Putin calls for blockchain-based international payment system

The Russian President criticized Western's sanctions and urged for a system "independent of external interference".

Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized monopoly in global financial payment systems and called for an independent and blockchain-based settlement network on Nov 24, speaking at the International AI Journey Conference in Moscow. 

During the event organized by Sberbank, the largest Russian bank and a major lender to the government, he stated:

"The technology of digital currencies and blockchains can be used to create a new system of international settlements that will be much more convenient, absolutely safe for its users and, most importantly, will not depend on banks or interference by third countries. I am confident that something like this will certainly be created and will develop because nobody likes the dictate of monopolists, which is harming all parties, including the monopolists themselves."

Putin also noted that global payments and nations are at risk due to tense relations between Russia and the West following Ukraine's invasion, labeling sanctions imposed by countries as "illegitimate restrictions". 

"The existing system of international payments is expensive, the system of its correspondent accounts and regulation are controlled by a narrow club of states and financial groups.", noted the Russian president.

A day before, the local media reported that lawmakers have been in discussions for amendments to the existing cryptocurrency legislation, laying down a legal framework for a national exchange.

Another recent development, a bill was introduced into the Russian State Duma, the lower house of parliament, on Nov. 17 legalizing cryptocurrency mining and the sale of the cryptocurrency mined.

As reported by Cointelegraph, chairman of the Duma Financial Markets Committee Anatoly Aksakov believes the “passage of the law will bring this activity into the legal field, and make it possible to form a law enforcement practice on issues related to the issuance and circulation of digital currencies.” Currently, cryptocurrency cannot be used for settlements in Russia.

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New York's mayor seeks balance with regulators after PoW mining moratorium

Adams said New York is still focused on becoming a crypto hub, but statewide efforts to reduce emissions can be combined with this goal.

New York City mayor Eric Adams is still focused on making New York a crypto hub, but he believes that goal can be combined with statewide efforts to curb environmental costs related to crypto mining, according to reports on Nov 25. 

The comments follow the new law signed by New York governor Kathy Hochul, banning proof-of-work (PoW) mining activities for two years in the state. The mayor, known as a crypto proponent, said in June he would ask the governor to veto the bill.

With the bill signed into law, the city will work with legislators to find a balance between the crypto industry development and legislative needs, Adams told The NY Daily News:

“I’m going to work with the legislators who are in support and those who have concerns, and I believe we are going to come to a great meeting place.”

The PoW mining moratorium will not only prohibit new mining operations but also refuse the renewal of licenses to those who are already operating in the state, as reported by Cointelegraph. Any new PoW mining operation in the state could only operate if it uses 100% renewable energy.

Related: New York governor signs PoW mining moratorium into law

The United States leads Bitcoin mining hash rate share by country, with 37.8% of Bitcoin network hash rate coming from the country. PoW mining's two-year moratorium could prove costly and even set a domino effect for other states to follow.

“We must become a welcoming place for all technology. And crypto is part of the overall technology we’re looking at,” Adams said. “The question is: how do we make smart choices so that New York City — and America — is a leader in this new technology?”, stated Adams.

Following his election, the politician said on Twitter that he would take his first three paychecks in cryptocurrency and announced his intention to make NYC the "center of the cryptocurrency industry".

New York has some of the strictest crypto exchange rules in the United States. In June 2015, the state introduced the BitLicense regulatory regime, which has been criticized for being hostile to crypto. The BitLicense applies to crypto organizations involved in transferring, buying, selling, exchanging or issuing crypto.

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A US Senate hearing will discuss FTX, New York bans proof-of-work and FTX evaluates its assets: Hodler’s Digest, Nov. 20-26

Coming every Saturday, Hodlers Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

Top Stories This Week

Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev to stay detained until next years hearing

Amid an ongoing investigation into crypto mixer Tornado Cash, the products developer, Alexey Pertsev, will be subject to at least another three months of detainment, as per a court ruling this week. Earlier in 2022, United States authorities flagged Tornado Cash as a tool nefarious parties allegedly used to launder funds. Pertsev was detained for suspicions of foul play, although the situation has drawn controversy.

US Senate committee schedules FTX hearing for Dec. 1, CFTC head to testify

A U.S. senate hearing slated for Dec. 1 will aim to look into FTX and the events surrounding its downfall. Titled Why Congress Needs To Act: Lessons Learned From The FTX Collapse, the hearing will feature Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam, among other witnesses. According to recent documentation from FTXs Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, FTX Trading Ltd. owes a combined sum of more than $3 billion to its 50 largest creditors.

