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On Dec. 14, the Ethereum software firm Consensys announced that the company has teamed up with the payment processing giant Paypal. The integration allows Metamask wallet users to purchase ethereum via Paypal from within the Web3 wallet application. Consensys Teams up With Payments Giant Paypal According to Consensys, Metamask users can now purchase ethereum (ETH) using the payment provider Paypal. The financial technology company Paypal started offering cryptocurrency services in 2021 and the company’s CEO detailed that demand for crypto outstripped initial expectations. The Ethereum software firm Consensys explained Wednesday it has teamed up with Paypal, and the team further detailed that “Metamask will be the first Web3 wallet to leverage PayPal to drive more successful on-ramp transactions.” Essentially, the partnership will allow users to utilize their Paypal account to purchase ethereum (ETH) after the Metamask owner logs into the Paypal platform via the wallet. Consensys’ blog post adds that the Paypal integration with Metamask is just one of the “series of announcements” that will be associated with the Metamask mobile wallet. “This integration with Paypal will allow our U.S. users to not just buy crypto seamlessly through Metamask, but also to easily explore the Web3 ecosystem,” the product manager for Metamask, Lorenzo Santos said. The partnership announcement follows the controversial Consensys privacy policy news that details the company collects specific data from Metamask users. Paypal has also been dealing with controversy in recent times after the company erroneously published a terms of service (ToS) document that said people who spread disinformation would be fined $2,500. However, Paypal claimed the ToS “notice recently went out in error that included incorrect information.” What do you think about Metamask implementing Paypal into the wallet so Web3 users can purchase ethereum within the app via Paypal? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) has fallen below the $40 billion mark for the first time since the first week of Feb. 2021. On Dec. 17, 2022, the TVL in defi is roughly $39.53 billion after dropping more than 4% in value during the past 24 hours. Value Locked in Defi Drops Below $40 Billion The value locked in defi protocols has dropped below the $40 billion region for the first time in 675 days, or since the first week of Feb. 2021. At that period in time, it was the first time the TVL in defi reached the $40 billion mark after climbing from the $1 billion zone a year prior in Feb. 2020. With the aggregate locked in defi today at $39.53 billion, statistics show that Makerdao commands the largest TVL this weekend and dominates by 14.91%. Makerdao’s TVL is around $5.89 billion and during the last week, it has shed 6.88% in value. In terms of value-locked data, Makerdao’s TVL is followed by Lido, Curve, Aave, and Uniswap respectively. Most of the value locked today is held on Ethereum as there’s $23.06 billion in value locked in ETH-based defi apps, which represents 58.33% of the aggregate locked. Ethereum’s TVL is followed by Tron, Binance Smart Chain, Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, Optimism, Fantome, Cronos, and Solana. The entire lot of smart contract protocol tokens today has lost 7.5% in value against the U.S. dollar, equating to a total of $240 billion. Out of the top ten smart contract protocol tokens, BNB saw the largest weekly decline as it has lost 17.6% during the past seven days. Ethereum Classic (ETC) suffered a loss of 16.3% during the past week and Tron suffered the least with a 2.2% loss over the last seven days. What do you think about the state of decentralized finance protocols today and the TVL sinking in recent times to lows not seen since Feb. 2021? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On Dec. 14, 2022, the crypto exchange Gemini revealed that some Gemini customers have been the target of phishing attacks that the firm believes stem from a third-party vendor leak. While reports disclosed that Gemini’s leak was approximately “5,701,649 lines of information pertaining to Gemini customers,” Gemini did not disclose how many customers were affected by the breach. Moreover, according to Bleeping Computer’s cybersecurity author, Ionut Ilascu, data from Gemini’s customer info leak has been advertised for sale on hacker forums as early as Sept. 2022. Gemini Customer Data Leak Discovered on Multiple Hacker Forums Three days ago, Bitcoin.com News reported on the crypto exchange Gemini after it was discovered that a database that contains phone numbers and email addresses of 5.7 million Gemini users was leaked. The crypto reporter Zhiyuan Sun detailed that he witnessed documentation that had shown “5,701,649 lines of information pertaining to Gemini customers.” Gemini addressed the issue on Dec. 14, 2022, in a blog post and it explained that the breach likely derived from a third-party vendor. The exchange did not explain how many customer accounts were affected and Gemini did not detail which third-party vendor was responsible for the data breach. The following day, after Gemini’s blog post published, Bleeping Computer’s cybersecurity author, Ionut Ilascu, published an article that explained Gemini’s leaked database has been advertised for sale since Sept. 2022. Ilascu says there were “multiple posts on a hacker forum” that had shown the leak was for sale, with one discovered by the cybercrime intelligence platform Kela. One user attempted to sell the leak for 30 BTC or roughly $500K using today’s bitcoin exchange rates. Ilascu further disclosed that the data leak also showed up on hacker forums in Oct. 2022, when the seller leveraged “a different alias.” Another person shared the info in mid-November on a hacker site and this particular post said that not only did the leak contain Gemini data, but allegedly other exchanges were included. The post published on Breachforums also offered the database for free before the account was banned from the forum. The now-banned user also told forum users that three digits from the sets of customer phone numbers were missing from the database leak. What do you think about the Gemini data leak being advertised on hacker forums in September? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Cardano fell to a fresh all-time low on Saturday, as prices plunged by over 10% to start the weekend. The move saw the token drop for a third straight session, as a red wave swept through cryptocurrency markets. Binance coin also moved lower, dropping for a seventh consecutive day. Cardano (ADA) Cardano (ADA) moved to a fresh all-time low to start the weekend, as prices dropped for a third straight session. Following a high of $0.3011 on Friday, ADA/USD moved to a low of $0.2603 earlier in today’s session. The move saw the token plunge by nearly 13% earlier in the day, hitting a new all-time low in the process. Looking at the chart, the drop comes as the 10-day (red) moving average crossed its 25-day (blue) counterpart. This signals a shift in price momentum, and comes as the relative strength index (RSI) fell deeper into oversold territory. As of writing, the index is tracking at 24.13, which is its weakest point since October 21. Binance Coin (BNB) Binance coin (BNB) was another notable token to fall today, with prices dropping for a seventh straight session. Recent declines have come as financial firm Mazars halted its audit of Binance’s reserves. As a result of this, BNB/USD fell to a low of $221.00, which comes a day after hitting a high of $264.25. Overall, the token is now down by nearly 20% in the last week, and is down 10.88% as of writing. Similar to cardano, the RSI on BNB is currently trading near the 24.00 mark, which is deep in oversold territory. BNB is currently trading at its lowest point since July 13. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: What other factors are behind today’s decline in crypto prices? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

