Read in the Digest:
- U.S. Treasury sanctions Tornado Cash, Circle freezes addresses linked
- Bitcoin briefly top 24%, BTC & ETH derivative trading regains traction
- Bankrupt Celsius Network token, CEL rallies 110% in 30 days, here’s why
- Crypto Investment Firm Galaxy Digital Lost $554.7M in the Second Quarter
- China Shuts Down 12,000 Crypto-Related Accounts Over Publicity Stunts
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Tornado Cash, Circle Freezes Addresses Linked
Tornado Cash, the popular decentralized application used to mix crypto to cover a trail of blockchain transactions, has been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for allegedly helping hackers launder proceeds from their cyber crimes.
According to the Treasury, Tornado Cash has been used to launder over $7 billion in crypto since its creation in 2019. The Treasury highlights North Korean hackers’ use of Tornado Cash in laundering funds from recent bridge attacks on Harmony and Nomad.
Following the sanction, Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has blacklisted smart contract addresses linked to Tornado Cash. Blacklisted addresses can no longer receive USDC, and all USDC on those addresses can not be transferred on-chain.
At this time, over 75,000 USDC worth of funds linked to the 44 Tornado Cash addresses has been frozen by Circle. The sanction imposes fines of $50,000 to $10,000,000 and 10 to 30 years imprisonment as penalties for American users who interact with Tornado cash.
Flipsider:
- After the sanction on Tornado Cash, its co-founder Roman Semenov complained that his Github account was also suspended.
Why You Should Care
The sanction is a move from the U.S. regulators to control the rising rate of hacks and money laundering taking over the crypto scene.
Bitcoin Briefly Top 24%, BTC & ETH Derivative Trading Regains Traction
Bitcoin (BTC) enjoyed a bullish start to the week, gaining nearly 5% on Monday, August 8, to surpass $24,000. The rally signaled investors’ turn to digital assets after robust U.S. jobs data was announced.
The 7D price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
The increasing price of Bitcoin correlates with an increase in confidence from derivative traders. According to data from Glassnode, there is a slight increase in investor interest in trading BTC futures as Bitcoin increases.
On the other hand, Bitcoin’s biggest competitor, Ethereum, has seen more interest in derivative trading. Data from Glassnode shows that the interest in Ethereum derivatives trading is currently near an all-time high.
Flipsider:
- Following indications that the Bitcoin hourly chart had moved into the overbought territory, the asset began to plunge.
- Bitcoin has lost 3.5% in the last 24 hours to trade under $23,300 amidst a broader crypto market correction.
The 24 hours price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
Why You Should Care
The increasing interest in ETH derivative trading comes as investors bet big on a major rally following the Ethereum mainnet merge.
Bankrupt Celsius Network Token, CEL Rallies 110% in 30 Days, Here’s Why
CEL, the native token of bankrupt cryptocurrency lending company Celsius Network, is experiencing a strong uptrend when more than 90% of the entire crypto market is recording significant losses in the last 24 hours.
Over the last 24 hours, the price of CEL has gained 12% to briefly trade above $2 for the first time since May. The gains over the last two days appear to be driven by a community short squeeze organized on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) with the hashtag the #CELShortSqueeze.
The 24 hours price chart for Celsius (CEL). Source: CoinMarketCap
The massive accumulation from retail traders due to the short squeeze appears to positively affect the price of CEL. Other positive sentiments stem from the withdrawal of the proposal to bring ex-CFO Rod Bolger to an advisory role.
The 30 Days price chart for Celsius (CEL). Source: CoinMarketCap
In the last 30 days, CEL has rallied by 110%, making it the fourth best performing top 100 cryptos ranked by market cap. This is in contrast to whales, investors holding between 100,000 to 1,000,000 CEL tokens, who have reduced their holdings.
Flipsider:
- Celsius Network has warned its customers to be wary of phishing attacks as a list of customer emails was leaked in a data breach.
Why You Should Care
The accumulation from retail investors has helped CEL trade at a much higher price than before the Celsius Network filed for bankruptcy on July 13.
Crypto Investment Firm Galaxy Digital Lost $554.7M in the Second Quarter
Digital asset trading, management, and investment firm Galaxy Digital released its second-quarter financial reports on Monday. It reported a net loss of $554.7 million – more than three times its $182.9 million loss in Q2 of 2021.
The investment firm founded by billionaire Mike Novogratz explained that the larger losses mainly resulted from “unrealized losses” on digital assets and crypto market downturn, and investments in Galaxy’s trading business.
CEO Michael Novogratz maintained positivity about the company’s recent performance; while speaking on an earnings call, he said, “I am proud of Galaxy’s outperformance during a challenging market and macroeconomic environment.”
Despite the losses, the Novogratz-led crypto investment firm boasts of holding $1.5 billion in liquidity, most of it in cash.
Flipsider:
- According to Novogratz, Galaxy Digital plans to expand its business and end the year with 400 employees from its present 375.
Why You Should Care
Market analyst Mark Palmer explained that the reports helped alleviate investor concerns about the extent of Galaxy’s losses on lending activity and its investment book.
China Shuts Down 12,000 Crypto-Related Accounts Over Publicity Stunts
China has intensified the self-examination of information and accounts to strengthen supervision and inspection in the virtual asset sector. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has moved to clean up illegal information, accounts, and websites.
The CAC aims to stop “publicity stunts” regarding virtual currency. According to the August 9 press release, the CAC said 12,000 illegal accounts have been shut down by the Chinese social media platform Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) and internet giant Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU).
The report notes that “ICE (NYSE:ICE) Blizzard Entertainment Founder” and “Currency Circle Expert” were among the account taken down. Over 51,000 units of illegal information, including “invest in Bitcoin to make money easily” have been clean in the process.
The regulatory body has also instructed local network information departments to interview over 500 businesses involved in virtual currency’s publicity stunts and speculation.
Flipsider:
- Despite the ban and continuous crackdown on crypto, the sale and popularity of non-fungible tokens in China are rising.
Why You Should Care
The CAC continues its crackdown on illegal virtual currency activities, raiding counterfeit investment platforms in July.