Hodler’s Digest, December 17-23 – Cointelegraph Magazine

This week's main news

The SEC will delay many Ethereum ETFs by pushing the final decision until May

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on several Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to May 2024. The agency said it was developing procedures that would include gathering more public input on whether EFS should be listed. The decision affects proposals from Hashdex, Grayscale, VanEck, ARK Invest and 21Shares. Although the SEC has approved Ethereum futures ETFs in the past, the agency has yet to approve a spot or hybrid-type product. A final decision is expected in May 2024.

US court approves agreement on Binance to pay $2.7B to CFTC

A US court has entered an order against the crypto exchange Binance and its former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. Binance will pay $2.7 billion and CZ $150 million to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The agency charged the executive and the exchange on March 27 with evading federal law and operating an illegal exchange. The approved settlement marks the conclusion of the CFTC's long-running case against CZ and Binance. CZ has agreed to step down from leadership of Binance as part of a broader settlement with the US Department of Justice, Treasury Department and CFTC.

The judge denied the SBF's request on the eve of the sentencing hearing.

Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's request to extend the sentencing hearing by four to six weeks. The motion was filed on December 20 and the pre-sentence hearing as well as the sentencing hearing are now scheduled for March 28, 2024. Time to prepare for the pre-trial interview. In addition, pre-sentence hearings are scheduled for January 5, 2024, and February 2, 2024, but the government has not yet announced whether it will pursue a second trial in the aborted case against Bankman-Fried. .

FTX debtors and liquidators have reached a ‘new and mutually beneficial' agreement

Debtors of defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX have announced an international settlement with liquidators as part of bankruptcy proceedings for the firm's Bahamian arm. According to the proposed settlement agreement – which has been approved by the bankruptcy court in the US and the Supreme Court of the Bahamas – all FTX beneficiaries who do not have claims pending with the court will be paid for the bankruptcy in US dollars. Money or digital assets, except non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Eligible beneficiaries with claims will be able to vote on the reimbursement plan in the second quarter of 2024. FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022.

‘In Argentina, contracts can be settled in Bitcoin' – Minister of Foreign Affairs

Argentina's Minister Diana Mondino has said that a decree legalizing the use of certain currencies in contracts and payments will apply to Bitcoin in the country. The decree, which was announced by the new president Javier Millay on December 20 and is designed for economic reform and regulation, allows the use of BTC and other cryptocurrencies in the country under certain conditions. Other provisions in the decree give individuals the freedom to choose the currency to be used – mostly referring to foreign currencies, but not outright ruling out crypto.

Winners and losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) at $43,707, Ether (ETH) at $2,317 and XRP at $0.62. According to CoinMarketCap, the total market cap is $1.66 trillion.

Among the largest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gains of the week were Optimism (OP) at 56.91%, NEAR Protocol (NEAR) at 46.79% and Sei (SEI) at 44.80%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week were Bonk (BONK) at -30.15%, SATS (1000SATS) at -19.40% and Beam (BEAM) at -18.02%.

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

The most memorable quotes

“For two to three more cycles (each cycle is 4 years) there will be no Bitcoin deaths. Saying that BTC will die by then is as silly as saying that the air will collapse.”

Oliver L. Velez, professional businessman

Being anti-crypto is a very bad political strategy going into 2024.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong

“It is unreasonable to suggest this [spot Bitcoin ETF] It could be the biggest advance on Wall Street in 30 years.

Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy

“Great Britain […] It has become a global hub of crypto, but we need to regulate it – in a responsible way – so that the market runs the way it's supposed to.

Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom

“Just like the internet, censorship should be removed. [at the protocol level]And instead, rules and regulations are best applied at the application level.

Lachlan Feeney, CEO of Labrys

If they start EFF, it will be the ultimate ‘Crypto Super Bowl'. […] Some of these crypto exchanges were populist types who made a lot of money with their very high fees.

Eric Balchunas, ETF analyst at Bloomberg

Forecast of the week

Bitcoin trader with $12K BTC price target warns of ‘weeks' of downside to crypto

Bitcoin, Ether and other crypto tokens are in line for “new lows” with traders targeting a $12,000 BTC price for the year. In a recent post on December 22nd on X (formerly Twitter), the pseudo analyst Il Capo of crypto called the end of the current bull market.

BTC/USD is echoing previous analysis sent to the analyst's Telegram channel subscribers, saying, “Probably forming a domestic high at 40k–45k here.” “ETH may reach 2500s, and some alts may have the last pumps,” the body of the post explained. “After that, a full recovery to new lows is possible in the next few weeks.”

Bitcoin and Ether are up 163% and 92% in 2023, respectively, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.

FUD of the week

‘Regarding Precedence' — BloXroute Labs' MEV Rejects OFAC's Blocks

BIoXroute, one of the largest producers of censorship-resistant blocks on Ethereum, has announced that it will begin censoring all Maximum Expenditure Value (MEV) blocks allowed by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Local laws. An “OFAC transaction” is any connection to an OFAC-approved wallet. About 36% of blocks are currently censored by blocks containing OFAC-approved transactions, according to MEVWatch.info, down from a peak of 78% on November 20.

‘MS Drainer' Fraudsters Used Google Ads To Skim $59M In Crypto: Report

Fraudsters have used a wallet service called “MS Drainer” to siphon off nearly $59 million in the past nine months, according to a report from Blockchain Security Platform's Fraud Sniffer. The scammers used Google Ads to target victims with versions of popular crypto websites including Zapper, Lido, Stargate, Defilama, Orbiter Finance and Radiant, the report said. Scam Sniffer reported finding 10,072 fake sites that used MS Drainer. The drainage activity reached a peak in November and did not approach zero thereafter.

US court approves 69K BTC freeze in Silk Road case

The United States Court of Appeals has ended the legal process to confiscate 69,370 bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies from the dark web market Silk Road. An earlier ruling declared the government's claim to Silk Road illegal assets. In addition to Bitcoin, the Bitcoin assets held include Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin SV and Bitcoin Cash. Silk Road It was a platform created in 2011 by Ross Ulbricht to sell drugs and weapons. After Ulbricht's arrest in late 2013, the FBI shut down the site. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The best magazine sections of the week

Defy's Billion Dollar Secret: Insiders Responsible for Hacking

Are they responsible for most DeFi hacks and exploits? We talk to cybersecurity experts and industry experts to find out.

Game Scams ‘Red Flags', Axie Evolved, Wall Street Games ‘Addictive': Web3 Gamer

There are clear warning signs to look out for to ensure you don't fall victim to a blockchain gaming scam.

Hong Kong's Annoying New ‘Travel Law', $1.14B Of 3AC Assets Freezes: Asia Express

Hong Kong attracts 210 crypto companies despite new travel law, $1.1B of 3AC assets frozen and more by Asia Express

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Editorial staff

Cointelegraph magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.