Hodler’s Digest, December 10-16 – Cointelegraph Magazine

This week's main news

BlackRock Revises Bitcoin ETF to Allow Banks Easy Access

BlackRock has updated its Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) application to make it easier for Wall Street banks to participate by creating new shares not only in crypto but also in cash. The new in-kind redemption “advance payment” model allows banking giants like JPMorgan or Goldman Sachs to act as authorized participants for the fund, bypassing restrictions that prevent them from holding Bitcoin or crypto directly on their balance sheets.

El Salvador Expects to Sell Bitcoin ‘Freedom Visa' By Year's End

El Salvador's National Bitcoin Office says it has received hundreds of requests for its $1 million Freedom Visa program since Dec. 7 and expects to sell out before the end of 2023. Launched by the local government in partnership with stat coin issuer Tether, the Freedom Visa is a citizenship-by-donation program that provides 1,000 people with residency visas and a path to citizenship with a $1 million or Tether donation to the country. The program is limited to 1,000 places per calendar year.

Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyer says FTX fraud attempt was ‘almost impossible to win': Report

The attorney responsible for Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried's criminal trial defense admitted the case was “pretty impossible” to win from the start. During the interview, Stanford Law School Professor David Mills advised SBF's legal defense to accept the case of witnesses and state prosecutors and convince the jury that Banman-Fried intended to save the company. Mills said he agreed to give his knowledge to Bankman-Fried's defense at the behest of FTX's CEO's parents, and described Bankman-Fried as “the worst person I've ever seen cross-examine.”

Yearn.finance pleads for refunds after $1.4M multi-sig crash

Yearn.finance is hoping that arbitrageurs will return $1.4 million in funds following the release of a large amount of the protocol's treasury due to a multi-signature script error. The error occurred when Yair was converting the yVault LP-yCurve – earned from performance fees on Vault harvests – to a stable coin on the decentralized CoW Swap. Eren experienced a significant slippage when he received 779,958 DAI yVault tokens from the trade, resulting in a 63% drop in the value of the liquid pool.

SEC Pushes Decision Deadline on Invesco Galaxy Spot Ethereum ETF to 2024

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its decision on whether to approve the Ether ETF proposed by Invesco and Galaxy Digital. The companies filed for the spot ETH ETF in September. The proposed spot crypto investment vehicle is one of those being considered by the commission, which, to date, has never approved an ETF with direct exposure to ether, bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

Winners and losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) at $42,222, Ether (ETH) at $2,250 and XRP at $0.62. According to CoinMarketCap, the total market cap is $1.6 trillion.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers for the week were Bonk (BONK) at 131.38%, WOO Network (WOO) at 78.34% and Helium (HNT) at 77.66%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week were Terra Classic (LUNC) with -15.84%, Sei (SEI) -14.48% and Pepe (PEPE) -12.10%.

Be sure to read Cointelegraph's market analysis for more information on crypto prices.

The most memorable quotes

“I'm a big fan of this stable coin called Tether… I hold treasuries. So I look after their vault, and they have many vaults.

Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald

“This [blockchain] By tracking waste materials from source to destination, proper recycling and handling can be ensured.

Dominic Williams, Founder and Chief Scientist at Definity

“Digital currencies are the natural evolution of the global and European payment system. […] It is paving the way for this inevitable change.

Galaxy Digital CEO Michael Novogratz

“When three or four founders say you've done it all, I thought it was impossible to win.”

David Mills, Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal trial attorney

“Our bipartisan bill is the strongest proposal on the table to curb illegal use of crypto and give regulators more tools in their toolbox.”

Elizabeth Warren, US Senator

“We must understand that the central bank is a fraud. Bitcoin represents the return of money to its original creation, the private sector.

Argentine President Javier Mile

Forecast of the week

‘No excuse' for not going long crypto: Arthur Hayes repeats $1M BTC price bet

Bitcoin and altcoins are a no-brainer bet in the current macro climate, says Arthur Hayes. In X (former Twitter) on December 14, the CEO of the exchange BitMEX said that investors “have no excuse” in a post on December 14.

Hayes argued that going long on crypto is key to success as markets expect the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next year. “At this point, there is no excuse not to be long crypto,” said part of the post.

“How many times do you have to be told that the fiat in your pocket is trash,” he wrote. Hayes reiterated his long-term BTC price forecast of $1 million as a result of macro waves eroding the value of national currencies.

FUD of the week

Fixes a registry vulnerability after several DApps that use the Connector library were compromised

The front end of several decentralized applications using Ledger's connector was broken on December 14. Ledger announced that it had fixed the problem three hours after the first reports of the attack. Affected protocols include Zapper, SushiSwap, Phantom, Balancer and Revoke.cash, stealing at least $484,000 in digital assets. The attacker used a phishing exploit to gain access to the computer of a former Ledger employee. The hack has sparked criticism of Ledger's security approach.

Bitcoin articles have been added to the US National Vulnerability Database.

The National Vulnerability Database highlighted the security flaw that led to the development of the standard protocol on December 9, 2022, listing Bitcoin texts as a cybersecurity threat. Data provider boundaries can be bypassed by hiding data as code, such as database records. In some versions of Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Knots. As one of its effects, the vulnerability could spam large amounts of non-transactional data into the blockchain, which could increase network size and affect performance and payments.

SafeMoon fell 31% in five hours after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Decentralized financial protocol SafeMoon plunged 31 percent within five hours after the company behind it filed for bankruptcy. SafeMoon officially filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, also known as “liquidation bankruptcy,” on Dec. 14. The latest crackdown comes a month after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Safemoon and its executives with violating securities laws, according to the regulator. A “huge scam” Several former SafeMoon fans expressed frustration over the bankruptcy on Reddit, saying they were pulled by the SafeMoon developers.

The best magazine sections of the week

Terrorism and the Israel-Gaza war are armed to destroy cryptocurrency

Draconian anti-crypto legislation may soon be enacted to address the “problem” of terrorist financing, which many argue is overblown.

Korean Crypto Company $140M, China's 1.4T AI Sector, Huobi Battles: Asia Express

Next line $140M, China's AI market exceeds $1.4T, Sinohope stagnates due to FTX deposits, and more!

J1mmy.eth once collected 420 Bored Monkeys.

NFT collector J1mmy.eth trades like Warren Buffett, whose collection has peaked at $150 million, and at one point he ran 420 Bored Monkeys on Pranksy.

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Editorial staff

Cointelegraph magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.