Ripple has contributed $25 million to the Fairshake super PAC, aligning with an industry-wide effort to advocate for pro-crypto policies and politicians.

Ripple’s decision to boost Fairshake’s efforts comes amid its own ongoing legal battle with regulatory bodies like the SEC. The agency’s lawsuit prompted the company to take a more proactive stance in advocating for fair and balanced regulation within the industry.

Ripple Advancing Pro-Crypto Agenda

In a press release, Ripple stated that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s strategy of attempting to regulate the cryptocurrency industry through enforcement has proven ineffective.

While Congress is presently progressing with comprehensive legislation for the sector to ensure a bright future for American innovation, competitiveness, and expansion, the United States lags behind other nations that have embraced the asset class and its underlying technology.

Ripple highlighted the critical importance of the 2024 elections for the industry, emphasizing the choice between candidates supporting or hindering technological innovation. It also highlighted the need for leaders who understand and promote policies fostering innovation, consumer protection, and market fairness.

While speaking about the contributing Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said,

“Our contributions to Fairshake are just one of the many ways Ripple will actively invest in educating voters on the role crypto will play in the future and the dangers of the anti-crypto stance some policymakers are clinging to in Washington.”

The exec also added that the company as well as the rest of the industry should refuse to remain silent in the face of unelected regulators’ attempts to stifle progress and economic advancement, which millions of Americans benefit from.

The development comes almost six months after Ripple gave $20 million to Fairshake, which has already used $11.3 million for federal elections. This increase in contributions marks a significant rise in the company’s political activity. According to FEC records, the San Francisco-based company had only donated $500,000 during the 2022 election cycle.

Ripple’s contributions make up nearly half of the $100 million-plus raised by Fairshake from major figures in the cryptocurrency sector, including industry giants like Coinbase and Gemini exchanges, venture capital leader Andreessen Horowitz, and asset management powerhouse ARK Invest.

Ripple-SEC: Legal Showdown

Ripple has been engaged in a prolonged legal dispute with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for several years, following accusations by the regulatory watchdog that the company unlawfully raised $1.3 billion through the sale of XRP, which it deemed an unregistered security.

The SEC recently filed a remedies brief contesting Ripple’s stance on penalties in their ongoing legal dispute. It essentially seeks fines against Ripple despite Judge Torres’ ruling that XRP is not a security in programmatic sales. The blockchain company, on the other hand, argued that fines should not surpass $10 million, citing a lack of fraudulent intent. Both parties await a final ruling.

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85-year-old former attorney David Kagel has admitted guilt in a conspiracy to operate a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, defrauding victims of over $9.5 million.

Once a legal authority figure in Beverly Hills, California, Kagel now faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for his involvement in the Ponzi scheme.

Crypto Ponzi Scheme

Kagel stood accused of collaborating with co-conspirators to lure victims into a fake crypto investment scheme promising investors high-yield profits. Court documents reveal that the Ponzi scheme involved false guarantees and assurances, including claims that artificial intelligence trading bots were used to manage investments in cryptocurrency markets.

The promoter of the Ponzi scheme deceitfully assured victims that David Kagel, acting as the promoter’s attorney, was holding Bitcoin worth roughly $11 million in escrow. This was presented as a guarantee to protect victims’ investments from potential losses. Kagel also provided letters on his law firm’s letterhead to confirm the legitimacy of the investment programs falsely.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri stated that Kagel had exploited his attorney status to gain investors’ confidence and endorse false assertions regarding a cryptocurrency investment, which was a scam. She emphasized the severe consequences of lawyers lending legitimacy to fraudulent schemes, leading to significant losses for victims.

“Kagel preyed on trusting individuals through a complex scheme to separate people from their hard-earned money,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher.

Kagel Faces Upto 5 Years in Prison

Kagel’s guilty plea marks a significant development in the ongoing investigation. His sentencing is scheduled for September 10. Pending a decision by a federal district court judge, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Kagel has also since admitted that he and his co-conspirators used victims’ funds for personal gain. Meanwhile, the legal drama continues, with David Gilbert Saffron of Australia and Vincent Anthony Mazzotta Jr. of Los Angeles awaiting their August 13 trial for their alleged roles in the same crypto Ponzi scheme.

It is alleged that Saffron and Mazzotta promoted investment programs using aliases such as Circle Society, Bitcoin Wealth Management, Omicron Trust, Mind Capital, and Cloud9Capital.

Instead of investing the victims’ funds into cryptocurrency as promised, they are accused of diverting them for personal expenditures. These expenses reportedly include private chartered jet flights, luxury hotel stays, rental of private mansions, hiring a personal chef, and engaging private security guards.

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Geopolitical tensions and inflation have prompted an increasing number of American voters to turn to Bitcoin, according to a recent Harris Poll survey of likely U.S. voters.

Funded by Bitcoin ETF issuer Grayscale, the survey reveals that one in three U.S. voters will consider a political candidate’s stance on cryptocurrencies before deciding how to vote.

Surge in Voter Interest in Crypto

The poll included responses from over 1,700 likely U.S. voters. It revealed that 77% believe U.S. presidential candidates should at least have an “informed perspective” on cryptocurrencies.