Ethereum fell below $1,200 to start the weekend, as prices continued to trade close to a multi-week low. This decline comes as market sentiment remained bearish following a big week of economic data. Bitcoin also extended recent declines, as traders remained nervous following news that financial auditor Mazars paused all work for crypto clients. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) extended recent declines on Saturday, as markets continued to be nervous following recent uncertainty surrounding Binance’s proof-of-reserves audit. The auditor in charge of the diligence, Mazars, opted to pause all of its work with crypto clients earlier this week, leading to a resurgence of bearish sentiment. As a result of this news, BTC/USD fell for a third straight session, hitting a low of $16,584.70 to start the weekend. Looking at the chart, BTC fell below a key support point of $16,700, hitting its lowest point since November 30 in the process. Prices have since rebounded, as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) bounced from a floor of 42.20, and is currently tracking at 43.52. The index now seems to be moving towards a ceiling of 45.00, which if hit, could see bitcoin reenter the $17,000 mark. Ethereum Ethereum (ETH) also remained in the red during today’s trading session, as prices moved below the $1,200 mark. Following a high of $1,278.16 on Friday, ETH/USD fell to an intraday low of $1,162.18 earlier in the day. Like BTC, today’s decline sees ETH continue to trade close to a five-week low ($1,150), with the RSI also tracking near a multi-week bottom. As can be seen from the chart, the index has bounced from a floor of 40.20, and is currently at the 41.11 level. In addition to this, the 10-day (red) moving average is now nearing a downward cross with its 25-day (blue) counterpart. Should this crossover take shape, we could see ethereum fall to a long-term floor of $1,085. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Do you expect any further declines in ETH this weekend? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

The fallout from the collapse of failed crypto exchange FTX is forcing Web3 brands, and projects previously focused on managing the public’s perception, to concentrate on fighting for their very legitimacy, Laura K. Inamedinova, a Web3 marketing expert, has said. Besides just trying to convince backers and investors, Inamedinova said Web3 players have the more formidable task of convincing regulators. Security and Reliability Issues Resurface After initially starting the year focused on community management and the public’s perception, the fallout from FTX’s collapse caused many Web3 brands and projects to switch to arguing for their legitimacy and reputation, Web3 marketing agency founder Laura K. Inamedinova has said. She added that even in cases where there is no direct connection with FTX, Web3 entrepreneurs now feel compelled to address concerns about the security and reliability of their projects. In addition to their attempts to assuage the fears of nervous investors and backers, Inamedinova, the Founder & CEO of LKI Consulting, said Web3 players have an even more formidable task of convincing regulators. She added that this also applies to projects backed by traditional brands. “Even for perfectly legitimate businesses and projects, this has been a huge blow to their reputation. Following the FTX fallout, we can expect a new round of global regulations and more attention to security and projects’ credibility than ever before,” Inamedinova said. For large corporations like Starbucks or Nike, which only recently kickstarted their metaverse projects, the collapse of FTX has rekindled trust issues that took years to overcome. According to Inamedinova, events in the past few months mean it will likely require more time and resources “to prove to mass audiences that blockchain can be trusted.” The Disastrous Handling of FTX’s Collapse Meanwhile, when asked about Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and others’ roles in handling the crisis from a public relations perspective, Inamedinova told Bitcoin.com News that the whole episode has been a disaster, noting: From the initial crash to his series of badly phrased tweets to everything after, it was a disaster from beginning to end. Concerning SBF’s trial and the court outcome’s likely long-term impact on the crypto and blockchain industry, the PR expert suggested that a lot will likely “depend on how the actual prosecution is going to play out and appear in the media.” She said if the process is carried out properly the “verdict will be fair.” However, there is a possibility that the process “will be dragged out.” To traditional brands trying to navigate away from the crisis, Inamedinova said they should implement “maximum transparency in their Web3 projects.” Doing this is especially important now when the lack of oversight and regulation can result in losses that run into billions of dollars, Inamedinova added. What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

A report issued by Capgemini, a consulting firm, has found that most consumers are at least curious about the metaverse and what it might bring to their lives. The report, which also examined consumer and company expectations of immersive experiences, explains that many are already taking advantage of the metaverse concept. Capgemini: Metaverse Seeing Interest From Consumers and Organizations The Metaverse is becoming the focal point of studies that seek to identify the potential of possible investments in the field. Capgemini, a consulting firm, found that there is significant interest in the metaverse from both consumers and companies in its latest report issued on Dec. 8. The report, titled “Total Immersion: How Immersive Experiences and the Metaverse Benefit Customer Experience and Operations,” found that nine out of ten consumers have curiosity regarding the metaverse and what it might bring to their lives. 8,000 consumers and 1,000 organizations in 12 countries were surveyed for the report between July and August. Capgemini’s research also found that while the metaverse is still mostly under construction, there are companies that are already taking advantage of the possibilities it offers. This is in part thanks to the expectations that consumers have regarding the impact of the tech. 77% of consumers reported expecting immersive experiences to affect the way in which they interact with businesses and other people as well. In the same way, seven out of each ten companies believe metaverse will be a differentiating factor regarding corporate image. Other firms are also bullish about the reach of the metaverse, predicting it to soon stretch into the trillions of dollars, where valuation is concerned. Metaverse and Corporate Evolution This focus on the metaverse, and the value it could potentially bring to several immersive experiences, may cause companies to take a more functional approach to it, instead of promoting it as a mere gimmick. In this sense, Charlton Monsanto, global immersive experiences offer leader at Capgemini, stated: This report supports the notion that early interest in the consumer-facing metaverse, propelled by investments from major players, needs to give enough thought to the real challenges around ergonomics, accessibility, safety, and privacy, which organizations are now working to address. The report found that most organizations have plans to integrate the metaverse in the near future. Two-thirds of the companies surveyed have a roadmap integrating immersive experiences in the next two years, while 15% have plans for establishing a metaverse presence in one year. However, most companies are still not invested in the metaverse, as 56% clearly state that they have not established a clear path to adoption. What do you think about Capgemini’s metaverse and immersive experiences report? