This week’s featured stories
US Officials Announce $4.3 Billion Deal with Binance and Plea Deal with CZ
Binance and its co-founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, settled criminal and civil cases with the US Department of Justice. CZ will plead guilty to a felony as part of the negotiated deal. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the settlement, alleging that Binance’s policies allowed criminals involved in illicit activities to move “stolen funds” through the exchange. As part of the deal, CZ announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he had resigned as CEO and Binance’s global head of regional markets, Richard Teng, will take over. He added that he was “proud to note” that US officials did not allege that Binance misappropriated funds or manipulated markets. CZ was released on bail and is fighting government efforts to prevent his return to the UAE to be with his family. His sentencing is scheduled for February.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blackrock-met-with-sec-officials-to-discuss-spot-bitcoin-etf”>BlackRock Met with SEC Officials to Discuss bitcoin Spot ETF
Representatives from BlackRock and Nasdaq met with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss the proposed rule allowing the listing of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). BlackRock made a presentation detailing how the company could use an in-kind or cash reimbursement model for its iShares bitcoin Trust. Many reports have suggested that the SEC could be nearing a decision on a spot btc ETF to list on US markets. SEC officials also met with Grayscale representatives this week to discuss listing a bitcoin ETF. BlackRock is one of many companies with spot crypto ETF applications pending with the SEC awaiting a response, including Fidelity, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, VanEck, and Bitwise.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bitcoin-user-pays-3-1m-transaction-fee-for-139-btc-transfer”>bitcoin user pays $3.1 million transaction fee for 139 btc transfer
A bitcoin user paid $3.1 million in fees to transfer 139.42 btc. The transaction fee is the eighth highest in bitcoin‘s 14-year history. A wallet address attempted to transfer 139.42 btc only to pay more than half the actual value of the transaction fee. The destination address received only 55.77 btc. Mining pool Antpool captured the absurdly high mining fee on block 818087. This is the largest bitcoin transaction fee ever paid in dollar terms, knocking out Paxos’ September transfer of $500,000.
SEC sues Kraken alleging it is an unregistered exchange and mixes user funds
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Kraken, alleging that it commingled client funds and failed to register with the regulator as a stock exchange, broker, dealer and clearing agency. Additionally, the SEC alleged that Kraken’s business practices and “poor” internal controls caused the exchange to commingle up to $33 billion in client assets with its own. The SEC said this resulted in a “significant risk of loss” to its clients. In a follow-up blog post, Kraken said the SEC’s commingling allegations were “no more than Kraken’s spending fees it had already earned,” and the regulator does not allege any missing user funds.
Appeals court rejects Sam Bankman-Fried’s request for releasemy
Sam Bankman-Fried will remain jailed after failing to convince a US appeals court that he should be freed while his legal team appeals his conviction. Government prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried of leaking Caroline Ellison’s diaries to the New York Times in July, prompting a New York district court to revoke his bail. Bankman-Fried was found guilty of seven counts related to fraud and money laundering on November 2. The former CEO of FTX will remain behind bars as he awaits his sentencing on March 28 of next year.
Winners and losers
At the end of the week, bitcoin (btc) I sat down $37,710Ether (myTH) is at $2,079 and XRP is at $0.62. The total market capitalization is $1.43 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the 100 largest cryptocurrencies, the three altcoins with the biggest gains of the week are Blur (BLUR) at 99.25%, FTX token (FTT) at 39.05% and KuCoin Token (K.C.S.) at 24.82%.
Top three altcoin losers of the week are Celestia (AIT) at -19.89%, ORDI (ORDI) at -17.63% and THORChain (RUNE) at -15.53%.
For more information on cryptocurrency prices, be sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Read also
Characteristics
Home Loans Using Cryptocurrencies as Collateral: Do the Risks Outweigh the Reward?
Characteristics
Billionaire Slumdog 2: ‘Top 10… brings no satisfaction,’ says Polygon’s Sandeep Nailwal
Most memorable quotes
“The United States has a financial regime that has basically been weaponized.”