NEW POLL: With US elections on the horizon, American voters’ feelings about #crypto are coming into focus. Here are some of the findings from @HarrisPoll’s latest longitudinal survey on behalf of @Grayscale. 1/5

Read the full report: https://t.co/d3mMEASVh9 pic.twitter.com/YrAf0LCBs2

— Grayscale (@Grayscale) May 28, 2024

The survey found that 41% of likely voters are paying closer attention to Bitcoin and other crypto assets due to geopolitical tensions, inflation, and a weakening U.S. dollar, an increase from 34% in November 2023.

Furthermore, 47% of respondents expect to include crypto in their investment portfolios, up from 40% the previous year. Inflation remains the top issue for voters (28%), increasing the appeal of assets like Bitcoin, which has a transparent and hard-capped supply.

Events such as the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF approval in January 2024 and the halving in April 2024 have heightened voter interest in investing in BTC and other crypto assets, with 18% and 20% of voters, respectively, indicating increased interest.

Notably, 9% of retiree voters reported a greater interest in investing in Bitcoin or crypto assets following the ETF approval.

Voters are Calling for Clear Crypto Regulation

Grayscale highlighted BTC’s strong performance in 2024, with its price reaching a new all-time high on March 13. This sparked speculation that the upcoming election could be dubbed “the Bitcoin Election.” The attention is not limited to BTC alone; it extends to a broader range of crypto assets. Nearly a third of voters (32%) reported being more open to learning about or investing in crypto since the beginning of the year.

The survey also revealed that voters increasingly view crypto as a good long-term investment opportunity, with 23% endorsing this view compared to 19% in November 2023. Clearer regulations could further boost crypto’s appeal among voters. The survey found that 52% of voters would be more likely to invest in crypto with clearer policies, up from 48% in November 2023.

A significant majority (79%) agreed that political leaders should work towards creating frameworks and rules that enable financial inclusion and investor protection.

Presidential candidate Donald Trump has recently taken a pro-crypto stance. Reports indicate he asked David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine and a crypto aide to the Trump campaign, if Bitcoin could be leveraged to solve the U.S. national debt problem.

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The onboarding of new Bitcoin users and the creation of new use cases for the leading digital network continue to emphasize the need to build scaling solutions on the blockchain.

A new research report by crypto exchange Binance, The Future of Bitcoin, outlines reasons why the crypto network needs strong scaling solutions.

Why Bitcoin Needs Scaling Solutions

In December 2022, Casey Rodarmor launched the Ordinals protocol, which led to the creation of inscriptions and triggered the Bitcoin non-fungible token (NFT) hype cycle in 2023. The introduction of inscriptions increased the demand for Bitcoin blockspace.

Following Ordinals was the creation of the Bitcoin fungible token standard, BRC-20, and subsequently, the Runes protocol, launched on the last halving day.

Launching these new protocols has attracted a new group of users, traders, builders, and even degens with a solid interest in Bitcoin. They have also triggered substantial effects on its key metrics. Crypto entities are funding and developing Bitcoin projects at a rate not seen for some time. Interestingly, some builders have begun to transition from alternative layer-1 chains to Bitcoin.

Besides these protocols, numerous new Bitcoin projects are currently being worked on while others have been launched. They range from various activities, with some focused on creating money markets or introducing staking and restaking on the Bitcoin network. Although these innovations signal the community’s confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term potential, they have led to a more congested mempool and higher transaction fees.

Preparing for Global Mass Adoption

Between 2022 and 2023, the average Bitcoin transaction fee rose 175% from $1.5 to $4.2. So far, in 2024, the fee has increased further to $9. Binance said this highlights the importance of Bitcoin scalability solutions, which can help move some transactions from the layer-1 to layer-2 networks.

The crypto community is focused on enhancing Bitcoin adoption, but users could face high transaction fees in the next few years. In 2023, the Bitcoin network processed 152 million transactions; this figure has the tendency to increase to 1.6 billion if 2% of the world’s population were to make ten Bitcoin transactions per year.

“If true global mass adoption really is the goal for Bitcoin, then it should be clear that at least a few Bitcoin scalability solutions would be necessary,” Binance insisted.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin scaling solutions like Lightning network, RGB, Stacks, BounceBit, and Merlin already exist.

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According to blockchain security firm CertiK, the cryptocurrency sector lost $42.6 million in May to exploits, flash loans, and exit scams.

Despite these setbacks, approximately $96.2 million was recovered, offering some relief from the economic impact.

Flash Loan Attacks Dominate Blockchain Losses

Flash loan attacks caused the largest losses in the crypto sector, totaling approximately $20.7 million. Sonne Finance suffered the most, losing $20 million, followed by TLN Protocol, which lost $746,000. GPU and Saturn Token also faced losses totaling $32,394 and $8,343, respectively.

#CertiKStatsAlert

Combining all the incidents in May we’ve confirmed ~$42.6m lost to exploits, hacks and scams after $96.2m was returned.

The losses are ~$1m above April’s low of ~$41.6m.

Exit scams: ~$1.8m Flash loans: ~$20.7m Exploits: ~$19.7m

More details below pic.twitter.com/lc77OcrmcZ

— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) May 31, 2024

Exploits also significantly impacted the sector, accounting for approximately $19.7 million in losses. Gala Games suffered the most substantial loss at $21.6 million, followed by AlexLab at $4.3 million, Pump Fun at $1.9 million, GNUS.ai at $1.28 million, and Orion at $947,000.

While less common, exit scams still contributed around $1.8 million to the losses. Among these, Trees On Sol lost $1.11 million, Pii Park $490,000, Novamind $123,019, and Arbalest $91,520.

