Terra
‘Far too easy’ — Crypto researcher’s fake Ponzi raises $100K in hours
Crypto influencer FatManTerra claims to have gathered over $100,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from crypto investors in an investment scheme that was later revealed as fake. The crypto researcher said he created the fake investment scheme as an experiment and to teach people a lesson about blindly following the investment advice of influencers. The account on Twitter has around 101,100 followers and is mostly known for being a former Terra proponent that now actively speaks out against the project and founder Do Kwon following its $40 billion collapse in May. In a Sept. 5 tweet, FatManTerra told his followers he had “received access to a high-yield BTC farm” by an unnamed fund, and said that people could message him if they wanted-in on the yield farming opportunity. “I’ve maxed ou...
Contagion only hit firms with ‘poor balance sheet management’ — Kraken Aus boss
The crypto contagion sparked by Terra’s infamous implosion this year only spread to companies and protocols with “poor balance sheet management” and not the underlying blockchain technology, says Kraken Australia’s managing director Jonathon Miller. Speaking with Cointelegraph, the Australian crypto exchange head argued that sectors such as Ethereum-based decentralized finance (DeFi) revealed its fundamental strength this year by weathering severe market conditions: “Some of the contagion that we saw across some of the lending models in the space, [was in] this traditional finance kind of lending model sitting on top of crypto. But what we didn’t see is a kind of catastrophic failure of the underlying protocols. And I think that’s been recognized by a lot of people.” “Platforms...
The lasting agony of 3AC: Law Decoded, July 18-25
The late spring and summer months of 2022 would be remembered not only for their extreme temperatures across the globe but also for a crushing streak of large crypto companies falling apart. Terra Lab in May, Celsius in June and now, the lasting agony of a Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC). Technically, 3AC was ordered for liquidation by a court in the British Virgin Islands on June 27, but it was last week, which has seen some further developments around the firm. The liquidators of 3AC are brutally demanding access to the company’s Singapore headquarters due to the “virtual radio silence from the management/directors of the Company.” They believe the office may contain cold wallets or information on how to access 3AC trading accounts, which the liquidator...
Tether fortifies its reserves: Will it silence critics, mollify investors?
There is an old Arabic proverb: “The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.” It could summarize the journey to date of Tether (USDT), the world’s largest stablecoin. Tether has been embroiled in legal and financial wrangling through much of its short history. There have been lawsuits over alleged market manipulation, charges by the New York State attorney general that Tether lied about its reserves — costing the firm $18.5 million in fines in 2021 — and this year, questions voiced by United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen as to whether USDT could maintain its peg to the U.S. dollar. More recently, investment short sellers “have been ramping up their bets against Tether,” the Wall Street Journal reported on June 27. But, Tether has weathered all those storms and seems to keep mov...
Tether fortifies its reserves: Will it silence critics, mollify investors?
There is an old Arabic proverb: “The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.” It could summarize the journey to date of Tether (USDT), the world’s largest stablecoin. Tether has been embroiled in legal and financial wrangling through much of its short history. There have been lawsuits over alleged market manipulation, charges by the New York State attorney general that Tether lied about its reserves — costing the firm $18.5 million in fines in 2021 — and this year, questions voiced by United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen as to whether USDT could maintain its peg to the U.S. dollar. More recently, investment short sellers “have been ramping up their bets against Tether,” the Wall Street Journal reported on June 27. But, Tether has weathered all those storms and seems to keep mov...
Terra’s LUNA2 skyrockets 70% in nine days despite persistent sell-off risks
The price of Terra (LUNA2) has recovered sharply nine days after falling to its historic lows of $1.62. On June 27, LUNA2’s rate reached $2.77 per token, thus chalking up a 70% recovery when measured from the said low. Still, the token traded 77.35% lower than its record high of $12.24, set on May 30. LUNA2’s recovery mirrored similar retracement moves elsewhere in the crypto industry with top crypto assets Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) rising by approximately 25% and 45% in the same period. LUNA2/USD four-hour price chart versus BTC/USD. Source: TradingView LUNA2 price rally could trap bulls The recent bout of buying in the LUNA2 market could trap bulls, given it has come as a part of a broader correction trend. In detail, LUNA2 appears to be forming a “bear flag&#...