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recently said it has launched a blockchain payment solution for digital cash distribution to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine. According to the agency, the use of the blockchain-based cash distribution system ensures the funds are instantly transferred to the intended recipients. Only ‘Most Impacted and Vulnerable People’ Qualify The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), an organization supporting the growth of the Stellar blockchain, announced on Dec. 15 the launch of a “blockchain payment solution for digital cash distribution to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other war-affected people in Ukraine.” In a statement, the agency said it had, alongside the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC), become the first “to pilot the new Stellar-based aid disbursement solution.” Lauding the pilot phase, which is designed specifically for Ukraine, the UNHCR said using this system ensures the funds reach the intended beneficiaries. As part of the arrangement, eligible Ukrainians are set to receive the donated funds in the form of the USDC stablecoin. Recipients can either choose to store the funds in their Vibrant wallet or cash out at any global Moneygram location. Recipients can also do this at “over 4,500 Moneygram locations in Ukraine.” While there are plans to eventually expand the program to more Ukrainian towns, the statement named only three cities: Kyiv, Lviv, and Vinnytsia are currently participating. The expected beneficiaries of the pilot include “people most impacted and vulnerable due to the war.” Pilot Program Said Likely to ‘Strengthen Humanitarian Efforts’ Commenting on the agency’s pilot cash distribution program, Karolina Lindholm Billing, the UNHCR’s representative in Ukraine, said: “Ukraine is a global lead in the development of technical solutions to increase access to social protection, including assistance for displaced people. Across the world, UNHCR has been collaborating for years with the tech sector, which has played a crucial role in helping us to innovate to deliver assistance faster, as speed is of the essence in humanitarian action. It’s also essential to provide people with a range of options for receiving aid, as one size does not fit all.” Denelle Dixon, the CEO and executive director of SDF, said the partnership between her organization and the UNHCR has pioneered “a new future for the delivery of billions of dollars in aid disbursed annually.” For his part, Oleksandr Bornyakov, the Ukrainian deputy minister of digital transformation, claimed that the pilot program is likely to strengthen “humanitarian efforts around the world.” What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Decentralized applications (dapps) are prone to data tampering because they “are largely built on top of centralized databases and services,” the CEO of Space and Time Nate Holiday has said. The CEO also shared a list of data tampering risks which he said are specific to data warehouses. Companies Relying on Centralized Databases and Services According to Nate Holiday, the CEO of decentralized data warehouse Space and Time, the recent draining of funds on the defi (decentralized finance) lending platform Lodestar Finance, and Axie Infinity’s Ronin network attack before that, are key events reminding users that decentralized apps (dapps) are prone to data tampering. Although he concedes that many dapps are powered by blockchain, Holiday nevertheless claimed many of these applications “are largely built on top of centralized databases and services.” As recently reported by Bitcoin.com News, the hacker behind the siphoning of $6.9 million from Lodestar Finance had tampered with “the exchange rate of the plvGLP contract.” The hacker then followed this up by supplying the plvGLP collateral to Lodestar and borrowing all the available liquidity. Commenting on the recent data tampering incidents, Holiday said dapps, just like centralized business organizations, can have a single point of failure which makes them vulnerable to hacks. This in turn diminishes their appeal to users, Holiday argued. “Data tampering can have catastrophic effects for dapp users. For example, if a decentralized finance application is leveraging a centralized database, data tampering. In the case of a decentralized social media platform, data tampering could lead to harmful impersonations or the spread of false or misleading information,” Holiday explained to Bitcoin.com News. Single Point of Failure Meanwhile, the Space and Time CEO also shared a list of data tampering risks that are specific to data warehouses and these include the hacking of centralized database systems and gaining unauthorized access. The use of SQL injection techniques to manipulate data, and tampering with the database structure or schema are the other risks. When asked to explain why he advocates for decentralized blockchain-anchored data solutions, Holiday said: “Decentralized architectures have no single point of failure, and blockchain anchoring ensures that the data is secure and immutable. This architecture provides an ideal solution for decentralized applications that require trustless interactions, such as those employed by financial services or supply chain management.” While he is not anticipating a sudden switch to decentralized data services, Holiday insisted that “companies are becoming increasingly aware of the need to integrate blockchain data into their business models.” To aid such companies, the CEO said his company helps “enterprises to onboard data from the centralized databases powering their businesses.” What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Russia’s largest social network, Vkontakte, has launched a feature allowing users to upload digital collectibles to the platform. Account holders will also be able to buy and sell them in the future as the company intends to establish a marketplace for non-fungible tokens. Vkontakte Users to Showcase Their NFTs, Set Them as Avatars The leading social media network in the Russian-speaking segment, Vkontakte (VK), has introduced an NFT service along with an educational course on non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the crypto page of the Russian business news portal RBC reported, quoting the company. The new features will be available to all users within a few days, VK’s CEO Marina Krasnova and Chief Technology Officer Alexander Tobol announced during a presentation in Moscow. The VK NFT option will allow owners of digital collectibles to transfer them to their accounts. Furthermore, the tokens can be employed as avatars or presented in a special showcase in the profile. In order to do that, you’ll need to link your crypto wallet to your account. “Our task is to simplify user interaction with NFT and make it truly a mass technology,” Krasnova commented. VK will also establish an NFT hub where news, announcements, market analytics, and case studies can be shared. The platform’s team will use the space to communicate with the NFT community, exchange ideas and search for potential partners, the report detailed. Vkontakte plans to launch its own NFT collection in January 2023, and a full-fledged NFT marketplace at a later stage to offer users an opportunity to purchase and resell collectibles. The social media giant wants to integrate the technology into its other products as well, such as gaming and gifts. Russian authorities have been mulling over proposals to expand the legal framework for crypto assets to cover more related activities and products. A report in July revealed that the Ministry of Economy is working on amendments to regulate the NFT space. In September, Russia’s largest bank, Sber, announced its intentions to allow users of its proprietary blockchain platform to issue NFTs. Do you expect other Russian companies to enter the NFT market? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, has told U.S. Congress that he believes the collapsed crypto exchange FTX failed because rival Binance intentionally put it out of business. He said former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) told him that Binance, which owned a 20% equity stake in FTX, refused to comply with regulators’ requests whenever FTX applied for a license in different jurisdictions. Kevin O’Leary Shares Why He Thinks FTX Failed With U.S. Senators Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary shared why he thinks crypto exchange FTX collapsed in a congressional hearing, titled “Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers,” before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Wednesday. Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) asked O’Leary, “Why do you believe FTX failed?” Mr. Wonderful replied, “I have an opinion. I don’t have the records.” He proceeded to convey what former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) told him after the Shark Tank star noticed that funds disappeared from his FTX accounts. O’Leary told Congress: After my accounts were stripped of all of their assets and all of the accounting and trade information, I couldn’t get answers from any of the executives in the firm, so I simply called Sam Bankman-Fried and said, ‘Where is the money, Sam?’ SBF told O’Leary that he “no longer knew” as he has been “refused access to the servers.” O’Leary then told the Senate committee, “This is a simple case in my mind of ‘where did the money go?'” During their phone conversation, the Shark Tank star asked Bankman-Fried to explain how he used the proceeds from FTX’s assets over the past 24 months. That’s when O’Leary learned about a transaction worth about $2 billion to $3 billion to repurchase FTX shares from Binance. “I didn’t know this at the time, but at some point, CZ [Changpeng Zhao], who runs Binance, purchased 20% ownership in Sam Bankman-Fried’s firm for seed stock,” O’Leary told senators. Mr. Wonderful then asked SBF why he had to buy back shares from CZ: “What would compel you to do that? Why wouldn’t you keep your assets on the balance sheet?” Citing Bankman-Fried, Mr. Wonderful explained that every time FTX applied for a license in different jurisdictions, CZ and Binance “would not comply with the regulators’ requests to provide the data that would clear [FTX] for a license.” O’Leary stressed that FTX spending about $3 billion to buy shares back from Binance “stripped [its] balance sheet of assets.” He detailed: “In my view, my personal opinion, these two behemoths that own the unrelated market together, and grew these incredible businesses in terms of growth, were at war with each other.” The Shark Tank star concluded: One put the other out of business intentionally. Maybe there’s nothing wrong with that … but Binance is a massive unregulated global monopoly now. They put FTX out of business. “Now, lots of other reasons, I am sure, but that is my personal opinion,” O’Leary clarified without mentioning fraud or any other charges brought against FTX and Bankman-Fried by the U.S. government and regulators this week. O’Leary recently revealed that FTX paid him $15 million to become its spokesperson. Following the collapse of FTX, Mr. Wonderful has maintained that Bankman-Fried is among the best traders in the crypto space and he would back him again if he has another venture. The Shark Tank star also said he almost secured $8 billion to save the troubled crypto exchange from bankruptcy. The former FTX CEO has been arrested and denied bail in the Bahamas. What do you think about the comments by Kevin O’Leary about FTX and Binance? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

At the end of November, an unknown person signed a signature tied to an extremely old block reward mined on Jan. 19, 2009, and the user published a message and verified signature linked to the reward on the forum bitcointalk.org. The message was tied to a bitcoin address associated with block 1,018, a block reward that was minted 16 days after Satoshi Nakamoto launched the network. Upon further investigation, onchain data shows that block 1,018 is linked to a great number of block rewards ostensibly mined by Hal Finney, and the signed block is also connected to the very first bitcoin transaction that derived from block 9. Block 1,018 Signed by ‘Onesignature’ on Nov. 26, 2022, Is Associated With Hal Finney’s Mined Bitcoins and the Very First Bitcoin Transaction On Nov. 26, 2022, a newly created bitcointalk.org forum account called “Onesignature” shocked the crypto community when the unknown individual signed a message associated with block 1,018. Onesignature’s message contained a new BTC address created in 2022, and the unknown person also signed the new address as well proving the user’s existence. The signed message, according to Bitcoin.com’s Verification Tool and an Electrum wallet, is an authentic signature tied to the 2009 address “1NChf” or block 1,018. Block 1,018 and the bitcoin address 1NChf are both linked to the first BTC transaction that saw 10 BTC sent from Satoshi Nakamoto to Hal Finney and a great deal of BTC blocks associated with Finney. For instance, on March 25, 2014, the journalist Andy Greenberg published a story about Hal Finney’s life and his affiliations with bitcoin. In the article, Greenberg said he was allowed to see emails sent to Finney from Nakamoto and Jason Finney, Hal’s son, showed Greenberg his father’s BTC wallet that shows the very first bitcoin transaction. The first transaction was 10 BTC sent on Jan. 12, 2009, and it was confirmed at block height 170. In addition to the 10 BTC sent to Finney that day, Satoshi sent four more transactions from block 9. Two transfers for 10 BTC and two transactions that sent a single bitcoin each. Greenberg’s article showcases an alleged screenshot of Hal Finney’s wallet that shows the 10 BTC transaction but it also shows 12 block subsidies Finney purportedly mined. The screenshot says Finney mined a reward on Jan. 10, 2009. That was the same day Finney told the world that he was “running bitcoin” on the social media platform Twitter. Running bitcoin — halfin (@halfin) January 11, 2009 Furthermore, block 78 is associated with Finney’s mined bitcoin rewards and his set of transactions. The block rewards pictured in Greenberg’s article, alongside block 78 and the first 10 BTC transaction, are all linked to the 2009 address 1NChf that Onesignature signed on Nov. 26. A deep dive into the first 1,025 mined BTC blocks indicates that Finney mined a considerable number of block rewards. In fact, our parsing found that 1NChf is linked to roughly 36 block rewards that our tools could locate and every reward discovered is related to Finney’s mining period. 1NChf is also associated with a great number of coinbase rewards that our team had not yet discovered. Further investigation revealed that 1NChf is connected to a large sum of block rewards that were sent out in batches of thousands of BTC on Jun. 14, 2011, at around 5 a.m. (ET). Some of Finney’s alleged blocks were also moved in April 2013, according to findings from our onchain research. A number of consolidated transactions are tied to a Bitstamp.net deposit address and some of the connected funds also were sent to a Mt Gox address. Blocks associated with Onesignature’s 1NChf include blocks 78, 320, 329, 357, 361, 372, 407, 413, 419, 490, 528, 567, 596, and 651. Blocks affiliated with 1NChf go all the way up to block heights 7,569, 7,828, and quite possibly even higher. All of the blocks linked to Onesignature’s 1NChf are related to blocks that are ostensibly tied to Hal Finney and none of the connected blocks match the Patoshi block pattern, which means 1NChf and block 1,018 is not a Satoshi block. It is well understood that Nakamoto may have mined between 700,000 to 1.1 million BTC, but what’s often misunderstood is that this stash is not consolidated. While parsing the first 1,025 mined BTC blocks, the data shows that nearly every block Nakamoto mined is unspent, except for the block 9 transactions. After the five transactions from block 9, there’s 18.43 BTC in the wallet and some of the funds stem from dust transactions. It’s not entirely clear the reason why Onesignature shared the message and signature on Nov. 26. Some people said it was a “flex” and some people claimed that the signature thread could have been spoofed. One user on the Bitcointalk.org post called “franky1” said that this was likely the case and that the signature signing “can be ‘fooled’ too.” There has also been speculation that the 1NChf and block 1,018 address could have been purchased by someone at a later date. It has been known that people have been seeking older addresses to purchase and these solicitations have been discovered on Reddit and bitcointalk.org. Whatever the case may be, the 1NChf and block 1,018 address is associated with some very special transactions, and mined blocks that are quite possibly connected to Finney. The computer scientist, Hal Finney, is revered by many in the Bitcoin community, and he passed away after suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) complications in Aug. 2014. The news follows the crypto community begging Twitter’s owner Elon Musk to preserve Finney’s Twitter account after Musk said Twitter plans to purge 1.5 billion inactive Twitter names. While Finney denied he was Bitcoin’s creator before he passed away, many crypto community members wholeheartedly believe he was the creator. Our onchain analysis says nothing of the sort, but the onchain links and heuristics connect to the 1NChf and block 1,018 address, and Hal Finney’s mined bitcoin and associated transactions. Joshua Redman assisted in reporting and contributed research for this article. What do you think about the connections between the 1NChf and block 1,018 address and the ostensible blocks and transactions associated with Hal Finney? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has reportedly told staff to expect some difficult months as the leading cryptocurrency exchange is seeing customer withdrawals. The warning comes while the crypto industry is facing challenges after high-profile bankruptcies and amid tightening regulations. $3 Billion Pulled Out From Binance at Peak, Nansen Data Shows Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, saw net outflows reaching $3 billion on Tuesday, Nov. 13, blockchain analytics firm Nansen revealed. The news comes as Changpeng Zhao, founder and chief executive of Binance, sought to assure his team that the company is strong enough financially to survive the crypto winter. Binance Netflow 7D ($) -3,660,311,347 8,783,380,428 – Outflow 5,123,069,081 – Inflow Exchange Flows dashboard ️https://t.co/CYrBQLryQ0 pic.twitter.com/vV6vcqoWKK — Nansen 🧭 (@nansen_ai) December 13, 2022 The coin trading platform has been dealing with the effects of a string of negative events in the sector, including the collapse of FTX, a major competitor in the exchange market which filed for bankruptcy protection in November. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on charges filed against him in the United States. A report by Reuters about an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into Binance was also a factor in investors’ nervousness, according to Andrew Thurman, content lead for Nansen, who commented on the outflow for CNN. Headlines that prosecutors are considering a money laundering probe also came against a backdrop of speculation about Binance’s reserves. Binance currently holds $60.4B in their publicly disclosed addresses $15.5B $BUSD $12.3B $USDT $9B $BTC $6.2B $BNB $6.1B $ETH And others pic.twitter.com/sgr6RTIRYx — Nansen 🧭 (@nansen_ai) December 14, 2022 CZ Acknowledges Withdrawals, Seeks to Downplay Outflow and Calm Down Colleagues In a tweet posted on Tuesday, Changpeng Zhao acknowledged the outflow of funds while insisting that Binance has been in similar situations before. “Some days we have net withdrawals; some days we have net deposits. Business as usual for us,” he said, suggesting “it is a good idea to ‘stress test withdrawals’ on each CEX on a rotating basis.” Meanwhile, the crypto executive also sought to alleviate concerns about the exchange’s health in a memo addressed to its staff. According to a report by Bloomberg quoting the document, Zhao emphasized that the industry is going through “a historic moment” in which Binance is in a strong financial position and “will survive any crypto winter.” “While we expect the next several months to be bumpy, we will get past this challenging period – and we’ll be stronger for having been through it,” CZ told the Binance team. Referring to the latest developments in the space, he added that the recent collapse of FTX has led to “a lot of extra scrutiny and tough questions” for his exchange. What do you think future holds for Binance and other major cryptocurrency exchanges? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The U.S. central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) convened on Wednesday and raised the federal funds rate by 50 basis points (bps). The 0.5 percentage point rise follows the four consecutive three-quarters of a point increases codified during the last few months. The FOMC’s rate hike follows the recent U.S. inflation report which indicated that consumer prices fell to 7.1%, which was lower than expectations. Fed Raises Federal Funds Rate by 50bps, Central Bank Expects More Increases Going Forward Following the consumer price index (CPI) report published on Tuesday, members of the U.S. Federal Reserve met on Wednesday and announced a 50bps rate hike. The December increase is smaller than the last four three-quarters of a point (75bps) rate increases. “The committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run,” the FOMC said. “In support of these goals, the committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent.” The Fed is projecting an additional 75bps hike in the federal funds rate by the end of next year. The news follows Tuesday’s CPI data that rose less than expected as metrics show the inflation rate in November was up 7.1% from a year ago. Core CPI jumped 0.2% on the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) noted. “Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 7.1 percent before seasonal adjustment,” the BLS CPI report details. The FOMC report notes that the Fed will continue to monitor “incoming information for the economic outlook.” “​​In addition, the committee will continue reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities, as described in the Plans for Reducing the Size of the Federal Reserve’s Balance Sheet that were issued in May,” the FOMC members disclosed. “The committee is strongly committed to returning inflation to its 2 percent objective,” the FOMC added. After the rate hike and the bank signaled more increases will be enacted, equity markets and precious metal prices tumbled. Crypto prices dropped too, and the price of bitcoin (BTC) fell beneath the $18K zone after the FOMC statement. The Fed has codified a number of rate hikes this year with one half percentage point jump and four three-quarters of a point hikes, making it a grand total of five federal funds rate increases in 2022. At the end of November, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell hinted during a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington that easing up on the rate hikes very well could happen in December. Powell has faced political pressure in regard to the rate hikes and Tesla’s Elon Musk has warned against the aggressive hikes in recent times. “We have more work to do,” Powell told reporters on Wednesday afternoon, and he further noted that “inflation risks are to the upside.” What do you think about the Federal Reserve’s rate hike on Wednesday? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On Dec. 14, 2022, statistics show that non-fungible token (NFT) sales jumped 27.72% higher than NFT sales recorded last week. The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection captured the most sales this week but on Wednesday afternoon, the floor value tied to Cryptopunks once again jumped above the floor value associated with the BAYC NFT collection. $154 Million in NFT Sales Recorded Over the Last Week, Cryptopunks’ Floor Values Rise From last Wednesday up until today, $154.78 million in sales were recorded over the last seven days which is 27.72% higher than the week prior. The $154 million in NFT sales over the last week came from 184,248 NFT buyers and 886,605 blockchain transactions according to cryptoslam.io metrics. Once again Ethereum NFT sales dominate as the chain saw $129.99 million in NFT sales out of the $154 million seven-day aggregate. NFT sales from ETH jumped 37.73% higher than ETH-based NFT sales last week. Besides Ethereum, NFT sales from Solana, Immutable X, Polygon, and Cardano followed. In addition to Ethereum’s NFT sales increase, Immutable X NFT sales rose 5.20% higher than the week prior. The top collection in terms of seven-day NFT sales was BAYC as the collection captured $21.84 million in sales this past week. BAYC is followed by Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), Valhalla, Cockpunch by Tim Ferriss, and Azuki. The most expensive NFT sold this week was sold five days ago for $691K and the NFT was BAYC #441. BAYC #441 was followed by BAYC #3,756 sold for $517K and Sandbox Land #92,594 for $202K. BAYC #2,596 sold for $178K around 24 hours ago and BAYC #785 sold for around $137K. While four out of the top five NFT sales this week were BAYC-related, BAYC NFTs have seen their floor values sink below the Cryptopunks NFTs once again. At the time of writing according to metrics from nftpricefloor.com, the current Cryptopunks’ floor value is higher than BAYC’s floor by an estimated 1.5 ether at 1:00 p.m. (ET) on Dec. 14, 2022. What do you think about this week’s NFT sales? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Solana surged to a three-week high ahead of this afternoon’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting (FOMC). The token rose for a second consecutive day, hitting a key price ceiling in the process. Cardano mainly consolidated on Wednesday, as prices fell from a recent high. Solana (SOL) Solana (SOL) was a notable gainer on Wednesday, as prices surged to a three-week high. Following a low of $13.61 on Tuesday, SOL/USD raced to an intraday high of $14.68 earlier in today’s session. As a result, solana moved to its strongest point since November 26, which is the last time prices were trading above a key ceiling of $14.70. Looking at the chart, this resistance point has yet to be broken following today’s gains, with SOL trading at $14.67 as of writing. The 14-day relative strength index (RSI) also rose, and is currently tracking at 48.36, however it also failed to break out of a resistance level. As of writing, the index remains below a ceiling of 49.00, which appears to be the main obstacle in place, preventing any further surges. Cardano (ADA) On the other hand, cardano (ADA) moved away from a recent eight-day high, as price consolidated ahead of today’s FOMC meeting. ADA/USD fell to a low of $0.3069 earlier in the day, which comes less than a day after hitting a peak at $0.3152. This surge in price sent cardano to its strongest point since December 5, which is the last time price was above a ceiling of $0.3270. From the chart, it can be seen that today’s price consolidation began following a failed breakout of the 46.00 ceiling on the RSI indicator. Currently, the index is tracking at 43.79, with momentum appearing to be heading for a floor at 37.60. Should price strength reach this point, it is likely that ADA will be trading close to the $0.3000 support level. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Do you expect cardano to rally following today’s interest rate decision? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