Interestingly, flash loan attacks have consistently led to significant losses in odd-numbered months throughout the year. January, March, and May saw losses of $15.3 million, $21.9 million, and $20.7 million, respectively. In contrast, losses in February and April were less than $150,000 each.

Meanwhile, February experienced the most severe loss overall due to exit scams, totaling $58.3 million, with less than 10% of this total recorded in other months.

Crypto Hacks and Rug Pulls Persist

In the year-to-date of 2024, security service provider Immunefi reports that over $473 million worth of cryptocurrency has been lost to hacks and rug pulls across 108 incidents.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) market remains the primary target for hackers, while centralized finance companies did not experience any attacks in 2024. Last year, over $2 billion was lost to hacks and exploits, about half the total from the previous year.

In May 2024, Ethereum and BNB Chain were the most targeted chains, collectively representing 62% of the total losses across targeted chains.

Crypto hacks and exploits are still a continuing problem. Just recently, due to a hack, DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, reported losing 48 billion yen ($305 million) of Bitcoin (BTC). In a blog post, DMM Bitcoin stated that 4,502.9 BTC “leaked” out of the exchange.

The post Here’s How Much Crypto Was Lost in May Due to Hacks: CertiK appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Two cybersecurity researchers have helped an anonymous crypto user recover 43.6 bitcoins (BTC) he lost 11 years ago after he lost access to the wallet holding the assets.

According to a YouTube video detailing the incident, researcher Joe Grand and his friend Bruno hacked time to reverse engineer the password generator used to create the password for the wallet holding the BTC. Although the process was rigorous, it helped them regain access to the wallet and recover the lost coins.

Regaining Access to 11-year-old Wallet

The anonymous crypto user, dubbed Michael, told Grand and Bruno that he set up the wallet sometime in 2013 and used RoboForm to generate its unique password. However, for security reasons, he decided to store the password in an encrypted file instead of on RoboForm.

“At [that] time, I was really paranoid with my security,” Michael stated, disclosing that the stash was worth around $5,300 at the time. Unfortunately, the encrypted file containing Michael’s password got corrupted at some point, and he lost access to the wallet.

Michael first contacted Grand in 2022, but he turned him down. The bitcoin owner persisted and tried again in June 2023. This time, he got Grand’s attention, and they began the process of retrieving the assets.

Grand and Bruno discovered that RoboForm had a vulnerability in its random number generator, which connected each generated password to a date and time it was created on a user’s computer. Although the bug was fixed in 2015, the duo reasoned that it must have affected every password created before then.

HODLing Till BTC Hits $100K

Michael was tasked with remembering the date he created the password, and while the feat seemed difficult, the researchers learned that he moved the bitcoins into his wallet on April 13, 2013. They used time parameters and continued testing hundreds of passwords until they discovered the correct one, created on May 15, 2013.

Upon discovering the correct password, they accessed the wallet and retrieved the bitcoins. Michael gave a portion of the stash to Grand and Bruno when BTC hovered around $38,000, and when the asset climbed to $62,000, he sold some for himself. He is currently left with 30 BTC worth roughly $2 million, and he intends to hold them till the asset is worth $100,000.

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TL;DR

Shiba Inu (SHIB) saw a price surge earlier this year but has since lost some of its momentum. ChatGPT sees low chances of reaching the top 5 cryptocurrencies despite further growth from Shibarium and a strong community.

Dogecoin (DOGE), backed by Elon Musk and Tesla, has better prospects for entering the elite club, driven by potential celebrity endorsements and market optimism.

Is That a Mission Impossible?

The popular meme coin experienced an impressive revival earlier this year, with its price tapping a two-year high in March. Back then, its market capitalization surged above $25 billion. Despite heading south in the following months, the asset remains one of the hottest topics across the community and one of the 15 biggest cryptocurrencies.

As such, we decided to ask ChatGPT whether it can witness another substantial rally in the following months and whether it can enter the top 5 club before the end of 2024.

The AI-powered chatbot said the chances are relatively low considering the current market dynamics. However, it claimed that SHIB has shown significant progress as of late, suggesting that further advancement of the layer-2 scaling solution—Shibarium—and other developments related to Shiba Inu’s ecosystem can help achieve that goal.

ChatGPT also noted the meme coin’s devoted community, assuming that its potential growth could be beneficial for a price rally. A recent study revealed that Shiba Inu has the strongest community base among all meme coins, with Dogecoin (DOGE) occupying the second spot. 

Last but not least, the chatbot maintained that favorable regulatory developments and endorsements from prominent figures might fuel additional adoption and price surge.

“Overall, while Shiba Inu has opportunities for growth and can achieve significant milestones, becoming a top 5 cryptocurrency would require extraordinary gains and favorable conditions. This remains an ambitious and challenging goal given the current market landscape and competition,” Chat GPT concluded.

Currently, Solana is the fifth-largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of over $77 billion, meaning a gap of over $60 billion between SOL and SHIB.

What About Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin is the biggest meme coin, and according to ChatGPT, it has better chances to join crypto’s top 5 club this year. The chatbot assumed that the asset’s market cap could head north following possible support from celebrities. 

Recall that DOGE is the favorite cryptocurrency of Tesla’s CEO – Elon Musk. One of the wealthiest people often praises its merits, whereas the EV giant recently integrated the token as a payment option on its website.

