Japanese authorities are said to be looking at ways to relax the country’s laws regarding cryptocurrencies as more and more companies see the potential of blockchain. The decision of Japan can be attributed to the increasing appreciation of the impact of blockchain technology to business operations and the overall economy.

Since the country is well-aware of its strict financial policies, relaxation of crypto laws may usher in more innovation and possibly attract more blockchain firms thus placing Japan strategically in the international digital economy. 

Japan’s Regulation of Cryptocurrencies 

Japan is one of the first major economy adopters of cryptocurrency, it was among the first countries to enact on regulation of the cryptocurrencies. Following the Mt. Gox incantation in 2014 where over $400 million in Bitcoins was stolen, Japan put in place adequate legislation that can protect its investors and the financial system from instances of the crypto-currency being abused. 

However, the above regulations have also been perceived as a double-edged sword in so far as it has offered a free reign to companies willing to come up with out-of-the-box solutions in the blockchain market. 

As for example, Japan’s Financial Services Agency or FSA demands exchange registration and adherence to a number of principles. Some of the regulations include the Know Your Customer (KYC) policies, anti money-laundering (AML) policies and the minimum capital regulation. Although these steps were crucial to build this confidence and assurance, it hampered competition with little players and slow the development of prominent blockchain solutions. 

Calls for Looser Regulations 

Thus, with the fast-growing sector of blockchain businesses, it is a matter of time that Japanese officials and policymakers discuss the relaxation of some of these measures. This evolution occurs as blockchain applications go beyond the confine of being a tool for Cryptocurrencies and shifts towards different areas including supply chain, medical, and finance. Large Japanese firms have already started venturing into blockchain projects which has forced regulators into a rethink on how to manage crypto. 

For example, companies are searching for the possibilities to apply the blockchain for their current activities to enhance the transparency and effectiveness. To achieve this, Japan has sought to decentralise the regulation of crypto which reduces the impact of compliance and encourages companies to adapt to the technology to the fullest. 

Driving Blockchain Innovation 

Japanese companies have been testing blockchain’s possibilities for disrupting several industries, indicating that the country requires more favorable conditions. Thus, the application of this technology gives benefits in its efficiency, cost effectiveness, and security that is quite appealing to industries that want change. 

Blockchain is able to disrupt the industries such as finance where decentralised ledgers may help to decrease the fees and the time of transactions. Similarly in the field of healthcare, blockchain could mean having secure and immutable Electronic Health Record, which eases the process of patient care. It could also be used in areas where smart contracts, which are contract executable on the blockchain, could totally eradicate the need for middlemen such as lawyers. 

Understanding this, Japan may lead the companies into these emerging opportunities by easing crypto regulations. It also expected that the government is likely to back up the adoption of the blockchain via partnerships between the private and the public sectors and thereby taking the nation nearer to being a Blockchain friendly nation in Asia. 

Global Context and Competitiveness 

Japan’s potential regulatory change is occurring whilst the rest of the world, including South Korea, Singapore, and the EU are trying to position themselves as friendly to blockchain. Therefore, the view of Japan to remain competitive in this world characterized by the emerging trends in the development of blockchain technology will depend on the established ability to respond to new requirements. 

The decision to engage in the idea of a lighter regulatory approach for cryptocurrencies may place Japan on an equal level with countries, such as Singapore that is already making considerable progress on the creation of an ideal climate for participants in the field of blockchain businesses. The global blockchain market is predicted to grow to billions of dollars in the future and if Japan wants to grab a big piece of it then it must regulate the market in a way that encourages new blockchain-based businesses while protecting investors. 

Relaxing of some of these rules could mean great potentials for Japanese firms to benefit from the changes brought by blockchain technology.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently brought a litigative and legal response by filing legal charges against three persons and five enterprises involved in the cryptocurrency ‘pig butchering’ fraud.

Pump and dump is a term used to describe a type of scams which feed on victims through a protracted process of misleading them into putting more and more of their money into an investment with the aim of eventually emptying the investment. 

These cases represent a new episode in the continuing campaign fought by the SEC to make Americans safe from exotic crypto frauds. 

How the ‘Pig Butchering’ Fraud Unfolds 

Pig butchering is a very bizarre term, and yet it has a tendency of being a very frequent type of a scam in the cryptocurrency industry. In such cons, the attacker usually contacts the victim, either online, through social networks or dating sites or even via a phone call.

The scammers establish rapport and have continued interaction with the victims before setting up a fake securities that has something to do with digital currency. After the victims are ‘fed’ for investing large amounts of money, the scammers [disappear], embezzling the investors’ money. 

The SEC’s case describes a number of such frauds planned by three people – to whom the agency attributed the status of core of the scheme’s participants – and five related companies. The commission postulated that the mentioned entities committed fraud against victims by offering fake investment solutions, with focus on cryptocurrencies. 

Contribution of the Companies Concerned 

Three U.S. residents, Jiajie Liu, 28, of Los Angeles, California; Fei Liao, 29, of San Gabriel, California; and Hua Zhao, 26, of Flushing, New York, are named in the SEC’s lawsuit against the purported cryptocurrency trading platform NanoBit. The lawsuit claims that participants in the scheme engaged in a coordinated scheme to defraud at least 18 investors of nearly $1 million in crypto assets and fiat currency.

All the five companies that are associated with these scams were said to have been formed with the intention of perpetrating frauds. It was credited for its role in giving the appearance of legitimacy to the operation including creating fake trading platforms that would pass off as real businesses to the victims. These platforms were to be used to portray false returns on investment in a bid the users be encouraged to invest more cash into the fraudulent scheme. 

Besides, the people involved are also alleged to using high pressure tactics to defraud more individuals through these companies. Most of them used ‘romance scams’ or presented themselves as business personnel, combining physical communication with the fake crypto investment climate.

SEC’s Expanded Effort against Crypto Fraud Schemes 

This is not the first time that the SEC has pursued the crypto-based fraudsters and it will not be the last either. Fraudsters engaging in the “pig butchering” scam are not an exception to many scammers who take advantage of the development of the cryptocurrency industry to harm people who do not have sufficient knowledge about investments or the whole process behind cryptocurrencies. 

Such cases involve the SEC in such issues which are a clear indication that there is a need for more regulation in the crypto market. On one had, the cryptocurrencies offers people freedom from the regular finance systems but on the other hand they allow scammers to operate way beyond the legal systems usually used for the regulation of other forms of investments. 

In the recent past, the SEC has stepped up efforts to police and oversee activities of cryptocurrencies and related products especially those involving scams. It still warns investors to exercise caution every time they plan to deal within the Cryptocurrency market through carrying out profound research. 

Possible Measures Investors Should Take to Avoid Pig Butchering 

In the case of the investors, the defense barrier being the awareness of the existing market trends. The SEC and other financial authorities also come up with a lot of materials that are designed to assist individuals who intend to invest from being swindled by the fraudsters. Some key warning signs include: 

Unsolicited Investment Opportunities: Basically, if a stranger is suddenly reaching out to you with an incredibly lucrative crypto investment offer, it is most probably a scam. 

Pressure to Invest Quickly: They include pretending to be hurry and pressuring you to invest because if you do not do it right now you will miss out on huge profits. 

Guaranteed Returns: In simpler terms, it is impossible to certify any investment let alone an investment such as cryptocurrency that has been volatile. No one should ever promise one can earn steady, predictable profits from investment since it is a warning sign. 

Other than identifying these strategies, investors are advised to seek the help of licensed personnel and confirm the legitimacy of the online trading platform. 

The case of SEC should hence be seen as a reminder that while cryptocurrency holds much promise, it is also laden with many dangers. Investors need to be careful especially where fraudsters are becoming more and more innovative in their operations.

Cryptocurrency market may experience a massive shift with the possibility of China being at the helm of a $1.4 trillion shakeup. This is based on the recent policies that have begun to be implemented in China towards cryptocurrencies as well as its efforts to shape the direction of the future of assets and blockchain solutions. 

Despite this, the current changes could potentially make the nation a major participant in world crytpocurrency environment as it did not have a friendly attitude towards cryptocurrency in the past. 

China Cryptocurrencies Policy Shift 

Primarily, China has had a very anti-crypto approach with its authorities having placed a ban on activities like Initial Coin Offerings and operation of all cryptocurrency exchanges within this country.

However, while China has severely cracked down on traditional digital currencies such as Bitcoin, it has always been supportive of blockchain technology and Fintech innovations. In the meantime, People’s Republic of China has introduced several projects in past few years such as Digital Yuan or its Central Bank Digital Currency. 

