A Look at SHIB, BONE and LEASH Ahead of Shibarium’s Launch

Audy Castañeda
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A Look at SHIB, BONE and LEASH Ahead of Shibarium’s Launch

Total Shibarium testnet transactions crossed the 31 million mark. BONE price increased more than 4% in the last 24 hours, while SHIB value increased marginally.

As the long-awaited Shiba Inu [SHIB] Shibarium mainnet launch approaches, its testnet has reached a new milestone in terms of transactions. Additionally, the hype around it helped turn ShibaSwap’s Bone [BONE] price action bullish.

The third token in the ecosystem, Doge Assassin [LEASH], chose to follow the same path as its contemporaries as its price rose in the last 24 hours. SHIB also managed to increase its market capitalization by jumping from 19th to 18th place on the list of top cryptocurrencies.

Shibarium Testnet Hits New Highs

On July 20, NOWNodes revealed that it was working on the final stage of Shibarium’s mainnet launch. While the news about the Shibarium mainnet launch caught fire, the Layer 2 testnet reached a new milestone.

According to Puppyscan, Shibarium’s testnet explorer, total network transactions exceeded 31 million. In addition, their total portfolios exceeded 17 million. At press time, it had an average block time of over eight seconds with a total of over 1.7 million blocks.

Shiba Inu Ecosystem Tokens Are on the Rise

Amidst this, the highly-hyped Shiba Inu ecosystem token BONE reacted positively to the updates. The token gained bullish momentum as its price rose more than 4% in the last 24 hours. Recently, it was trading at $1.32 with a market capitalization of over $303 million, making it the 104th largest token.

Thanks to the rally, the BONE exchange outflow shot up several times, suggesting further accumulation. His supply on exchanges decreased, while his supply off exchanges increased. BONE managed to maintain the value of its network over the past few months. according to BONE’s DeFiLlamaTVL, it has remained relatively constant in recent weeks.

LEASH, saw a marginal increase in value. Recently, it was trading at $448.74 with a market capitalization of more than $47 million.

Despite the marginal increase in price, the popularity of the token was on the rise. The total number of LEASH holders increased substantially over the past week.

A Closer Look at the State of SHIB

Although the two Shiba Inu ecosystem tokens gained bullish momentum, the same did not happen with SHIB. according to CoinMarketCap the price of the memecoin only rose more than 0.5% in the last 24 hours.

Recently, it was trading at $0.000007806 with a market capitalization of over $4.6 billion, making it the 18th largest cryptocurrency. However, the Shibburn data revealed that the consumption rate of the memecoin decreased by more than 84% in the last 24 hours, which seemed negative for the token.

Its weighted sentiment has also improved in recent weeks, suggesting that positive sentiment around the token has dominated the market.

Shiba Inu Investors Can Look Forward to this

Unlike BONE, SHIB investors may have to wait longer to enjoy gains as most market indicators continued to support sellers. For example, SHIBChaikin Money Flow (CMF) moved below the neutral mark.

The relative strength index (RSI) and the money flow index (MFI) of the memecoin also registered slight falls. This development further increased the chances of a downward price trend in the following days. However, the distance between the 20-day EMA and the 55-day EMA had narrowed, giving hope of a bullish crossover.

By Audy Castaneda

TRM Labs Uncovers Terrorist Financing: ISIS Raise Millions in Crypto

Audy Castañeda
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TRM Labs Uncovers Terrorist Financing: ISIS Raise Millions in Crypto

Blockchain security firm TRM Labs said the ISIS group has raised more than $2 million in cryptocurrency. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis posits that cryptocurrencies are not crime friendly, as their use by hackers has dropped by 65%. Several countries, such as Kuwait, are introducing measures to limit the exposure of their citizens to the crypto industry.

Terrorist organizations associated with the ISIS group have raised more than $2 million this year with cryptocurrencies, according to a recent report by TRM Labs.

The Blockchain intelligence firm revealed this in its new report stating that the terrorist group is increasingly using cryptography for its fundraising activities.

Pro-ISIS Group Raised $2 Million in USDT

According to the report, significant on-chain evidence shows that pro-ISIS networks in Tajikistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Indonesia have been using cryptocurrency for their activities. Most of these transactions are in Tether USDT on the Tron network.

This corroborates a recent report claiming that hackers were increasingly favoring stablecoins like USDT for their illicit transactions.

Pro-ISIS groups use crypto to recruit fighters to join an ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan (ISKP). One such group in Tajikistan received more than 2 million USDT in 2022.

TRM Labs revealed how it reported to an anonymous exchange to identify the person behind the account and alerted the authorities. This led the Turkish authorities to arrest Shamil Hukumatov, a prominent ISIS fundraiser allegedly behind the fundraiser, on June 22.