In addition, ChatGPT noted that many industry participants are quite bullish on DOGE, expecting its price to soar in the following months. The popular X user Ali Martinez argued that the asset faces “significant resistance” between $0.166 and $0.171, where 75,000 addresses have accumulated approximately 10 billion coins. 

“However, once this barrier is overcome, DOGE has the potential to double, with the next key resistance around $0.322,” he predicted.

As of the moment, DOGE has a market capitalization of more than $23 billion, making it the ninth-biggest in the crypto industry. 

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As it happened during the past few weekends, bitcoin’s price actions have calmed, and the asset sits at just under $68,000.

The altcoins are also quite sluggish on a daily scale, but the weekly landscape has produced some mind-blowing gains.

BTC Stops Below $68K

Bitcoin had a strong start to the current week as it exploded from under $69,000 to over $70,500 in hours on Monday. As the bulls were preparing for another run, perhaps even challenging the all-time high of $73,800, the asset’s trajectory reversed, and it started losing value rapidly.

By Tuesday, the cryptocurrency had slumped by more than three grand and was close to breaking below $67,000. The volatile price rides kept coming in the following days, including a few attempts to take down $70,000 and a couple of drops to under $67,000.

The end of the business week was a lot less eventful, and BTC calmed at around $68,000. The weekend has been particularly sluggish as the primary digital asset has failed to make a single big move in either direction and now stands inches below that level.

Its market capitalization stands still at $1.330 trillion, while its dominance over the alts is at 50%.

Bitcoin/Price/Chart 02.06.2024. Source: TradingView NOT’s Week

Most altcoins have mimicked BTC’s performance on a daily basis, meaning that they have failed to produce any significant moves. As such, we will focus on the weekly performances.

The landscape is quite painful for some larger-cap alts like Uniswap, which has slumped by more than 12% within this timeframe. Dogecoin is down by 7% and has slipped below $0.16. More losses come from the likes of BCH, NEAR, ARB, IMX, and XRO.

In contrast, ETH is with minor weekly gains, mimicked by TON and SHIB. LINK and WIF have jumped the most in the past seven days.

The biggest gainers from the top 100 alts are NOT (270%), BRETT (61%), JASMY (50%), TIA (22%), and BGB (21%).

The total crypto market cap has shed about $40 billion since last Sunday and is at $2.660 trillion on CG now.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto

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TL;DR

The SEC’s approval of ETH ETFs has increased volatility, with analysts predicting potential rallies and significant future growth.

Positive on-chain metrics, like rising TVL and negative exchange netflow, indicate a possible bull run for Ethereum.

ETH’s Next Possible Step

Ethereum made the headlines last week after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially greenlighted the launch of ETH ETFs in the world’s largest economy. The approval happened on May 24, and somewhat expectedly, it caused enhanced volatility for the asset.

Its price passed through severe ups and downs in the range of $3,650-$3,950 before settling to its current level of around $3,800 (per CoinGecko’s data). 

The X user Jelle argued that ETH is consolidating above “the key support area” of approximately $3,750, expecting “the market to chop around this area for a while, at least until Monday.” The analyst advised investors not to “fall for the boredom stakeout,” predicting a rally above the $4,500 mark in the following months.

Yoddha and Satoshi Flipper were also optimistic. The former claimed that ETH’s bull cycle is about to begin and could fuel a price explosion of as high as $20,000.

Satoshi Flipper envisioned a bright future for Ethereum based on the assumption that major world banks and financial institutions will enter its ecosystem after the SEC gave the thumbs up on the aforementioned ETFs. 

Recall that one of Singapore’s largest banks—DBS Bank—was recently revealed as a crypto whale, holding 173,753 ETH. Currently, the stash is valued at almost $670 million. 

Taking a Closer Look at On-Chain Metrics

ETH’s price has soared substantially in the past year, marking a jump of over 100%. The positive trend coincides with the rise of essential metrics surrounding the ecosystem.

ETH Price, Source: CoinGecko

According to DefiLlama, the total value locked on Ethereum has risen impressively since October 2023 and currently stands at almost $65 billion. TVL is a key indicator that refers to the total value of assets currently being staked, lent, borrowed, or otherwise utilized within decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols on the Ethereum blockchain.

Its increase suggests that more capital is flowing into the ecosystem, which could, in turn, reflect positive market sentiment. 

Another bullish metric is the Ethereum exchange netflow, which has been predominantly negative in the last seven days. Some may consider the shift from centralized platforms to self-custody methods as bullish for ETH’s valuation since it reduces the immediate selling pressure.

ETH Netflow, Source: CryptoQuant

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In a high-profile case involving a massive cryptocurrency fraud, a British-Chinese woman, Jian Wen, has been sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for her role in laundering Bitcoin proceeds from a $6 billion investment scam in China.

Wen, aged 42, was found guilty in March of laundering Bitcoin on behalf of her former boss, Yadi Zhang, whose real name is Zhimin Qian.

According to a recent report, Qian is alleged to have defrauded around 130,000 investors in China, amassing a whopping $5 billion through an investment scam.

While Wen was not accused of direct involvement in the fraud itself, she was convicted of laundering the proceeds by converting the Bitcoin into cash and using the funds to purchase property, jewelry, and other luxury items.

In 2018, UK police seized over $2.2 billion worth of bitcoin related to the alleged fraud in a significant operation.

