[content][quote]Markets[/quote]Cryptocurrency Roundup for May 17: A Million-Wallet Milestone: Bitcoin's Triumph Amid Market Downturn,… – MoneycontrolBitcoin Wallets Surpass Million Mark: The Unstoppable Growth Amid Crypto Market Turbulence[/title][body]
Bitcoin continues to inspire confidence among long-term holders, despite the recent downturn in broader markets affecting its price.
> This week marked a significant achievement as the count of individual wallets with at least one bitcoin surpassed a million, according to blockchain data analysis platform Glassnode.
> Since February of the previous year, there has been a surge of 20% in wallets holding more than a single bitcoin.
> The same data also indicates that between November and January, despite the crash of prominent cryptocurrency exchange FTX and a precipitous drop in bitcoin prices from over $22,000 to just under $16,000 momentarily, the number of bitcoin wallets holding a single token still saw an increase of 79,000. Continue here.
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[content][quote]Coinbase[/quote]Cryptocurrency Roundup for May 17: A Million-Wallet Milestone: Bitcoin's Triumph Amid Market Downturn,… – MoneycontrolSEC Targets Coinbase: Unpacking the Impending Regulatory Actions[/title][body]
According to a research report published by Berenberg on Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to launch regulatory action against Coinbase (COIN) soon, a move that might resemble previous actions against competing cryptocurrency exchanges such as Bittrex and Kraken.
> Berenberg started its analysis of the stock with a hold rating and set a price target of $55.
> Following this, Coinbase shares saw a 6% rise to close at $60.77 on Monday.
> Berenberg’s report suggests that a significant portion of Coinbase’s revenue could be under threat. Around 37% of the company’s first-quarter net revenue of $736 million was derived from transaction fees and spreads related to trading cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin, as well as staking service fees. Details here.
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[content][quote]BlockFi[/quote]Cryptocurrency Roundup for May 17: A Million-Wallet Milestone: Bitcoin's Triumph Amid Market Downturn,… – MoneycontrolThe BlockFi Bankruptcy Saga: Unveiling the Tensions with Creditors[/title][body]
Tensions escalated between the BlockFi Creditors Committee and the beleaguered digital asset lender’s management, as revealed in a court document released late on Monday.
> The creditors rebuffed BlockFi’s assertion that it fell victim to FTX and Alameda, characterizing this as a “misleading narrative.”
> They attributed the firm’s downfall to mismanagement and the actions of its restructuring agents.
> The committee of creditors highlighted that in the aftermath of the FTX debacle, which triggered a massive downturn in cryptocurrency markets, BlockFi converted approximately $240 million in digital assets into traditional currency.
> This move reportedly led to substantial monetary losses and potential tax complications for its clients. Full report here.
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[content][quote]Policy[/quote]Cryptocurrency Roundup for May 17: A Million-Wallet Milestone: Bitcoin's Triumph Amid Market Downturn,… – MoneycontrolUnderstanding Coinbase’s Legal Hurdles: The SEC’s Stance on Cryptocurrency Laws[/title][body]
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has urged a judge to reject a demand by Coinbase Global Inc. to mandate a response to the cryptocurrency-focused rule-making petition that the company filed last year, which questioned the application of securities laws to digital currencies.
> Last month, Coinbase, the leading crypto exchange in the U.S., sued for the directive, asserting that the SEC has not been sufficiently prompt or fair in its response.
> Furthermore, the exchange is pushing for a formal notice-and-comment procedure to enable public input.
> In a court document submitted on Monday, the SEC refuted Coinbase’s claim that the agency had already made its decision as “unfounded.” Continue here.
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[content][quote]Economy[/quote]Cryptocurrency Roundup for May 17: A Million-Wallet Milestone: Bitcoin's Triumph Amid Market Downturn,… – MoneycontrolJump Trading’s Billion-Dollar Move: The Behind-the-Scenes of TerraUSD Collapse[/title][body]
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) legal documents have substantiated that Jump Trading, a crypto trading entity, played a pivotal role in rescuing the struggling algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST), spearheaded by Do Kwon, a year prior to its eventual downfall.