Other pro-ISIS groups in Indonesia, Afghanistan and Pakistan have also received crypto assets. These organizations received a combined total of $567,000 in crypto asset donations in 2022.

Silk Road, the Illegal Products Supermarket

The argument that the use of cryptos is associated with paying for illegal activities has often been used to prohibit them. Much of the origin of this can be traced back to the Silk Road portal, hosted on the unindexed deep internet, known as the deep web.

Silk Road was a black market where users could buy all kinds of drugs and hire illegal services, and on whose platform payments were made only through bitcoin or later with privacy coins such as Monero.

Although the portal was closed in 2013 by the FBI, and its founder Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2015, there are still media that continue to closely link bitcoin with the payment of all kinds of illegal activities, and even terrorism.

Despite the privacy offered by the use of cryptocurrencies, over time it has been seen that the traceability of their transactions makes it “less practical” to pay for illegal activities using cryptocurrencies than through any other form of money, especially cash, since it is practically impossible to prosecute in its physical form, that is, banknotes.

Chainalysis Says Crypto Is Not Crime Friendly

Earlier this month, Chainalysis reported that cryptocurrencies were not crime friendly, with their use by criminals dropping by 65% ​​this year.

The firm focused on illicit activities involving ransomware hackers and dark networks. It also reported that revenue from crypto scammers dropped by 77% in the current year.

However, the decline in crypto crime overall has not convinced regulators about their preference for hackers. Kuwait recently banned cryptocurrencies citing their possible use for money laundering and terrorist financing.

Even countries like Belarus and Australia that are not banning digital assets are also introducing measures to limit their use for illicit purposes.

Belarus wants to ban peer-to-peer crypto transactions to combat cybercrime, while Australian banks are restricting payments to “high-risk” exchanges.

By Audy Castaneda

Craig Wright as Satoshi Nakamoto: What Is the Truth about the Bitcoin Founder?

Marina Meza
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Craig Wright as Satoshi Nakamoto: What Is the Truth about the Bitcoin Founder?

Despite being the architect of an innovative technological development, Nakamoto remains an enigma. The name Satoshi Nakamoto is a pseudonym, and the true identity behind it has not been revealed.

In the world of cryptocurrency, there are few mysteries as potent and enduring as the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the elusive creator of Bitcoin. Conceived in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Bitcoin’s startup was fueled by deep dissatisfaction with the existing financial system and a vision to create a decentralized digital currency, immune to government oversight and institutional control.

It was Satoshi Nakamoto, who introduced Bitcoin to the world in a white paper titled “Peer-to-Peer Electronic Tron Bitcoin”, published on October 31, 2008. This seminal document outlined the architecture of a decentralized peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Tron Cash lays the foundation for the development of Bitcoin and Blockchain technologies.

The mystery surrounding Nakamoto’s true identity adds a layer of intrigue to the story of the creation of Bitcoin. However, it is important to remember that the true significance of Satoshi Nakamoto does not lie in his hidden identity, but in the new technology they introduced. Bitcoin, with its underlying Blockchain technology, has undeniably disrupted the financial landscape and paved the way for a host of other Blockchain-based digital currencies and innovations.

Who is Craig Wright?

The name of Dr. Craig Steven Wright emerges in the spotlight. Hailing from Australia, Wright is a computer scientist and entrepreneur with a portfolio that has extensive experience in information technology and digital security.

Wright’s academic credentials include a Ph.D. in computer science, with research areas spanning cryptology, cybersecurity, and data structures. Beyond academia, his career path has seen him take on roles within a variety of IT companies, predominantly focusing on the development and implementation of security protocols.

In 2015, the question about his possible connection to Satoshi Nakamoto began to circulate within the digital community. Then, in May 2016, Wright himself came forward and stated openly and emphatically in a blog post that he is Satoshi Nakamoto. In an orchestrated event, he also demonstrated signing a message using a private key associated with the first Bitcoin block, a feat theoretically only Nakamoto could achieve.

The media immediately sprang into action, dissecting Wright’s claims and evidence with an enthusiasm fueled by the magnitude of the claim in question. However, scrutiny of Wright’s claims did not yield a unanimous conclusion. The crypto community fractured, with some seeing the evidence as conclusive proof of Wright’s claim, while others saw it as inconclusive, potentially manipulated, or outright misleading.

Repercussions Within the Cryptocurrency Community

The ramifications of Wright’s claim are manifold and span across the spheres of market dynamics, community sentiment, and the philosophical underpinnings of the Bitcoin movement.

A key concern within the cryptocurrency ecosystem concerns the potential market influence exerted by Satoshi Nakamoto, due to the significant amount of Bitcoin presumed to be in his possession. Meanwhile, Wright’s claim has generated considerable polarization within the Bitcoin community. While some regard his claim as a bold claim without substantial proof, others accept his claim based on the evidence provided.

