bitcoin

Sunday, January 29, 2023

LTC, AVAX, APT and FTM prepare to rally as Bitcoin price targets $24K

Bitcoin bulls look to push BTC price to $24,000 and in doing so, LTC, AVAX, APT and FTM could extend their monthly gains.

Bitcoin (BTC) has rallied nearly 40% so far in January, which is the best start to the year since 2013. The sharp up-move has turned several on-chain signals bullish, according to on-chain analyst Cole Garner.

Usually, a sharp recovery from the market lows, driven by the leader, is a sign that strong hands may be buying aggressively. That could be because traders believe the selling may have been overdone in the near term or they found the valuation to be attractive.

*Crypto market data daily view. Source:* *Coin360*

After the initial runup, a swift correction could be expected, which will shake out the weak hands. The next fall will also confirm whether Bitcoin has formed a bottom or not. If the low is confirmed, several altcoins may start to outperform Bitcoin in the near term.

Which altcoins are showing promise in the near term? Let’s study the charts of Bitcoin and select altcoins to see which could extend their up-move in the next few days.

BTC/USDT

Bitcoin has been trading above $22,800 since Jan. 25, which suggests that bulls are trying to flip the level into support.

The upsloping 20-day exponential moving average ($21,558) indicates that bulls are in command but the relative strength index (RSI) in the overbought territory suggests that the rally may be overextended in the near term.

If buyers kick the price above $23,816, the BTC/USDT pair could start its northward march toward $25,211. This level may act as a formidable resistance.

On the downside, the 20-day EMA is an important level for the bulls to defend because if it cracks, the pair may fall to the psychological support at $20,000.

*BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

The RSI on the 4-hour chart is forming a negative divergence indicating that the buyers may be losing their grip. If bulls want to assert their dominance, they will have to push the price above the $23,816 resistance. That could start the next leg of the up-move.

Conversely, if the price turns down from the overhead resistance, the bears will try to yank the pair below the moving averages. There is a minor support at $22,715 but if this level collapses, the pair could retest $21,480.

LTC/USDT

Litecoin (LTC) has been in a strong uptrend for the past several days. After a brief consolidation, buyers propelled the price above the overhead resistance of $92, indicating that the up-move remains intact.

The LTC/USDT pair could rally to the psychological level of $100 where the bears may again try to erect a roadblock. If bulls do not give up much ground from this level, the pair may extend its journey to $107. The upsloping 20-day EMA ($86) and the RSI near the overbought territory indicate advantage to buyers.

This positive view could invalidate if the price turns down and slips below the 20-day EMA. The pair could then drop to $81 and later to $75.

*LTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

The break and close above the $92 level suggest that the consolidation resolved in favor of the buyers. If bulls sustain the price above $92, the pair could rise toward the pattern target of $98.

The bears are likely to have other plans. They will try to drag the price below the breakout level of $92 and trap the aggressive bulls. If they manage to do that, the pair could fall to $86. This is an important level for the bulls to defend because a break below it could shift the advantage in favor of the bears.

AVAX/USDT

Avalanche (AVAX) surged above the resistance line on Jan. 27 and reached the overhead barrier at $22 on Jan. 28.

The bears are trying to stall the recovery at $22 but the bulls do not seem to be in a hurry to book profits. This increases the likelihood of a break above the overhead hurdle. If that happens, the AVAX/USDT pair could accelerate toward $30. There is a minor resistance at $24 but it is likely to be scaled.

Another possibility is that the price turns down and retests the resistance line. If the price rebounds off this level, it will suggest that the bulls have flipped it into support. That could enhance the prospects of a break above $22. The bears may gain the upper hand if the price dives below the 20-day EMA ($17).

*AVAX/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

The 4-hour chart shows the pair has pulled back near the 20-EMA. If the price jumps from the current level, the bulls will again attempt to thrust the pair above the overhead obstacle at $22. If this level is scaled, the pair could rally to $24.

The first sign of weakness will be a break and close below the 20-EMA. That could present an opportunity for the bears to make a comeback. The sellers could gain the upper hand if they pull and sustain the pair below the resistance line.

APT/USDT

Aptos (APT) has been having a dream run in the past few days. Usually, when an asset picks up momentum, it continues to move in the same direction for some time.

