, millions in crypto assets were moved from an account labeled Poloniex 4 on Etherscan. Initially estimated at $60 million, later assessments revealed the loss exceeded $100 million. CertiK, a blockchain security firm, suggests a “private key compromise” as the likely cause and notes that the funds have already been transferred to four externally owned accounts, with some converted into Ether.

Top Magazine Pieces of the Week

Exclusive: 2 years after John McAfee’s death, widow Janice is broke and needs answers

Two years after John McAfee’s death, his wife, Janice, is still unable to get closure. “All I want is to see his body for myself and know that really happened.”

‘$10K JPGs’ scare away gamers, Animoca’s crypto game streaming plans: Web3 Gamer

Animoca buys Twitch-like platform and Web3 gaming was a major talking point at Binance Blockchain Week.

6 Questions for Lugui Tillier about Bitcoin, Ordinals, and the future of crypto

Lugui Tillier is the commercial director for Lumx Studios, one of the top cryptocurrency firms in Rio de Janeiro — a city with a burgeoning crypto industry.

Editorial Staff

Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.

Politics

Kenya drafts legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies

Published

2 hours ago

January 11, 2025

admin

Kenya drafts legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies

Kenya is preparing legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies with a draft proposal open for public feedback until Jan. 24.

Politics

Wolf Capital co-founder pleads guilty to $9.4M Ponzi, promised 547% returns

Published

15 hours ago

January 11, 2025

admin

Wolf Capital co-founder pleads guilty to .4M Ponzi, promised 547% returns

According to the US Department of Justice, Wolf Capital’s co-founder has pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy for luring 2,800 crypto investors into a Ponzi scheme.

Politics

Rachel Reeves lands in China amid pressure to cancel trip over market turmoil

Published

16 hours ago

January 11, 2025

admin

Rachel Reeves lands in China amid pressure to cancel trip over market turmoil

Making Britain better off will be “at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind” during her visit to China, the Treasury has said amid controversy over the trip.

Rachel Reeves flew out on Friday after ignoring calls from opposition parties to cancel the long-planned venture because of market turmoil at home.

The past week has seen a drop in the pound and an increase in government borrowing costs, which has fuelled speculation of more spending cuts or tax rises.

The Tories have accused the chancellor of having “fled to China” rather than explain how she will fix the UK’s flatlining economy, while the Liberal Democrats say she should stay in Britain and announce a “plan B” to address market volatility.

However, Ms Reeves has rejected calls to cancel the visit, writing in The Times on Friday night that choosing not to engage with China is “no choice at all”.

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The chancellor will be accompanied by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and other senior executives.

She will meet with her counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Beijing on Saturday to discuss financial services, trade and investment.

She will also “raise difficult issues”, including Chinese firms supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns over constraints on rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, the Treasury said.

But it did not mention whether Ms Reeves would raise the treatment of the Uyghur community, which Downing Street said Foreign Secretary David Lammy would do during his visit last year.

On Friday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended the trip, telling Sky News that the climbing cost of government borrowing was a “global trend” that had affected many countries, “most notably the United States”.

“We are still on track to be the fastest growing economy, according to the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] in Europe,” she told Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast.

“China is the second-largest economy, and what China does has the biggest impact on people from Stockton to Sunderland, right across the UK, and it’s absolutely essential that we have a relationship with them.”

Read more – Ed Conway analysis: The chancellor’s gamble with China

However, former prime minister Boris Johnson said Ms Reeves had “been rumbled” and said she should “make her way to HR and collect her P45 – or stay in China”.

While in the country’s capital, Ms Reeves will also visit British bike brand Brompton’s flagship store, which relies heavily on exports to China, before heading to Shanghai for talks with representatives across British and Chinese businesses.

It is the first UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) since 2019, building on the Labour government’s plan for a “pragmatic” policy with the world’s second-largest economy.

Sir Keir Starmer was the first British prime minister to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping in six years at the G20 summit in Brazil last autumn.

Relations between the UK and China have become strained over the last decade as the Conservative government spoke out against human rights abuses and concerns grew over national security risks.

Navigating this has proved tricky given China is the UK’s fourth largest single trading partner, with a trade relationship worth almost £113bn and exports to China supporting over 455,000 jobs in the UK in 2020, according to the government.

During the Tories’ 14 years in office, the approach varied dramatically from the “golden era” under David Cameron to hawkish aggression under Liz Truss, while Rishi Sunak vowed to be “robust” but resisted pressure from his own party to brand China a threat.

The Treasury said a stable relationship with China would support economic growth and that “making working people across Britain secure and better off is at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind”.

Ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “By finding common ground on trade and investment, while being candid about our differences and upholding national security as the first duty of this government, we can build a long-term economic relationship with China that works in the national interest.”