News Updates December 23 & 24, 2022
1. This Will Be the Crypto Asset That Challenges Bitcoin (BTC), According to Popular Analyst. A popular crypto analyst says one big milestone will determine which altcoin can challenge Bitcoin’s (BTC) dominance.
In a new strategy session, the anonymous host of InvestAnswers tells his 444,000 YouTube subscribers that the blockchain to first amass one billion users will dominate the market.
It all goes back to Metcalfe’s Law and adoption. So the faster the development, the more value created. And the more value created, the more users. And the more users, the more value of the actual chain itself.”
Metcalfe’s Law states that the value of a network is directly related to the number of users it has.
He says there is more innovation taking place on altcoin blockchains than on Bitcoin, which will boost value and attract more users.
“The number of developers on other blockchains is far higher than Bitcoin. Therefore, I do believe more value can be built into other chains beyond just stores of value and payments to do a whole bunch of different stuff. And that will drive more users which will bring about a much bigger network effect which will increase the value of the blockchain. That is key.”
He says that reaching one billion users is the target to achieve dominance in the crypto space, the same goal Solana (SOL) set when it first launched.
“Now the winning layer one or the winning blockchain will be the first to onboard one billion users. I have been talking about this for a while. A lot of leaders of blockchains are beginning to jump on that same narrative. This always came from the original Solana goal. Now [Ethereum creator] Vitalik Buterin is talking about a billion users as well.
So the race is on. Which chain will hit one billion users first? And that is it. The chain that has a wallet with a billion users wins the day. Therefore, you could argue you need to have some alts in your bag.”
2. BTC price ignores US PCE data at $16.8K as Bitcoin rejects volatility
The latest U.S. economic data fails to induce volatility in an otherwise flat Bitcoin price playing field.
Bitcoin (BTC $16,822)
saw a flicker of volatility around the Dec. 23 Wall Street open as the latest United States inflation data came in line with expectations.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD briefly decoupling from solid sideways action to dip to $16,750 on Bitstamp.
The impact of the November U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index print was notably muted, despite the data forming a key component of Federal Reserve policy.
Even in the low-volume, low-volatility environment thatBitcoin continues to trade in, PCE barely moved markets as traders began to accept that Christmas 2022 may be an underwhelming one.
“Hope you enjoyed that little crumb of vol, it's probably the last,” popular Twitter account Byzantine General responded.
Core PCE was 4.7% for November, showing inflation retreating but still falling short of a bullish surprise for risk assets.
“A strong reaction from there, a quick flip of $16.750 as well,” Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, wrote in part of Twitter analysis.
“If that holds, I’m assuming we break $16.9-17K and target $17.45K on Bitcoin. Otherwise, looking at longs lower at $16.45K.”
Fellow trader and analyst Il Capo of Crypto remained bearish, arguing that “the inability to break 17k says it all.”
Data from on-chain analytics resource Material Indicators meanwhile showed significant bid interest parked at $16,500 on the Binance order book.
Data shows miner reluctance to sell on exchanges
Updating the picture regarding Bitcoin miners, on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant meanwhile noted that transaction volumes had fallen in line with the broader trend.
3. Crypto can get weird: The 5 strangest stories of the industry in 2022
Filmmakers are interested in documenting one of this year’s weirdest stories in crypto, but what else made the list?
From Terra to FTX, 2022 has given us many weird crypto stories. While investors have been enduring a bear market that saw the crypto industry sink below the $1 trillion market capitalization mark, adoption in the space has been growing, and old mysteries were finally solved.
From the incredible short squeeze of a bankrupt company’s token to old anti-crypto arguments used by a major central bank, we’re getting weird with five stories the best fiction writers couldn’t dream up.
“Comedic rapper” charged over Bitfinex hack
Back in 2016, popular cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex suffered a major security breach that saw attackers steal 119,756.
BTC tickers down $16,823, worth approximately $72 million at the time. It was one of the largest crypto hacks in history, and although Bitfinex continued operating, its reputation was damaged for years to come.
This year, Heather Morgan, known by her rap name “Razzlekhan,” and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein were arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for allegedly conspiring to launder crypto connected to the Bitfinex hack.
During a court appearance in New York, the pair proclaimed their innocence and were released on multimillion-dollar bonds. The weird part of this story is the details surrounding Morgan’s work as a “comedic rapper” and social media influencer. One of her songs even says it is dedicated to “the entrepreneurs and hackers, all the misfits and smart slackers.”