This development means that though China has not embraced decentralised currencies, it appreciates the role of digital currencies in the formation of future financial systems. The Chinese government has also dedicated resources to the advancement of blockchain technologies with an aspiration to be the world’s most prominent country in this industry.

Such a two-faced policy of condemning unregulated cryptocurrencies and at the same time actively promoting its tested state-controlled version indicates the possibility of China’s influence on the further transformation of the crypto market on the international level. 

Potential $1.4 Trillion Market Impact 

Experts believe that China’s potential crypto market upset may shake markets to the tune of $1.4 trillion. This estimation is due to the fact that China is the second largest economy in the world, possess advanced technology and has a dominant controlling power over the financial system of Asia. China had the power to control and highly regulate this market, and the actions taken can set new trends that other nations may either emulate, or respond to in a fashion that affects the crypto market all around the world.

It is predicted that the introduction of the Digital Yuan will make other nations either speed up their CBDC development process or change their stance when it comes to cryptocurrencies’ regulation. For that, China could set reference for the valuation of digital currency and guide the behavior of investors and regulating entities across the globe. 

How the Digital Yuan Fits into the Puzzle 

The Digital Yuan introduced formally by the People’s Bank of China is at the heart of the nation’s desire to dominate the emerging digital finance industry. China is using it digital currency to try and unseat the US Dollar as the primary currency of international trade as it seeks to spill into international finance.

The government piloted the CBDC across the main cities and is still looking forward to taking the CBDC to another level regarding cross-border use thereby causing an implication on other global markets. 

Despite the fact that the Digital Yuan has it controlled by the state and lacks decentralization, which is appreciated by most crypto enthusiasts, it can contribute to the integration of blockchain into the existing financial systems. This also has implications to other countries to show how national digital currencies can be used and affect cross-border trade. 

China’s Global Influence on Crypto Regulation 

However, the Chinese investors’ involvement in the cryptocurrency market doesn’t only confine to China. The Chinese authorities have been holding negotiations with the international organizations and they have been discussing the creation of the ad-hoc regulation of the digital assets. It has advocated for partnership with other countries especially those in Asia to Harbor policies on the risks associated with the digital currencies. 

On the same note, if China charts a course and fully embraces digital currencies and manages to set robust frameworks of regulation then other countries may emulate its actions. Many nations in the European Union, Africa, and the Americas have been watching how China conducts its policies and a global change of regulations on cryptos could set in according to China.

The crypto ATM market is relatively growing, attributing to the growth of cryptocurrencies used as a means of payment all over the world. The projection for the time duration ranging 2024 to 2031 shows a positive outlook of this sector with many people and organization accepting the use of digital currency. 

In this article, we will discuss the factors that facilitate the market growth, key factors for the expansion of the crypto ATM market and what awaits the market in the future. 

The Emergence of Crypto ATMs 

With the increasing use of digital currencies especially the Bitcoin and Ether, people are now using the Crypto ATMs to purchase the cryptocurrency or to exchange it. These machines work more or less like the common automated teller machines, which enable users to exchange fiat money for cryptocurrencies or the other way round. This is the most outstanding feature that has pushed people to prefer using these machines more than any other method. 

Based on the market statistics, there were more than thirty eight thousand crypto ATMs around the globe at the end of 2023. This number is set to rise as more countries and businesses adopt cryptocurrencies to meet the increasing needs for them through crypto established ATMs. 

Key Growth Factors 

Global Crypto Adoption: It is noteworthy that growth of the global population’s acceptance of cryptocurrencies is one of the main factors that spur the demand for crypto ATMs. Thus more people are considering digital currencies as viable systems of economic formalization. Therefore, the need for effortless way of converting fiat to cryptocurrency and vice versa is highly increasing which in turn creates demand of ATMs. 

Expanding Use Cases: Since companies are gradually start to accept crypto payments, people are looking for simple methods for getting cryptocurrencies. Crypto ATMs make it easier for users who require crypto currencies for payment services such as purchases online, investment or remittance. Also, the adoption of smart contract, decentralized finance related products, and tokenization of assets also contribute to the growth of the market.

Improved Technology: Owing to the advancements in technology, the security of the crypto ATMs as well as their efficiency has greatly improved. Implementation of KYC/AML measures has provided confidence to participants in the system as well as the governments. In the same regard, most of the crypto ATMs today have the capability of handling numerous cryptocurrencies which could enhance their utility. 

The Crypto ATM Market: Existing Issues 

While the future of crypto ATMs looks bright, there are several challenges that the industry needs to address:While the future of crypto ATMs looks bright, there are several challenges that the industry needs to address: 

Regulatory Uncertainty: As is evident, though, there is increased acceptance of cryptocurrencies, the regulatory measures remain standardized in every jurisdiction. Also, in some of the countries, there is a high regulatory risk regarding crypto ATMs or even the outright ban on their use, which limits their adoption. 

High Transaction Fees: One of them is the rather high transaction fees attached to the usage of crypto ATMs. Such fees can be barriers to clients and especially when services provided are compared with those of the online exchanges where charges are considerably cheaper. 

Security Concerns: Thus, crying seems safe but still vulnerable to hacking or fraud even for crypto ATMs that are safer than they used to be in the past. The security measures of those machines have to be enhanced to ensure its progression in the future with users’ confidence. 

Looking into the future for Crypto ATMs 

An evolution of the rates of growth is expected for crypto ATMs in both developed and the developing countries. If the market is to believed the market is expected to grow at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 58% in the next few years. That will be spurred on by aspects like adoption of crypto assets in business, awareness of the blockchain technology, and progress in machine technology. 

Thus, stablecoins as well as CBDCs may also help advance the business of crypto ATMs even further. As nations launch their own Central Bank Digital Currencies, the Crypto ATMs may emerge as usual means of interacting with the digital assets.

Dozens of traditional currencies have explored the potential of digital currencies in the past few years; some of them are now leading the crypto market. And a shift in the interest seems to be followed by the surging adoption of cryptocurrencies globally. 

DBS Bank’s recent announcement notes that it is planning to launch over-the-counter crypto options trading and structured notes for qualified institutional investors. 

As per additional information, the bank is planning to introduce OTC options trading at the beginning of Q2 2024. Following the announcement, Jacky Tai, the head of trading and structuring, argues that the move is influenced by professional investors “increasingly allocating to digital assets in their portfolios.”

“Now, our clients have an alternative channel to build exposure to the asset class and incorporate advanced investment strategies to better manage their digital asset portfolios,” Tai added. 

DBS press release states that “It is the first Asian-headquartered bank to offer financial products whose value is linked to the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum – the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.” 

“The launch of these products comes against an approximately 50% growth in the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies in the first five months of 2024,” the release added.

Recent News Updates

Most recently, Todayq reported that crypto enthusiasts will soon see USDC on the Sui Network; as per speculation, the move is influenced by the surging adoption of cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoin globally. 

Earlier on September 16, the CEO of Circle confirmed the relocation of USDC’s HQ to New York City. As per finance experts, the Circle ICO application might get approval from the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission soon. 

MicroStrategy, the leading Bitcoin institutional holder has expressed its plan to buy more BTC; by gathering funds. The company has marked several milestones in the cryptocurrency sector; its CEO holds a chunk of Bitcoins. 

 Director of the Bitcoin Office of El Salvador, Stacy Herbert, wrote: “ President Bukele announces that El Salvador will no longer acquire External Debt to finance the next General Budget of the Nation.”

Crypto Market Price Update

When writing the fear and greed index powered by CoinMarketCap was at 34 denoting a fear in the market sentiment. At the same time cryptocurrency market capitalization was $2.05 trillion with an intraday decline of 0.59%. 

Bitcoin prices fell over 1% in the past 24 hours, reaching $58,651; in the past seven days, it lost over 4%. The ongoing whale activities in Ethereum-held addresses have troubled the prices of ETH when drafting was trading at $2,309 with a decline of 0.81%.

Ripple’s co-founder and chairman, Chris Larsen has recently sold 50 million XRP tokens for the first time in 11 years, equivalent to $ 50 million. This large transaction caught people’s attention in the Crypto community and raised questions as to why this transfer was delayed so much. 

Major Development After Ten Years 

The particular transaction, which bloc tracker has taken into account, was of interest to admirers of XRP and analysts. One of the personalities that prefer not to undertake huge token operations is Chris Larsen, and he did not make any major moves as well. Nevertheless, such recent actions only raise concerns over their future plans on Ripple or XRP. 

Most of the times for more than a decade Larsen had retained most of his XRP and it was an occasion when he transferred some of it. Such an abrupt change in the Bitcoin holdings has sparked the debate on factors that could be pushing his decision to transact such a large amount of cryptocurrency. 

