Hodler’s Digest, June 16-22 – Cointelegraph Magazine

Top news this week

SEC suspends Ethereum investigation – Consensys

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suspending its investigation into whether Ethereum is a security, Ethereum developer Consensys announced on June 19. The investigation focused on whether Ethereum’s initial coin offering in 2014 constituted an unregistered securities offering. Consensys said the decision was made after the SEC sent a letter to the agency on June 7 asking whether it would close its investigation into Ethereum (ETH). Regulators approved an exchange-traded fund (ETF) last May, “assuming ETH as a commodity.”

Kraken recovered $3 million from CertiK and ended its bug bounty saga.

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has recovered missing funds from CertiK following a failed high-profile bug bounty exploit. Kraken confirmed the return of approximately $3 million worth of digital assets on June 20, putting an end to the Kraken-CertiK saga. The exchange claimed that funds were maliciously withdrawn after “security researchers” discovered and shared an existing bug. Soon after, blockchain security company CertiK publicly identified itself as a “security researcher,” saying it had alerted Kraken to an exploit that allowed millions of dollars to be withdrawn from exchange accounts. CertiK also claimed it received threats from the exchange team.

SEC shoots down Ripple’s argument for lower fines

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected Ripple’s request for a lower fine amid its legal battle with the regulator, arguing that the company’s proposed $10 million penalty was insufficient compared to the $876.3 million sought. Ripple cited the SEC’s settlement with Terraform Labs as a benchmark, but the agency believes the circumstances are not comparable because Terraform has agreed to additional steps, such as changing leadership and repaying investors. The SEC’s proposed fines against Ripple total $2 billion, including $198.2 million in pre-judgment interest, $876.3 million in civil penalties, and $876.3 million in clawbacks.

Ethereum price to $10,000 is the most ‘asymmetric bet’ in crypto — Analyst

According to cryptocurrency analyst Tyler, Ethereum reaching $10,000 could be the most “asymmetric bet” in current market conditions. Despite the current struggle to surpass $4,000, factors such as the upcoming Ether Exchange Traded-Fund and the sharp decline in Ether supply on exchanges could fuel this growth. A potential rise to $10,000 would represent a 194% increase from current levels.

An Ethereum ETF filing modified by Bitwise reveals that Pantera is interested in purchasing $100 million.

Bitwise updated its spot Ether Exchange Traded-Fund (ETF) filing to reveal that Pantera Capital is interested in investing up to $100 million in the fund. The document states that expressions of interest are non-binding. This means Pantera may buy more, less, or none of the stock. This filing is the final part of the approval process before a spot Ether ETF can be traded publicly. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler believes this will happen “sometime this summer.”

winners and losers

Bitcoin this weekend (BTC) It’s in $64.010ether (ETH) In ~ $3.501 and XRP In ~ $0.48. The total market capitalization is $2.34 $1 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three rising altcoins of the week are Ethereum Name Service. (ENS) 25.77%, Lido DAO (LDO) 14.04% and Pendle (pendle) 13.53%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are zkSync. (ZK) -33.93%, Chiliz (CHZ) -30.15% and Starknet (STRK) -24.81%.

For more information on cryptocurrency prices, read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

most memorable quotes

“Previous statements by SEC officials regarding the possible classification of Ethereum may be disconcerting for an agency that claims the classification is ‘clear.’”

Carol GoforthProfessor, University of Arkansas School of Law

“I believe the (Bitcoin) ETF has had a huge impact, not for what it is, but for what it means. And over the past few months, we’ve seen a remarkable shift in mindset.”

Sheraz AhmedStorm Partners Managing Partner

“The expanding utility of stablecoins demonstrates their potential to strengthen economic inclusion and reshape traditional finance.”

Start Sami languageTransac CEO

“The SEC Enforcement Division has notified us that it is terminating its investigation into Ethereum 2.0.”

ConsenSysEthereum Developer

“Soon, not engaging with cryptocurrencies and digital assets will be a risk to your career.”

Kunal BhasinKPMG Canada Digital Asset Co-Lead

“Enterprise adoption is a complete failure. “It is a league between professionals and amateurs.”

mark degenTrust Square Chairman

This week’s predictions

Bernstein analysts expect spot BTC ETF flows to push the Bitcoin price to $200,000 by 2025.

Analysts at research and brokerage firm Bernstein predicted that Bitcoin could reach nearly $200,000 by the end of next year, driven by inflows into cash exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Analysts based this forecast on the assumption that spot Bitcoin ​​ETFs could account for approximately 7% of the total Bitcoin ​​circulating supply by the end of 2025.

“We believe Bitcoin ETFs are on track for approval by major financial institutions/large private banking platforms in the third quarter,” Bernstein analysts Gautam Chhugani and Mahika Sapra wrote in a note to clients.

Analysts said that while nearly 80% of current spot Bitcoin ETF flows come from self-directed retail investors through brokerage platforms, institutional integration with financial institutions is still in its infancy. They added:

“We expect spot Bitcoin ETFs to reach $190 billion by the 25-year market peak and $3 trillion by 2033.”

FUD of the week

U.S. prosecutors oppose move to reduce Ethereum developer’s 5-year sentence

U.S. Justice Department officials have written a letter opposing former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith’s proposal to reduce his 2022 sentence for violating sanctions against North Korea. Griffiths spoke at a cryptocurrency and blockchain conference held in the country in 2019 about how countries can use cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions and launder money. A judge sentenced the former Ethereum developer to 63 months in prison and a $100,000 fine in April 2022, setting an expected release date of January 2026, taking into account the time he spent behind bars prior to his sentencing hearing.

‘Pharma Bro’ Claims Barron Trump Holds Private Keys to DJT Tokens

Martin Shkreli, also known as “Pharma Bro,” now claims that Donald Trump’s 18-year-old son Barron Trump launched the TrumpCoin token with his father’s approval and holds the private key to the smart contract address. Shkreli, who has been in prison for more than six years on securities fraud charges, claimed that Barron Trump approached him in April about launching a Solana-based token. The token was worth $146 million as of June 20, according to Birdeye data.

41% of top ZK airdrop wallets have already sold everything — Nansen

Nearly 41% of the top wallets that received new zkSync (ZK) tokens from the June 17 airdrop sold their entire allocation in one day, causing the price of ZK to drop by 34.5%. Nearly 41% of the addresses tracked sold their entire airdrop, and 29.2% sold at least some tokens, according to data from blockchain analytics firm Nansen. The total value of sales across both cohorts was over ZK 486 million. More than 30% of the top receiving wallets hold ZK tokens. At least 491,000 wallets requested an airdrop.

Best magazine articles of the week

‘Rock star complex’ Tyler saw 1K ETH round trip: NFT collector

Tyler Warner (Tyler Did It) convinced himself he was a rock star trader in a bull market, but he couldn’t sustain his profit NFT Collector.

Indy 500 driver Conor Daly on Polkadot: ‘How angry are you that my dad has a DOT?’

Did Polkadot make money by entering motorsports? 13M watched DOT-sponsored driver Conor Daly lead the Indy 500 for 22 laps.

Ethereum’s Recent Decline Could Be a Gift: Dynamo DeFi, X Hall of Flame

Patrick Scott said he doubts Bitcoin ETF investors will flock to Ethereum ETFs anytime soon, but the overall trend is likely to be upward.

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editorial staff

Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.