News Updates November 27, 2022

1. Bitcoin Core 24, Bitcoin’s controversial upgrade is now live

Bitcoin Core 24 comes with the RBF standard, a feature allowing users to replace unconfirmed BTC transactions with alternative transactions with high fees. Bitcoin Core 24, the long-awaited but controversial upgrade was activated on Nov. 26, opening the door for the Bitcoin memory pool that will serve as a waiting room for unconfirmed transactions.  

The memory pool will activate full RBF (Replace-by-Fee) logic, which is a way for nodes to either accept or refuse conflicting transactions if one transaction has a high fee. 

Before this upgrade, Bitcoin Core nodes implemented the “opt-in RBF” logic, where miners replaced a conflicting transaction in the memory pool if that transaction was signaled as replaceable. The RBF standard was introduced in 2016 and activated on the Bitcoin Network through the BIP 125 update. Prior to RBF, the memory pool accepted transactions on a first-seen basis.

Meanwhile, the new release features a Full-RBF, which the Bitcoin community has debated as controversial due to fears of making zero-confirmation transactions obsolete. Besides, the majority of critics feel the new feature will encourage double-spend attacks, and cause zero confirmation applications such as Muun to disable the feature for thousands of users.

According to Appolo’s co-founder, Thomas Fahrer, introducing the Full RBF to Bitcoin makes zero-confirmation transactions riskier because it increases the chances of facing double-spend attacks when accepting such payments.

#Bitcoin Core 24.0 was just released.

This one comes with a lot of controversy.

A new feature effecting big industry players, the networks scalability and security.

I’m talking about the mempoolfullrbf configuration option.

Let me break it down as simply as I can. 

2.Twitter Aims to Integrate Signal Protocol for Encrypted Messaging, Mobilecoin Soars 300%

Tech blogger Jane Manchun Wong has revealed that Twitter is bringing back encrypted direct messages (DMs). According to Wong, there are signs that the social media platform will integrate Signal Protocol for its encrypted private message.

Manchun Wong shared screenshots of the code for the Twitter iOS app showing that the code references Signal Protocol. Wong also revealed that the feature is being worked on for Twitter’s Android app.

Twitter’s owner Elon Musk hinted at this when he said Twitter 2.0 would add an encrypted private messaging feature.

Elon Musk Lays Out Twitter 2.0 Plans

Elon Musk has revealed several hints of his plan for Twitter 2.0, focusing on making it an everything app. Beyond the encrypted private messaging, Musk has disclosed other plans while also showing the platform’s performance.

In the past seven days, the social media platform has had an average of 2 million new user sign-ups daily and 8 billion active users minutes per day. But his plans for Twitter also include Advertising as Entertainment, Longform Tweets, Relaunch of Blue Verified, and Payments.

Some crypto community members have speculated that cryptocurrency integration will be under the payments feature. Bitcoin and Dogecoin communities are bullish on the inclusion of the two cryptocurrencies. Dogecoin is up by 8.1% in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, LunarCrush data also shows that spam on Crypto Twitter has dropped by more than 50% since Elon Musk took control of the company. This is the most significant reversal since LunarCrush started analyzing the data in January 2018.

3. Bitcoin price consolidation has shifted traders to these 4 altcoins
DOGE, LTC, LINK, and APE are showing signs of buying even as Bitcoin’s next directional move remains uncertain.

Bitcoin BTC $16,527
has been trading in a tight range since Thanksgiving Nov. 24, as traders are uncertain about the next directional move. Usually, in a bear market, analysts tend to become uber-bearish and project targets that tend to scare away investors.

The failure of Bitcoin to start a strong recovery has given rise to several bearish targets, which extend up to $6,000 on the downside.

Although anything is possible in a bear market, traders who have a long-term view could try to accumulate fundamentally strong coins in several tranches. Because a bottom will only be confirmed in hindsight and trying to time it is usually a futile exercise.

In a bear market, all coins do not bottom at the same time. Hence, along with keeping an eye on the broader cryptocurrency market, traders should closely follow the coins of their choice.

The cryptocurrencies that lead the market out of the bear phase generally tend to do well when the next bull market begins. Let’s look at the charts of the cryptocurrencies that are trying to start an up-move in the short term.

BTC/USDT
Bitcoin has been consolidating between $15,588 and $17,622 for the past few days. The relative strength index (RSI) has formed a bullish divergence, suggesting that the selling pressure could be reducing.

The relief rally could face stiff resistance in the zone between the 20-day exponential moving average ($17,065) and $17,622. If the price turns down from the overhead zone, the BTC/USDT pair could extend its stay inside the range for some more time.

If buyers catapult the price above the overhead zone, it will suggest that the downtrend may be ending. The 50-day simple moving average ($18,600) may act as a minor hurdle but if crossed, the up-move could reach the psychological level of $20,000.

Alternatively, if the price turns down from the overhead resistance and breaks below $15,588, it could signal the resumption of the downtrend. The pair could then drop to $13,554.

The moving averages on the 4-hour chart have flattened out and the RSI is near the midpoint, indicating a balance between supply and demand. This balance could tilt in favor of the bulls if they push the price above $17,000. The pair could then rise to the overhead resistance at $17,622.

Instead, if the price slips below $16,000, the pair could drop to the critical support zone between $15,588 and $15,476. A break below this zone could accelerate selling and start the next leg of the downtrend.

4. Indian Crypto Companies’ Response to the FTX Collapse

The quick downfall of FTX with an $8-10 billion deficit in its balance sheet has left the broader cryptocurrency market reeling under its cascading effects.

Besides Proof of Reserves (PoR) and Reserves to Liability (R2L) Ratio data, Indian crypto exchanges, battling low volume caused by high taxation and an unfriendly regulatory environment, have responded to the evolving situation with some fresh initiatives.

Polygon CEO’s Self-Custody Buzz

Polygon CEO Sandeep Nailwal was the first to moot the idea of self-custody, which turned out to be the new benchmark of transparency and financial health in the crypto industry. In a 5-tweet thread on November 12, he blamed ignoring core fundamentals for the FTX’s collapse.

Nailwal claimed neither Polygon nor any of its subsidiaries ever opened an account with FTX and went on to reveal that, on the contrary, FTX Ventures bought $50 million worth of MATIC early this year. Polygon is a Mumbai-based startup registered in the British Virgin Islands.

CoinSwitch’s Multi-Exchange Trading Platform
Indian crypto exchanges have responded to the emerging situation with enhanced PR activities and some noteworthy initiatives. For example, CoinSwitch has launched a first-of-its-kind multi-exchange trading platform – CoinSwitch Pro.

“The first-of-its-kind KYC-compliant platform will allow users to trade Crypto assets in Indian Rupees across multiple exchanges with a single login,” the exchange said in a PR recently.
Its key features include single login, arbitrage advantages, and a unified portfolio across platforms.

CoinDCX Releases PoR, R2L Data

CoinDCX, the highest-valued Indian crypto exchange, has released the list of its on-chain and off-chain balance of assets in a Proof-of-Reserves (PoR) exercise. In a PR, the company outlined plans to provide monthly updates on the Reserves to Liability (R2L) ratio, with the information already shared last week for the top 10 assets.

“We have the highest levels of corporate governance and have always maintained a user liability to assets ratio greater than 1:1,” CoinDCX said in its release.

Saga of FTX’s Downfall
On November 7, CryptoPotato reported that FTX’s utility token FTT had dropped 10% in 24 hours after Binance said it will offload its entire holding worth nearly $580 million quickly after a sudden announcement by its CEO Changpeng Zhao on Twitter over the weekend.