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American CryptoFed registration at risk as SEC alleges filing anomalies

American CryptoFed DAO is at risk of losing its registration as a legal entity after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dug up anomalies in the Form S-1 registration statement filed by the firm in September. According to the SEC, the form lacks vital information regarding American CryptoFed DAO, such as audited financial statements and details about its business and management. CryptoFed was the first decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to get legal recognition in the United States in July 2021.

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX begins strategic review of global assets

Defunct crypto exchange FTX launched a strategic review of its global assets as part of its recent bankruptcy filing, attempting to maximize recoverable value for stakeholders. The assets of 101 of 130 companies affiliated with FTX are also being reviewed. According to John J. Ray III, the new CEO of FTX, the affiliates are solvent and can be sold or restructured in order to reduce losses.

Amber Groups co-founder Tiantian Kullander passes away at 30

Tiantian TT Kullander, co-founder of Amber Group, unexpectedly passed away in his sleep on Nov. 23, per a statement released by the firm. He was 30 years old and leaves behind a wife and a son. Kullander also sat on the board of the esports company Fnatic and founded KeeperDAO. Previously in his career, he worked in structured credit trading at Goldman Sachs and as an emerging markets trader at Morgan Stanley.  

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $16,531, Ether (ETH) at $1,200 and XRP at $0.40. The total market cap is at $834.17 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Huobi Token (HT) at 43.84%, Curve DAO Token (CRV) at 23.52%, and Litecoin (LTC) at 19.45%.  

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Chiliz (CHZ) at -35.17%, Chain (XCN) at -21.83%, and Algorand (ALGO) at -16.09%.

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

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Toxic Twitter Tribalism: The Fuel Powering the Crypto Rocket?

Most Memorable Quotations

If you go to a person who is not crypto savvy and you try to convince him to invest, especially in Brazil the population has always been very skeptical of crypto. Now it’s harder.

Thiago Csar, CEO of Transfero Group

A general rule of thumb is if a company prints a token out of thin air and either sells it to retail, or relies on it as an asset, you should expect them to collapse eventually.

Samson Mow, CEO of JAN3

The NFT space is sure to stabilize and consolidate around the strongest communities, then we will see a second generation of smarter, more sustainable NFT models.

Oscar Franklin Tan, chief financial officer and chief legal officer for Enjin

If you see FUD out there – remember, our financials are public (we’re a public company).

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase

I was initially a crypto skeptic, but […] I have come to believe that crypto can enable the formation of useful businesses and technologies that heretofore could not be created.

Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management

The recent implosion of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, has made it abundantly clear the digital asset industry has serious problems.

Letter from U.S. Senators Richard Durbin, Tina Smith and Elizabeth Warren

Prediction of the Week 

Bitcoin price levels to watch as traders bet on sub-$14K BTC

Bitcoins price has largely struggled under $20,000 for much of November, according to Cointelegraphs BTC price index.  

Pseudonymous Twitter user The London Crypto sees possible further downward price action for BTC based on history. BTC has made a 77% correction in this bear market, compared to 84% in 2013 and 83% in 2017, he tweeted on Nov. 21 with an accompanying chart.

Studying our previous cycles high vs lows, we can estimate the low for this bear to be the $10k-$12k range, followed by a high of $175k in 2024-2025.

FUD of the Week 

HashFlare founders arrested in astounding $575M crypto fraud scheme

Recently publicized court documentation revealed the arrest of Ivan Turgin and Sergei Potapenko, founders of HashFlare an allegedly fraudulent Bitcoin cloud mining operation. Started in 2015, HashFlare posed itself as a Bitcoin cloud mining company, but on the backend, its founders allegedly conducted multiple criminal acts, including numerous instances of wire fraud. HashFlare has seemingly not been active since 2019.

New York governor signs PoW mining moratorium into law

After passing multiple stages of approval in 2022, a two-year ban on proof-of-work (PoW) mining has been signed into law by New Yorks governor, Kathy Hochul. The moratorium means new PoW mining operations cannot open in the state unless they utilize 100% renewable energy. Current PoW mining outfits in New York also will not be granted license renewal during the two-year ban.

American regulators to investigate Genesis and other crypto firms

Genesis Global Capital’s saga saw another chapter on Nov. 25, after the Alabama Securities Commission disclosed an ongoing investigation against the company and several other crypto firms in different U.S. states to determine whether they influenced investors on crypto-related securities without obtaining proper registration. Genesis has been in the spotlight since it revealed around $175 million worth of its funds are stuck in an FTX trading account. The company hired restructuring advisers to explore all possible options to avoid potential bankruptcy amid difficulties raising funds for its lending unit.

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Election tally: Does blockchain beat the ballot box?

