NY sues crypto firms, FTX’s Nishad faces 75 years in jail, and Grayscale’s new BTC filing: Hodler’s Digest, Oct. 15-21

This week's featured stories

Grayscale files for a new Bitcoin spot ETF on NYSE Arca

Major cryptocurrency investment firm Grayscale Investments has submitted a new application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a new spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The new filing aligns with Grayscale's ongoing effort to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF, according to a statement from the firm. The news comes weeks after Grayscale Won SEC Lawsuit Over Its Spotlight Review of the Bitcoin ETFand an appeals court ordered the SEC to explain why it rejected Grayscale's application in June 2023. The company also filed with the SEC to list an Ether futures ETF in September.

New York Attorney General Sues Gemini, Genesis and DGC for Allegedly Defrauding Investors

New York Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency companies Gemini, Genesis and Digital Currency Group (DCG) for allegedly defrauding more than 23,000 investors through the Gemini Earn investment program. The lawsuit claims that Gemini assured investors that the program was a low-risk investment, while investigations by New York State Attorney General Letitia James' office found that Genesis' finances "were risky." . The lawsuit also accuses former Genesis CEO Soichiro Moro and its parent company's CEO Barry Silbert of defrauding investors by attempting to hide more than $1.1 billion in losses. Additionally, the court case seeks to prohibit Gemini, Genesis and DCG from operating in the financial investment industry in New York.

Former FTX engineering director faces up to 75 years in prison after pleading guilty

Nishad Singh, former director of engineering at the now-defunct FTX crypto exchange, faces up to 75 years in prison on charges related to defrauding users of the crypto exchange. He pleaded guilty to fraud charges as part of his cooperation agreement with U.S. prosecutors. During her testimony this week, Singh said that when liquidity problems at FTX began in November 2022, she felt “suicidal for a few days” as she dealt with alleged inconsistencies between the exchange's public statements and its behind-the-scenes activities. Singh also claimed that Bankman-Fried I had the habit of deciding on purchases. via Alameda Research itself.

Binance to close European Visa debit card in December

Binance Visa Debit Card Services will close in the European Economic Area in December, marking the latest setback for Binance. The cessation of the card's services was announced one day after the redemption. deposits and withdrawals in euros restored, which was unavailable for a month after payment processor Paysafe left the exchange. binance not yet adding new users in the UK due to the loss of a third party service provider.

Elon Musk and Mark Cuban Team Up to Challenge SEC Testing Strategies

Elon Musk, Mark Cuban and others have collaboratively submitted a shared amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court to raise concerns about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) approach of conducting internal proceedings without the inclusion of juries. The context of this legal challenge centers on the case SEC vs. Jarkesy. George Jarkesy contends that the SEC's internal adjudication process, which lacks a jury and is overseen by an administrative law judge appointed by the commission, contradicts his Seventh Amendment rights. Effectively resulting in a single entity that fulfills the functions of judge, jury and executor.

Winners and losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (btc) I sat down $29,590Ether (ETH) in $1,607 and XRP in $0.52. The total market capitalization is $1.12 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the 100 largest cryptocurrencies, the three altcoins with the biggest gains of the week are Bitcoin SV (BSV) at 59.00%, batteries (STX) at 25.91% and MX TOKEN (MX) at 25.26%.

Top three altcoin losers of the week are Conflux (CFX) at -8.03%, Frax participation (FXS) and sui (IUE) at -6.35%.

To learn more about cryptocurrency prices, be sure to read Cointelegraph Market Analysis.

Most memorable quotes

"We are all part of a bigger game, and Bitcoin is one of the strongest levers in that regard."

Edward Snowdentechnologist and whistleblower

“Using publicly available information to learn is not stealing. Nor is it an invasion of privacy, conversion, negligence, unfair competition or copyright infringement.”

Google

"I felt betrayed, something I had put blood, sweat and tears into for five years turned out so horrible."

