The news is varied, ranging from an enigmatic Bitcoin wallet to regulatory debates in emerging markets.
From the rise of a mysterious Bitcoin wallet to holder challenges in today’s market – here are the most relevant headlines right now.
Bitcoin Wallet Climbs Quickly in the Ranking of Global Holders
A Bitcoin wallet has impressively climbed the ranking of the largest holders of the cryptocurrency. According to data from BitInfoCharts, the wallet address received its first Bitcoin on March 8. In the span of three months and two weeks that followed, the wallet managed to accumulate a staggering 118,000 BTC, valued at $3.08 billion at current prices.
Although speculation about its identity abounds, some suggest that it could be a cryptocurrency exchange on the move.
The Challenges of Bitcoin Holders in the Current Market
Market volatility has pushed short-term Bitcoin holders back into negative territory. A report from Glassnode reveals that 88.3% of short-term holders’ supply, or 2.26 million BTC, is at unrealized loss. Despite the 10% drop in BTC, long-term holders have shown to remain calm, which is typical behavior in bear market periods.
According to the report, though, short-Term Holders however “are of greater interest, with 88.3% of their held supply (2.26M BTC) now held at an unrealized loss.” This consists of “an acceleration in STH realized losses being sent to exchanges, as well as the loss of key technical moving average support, putting the bulls on the back-foot.”
Friend.tech Platform Denies User Data Leak
The team behind the decentralized social networking platform Friend.tech has denied a report that the personal information of more than 100,000 users had been leaked. The team clarified that the information came from pulling from their public API, and likened the situation to looking at a public Twitter feed.
On August 21, Friend.tech posted on X the following:
“This is just someone scraping our public API that shows the association between public wallet addresses and public Twitter usernames. It’s like saying someone hacked you by looking at your public Twitter feed. Irresponsible reporting from @TheBlock_ and @vishal4c.”
Call for Regulation on Cryptocurrencies in Emerging Markets
A group of central bankers led by Mexico and Colombia have called for regulation rather than an outright ban on cryptocurrencies in emerging markets. Although cryptocurrencies offer alternatives to traditional finance, they also present financial risks. Experts believe that regulation would be preferable to channel innovation in socially useful directions.
Cryptocurrencies have become a tempting option in emerging economies, where fiat currency volatility and limited access to traditional banking services drive the search for alternatives. According to Chainalysis data, only two of the 20 jurisdictions with the highest rates of cryptocurrency adoption worldwide are from the developed world, with Vietnam, Brazil, and India making up the rest.
Terra Temporarily Closes its Website Due to the Rise of Phishing Scams
Terra, a Layer 1 blockchain, has temporarily shut down its website in order to protect users from ongoing phishing scams plaguing the platform. It officially announced Terra on X (formerly Twitter) on August 22:
“Update: The terra(dot) money domains have successfully been frozen to prevent further user phishing scams, but a full resolution is still underway.”
By Audy Castaneda