Morgan, who calls herself the “crocodile of Wall Street,” was labeled a master of “deceit and deception” by federal authorities. While her home was being searched, Morgan allegedly asked federal agents for permission to retrieve her cat from under the bed and, while doing so, tried to lock her phone.
Morgan and Lichtenstein reportedly traveled to Ukraine in 2019 to attain false identities and create fake passports, and have “established financial accounts” in Ukraine and Russia.
She was a regular contributor to Forbes. The day before the Bitfinex hack, she posted a picture next to Lichtenstein with a caption saying she will “always love getting into trouble w/ this crazy guy.”
Bankrupt Celsius Network’s CEL token surges 4,000%
Shortly after cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network filed for bankruptcy, the price of its native utility token, CEL tickers down $0.51, jumped by more than 4,100%. In only two months, the price climbed from a bottom of $0.093 to a near $4 high.
The surge came amid rumors that Ripple, a company engaged in a legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, could take over Celsius’ assets. Other rumors suggested Goldman Sachs planned to acquire Celsius for $2 billion.
At the time of the short squeeze, Cointelegraph reported that FTX had about 5.1 million CEL tokens, amounting to 90% of the total circulating supply on exchanges.
It’s currently believed traders on FTX pulled off the short squeeze, but deleted tweets suggest that the origins of the movement may not be fully understood, and some believe Alameda Research was directly involved. We do know that at least some traders are still trying to get a CEL short squeeze going again, even after the token dropped to $0.50.
Binance’s letter of intent
Binance’s surprising letter of intent to acquire the collapsing FTX exchange is another weird story of 2022. At the time, many in crypto believed FTX was a solvent, well-run company. When Binance announced its intent to liquidate its holdings of FTX Token
FTT $0.90 following speculation regarding the solvency of FTX, what was seen as a rivalry between Binance and FTX soon turned into a potential buyout no one was expecting.
As FTX’s solvency was hardly being questioned, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried announced an “agreement on a strategic transaction” with Binance. It was a weird and unexpected revelation because, until that point, Bankman-Fried had dismissed concerns about the solvency of FTX.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao added to those concerns when he tweeted, “This afternoon, FTX asked for our help. There is a significant liquidity crunch. To protect users, we signed a non-binding LOI, intending to fully acquire FTX.com and help cover the liquidity crunch. We will be conducting a full DD in the coming days”.
The deal fell through the next day after Binance conducted its due diligence, with the reasons becoming clear soon after.
European Central Bank spreads FUD
In late November, the European Central Bank (ECB) published a blog post in which it argued that Bitcoin’s recovery from $17,000 to $20,000 was likely an “artificially induced last gasp before the road to irrelevance.”
The ECB said that Bitcoin is “rarely used for legal transactions” and that “real Bitcoin transactions are cumbersome, slow and expensive.” The central bank daringly wrote that Bitcoin has never been used “to any significant extent for real-world legal transactions.”
Central African Republic’s crypto plan
The Central African Republic (CAR) became the second country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender earlier this year, allowing around 5 million residents to use the flagship cryptocurrency alongside the country’s fiat currency, the Central African CFA franc.
The move came after Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra signed a bill into law establishing a regulatory framework for Bitcoin as legal tender. While the crypto community initially celebrated the move, the weird side of this soon became apparent.
Although the CAR is a mineral-rich nation, its people are among the poorest in the world. It has been devastated by a decade-long civil war, and it is estimated that nine out of 10 residents don’t even have access to the internet. CAR’s decision was accompanied by little to no explanation, with President Touadéra tweeting a simple “more to follow.”
4. End Of Bitcoin Bear Market In 2023 If BTC Breaks This Price Level?
Bitcoin (BTC) price action in recent ways has been following sideways movement at the $16,500 level, as trader shop for recovery.
Bitcoin (BTC) News: It has long been argued that the Bitcoin (BTC) price is close to the low or already found the bottom in the current cycle. However, the collapse of FTX and the subsequent crypto crash made it worse for the market. Meanwhile, as 2023 approaches, analysts expect that the top cryptocurrency would show clear signs that it around the bottom level. The question remains that at what point in 2023 would BTC regain the $30,000 that it saw earlier in the year.
Bitcoin Price To Recover In Six Months?
