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

This week's main news

Senators pressure SEC Gensler not to approve any more crypto ETFs

Two US senators want Gary Gensler to pull the plug on any more crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), citing “huge concerns” for retail investors. In a March 11 letter, Democrat Senators Jack Reid and Lafonza Butler said allowing any additional crypto ETF approvals would see investors exposed to “thinly traded” markets through fraud and fraud. The senators called for more regulatory oversight of BTC ETF brokers and advisors and urged the US Securities and Exchange Commission to take “several specific actions” with the already launched Bitcoin ETF products. There are eight proposed Ether ETF applications awaiting approval by the SEC.

The referee, Craig Wright, is not Satoshi Nakamoto.

Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of the Bitcoin network, according to a decision by Judge James Mellor in the United Kingdom on March 14. Closing arguments began in London on March 12 in a lawsuit brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA). In the year Since 2016, he has filed a lawsuit against Wright, an Australian computer scientist who claims to be Nakamoto. Wright has been accused of falsifying a massive document to support his claim to be the founder of Bitcoin. COPA was seeking relief from further protective orders against Wright Nakamoto.

Prosecutors are seeking an $11 billion sentence, 40-50 years in prison for Sam Bankman-Fried.

Prosecutors are asking for 40-50 years in prison for Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO and fraudster of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Under the law, he faces up to 110 years in prison. The government's indictment details five counts of Bankman-Fried's activities: Bankman-Fried's scheme to make illegal political contributions, his attempts to bribe Chinese government officials, his attempts to stop the bank's bankruptcy, his convictions, and various obstruction of justice. . Bankuman-Fried's legal counsel asked the court to impose a maximum sentence of six-and-a-half years in prison.

Denkun's update goes live on the Ethereum mainnet

The Denkun update was successfully released on the Ethereum mainnet at 1:55 pm UTC on March 13th. The highly-anticipated hard fork since the merger is expected to significantly reduce the transaction fees of Layer-2 networks and increase Ethereum's overall expansion. Denkun includes nine different Ethereum upgrade proposals. The first part, Cancun, focuses on improving how transactions are managed and the performance layer, while the second part, Deneb, aims to improve consensus, which refers to how network participants agree on the state of the blockchain. The promised fee reduction will not affect Ethereum mainnet users.

SEC radio silence on Ethereum ETF ‘not a good sign' – Bloomberg analyst

Disagreements with issuers over Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission could be a bad sign for those awaiting Ether ETF approvals by May. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas told Cointelegraph that there were more than a few factors that have now lowered the probability of Ether ETF approval to 35%. Balchunas believes SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's stance on Ether may also play a role, arguing that Gensler still thinks of Ether as a security. A number of asset managers, including Fidelity and BlackRock, are seeking the green light for spot ether ETFs.

Winners and losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) at $68,166, Ether (ETH) at $3,652 and XRP at $0.62. According to CoinMarketCap, the total market cap is $2.5 trillion.

Among the largest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers for the week were 0x Protocol (ZRX) at 132.15%, Jupiter (JUP) at 57.27% and Gala (Gala) at 48.61%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week were Arweave (AR) at -20.84%, Bitcoin SV (BSV) at -20.65% and Filecoin (FIL) at -18.45%.

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

The most memorable quotes

“Spot Bitcoin ETFs Buy 10 Times More Bitcoins than Miners Produce Every Day.”

Sergey Gorev, risk manager at Uhodler

“Have I decided to throw away $10,000, $50,000, $100,000? [Bitcoin]? Of course.”

Peter Schiff, economist and stockbroker

“Elizabeth Warren's Crypto Bill Includes Legislative Effort That Takes 1,000% of Effort to Achieve 1% of Results.”

Danny Lim, Principal Contributor at MarginX

“At the end of the day, Gensler thinks Ether is a security. He doesn't want to approve unless he thinks it's a commodity like Bitcoin.

Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg

“The Bears Can't Win This Game Until The Bitcoin ETF Entry Stops.”

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju

“International [crypto] Levels are being prepared. […] And with many non-US states actively involved in this area, the United States risks relinquishing influence at this critical stage.

Travis Hill, Vice Chairman of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Forecast of the week

Bitcoin Has 6 Months to ETF ‘Liquidity Crisis' – New Analysis

According to Ki Yang Ju, founder and CEO of on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, bitcoin will face a “sell-side liquidity crisis” in September if institutional outflows continue.

Bitcoin ETFs, now worth nearly $30 billion, have become the most successful startup in ETF history. If the trend continues, however, a new phenomenon may occur where there is not enough BTC available to meet demand.

“You can't win this game until the Bitcoin ETF flow stops,” Key concluded. Last week, ETFs alone deposited more than 30,000 BTC and 3 million BTC through exchanges and mining wallets, and the possibility of a supply-induced price shock is becoming clear.

“Last week, spot ETFs saw net flows of +30K BTC. Known entities such as exchanges and miners hold 1.5M BTC, including 3M BTC in US entities,” he continued. “At this rate, we'll see a sell-side financial crisis within 6 months.”

FUD of the week

Hong Kong regulators issued a warning on the Baybit, MEXC exchanges

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has put 11 products on its warning list until March 14, 2010, including ByBit Futures, ByBit Options, ByBit Used Tokens, Double Assets, ByBit Loans, ByBit. Wealth management and more. The next day, on March 15, the commission also added crypto exchange MEXC to its alert list. According to the SFC statement, MEXC is actively offering its services to investors in Hong Kong even if they do not have a license from the SFC or apply for a trading platform license.

The Old Trust Wallet iOS vulnerability from 2018 may still affect some accounts.

An old vulnerability in the Trust Wallet iOS app could still affect individuals who have created an account — even if they no longer use Trust Wallet — according to a recent report by security researchers at SECBIT Labs. The vulnerability only existed between February 5 and August 21, 2018, and does not affect accounts created after that time, the researchers said. However, some users may be unaware of the vulnerability and still considering using vulnerable wallets.

The jury confirmed that the founder of the Bitcoin Fog crypto mixer was guilty of money laundering

The founder of crypto mixer Bitcoin Fog was found guilty of money laundering in the United States on March 12. Roman Sterlilov, 35, was found guilty of money laundering, money laundering, unauthorized money transfer business and violation of DC funds. Conveyancers Act. The service moved more than 1.2 million bitcoins over a decade — worth $400 million at the time of the transactions — the bulk of the cryptocurrency from dark markets linked to drugs, computer fraud and identity theft, the government said. Bitcoin Fog also served distributors of child sexual abuse material.

The best magazine sections of the week

In the pink dryer: a security analyst defends his crypto fraud franchise

“I don't do phishing, I just code.” The security researcher behind Pink Drainer defends a kit that raised $53 million from 9,000 participants last year.

South African Digital-Nomads Crypto Hub: Cape Town, Crypto City Guide

More than 2,000 grocery stores accept crypto in Cape Town, which also offers unique arbitrage opportunities for foreigners.

China Will Intensify $1M Bitcoin Bull Run By 2028: Bitcoin Man, X Hall of Flame

Herbert Sim says Bitcoin's 2021 all-time high is the start of a major bull run.

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Editorial staff

Cointelegraph magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.