From BONK making wild moves to Trump offering a dinner date to Mugshot NFT buyers, here is a 4-minute breakdown of everything important that happened in crypto this week.
This week in crypto started off about as exciting as watching paint dry. Prices bounced around aimlessly while we all twiddled our thumbs, wondering if anything interesting would ever happen again. Midweek, the Fed gave the markets a small glimmer of hope by announcing interest rates would remain unchanged. Bitcoin rallied back above $43k, but still, it felt like another boring week in crypto.
That is until BONK decided to make wild moves. Its newly announced Coinbase listing sent the memecoin mooning. Investors scrambled to buy the Solana phone like it was a Black Friday sale, hoping to score some free BONKs. Meanwhile, SafeMoon declared bankruptcy.
So let’s discuss all these events in detail in this news roundup! Today we're covering:
- BONK rescues Solana's Saga phone with airdrop 📱
- BONK sees parabolic surge after Coinbase listing confirmed📈
- Once high-flying SafeMoon plunges over 50%, files bankruptcy 💥
- Crypto exchange CoinList pays $1.2M settlement 💰
- Worldcoin releases upgraded "World ID 2.0" system 🌎
- FIFA launches the NFT collection around the 2023 Club World Cup ⚽
- El Salvador passes legislation for Bitcoin-backed bonds to fund Bitcoin City ₿
- Trump launches mugshot NFT collection 🔲
- KuCoin pays $22M settlement and cuts off NY users ⚖️
- HTX sees massive outflows post-hack. Can they rebuild trust? 💸
- Inscriptions deemed a cyber risk. 🤔
Let’s dive into each of these stories!
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Memecoin Comes Crashing Down
It finally happened - SafeMoon is officially filing for bankruptcy. The filings hit this week and the token lost over 50% of its value within hours.
This comes just after the project's top exec got slammed with securities fraud charges. The authorities called it a "massive fraudulent scheme."
Understandably, a bunch of former fans are now venting online that they got duped and wrecked. And ex-employees say they worked for weeks with no pay before they got terminated.
Here is what SafeMoon had to say about the bankruptcy and all other issues!
HTX in Danger? 💸
Justin Sun's crypto empire is on shaky ground lately. His exchange HTX has seen over $250 million in net outflows since resuming operations post-hack.
This comes after two other Sun-tied platforms, Poloniex and HECO Bridge, got hacked in November to the tune of around $200 million.
HTX itself lost $30 million from its hot wallet in a September breach. Despite pledging to reimburse users fully, trust remains fragile.
Can he fulfill his promise of fully reimbursing his users? HTX’s reserve revealed a different picture… Read the full story!
Bitcoin Inscriptions Are Cyber Risk 🤔
Bitcoin's inscriptions have been labeled a cybersecurity vulnerability by the US government's National Vulnerability Database (NVD).
The database warned that the inscriptions exploit a bug to cram non-transaction data into Bitcoin's blockchain.
On Twitter, Bitcoin Core dev Luke Dashjr claimed inscriptions spam Bitcoin through the bug. He's working to fix it in upcoming upgrades.
Dashjr confirmed new Ordinals and BRC-20 projects would no longer be possible if the vulnerability is patched. This could severely restrict inscription-based protocols.
What's a bug to one party is a feature to another.
Can Bitcoin plug security holes without hindering creativity? Or will bolting down the base chain shatter promising but parasitic experiments above? Is this halt going to affect the already existing ordinal projects? Read the full story!
Bitcoin Bonds Are Coming ₿
By now you've probably heard about a certain Central American country's big Bitcoin bond plans. We're talking government bonds...backed by BTC.
After making history by legalizing the volcano bond earlier this year, they just got the official go-ahead to launch them in 2024.
El Salvador made history by passing legislation for Bitcoin-backed bonds in January. The bonds aim to fund Bitcoin City development and address sovereign debt.
The Bitcoin-friendly country has actively pursued crypto initiatives. It recently launched a $1 billion Bitcoin mining project with Tether to build "Volcano Energy."
With global recession fears mounting, the bonds provide El Salvador with an alternative means to raise capital beyond traditional markets.
How can you buy these bonds residing outside El Salvador? Are other South American countries ready to follow El Salvador’s example? Read the full story!
FIFA World Cup NFTs!! ⚽
Football’s global governing body FIFA is getting into NFTs. They've partnered with Modex to launch an NFT collection around the 2023 Club World Cup.
The drop coincides with the tournament kick-off in Saudi Arabia this month. FIFA's inaugural NFT lineup will feature 100 pieces, debuting Dec 15th.