The crypto crash due to Terra LUNA collapse brought the BTC price down to below $30,000 level. It has only been a downward curve since then for the top cryptocurrency. BTC hovered around the $25,000 level for few weeks when Ethereum network was preparing for the Merge. In this context, crypto analysts are predicting that BTC could recover to $37,000 level until June 2023, as per technical analysis.
According to influencer Crypto Michael, the recovery is far by a few months into 2023.
“Most likely BTC could be acting around $37,000 in a few months from now when it comes to Bitcoin price action. Because we are just going to copy the markets from 2018 and 2019 and also considering that it had such a downward movement already.”
5. Binance Fails To List BNB On Major US Crypto Exchanges.
Binance’s BNB token has a market capitalization worth $40 billion, yet, the leading crypto exchange has failed to list it on the major US crypto exchanges. According to analysts, US regulators consider BNB as a potential security.
Currently, Binance is battling market speculation based on most-recent withdrawals worth billions of dollars and proof-of-reserves statements by Mazars, Binance’s auditing firm. Moreover, a Binance spokesperson confirmed that,
Mazars has indicated that they will temporarily pause their work with all of their crypto clients globally, which include Crypto.com, KuCoin and Binance. Unfortunately, this means that we will not be able to work with Mazars for the moment.
Binance’s distress is visible in its native token BNB which has dropped 17% in value in December, currently trading at $245 after its fall from $690 in May 2022. Additionally, its market capitalization has also tanked from its highest worth of $116 billion to $40 billion.
Analysts are recalling the same pattern in the fall of the FTT token’s value right before the cryptocurrency exchange, FTX collapsed entirely. While analysts scrutinize BNB’s valuation, investors have caught wind of the situation.
Many crypto analysts suspect that US exchanges may have avoided the BNB listing to prevent conflict with the regulators. IntoTheBlock’s head researcher, Lucas Outumuro shared that exchanges are not listing BNB since they deem it as security given the centralized nature of its network.
“It’s probably not worth U.S. exchanges risking listing a security especially if it’s a competitor’s token,” added Outumuro. At present, KuCoin, Huobi, and OKX have BNB listed on their exchanges. However, Kraken, which has over 120 tokens listed, has not enabled the Binance token to its users.
6. Why Did SBF Not Have To Make A Payment To Secure Release? Can He Flee The US?
A US judge granted SBF bail on Thursday after prosecutors and SBF’s attorneys agreed on the terms. However, the details have left crypto community members with unanswered questions.
Yesterday, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was released on personal recognizance with a bail bond set at $250 million, per reports from CNBC.
The crypto founder’s parents pledged their Palo Alto home valued at $4 million to secure his release. Per the details, two other anonymous signees have also pledged “considerable assets” to account for the $246 million bond balance.
Consequently, SBF made no payment to secure his release, only a promise that these individuals would be forced to give up the assets mentioned above should the crypto founder break the terms of the bond.
In a CoinDesk opinion piece shared by pro-XRP attorney John Deaton, James Murphy, the founder of Murphy & McGonigle, expresses outrage at this fact. Notably, Murphy’s article fails to include the two other anonymous signees.
“Bankman-Fried walked out of court essentially a free man by signing a piece of paper where he promised to pay the court $250 million if he decides to flee to another country with no extradition,” Murphy writes. “This, of course, is totally absurd.”
Value Technology founder Jason Brett explained, SBF could not post bail because the Us government does not let defendants in financial crime and drug cases post bail, as they may make payment from fraudulently acquired sources.
Furthermore, as Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy, highlights, escape for the crypto founder may be more challenging than Murphy lets on. Thorn, sharing excerpts from the transcript of SBF’s hearing on Thursday, highlighted that the court granted bail based on his “notoriety.” Consequently, the court believes that the FTX founder will find it challenging to engage in financial crime or attempt to flee the country without being recognized.
Aside from this, SBF has been shackled with an ankle monitor and will remain under strict supervision from Pretrial services.
Several crypto community members are understandably curious about the identities of the anonymous signees. Notably, at least one is a non-family member. The public will likely get more information on this on January 5, when both parties must sign, as Thorn explains. Brett believes these persons will likely remain anonymous or have their identities leaked.
Recall that SBF requested immediate extradition to the US to seek bail after failed attempts in the Bahamas, per reports from Bloomberg.
The FTX founder faces over 100 years in prison for multiple counts of fraud from the US Department of Justice. The SEC and CFTC have also filed separate civil charges against the crypto founder.
FTX and its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy in November after a bank run revealed an $8 billion hole in its balance sheet.