During the trial, Wen’s lawyer claimed that she had been “duped and used” by her boss, asserting that she was unaware of the criminal origins of the BTC she was handling.

However, the judge in Southwark Crown Court rejected these and stated directly that the evidence shows Wen had full knowledge she was laundering criminal proceeds.

The judge also highlighted the complex and premeditated nature of Wen’s money laundering operation.

With criminal entities increasingly using cryptocurrencies to disguise and transfer illicit assets, UK authorities have vowed to crack down on such activities, with the lead investigator stating that they will “leave no stone unturned” to catch criminals exploiting cryptocurrencies for illegal purposes.

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Mastercard has launched its Mastercard Crypto Credential, facilitating the first peer-to-peer (p2p) pilot transactions that simplify and secure blockchain transfers.

The latest offering will enable users on the Bit2Me, Lirium, and Mercado Bitcoin exchanges to send and receive cryptocurrency using easy-to-remember aliases instead of cumbersome blockchain addresses. This new capability is designed to enhance transaction simplicity and security, promoting broader crypto adoption.

Mastercard’s P2P Crypto Transactions Debut

According to the official press release, Mastercard Crypto Credential currently connects Latin American and European corridors, aligning with Mastercard’s expansion into the digital asset ecosystem and integrating financial solutions. New partnerships are also being forged to further extend the ecosystem’s reach and capabilities.

Users across Peru, Chile, Portugal, Argentina, Guatemala, Panama, Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay, Spain, France, Switzerland, and Uruguay will be able to conduct both cross-border and domestic transfers across various currencies and blockchains. Foxbit has become the newest crypto wallet provider to join the Mastercard Crypto Credential pilot program, thereby reaching a broader audience. Additionally, Lulubit users will gain access through its integration with Lirium.

Mastercard asserted that the rollout of p2p transactions marks the first use case for Mastercard Crypto Credential, with potential future expansions into NFTs, ticketing, and other payment methods guided by market trends and regulatory standards.

In a statement, Walter Pimenta, executive vice president of Product and Engineering, Latin America and the Caribbean at Mastercard was quoted saying,

“As interest in blockchain and digital assets continues to surge in Latin America and around the world, it is essential to keep delivering trusted and verifiable interactions across public blockchain networks. We’re thrilled to work with this dynamic set of partners to bring Mastercard Crypto Credential closer to realizing its full potential.”

Eliminating Transaction Complexity

Mastercard Crypto Credential also seeks to verify interactions between consumers and businesses on blockchain networks. The focus is also on ensuring that the users meet specific verification standards and confirm that the recipient’s wallet can accept the transferred asset.

The service also removes the complexity for consumers of determining which assets or blockchains the recipient supports by exchanging metadata. The aim is to enhance trust and certainty in transactions.

Additionally, it supports the exchange of Travel Rule information for cross-border transactions, a regulatory requirement designed to ensure transparency and prevent illegal activities.

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With the broader market recovery this year, the network activity XRP Ledger (XRPL) also surged across nearly all metrics, with active addresses and transactions increasing by 37% and 113% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ), respectively, according to Messari’s latest report.

A significant portion of this activity stemmed from a concentrated group of approximately 45,000 accounts, which collectively sent over 30 million transactions to a single one, primarily for inscription-related activities.

Inscriptions Boost XRPL Network Activity

Inscriptions, a transaction type that gained popularity on Bitcoin in early 2023, have since spread to other major networks, including XRPL, often causing significant activity spikes.

Despite the high transaction volumes, XRPL demonstrated resilience, handling over 80 transactions per second for an entire day without network issues, as per Messari. The total number of accounts rose by 150,000, a 3.1% increase to 5.15 million.

Although new addresses decreased by 12.4% QoQ to 183,000 due to a surge in Q4 when inscription activity began, there was a 29.8% annual increase from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024. Additionally, deleted addresses increased by 55.9% QoQ to 33,000 as inscription activity slowed.

The overall increase in active addresses, particularly the 92% QoQ rise in unique senders, highlighted the impact of inscription activities, with unique senders surpassing unique receivers for the first time since Q1 2022.

DeFi, Stablecoins on XRPL

The total market cap of fungible tokens, referred to as Issued Currencies, fell by 16% QoQ to $142 million. Among the over 3,300 assets listed on the XRPL, Sologenic (SOLO) was the leading token, making up 42% of the total market cap. The top three tokens together collectively represented 65% of the total market cap.

Meanwhile, stablecoins and wrapped tokens are notably popular on XRPL when measured by the number of holders, in comparison to other tokens. Gatehub and Xumm have collaborated to provide 14 digital assets on XRPL.

So far, stablecoins on XRPL have not reached the adoption levels of major ones on other networks, like Tether’s USDT or Circle’s USDC. This might, however, change with Ripple’s recent announcement to launch a USD-pegged stablecoin on both the XRPL and Ethereum, leveraging XRPL native functionality and ERC-20 token standards, respectively.

The stablecoin will be fully backed by US dollar deposits, short-term US. treasuries, and other cash equivalents, with monthly third-party attestations. This initiative could potentially trigger a significant liquidity event.

The post Ripple’s XRP Ledger Achieves Record 80 TPS Amid Q1 Inscription Frenzy Without Issues appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Japanese cryptocurrency trading platform – DMM Bitcoin – fell victim to a hack resulting in a massive loss of Bitcoin worth around $305 million on May 31st.

