Read in the Digest:
- Crypto market recovers over the weekend, $800 million of BTC moved out of exchanges, derivatives signal trend reversal.
- Billionaire Ray Dalio is keeping his Bitcoin, Senator Ted Cruz buys the dip.
- World’s biggest exchange, Binance, warns of massive SMS phishing scams.
- U.S. Treasury warns of money laundering in NFTs, FinCEN to crack down on anonymous crypto transactions.
Crypto Market Recovers Over the Weekend, $800 Million of BTC Moved Out of Exchanges, Derivatives Signal Trend Reversal
Over the weekend, the crypto market enjoyed its biggest rally since November 2021. The rally saw the global crypto market cap briefly grace the $2 trillion mark for the first time since January 20th. Bitcoin led the charge, amassing gains of 15% over the last five days.
The five day price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: Tradingview
The rally also saw Ethereum trade at above the $3,000 mark for the first time in more than two weeks, gaining over 20% across the last seven days. Meme coins also shone, with Shiba Inu gaining over 32% within a week, outshining Dogecoin’s gains of 14%.
The seven day price chart for Ethereum (ETH). Source: Tradingview
As Bitcoin recovered over the weekend to cross the $40,000 mark, on-chain data trackers noticed the movement of large sums of BTC going out of exchanges. According to Glassnode, the amount of Bitcoin removed from exchanges was at a high of 1,220.780 (worth $800 million in USD).
The market is potentially seeing confirmation of the turnaround to a bullish trend for Bitcoin from crypto derivatives data signals. With Bitcoin now trading at above $42k, as of this writing, derivatives data suggests that investor confidence is improving in the asset, and a trend reversal could possibly be at hand.
Flipsider:
- Despite becoming a $2 trillion industry, some traders and pundits still suggest that cryptocurrencies are a bubble waiting to burst.
Why You Should Care
The movement of funds out of exchanges reduces the bearish pressure on Bitcoin, as more investors turn to HODLing their BTC.
Billionaire Ray Dalio Is Keeping His Bitcoin, Senator Ted Cruz Buys the Dip
While investor confidence in Bitcoin seems to be on the increase now, that certainly wasn’t the case in January as Bitcoin plunged into extreme fear. Billionaire investor Ray Dalio has revealed that Bitcoin’s worst start to a year didn’t cause him to trade his holdings.
Bitcoin enthusiasts will doubtless be thrilled to know that Ray Dalio, who previously advised traders to allocate 1% to 2% of one’s portfolio to bitcoin, is in it for the long haul. Dalio had indicated in the past that he holds a “tiny percentage” of his portfolio in crypto.
While Ray Dalio’s revelation may come as a surprise to some, perhaps less will be shocked that Senator Ted Cruz announced his entry into the cryptoverse, having bought the dip. The Texan senator bought an undisclosed amount of bitcoin worth between $15,001 and $50,000 on January 25th.
According to the filing, the senator used brokerage River to make the transaction. At the time of the acquisition, Bitcoin was trading around $36,000 to $37,000 during a sell-off. Bitcoin now trades above $42,300.
Flipsider:
- Ray Dalio has complained about news headlines giving too much attention to crypto, despite holding Bitcoin.
Why You Should Care
The call for investors to diversify their portfolios to include Bitcoin stems from a belief that crypto is here to stay.
World’s Biggest Exchange, Binance, Warns of Massive SMS Phishing Scams
The sheer ability to extract millions, or even billions of dollars has attracted an unprecedented number of cyber criminals to the crypto industry, deploying various ways of stealing funds. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has now reported the growing threat of SMS phishing.
The CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, has warned investors that cyber criminals are now sending out SMS with links, urging users to cancel false withdrawals. These links then lead the panicked traders to a phishing website where the credentials of those who fell victim to the plot are harvested. It is as yet unclear how many Binance users have been affected by such attacks.
CZ advised users to never click on links in an SMS, and reiterated that they should “always go to http://Binance.com via a bookmark, or type it in [manually].” SMS phishing scams are not exclusive to Binance, with Coinbase issuing a similar warning in August 2021.
Flipsider:
- The growing number of attacks on exchanges has raised concerns, with the latest hack on crypto.com seeing nearly $34 million stolen from the exchange.
Why You Should Care
Phishing is a common crypto scam used to defraud victims. Users should be careful and make sure that they only deal with verifiable links for transactions.
U.S. Treasury Warns of Money Laundering in NFTs, FinCEN to Crackdown on Anonymous Crypto Transactions
The digital art market was one of the biggest revelations of 2021, with NFT sales volumes totaling $24.9 billion. Having set a new record of $16 billion in sales in January 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has raised some concerns about the NFT market.
Following a recent study, the treasury warned the public that NFTs may become a tool for money laundering in the high-value art market. The report also apprised readers of the possibility of wash trading with NFTs.
Joining FinCEN, the U.S. treasury is now moving to crack down on anonymous digital currency transactions. The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), proposed by FinCEN, will have crypto service providers submit reports, and verify the identity of their customers.
According to FinCEN, the purpose of the recent proposal is to “provide advance information about pending regulatory activities and encourage public participation in the regulatory process.”
Flipsider:
- The treasury also noted that the sale of NFT-authenticated works, such as Beeple’s $69 million sale, means that digital art has “reached similar valuations as traditional art mediums.”
Why You Should Care
Similar reasons have long seen calls for the regulation of the crypto industry and NFTs around the world, as they are estimated to grow to reach $35 billion in 2022, and more than $80 billion by 2025.
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