I hope you had a good weekend, folks. In today's Daily, bitcoin and ether dip amid reports of a second assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the Fed may now cut interest rates by 50 basis points, former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky seeks to avoid a 115-year prison sentence and more.
Let's get started.
Bitcoin and ether dip amid second Trump assassination attempt
Bitcoin fell 4% to below $58,000 during the past 24 hours, while ether dropped nearly 5% to under $BTC The price dip coincides with reports of a second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club on Sunday night.
Trump briefly overtook Kamala Harris on the decentralized predictions platform Polymarket immediately following the failed attempt.
However, Harris later regained the lead in U.S. election winner odds and they are currently tied at a 49% chance of victory each.
"While it is difficult to say that the price drop is directly related to the assassination attempt on [Donald] Trump, the timing does coincide with a sharper move lower in crypto markets," Presto Research analyst Min Jung told The Block.
"However, we believe this is more likely due to crypto giving up the gains seen on Friday, which were not experienced by equities, and a broader risk-off movement ahead of the FOMC meeting," Jung added.
Fed now expected to cut rates by 50 bps, giving boost to bitcoin, Bitwise analyst says
The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates at Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting for the first time since March 2020.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, interest rate traders now predict a 65% chance of a 50 basis-point cut compared to a 35% probability for a 25 basis-point cut, reflecting growing expectations of more aggressive monetary easing.
If the Fed does decide to cut rates by 50 basis points, the market for risk assets like bitcoin could react positively, according to Bitwise analyst André Dragosch.
Anticipation of further rate cuts, driven by recessionary indicators, could then sustain price growth for bitcoin in the coming months, Dragosch added.
Meanwhile, analysts at Bernstein said DeFi yields are set for a comeback amid the likely U.S. rate cuts and could rise above 5% to beat money market funds.
Former Celsius CEO Mashinsky seeks testimony as he faces 115-year prison sentence
Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky is seeking testimony from six former employees at the defunct centralized crypto lender, including top executives, amid a possible 115-year prison sentence.
Celsius filed for bankruptcy in 2022, and Mashinsky was arrested last year after prosecutors accused him of defrauding customers and misleading them about the company's profitability.
The SEC has also accused Mashinsky of defrauding investors and manipulating the price of Celsius' native token, CEL.
Mashinsky's lawyers argue that he did not intend to harm anyone and relied on his team's expertise, alleging that mistakes were often made without his knowledge.
The former CEO's weekly "Ask Mashinsky Anything" events were allegedly reviewed by legal teams, but his lawyers claimed corrections were made without his awareness, supporting their defense of good faith rather than fraud.
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Residents of a Norwegian town complained about a Bitcoin mine's noise; now that it's shut down, they face a 20% energy bill hike
Residents of Stokmarknes, a Norwegian town in the north of the country, have been trying to get rid of a local Bitcoin mining facility for three years amid complaints of noise from its air-cooling fans.
Last week, they reportedly celebrated as the KryptoVault-managed site ceased operations, according to local media outlet NRK.
Critics of Bitcoin mining frequently highlight the energy consumption and noise pollution generated by the industry.
However, supporters argue that by acting as a variable load, Bitcoin mining can absorb surplus energy, helping to stabilize the grid and reduce waste while lowering costs for other users.
What the Stokmarknes residents perhaps didn't foresee is a more than 20% hike in their energy bills, as local power company Noranett now seeks to recover from a loss in revenue due to the sites' closure.
Delta Prime suffers $6 million exploit after admin lost control of private key
DeFi protocol Delta Prime lost $6 million worth of crypto assets after a hacker exploited an admin's compromised private key.
Delta Prime acknowledged that its deployment on Arbitrum was impacted but noted its Avalanche version had not been affected.
"The risk is contained, we're working on asset-retrieval and the insurance pool will cover any potential losses where possible/necessary," the team said.
In the next 24 hours
It's quiet on the economic calendar front.
The Federal Reserve's Lorie Logan will speak at 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
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