The exchange confirmed the attack and revealed that 4,502.9 bitcoins were drained from their systems. DMM Bitcoin has not provided additional details regarding the breach but stated that it is conducting an investigation and has implemented measures to avoid a recurrence of such an attack.

DMM Bitcoin Hacked

Following the incident, DMM Bitcoin stated that it had put measures in place to prevent any further unauthorized outflows of cryptocurrency from its platform, according to its official announcement posted on the exchange’s website.

The company pledged to cover all Bitcoin deposits to reimburse customers completely and stated that it plans to acquire an equivalent amount of the lost BTC with the backing of its group companies.

“Please be assured that we will procure the equivalent amount of BTC equivalent to the outflow with the support of the group companies and guarantee the full amount.”

DMM Bitcoin said that it has implemented restrictions, halting all spot purchase transactions on its platform. The exchange also cautioned users that withdrawals involving the Japanese yen may experience significant delays compared to normal processing times.

Coincheck Hack

Back in 2020, another popular Japanese cryptocurrency exchange was hacked during which personal information and emails were reportedly compromised. The breach occurred between May 31st and June 1st, 2020, when a third party accessed Coincheck’s domain registration service, altered domain information, and gained illegal access to some customer emails.

Coincheck was also hacked for $533 million, primarily consisting of NEM tokens in 2018. The breach was largely attributed to the exchange’s inadequate security measures at the time. Instead of using offline cold wallets or secure multi-sig wallets as recommended by NEM, Coincheck stored most of its clients’ NEM in a single online hot wallet protected by just one private key.

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Analysts from the market intelligence platform CryptoQuant say the recent bitcoin (BTC) moves by the defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox are no cause for alarm and would cause no immediate selling pressure on the digital asset.

According to the latest weekly report from the analytics firm, the transfers were executed between Mt. Gox’s trustee addresses and are not a sign that creditor repayments have begun.

No Cause for Alarm

On May 27, on-chain analysts noticed the movement of 138,000 BTC, worth roughly $9.4 billion at bitcoin’s trading value at the time, from wallets holding them since 2018. CryptoQuant said the transfers happened within five hours, sparking concerns amid the crypto community about the effect of such transactions.

The cryptocurrencies were moved via seven different transactions with volumes ranging between 4,000 and 32,000 BTC. The whole stash was initially moved to a single address before being distributed to three different addresses. At the time of writing, the addresses held 47,400 BTC each.

The crypto community speculated that the transfers marked the onset of distributions to Mt. Gox creditors. CryptoPotato reported that BTC lost 4% of its value as news of the transfers spread. Community members also raised concerns about the asset’s price slumping further if the exchange’s creditors decided to liquidate their holders immediately after they received them.

Contrary to what the majority of the community thinks, the new addresses that received the bitcoins belong to Mt. Gox’s Rehabilitation Trustee, which is the attorney managing the creditors’ repayment process.

Mt. Gox Creditor Repayments Have Not Begun

An announcement dated May 28 informed that the exchange has neither begun making repayments to creditors nor sold any BTC or cryptocurrency in that regard.

“The type of transfers, where an entity consolidates a large amount of Bitcoin scattered in several addresses into a few addresses, seems to be the prelude of the Trustee initiating repayments to creditors under the Rehabilitation Plan. How long it would take for the repayments to start is yet to be seen,” CryptoQuant stated.

Hence, CryptoQuant analysts believe the transactions would cause no immediate sell pressure for BTC as the assets in question are not yet available to the open market.

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After a few days of sideways trading, bitcoin’s price headed south on Friday and slipped to a weekly low of around $66,600 before it recovered approximately a grand.

The altcoins are quite sluggish today, with ETH gaining about 1% of value and closing down on the $3,800 mark.

BTC Recovers

The start of the business week went under the total domination of the bulls as they drove the primary cryptocurrency from under $69,000 to a weekly high of over $70,500. As hope started to emerge about a potential challenge to the all-time high of $73,800, though, the landscape changed and BTC slumped by more than three grand by Tuesday.

More volatility ensued in the following days, but bitcoin ultimately remained in a range between $67,000 and $69,000 with a short-lived attempt to overcome the latter on Thursday. The subsequent rejection pushed the asset south hard, and it fell by $3,000 to $66,600 yesterday, which became its lowest price tag in about a week.

The bulls finally reemerged at this point and didn’t allow any further declines. Just the opposite, BTC spiked by roughly $1,000 and now sits between $67,500 and $68,000.

Its market capitalization has slipped to $1.330 trillion, and its dominance over the alts sits tight at 50% on CG.

Bitcoin/Price/Chart 01.06.2024. Source: TradingView ETH Aims at $3.8K

Somewhat expectedly for the weekend, the price actions have diminished. Ethereum is up by around 1% on a daily scale and now sits close to $3,800, but this movement is far from the volatile ride that the asset went through last week amid the ETF news.

BNB, SOL, XRP, ADA, and DOT are with insignificant gains, while LINK and PEPE have increased by around 3-4% in a day.

In contrast, SHIB slumped by almost 3%, while UNI slumped by 6% and is close to breaking below $10.

The total crypto market cap has seen about $20 billion gone in a day and is down to $2.660 trillion.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto

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TL;DR

XRP has stayed stable between $0.51 and $0.54 despite market volatility, with analysts predicting a potential rise due to its low RSI ratio.