With election integrity under assault in the United States and elsewhere, is blockchain technology part of the solution? Greenland explores voting options.

My story of telling the SEC I told you so on FTX

I asked the SEC to take public comments on issues related to cryptocurrency custodians and intermediary conflicts. The SEC declined to take my advice, and FTX fell apart soon after.

House on a hill: Top countries to buy real estate with crypto

More countries are beginning to allow real estate purchases using crypto, here are some of the top destinations.

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Alameda Research withdrew $204M ahead of bankruptcy filing - Arkham Intelligence

According to analysis from blockchain firm Arkham Intelligence, over 50% of the funds transferred after Nov. 6 were in US pegged stablecoins.

Alameda Research withdrew over $200 million from FTX.US before it filed for bankruptcy, according to analysis from blockchain firm Arkham Intelligence disclosed on Nov. 25. 

In a Twitter thread, Arkham revealed that Alameda Research, FTX's sister company, pulled $204 million from eight different addresses of FTX US in a variety of crypto assets, the majority of them stablecoins, in the final days before the collapse.

Arkham analysed flows from FTX US in the final few days before the collapse, finding that Alameda withdrew the most funds, at $204M.

Below is a diagram of withdrawals to Arkham-identified entities from FTX US.

n.b. this thread regards FTX US assets only, not FTX International. pic.twitter.com/QFPVlVIWhO

— Arkham | Crypto Intelligence (@ArkhamIntel) November 25, 2022

Among the withdrawn funds, $116 million, or 57.1%, were in stablecoins pegged to the US dollar, including USDT, USDC, BUSD, and TUSD. Arkham's analysis also showed that $49.49 million (24.2%) of the funds was in Ether (ETH), and $38.06 million, or 18.7%, was in wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC). 

"The withdrawn wBTC was sent to the Alameda WBTC Merchant wallet, and then bridged in its entirety to the BTC Blockchain.", said Arkham, adding that of the $204 million transferred, $142.4 million, or 69%, was sent to wallets owned by FTX International, "suggesting that Alameda may have been operating to bridge between the two entities."

Of the Ether transferred, $35.52 million was sent to FTX and $13.87 million was sent to a large active trading wallet. The firm noted that it's "unknown whether the almost 14M in ETH was sent to 0xa20 as part of a trade, or as an internal fund transfer within Alameda."

Another $10.4 million was sent to the rival cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

In the initial bankruptcy filing to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, FTX new CEO John Ray III described the situation as the worst he had seen in his corporate career, highlighting the “complete failure of corporate controls” and an absence of trustworthy financial information.

About 130 companies in the FTX Group - including FTX Trading, FTX US, under West Realm Shires Services, and Alameda Research - filed for bankruptcy in the United States on Nov. 11, following a "liquidity crunch" after a series of tweets triggered a sell-off of FTX Token.

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How low can the Bitcoin price go?

Bitcoin is a "buy the dip" opportunity with the BTC price at $16,000 or a bear market capitulation waiting to happen, depending on who you ask.

Bitcoin (BTC) has spent over a year in a downtrend since its $69,000 all-time highs in November 2021.

BTC price performance has given investors up to 77% losses, but how much lower can BTC/USD really go?

Bitcoin traders and analysts have long agreed that 2022 is the year of the largest cryptocurrency’s newest bear market.

After coming off all-time highs to start the year at around $46,000, BTC/USD has offered little relief and has since returned to levels not seen since November 2020, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirms.

That has placed the pair in historical bear market bottom territory — having lost a maximum of around 77% since the most recent peak, Bitcoin could have little room left to fall.

This time, however, may be different. Cointelegraph takes a look at what some of the most popular crypto market commentators think when it comes to where Bitcoin will bottom.

CryptoBullet: “Comfortable buying” around $16,000

One well-known social media personality is sticking by a theory from earlier in 2022 — and it’s all about one particular on-chain metric.

For CryptoBullet, Cumulative Value Days Destroyed (CVDD) still offers a key insight into macro BTC price bottoms.

CVDD essentially counts how much “hodled” days a coin has accumulated when it moves to a new wallet. It is expressed as a ratio to the overall age of the market, divided by 6 million, which analytics resource Woobull explains is a “calibration factor.”

Looking back in time, CVDD has acted as a significant line in the sand, and if this time is no different, BTC/USD could already be giving buyers the best possible profit opportunity.

According to Woobull, CVDD currently lies at around $15,900.

“I feel comfortable buying Bitcoin here at CVDD,” CryptoBullet told Twitter followers on Nov. 26.

“Can it go lower? Of course it can. If another crypto company goes bankrupt or something like that $BTC will fall below CVDD, but not by much. The bulk of the downtrend is over.”

