The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning about using unregistered cryptocurrency money transmitting services that fail to comply with U.S. anti-money laundering laws. The agency has provided tips for the public to protect themselves, advising them to avoid providers that do not require Know Your Customer (KYC) information. FBI’s Crypto Warning The […]
Bitcoin News
Nigerian Central Bank Governor Denies Using Forex Reserves to Defend Local Currency
The Nigerian central bank governor has refuted claims that the bank is using the country’s foreign exchange reserves to shore up the naira. The governor attributes the decline in reserves to debt repayments and other payments, which are made because they help to maintain Nigeria’s credibility. Maintaining Nigeria’s Credibility Yemi Cardoso, governor of the Central […]
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Google Sues Chinese Nationals for Running Crypto Scam Using Google Play App Store
Tech giant Google has filed a lawsuit against two Chinese nationals, accusing them of developing fraudulent cryptocurrency apps on the Google Play store and defrauding more than 100,000 users globally. “This is a unique opportunity for us to use our resources to actually combat bad actors who were running an extensive crypto scheme to defraud […]
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Are Old Bitcoin Whales Selling Or Mitigating Risks Using Spot BTC ETFs?
Ki Young Ju, the founder of CryptoQuant, a blockchain analytics firm, has noticed a curious trend. In a post on X, the founder shared a snapshot suggesting that Bitcoin “old whales” might be shifting their holdings to “new whales,” mainly traditional finance heavyweights like Fidelity and BlackRock.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently approved these new whales to list spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for all investors.
“Old Whales” Moving Coins: Selling Or Risk Mitigation?
While a definitive sell-off isn’t confirmed, commentators replying to the founder’s post believe these “old whales” could be mitigating risk. In their assessment, moving their Bitcoin stash from self-custody to a regulated investment vehicle like spot Bitcoin ETFs is a better measure of covering unexpected eventualities.
If this is the approach, then it could prove strategic. Bitcoin holders can transact without depending on a third party. Notably, this development coincides with a significant drop in BTC inventory on major exchanges like Coinbase and Binance, as well as at GBTC.
The decline has accelerated since the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs, hinting at a potential departure from exchanges. Meanwhile, the operators of GBTC are unwinding the product and converting it to a spot Bitcoin ETF following a court decision.
Will Spot BTC ETFs Gain Traction?
Even so, that “old whales” are moving their coins to centralized products like ETFs contradicts the core philosophy of BTC as a tool for financial self-sovereignty. Whether more users, mainly retailers, will choose to own spot Bitcoin ETF shares rather than the underlying coins directly remains to be seen.
Institutions might be obliged by law to use a regulated product if they need to be exposed to BTC. However, retailers can choose to buy directly from exchanges or mine. This freedom might lead to more retailers opting to buy BTC.
This trend emerges ahead of the highly anticipated Bitcoin halving. This event is set for mid-April 2024 and will further reduce BTC’s circulating supply, potentially driving higher prices. Before then, BTC prices are firm, steady above ,000 at the time of writing.
$1 Million per BTC by 2033: Predicting Bitcoin’s Price Trajectory Using the Power Law Model
In an era where bitcoin’s value fluctuates wildly, a price model has emerged, offering a mathematical glimpse into its future price. The “Bitcoin Power Law,” suggests an interesting path for bitcoin’s price, rooted in the principles of algebra and natural laws. The model, representing a blend of science and finance, forecasts bitcoin’s journey to unprecedented […]
Bitcoin News
Coinbase Commerce Ditches Support for Bitcoin Payments Using Self-Custody Wallets
Coinbase Commerce, the cryptocurrency payments solution of U.S.-based exchange Coinbase, has removed support for bitcoin payments using self-custody wallets. Brian Armstrong, CEO of the exchange, clarified it maintains support for payments from UTXO-based chains from Coinbase accounts. However, Commerce will focus on supporting ERC-20 tokens on layer 2 protocols, like Base and Polygon. Coinbase Commerce […]
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Citi Completes Private Market Tokenization Test Using Avalanche
Citi, in alliance with Wellington Management, Wisdomtree, and ABN AMRO, completed a proof of concept for the tokenization of a private fund on top of the Avalanche blockchain. The test used Spruce, an Avalanche subnet, to tokenize the fund and transact the tokenized assets, which were programmed to “automate operations, settle faster, and enable new […]
Bitcoin News
Solana Mobile Processed Over $20 Million in Payments Using USDC With No Processing Fees
Solana Mobile, Solana Labs’ smartphone subsidiary, processed over million in payments in alliance with Shopify and USDC, the second-largest dollar-pegged stablecoin. Anatoly Yakovenko, a co-founder of Solana Labs, explained that 51% of Chapter 2’s payments were completed using USDC, with no payment processing fees associated. Solana Mobile Processed Over Million in USDC Payments […]
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Coinbase States Americans Could Have Saved at Least $74 Billion Using Crypto
Coinbase, a leading U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, claims that Americans could have saved at least million in 2022 by leveraging crypto tech instead of using credit cards as payment options. In its latest State of Crypto report, Coinbase reveals how traditional finance system institutions keep transaction fees high in a system “mired in delays.” Coinbase […]
Bitcoin News
Solana’s Jupiter Airdrop Allegedly Leaked: A User Received Almost $1 Million Using 9,246 Wallets
The recent airdrop of JUP, the token of the Solana native Jupiter exchange, was allegedly gamed by an individual who avoided established controls. An unknown airdrop hunter received 1.85 million JUP (almost million) using over 9,000 wallets for this task, with some users presuming an insider leaked the airdrop information beforehand.
Jupiter Airdrop Allegedly Leaked by an Insider
Some users have begun to question the fairness of the Jupiter airdrop, an event that distributed over 0 million in JUP tokens to users of the Solana native Jupiter exchange in January. While the airdrop has been recognized as one of the largest in its class, crypto sleuths have detected irregularities in the form in which some approached this event.
X user Open4profit stressed the airdrop was unfair, claiming that an unknown user gamed the system, receiving 1.85 million JUP tokens (almost million) using over 9,000 wallets to achieve this objective.
The leader and founder of Jupiter, also known as Meow in X, recognized that these irregularities did happen and denied that this was related to an insider leak before the airdrop. He stated:
This was something we did not catch. We did not declare an airdrop ahead of time, but someone guessed the airdrop a few days before and farmed it super hard. Will do much better in future.
Nonetheless, X user Lord Ashtray pressed on, declaring that, most likely, the airdrop hunter was tipped off by an insider because he knew exactly how to farm the JUP airdrop without triggering the bot detection algorithms that prevent this kind of farming. He also stated that other teams tried to farm the airdrop without success.
Lord Ashtray said:
Stop being a lying piece of human being and just start investigating which team member leaked all the information and to whom.
However, no relationship has been established between Jupiter team members and the unknown airdrop farmer.
What do you think about the alleged leak that allowed an airdrop farmer to receive almost million worth of JUP tokens? Tell us in the comments section below.