Hodler’s Digest, July 14-20 – Cointelegraph Magazine
2024.07.20 17:28
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Top Stories This Week
Pixelverse to put Pudgy Penguin character on Telegram mini game
The face of the popular non-fungible token (NFT) collection Pudgy Penguins will be integrated as a character on Pixelverse’s mini-game on Telegram. On July 16, Pixelverse announced that it would introduce the Pudgy Penguins character “Pudgy” into the game, joining other crypto favorites such as Doge from the Dogecoin memecoin and Mew, a character that represents a Solana memecoin. The integration allows players to play the character in the Pixelverse game. A standalone Pudgy Penguins mobile game is slated for release sometime in 2025. While the NFT market is down, some experts argued that the space is experiencing a correction cycle.
Craig Wright admits he’s not Satoshi, issues disclaimer on his website
Craig Wright issued a legal disclaimer on the home page of his website on July 16, emphatically stating that he is not the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. The disclaimer cited the recent ruling from the United Kingdom’s High Court of Justice and directed website traffic to the summary of the findings presented by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance. The disclaimer admits that Wright was not the author of the Bitcoin white paper and concedes that the computer scientist does not hold a copyright to the technology outlined in the white paper.
Ethereum ETFs will have a bigger impact on ETH price: Bitwise
United States spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will have a rough start but could have a bigger impact on the asset’s price than Bitcoin ETFs did for BTC, according to Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan. According to Hougan, one reason Ether ETFs will have a bigger impact on the asset’s price is that Ether’s inflation rate effectively amounts to zero, given the widespread usage of Ethereum-based applications compared to the “small amount of ETH” created daily.
State Street eyes blockchain leap with stablecoin, deposit token: Report
State Street has taken a serious interest in blockchain settlement technology. According to Bloomberg, the global asset manager is considering creating its own stablecoin and deposit token. In addition, it may leverage its investment in UK-based payment startup Fnality to create new settlement options and join “digital-cash consortium efforts.” State Street created a dedicated digital finance division in 2021. That division later saw layoffs, but was revived and integrated into the main business this year.
Trump reportedly ‘in good spirits,’ will still attend Nashville BTC conference
Former United States President Donald Trump still plans to speak at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, despite having survived an assassination attempt on July 13 in Pennsylvania, according to David Bailey, one of the event’s organizers and the CEO of Bitcoin Magazine. The event runs from July 25 through July 27, with Trump slated to speak on July 27.
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $66,239, Ether (ETH) at $3,486 and XRP at $0.56. The total market cap is at $2.42 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are dogwifhat (WIF) at 61%, Worldcoin (WLD) at 55.94% and Arweave (AR) at 48.98%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are Uniswap (UNI) at 1.45%, TRON (TRX) at -1.19% and Gnosis (GNO) at -0.45%.
For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Most Memorable Quotations
“If you see a ‘pro-crypto’ politician today, it’s worth it to explore their underlying values, and see which side they will prioritize if a conflict does arise.”
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum
“Bitcoin L2s are not just an innovation; they’re a necessity for the evolving crypto ecosystem in Asia.”
Robbie Liu, head of Asia at Polyhedra Network
“Innovation is no longer optional but essential for navigating future challenges, requiring continuous pursuit of excellence.”
The International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications
“We believe that cryptocurrency should bring daily benefits to humanity, not just sit in a bank vault.”
Andrey Lazutkin, chief technology officer at Tangem
“Keep in mind after launch there’s flows and then add’l ETH products I’m sure, then Solana, and then.. it’s probably never going to end. The dam has broken.”
Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg
“China’s concern with crypto has always been the capital flight. […] Cryptocurrencies further democratize finance and enable capital flight for middle and low-income classes.”
Mikko Ohtamaa, CEO and co-founder of Trading Strategy
Prediction of the week
Traders eye $71.5K Bitcoin price as open interest jumps 13%
Bitcoin could be headed toward the $71,500 mark after breaching the $65,000 price point on Tuesday based on historical patterns, as observed by crypto traders.
The price rebound has also increased interest among future traders betting on Bitcoin’s near-term price movements. “Breaking $65,000 would mean price would be ready to move inside the $65,000-$71,500 region,” pseudonymous crypto trader Rekt Capital wrote in a July 16 X post, when Bitcoin was hovering just shy of $65,000.
However, a huge amount of short positions are at risk of being liquidated at $71,500, meaning many future traders are confident the price won’t reach that level for now. Approximately $1.47 billion in short positions will be wiped at $71,500, according to CoinGlass data.
FUD of the Week
Indian crypto exchange falls victim to $235M hack
Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX allegedly suffered a significant security breach on July 18, leading to the loss of approximately $235 million. The hack involved multiple suspicious transactions from WazirX’s Safe Multisig wallet, detected on the Ethereum blockchain by Web3 security firm Cyvers. The hacker quickly exchanged the stolen assets into various cryptocurrencies, including Ether, Tether, Pepe and others. In response to the incident, WazirX has paused withdrawals and is said to be investigating the breach.
Mt. Gox creditors report multiple ‘brute-force’ attempts on their accounts
A Mt. Gox creditor subreddit has been awash with reports over the week from users seeing multiple login attempts on their accounts — sparking fears of a potential cyberattack. In a subreddit for Mt. Gox creditors known as “r/mtgoxinsolvency,” several users reported issues logging into their accounts on the Mt. Gox website, while others shared screenshots showing a large number of unauthorized log-in attempts on their accounts. The defunct crypto exchange has now distributed 36% of the Bitcoin to creditors after recently moving over 140,000 Bitcoin, worth almost $9 billion, to a known cold wallet and two unknown addresses.
Li.Fi protocol attacked, $10M drained
Li.Fi, an application programming interface for Ethereum Virtual Machine and Solana swaps and bridging, was attacked on July 16, resulting in the loss of over $10 million in cryptocurrencies. Li.Fi warned its community on X that users should not interact with Li.Fi-powered applications until further notice. Later, a Li.Fi spokesperson informed Cointelegraph that the “smart contract exploit” had been contained and the “affected smart contract facet disabled.” Approximately $10 million in crypto holdings were drained, which also affected the Arbitrum blockchain.
Read also
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Features
From Director of the United States Mint to the Very First Bitcoin IRA Customer
Top Magazine Pieces of the Week
Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh may be crypto’s sleeping giant: Crypto City Guide
While crypto may still operate in a gray space in Saudi Arabia, the country’s talent pool and burgeoning gaming sector holds promise for Web.
Coinbase will not mention ‘crypto’ in five years: Avichal Garg, X Hall of Flame
Electric Capital co-founder Avichal Garg believes that spot Bitcoin ETFs have helped ease the blow from the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.
Crypto-Sec: Evolve Bank suffers data breach, Turbo Toad enthusiast loses $3.6K
A Turbo Toad enthusiast lost over $3,000 from a phishing attack, Microsoft patched yet another “zero-click” Office vulnerability, and Evolve leaked 33TB of customer data to ransomware attackers.
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Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.