Bitcoin Cumulative Value Days Destroyed (CVDD) annotated chart. Source: CryptoBullet/ Twitter

Filbfilb: $6,500 as “worst case scenario”

An old hand in the crypto market is constantly reevaluating just how bad the bears may bite this time around.

Filbfilb, co-founder of trading suite Decentrader, recently told Cointelegraph that BTC/USD could see $10,000 around the new year if macro conditions worsen.

That was before the FTX debacle, however, and the resulting fuel added to the bear market fire has caused him to reconsider.

In a livestream together with fellow co-founder, Philip Swift, Filbfilb thus outlined areas of strong bid support as potential bottoms.

These vary, however — a large “ladder” of bids lies just below spot price and focuses on $12,000-$14,000. At the same time, ultimate support could come as low as $6,000.

Filbfilb additionally noted that a black swan event such as further crypto bankruptcies could trigger a spike through the upper support field, opening up the potential for $10,000 or lower next.

A trip to the $6,000 zone, however, is “unlikely” under current circumstances, he advised.

BTC/USD 1-week candle chart (Bitstamp) with liquidity heatmap data. Source: TradingView

Many eyes on the $14,000 prize

Filbfilb’s upper band of bid support on exchange order books is a popular target for an increasing number of commentators.

Related: Will Bitcoin hit $110K in 2023? 3 reasons to be bullish on BTC now

As Cointelegraph reported, $14,000 is now a significant spot on the radar, and entries around there are already being planned.

That area would also bring BTC/USD losses versus all-time highs in line with those of previous bear markets.

BTC/USD drawdown vs. all-time highs chart. Source: Glassnode

Not only that, but $13,900 forms a significant support line on weekly timeframes, trader and analyst Rekt Capital notes, one which has remained untested since the second half of 2020.

BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Rekt Capital/ Twitter

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

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DeFi sparks new investments despite turbulent market: Finance Redefined

The last week of November remained turbulent for the crypto market as majority of the DeFi tokens struggled with the market volatility.

Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you significant developments over the last week.

The prolonged crypto winter aided by the collapse of FTX has kept investors from backing a new protocol that merges DeFi and the foreign exchange market. A new Cosmos blockchain-based DeFi protocol has caught the eyes of investors who have put $10 million behind the project.

Cardano-based leading stablecoin ecosystem Ardana abruptly stopped its development after several launch delays. However, the project remains open-source for others to add to it until they restart the development process.

Aave community has now proposed a governance change after a failed $60 million short attack. The short attack was later traced to the Mango Markets exploiter, as one of the wallets involved in the attack belonged to the same exploiter.

The crypto market remained turbulent throughout the week and the majority of the top 100 DeFi tokens traded in red, barring a few.

DeFi protocol raises $10M from Bitfinex, Ava Labs despite turbulent market

Onomy, a Cosmos blockchain-based ecosystem, just secured millions from investors for the development of its new protocol. The project merges DeFi and the foreign exchange market to bring the latter on-chain.

According to the developers, the latest funding round garnered $10 million from big industry players such as Bitfinex, Ava Labs, the Maker Foundation and CMS Holdings, among others.

Continue reading

Leading Cardano stablecoin project shuts down after excruciating launch delays

On Nov. 24, Ardana, a leading DeFi and stablecoin ecosystem building on Cardano, abruptly halted development, citing “funding and project timeline uncertainty.” The project will remain open-source for builders while treasury balances and remaining funds will be held by Ardana Labs “until another competent dev team in the community comes forward to continue our work.”

The move came as a shock to many due to the sudden nature of the announcement. However, it appears that issues were already present for some time. Beginning July 4, Ardana has held an ongoing initial stake pool offering, or ISPO, to fund its operations. Unlike traditional fundraising mechanisms, developers do not receive the Cardano (ADA) delegated by users but instead the staking rewards.

Continue reading

Aave proposes governance changes after failed $60M short attack

On Nov. 23, one day after Mango Markets’ exploiter Avraham Eisenberg attempted to use a series of sophisticated short sales to exploit decentralized finance protocol Aave, project contributors put forth a series of proposals to deal with the aftermath. As told by protocol engineering developer Llama and financial modeling platform Gauntlet, both of whom are deployed on Aave.

Llama wrote that the user had been liquidated but at the cost of $1.6 million in bad debt, likely due to slippage. “This excess debt is isolated only to the CRV market,” the firm wrote. “While this is a small amount relative to the total debt of Aave, and well within the limits of Aave's Safety Module, it is best practice to recapitalize the system to make whole the CRV market.”