The APT/USDT pair turned down from $20.40 on Jan. 26 but the bulls are trying to arrest the pullback at $16.62. The shallow correction shows that every minor dip is being purchased by the bulls. Buyers will try to drive the price above $20.40 and start the next leg of the uptrend. The pair could then soar to $24.

The risk to this assumption is that the RSI has been in the overbought territory for the past few days. This increases the risk of a short-term correction. If the price turns down and plummets below $16.60, the pair could slide to $14.57 and then to the 20-day EMA ($12.23).

*APT/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

The 4-hour chart shows a negative divergence forming on the RSI. If the price breaks below the 20-EMA, the pair could test the 50-SMA. This is an important support to monitor because if it cracks, the pair could fall to $12.

Contrarily, if the price turns up and breaks above $20.40, it will indicate that bulls have reasserted their supremacy. That may invalidate the negative divergence developing on the RSI and resume the uptrend.

FTM/USDT

Fantom (FTM) has been in a stupendous run since breaking above the downtrend line. The sharp rally of the past few days suggests aggressive buying by the bulls.

The indicators signal that bulls are firmly in control. During strong up-moves, the corrections are short-lived as bulls buy on every minor dip. The bears are trying to stall the up-move near the psychological resistance at $0.50 but if bulls pierce this level, the FTM/USDT pair could soar to $0.56 and then to $0.63.

Sometimes, vertical rallies are followed by sharp declines. Therefore, traders must be careful as a break and close below $0.43 could sink the pair to the 20-day EMA ($0.37). This is the key level to watch out for on the downside because a break below it could signal that the uptrend may have ended in the near term.

*FTM/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

The pair turned down from the overhead resistance at $0.50 but found support at the 20-EMA. This indicates that the sentiment remains positive and traders are buying the dips. The bulls will again attempt to clear the overhead hurdle at $0.50 and resume the up-move.

The bears may have other plans as they will try to pull the price below the 20-EMA. This is an important level to keep an eye on in the short term as a break below it could open the doors for a possible drop to the 50-SMA. If this level also cracks, the next stop could be $0.36.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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North Korean hackers launder $27M ETH from Harmony Bridge attack

Three main addresses carried out transactions worth $27.18 million to six crypto exchanges.

North Korean exploiters behind the Harmony Bridge attack continue to launder the funds stolen in June 2022. According to on-chain data revealed on Jan. 28 by blockchain sleuth ZachXBT, the perpetrators moved another $27.18 million in Ethereum (ETH) over the weekend.

The tokens were transferred to six different crypto exchanges, noted ZachXBT in a Twitter thread, without disclosing which platforms had received the tokens. Three main addresses carried out the transactions.

According to ZachXBT, exchanges were notified about the funds transfer and part of the stolen assets were frozen. The movements made by the exploiters to launder the money were very similar to those taken on Jan. 13, when over $60 million was laundered, noted the crypto detective.

Who’s active rn?

DPRK just finished laundering another $17.7m+ (11304 ETH) from the Harmony Bridge hack.

S/o to the exchanges who responded quickly on a weekend so funds could be frozen. pic.twitter.com/sUyUScHR4N
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) January 29, 2023

The funds were moved a few days after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed the Lazarus Group and APT38 as the criminals behind the $100 million hack. In a statement, the FBI noted that “through our investigation, we were able to confirm that the Lazarus Group and APT38, cyber actors associated with the DPRK, are responsible for the theft of $100 million of virtual currency from Harmony’s Horizon bridge.”

The Harmony Bridge facilitates transfer between Harmony and the Ethereum network, Binance Chain and Bitcoin. A number of tokens worth about $100 million were stolen from the platform on Jun. 23.

Following the exploit, 85,700 Ether was processed through the Tornado Cash mixer and deposited at multiple addresses. On Jan. 13, the hackers started shifting around $60 million worth of the stolen funds via the Ethereum-based privacy protocol RAILGUN. According to an analysis from crypto tracking platform MistTrack, 350 addresses have been associated with the attack through many exchanges in an attempt to avoid identification.

Lazarus is a well-known hacking syndicate that has been implicated in a number of key crypto industry breaches, including the $600 million Ronin Bridge hack last March.