Carlos Hoskinsonfounder of Cardano
“I made mistakes and I must take responsibility.”
Changpeng “CZ” Zhaoformer CEO of Binance
“We, the employees of OpenAI, have developed the best models and taken the field to new frontiers, (but) the process by which Sam Altman was fired (…) has jeopardized all this work and undermined our mission and our company”.
OpenAI Employees
Jessie Powellco-founder of Kraken
“The regulatory uncertainty permeating the US market is having an impact on the rest of the world.”
Oliver LynchCEO of Bittrex Global
“I look forward to returning to OpenAI and building on our strong partnership with Microsoft.”
Sam AltmanCEO of OpenAI
Prediction of the week
‘Enjoy bitcoin for less than $40,000′: PlanB emphasizes average btc price of $100,000 from 2024
bitcoin buyers should relish the opportunity to boost their stack below $40,000, according to PlanB, pseudonymous creator of the stock-to-flow family of btc pricing models. He believes bitcoin will rise much higher than its recent 18-month highs.
bitcoin bear market lows are characterized by the spot price falling below the realized price, while bull markets begin once the spot price crosses the two-year and five-month realized price levels. btc/USD is now once again above all three price iterations made.
“Enjoy sub-$40,000 bitcoin… while it lasts,” PlanB commented in an accompanying chart.
When asked if the market should expect lower levels from here, PlanB didn’t get carried away, saying he simply expected an average btc price of at least $100,000 between 2024 and 2028, the next halving cycle. bitcoin.
FUD of the week
HTX to restore services ‘within 24 hours’ after $30 million hack
Cryptocurrency exchange HTX, formerly known as Huobi Global, resumed deposits and withdrawals within 24 hours after suffering a $30 million exploit on November 22. The exploit was reported to be worth $13.6 million at the time of the incident, but has since increased in value. HTX active wallets were compromised along with an $86.6 million coordinated attack against the HTX Eco (HECO) chain bridge, which consists of HTX, Tron, and BitTorrent. The company has promised to fully compensate users for any losses suffered as a result of the hack.
CZ is an ‘unacceptable flight risk’, should remain in US: Justice Department
US prosecutors are trying to stop former Binance boss Changpeng “CZ” Zhao from leaving the country, expressing concern about his potential flight risk. The government requested a review and overturning of a judge’s decision that would allow Zhao to return to his home in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on $175 million bail on the condition that he return to the US. weeks before his sentencing in February 2024. In a proposed order, prosecutors wrote that Zhao “presents an unacceptable flight risk,” arguing that his ties and privileged status in the United Arab Emirates, along with the lack of a treaty of extradition with the United States, are reasons to prevent him from leaving the country. country.
KyberSwap Hacker Offers $4.6 Million Reward for Return of $46 Million Loot
Decentralized exchange KyberSwap has offered a 10% reward to the hacker who stole $46 million on November 22 and left a trading note. The exchange wants 90% of the loot returned. The hacker made off with approximately $20 million in Wrapped Ether, $7 million in Lido-wrapped Ether, and $4 million in Arbitrum tokens. The hacker then siphoned the loot across multiple chains, including Arbitrum, Optimism, ethereum, Polygon, and Base.
Read also
Characteristics
Daft Punk meets CryptoPunks as Novo takes on NFTs
Characteristics
Open source or free for all? The ethics of decentralized blockchain development
Top magazine articles of the week
Here’s Your Brain on crypto: Substance Abuse on the Rise Among crypto Traders
According to some addiction experts, the high-stress atmosphere of cryptocurrency trading can provide a perfect environment for substance abuse.
Michael Saylor is a fan, but Frisby says lockdown needs a new guru: X Hall of Flame
bitcoin enthusiast Dominic Frisby has had a wild ride, from writing one of the first books on bitcoin to writing “bitcoin fixes this” at the Bank of England.
Six questions for 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 him to get involved in cryptocurrencies and Umami DAO.
Subscribe
The most interesting readings on blockchain. Delivered once a week.