> Jump Trading, based in Chicago, bolstered the price of the algorithmic stablecoin back to the $1 mark by procuring over 62 million tokens, after the stablecoin had deviated from its peg in May 2021, the court records disclosed.
> Subsequently, Kwon, who serves as Terra’s CEO and is a co-founder of Terraform Labs, hailed the resurgence as evidence of the self-correcting capabilities of the stablecoin algorithm and its capacity to uphold a dollar peg through an intricate interplay with its counterpart cryptocurrency Luna, facilitated by code. Details here.
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[content][quote]Crypto Crimes[/quote]Cryptocurrency Roundup for May 17: A Million-Wallet Milestone: Bitcoin's Triumph Amid Market Downturn,… – MoneycontrolUnmasking Crypto Crimes: Insights from U.S. Secret Service[/title][body]
During an in-depth “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit, the U.S. Secret Service, in conjunction with a California-based criminal task force, shared their approaches to cracking down on crypto-related crimes.
> The session touched on a variety of subjects including “pig slaughtering” fraud schemes, the Secret Service’s collection of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and the most effective methods to keep financial transactions clandestine.
> The San Francisco Field Office of the Secret Service and the Bay Area Regional Enforcement Allied Computer Team spent two hours on the r/CryptoCurrency subreddit answering questions on Monday, aiming to raise awareness among crypto users. Continue here.
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[content][quote]Ledger Wallet[/quote]Cryptocurrency Roundup for May 17: A Million-Wallet Milestone: Bitcoin's Triumph Amid Market Downturn,… – MoneycontrolLedger Wallet Update Sparks Controversy: Crypto Community Reacts[/title][body]
Crypto wallet producer, Ledger, has drawn flak for introducing an update enabling its devices to transmit encoded fragments of users’ seed phrases to others.
> The Paris-based firm has asserted that this move aims to facilitate the recovery of seed phrases, akin to passwords, for users.
> However, detractors have voiced concerns about potential security risks associated with the update.
> Hardware wallets, also known as cold wallets, are tangible devices that maintain the offline storage of crypto private keys.
> Given their offline nature, they’re often deemed safer than their ‘hot wallet’ counterparts, which involve storing keys on internet-connected computers or mobile devices. Details here.
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[content][quote]Finance[/quote]Cryptocurrency Roundup for May 17: A Million-Wallet Milestone: Bitcoin's Triumph Amid Market Downturn,… – MoneycontrolCelsius Initiates Massive Ether Withdrawal from Lido Finance Amid Bankruptcy[/title][body]
Celsius, the beleaguered company, is in the process of pulling out vast sums of Ether, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, from Lido Finance.
> These actions were set in motion just a few hours after the financially distressed company shifted almost $800 million in staked Ether (stETH) tokens.
> This move coincided with Lido Finance’s recent system enhancement that permitted such transactions. Upon withdrawal, Celsius will receive the base ETH in return for the stETH tokens.
> Data from the blockchain reveals that Celsius has set in motion the withdrawal process for approximately 240,000 stETH, which, at the time of this report, equates to a value of around $437.7 million. Continue here.
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[content][quote]Crypto Watch[/quote]Cryptocurrency Roundup for May 17: A Million-Wallet Milestone: Bitcoin's Triumph Amid Market Downturn,… – MoneycontrolCrypto Watch: Bitcoin and Ether Slide, LDO Climbs[/title][body]
Tuesday saw Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value, continue on a minor downtrend, dipping just under the $27,000 mark.
> This movement is closely watched by investors in light of the ongoing debt ceiling discussions in Washington.
> Data from CoinDesk revealed that BTC was trading at around $26,950, reflecting a modest 1.3% drop for the day. In the last 24 hours, the price of BTC has fluctuated between $26,800 and $27,400.
> Ether, ranking second in terms of market capitalization, experienced a slight decrease of 0.2% on Tuesday, trading near the $1,820 mark.
> In other cryptocurrency news, LDO, the governance token for the liquid staking platform, Lido, carried its strong performance from Monday into Tuesday, climbing a further 3%.
> Meanwhile, MATIC, the native token for Layer 2 blockchain Polygon, saw a drop of 2.8%, trading around $0.82.
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