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Saturday, January 28, 2023

FTX creditors list, BlockFi $1.2B exposure and new Celsius token: Hodler’s Digest, Jan. 22-28

FTX will be the subject of a U.S. Senate hearing, authorities take HashFlare founders into custody and New York finalizes its PoW ban.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $23,129, Ether (ETH) at $1,600 and XRP at $0.41. The total market cap is at $1.06 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Threshold (T) at 115.05%, Aptos (APT) at 86.22% and dYdX (DYDX) at 64.91%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Hedera (HBAR) at -7.72%, Decentraland (MANA) at -7.71% and Maker (MKR) at -5.77%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraphs market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

With the help of blockchain technology, we can achieve medical advances so powerful and undeniable that existing systems will have no choice but to change.

Keith Comito, co-founder and president of Lifespan.io

Its very early days, but we continue to believe that stablecoins and central bank digital currencies have the potential to play a meaningful role in the payments space, and we have a number of initiatives underway.

Alfred F. Kelly, CEO of Visa

Traditionally, people have looked to centralized intermediaries or governments to solve this problem, but technology like cryptography, blockchain and zero-knowledge proofs offer new solutions.

Hester Peirce, commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

“Weve observed that institutions and enterprises are more open than ever before to working with blockchain companies to enhance their businesses.

Paul Veradittakit, general partner at Pantera Capital

We are seeing the consequences of the SECs priorities play out in real-time at the expense of U.S. investors.

Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale Investments

Other coins or other tokens are being essentially used as a store of value for investment and speculation. [There is a] good argument that they should be treated like a financial product.

Stephen Jones, assistant treasurer and minister for financial services for the Australian Parliament

Prediction of the Week

Bitcoin will hit $200K before $70K bear market next cycle Forecast

After two weeks of rally, Bitcoins price has largely been flat in the past several days, showing that market participants are not overly concerned in advance of the U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England monetary policy decisions scheduled for next week.

For many, BTC price action is still bound by Bitcoins four-year halving cycles. The resulting price pattern offers one all time high year in every four, with 2025 next in line. According to pseudonymous analyst Trader Tardigrade, also known as Alan, Bitcoins block subsidy halving will occur a year prior and, from then on, the path will be open to a giant $200,000.

#Bitcoin well-formed structure with stochastic behavior indicates that the next ATH will be at 200K and next floor will be at 70K, Alan predicted.

FUD of the Week

Mango Markets sues Avraham Eisenberg for $47M in damages plus interest

Mango Labs, the creator of crypto trading platform Mango Markets, filed a lawsuit against Avraham Eisenberg, seeking $47 million in damages. It also asked the court to rescind an agreement between Eisenberg and Mangos decentralized autonomous organization. In October 2022, Eisenberg drained around $117 million from Mango Markets by manipulating the price of its native Mango (MNGO) token, allowing under-collateralized loans.

Argo Blockchain accused of misleading investors in class-action lawsuit

A class-action lawsuit claims that crypto mining firm Argo Blockchain omitted key information and made untrue statements during its initial public offering in 2021. The filing alleged that the miner failed to disclose how susceptible it was to capital constraints, electricity costs and network difficulties. It also claimed that a number of documents presented have been prepared negligently, with inaccurate or omitted information.

US Justice Department seizes website of prolific ransomware gang Hive

International law enforcement groups have dismantled the infamous Hive cryptocurrency ransomware gang, recovering over 1,300 decryption keys for victims since July 2022 and preventing $130 million in ransomware payments. Hive was behind a series of notorious ransomware incidents, such as the Costa Rica public health service and social security fund cyberattack that occurred from April into May 2022.

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Reformed altcoin slayer Eric Wall on shitposting and scaling Ethereum

“There’s multiple cryptocurrency communities who have me as their favorite hate object basically,” says crypto analyst Eric Wall, formerly known as the ‘altcoin slayer.’

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Core Scientific files motion to sell over $6M in Bitmain coupons

Some conditions applied to the coupons make them useless for Core Scientific's business, a court filing shows.

Bankrupt Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Core Scientific filed on Jan. 25 an emergency motion seeking to sell Bitmain coupons worth $6.6 million, according to court records.

As per the filing, some conditions applied to the coupons make them useless for Core Scientific's business. Specifically, the coupons can "only be used to pay 30% of any new order of S19 Miners from Bitmain, and cannot be exchanged with Bitmain for cash."

Additionally, the coupons are limited to S19 models, which provides a lower hash rate output compared to Bitmain's recent models. "The Debtors do not believe that utilizing their liquidity to purchase new S19 Miners, even with the availability of the Bitmain Coupons, is the best use of the Debtors’ cash," claimed the company.