The upcoming launch of a Ripple stablecoin, a possible XRP ETF, and a settlement in the lawsuit against the US SEC could also drive a price increase.

Is XRP Ready to Spike?

While the cryptocurrency market experienced substantial volatility in the past few weeks, Ripple’s XRP remained relatively unfazed. Its price has recently consolidated in the $0.51-$0.54 range and is currently trading at the lower line. 

Still, many analysts believe the asset will head north in the near future, citing some important factors. The X user EGRAG CRYPTO assumed that XRP could soon turn into a bullish mode due to the low RSI ratio.

The Relative Strength Index is a momentum oscillator used in technical analysis to measure the speed and change of price movements. It varies from 0 to 100, with a ratio above 70 generally indicating that an asset is overbought and due for correction. XRP RSI has been well below the 50 mark in the past few days, currently positioned at 40.

AlexCobb touched upon the matter, too, outlining several essential elements that could fuel a rally for the asset. The upcoming launch of a Ripple stablecoin, potential filing for an XRP ETF, and a possible settlement of the lawsuit between the company and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are some of the factors.

The legal battle between the two entities has been ongoing for over three years, with the case recently entering its trial phase. Some industry participants believe Ripple has the upper hand in the lawsuit after securing three partial court victories last year.

Each triumph was followed by a significant XRP price resurgence, meaning a decisive win might fuel another rally. If you are curious to learn more about the case’s specifics and its impact on the token’s valuation, please check our dedicated video below:

Previous XRP Forecasts

The X users JAVON MARKS and Dark Defender also chipped in with optimistic predictions. Similar to EGRAG CRYPTO, the former pointed to the RSI pattern as a contributing element to a potential XRP price increase in the range of $15-$20.

Dark Defender was bullish, too, albeit envisioning less impressive peaks. Most recently, the analyst claimed XRP’s initial targets are $0.5882 and $0.6044. Prior to that, the X user forecasted a spike toward $1.88 should the coin’s weekly candle close above the $0.66 mark.

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Rashawn Russell, a former investment banker, has been sentenced to 41 months in jail for wire fraud related to a cryptocurrency and access device fraud.

Russell’s sentencing took place at the Eastern New York District Court in Brooklyn after his September 2023 guilty plea.

Former Banker’s $1.5 Million Crypto Fraud

Prosecutors detailed that Russell began soliciting investments in November 2020, targeting friends, former college classmates, and co-workers for his R3 Crypto Fund. He guaranteed some investors a 25% return and suggested to others that they could make up to 100%.

Leveraging his background as a former investment banker and registered broker, Russell convinced investors of the scheme’s legitimacy. He allegedly fabricated documents, including altered bank website images and fake bank wire transfer confirmations, to mislead investors about their investment status.

Russell used some funds to repay earlier investors and diverted substantial amounts for personal expenses and gambling. The scheme lasted until August 2022, with his arrest in April 2023.

In addition to the crypto fraud, Russell faces charges for acquiring nearly 100 credit and debit cards under other people’s names between September 2021 and June 2023. He allegedly intended to use them for fraudulent transactions.

The DOJ estimates Russell’s cryptocurrency fraud scheme led to approximately $1.5 million in investor losses. As a result, he was ordered to pay his victims over $1.5 million in restitution.

Initially placed on home detention after his arrest, Russell’s bail was revoked in February 2024 due to continued identity theft activities. In a letter to the judge before sentencing, Russell expressed remorse for his actions and their impact on the victims.

DOJ Intensifies Crypto Fraud Crackdown

The latest development comes amid a broader DOJ crackdown on crypto fraudsters, resulting in numerous arrests.

On May 18, Thomas John Sfraga pleaded guilty to wire fraud involving a nonexistent crypto wallet and other schemes. On the same day, two individuals were arrested on seven counts of money laundering and international money laundering related to a pig-butchering crypto scam worth over $73 million.

Earlier in May, the DOJ charged brothers Anton Peraire-Bueno and James Pepaire-Bueno with exploiting the Ethereum blockchain to siphon off $25 million in crypto within 12 seconds.

In April, an ex-software engineer was convicted for illegally obtaining over $12 million in crypto. The engineer exploited vulnerabilities in the smart contracts of Nirvana Finance and another exchange based on the Solana currency.

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Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated 30 ETH, valued at around $113,000, to support the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm through the decentralized fundraising platform Juicebox.

According to the on-chain data, the transaction from an address linked to Buterin, named vitalik.eth, was made at 1:58 am EST on May 30 to the “Free Alexey & Roman” legal fund on Juicebox, which had raised 595.82 ETH, worth approximately $2.2 million.

Open Source Is Not a Crime

Crypto veterans, including Buterin, have consistently championed privacy tools for managing crypto assets privately. Buterin has published numerous papers on enhancing Ethereum’s privacy. Hence, his move is not surprising.

Other supporters have shown solidarity by attaching messages of encouragement to their donations. Underneath their contributions, phrases like “you have our support,” “code is not guilty,” “support freedom,” and “Open source is a form of free speech that everyone deserves” resonate strongly.