Ripple’s Ongoing Legal Challenges 

That is why Larsen may have been prompted to do so by the ongoing Ripple-SEC litigation. Ripple has been in trouble by the question of whether XRP is a security in legal courts of law as a lawsuit that began in 2020. Albeit the verdict is still inconclusive, the latest judicial decisions, however, slightly tilted in Ripple’s favor. 

However, with this legal cloud hanging over Ripple, Larsen’s transfer could mean the strategic financial moves. Maybe he might be protecting himself for any result that may come from the litigations, reinvesting, or diversifying the investments.

Future of XRP 

Apart from the current legal issues, the future of this token is still under discussion among the representatives of the crypto community. XRP, the digital asset that is native to Ripple payment protocol, continues to hover among the leading digital currencies in terms of market capitalization. Ripple already has partners all over the world and it is constantly enlarging its network of partners especially in Asia and the Middle East for the realization of cross-border transactions. 

This action of Chris Larsen might indicate that he has confidence in the future of XRP or it might be some strategic change according to the current market. Whether this transfer is part of a general trend associated with Ripple’s development or potential application for XRP in the international financial system remains to be revealed. 

Speculations and Market Reactions 

Larsen’s transaction also generated some market speculations regarding the effects of the transaction on the price of XRP. In the past, large volume transfers of cryptocurrencies, especially from industry heavyweights, are known to sway the general public opinion. However, at the time of transfer it may be noted that price of XRP did not fluctuate significantly, which does not depict transfer as an act of selling the currency or its anticipation of some change in the market soon. 

Chris Larsen’s decision to sell 50 million XRP after 11 years is an interesting event in Ripple and XRP environment. Whether it is linked to legal issues, change of trend in investments or various other factors; nobody but time will tell. For now, the crypto community will be observing this decision keenly to decipher its implication on Ripple, XRP and the future of Decentralized finance.

The issuer of USDC is constantly expanding its presence in the cryptocurrency market; as of writing, it was 4th most traded among all enlisted cryptocurrencies. 

Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, reposted a X post that notes, USDC (USD Coin) is set to be launched on the Layer-1 of Sei Network. The move is fueled by the global surging adoption of cryptocurrencies, primarily stablecoins. 

BREAKING @jerallaire, Co-Founder, CEO & Chairman, Circle announces native $USDC launching soon on @SuiNetwork!! pic.twitter.com/oEZBIYFSdr

— Stravia.sui 111.sui (@vyz_cm) September 17, 2024

With this integration, USDC will become natively supported on the Sui blockchain, leveraging the Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP). This permissionless, on-chain utility allows seamless USDC transfers between blockchain networks via native burning and minting. 

Obeying this integration, USD will be available on 16 blockchains; as per finance specialists, the Circle ICO application might get clearance from the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission soon. 

Related News

On September 16, 2024, Todayq wrote that Circle is prepared to resettle its headquarters in New York City. The move to relocate the headquarters seems to be influenced by the ongoing procedure of the ICO filed with the U.S SEC in January 2024. 

As of writing, USD Coin was trading at $1.00; per data available on CoinMarketCap, its highest record trading price was $2.35, as registered on November 16, 2021. 

The all-time low of USDC was $0.8774, as recorded on March 11, 2023. USDC/USDT is the hottest intraday traded pair, followed by BTC/USDC, USDC/AERO, and DAI/USDC. 

Market News Updates 

On September 17, 2024, Todayq wrote that MicroStrategy (MSTR) announced its plan to acquire more Bitcoin with a plan to offer $700M in convertible senior notes, a private offering that targets qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. 

Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda, two commissioners at the U.S SEC, have criticized the commission’s decision over the Flyfish NFT. However, the NFT issuer has agreed to pay $750,000 in fines.   

Earlier this month, the largest NFT marketplace OpenSea received a wells notice from the U.S SEC. over the charges that NFTs on its platform are unregistered securities. 

The entire crypto commodity is seeking clearance over what security is and what is not in cryptos.

Market Price Updates

When writing the fear and greed metre powered by CoinMarketCap was at 34 reflecting a fear sentiment in the broader market. At the same time, the cryptocurrency market capitalization was $2.05 trillion, a decline of 0.25%. 

The weekly gainers listed is ruled by Nerous Network (CKB) as its price surged 80.26% reaching $0.01562, followed by SUI with a growth of 24.00% at $1.14. Helium, Notcoin, and Dogwifhat have been among the major losers in the past 7 days.    

Until publishing, Bitcoin was trading at $58,779 with a decline of 0.37% in prices however its trading volume grew over 7.50% intraday. In the past few quarters, BTC’s market dominance continued to grow reaching 57.52%. 

The recent whale activities in Ethereum-held addresses have troubled the prices of ETH when drafting was trading at $2,309 with a decline of 0.81%. In terms of intraday trading volume Tether (USDT) remains at the top of the list with an average trading volume of $45,690,410,364.  

Former United States President Donald Trump is back in the news again with a new crypto firm he has founded; World Liberty Financial. The decision was shared through an online broadcast on X Spaces which is big news for Trump because he had been against blockchain assets such as Bitcoin. 

It is led by Trump and his sons – Barron Trump, Eric Trump, and Donald Trump Jr. – that aims at enhancing the adoption of stablecoins, primarily with the help of a new token. 

As indicated in objectives, the World Liberty Financial forum seeks to become the best platform to market stablecoins as the most secure type of digital currency. The currencies are stable and therefore steady unlike other assets which are prone to fluctuation such as the Bitcoins.

Trump’s U-Turn 

Suddenly, Trump is considering investing in crypto – while before he was undermining it, calling Bitcoin “a scam. ” 

But his participation in the industry seems to be an elaborate preparation towards the 2024 presidential elections. Trump has been more open in recent days about cryptocurrency, receiving positive reception from the crypto enthusiasts and the companies. 

The move addresses more than just stablecoins but also resurrects Trump’s turn towards the youth and technology-savvy voters. This change is after he graced major events in the crypto market and accepted donations from the crypto industry. 

Despite such issues with the project and the Republicans’ political leader Trump, World Liberty Financial Company prepares to release the token $WLFI for the public use. Still, costly and hard to promote the platform, the platform is likely to draw audiences from Trump fans and cryptlophiles. 

The Mission: DeFi and Stablecoins 

The main goal of the project is to promote fiat-pegged digital assets U. S dollars, stable coins which are a foundational layer around decentralized finance. That is why stablecoins enable users to perform transactions, free from the volatility most other coins come with. Trump intends to guarantee that these stablecoins will continue to support the pre-eminence of the U. S. dollar as the global settlement layer for DeFi protocols​.

This also means moving from promoting crypto for the sophisticated investor, to making it mainstream in America as was Trump’s campaign agenda of improving the unstable regulatory environment and popularizing cryptocurrency. Mr. Hash is also an outspoken critic of the current banking system and this project represents yet another attempt of the former president to stake his claim in the Bitcoin and crypto world. 

Commotion in the Crypto Industry 

It has stirred a storm in the market and especially within the Cryptocurrency fraternity due to the controversy as to whether it is legal or not and the effect that it will have on the market. However, there are consequences toward realizing this project in particular, as many analysts have pointed out lack of transparency.

Some aspects of creation and aimed usage of the WLFI token, as well as the corresponding governance model, still remain rather vague, which does not inspire confidence among specialists in the industry. 

In pursuing its position as the leading DeFI brand, World Liberty Financial wants to introduce crypto in political matters. However, Trump’s investment brings massive attention to the project, but success will largely depend on the ability of the project to bring innovative and disruptive change in the field of finance.

For others, the market is in red, but for institutional digital assets holders, the dips are becoming opportunities; in the past few weeks, few leading publicly traded companies have purchased Bitcoin. 

In an announcement published on September 16, 2024, MicroStrategy (MSTR) announced its plan to acquire more Bitcoin with a plan to offer $700 million in convertible senior notes.

The private offering targets qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. 

As per market experts, the move to buy more BTC is influenced by the surging popularity of Bitcoin globally. MSTR’s recent offering is indeed targeted at institutional investors, allowing them to purchase unsecured senior notes. However, the notes are set to mature in 2028. 

The company also expects to grant to the initial purchasers of the notes an option to purchase, within a 13-day period beginning on, and including, the date on which the notes are first issued, up to an additional $105 million aggregate principal amount of the notes, the available information notes. 

Other Related News 

Earlier on September 13, 2024, Todayq reported that MicroStrategy acquired 18,300 Bitcoins between August 6 and September 12. In its recent 8k filing with the U.S SEC, the company notes that it has acquired BTC worth $1.1 billion at an average price of $60,480 per BTC. 