Nishad Singhformer director of engineering at FTX

“Games funded 2 years ago will be available over the next 12 months. We will see success.”

Robbie Fergusonco-founder and president of Immutable

“After extensive discussion on the DAO forum followed by a community vote, Lido token holders approved the demise of the Lido protocol on Solana and the process will begin shortly.”

Lido Finance

"Any innovation, especially one that has financial impact, cultural value and status, will raise questions during its low moments."

Young Anjalico-founder of Collab.Land

Prediction of the week

BTC Price Hits 2-Month High Amid Bets Bitcoin Will Break $32,000 'Soon'

On October 20, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView Captured new two-month Bitcoin highs of $30,233 on Bitstamp. BTC price showed continued strength during the Asian trading session on the same day, with a slight drop taking the spot price back below $29,500.

With volatility still evident, market participants argued that a weekly candle close was necessary to establish the true staying power of the rally. For Keith Alan, co-founder of tracking resource Material Indicators, the 100-week moving average (MA) of $28,627 was of particular importance.

"This move is something to watch, but what I'm watching right now is to see if this weekly candle closes above the 100-week moving average and if next week's candle can stay above it with no wicks below it," Alan wrote in part. of one X publication on the day. “Some might consider this confirmation of a bullish breakout, but this market is known for pullbacks and false exits, so I'm looking for more confirmation. “For me, BTC will also need to clear previous resistance at $30.5K, $31.5K, and ultimately $33K to confirm and validate a bullish breakout.”

FUD of the week

Fantom Foundation hot wallet hacked for $550,000

The Fantom Foundation, developer of the Fantom network, has been hacked for more than $550,000 cryptocurrency value. The foundation confirmed the attack on X, stating that the majority of the stolen funds belonged to other users and that 99% of the foundation's funds remain safe. Blockchain security researchers initially reported that the attacker stole approximately $7 million in cryptocurrency. The Fantom Foundation later issued an official statement saying that some of the wallets labeled "Fantom: Foundation Wallet" were incorrectly labeled by block explorers and that not all of the stolen funds were from the foundation.

TrueCoin Third Party Vendor Breach Potentially Leaks TUSD User Data

TrueUSD (TUSD) announced a possible escape of certain Know Your Customer (KYC) data and transaction history after one of TrueCoin's third-party providers was compromised. The company was the operator of the TUSD stablecoin until July 13, 2023. The impact of the attack and the resulting data leak have not yet been identified, as the total number of user data was not revealed during the announcement. . The data collected from such breaches (names, email addresses, and phone numbers, among others) is often used for phishing attacks. Attackers reach unsuspecting investors by imitating various crypto services, often promising high profits in short periods of time.

Web3 game project allegedly hired actors to pose as executives in $1.6 million exit scam

The development team of the FinSoul game project carried out an alleged exit scam, siphoning $1.6 million from investors through market manipulation, according to a recent report from blockchain security platform CertiK shared with Cointelegraph. The FinSoul team allegedly hired paid actors to pose as their executives and then raised funds for the sole purpose of developing a gaming platform. However, instead of actually creating the platform, the FinSoul team allegedly transferred $1.6 million in bridged Tether from investors to itself. Blockchain data indicates that the developers then laundered the funds through cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash.

Big questions: What did Satoshi Nakamoto think about the ZK tests?

What was once a step In the interest of Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, zero-knowledge proof technology is now an important part of the crypto world.

Ethereum Reset: Blockchain Innovation or Dangerous House of Cards?

"Restaking" involves reusing staked Ether to earn fees and rewards. Restaked tokens can help secure and validate other protocols. But many fear that a new recovery could disrupt the Ethereum chain itself.

Bitmain's Revenge, Hong Kong's Crypto Rollercoaster: Asia Express

Bitmain Reportedly Lays Off Staff for speaking out against pay cuts, Hong Kong investors lose faith in crypto after JPEX scandal, Bitget gets new crypto credit card, and more.