On Tuesday, the former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), appeared in court with his newly appointed lawyer Mark Cohen, and his legal team asked the Bahamian judge Joyann Ferguson-Pratt to release SBF on bail with an ankle bracelet. Amid the lengthy court hearing reports detail that SBF’s parents Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried attended the proceedings. Toward the end of the hearing, judge Ferguson-Pratt denied SBF’s request to be released on bail and remanded Bankman-Fried to the Bahamian jail until Feb. 8, 2023. Bankman-Fried’s Media Tour Comes to an End, AFR Report Claims FTX Insiders Had a Secret Signal Chat Group Called ‘Wirefraud’ During the first week of November, the co-founder of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) world turned upside down. It all started when Coindesk published an expose on SBF’s quantitative trading firm Alameda Research and the enormous balance of FTT tokens the company held. After the report, FTX and Alameda were under the spotlight and Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) revealed his exchange would be dumping all of its FTT tokens. These two events fueled speculation that FTX and Alameda were insolvent and on Nov. 8, 2022, Binance said it would purchase FTX after doing due diligence into the company’s financials. However, the deal never panned out, and at 4:00 p.m. (ET) on Nov. 9, 2022, the world’s largest crypto asset exchange by trade volume announced it would be backing out of purchasing FTX. At this point in time, all the digital assets from FTX’s coffers were either withdrawn by customers (many of whom were Bahamas natives) or simply disappeared. Two days after Binance backed out of the deal, SBF announced that FTX and Alameda had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, alongside roughly 130 associated companies. SBF also revealed he had stepped down from his position as FTX’s CEO and John J. Ray III took the position in order to deal with the bankruptcy and restructuring process. Since the bankruptcy filing, SBF embarked on a media tour doing a large number of interviews, while a significant amount of troubling evidence was being reported by numerous media publications. Prior to SBF’s arrest in The Bahamas, a report published by the Australian Financial Review (AFR) detailed that FTX’s SBF and his inner circle used a secret chat group called “Wirefraud.” AFR’s United States correspondent Matthew Cranston said “[AFR] has [learned] that FTX founders Sam Bankman-Fried and Zixiao ‘Gary’ Wang, along with FTX engineer Nishad Singh and former Alameda Research chief executive Caroline Ellison, used a chat group on Signal in the hope that the information would remain hidden.” 24 after the AFR report was published, Bankman-Fried was arrested. The FTX co-founder was also indicted by a federal grand jury in Manhattan, and charged with eight counts of financial fraud by the Southern District of New York (SDNY) prosecutor Damian Williams. SBF was further charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). SBF’s Legal Team Attempts to Get the Co-Founder out of Jail, Bahamian Judge Denies Bail, Disgraced FTX Co-Founder Gets Escorted out of Courthouse in Handcuffs The same day, SBF appeared in court and his legal team attempted to get him released on bail. One report notes that Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, SBF’s parents, attended the court hearing. SBF’s mother allegedly laughed out loud every time her son was called a “fugitive,” and his father put his fingers in his ears. His lawyer, Mark Cohen, the attorney who represented Ghislaine Maxwell during her sex trafficking trial, attempted to get SBF released on $250,000 bail. Cohen is quoted as saying that his client “suffered from depression, insomnia, and ADD for over a decade.” During the hearing, prosecutors argued that SBF was a “flight risk” due to all of his financial connections. However, judge Ferguson-Pratt did not seem swayed by the claims that said SBF suffered from alleged mental issues, and the fact that SBF had surrendered his passport. Judge Ferguson-Pratt told the court that bail was denied and SBF was to remain in custody until his Feb. 8, 2023 court hearing. Following the decision, the New York Post reports that SBF lowered his head, and gave his parents a hug before being escorted out of the courthouse in handcuffs. What do you think about SBF’s recent arrest and the accusations that say his inner circle were part of a secret chat group called “Wirefraud?” What do you think about the Bahamian judge denying SBF’s bail? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin continues to trade close to $18,000 on Wednesday, as markets remain bullish, following the latest U.S. inflation report. Following the data, which saw consumer prices rise to 7.1%, many expect the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates by 50 basis points. Ethereum was also higher today, and stayed close to a five-week high. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) was trading close to the $18,000 level on Wednesday, as markets remained higher following the latest U.S. inflation report. Following a low of $17,412.19 on Tuesday, BTC/USD surged to a peak of $17,930.09 earlier in today’s session. As a result of this move, BTC continues to trade close to its highest point since November 9, which is the last time price was above $18,000. Looking at the chart, this recent rise in momentum came as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) raced to its highest point since early November. As of writing, the index is tracking at the 60.00 mark, which is marginally below a key ceiling at the 60.75 mark. Should bitcoin climb beyond this point, we could see the coin once again move above the $18,000 point. Ethereum Ethereum (ETH) was also trading near a multi-week high in today’s session, as traders geared up for the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting. Many expect the Fed to increase interest rates by 50 basis points, following the better-than-expected inflation report. ETH/USD hit a high of $1,341.44 on Wednesday, which comes less than 24 hours after trading at a bottom of $1,289.23. As can be seen from the chart, ethereum remains close to a five-week high, with prices in the green for a third consecutive session. Like with bitcoin earlier, the RSI is now hovering close to a key resistance level of 59.00, with a current reading of 58.06. Market pressure could intensify should bulls force a breakout of this hurdle, potentially leading ETH towards $1,400. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Do you expect the Federal Reserve to hike the benchmark rate by more than 0.5%? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