As of September 14, 2024, MSTR holds 226,500 BTCs worth over $13 billion as of writing.  

MetaPlant Inc. announced on September 10, 2024, that it had acquired 38.46 Bitcoin; following the acquisition, the company now holds 398.832 BTC. A significant boost in Bitcoin adoption has been seen among the leading traditional financial and technological giants in the past few years. 

MicroStrategy (MSTR) Stock Price Update

According to data from TradingView, MSTR stock price surged over 10% in the past seven days, reaching $135.54.  However, the press time trading price was around 47% smaller than the annual price target of $198.88. 

It is crucial to note that MicroStrategy’s share price grew around 94.27% YTD and 288.37% in the past 52 weeks. The company has a market capitalization of $23.76 billion, growing 294% annually. 

The reported EPS of MSTR in Q2, 2024 was -519.24% less than the estimated EPS of -$0.09; the company is expected to report -$0.13 in Q3. Similarly, the reported revenue of MicroStrategy in Q2 was $112.10 million, which is -8.11% less than estimates. 

MSTR’s 174.60 million shares are free-floating, and the remaining 82.10k shares are closely held. 

Crypto Market Price Update 

Until publishing, the fear and greed index powered by CoinMarketCap was at 34, denoting a fear sentiment in the market; at the same time cryptocurrency market capitalization was $2.04 trillion with a decline of 0.80% intraday. 

When writing Bitcoin was trading at $58,600 with a decline of 1% in the past 24 hours; a constant volatility in the broader market has dragged the prices below the mark of $60k. 

The intraday gainers’ list is ruled by Fantom (FTM) as its price grew roughly 16%, reaching $0.5606, followed by Celestia (TIA), as its price surged 4.65%, reaching $4.93. 

However, in the past 24 hours, SEI lost 5.59% of its trading price, making it the intraday loser trading at $0.2746, followed by Helium at $6.95, losing 5.21% of its price. 

The trend of suing a crypto-based company for selling unregistered securities has surged significantly in the past few years. 

A recent lawsuit filed by the U.S SEC over the NFT FlyFish Club has come to a settlement as it agreed to pay a fine of $750,000. Following the settlement, two SEC commissioners slammed their agency over the lawsuit on Flyfish Club, a non-fungible token-themed restaurant. 

The summary of the SEC’s lawsuit writes, “ Between August 2021 and May 2022, Flyfish conducted an unregistered offering of crypto asset securities by offering and selling to the public, including U.S. investors, approximately 1,600 non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) at two price points.”

Adding, “The first price point was for the Flyfish NFT priced at 2.5 ETH (~$8,400), and the second price point was for the Omakase NFT priced at 4.25 ETH (~$14,300). The offering generated gross proceeds of approximately $14.8 million.” 

In a statement published on September 16, Commissioner Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda criticized the SEC, stating that  “Flyfish Club sold NFTs unique digital tokens recorded on a blockchain as the exclusive way to access a yet-to-be-built restaurant and bar.”

Further quoting, “This case is not one in which the Commission alleges fraud; it finds only that Flyfish Club should have registered its sale of membership NFTs as securities transactions.”

Major Lawsuits by the U.S. SEC

Binance and its former CEO are battling a legal tussle with the SEC; the lawsuit was filed over the charges of manipulating the trading volume on the exchange artificially, including other charges. 

The Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit has been a hot topic in the crypto market, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claiming that Ripple sold XRP as an unregistered security, while Ripple argues that XRP is a digital currency, not a security.  

The Securities and Exchange Commission first filed the lawsuit in December 2020; the decision on the case is still awaited. 

Several other crypto and blockchain-based companies have received a well notice and a warning; some have even paid huge penalties.

Some recently published reports claim that among all regulators globally, the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission has collected the highest penalties from NFTs issuers, exchanges, and other digital asset/blockchain-based companies. 

Crypto Market Price Update 

When writing, the fear and greed index powered by CoinMarketCap was at 34, reflecting a fear sentiment in the vast market; at the same time, the cryptocurrency market capitalization was $2.03 trillion with an intraday decline of over 1.50%. 

Helium, SEI, and Beam are closely competing to top the intraday loser list, with an average loss of 7% in the past 24 hours. Fantom had acquired the top position on the gainers list, adding 9.50% and reaching $0.5338. 

DOGS, the memecoin that debuted in the market this year, has lost over 40.21% of its trading price, reaching $0.0009574. Baby Doge Coin, recently listed on Binance, grew 17.26% intraday, reaching $0.001817. 

Until publishing, Bitcoin was trading at $58,361 with an intraday decline of 1.00%; despite the lack of instability in prices in the past few months, BTC’s market dominance continued to grow to reach 57.16%.

The U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently acknowledged the emerging state of confusion regarding its position on cryptocurrencies’ securities. It was made after years of enforcement actions and regulatory guidance that put the crypto industry into turmoil.

However, the SEC persists in the regulation of digital assets, the agency underscores the difficulties of market participants in the identification of the uncertainties concerning what is a security token in the context of crypto instruments. 

SEC’s Confusing Position on Crypto Securities

The SEC’s authority as related to cryptocurrencies has been a subject of discussion for quite some time now. While some of the digital assets are categorized as commodities, others are considered to be securities, thus complicating the work of many crypto projects.

Due to the absence of clear international guidelines on how to differentiate between these categories, there has been a number of litigations and a tidal wave of confusion in the market. 

In its latest statement, the SEC has said, ‘We understand and are sorry for the confusion caused to the industry’. The agency said it was keen to make sure that investors were safe and at the same time promote innovation. But, it accepted to admit that its actions may have put a haze on what should be regulated under its statutes and which are not. 

Howey Test: The Key to Crypto Securities Identification? 

The SEC has often used the Howey Test which is a legal ruling made in 1946 in order to decide if a crypto asset is a security. The test is about the likelihood that a stake of money is risked with the view of gaining profits through other’s work. If an asset fits this description it is classified as a security. 

Even though this test has been used as the main one by the SEC in relation to the classification of the securities, there are some issues with its application in the case of decentralized and actively developing cryptocurrencies. Howey Test is derived from a conventional financial environment and was never designed to contemplate on digital currency which makes its adoption by the crypto sphere quite complex.

Ripple Case: A Turning Point? 

One of the longest and most publicized legal cases in the cryptocurrency world is the Ripple case. Lastly, the SEC brought an action against Ripple Labs Inc in which it claimed that XRP was a security that had not been registered. While Ripple continues to argue that XRP is a currency which should not fall under the securities laws. 

This case presents a major effect to other broader cryptocurrency markets since the result that is going to be set in this case may have an authoritative effect of the law so as to how other types of digital currencies are going to be categorized. Needless to say, the lawsuit has brought to light the necessity of legal time for XRP as well as all other cryptocurrencies operating in the United States of America. 

The main critique of the SEC has been that it engages in enforcement from individual projects instead of developing and providing the general rules and guidelines for adoption to the entire crypto market. They argue that the enforcement by litigation approach yields behavioral unpredictability and stifles development. 

Need for Regulatory Clarity 

The SEC’s recent statement gives an indication of moving halfway towards solving the problem of defining crypto securities. Although the agency vowed to continue with enforcement of securities laws, it has also said it would be willing to engage players in the market to work out more transparent rules. 

The voices for regulation also rise louder as more and more companies, investors and even legislatures demand for that elusive framework that is needed for the U. S. to remain at the top of the crypto market. There have been a number of new bills proposed in Congress to better clarify what constitutes a crypto asset, new legislation that would prescribe a new form of regulation for such assets. 

America’s securities markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission SEC Chair Gary Gensler has particularly expressed concern in protecting investors in the virtual space. He has elaborated that many of the digital assets can be considered as exhibiting features of securities and needs to be regulated as such. Yet, Gensler has also admitted that the complicated part is how best to enforce existing laws on an evolving and fast-growing industry.

El Salvador set a new record by legalizing Bitcoin in 2021; the decision was solely made by the young president of the nation. In the initial days, the decision was rarely appreciated, but since the past few quarters, a boost in the adoption of BTC has been observed. 

Nayib Bukele, a 43-year-old president of El Salvador, is mostly criticized for favoring digital assets, especially Bitcoin. The nation got its first BTC office in December 2022; the head of the nation also wants to establish a separate Bitcoin city. 

According to an X post of Director of the Bitcoin Office of El Salvador, Stacy Herbert wrote “ President Bukele announces that El Salvador will no longer acquire External Debt to finance the next General Budget of the Nation.”