Continue reading

Crypto awakening: Researcher explains ETH exodus from exchanges

Nansen research analyst Sandra Leow posted a thread on Twitter unpacking the current state of DeFi with a specific focus on the movement of Ether (ETH) and stablecoins from exchanges.

As it stands, the Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract contains over 15 million ETH, while some 4 million Wrapped Ether (wETH) is held in the wETH deposit contract. Web3 infrastructure development and investment firm Jump Trading holds over 2 million ETH tokens and is the third largest holder of ETH in the ecosystem.

Continue reading

DeFi market overview

Analytical data reveals that DeFi’s total value locked plunged below $40 billion. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView show that DeFi’s top 100 tokens by market capitalization had a volatile bearish week due to the FTX saga, with the majority of the tokens bleeding throughout the week.

Curve DAO Token (CRV) was the biggest gainer among the top 100 DeFi tokens, registering a surge of 23.8% over the past week, followed by Chainlink (LINK) with an 8% surge. The rest of the tokens in the top 100 traded in red on the weekly charts.

Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education in this dynamically advancing space.

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$15.5K retest is more likely, according to Bitcoin futures and options

Bybit launching a $100 million fund and Binance’s proof of reserves might have marked the cycle low at $15,500.

Bitcoin (BTC) has been trading near $16,500 since Nov. 23, recovering from a dip to $15,500 as investors feared the imminent insolvency of Genesis Global, a cryptocurrency lending and trending company. Genesis stated on Nov. 16 that it would “temporarily suspend redemptions and new loan originations in the lending business.” 

After causing initial mayhem in the markets, the firm refuted speculation of “imminent” bankruptcy on Nov. 22, although it confirmed difficulties in raising money. More importantly, Genesis' parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) owns Grayscale — the asset manager behind Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which holds some 633,360 BTC.

Contagion risks from the FTX-Alameda Research implosion continue to exert negative pressure on the markets, but the industry is working to improve transparency and insolvency risks. For example, on Nov. 24, crypto derivatives exchange Bybit launched a $100 million fund to help market makers and high-frequency trading institutions struggling with financial or operational difficulties.

More recently, on Nov. 25, Binance published a Merkle Tree-backed proof of funds for its Bitcoin deposits. Moreover, the exchange outlined how users can use the mechanism to verify their holdings. There’s no doubt that centralized institutions must embrace transparency and insurance mechanisms to regain investors’ trust.

First, however, one must analyze Bitcoin derivatives markets to fully understand how professional traders are digesting such news.

Futures market discount improved slightly but remains far from bullish

Fixed-month futures contracts usually trade at a slight premium to regular spot markets because sellers demand more money to withhold settlement for longer. Technically known as contango, this situation is not exclusive to crypto assets.

In healthy markets, futures should trade at a 4% to 8% annualized premium, which is enough to compensate for the risks plus the cost of capital. The opposite, when the demand for bearish bets is exceptionally high, causes a discount on futures markets — known as backwardation.

Bitcoin 2-month futures annualized premium. Source: Laevitas.ch

Considering the data above, it becomes evident that derivatives traders flipped bearish on Nov. 9, as the Bitcoin futures premium flipped negative. Yet, according to futures markets, the $15,500 dip on Nov. 21 was not enough to instill additional demand for leveraged short positions.

Option markets confirm the bearishness

Traders should analyze options markets to understand whether Bitcoin will likely retest the $15,500 support. The 25% delta skew is a telling sign whenever arbitrage desks and market makers are overcharging for upside or downside protection.

The indicator compares similar call (buy) and put (sell) options and will turn positive when fear is prevalent because the protective put options premium is higher than risk call options.

In a nutshell, the skew metric will move above 10% if traders fear a Bitcoin price crash. On the other hand, generalized excitement reflects a negative 10% skew.

Bitcoin 60-day options 25% delta skew: Source: Laevitas

As displayed above, the 25% delta skew has been above the 10% threshold since Nov. 9, indicating options traders are pricing a higher risk of unexpected price dumps. Currently at 18%, it signals investors are fearful and reflects a lack of interest in offering downside protection.

Related: How bad is the current state of crypto? On-chain analyst explains

A surprise pump will likely cause more impact

Considering that both Bitcoin futures and options markets are currently pricing higher odds of a downside, there is no reason to believe that an eventual retest of the $15,500 bottom would cause massive liquidations.

Furthermore, the slight reduction in the futures discount shows bears lack the confidence to open leverage shorts at current price levels. Even though Bitcoin derivatives data remains bearish, the surprise of an eventual bull run to $18,000 is likely to cause more havoc. But, for now, bears remain in control according to BTC futures and options data.

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

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