Swiss National Bank exec: Regulators may favor centralized stablecoins after Terra crisis
Swiss National Bank (SNB) deputy head Thomas Muser talked to Cointelegraph editor Aaron Wood and discussed the ongoing trends in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins, and regulations, during the recently concluded European Blockchain Convention (EBC) 2022. Talking about the innovation and adoption of private stablecoins and plans of central banks regarding the CBDC launch, Moser said both could co-exist. He said that CBDC’s function would be very basic and private stablecoin issuers can add services on top of them to meet retail customers’ needs. When asked about the recent collapse of the Terra’s UST and its subsequent impact on regulations, Moser said that the recent spiral crash of the Terra and its decentralized algorithmic stablecoin UST could have a lastin...
Anonymous vows to bring Do Kwon’s ‘crimes’ to light
Hacktivist group Anonymous has pledged to “make sure” Terra co-founder Do Kwon is “brought to justice as soon as possible” in regards to the collapse of the Terra (LUNA) and TerraUSD (UST) ecosystems in May. On Sunday, a video purportedly coming from the Anonymous hacker group rehashed a laundry list of Kwon’s alleged wrongdoings, including cashing out $80 million each month from Luna and TerraUSD prior to its collapse as well as his role in the fall of stable coin Basis Cash, for which Do Kwon allegedly co-created under the pseudonym “Rick Sanchez” in late 2020. “Do Kwon, if you are listening, sadly, there is nothing that can be done to reverse the damage that you have done. At this point, the only thing that we can do is hold you accountable and make sure that you are brought to ju...
Bitcoin futures enter backwardation for the first time in a year
Bitcoin’s (BTC) month-to-date chart is very bearish, and the sub-$18,000 level seen over the weekend was the lowest price seen since December 2020. Bulls’ current hope depends on turning $20,000 to support, but derivatives metrics tell a completely different story as professional traders are still extremely skeptical. BTC-USD 12-hour price at Kraken. Source: TradingView It’s important to remember that the S&P 500 index dropped 11% in June, and even multi-billion dollar companies like Netflix, PayPal and Caesars Entertainment have corrected with 71%, 61% and 57% losses, respectively. The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee raised its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points on June 15, and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that more aggressive tightening could b...
XRP price technical breakdown boosts chances of a 40% drop by July
Ripple (XRP) price stares at potential losses in the coming weeks as it breaks out of a “descending triangle” pattern, with its bias skewed toward the downside. Major XRP breakdown underway To recap, XRP started forming the technical structure after reaching $1.98 in April 2021, its second-highest level to date. In doing so, the token trended lower inside a range defined by a falling resistance trendline and a horizontal support trendline. On May 16, 2022, XRP broke below the triangle’s support trendline, accompanying a decent increase in trading volumes. The move confirmed the descending triangle as a bearish reversal indicator. Meanwhile, as a rule of technical analysis, XRP now risks extending its downside move by as much as the triangle’s maximum height whe...
Law Decoded, June 7–13: Lummis-Gillibrand bill is finally here
One can hardly name a document more long-hoped-for as the crypto bill, co-sponsored by United States Senators Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, was for the crypto community. And, it’s finally here. Last week, Lummis and Gillibrand introduced a 69-page bill in the U.S. Senate. What’s inside? The projects of study on the environmental impact of digital assets and advisory committee on innovation, a tax structure, a mandate for analysis of the use of digital assets in retirement savings and much more. Should it become law, the bill would undoubtedly implement major changes to the current regulatory landscape. Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis have confirmed that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) will be classified as commodities and regulated by the Commodity ...
Binance.US faces class-action lawsuit over LUNA and UST sale
Binance.US, the sister company of global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, is facing a class-action lawsuit from investors for the sale of LUNA and TerraUSD (UST). A group of investors filed a class-action lawsuit in the Northern District of California on Monday, alleging that Binance sold unregistered securities in the form of LUNA and UST to investors and mislead them into buying them. The lawsuit was filed by law firms Roche Freedman and Dontzin Nagy & Fleissig on behalf of several investors who lost their money during the recent LUNA and UST spiral collapse. The lawsuit alleged that Binance.US is not registered as a broker-dealer in the United States and thus clearly violates U.S. securities laws. The plaintiffs in the case accused the crypto exchange of knowingly promoting a f...