President Bukele announces that El Salvador will no longer acquire External Debt to finance the next General Budget of the Nation.El Salvador is on the path to true freedom. https://t.co/EXnh9EWaNj

— Stacy Herbert (@stacyherbert) September 16, 2024

In an interview with Time Magazine, Nayib emphasized legalizing Bitcoin in El Salvador, yet he also believes that he has not gotten the response he expected.

According to available information, El Salvador first bought 400 BTC in September 2021; the purchase amount was $20.9 million. Data available on the website of Bitcoin(dot)gov(dot)sv states that until publishing the nation holds 5,874 Bitcoins worth $343,879,03.06.   

Since March 2024, without fail, against the backdrop of the 1 bitcoin per day operation, El Salvador has added one Bitcoin to its national treasury. 

Other Market News Updates

This week has become disastrous for decentralized finance and lending fell victim to bad actors resulting in losses of over $6 million in cryptocurrencies. Delta Prime, a DeFi and a lending protocol based on the Arbitrum chain, lost a chunk of funds in a theft on September 16, 2024.  

The issuer of USDC has made a major announcement to relocate its HQ to New York City; as per speculation, the consortium might soon get the SEC’s approval over its ICO. 

Circle filed an ICO application with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at the beginning of 2024. It is seeking a review by the regulatory commission to expand its presence in the leading market worldwide.  

Crypto Market Price Updates

When writing the fear and greed index powered by CoinMarketCap, it was at 26, reflecting a fear sentiment in the vast market; despite fear, the market’s trading volume is up 70% intraday. 

Until publishing the cryptocurrency market capitalization was $2.04 trillion with an intraday decline of 2.83%. At the same time, Bitcoin, the termed pioneer of the market, was trading at $58,516 with a decline of 2.64% in trading prices. 

Despite tumbling prices, BTC’s market dominance continues to surge reaching over 57% adding over 14% in the past six months. A major decline in Ethereum price has been observed in the past 24 hours; experts claim that the recent whale moment has driven the decline; trading at $2,305 with a drop of 4.38%. 

Russia is stepping up its measures to control cryptocurrencies in a broader campaign within BRICS to demonetize the British pound and the US dollar. As geopolitical realities remain fluid, the BRICS countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are looking at how to reduce the US dollar’s hegemony in foreign trade. 

Russia’s latest moves seek to create a legal environment for using cryptocurrencies, and especially in international settlements which may be instrumental in the group’s effort to diminish the USD’s dominance.

Russia’s Crypto Regulation Strategy 

The Russian government has had, at least, a tense and neutral attitude towards cryptocurrencies throughout the years but the last few months and years show that Russia is now eager to control cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. The first of these relates to international trade payments for which crypto could potentially be used as an alternative to USD payment.

This means that instead of using the dollar, the BRICS nations would trade without having to involve the dollar thus reducing its value in the international markets. 

To this end, Russia is constructing legal standards that would govern the application of digital resources such as the cryptocurrency. It is in line with the country’s long-term vision on establishing an over the counter financial world that is not dictated by the West.

Crypto as a Tool in the BRICS 

Regulating cryptocurrencies has been embraced by the BRICS coalition as a way of continuing with the struggle of ending the domination of the western financial system. Cryptocurrencies offer a chance for BRICS countries to avoid playing by the rules of traditional financial systems and contribute for a new type of economic cooperation.

Thus, Russia’s action here is not only viewed as legislative regulation of the industry but can also be regarded as the turn towards cooperation with other BRICS members. 

Russia, therefore, by following a regulated approach to cryptocurrency, is preparing a ground for the possible use that could enable the BRICS nations to transact without being restricted by existing global financial order. It remains conceivable that comparable development could be revolutionary, as much in the energy sector which evidently has significant influence over Russian control.

Reducing the Hegemony of the USD via Crypto Regulation

The decline of the USD as the leading currency in the global market becomes one of the objectives set by Russia and the members of the BRICS. Towards this end, as the acceptance of cryptocurrencies rises, Russia views the opportunity to advance this agenda. 

Cross-border transactions in cryptocurrencies can also be a possible replacement for SWIFT, which controls most of the world’s interbank communication and is based in the West. Also, as stated earlier on, the US sanctions are making a negative impact on Russia’s economy and as such, the country is on the lookout for ways in which it can shield itself from outside pressures.

Cryptocurrencies, especially because of their being an independent digital currency and not having a central authority, offer the opportunity for carrying out the financial operations without involving Western financial companies, which would be likely to regulate. 

As for the last factor, it is worth mentioning that the change of the financial strategy in the mentioned BRICS countries is not only in the Russian interest. China and India, being BRICS nations, also have been pondering the idea of cryptocurrencies as a means to turn away from the dominance of the greenback. As these nations carry on the experimentations of the blockchain technology and the digital currencies, the cornerstones for the new incumbent global system of financial structure are established. 

Challenges Ahead 

Concerning the impact on USD, it is quite simple to predict the possible decrease of USD’s dominance due to crypto adoption, with significant question marks for Russia and the BRICS as a whole. Current legal systems recognize digital assets only to a limited extent, and by extension, observers fear information volatility and cryptocurrency insecurity. The ability to regulate it while at the same time being able to encourage innovation for players such as Russia will be vital. 

Further, mutual cooperation regarding crypto issues between the BRICS countries will be inevitable. Every country has its own set of regulations and if those regulation systems are not in sync then, there is not a completely optimized solution for trading with less reliance on USD. Still, Russia’s activity regarding crypto regulation is a positive shift, and it shows the country’s willingness to resist the worldwide dominance of the USA and other Western countries in the sphere of finance.

As per broader claims, Bitcoin is the pioneer of the cryptocurrency market, followed by Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dogecoin, among others. In the past few years, the early whale holders of these digital assets have booked significant profits by selling their holdings.   

According to recent on-chain information, an Ethereum whale holder who received a significant chunk of ETH from ShapeShift in the 2nd month of 2016 has started moving the funds, booking massive profits. 

The identified whale allegedly received 16,636 ETH in February 2016 from ShapeShift, a cryptocurrency platform allowing users to trade, track, buy, and sell digital assets. 

A whale moment is observed after eight and half years after receiving Ether’s. The whale has moved all the ETH using three different wallets to a new designation: “0xE3E5540B029d4662F6E99a5Af3E8b431Cff59566.” 

Source: Etherscan(dot)io

Arkham, a blockchain intelligence firm, quoted that the Whale started selling Ethereum on September 15, 2024, and swapped some ETH in wrapped Ethereum.   

When writing the address was managing 16,110.98148374 WETH, valued at $37,001,385.07 as of writing. The address also holds a chunk of Tether (USDT) worth $1,228,157.81. 

Until publishing, Ethereum was trading at $2,301 with an intraday decline of 4.561%; however, its trading volume surged more than 110%, reaching $15.61 billion. Some market analysts argue that the decline in ETH prices is fueled by the swap and selling of tokens by the recently awakened whale.

Other Market News Updates 

In the past 24 hours, a memecoin Baby Doge Coin price grew more than 52%, reaching $0.081614. It is crucial to note that its intraday trading volume also surged over 1300%, reaching $101.75 million, making it the 55th most traded in the vast market. 

An analyst closely tracking recently debuted memecoins argues that the spike in trading prices and volume is solely backed by Baby Doge Coin listing on Binance.

On September 16, 2024, Todayq reported that Delta Prime decentralized finance based on the Arbitrum chain had fallen victim to a hack, resulting in millions in crypto assets. 

Hackers continue to trouble the crypto sector on the verge; from 2024, beginning with publishing, the broader market has lost over one billion in heists. WazirX, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange based in India, has become the most affected by bad actors, resulting in over $230 million in losses. 

USDC’s issuer Circle has announced its plan to relocate its headquarters to New York City. At the beginning of 2024, the consortium filed its ICO application with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, actively seeking a review of the regulatory body for its expansion.   

In the past few quarters the vast stablecoin market has outperformed reaching new heights; in terms of trading volume USDT still tops the list. Tether is facing criticism in the market as some experts claim that it lacks the reserve compared to its circulating supply.  

Crypto Market Price Update 

The fear and greed index powered by CoinMarketCap was at 36 reflecting a fear sentiment in the market; at the same time crypto market capitalization was $2.04 trillion with an intraday decline of more than 2.50%. 

Fantom leads the intraday gainers’ list as its price surged 2.75% reaching 0.51085 followed by Helium at $7.29 with a rise of 1.41% in price. When writing Bitcoin was trading at $58,740 with a decline of 1.96% in the past 24 hours. 

