Hodler’s Digest, November 19-25 – Cointelegraph Magazine

Top news this week

U.S. officials announce $4.3 billion settlement with Binance, request transaction with CZ

Binance and co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao have reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in criminal and civil lawsuits. CZ will plead guilty to one felony charge as part of a negotiated settlement. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the settlement, alleging that Binance’s policies allowed criminals involved in illegal activities to move “stolen funds” through the exchange. As part of the agreement, CZ announced via He added that U.S. officials are “proud to point out” that they have not alleged that Binance misappropriated funds or manipulated markets. CZ is out on bail and is fighting government efforts to bar him from returning to the United Arab Emirates to be with his family. His sentencing is scheduled for February.

BlackRock met with SEC officials to discuss spot Bitcoin ETF.

Representatives from BlackRock and Nasdaq met with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss proposed rules that would allow the listing of physical Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). BlackRock provided a presentation detailing how the company could use an in-kind or cash redemption model for the iShares Bitcoin Trust. According to numerous reports, the SEC may be close to making a decision on a spot BTC ETF to be listed on the US market. SEC officials met with Grayscale representatives this week to discuss listing a Bitcoin ETF. BlackRock is one of many companies waiting to hear back with spot crypto ETF applications in the SEC pipeline, including Fidelity, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, VanEck, and Bitwise.

Bitcoin users pay $3.1 million in transaction fees for transferring 139 BTC.

Bitcoin users paid $3.1 million in fees to transfer 139.42 BTC. Transaction fees are the 8th highest in Bitcoin’s 14-year history. One wallet address attempted to transfer 139.42 BTC to pay more than half of the actual transaction fee. The destination address only received 55.77 BTC. Mining pool Antpool received ridiculously high mining fees on block 818087. This is the largest Bitcoin transaction fee ever paid in dollar terms, surpassing Paxos’ September transfer amount of $500,000.

SEC sues Kraken, claiming it is an unregistered exchange mixing user funds

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Kraken, accusing it of commingling customer funds and failing to register with the regulator as a stock exchange, broker, dealer and clearinghouse. The SEC also alleged that Kraken’s business practices and “insufficient” internal controls led the exchange to commingle its own assets with up to $33 billion worth of customer assets. The SEC said this created a “substantial risk of loss” for customers. In a follow-up blog post, Kraken said the SEC’s mixed accusations “are nothing more than expense fees Kraken has already earned,” and the regulator does not allege that user funds were missing.

The Court of Appeal rejected Sam Bankman-Fried’s bid for release.E

Sam Bankman-Fried will remain incarcerated after his lawyers failed to convince a U.S. appeals court that he should be released while he appeals his conviction. Government prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried of leaking Caroline Ellison’s diary to The New York Times last July, which led to his bail being revoked in a New York district court. Bankman-Fried was found guilty on seven counts of fraud and money laundering on November 2. The former FTX CEO will remain in prison awaiting sentencing on March 28 next year.

winners and losers

Bitcoin this weekend (BTC) It’s in $37,710ether (EThe price of TH) is $2,079 and the price of XRP is $2,079. $0.62. The total market capitalization is $1.43 $1 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers this week are Blur. (blur) 99.25%, FTX tokens (FTT) 39.05% and KuCoin tokens (KCS) 24.82%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Celestia. (TIA) -19.89%, ORDI (Ordi) -17.63% and THORChain (Rune) -15.53%.

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

most memorable quotes

“The United States has a basically weaponized financial system.”

Charles HoskinsonCardano Founder

“I made a mistake and I have to take responsibility.”

Changpeng “CZ” ZhaoFormer Binance CEO

“Our OpenAI staff has developed best-in-class models and pushed the field to new horizons. “(But) the process by which you fired Sam Altman (…) jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and our company.”

Open AI employee

“Get your cryptocurrency company out of America’s war zones.”

Jesse PowellKraken co-founder

“The regulatory uncertainty prevalent in the U.S. market is also having an impact around the world.”

oliver lynchBittrex Global CEO

“I look forward to returning to OpenAI and building on our strong partnership with Microsoft.”

Sam AltmanOpen AI CEO

This week’s predictions

‘Enjoy Bitcoin under $40,000’ — PlanB highlights the average BTC price of $100,000 from 2024.

Bitcoin buyers should enjoy the opportunity to add to their stack for under $40,000, according to the anonymous PlanB, creator of the Stock-to-Flow suite of BTC pricing models. He believes Bitcoin will rise significantly higher than its recent 18-month highs.

A Bitcoin bear market bottom is characterized by the spot price falling below the realized price, while a bull market begins when the spot crosses the 2-year and 5-month realized price levels. BTC/USD is now once again above all three realized price iterations.

“Enjoy Bitcoin under $40,000… while it lasts,” PlanB said in the attached chart.

When asked whether the market should expect lower levels from here, PlanB simply wasn’t drawn, saying it expected an average BTC price of at least $100,000 between 2024 and 2028, the next Bitcoin halving.

FUD of the week

HTX restores service ‘within 24 hours’ after $30 million hack

Cryptocurrency exchange HTX, formerly known as Huobi Global, resumed deposits and withdrawals 24 hours after experiencing a $30 million exploit on November 22. The exploit was reportedly worth $13.6 million at the time of the incident, but its value has since increased. HTX’s hot wallet was compromised along with an $86.6 million coordinated attack on the HTX Eco (HECO) chain bridge comprised of HTX, Tron, and BitTorrent. The company promised full compensation to users for any losses incurred due to the hack.

CZ must remain in US as ‘unacceptable flight risk’: DOJ

U.S. prosecutors are trying to block former Binance boss Changpeng “CZ” Zhao from leaving the country and have expressed concerns about his potential flight risk. The government is responding to a judge’s decision to allow Zhao to post $175 million bail and return to his home in the United Arab Emirates on the condition that he return to the United States two weeks before sentencing in February 2024. Requested review and reversal. In the proposed order, prosecutors wrote that Zhao “presents an unacceptable flight risk,” citing his ties and preferred status in the UAE and why the country, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, would block his departure. claimed. nation.

KyberSwap hackers offer $4.6M bounty for return of $46M loot.

On November 22nd, decentralized exchange KyberSwap offered a 10% bounty reward to a hacker who stole $46 million and left behind a negotiating note. The exchange wants 90% of the loot back. Hackers stole approximately $20 million in Wrapped Ether, $7 million in Lido staked Ether, and $4 million in Arbitrum tokens. The hackers then siphoned the loot across multiple chains, including Arbitrum, Optimism, Ethereum, Polygon, and Base.

Best magazine articles of the week

This is Your Brain on Cryptocurrency: Drug Abuse Is on the Rise Among Cryptocurrency Traders

According to some addiction experts, the high-stress atmosphere of cryptocurrency trading could provide the perfect environment for substance abuse.

Michael Saylor is a fan, but Frisby says Bull Run needs a new pro: X Hall of Flame

Bitcoin enthusiast Dominic Frisby has had a difficult journey, from writing one of the first Bitcoin books to writing “Bitcoin solves this problem” for the Bank of England.

6 questions to ask Alex O’Donnell about financial journalism and the future of DeFi

Alex O’Donnell spoke to Cointelegraph Magazine about his career as a financial journalist and how it led to his involvement in cryptocurrency and Umami DAO.

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editorial staff

Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.