Moreover, the Bitmain coupons are due to expire between March and April of 2023, when the company anticipates having emerged from its Chapter 11 reorganization. Core Scientific also noted that it will not acquire additional S19 miners while under Chapter 11 or afterward.

Along with the motion, the company has been in discussions with Bitmain and two potential third-parties interested in buying the coupons under a significant discount. In particular, the sale of a $1.9 million of Bitmain coupons for $285,000 and the sale of $4.8 million in coupons for approximately $713,000, both representing 15% of the coupons' face value.

The sale would result in aggregate nearly $1.0 million to Core Scientific's balance sheets. The company also noted:

"While the aggregate purchase price of approximately $1.0 million would represent a significant discount to the approximately $6.7 million face value of the Bitmain Coupons, it would also represent significant value above what these Bitmain Coupons are worth to the Debtors and their estates: zero."

According to the filing, the crypto winter resulted in a flood of S19 Miners being offered for sale on the secondary market, driving prices down. "As such, recent transactions for S19 Miner coupons on the Coupon Exchange have occurred at values of between 15% and 25% of the coupon’s face value."

Among the largest cryptocurrency mining companies in the United States, Core Scientific filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 21 due to rising energy costs, declining revenues, as well as the slump in Bitcoin prices. The company recently obtained court approval to access a $37.5 million loan from existing creditors amid liquidity issues.

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Sam Bankman-Fried seeks to access FTX funds

Sam Bankman-Fried lawyers claim he was not involved in previous unauthorized transactions, and should have access to company assets.

Sam Bankman-Fried's legal team is seeking to remove a bail condition that prevented him from accessing FTX's funds, according to court filings from Jan. 28.

A letter from Bankman-Fried's lawyer, Mark Cohen, to United States District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan stated that Bankman-Fried should have access to assets held by FTX, claiming the client was not involved in previous unauthorized transactions.

FTX and FTX US have sought over $659 million in unauthorized transfers amid the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange in November 2022, according to Nansen data reported by Cointelegraph. Bankman-Fried denied any involvement in the transactions.

As per the letter sent to Judge Kaplan, Bankman-Fried was “prohibited from accessing or transferring any FTX or Alameda assets or cryptocurrency, including assets or cryptocurrency purchased with funds from FTX or Alameda”, as requested by U.S. authorities at the first court hearing on Jan. 3. At the time, prosecutors acknowledged that there was no evidence that Mr. Bankman-Fried had transferred funds and noted that a federal probe was underway.

"Nearly three weeks have passed since the initial pretrial conference and we assume that the Government’s investigation has confirmed what Mr. Bankman-Fried has said all along; namely, that he did not access and transfer these assets," notes the letter, stating that the defense notified authorities "as soon as we became aware of the transfers to provide notification."

Furthermore, the lawyers argued:

"Given that the sole basis advanced for seeking that condition has not been supported, we believe that the bail condition imposed at the conference should be removed."

In addition, the letter addresses a request from Jan. 27 by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) prohibiting Bankman-Fried from communicating with “current or former employees” of FTX or Alameda Research without his attorney's presence.

The prosecutor's request was made after Bankman-Fried allegedly reached out to Ryne Miller, the current General Counsel of FTX US, over Signal and email on Jan. 15, attempting to “influence” Miller’s testimony.

As per Cohen's letter, Bankman-Fried should have unlimited contact with his father, therapist, and any employee or agent of a foreign regulator outside the presence of attorneys. The defense stated:

"For example, it would mean that Mr. Bankman-Fried could not speak to his therapist, who is a former FTX employee, without the participation of his lawyers. According to public sources, FTX and Alameda had approximately 350 employees. Each of these current and former employees could have information crucial to Mr. Bankman-Fried’s defense. Requiring Mr. Bankman-Fried to include counsel in every communication with a former or current FTX employee would place an unnecessary strain on his resources and prejudice his ability to defend this case."

On Nov. 11, FTX filed for bankruptcy protection and Bankman-Fried resigned as the company's CEO. On bail at his California family house, he faces eight charges, including wire fraud and money laundering.

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Friday, January 27, 2023

Opinion: 3 tips for trading Ethereum this year

It’s a hard year to trade, but there are measures you can take to increase the likelihood you’ll succeed if you want to trade Ether.