However, the intraday loser list is ruled by Bittensor (TAO) as it lost over 7.89% of its price reaching $298.57, followed by Brett (BRETT) trading at $0.07527 with a decline of 7.15%. 

Despite a bearish sentiment, the entire market trading volume grew 76.25%, reaching $62.38 billion. 

Flappy Bird, the popular mobile game from 2013, is back in the news again. This time it arose due to its association with a crypto scam that has been surprising gamers and investors at large.

A once fun, highly addictive mobile game is now in the middle of a cryptocurrency fraud scandal. 

Flappy Bird: A New Player in the Crypto World? 

Flappy Bird – the mobile app from 2013 got popular again suddenly. But this time was not because of the gameplay to the game, or some sort of revival. Rather, the game was associated with an overly complex crypto fraud. 

Scammers attempted to make a getwhere through the name “Flappy Bird” for a new crypto currency. This way, relying on the name recognition of the popular game they were able to attract thousands of investors who thought they were investing into a real and viable project.

To begin with, the fake Cryptocurrency project offered low risks through potentially generating high returns by integrating concepts like gaming and Blockchain space, both attracting the fans of Cryptocurrency as well as gamers. 

The Scam Unveiled 

The scheme was run under the guise of Flappy Bird coming back with the new version of this game as a P2E game. To the scammers, users could earn cryptocurrency when playing the game, just like other P2E games that have been developed.

They started with web pages in order to create the impression of credibility and even faked interviews on TV. The project that was involved in this was Flappy Bird and it issued tokens under the brand name and gave exclusive in-game bonuses to the token holders. 

But as soon as they attracted enough funds from the investors, they did what is usually associated with a rug pull scam. The scammers vanished into the thin air, and all the investors were left with was pump and dump tokens. The whole thing appeared to be a con in order to Dupe people out of their Money as the original Flappy Bird by Dong Nguyen had nothing to do with it. 

Emerging Issues of Crypto and Gaming 

Here is the Flappy Bird scam, not an isolated incident from the internet and marketing world. Conversely, it exposes a rising phenomenon whereby fraudsters incorporate recognizable brands, games or a particular influencer to the deceitful cryptocurrency venture.

At the moment, there is convergence between the two industries, and play-to-earn games are coming into the scene. However, with this fusion come different vice that especially affect those unauthorized players and investors. 

There is an evolution in the sophistication of the crypto scams. Hackers take advantage of the fact that the public is still not fully conversant with the general technology for cryptocurrencies. Using the cover of such brands like Flappy Bird, they make their scam real-looking and people invest their money blindly. 

Staying Safe in the Era of Crypto and Gaming 

More such scams are expected to emerge in the future and so investors and gamers should be careful. Predatory individuals take advantage of fans and supporters of successful stars and imaginative and popular ideas to defraud them.

Therefore, any person interested in making an investment should exercise caution and make some research to ensure that one does not fall trap with such scams especially if they are promising that they are linked with a popular brand or some game. 

In the case of Flappy Bird, there were evident signs of it right from the beginning, which include but not limited to the fact that the product did not have any endorsement by the original game developer or any believable source. Also, the poles of high returns and exceptional bonuses are typical tendencies used by cheaters in the crypto community.

The Flappy Bird crypto scam is still relevant in teaching people in the gaming and crypto businesses a few lessons. As the two worlds blend even more, the cyber fraudsters are likely going to invent new ways through which they can exploit the joint.

Recently, a competitive surge has been observed among hackers, scammers, and malicious actors, who are vying to disrupt the cryptocurrency market and inflict severe losses on investors and stakeholders.

Delta Prime a decentralized finance and leading protocol based on Arbirtum has become a victim to bad actors in a hack. In an X post-dated September 16, 2024 Cyvers noted that “our system has detected multiple suspicious transactions involving DeltaPrime Defi on the $ARB chain (Still ongoing).” 

“The suspicious address has already swapped $USDC to $ETH, and the total estimated loss is around $4.5M so far! however, a suspicious address still draining the pools! Total loss might increase.”

ALERTOur system has detected multiple suspicious transactions involving @DeltaPrimeDefi on $ARB chain! (Still ongoing)It seems that admin has lost the private key. Suspicious address still draining the pools! Affected pools so far are the #DPUSDC, #DPARB, #DPBTCb !… pic.twitter.com/8sXanAaCwe

— Cyvers Alerts (@CyversAlerts) September 16, 2024

The cyber attack on Delta Prime was also confirmed by the cofounder of Fuzzland, in an X post he wrote “Delta Prime admin private key leaked. All pools are drained. $7M loss already. Withdraw ASAP!” 

Delta Prime @DeltaPrimeDefi admin private key leaked. All pools are drained. $7M loss already. Withdraw ASAP!https://t.co/uNn5nZoHp3 pic.twitter.com/se3RebRjpX

— Chaofan Shou (@shoucccc) September 16, 2024

However, until publishing the group or the individual behind the theft is not be indeed clear, but as per speculation the heist is backed by the Lazarus Group of North Korea. 

News Related to Hacks

On September 11, 2024, Todayq reported that Indodax, an Indonesian cryptocurrency, was drained of millions in digital assets. Further information states that the exchange fell victim to the popular group of unethical hackers based in North Korea.

The incident was observed and reported by Cyvers Alerts, revealing that Indodax had experienced 150 suspicious transactions suspected of being part of a hacking operation, with total losses reaching $18.2 million.

ALERTHey @indodax , Our system has detected multiple suspicious transactions involving your wallets on different networks. Suspicious address already holds 14.4 million USD and swapping the tokens to Ether.Want to keep your company off our alerts radar? Learn how to secure… pic.twitter.com/Lzpi5uthXS

— Cyvers Alerts (@CyversAlerts) September 10, 2024

From the beginning of 2024 till writing, the WazirX hack is reported to be the most disrupting event resulting in losses of over $210 million in cryptocurrencies. 

After constantly observing the activities of WazirX exploiters’ wallets, it was noted that the bad actors behind the event used crypto mixers to whitewash the details associated with the stolen funds. 

Market News Updates

The Chief Executive Officer of Circle wrote in his recent X post that “ the issuer of USDC is planning to relocate its headquarter to New York City. As per the finance experts of NY, the move to shift is appreciated by the ICO by the Circle with the U.S SEC in the first month of 2024. 

BREAKING NEWS: @circle has announced that we are moving our Global HQ to New York City, building out a flagship space on one of the top floors of 1 World Trade Center, an historically important landmark in standing for American global economic leadership. Details below the… pic.twitter.com/fCPzVMtBQw

— Jeremy Allaire – jda.eth / jdallaire.sol (@jerallaire) September 13, 2024

Tether (USDT), the market’s leading stablecoin, is facing criticism, allegedly due to a lack of audit of reserves. Some analysts claim that the issuer is constantly issuing the coins, but does not have sufficient reserves to maintain the peg, so the firm is not publishing audit reports.   

On the other hand, some claim that auditing Tether is quite difficult due to its giant circulation, and argue that it has more reserves than the circulating supply with good fundamentals.  

Crypto Market Price Updates

From August 2024 until publishing the broader market hasn’t marked any major milestone; despite this, the market capitalization fell over 15% in a quarter. 

Source: TradingView 

When writing the market cap was $2.011 trillion with an intraday outflow of $3.758 billion. At the same time fear and greed index powered by CoinMarketCap was at 36 reflecting a fear sentiment all across the market. 

In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin trading price fell over 3.50% reaching below the mark of $60k; with a loss of 1.77% of market capitalization. Despite instability in trading prices since the past few weeks, the market dominance of BTC continues to grow to reach 57.96%. 

The dominance grew 1.86% in a week, 4.14% in a quarter, 7.71% in the past six months, and more than 12% YTD. 

Tether, at the moment the largest stablecoin in terms of market capitalization, has returned to the focus again as new accusations are raised regarding the company’s activity. Tether has been accused of being a $118 billion scam by Justin Bons the founder of Cyber Capital, a famous European crypto fund, joining several other well-known issues regarding the company’s solvency, capital buffers, and general authenticity.

Similar to how BTC stands for Bitcoin, SHIB for Shiba Inu, and so on, USDT is the ticker for Tether. The price typically stays at $1, although occasionally, the stablecoin loses its peg with the US dollar due to a failure to maintain backing.    

Charge from founder of a European Crypto Fund 

The head of a European crypto fund recently went on the record to proclaim that Tether is a fraud and that the $118 billion worth of assets backing the crypto token was more fiction than fact. These allegations mainly stem from the fact that Tether’s reserve procedures are opaque and are a point of concern for many. Tether, whose USDT tokens are continuously issued in the market is criticized to lack full backing of real dollars and others resulting into fear if they could again bring about the collapse of digital currencies. 