This isn’t the first time Buterin has donated to a similar cause. In 2022, he contributed 10 ETH (valued at $30,980 at the time) to a legal fund ‘AssangeDAO’ on Juicebox, supporting Australian activist and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Legal Trouble for Tornado Cash Bosses

Tornado Cash is a privacy-focused tool that facilitates anonymous crypto transactions. However, its potential for misuse has led to it being exploited by criminals to launder, hack, or steal funds. This illicit activity caught the attention of law enforcement, leading the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to impose sanctions on Tornado Cash in August 2022.

Shortly thereafter, Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev was arrested in Amsterdam for allegedly hiding criminal financial flows and facilitating money laundering through the controversial Ethereum mixing service.

A year later, other developers – Roman Storm and Roman Semenov – were charged with aiding in laundering $1 billion, with Storm arrested in Washington State. Pertsev was sentenced to 5 years and 4 months in prison earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Storm remains detained in the US since his arrest in 2023, with his trial scheduled for September.

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ConsenSys-backed Layer 2 network – Linea – has extended support to StarkWare’s statement denouncing Matter Labs’ attempts to trademark the term “zero-knowledge” (ZK) in nine countries.

Matter Labs, the entity behind zkSync, aims to assert exclusive control over this foundational cryptographic concept, sparking outrage across the industry. Notably, Matter Labs has also pursued the registration of a token under the ticker symbol “ZK” with exchanges in a bid to further their claim over the technology they did not create.

Linea Backs StarkWare: Condemns Matter Labs’ Move

Zero-knowledge (ZK) technology is crucial for privacy and security in blockchain, as it enables individuals to prove claims without revealing underlying data.

StarkWare, along with other figures like Turing Award winner and StarkWare’s Scientific Advisory Board member Shafi Goldwasser, condemned Matter Labs’ actions as an attempt to privatize a public good. In a public statement, StarkWare said,

“A company exploiting the legal system to annex a public good violates the crypto ethos, the Ethereum ethos, and the academic ethos. It even goes against Matter Labs’ own ethos, which states: “We can make this world better by increasing people’s freedom.” If the company goes through with this, it will be separating itself from the very community it claims to be part of.”

StarkWare, a software company that develops ZK-proof technology, urged the community to take action against Matter Labs while highlighting the irony in the latter’s actions. The firm noted that its stated principles advocate for collective action in the face of “oppressive behavior.”

Weighing on the matter, Linea also asserted that using a legal framework to monopolize a branch of cryptography integral to building permissionless and decentralized L2 execution environments contradicts Ethereum’s ethos.

Linea even went on to point out the collaborative nature of Ethereum’s development, where researchers contribute to scaling solutions like zkEVM Layer 2 networks. The attempt to claim ownership over ZK technology inhibits progress towards a more inclusive and censorship-resistant network, as per Linea’s statement on May 31st.

Matter Labs Addresses Controversy

In response to the controversy surrounding trademark applications, Matter Labs’ asserted that ZK technology belongs to the community and clarified that the move aims to ensure the term “ZK” can be used freely in the context of their projects like “ZK Sync” and “ZK Stack,” using trademarks as the only available legal tool for such protection.

The company also addressed the misconception that trademarks grant exclusive ownership over a word or phrase, adding that rights only extend to specific goods or services.

Polygon Labs’ Chief Legal and Policy Officer, Rebecca Rettig, responded to Matter Labs, questioning the necessity of the trademark applications and suggesting that if external challenges forced them to apply for the trademark, transparency would be essential. The exec even went on to dismiss the need for a framework to grant permission for the use of the term “zk,” as it should be freely available to everyone without permission.

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While meme coins are all the rage now, the OG Dogecoin has been relatively quiet. DOGE’s price action has been underwhelming at $0.158, as it was almost 4% down over the past week.

Despite this, whales have bought more than 700 million DOGE in the past 72 hours alone. This stash is worth around $112 million at the current price of $0.16.

DOGE Whales Accumulate

Dogecoin’s recent performance has been mixed. It gained over 17% monthly but declined over the past week and fell 0.5% in the last 24 hours.

Whale buyers took advantage of this volatility, with holdings in the 100 million to 1 billion range increasing significantly since May 29, coinciding with a bearish trend reversal. With over $112 million accumulated by whales, the current recovery trend is worth noting, according to popular crypto analyst Ali Martinez’s latest update.

The accumulation trend was further validated by Singapore-based crypto-trading firm QCP Capital’s observation, according to which traders have shifted their focus to legacy meme coins.

In addition to Dogecoin, tokens like Shiba Inu (SHIBA) and Pepe (PEPE) have gained significant attention, showing double-digit gains between 10% and 20%. These tokens are now among the top 10 in Open Interest, indicating heightened trading activity and investor interest in the meme coin sector.

SHIB and PEPE Chart Rallies

In the past two weeks, over 4 trillion SHIB tokens, valued at approximately $103 million, have been transferred to crypto exchanges. This movement suggests increased trading activity and potentially indicates a trend of investors looking to capitalize on SHIB’s recent price movements.

This follows Shiba Inu’s layer-2 scaling solution, Shibarium, achieving a significant milestone by processing over five million blocks since its launch in August last year. The network has also handled over 417 million transactions, with the number of wallet addresses exceeding 1.8 million.

Meanwhile, PEPE has been on a tear, gaining almost 130% over the past month. A whale made nearly $5 million in profit from the PEPE token within a month, achieving a 52% return on their initial investment as the token price briefly dropped over 17% from its all-time high. This whale deposited all 660.7 billion PEPE tokens, worth $9.52 million, into a Binance wallet.

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