After more attention has been cast on the former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, a report details that Ellison has hired Wilmerhale partner Stephanie Avakian, an attorney that worked for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The news follows leaked documentation of Ellison’s alleged margin position, and the ex-Alameda executive reportedly being spotted at a cafe in Soho. Ex-Alameda Research Exec Is Reportedly Being Represented by Former SEC Official Just recently, the FTX co-founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), said that he was “willing to testify” on Dec. 13, 2022, before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services. In the meantime, the media and crypto community members have been focused on the whereabouts of former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison. The ex-Alameda executive has been silent since FTX collapsed and it was once assumed she was in Hong Kong. Speculators also reported on Nov. 26 that Ellison allegedly left Hong Kong and fled to Dubai, but those reports were unverified. In more recent times, an FTX insider shared an alleged document reportedly tied to Ellison that showed a negative FTX margin balance of around $1.3 billion in May 2022. Additionally, a Twitter account called Autism Capital tweeted that Ellison may have been spotted at a cafe in Manhattan with the FTX team’s office dog Gopher. This weekend, Bloomberg reported that sources say, Stephanie Avakian, a partner at white-shoe law firm Wilmerhale, is representing the former Alameda CEO. “Stephanie Avakian, [a] former enforcement division chief at the Securities and Exchange Commission, is representing Ellison along with other lawyers at her firm, [Wilmerhale], according to people familiar with the matter,” Bloomberg’s Ava Benny-Morrison wrote on Dec. 10, 2022. The news follows reports that detailed SBF purportedly retained attorney Mark Cohen, the lawyer who represented Ghislaine Maxwell during her recent sex trafficking case. SBF’s new attorney was disclosed by SBF’s spokesperson, Mark Botnick. As far as Ellison’s alleged attorney, Avakian, the lawyer became a partner of the law firm Wilmerhale in 2020. The lawyer has been involved with high-profile law cases associated with Tesla’s Elon Musk, Ripple Labs, and General Electric. According to Bloomberg and reporters at the New York Post, representatives from the law firm Wilmerhale have not commented on reports concerning Ellison’s ostensible representation. If the reports about SBF’s and Ellison’s alleged legal representations are true, the two have managed to retain two prestigious lawyers to defend them. What do you think about the report that says Caroline Ellison allegedly retained the prestigious attorney Stephanie Avakian? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On December 12, 2022, the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) has been range bound after falling 25.5% from $55.94 billion on Nov. 5, to today’s $41.67 billion. Moreover, during the past 12 months, the TVL in defi dropped 82.56% from roughly $239 billion in Dec. 2021, to today’s aggregate. Smart Contract Token Economy and Defi Sector Struggle Following Last Month’s FTX Fiasco Decentralized finance (defi) has suffered a great deal from the FTX fiasco as the total value locked (TVL) in defi has shed 25.5% in value in 37 days. At the time of writing, the TVL in defi today is an estimated $41.67 billion and the TVL has declined 1.63% in the past 24 hours. The defi protocol Makerdao commands the largest TVL today with $6.26 billion in value locked, and a dominance rating of 15.02% against the rest of the defi protocols’ TVL standings. Defillama.com metrics indicate that during the course of the last month, Makerdao’s TVL shrunk by 8.41%. Following Makerdao, the top defi protocols in terms of TVL size include Lido, Aave, Curve, Uniswap, Convex Finance, Justlend, Pancakeswap, Compound Finance, and Instadapp respectively. Out of the entire top ten, Aave saw the largest monthly loss after it shed 15.18% in value in 30 days. On the other hand, Convex Finance’s TVL metrics increased by 43.87% during the last month. Ethereum holds the most value locked out of all the blockchains with $23.98 billion or 57.55% of the aggregate locked in defi today. Binance Smart Chain (BSC) has the second-largest TVL on Dec. 12, with an estimated $4.99 billion or 12.04% of the total. In terms of TVL size, Ethereum and BSC are followed by the blockchain networks Tron, Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, Optimism, Fantom, Cronos, and Solana respectively. The total seven-day volume, across all the cross-chain bridges on Dec. 12, is an estimated $810.67 million. The entire smart contract platform token economy today is $261 billion and it’s down 2.3% during the last 24 hours. During the last 62 days or since Oct. 11, 2022, the smart contract platform token economy dropped 7.77% against the U.S. dollar from $283 billion to today’s $261 billion. At the time of writing, the largest smart contract crypto asset, ethereum (ETH), is down 1.6% against the greenback during the past 24 hours. What do you think about the current state of decentralized finance this week? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Cryptowisser, a leading Crypto service comparison website, announces the launch of its annual Crypto exchange graveyard for 2022. This list is the only comprehensive database of “dead” cryptocurrency exchanges currently available. In 2022, 51 exchanges were reported dead, with the vast majority seemingly dying out due to business reasons and there were small percentages of scams, rebranding and regulatory deaths. FTX – Star of the Show Out of all the exchange casualties of 2022, FTX received the most attention, namely due to its sheer size and perceived strength (previously the third-largest exchange by trading volume). Unlike most crypto exchange deaths, this incident shook the crypto community to its core, whereas the majority of crypto exchange deaths occur in smaller, lesser known exchanges. Hacking and Scams on the Decline In the course of the crypto winter, fewer and fewer new crypto platforms were able to start up shop, resulting in only the strongest crypto platforms living to tell the tale. Less than 3% of crypto exchange deaths were caused by hacking or scams, the most notable being the Hoo exchange, which was reported to have frozen withdrawals, before disappearing, leaving an angry alliance of former Hoo traders behind. Cryptowisser also saw a significant decrease in the number of new exchanges registered. Big Exchanges Continue to Take Market Share Although the market has declined, household names have held onto their market shares, making it difficult for smaller exchanges to establish themselves. The FTX debacle drew even more attention to trust issues in the crypto market, making people less likely to choose a lesser known exchange. Not only that, large exchanges such as Bitget have begun to advertise their “protection funds” to reassure traders that their funds are safe with them. Majority of Dead Exchanges reported to be “Missing in Action” Over 50% of the exchange deaths in 2022 were reported “M.I.A”. Just disappeared into the ether, occasionally leaving clues of their death in a trail of confusing tweets, trading volume crashes, homepage 404s and dodgy site redirections. A clear indication of the crypto winter weeding out the weak, but unsettling nonetheless for affected traders. Centralized Exchanges Losing Favor Among the Masses In the centralized exchange world, FTX demonstrated how quickly things can change. Within the following weeks, traders began withdrawing large amounts of BTC from exchanges and placing them in cold storage. Additionally, there are a number of new investors attracted to decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges because they are able to maintain greater control over their funds. Concluding Remarks Although the deaths of exchanges were lower than previous years, FTX has had more of an impact on the market than the hundreds of dead exchanges in the previous years. The bigger exchanges like Binance continue to cement their market share. Until the market recovers, exchanges will continue to die, especially if they cannot rebuild trust with their traders. Cryptowisser is a cryptocurrency services comparison site that provides the largest, most frequently updated, and most trusted list of cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets, debit cards, and merchants anywhere. The platform provides more than 1,000 reviews of the various exchanges, debit cards, wallets, and merchants in the crypto space, designed to assist in making the most informed purchasing and service decisions. In order to obtain more information, please contact press@cryptowisser.com. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