On a more philosophical level, Wright’s claim challenges the very essence of the Bitcoin narrative. By asserting himself as Nakamoto, Wright potentially disrupts this narrative, raising questions about the ideological direction of the Bitcoin movement.

By Marina Meza

Top Five Bitcoin News of the Week

Audy Castañeda
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Top Five Bitcoin News of the Week

A better understanding of the crypto world can protect users from scams or uninformed decisions.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are rapidly transforming the world of finance. Although they may seem technical or complicated, it is worth learning about this topic that is growing in importance.

Societe Generale: First Entity in France with a License for Cryptocurrency Services

Société Générale, one of the largest financial institutions in Europe, and the third largest in France, becomes the first bank to obtain a crypto asset provider license from the French regulator (AMF).

Therefore, the entity, which has obtained a license as a digital asset service provider (DASP), made the application through its crypto-asset division: SG Forge. The license, dated July 18, allows Société Générale to offer custody, purchase/sale, trading, receiving and transmitting third-party orders for digital assets.

Bitcoin Whale Wakes Up After 11 Years

Recently, a dormant Bitcoin address for 11.3 years with 1,037 BTC, equivalent to about $31 million USD, was activated.

This event has generated interest in the crypto community, as it is rare to see addresses that have been inactive for such a long time become active. Although at the time of the news the activation did not have a significant impact on the price of Bitcoin, it is important to remember that the movements of the Bitcoin whales can have a lagging effect on the market.

It is crucial that investors and market participants keep an eye on these developments as they can provide valuable signals on future market trends, but it should also be remembered that the cryptocurrency market is highly volatile and investing with caution.

FTX Sues Sam Bankman-Fried and Other Former Executives to Recover $1 Billion

FTX has sued former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and other key former executives of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange to recover more than $1 billion in allegedly misappropriated funds.

The lawsuit filed on July 20 in a United States Bankruptcy Court named Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh and Bankman-Fried as defendants.

In the lawsuit, FTX claimed that the former executives breached their fiduciary duties by allegedly misappropriating client funds on an ongoing basis to finance luxury condominiums, political and charitable contributions, speculative investments and other pet projects.

Telegram CEO Reveals He Has Bitcoin in His Wallet

Next, Pavel Durov revealed his investments in the cryptocurrency market, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Toncoin (TON), along with significant developments within his company.

Specifically, the statements came to place in a publication through his official Telegram channel. Where the CEO of the messaging App highlighted the growth that the latter had registered in recent times, accounting for the registration of about 800 new active users since the beginning of this year, registering about 2.5 million new daily accounts.

“Some people suggested that I should have bought a house or a plane. But I prefer to concentrate on my work without having anything… “Well, apart from Telegram, some Bitcoin and some Toncoin,” Durov stated.

Judge Sentences New York Crypto Scammer to 9 Years in Prison

Eddy Alexandre, was sentenced to nine years in prison for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that defrauded investors of hundreds of millions of dollars.

US District Judge John Cronan handed down the sentence after Alexandre pleaded guilty to commodity fraud in February. The court ordered Alexandre to forfeit $248.8 million, representing ill-gotten gains from his Ponzi scheme, which primarily targeted members of the Haitian-American community in New York.

By Audy Castaneda

Coinbase: A Crypto Conundrum on the Rise

Audy Castañeda
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Coinbase: A Crypto Conundrum on the Rise

Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange, defies logic with its market valuation.

Coinbase Global, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has experienced a remarkable resurgence since the cryptocurrency market crash last year. However, this ascent defies both gravity and logic.

Coinbase’s valuation depends on factors almost impossible to predict, and it’s a mystery why the market would consider the company run by former software engineer Brian Armstrong worth close to its current $24 billion.

Strategic Alliances and Legal Victory

Coinbase shares got a big boost after money management giant BlackRock filed to launch a Bitcoin-backed exchange-traded fund (ETF) this month, with Coinbase as its custodian.

For an industry still in its infancy, alliances with old-school Wall Street names are a big win. Additional excitement came from a legal victory by Ripple, a digital token creator that, like Coinbase, had been accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of selling unregistered securities. Coinbase shares are up close to 50% in July, far outperforming the Nasdaq Composite Index, which was up 4%.

Coinbase’s relationship with the SEC has soured as the company has become more impatient and adventurous in its offerings, and the agency has stalled on regulation, while also becoming more skeptical of cryptocurrencies.

This became more apparent in July 2022, when Coinbase filed a petition requesting that the SEC begin defining a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, including a definition of what would make them securities subject to SEC rules.

The petition rightly noted that other jurisdictions, such as the European Union, Australia, and the United Kingdom, were pushing regulations designed to meet the needs of the cryptocurrency market while protecting investors.