Cryptocurrency is a notoriously volatile industry, regardless of what coin you’re trading. During periods of extreme volatility, it’s easy to become disheartened when trades don’t go your way. It’s also easy to become overconfident when you get lucky, falsely attributing it to your trading strategy — when, in reality, the price often rose or fell for reasons other than you assumed.

Despite the uncertainty, there are sometimes still strategies you can use to trade certain tokens successfully. Ether (ETH) is arguably where you might be able to succeed this year. Here are three tips that might help.

Understand what actually affects ETH price movements

There are many ways to analyze the price of a given cryptocurrency, and different price valuations will be given depending on the model used and how much weight is given to a specific set of conditions.

But incorrect weighting can produce erroneous conclusions. For instance, a cryptocurrency can generate positive buy signals across the board, but other factors can send the entire market tanking.

This is precisely what happened with Ethereum’s Merge, where a successful transition to proof-of-stake that reduced consumption by 99.9% was not really reflected in the price. In fact, bearish traders ran the price into the ground.

The crypto market also tends to correlate heavily with Bitcoin (BTC), which is traded by a lot of institutional and hedge fund money that is tied to interest rates and traditional financial markets. ETH currently holds a 0.9 correlation with Bitcoin.

Leading up to May 2021 and November 2021, ETH experienced significant price increases. This was attributed to announcements from big firms, such as the decision of the European Investment Bank to offer a two-year bond on the Ethereum blockchain. Visa also announced plans to transact in USD Coin (USDC) over Ethereum.

A summary of the factors that affect the price of Ether is that it will be affected most heavily by Bitcoin’s price movement, interest rate decisions, institutional investment and macroeconomic conditions that discourage investment.

Fundamental blockchain indicators, however, can strongly point toward medium-term appreciation, perhaps over one to three years. Based on these indicators, Ethereum is a very powerful blockchain with a thriving ecosystem set for growth.

Anticipate the seasonality

Like other cryptocurrencies, ETH has specific months where it performs well, and others where it performs poorly. It performs the worst in September, June and March, meaning those may be good times to become a buyer.

In contrast, it performs well in February, April and May. This is a time for traders to issue sell orders, while buy-and-hold investors might simply avoid these months in terms of investment (though other criteria should also be taken into account).

While there are claims that certain hours of the day are more lucrative than others for investment, studies have shown this is not the case, at least where Bitcoin is concerned. The same applies to days of the week.

*Seasonality of Ether pricing. Source: FXStreet*

Even if there are certain days or times to trade Ethereum, only active traders will be able to gauge this information correctly and withstand the increased fees of more regular trades. More realistically, seasonality can be applied on a monthly and perhaps quarterly basis for most.

Seasonality is something to keep in mind as there are definite monthly trends.

Consider dollar-cost-averaging

A popular and research-backed means to trade Ether (and any other asset) is dollar-cost-averaging (DCA), a technique first popularized by Benjamin Graham and applied to the equity market.

DCA is a means of investing smaller amounts at specific intervals. You could, for instance, invest a specific amount at the start of each month. This ensures that you get all the highs and lows (at least on a month-to-month basis), smoothing out volatility.

It’s a great way for newcomers to enter the market because it requires no technical expertise or time investment. You don’t have to conduct research or learn statistical models or correlations (though you can obviously do this on the side).

DCA can also be a great baseline for more creative investments, providing a stable foundation. For example, you can combine it with seasonality, choosing the three to four months where Ether has historically been priced on the low end.

At the very least, DCA can help you to avoid the volatility of the cryptocurrency markets with investment spread out across time. Holding on to your investment is as important as making profits, a fact often missed in an industry often overtaken with hype and profits.

Other points to keep in mind

The upcoming Ethereum Shanghai upgrade in March will allow users to withdraw staked ETH, valued at more than $20 billion as of mid-January, though it isn’t clear whether investors will capitalize on the opportunity — which would be bearish — or continue holding their ETH, which would be bullish.

Fundamental indicators with regard to a given blockchain — active addresses, forks, functional upgrades, node diversification, speed, etc. — are often not factored into the price on a short time horizon. Ethereum’s Merge, for instance, reduced waste by 99.9% but did nothing for the price, being overshadowed by wider economic factors.

But these are certainly useful indicators on a longer time horizon. The work that has been done to enhance the Ethereum blockchain and ecosystem will, eventually, be reflected in its price.

In this regard, Ether is a wonderful investment opportunity for late 2023 and perhaps 2024, given recent innovations.

