Hodler’s Digest, June 2-8 – Cointelegraph Magazine

This week's main news

GameStop rally sends Roaring Kitty shares to $1B

Keith Gill, also known by his Internet nicknames “Roaring Kitty” and “DeepFuckingValue,” could soon be a billionaire thanks to his investment in GameStop (GME) stock. The trader, known to be shorting GameStop in 2021, has soared after announcing a new investment of $180 million in GME shares. The announcement led to a sharp increase in GameStop's stock price, which boosted its market capitalization and made it one of the top 400 public companies in the US.

Bitcoin's open interest is meteoric, traders warn of ‘whiplash'

Bitcoin open interest increased by $2.02 billion in three days, reaching a total of $36.92 billion on June 6. The increase has led traders to speculate about the effect of a “whiplash” – a sudden reversal of price direction – in large volumes of approved positions. While this may lead to a short-term price correction, experts suggest that it shows speculative activity that could affect Bitcoin's price volatility.

A new law gives the US president the power to deny access to digital assets

A new US law gives the president broad powers to block access to digital assets, particularly targeting foreign entities linked to terrorism. The law, called the Terrorist Financing Prevention Act, defines digital assets broadly, including any cryptocurrency of value recorded on distributed ledgers. Critics argue that the law's broad scope could force users to become familiar with client-friendly, permissioned blockchains, effectively controlling the digital asset landscape.

The largest Bitcoin mining company sold 63% of mined BTC in May

Marathon Digital sold 63 percent of its Bitcoin production in May, mining 390 out of 616 BTC, according to its first report following the Bitcoin halving event. The big sale was in contrast to other mining companies like Riot Platforms, which doesn't sell any bitcoins, and CleanSpark, which sells a small portion. Miners are looking to expand their fleets and improve efficiency to remain competitive as their rewards shrink. For example, CleanSpark is said to be “very active in the M&A space,” while Marathon is exploring overseas opportunities.

Crypto Exchanges See $3B Ethereum Release Since ETF Approvals

More than $3 billion worth of Ether has been removed from centralized crypto exchanges since May 23, when a spot Ether exchange was approved in the United States to trade currencies. According to CryptoQuant data, between May 23 and June 2, Ether exchange volume fell by 797,000, which is equivalent to $3.02 billion. There are fewer coins available for sale because lower currency reserves cause investors to keep their own coins instead of selling them immediately.

Winners and losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) at $71,248, Ether (ETH) at $3,813 and XRP at $0.52. According to CoinMarketCap, the total market cap is $2.64 trillion.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers for the week were NoteCoin (NOT) at 82.72%, JasmyCoin (JASMY) at 38.05% and ORDI (ORDI) at 26.99%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week were Bitget Token (BGB) at -11.60%, Beam (BEAM) at -10.93% and Bonk (BONK) at -9.70%.

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

The most memorable quotes

“This is really the first wave of early adopters, and I think the next wave will be very large institutions.”

Jenny Johnson, President and CEO of Franklin Templeton

“At the end of the decade they [AGI machines] He will be smarter than you or me; In the truest sense of the word, we will have superior intelligence.

Leopold Aschenbrenner, former researcher at OpenAI

“Careful balancing of sensible regulations with rigorous research is the foundation of Switzerland's success. […] Creativity needs the freedom to create!”

Alexander Bruner, consultant for AI, blockchain and Web3 companies

“If people understand the problems of change [Washington D.C.]The crypto market will be at a new all-time high.

Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise Asset Management

“We are not Ethereum maxis; We are growing Maxis.

Eli Ben-Sasson, CEO of StarkWare

“[The] The SEC knew it was cornered on the ETH ETF.

Bernstein

Forecast of the week

Bitcoin Bull Run's ‘Most Important Chart' Hits All-Time High of $94T

Bitcoin stands to extend the current bull run. A recent analysis by Philip Swift, creator of the blockchain data platform LookIntoBitcoin, shows that the amount of money around the world is close to $100 trillion.

Bitcoin and crypto markets are very sensitive to global liquidity trends. That platform tracks the world's M2 money supply and compares it to BTC's price behavior, Swift concludes.

In US dollar terms, M2 is now at $94 trillion – an all-time high and up $3 trillion from when bitcoin hit its old $69,000 at the end of 2021.

In the year Since hitting a domestic low of $85 trillion at the end of 2022 – coinciding with the crypto bear market trough – M2 has rebounded a full 10%.

“The most important chart for this bull run hit a new all-time high,” Swift wrote in part on X. “Are you ready?

FUD of the week

Hackers Exploit Chrome Plugin To Steal Millions From Binance Accounts

A Chinese businessman lost $1 million in a hacking scam using a promotional Google Chrome plugin called Talk. The promotional plugin steals cookies from users, which hackers use to bypass password and two-factor authentication and log into the victim's Binance account. Anonymous trader Cryptonakamao shared his unfortunate experience on May 24 after discovering unauthorized trading activity on his Binance account. All the funds were taken by the hacker while seeking support from Binance.

NY attorney files 3 lawsuits linked to ‘Evolved Apes' NFT scam

Three British nationals have been indicted in the United States on charges of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the “Carpet Pool” scam by “Evolved Apes.” The defendants inflated the value of 10,000 NFTs by falsely promising to make a video game before transferring the money and abandoning the project, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said in a June 6 statement.

Developer posts secret key on GitHub, loses $40K in 2 minutes.

Brian Guan, the sole founder of the Web3 streaming app, has reported that he lost $40,000 after accidentally disclosing his GitHub wallet keys. He shared on X that his secret keys are in a public repository. The developer said he forgot the secret keys were in the vault. When asked about the time frame for the theft, Guan said it only took two minutes for someone to use the exposed keys and weaken the funds.

The best magazine sections of the week

Become a Bali Crypto Digital Nomad like me: Here's how

Living in the island paradise as a Bali crypto digital nomad is 61.5% cheaper than living in the US. So what's stopping you?

Polygon never set out to hit Ethereum: Anurag Arjun, X Hall of Flame

According to Anurag Arjun, co-founder of Polygon and Avail, the point of the PoS network was to “send something useful to users for feedback.”

Longevity Expert: AI Will Help Us Become ‘Biologically Immortal' By 2030

“Long-term runaway speed” is when our lives are being technologically extended faster than we are aging. Jose Luis Cordero says it will be around 2030.

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Editorial staff

Cointelegraph magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.