News Updates December 11, 2022
1. Here's What Really Happened With Binance on Dec. 11. A strange and sudden volume spike on numerous altcoins across the trading platform was not something the majority of investors would expect during a weekend trading session. Unfortunately, the source of the provided volume was not natural. Back in November, numerous users reported a problem: they noticed an occurrence of orders they had not placed on the platform. Someone or something was causing a spike in trading volume on various assets, including AXS, which was not targeted in this case.
Later on, Binance CEO CZ confirmed that the issues were not on the exchange's side. The problem was tied to a trading API key leakage. Technically, Binance was simply following orders from users and did not have any issues with its inner systems.
"Breaking: On December 11, a large number of altcoins OM / AMP / NEXO / POLS / SUN / ARDR / BIFI / XVS / ARK / LOOM / OSMO were contra traded in Binance. It seems that some users’ API KEY has been stolen by hackers and related to 3Commas".
In this case, Binance remains intact, with its core system working normally and without facing any issues. Presumably, the problem is tied to yet another API key leak. According to WuBlockchain, the keys were stolen by hackers, and the issue is related to 3Commas trading bots.
The official Binance account or Changpeng Zhao himself have neither confirmed nor refuted the users' claim. However, the source of the leak might not be tied to any kind of security breach. Sometimes, users are unable to properly store their API keys, or they provide them to third parties that do not contain them correctly.
2. Bitcoin Price Stuck In Key Range, Why The Bulls Remain In Action.
Bitcoin price failed to clear the $17,300 zone and corrected lower. BTC could find a strong buying interest near $16,900 or $16,700 in the coming sessions.
Bitcoin failed to gain pace for a move above $17,300 and $17,450.
The price is trading below $17,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
There is a key bearish trend line forming with resistance near $17,150 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
The pair could bounce back if it stays above the $16,900 and $16,700 support levels.
Bitcoin Price Remains Supported
Bitcoin price was able to clear the $17,000 resistance zone. However, the price failed to gain pace for a move above $17,300 and $17,450. A high was formed near $17,292 and the price started a fresh decline.
There was a clear move below the $17,100 and $17,000 levels. The price declined below the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $16,700 swing low to $17,292 high. Bitcoin price is now trading below $17,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
There is also a key bearish trend line forming with resistance near $17,150 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The pair is now approaching the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $16,700 swing low to $17,292 high.
On the upside, an immediate resistance is near the $17,050 level. The first major resistance is near the $17,150 zone and the trend line, above which the price may perhaps start a fresh increase.
In the stated case, the price could rise towards the $17,300 resistance. The next major resistance is near $17,450, above which the price rise towards the $18,000 zone in the near term.
Downside Break in BTC?
If bitcoin fails to clear the $17,150 resistance, there could be more losses. An immediate support on the downside is near the $16,900 level.
The next major support is near the $16,700 zone or the last swing low. A downside break below the $16,700 support might call a drop towards $16,500. Any more losses might push the price towards the $16,200 zone in the near term.
Technical indicators:
Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining pace in the bearish zone.
Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now in the oversold zone.
Major Support Levels – $16,900, followed by $16,700.
Major Resistance Levels – $17,050, $17,150 and $17,450.
3. Crypto spam bots go silent as Musk promises to prosecute scammers
Some users in the crypto Twitter space are already reporting a reduction in the number of scam bots after Elon Musk’s latest changes to the social media platform.
Elon Musk's latest salvo in his war against crypto spam bots on Twitter appears to have made a real impact, with the crypto community reporting a vast reduction in the number of bots responding to their posts.
In a Dec. 11 post, the Twitter CEO hinted that “bots are in for a surprise tomorrow” and later explained that they've found a small number of people behind a large number of bot/troll accounts and the platform will be shutting down IP addresses of “known bad actors.”
He then followed up by explaining that while scammers might try other methods to circumvent the IP address block, Twitter will be “shutting them down as soon as they show up.”
Shibetoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym of Billy Markus, co-creator of meme coin Dogecoin
DOGE tickers down $0.09, told Musk in a Dec. 11 post, “I made a test post and instead of seeing 50 bot replies I only saw one much progress, very hype.”
Other users also went to test Musk’s latest changes. PlanB, a Bitcoin
BTC tickers down$16,929 analyst and investor, posted a chart to see how many bots would reply. At the time of writing, no responses from bots had shown up in the comments.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also noted that while “Twitter *seems* to be marginally better to use lately,” he couldn’t tell if there had been a reduction in bots due to Musk.
“No idea how to separate apart stuff Elon did vs crypto-winter vs my brain imagining changes that aren't actually there," he said.
Some have reported that the bot responses still show up on posts, but are very quickly removed by the platform.
4. Chinese authorities break up billion-dollar crypto money laundering ring: China News.
Police in Inner Mongolia have arrested 63 people in association with a scheme that allegedly laundered 12 billion yuan ($1.7 billion), China News reports.
Following an investigation into unusual money flows from construction firm Shi Mouyuan, authorities reportedly discovered a wide network that operated internationally and "converted funds suspected of online pyramid schemes, fraud, gambling and other crimes into virtual digital currency."
Led by the Horqin Branch of Tongliao Public Security Bureau, the investigation spanned 17 provinces. One suspect, Zhang Mou, has fled to Bangkok.
China formally barred the use of cryptocurrencies in 2021. Earlier this week, Hong Kong established a new regime to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges.
5. United Kingdom Aims to Establish Regulatory Environment for Stablecoin Payments.
The United Kingdom HM treasury is committed to establishing a safe framework for the use of stablecoins. The FSM Bill plans to regulate crypto assets.
This Friday, the HM treasury of the United Kingdom announced the Edinburgh reforms to drive growth and competitiveness in the financial services sector. HM Treasury is an abbreviation for His Majesty’s treasury which is the government’s economic and financial treasury.
United Kingdom to Regulate Crypto Assets and the Use of Stablecoins
The Edinburgh reforms mentioned the Financial Services and Market (FSM) Bill aimed to “establish a safe regulatory environment for stablecoins – which may be used for payments.”
Not just regulating stablecoins, the government plans to bring a “broader range of investment-related crypto assets activities into regulation.” According to a June 2022 report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), over 5% of the UK population owns cryptocurrencies. Hence the regulations are deemed necessary to protect citizens, especially after the collapse of FTX that caused chaos in the crypto industry.