It is, in many ways, a perfect token for a patient investor.

Daniel O’Keeffe worked for three years as a compliance analyst for JPMorgan and State Street. He holds a master’s degree in computer science from the University College Dublin and a legal degree from the University of Limerick.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

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Crypto Biz: A peek into BlockFi’s secret financials (it’s not pretty)

How much exposure does BlockFi have to Sam Bankman-Fried failed enterprises? A lot, according to accidentally leaked financials.

Crypto lender BlockFi has had a highly tumultuous 12 months. After getting caught up in the Terra fiasco, which resulted in one of the most prolific asset death spirals of all time, the company managed to avoid bankruptcy after receiving a $400 million lifeline in July 2022. The problem? Its lender was FTX US, and we all know what happened next.

Although BlockFi has attempted to separate itself from Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud in the aftermath of FTX’s collapse, its secret financials tell a different story.

This week’s Crypto Biz delves into BlockFi’s uncensored financials, the likelihood of “Celsius token” ever seeing the light of day and the latest high-profile funding deal in blockchain.

Breaking: BlockFi uncensored financials reportedly shows $1.2B FTX exposure

Just how bad are BlockFi’s financials? For starters, the bankrupt crypto lending firm reportedly has $1.2 billion in assets tied up in Sam Bankman-Fried’s failed companies — FTX and Alameda Research, to be specific. According to CNBC, BlockFi made these details public by accident, adding insult to injury. Nevertheless, the documents show that the company had $315.9 million worth of assets linked to FTX and $831.3 million in loans to Alameda as of Jan. 14. Although BlockFi has attempted to separate itself from SBF’s companies, it looks like it’ll continue to circle the same drain as FTX and Alameda.

BlockFi to sell $160M in Bitcoin miner-backed loans: Report

BlockFi is reportedly looking to sell $160 million in loans backed by 68,000 Bitcoin (BTC) miners as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. That sounds like a good strategy to raise liquid funds, right? Unfortunately, some of these loans have already defaulted and are likely undercollateralized following Bitcoin’s year-long bear market. A legal expert interviewed by Cointelegraph cautioned that the loans are probably “not worth their paper value anymore.” Let’s hope for BlockFi’s sake that the value of the mining equipment used in the collateral isn’t worth less than the value of the loans.

New ‘Celsius token’ may be used to repay creditors: Report

Months before FTX collapsed, crypto lender Celsius filed for bankruptcy after its degen crypto portfolio failed to survive the bear market. Billions in customer deposits now hang in the balance as the company looks for an optimal reorganization strategy. This week, it was reported that Celsius was considering issuing its own token to repay creditors. Of course, this means relaunching its platform. Apparently, Celsius wants to wrap this up in a new publicly-traded company that is “properly licensed.” I’m not sure Alex Mashinsky will ever succeed in crypto again, but here’s hoping Celsius creditors get something in return for trusting him in the first place.

BREAKING NEWS
- #CelsiusNetwork is looking at having a stratefied recovery smaller holders bellow 5k might get all assets to leave.
- Larger holders will get a debt token that seems to represent all the value, so you can sell if you dont believe in the company or recovery.
— CelsiusFactsNumbers (@CelsiusFacts) January 24, 2023

Injective launches $150M ecosystem fund to boost DeFi, Cosmos adoption

If you’re looking for a silver lining in crypto this week, take solace in the fact that companies are once again raising hundreds of millions in venture capital (VC). Chief among them is Injective, the layer-1 blockchain protocol built on Cosmos SDK. This week, Injective announced a $150 million ecosystem fund backed by Pantera Capital, Kraken Ventures, Jump Crypto, KuCoin Ventures, Delphi Labs and others. The fund will support developers building on the Cosmos network — specifically infrastructure solutions, trading platforms and proof-of-stake technology. Will crypto VC rebound strongly in 2023? Only time will tell.

Before you go: Why is crypto pumping?

Bitcoin’s price crawled back above $23,000 this week and appeared to have entered a higher range — raising cautious optimism that the bottom is in. But does anyone know why BTC and the broader crypto market are pumping? In this week’s Market Report, I sat down with fellow analysts Marcel Pechman and Joe Hall to discuss whether the current pump is sustainable. We also explored what could be in store for digital assets in the coming months. You can watch the full replay below:

Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse of the business behind blockchain and crypto, delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.

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