Coinbase Valuation: An Ocean to Boil

It is easy to see how the Ripple trial outcome generated excitement. Before last week, the SEC had a perfect record in the cases it brought against cryptocurrency companies. However, a judge ruled on July 13 that Ripple’s XRP token was only a security, and therefore should have been registered with the SEC, when it was sold to institutional investors, not when it was funneled to retail investors on exchanges.

Coinbase makes money primarily by taking commissions from individuals, not institutions. The catch is that Ripple’s decision only applied to that specific case, and there is no guarantee that a court will apply the same logic to tokens sold on Coinbase.

The Future of Coinbase: Uncertainties and Possibilities

Coinbase investors would therefore be reckless in counting on a judge awarding Coinbase a victory. That’s why Armstrong has been pushing lawmakers in Washington to draft legislation limiting the SEC’s ability to regulate cryptocurrencies, delegating much of that power to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. That would essentially quash the SEC’s case against Coinbase.

Nevertheless, the whims of a sluggish and sparsely distributed Congress are no more predictable than those of court judges. More than 15 bills to regulate cryptocurrency are floating through Congress, but none are close to becoming law.

Notably, cryptocurrencies have proven to be a dangerous place for investors, especially small ones, with hacks, counterfeit coin offerings, and outright theft plaguing the sector. Last year, a record for cryptocurrency hacks was broken, according to Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, with $3.8 billion worth of assets stolen.

More than $20 billion worth of cryptocurrencies were received by illicit addresses, the company added. This was 0.24% of all cryptocurrency transactions, twice as many as in 2021.

By Audy Castaneda

Tesla Freezes Its Bitcoin Holdings

Marina Meza
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Tesla Freezes Its Bitcoin Holdings

For the fourth consecutive quarter, Tesla has not sold or increased its digital assets and the electric vehicle maker continues to hold $184 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC).

Tesla, the renowned clean energy and automotive company owned by visionary entrepreneur Elon Musk, has made headlines again, but this time not for its electric vehicles, but for its connections to Bitcoin.

In a recent announcement, Tesla revealed that it did not buy or sell any of its large Bitcoin holdings in the second quarter of 2023, in keeping with the company’s strategic focus on investing in cryptocurrencies.

Tesla No Longer Transacts in Bitcoin

According to Tesla’s Q2 update, the company’s Bitcoin total rose from $321 million in Q1 to $333 million in Q2, an increase of $22 million.

This is a notable development, as it signifies Tesla’s commitment to holding onto its digital assets despite continued volatility in the cryptocurrency market.

Interestingly, the last time Tesla made significant transactions in Bitcoin was in the second quarter of the previous year. On that occasion, the company sold more than 30,000 Bitcoins, around 75% of its holdings, for a staggering $936 million.

This move received both praise and criticism, as it highlighted Tesla’s ability to generate profits through cryptocurrency investments, but also raised concerns about the potential risks associated with such a volatile asset.

Tesla’s 2021 $1,500 Million Investment

The electric vehicle maker made headlines in early 2021 when it revealed that it had invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin. This bold move rocked the financial world, as it demonstrated the willingness of a large corporation to embrace cryptocurrency as a legitimate store of value.

However, the subsequent announcement of Tesla’s decision to stop making Bitcoin payments for its vehicles due to environmental concerns has raised questions about the sustainability of cryptocurrencies and their potential impact on the environment. Such concerns have sparked debates about the liability of clean energy companies for their cryptocurrency holdings.

Despite these controversies, Tesla has continued to demonstrate its confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term potential by keeping a significant portion of its initial investment. This strategic decision is in line with Elon Musk’s public statements about his personal support for cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin and Dogecoin.

Tesla’s Zero Holdings in Q2 Have a Negative Impact on Both the Company and Bitcoin

The recent announcement regarding Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings in the second quarter did not have a significant impact on the company’s share price. After-hours trading saw a marginal 1% float, with shares trading at $288.96.

However, Tesla’s stock has seen substantial growth this year, rising more than 136% impressively. Such an increase in Tesla’s stock price reflects not only its success in the electric vehicle market but also the market’s enthusiasm for forward-looking and innovative companies.

The Future of Tesla Versus Bitcoin

As Tesla continues to ride its wave of success, it remains to be seen how the company’s zero Bitcoin holdings will further affect its long-term financial strategy. Companies like Tesla must navigate an unpredictable cryptocurrency market carefully, weighing the potential rewards against the inherent risks.

Q2 performance suggests that Tesla may be taking a more cautious approach in its cryptocurrency ventures, opting to weather near-term market turmoil while maintaining confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term viability.

As a pioneer of the electric vehicle revolution, Tesla certainly recognizes the importance of adopting sustainable practices not only in product offerings but also in financial decisions.

By Marina Meza

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