Shiba inu was in the red to start the week, with prices falling to a 20-day low on Monday. The meme coin has now moved lower for four straight sessions, with the latest decline seeing price move below a key support point. Dogecoin was also down, hitting a two-week low earlier today. Shiba Inu (SHIB) Shiba inu (SHIB) was down on Monday, as the meme coin moved to its lowest point in the past 20 days. Following a high of $0.000009282, SHIB/USD was down by nearly 5% today, hitting a low of $0.000008794 in the process. This bottom is the lowest point that SHIB has traded at since November 22, when the token was at a low of $0.00000817. As can be seen from the chart, the move comes as shiba inu broke out of a floor at the $0.00000885 mark. The 14-day relative strength index (RSI) also fell, dropping below a floor at the 43.70 level in the process. Should this bearish momentum continue, we could see SHIB sellers attempt to recapture the low last seen on November 22. Dogecoin (DOGE) Dogecoin (DOGE) also remained in the red to start the week, as it also declined for a fourth straight day. DOGE/USD declined to an intraday low of $0.08729 on Monday, less than 24 hours after hitting a high of $0.09682. As a result of this decline, which saw DOGE drop by nearly 10%, the token hit its lowest point since November 25. Looking at the chart, bearish momentum has recently intensified following a drop below a floor of 48.00 on the RSI. The 10-day (red) moving average also appears to be heading towards its 25-day (blue) counterpart, with a downward cross looking inevitable. Should this crossover take place, it is likely that DOGE will move even lower, with a floor of $0.080 a possible destination. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Do you expect dogecoin prices to fall further this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

The Tron-based stablecoin USDD has once again dropped below the $1 parity to a low of $0.969 on Monday, Dec. 12, 2022. Amid the drop in USDD’s value, Tron founder Justin Sun tweeted that his team was “deploying more capital,” and the stablecoin’s web portal usdd.io claims the project is overcollateralized by 200.8% at the time of writing. Justin Sun Tells Crypto ‘Lads’ to Hold ‘Steady’ as USDD Team Deploys More Capital Tron’s stablecoin USDD is the eighth largest dollar-pegged token and it’s ranked 57 in terms of the largest market capitalizations among thousands of crypto assets. On Monday, Tron’s stablecoin dropped down to $0.969 per token at around 2:51 a.m. (ET) and at around 8:00 a.m., USDD is exchanging hands for $0.979 per unit. While the Tron stablecoin dropped in fiat value, Tron founder Justin Sun reassured the public that USDD was an overcollateralized stablecoin by sharing the URL usdd.io. Deploying more capital – steady lads — Do Kwon (@stablekwon) May 9, 2022 The web portal dedicated to the Tron stablecoin claims USDD is overcollateralized by 200.8% at 8:00 a.m. (ET) on Dec. 12. “In case anyone asks about [USDD], it is 200% collateralized ratio on usdd.io,” Sun tweeted. “You can check all live data on blockchain 24*7,” the Tron founder added. Following that statement, Sun tweeted out another comment that was once said by Terra’s co-founder Do Kwon when UST was losing its peg. Sun wrote: Deploying more capital – steady lads. This is not the first time USDD has dropped below the $1 peg as the stablecoin dropped below $1 on Nov. 10, 2022, the day before FTX filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11. On Nov. 10, USDD slipped to $0.976 per unit and it returned to the $0.99 range on Nov. 18, at around 1:00 p.m. (ET). Tron’s stablecoin USDD sunk even lower on June 19, 2022, when it dipped down to $0.928 per unit six months ago. By the first week of July, it had regained the $1 parity all the way up until Nov. 7, 2022, when it started to deviate again. Interestingly, the Tron stablecoin tapped an all-time high just over a month ago, when it tapped $1.04 per unit on Nov. 9, 2022. At the time of writing, USDD has an overall market cap of around $711.31 million, and an estimated $79 million in 24-hour global trade volume. The stablecoin’s supply has increased by 0.2% during the last 30 days. Since June 3, 2022, USDD’s market cap has grown by 6.6% from $667 million to today’s $711 million. Tron’s stablecoin is listed on a myriad of centralized and decentralized trading platforms with Huobi being the most active exchange on Dec. 12. What do you think about the Tron-based stablecoin deviating away from the $1 parity this week? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin was trading under $17,000 to start the week, as markets prepared for a big week of economic announcements. U.S. inflation figures will be released tomorrow, and are expected to fall to 7.3%. Many believe this will give way to the Federal Reserve pivoting from its aggressive rate hike policy. Ethereum was also lower, and is trading below $1,250 as of writing. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) started the week in the red, as traders prepared for a big week of economic announcements from the United States. Inflation figures will be released on Tuesday, and are expected to fall to 7.3%, down from 7.7% the month prior. BTC/USD fell to an intraday low of $16,899.39 during Monday’s session, which comes a day after hitting a high of $17,245.64. As can be seen from the chart, today’s decline saw bitcoin move lower for a fourth straight day, edging closer to a floor of $16,700 in the process. The 14-day relative strength index (RSI), which is currently tracking at 47.42, is also nearing a resistance of its own at 46.00. Depending on tomorrow’s inflation figure we could see BTC move below $16,700, and potentially towards the $16,000 mark. Ethereum Ethereum (ETH) also trended downwards on Monday, with prices falling for a second consecutive session. Following a high of $1,281.78 on Sunday, ETH/USD moved to a bottom of $1,243.48 earlier in the day. The move saw ethereum fall to its lowest point since November 8, and it is now nearing a floor of $1,230. Looking at the chart, recent bearish sentiment in ETH returned once the RSI failed to break out of a ceiling of 52.00. As of writing, the index is tracking at 48.60, and now seems to be moving towards a floor of 45.30. Despite this downtrend, the 10-day (red) moving average still remains above its 25-day (blue) counterpart. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Do you expect U.S. inflation to fall below 7.3%? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has announced upcoming changes to its know-your-customer (KYC) policy that will limit certain operations for unverified customers. The stricter requirements concern coin purchases with fiat money, NFT transactions, and withdrawal limits. Bybit to Limit Services for Traders Who Have Not Passed Identity Verification Crypto exchange Bybit will restrict some services that are currently available to users who are yet to pass its verification procedure. The crypto trading platform, one of the largest with global reach, announced the enhanced KYC requirements on Thursday and later adjusted the timeframe for their implementation. Verification is now needed to access the Bybit Launchpad and use Earn products. Passing individual KYC will be compulsory for acquiring crypto through fiat deposits, peer-to-peer (P2P) trading and the One-Click Buy option starting from Dec. 15, 2022. On the same date, identity verification will become mandatory for clients who want to claim their rewards in the platform’s Rewards Hub. The new KYC policy will also apply to operations with non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The stricter rules will be effective for all NFT purchases and sales for over $10,000 per transaction in the NFT secondary marketplace from Dec. 15 and for NFT deposits, withdrawals and purchases from the primary marketplace from Dec. 30, Bybit explained. The cryptocurrency exchange also noted that it may further expand the KYC requirements in the near future, urging users to refer to its official announcements for further updates on the matter. Bybit will also change the withdrawal limits for each of its KYC levels on Dec. 20. For clients that have not passed a KYC check, the daily limit will be set at the equivalent of 20,000 tether (USDT), and the monthly limit will be 100,000 USDT. The exchange remarked that the new rules come as part of continued efforts to improve its security and compliance. They are being introduced as the whole sector is facing tightening regulations after last month’s collapse of FTX, one of the world’s largest players in the market. Amid a deepening bear market, the Singapore-based crypto trading platform announced layoffs earlier this month. According to a report in November, Bybit did not plan to restrict Russian users, despite the city-state’s monetary authority reiterating that licensed exchanges must comply with sanctions. Do you expect other major crypto exchanges to restrict services for unverified users? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article