Highlights include NFTs that can secure tickets to the 2026 World Cup final. An additional 900 NFTs on Polygon and OpenSea will capture memorable tournament moments.
FIFA's Chief Business Officer said the launches will provide fans "a unique and innovative way" to connect with the sport and contribute to the NFT market's growth.
But how can you buy these one-of-a-kind NFTs? And when will they exactly launch? Read the full story!
KuCoin’s $22 Million Settlement ⚖️
Major cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has agreed to pay $22 million and terminate services for New York-based users to settle charges brought by the New York Attorney General's office.
The charges had something to do with the exchange supposedly breaking securities laws and selling tokens without proper registration. Even Ethereum got labeled an unregistered security amid the rumble.
In response to the settlement, KuCoin's CEO stated the company is committing to compliant operations moving forward.
Losing access to such a huge market is a big sacrifice. But the exchange decided keeping regulators happy was worth it.
But questions linger...Will Ethereum officially be deemed a security now? Will other exchanges tap out of New York too instead of challenging the authorities? Read the full story!
CoinList’s Settlement
Crypto exchange CoinList agreed this week to pay $1.2 million to settle allegations it violated US sanctions on Crimea.
Apparently, the exchange let nearly 1,000 transactions slide through between 2020 and 2022 tied to users in a sanctioned region.
Although labeled "non-egregious," the regulators said CoinList failed to voluntarily disclose the violations stemming from deficient screening procedures.
Specifically, CoinList opened dozens of accounts for users who claimed Russian residency but provided Crimean addresses.
But regulators went light on penalties since the volume was small and the exchange played nice.
Read the full story!
Trump’s Mugshot NFT Collection 🔲
Former U.S. President Donald Trump just launched a new NFT collection starring none other than himself. We're talking mugshot trading cards centered around the theme of his criminal indictments.
The digital trading cards depicting Mr. Trump's mugshot from his August 2023 arrest in Georgia are priced at $99 each. Purchases can be made using credit cards or Wrapped Ether, though the NFTs will not be transferable until the end of 2024.
Those who purchase 47 or more of the mugshot NFTs will receive a piece of the actual suit Mr. Trump wore for the photo along with a dinner invitation to his Mar-a-Lago estate.
How can one get these NFTs and what other benefits do they offer? Read the full story!
Worldcoin’s Making Moves 🌎
Blockchain identity startup Worldcoin has released an upgraded "World ID 2.0" system now integrated with major platforms like Shopify, Reddit, Telegram, and Minecraft.
World ID 2.0 serves as a "human passport" for verifying users across apps and services. The integrations complement existing ones like Discord and Talent Protocol.
Worldcoin says tiered authentication will help mitigate losses from bots without compromising user privacy.
Over 2 million users already using their identity solution. But the startup has been catching some heat over potential privacy violations.
With the app already integrated into major web2 platforms, the plan does sound legit! But what about regulators? Read the full story!
BONK’s Surge 📈
BONK, a popular memecoin on the Solana blockchain, saw a substantial price rally this week following confirmation by Coinbase that it would list the token on its exchange.
On Wednesday, Coinbase announced plans to list BONK without specifying a date. This news prompted a brief surge in BONK's price followed by a decline of 11% over 24 hours.
However, on Thursday afternoon, Coinbase tweeted that BONK would officially be listed that same day, provided liquidity conditions were satisfied. As an experimental listing, BONK can be traded on Coinbase like any other cryptocurrency.
The confirmation promptly sent BONK to a new record high price according to CoinMarketCap data. Over the past month, BONK has achieved remarkable gains of 613%.
BONK flipped a major memecoin to gain the third rank. How far is it to flip SHIB? And is this rally going to last? Read the full story!
BONK Saves Solana's Phone
Solana's blockchain-based Saga phone is seeing surging sales. Traders are scooping up the phone to claim a 30 million token BONK airdrop.
Co-founder Raj Gokal tweeted Saga sales have jumped 10x in 48 hours, putting the phone on track to sell out before 2023. Another co-founder jokingly suggested raising the price.
The $599 Saga phone was facing bleak outlooks previously with low sales. But the BONK airdrop changed everything.
Saga’s Discord blew up with new phone buyers sharing receipts.
Memecoin mania wins again. Even if temporarily, the BONK drop strategically rescued Saga from the brink of failure. Creating urgent FOMO was genius.
But how can a Saga phone holder claim this airdrop? And what’s the deadline? Read the full story!
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