Trezor issues a security warning, Chinese crypto investors are back despite the ban, and a classic video game has been immortalized on the Dogecoin blockchain. These stories and more, this week in crypto.
Volatile week for Bitcoin price
Bitcoin experienced a significant decline, falling below $40,000 for the first time since early December. This represents a 20% decline from the recent peak reached with the news of Bitcoin ETF approval in the US. Some speculate that the sale of Grayscale's $1 billion Bitcoin ETF shares by FTX's bankruptcy estate may have contributed to the price decline. However, by the end of the week, the Bitcoin price had risen back to the previous weekend's levels.
Trezor under phishing attack
Trezor users were hit with phishing attempts with malicious emails asking users to upgrade their network using a fake link. The hardware wallet provider identified the cause as unauthorized access to its email database. This comes after a recent breach of Trezor's support portal. Although Trezor has disabled the malicious link, users are warned not to enter their recovery seed.
China's crypto investors defy ban>
Crypto data platform Chainalysis announced that crypto-related activity in China has rebounded, and its global ranking in terms of peer-to-peer trading volume jumped from 144th in 2022 to 13th in 2023. Crypto trading and mining have been banned in China since 2021, so much of China's crypto activity takes place via gray market over-the-counter and informal peer-to-peer transactions.
OKX users will be compensated
Cryptocurrency exchange OKX will compensate users affected by a sudden 50 percent flash crash in its native token OKB. On January 23rd, OKB plunged from $46 to $25 in 15 minutes, triggered by the unwinding of large leverage positions, which led to further price triggering before a rapid recovery. The flash crash occurred on the same day as the FTX Bitcoin sale and Grayscale had to release some of its Bitcoins to the market to meet redemption demand. The flash crash coincided with the day's overall market volatility.
Bitwise’s Bitcoin ETF address
Asset management firm Bitwise has published the wallet address of its Bitcoin holdings for its spot ETF, becoming the first Bitcoin ETF provider in the US to do so in a move to increase public transparency. The address currently has 12840 BTC worth over $500 million.
Decision on Ethereum ETFs delayed
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed decisions on Grayscale and BlackRock's applications to convert their Ethereum trusts into spot exchange-traded funds. This suggests ongoing regulatory scrutiny following the recent approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. Meanwhile, JPMorgan noted a decline in interest in spot Bitcoin ETFs, describing their performance as “disappointing” despite their historically successful launch in terms of trading metrics.
Investors expect BTC decline
A recent survey by Deutsche Bank shows that over a third of retail investors expect Bitcoin to fall below $20,000 by the end of the year. The bank surveyed 2,000 consumers in the US, UK and Europe about the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs and the negative sentiment is linked to past events including the FTX collapse, the TerraUSD debacle and US regulatory actions.
Legendary video game on Dogecoin
The iconic 90s video game Doom has been immortalized on the Dogecoin blockchain, showing the blockchain's versatility beyond finance. This inscription turns Dogecoin into a gaming platform that allows users to access the shareware version of the game via the blockchain without any legal restrictions. The innovative move highlights the potential of blockchains for securely managing and storing digital content.
This is what happened in the crypto space this week, see you next week.
