Author: Max Bauer

ForexLive analyst Giuseppe Dellamotta highlights the recent weakness in risk assets, attributing it to the weak U.S. nonfarm payrolls release. With the JOLTS job opening data, ISM services PMI, ADP and weekly jobless claims due this week, followed by the August nonfarm payrolls report on Friday, the market’s attention is firmly on U.S. economic indicators. Analysts at ING suggest that if the consensus for Friday’s jobs report proves accurate, market expectations will solidify around a 25 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve on September 18th. However, ING’s U.S. economists predict a weaker jobs report, potentially leading to a…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has cautioned FTX against repaying creditors in stablecoins or other crypto assets, potentially challenging the legality of such transactions. The warning comes amidst various proposals for maximizing creditor recovery during the FTX bankruptcy proceedings, including relaunching the exchange and distributing tokenized claims. While some decentralized marketplaces have even started supporting tokenized FTX claims trading, FTX’s current plan is to reimburse creditors in cash or U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins. However, the SEC’s recent filing emphasizes its right to contest transactions involving crypto assets, particularly “crypto asset securities.” The SEC also raised concerns about the lack of…

Cryptocurrency analyst CryptoCon recently warned investors not to be distracted by current market events, stating that Bitcoin’s current “boring” price action is typical of the end of a Blue Year, the preparatory phase before the Red Year, known for achieving all-time highs (ATHs). CryptoCon draws parallels between the current market conditions and those observed in August 2012, 2016, and 2020. Based on this observation, the analyst has revised the conservative range for Bitcoin’s cycle top from $90k-$130k to $110k-$160k. The analyst points out that the current BTC correction has reached the same Envelope Strength levels as the bottom from the…

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of the Cardano blockchain, has announced plans to create a decentralised social media platform in Brazil after the country’s Supreme Court banned Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter). Hoskinson stated in a post on X, “While Brazil has silenced our brothers and sisters on X, their work will still stand and matter to us all. I cannot wait to recruit many Brazilians to help us build a decentralised social network.” Brazil, Latin America’s largest nation, has become another battleground in the global debate over online free speech regulation, as X began to go offline over the weekend.…

A new poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University reveals that cryptocurrency holders are more inclined to support Donald Trump in the upcoming U.S. presidential election than Vice President Kamala Harris. The survey indicates that 50% of cryptocurrency owners plan to vote for Trump, while only 38% favor Harris. In contrast, among non-cryptocurrency holders, Harris leads Trump by 12 percentage points, with 53% backing Harris and 41% supporting Trump. “Trump has been reaching out to the crypto community, and it seems to have paid off,” said Dan Cassino, professor of Government and Politics at Fairleigh Dickinson and the poll’s executive director, in…

The U.S. Ethereum spot ETF experienced zero net inflow for the first time in 30 trading days since its launch, according to SoSoValue data. On August 30th, Eastern Time, the total net inflow of the Ethereum spot ETF was recorded as US$0.00, marking a significant shift in investor sentiment. This lack of inflow coincided with a daily net outflow of US$0.00 from the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF ETHE, which has seen a historical net outflow of US$2.561 billion. In contrast, the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF ETH experienced a daily net inflow of US$0.00, contributing to its total historical net…

The cryptocurrency industry suffered significant losses in August, exceeding $300 million due to vulnerabilities, hacker attacks, and fraudulent activities, according to CertiK Alert monitoring. While approximately $10.3 million has been recovered, this marks the second-highest single-month loss in 2024. Exit scams accounted for roughly $800,000 in losses, while flash loan attacks and contract vulnerabilities led to losses of $1.2 million and $308.8 million, respectively. The latest victim in a string of Discord hacks targeting crypto companies is Witness Chain, a blockchain-based DePIN validation project. Hackers reportedly used the platform’s Discord channel to share malicious links, prompting a warning from core…

Three years after revealing his Ethereum (ETH) holdings allegedly originated from a premine, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, continues mention about his ETH holdings. According to data from Arkham, Buterin currently holds approximately 240,000 ETH, valued at about $1.06 billion. This represents a decrease from his peak holdings, which he claims highlights his active involvement in supporting various projects and causes. Buterin has been vocal about his approach to ETH sales. In a recent Warpcast, he clarified, “If you see an article saying ‘Vitalik sends XXX ETH to [exchange]’, it’s not actually me selling, it’s almost always me donating…

Microsoft has uncovered a sophisticated cyber attack originating from North Korea, specifically targeting the cryptocurrency industry. The threat actor, identified as Citrine Sleet, exploited a zero-day vulnerability in the Chromium browser (CVE-2024-7971) to gain unauthorized access to systems. This vulnerability, a type confusion flaw in the V8 JavaScript engine, impacted older Chromium versions and enabled remote code execution. Google promptly addressed the issue with a patch released on August 21st. Microsoft urges users to update their Chromium browsers to the latest version to mitigate the risk. Citrine Sleet, a North Korean state-sponsored group, is known for its focus on financial…

Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered an immediate nationwide ban on X (formerly known as Twitter). The ban stems from the company’s refusal to comply with the government’s demands to appoint a legal representative in the country and take responsibility for content moderation. Justice Alexandre de Moraes directed internet providers to block access to X, impacting the social media platform’s vast user base in Brazil. The move follows the closure of X’s Brazil office last week, prompted by Moraes’ threat of arrests for defying his orders to remove accounts deemed to be in violation of Brazilian laws. Musk has responded defiantly,…