While listing various issues that investors should consider before investing in the projects built on the Omni layer, the founder noted that Tether still has no end-to-end audit. Tether is one of the most popular stablecoins in the world, but it has not made the financial audits that would ensure that. 

History of Tether Controversies 

Tether has always been in the crosshairs since the creation of the project. While initially signifying that every USDT token it issued is fully backed by U. S dollars, the company revealed that only 2% of its reserves are in cash with the rest of the funds being in other assets such as commercial paper and loans. This revelation, made in 2021, led to a greater amount of skepticism about the company’s credibility.

The problems were not over yet. Tether said in 2021 that it would agree to pay a fine of $18mn. , including $7. 5 million to reimburse an investigation conducted by New York’s attorney general office, which had accused the company of low-grade fraud because of the ways it misreported its reserves. This legal settlement only added to the worries that Tether is not as ‘safe’ as the name implies. 

Furthermore, further concerns in Tether’s practices were revealed in a recent report from Consumers’ Research. They also highlighted that the tether promised audit has been consistently canceled and that adds to skepticism relating to the company’s assertions resulting in full transparency and availability of sufficient reserves. These have made many in the industry to wonder and inquire if Tether could be a systemic risk to the whole crypto market. 

Tether’s Defenses: This is a Balancing act 

Nonetheless, Tether has always come out in defense of its operations as alleged by some people. The company has been trying to argue that they are 100% transparent in regard to the users and the funds, as well as more than bullishly covering the circulating USDT. It has also noted that other attestation reports from third party firms although they are not full audits have been conducted to ascertain that its reserves is industry acceptable. 

Tether has gone further to provide clear indications to the effects of the USDT as a highly critical component of the digital currency market with billions of USDT being used in trading, remittance and other financial purposes. The company continues the fact that these use cases prove the confidence of the crypto community in Tether and that Tether is actually stable. 

However, these defenses have not managed to completely address customers’ concerns and more so in light of the emerging and constant change of regulations around stablecoins. Most experts share the view that future actions of government agencies may result in more severe actions against Tether and pressure the company to release more detailed and comprehensive audits.

Growing Scrutiny of Stablecoins 

Tether is not the only crypto-based company that has recently been facing increased attention. The entire idea of stablecoins is being put under pressure from regulators and industry experts within the financial markets. Currently, with market capitalization above $120 billion, stablecoins such as Tether, USD Coin, and Binance USD are effectively regulating the functioning of the crypto market. Nonetheless, because of their comparatively obscure character, the possibility of financial risk, and their increasing roles in the financial systems of the world’s economies, regulators have become increasingly interested in them. 

This year in the United States the Biden administration introduced a bill that eliminated the possibility of leveling the legal treatment of stablecoins as banks as they are now, the bill has proposed tighter regulations for stablecoin issuers. In Europe, it is the just signed Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation that is set to provide more transparency to stablecoins and demand more reliable reserves from their issuers. 

With stablecoins being considered a significant figure in global financial systems, it only makes sense that regulators will step up regulation efforts. Still, whether Tether is ready to face this increasing attention remains to be seen. 

Future of Tether as a Road Map 

Tether has been involved in a lot of scandals and controversies from all over the world including the recent one which involved a European crypto fund founder. Despite the fact that the company has denied any allegations of wrongdoing and defended its action, the fact that the company did not complete an audit and the fact that its reserves remain questionable, it is very much an issue. This is especially true given that the regulators are increasing their pressure on stablecoins, which means that the long-term prospects of Tether – the pioneer of the sector – and the entire sector of stablecoins, are very bleak. 

Currently, Tether occupies almost 88% of all funds associated with cryptocurrencies, thus it is dominating the whole crypto market and the question here is whether Tether can persist in development under growing pressure and new regulations advocates during the years to come? For now, the firm is entrenched at the very center of the cryptocurrency market, although its development appears precarious.

The tough regulations for digital assets in some nations have forced crypto-based companies to relocate their headquarters to countries with favoring laws. In terms of headquarters, the United Arab Emirates is followed closely by Hong Kong and New York. 

As per Circle’s chief executive officer and co-founder, the issuer of USDC is ready to shift its headquarters to New York City. 

In an X post dated September, Jeremy Allaire wrote that “ Circle has announced that we are moving our Global HQ to New York City, building out a flagship space on one of the top floors of 1 World Trade Center, a historically important landmark in standing for American global economic leadership.”

BREAKING NEWS: @circle has announced that we are moving our Global HQ to New York City, building out a flagship space on one of the top floors of 1 World Trade Center, an historically important landmark in standing for American global economic leadership. Details below the… pic.twitter.com/fCPzVMtBQw

— Jeremy Allaire – jda.eth / jdallaire.sol (@jerallaire) September 13, 2024

Additional information states that the Circle Consortium will likely complete the relocation HQ by early 2025. 

USDC, pegged to the U.S. dollar, holds the position of the second most traded stablecoin and fourth most traded among all registered cryptocurrencies in the market, according to the data from CoinMarket. 

What Influenced Circle to Shift Headquarter? 

As per market experts, the move to relocate the headquarter seems to be influenced by the ongoing process of the ICO filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Available information notes that Circle filed its ICO application  with the SEC in January 2024. The issuer of USDC is actively seeking a regulatory review of the filed application to clear paths for further expansion.   

However, the move of Circle is largely discussed as the SEC is coined as one of the harsh regulators for the digital asset category. In the past few years, dozens of crypto-based firms have received warnings, as well as other types of judicial and civil notices from regulators in the United States.   

Recent Lawsuit by the U.S. SEC

Earlier on August 29 2024, Todayq reported that OpenSea, one of the biggest non-fungible token (NFT) market players, has received a Wells Notice from the U.S SEC. The notice was issued allegedly over the charges that the NFTs on the marketplace are unregistered securities. 

In June 2023, Binance the leading centralized cryptocurrency, and its CEO were sued by the SEC over the charges of artificially manipulating trading volume including other severe charges. 

Most recently, eToro, a crypto-based trading platform reached a $1.5 million settlement with the SEC over the charges of operating as an unregistered broker and clearing agency. 

Crypto Market Price Update 

When writing the fear and greed index powered by CoinMarketCap was at 36 determining a fear sentiment in the vast market. At the same time, the cryptocurrency market capitalization was $2.04 trillion reflecting a decline of 2.50%. 

Bitcoin lost over 2.50% of its trading price in the past 24 hours; until publishing it was trading at $58,648, with a surged intraday trading volume of 71.79%. BTC/USDT is the most traded pair intraday followed by BTC/FDUSD. 

In the past 24 hours, Ethereum prices have seen a strong declining momentum losing more than 5.48% of its trading price reaching $2,292. In the past 7 days, the market capitalization dominance fell more than 4.92% and slipped more than 10.42%. 

At press time the market capitalization dominance of ETH is below the 20, 50, 100, and 200 days EMA (exponential moving average). 

Technology is emerging fast with cryptocurrency being the most promising type of currency but the value of digital assets is quite unstable and vulnerable to hacking. With the adoption of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum on the rise, the protection of these investments for example by taking an insurance policy has become necessary. 

Crypto insurance is an upcoming market that aims at ensuring cryptos against losses that arise from various factors such as fraud and hacking. The latest hacks and losses, which have become more rampant, make insurance an essential factor in the key driver of the acceptance of digital currencies. 

Increased Call for Crypto Insurance 

Due to the increasing market of cryptocurrency, the demand for Crypto Insurance has also come up. Due to the market’s lack of regulation and the issues of hacking and theft digital assets are at risk. In one year or better still the year 2020, over $3 billion worth of cryptocurrencies were pirated through different attacks to exchanges and wallets. This increase in the frequency of attacks has in one way or the other created the need for specific insurance products for cryptocurrency assets. 

Like any common insurance, crypto insurance is arranged to protect the risks concerning cryptocurrencies. Some of these crimes may involve theft from online wallets, hacking of cryptocurrency exchanges, and fraudulent activities that may result in loss in cash. In this industry, there are firms that deal with insurance policies in that they assist in protecting the losses of the investors in bitcoins and firms that operate with Bitcoins. Some of the largest insurance companies are looking into offering crypto insurance products and this is a sign of rising confidence. 

Types of Crypto Insurance 

Based on the nature of risk inherent to cryptos, there is a range of insurance products which can be offered. 

