From TUSD losing its peg to UN singling out USDT in its report, here is a 2-minute breakdown of everything important that happened in crypto today.
It's been rocky for stablecoins. TrueUSD shocked markets by suddenly losing its $1 peg, plunging as low as $0.984 amidst a flood of sell orders. Meanwhile, a UN report red-flagged Tether for its extensive use in facilitating illegal activity in Southeast Asia. Not exactly an inspiring day for key pillars.
But the crypto news cycle keeps on spinning. So let's dive into the latest top stories and developments:
- TrueUSD loses its $1 peg, falling as low as $0.984 in overnight trading 💸
- UN report singles out USDT's role in assisting Southeast Asian scammers and money launderers 🚩
- Venezuela pulls the plug on its controversial Petro token experiment 💀
- BlackRock CEO trumpets anticipation for Ethereum ETF listing 🎉
- Celsius finally moves $125M of its frozen Ether funds 🐢
- Upcoming Bitcoin halving poses profitability threat for smaller miners 🥺
Now let's dive deeper into each of those stories...
TrueUSD Loses Its $1 Peg 💸
TrueUSD (TUSD) experienced some price turbulence over the last 24.
One of the top 10 stablecoins lost its dollar peg - dipping as low as $0.984 during frantic overnight trading. A rare sight for a major fiat proxy!
Most price punishment came on Binance order books amidst a deluge of TUSD sell orders. On-chain data spotted net outflows of over $130 million suggesting investors dumped en masse into BTC and other cryptos.
Why did it de-peg all of a sudden? Did the TUSD make any comment? Read the full story!
UN Red-Flags USDT 🚩
Tether just got red-flagged by the United Nations! USDT enjoys broad use among Southeast Asian scammers and money launderers according to a new UN report.
Specifically, the report called out stablecoin's role in facilitating illegal online gambling and romance fraud operations. Even citing an example where USDT assisted American authorities in tracking $225 million tied to a human trafficking ring involved in "pig butchering" scams.
The scale exposed by UN officials proves alarming for crypto's reputation and stablecoin legitimacy worldwide.
Of course, Tether leadership contends they actively cooperate with agencies to block tainted transactions and freeze stolen funds.
Then why did the report single out USDT if they always assist authorities in finding criminals? Read the full story!
No More Petro Token 💀
RIP to Venezuela's infamous Petro token - the state-backed crypto experiment finally flatlined this week after a controversy-plagued 5-year run.
The asset began as a bold stab by President Maduro to inject digital assets into Venezuela's inflating economy. Backed by oil reserves, Petro aimed to stabilize the bolivar currency.
But critics slammed the effort as an exploitation of national oil wealth from the start. Even earning a US sanction in 2019 over shady Russian bank involvement.
Does this mean the country will finally focus on adopting Bitcoin fully to stabilize the economy instead? Read the full story!
BlackRock CEO Predicts Bright Future for ETH ETF 🎉
Barely 72 hours since BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF debuted, CEO Larry Fink is already talking about Ethereum ETF!
In recent interviews, the financier kingpin trumpeted high anticipation for an Ethereum fund offering too.
Citing "value" in exposure tied to Ether's ascending smart contract dominance.
With BlackRock filing its own ETH trust application, it seems they see real value in Ethereum.
And there is a rising trend the CEO pointed out. Read the full story!
Celsius Moves $125 Million ETH 🐢
After endless delays, Celsius creditors may finally see some repayment drips on long-frozen funds.
Over the past week, the lender shifted over $125 million worth of Ether to exchanges.
Mind you this only represents a fraction of Celsius' remaining ETH trove - still over $1.3 billion at last check!
Specific timing and repayment figures remain flaky.
Any repayment schedule announced by Celsius? Read the full story!
Bad News for Miners 🥺
Per CoinShares’ analysis, the 2024 Halvening comes with pain as miner margins get squeezed.
They expect the electricity cost will rise from 68% to 71% of operating budgets. Brutal power bills for miners!
Now names like Riot and CleanSpark sit pretty well, thanks to locked-in energy rates and lean operations. But other players may face a wipeout if BTC drops below $40k for long!
Will the upcoming halving impact mining stocks negatively? Read the full story!
That wraps up the key crypto news making waves today. Stay safe out there!