1. Custodial Insurance 

One of the widely known categories is custodial insurance which protects crypto assets managed by custodians such as exchanges and wallet service providers. Most of these firms act as custodians and hold substantial funds of their customers’ cryptocurrencies increasing their vulnerability to cyber criminals. The majority of the custodial insurance act as shields in cases of theft, making it possible for clients to regain part or full of their lost cash. 

2. Cybercrime Insurance 

Another product that is bought in the crypto insurance market is called cybercrime insurance. It guards against hacking, phishing as well as the rest of cyber infringements that may lead to the loss of files. These policies contain elements of reimbursement for the recovery of the lost funds and also the legal and technical necessities for investigation and solution searching of the occurrence. 

3. Smart Contract Insurance 

Liabilities that exist within DeFi and smart contracts have seen insurance products being developed to mitigate risks of losses within these smart contracts. Smart contract insurance plays the role of mitigating against shots that enable code villages, bugs, and other exploits that result in loss-making. Such an insurance type will be crucial for DeFi, as billions of dollars might be trapped in smart contracts that can be hacked. 

4. Speculative Risk Insurance 

Insurance firms are also in the process of providing solutions to hedge speculative perils including severe price swings in cryptocurrencies. Such policies may serve as a cushion for companies dealing with digital assets that are usually affected by the market fluctuations. Despite the fact that this kind of insurance is still quite new, it demonstrates the efforts of the industry to cover all spheres of the cryptocurrency risk. 

Difficulties Encountered in Crypto Insurance Market 

Nevertheless, the crypto insurance market has a number of problems, which are present even despite the growth of interest in this field. 

Lack of Regulation 

The most significant problem can be regarded as the absence of legislative restrictions concerning this type of market. Due to lack of standard or regulation most of the time the insurance companies struggle in differentiating the real risk with policy underwriting of digital assets. The lack of precise rules also implies that insurance providers are not quite sure of how to approach different claims and losses associated with crypto assets. 

Valuation Issues 

Another difficulty is the question of how to assess the value of such digital assets as cryptocurrencies for insurance. The unpredictability of cryptocurrencies makes them very risky, and hence their value is not easily definable by the insurers. The case with a loss is that sometimes it is unclear how much has to be paid, since the value of the cryptocurrency in the course of the claims process might change. 

Limited Data 

The crypto insurance market is an emerging market, and, therefore, there is scarce information on the loss occurrence rates and the magnitude of the losses in the area. This is a big challenge that insurance businesses face since they do not have historical facts and figures to develop accurate policy tariffs as well as assess the risks involved. 

High Premiums 

As cryptocurrency is highly volatile and risky, insurances for cryptocurrencies cost far more than the regular insurances for the appraisal assets. This makes it difficult for individuals and business organizations seeking to purchase insurance for their cryptos because they may end up paying more than the policy is worth. 

Future of Crypto Insurance 

The prospect of crypto insurance is rather relevant since new market players appear and offer more niche solutions to the customers who are using cryptocurrencies. Thus over time as the market for cryptocurrencies becomes more established, the need for insurance solutions will increase in order to meet the emerging demand. Market factors which incorporate regulatory issues will be crucial in the determination of future evolution of crypto insurance since emerging guidelines will aid the insurers in the determination of the risks involved, and therefore design affordable and accessible products. 

Insurers are also turning their attention towards how the blockchain technology itself could also be used to enhance the insurers’ processes and decision making. Some of the possibilities are the usage of blockchain for the same, extended, safe and immutable systems of claims processing, as well as managing insurance policies.

Following the evolution of blockchain-based currencies, several other byproducts also came into existence to ease the function, process, and storage of cryptocurrencies. In this comparative piece, we will explore the advantages and disadvantages of Single-Signature Wallets vs. Multi-Signature Wallets and discuss which of these is more secure. 

What are Single-Signature Wallets?

There are several types of storage wallets in cryptocurrencies, but Single-Signature Wallets stand out due to their unique features. A single-Sig Wallet is a digital wallet that only requires a single signature or one private key to authorize the transactions. 

In these wallets, a single signature means a single entity or a person has control over the wallet and can execute approval transactions without requiring approval from anyone else. 

How does a Single-Signature Wallet Work? 

In Single-Signature Wallets, a unique key is generated, which is further used to validate, verify, and sign a transaction. The generated private key also verifies that a single user owns the funds and has permission to make transactions.  

Public keys also play a significant role in Single-Signature Wallets, as the public keys are shared with others to receive the amount of cryptocurrency in the wallet. In simple words, a public key is a door that helps others deposit funds at your address.  

Furthermore, public keys in Single-Signature Wallets are also used to verify a sender’s identity and ensure that the transaction is legitimate. It is also used to verify the digital signature created by the private key. 

Advantages of Using Single-Signature Wallets

There are several advantages to using Single-Signature Wallets, some of which are:

Simplicity–  The Single-Sig Wallets are easy to set up, with a single private key to control the wallet easily without following lengthy and complicated processes to set up the wallet.    

Speed– In a Single-Sig Wallet, one can process transactions with a higher transaction rate than Multi-Signature Wallets, as single-sig wallets require only a single signature. 

Enhanced Privacy– One can share the public key with the sender without revealing the wallet owner’s private key. 

Accessibility– In terms of accessibility the Single-Signature Wallets can be accessed on various devices including the hardware wallets. 

Less Transaction Cost–  Making a transaction in a single-signature wallet is comparatively cheaper than that of multi-signature wallets. 

Easy Recover– In case of lost credentials or login failures, single-signature wallets are easy to retrieve using a single private key.   

Cons of Using Single-Signature Wallets

Security Risks- In case of loss or compromised private key, the vulnerability of funds theft surges. 

Key Management Challenges–  It’s quite difficult to store and manage a private key securely, and losing the private key might restrict you from accessing your funds.   

Limited Accountability– The single-signature wallets have limited accountability due to single ownership. 

Scam and Theft Vulnerability– The risk of theft increases if the device holding a private key is infected by any malware or phishing software. 

What are Multi-Signature Wallets?

In cryptocurrencies, Multi-Signature Wallets are defined as wallets that require multiple signatures before the execution of a transaction. In simple words, a wallet that requires multiple approvals for the execution of a transaction is termed a multi-sig wallet.  

The nature of multiple approvals makes these wallets more secure compared to single-signature wallets. 

How Does a Multi-Signature Wallet Work?

A multi-sig wallet is created by using multiple private keys, each of which is held by a different party/signer. It is not mandatory that the transaction processed by the multi-sig wallet should be approved by each and every signer or the private key holder.

During the creation of a multi-sig wallet a threshold for validating a transaction is determined, if a multi-sig wallet has 5 signers and a transaction is processed then all five signatures aren’t mandatory if 3 out 5 sign the transaction it would be approved. 

Post-signing or validating using private keys the signatures are further collected & combined using the cryptographic algorithms. It also reduces the risks of unauthorized transactions. 

Advantages of Using a Multi-Signature Wallet

Reduces the Risk of Single Point Failure-  The feature of shared control makes multi-sig wallets more secure and also helps to avoid the risk of a single point of failure. 

Enhanced Accountability– As there are multiple signers holding separate private keys which helps to make these wallets more accountable reducing the risk of theft or fund wipeouts. 

Less Risk of Loss of Funds- In case a single signer loses the private key there is no issue other private key holders can still access the funds, without any fail. 

More Secure Against Phishing- If a scammer or fraudster acquires the private key from a signer, the funds are as safe as other remaining private key holders and unauthorize the transaction as needed. 

Cons of Using Multi-Signature Wallets

Complexity- Compared to single-signature wallets multi-sig wallets are more complex to manage and set up. 

Less Compatibility– The multi-signature wallets are less compatible with the available exchange and other services. 

More Transaction Fees– The transaction fees in multi-sig wallets are comparatively high compared to those of single-sig wallets. 

Conclusion 

Choosing the right wallet is crucial for security and convenience when managing cryptocurrencies. Single-signature wallets offer simplicity, speed, and ease of use but come with significant security risks, key management challenges, and limited accountability. 

On the other hand, Multi-Signature Wallets provide improved security, accountability, and protection against phishing and theft. Still, they can be challenging to set up and manage, with higher transaction fees.

Ultimately, the choice between Single-Signature and Multi-Signature Wallets depends on individual priorities. If security and accountability are preferred, Multi-Signature Wallets are the better choice. 

However, if ease of use and speed are more critical, Single-Signature Wallets may suffice. Users can consider their specific needs and risk tolerance to strike a balance. For high-value transactions or shared accounts, Multi-Signature Wallets provide added protection.

For everyday transactions or individual accounts, Single-Signature Wallets may be a better choice.