From Terra to FTX, 2022 has given us many bizarre crypto tales. Whereas buyers have been enduring a bear market that noticed the crypto trade sink beneath the $1 trillion market capitalization mark, adoption within the area has been rising, and outdated mysteries had been lastly solved.
From the unimaginable brief squeeze of a bankrupt firm’s token to outdated anti-crypto arguments utilized by a serious central financial institution, we’re getting bizarre with 5 tales one of the best fiction writers couldn’t dream up.
“Comedic rapper” charged over Bitfinex hack
Again in 2016, in style cryptocurrency change Bitfinex suffered a serious safety breach that noticed attackers steal 119,756 Bitcoin (BTC), price roughly $72 million on the time. It was one of many largest crypto hacks in historical past, and though Bitfinex continued working, its repute was broken for years to come back.
This yr, Heather Morgan, identified by her rap title “Razzlekhan,” and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein had been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for allegedly conspiring to launder crypto related to the Bitfinex hack.
Throughout a court docket look in New York, the pair proclaimed their innocence and had been launched on multimillion-dollar bonds. The bizarre a part of this story is the main points surrounding Morgan’s work as a “comedic rapper” and social media influencer. One in all her songs even says it’s devoted to “the entrepreneurs and hackers, all of the misfits and good slackers.”
Morgan, who calls herself the “crocodile of Wall Avenue,” was labeled a grasp of “deceit and deception” by federal authorities. Whereas her house was being searched, Morgan allegedly requested federal brokers for permission to retrieve her cat from below the mattress and, whereas doing so, tried to lock her telephone.
Morgan and Lichtenstein reportedly traveled to Ukraine in 2019 to realize false identities and create pretend passports, and have “established monetary accounts” in Ukraine and Russia.
She was an everyday contributor to Forbes. The day earlier than the Bitfinex hack, she posted an image subsequent to Lichtenstein with a caption saying she is going to “all the time love stepping into bother w/ this loopy man.”
Bitfinex introduced it had been hacked on August 2, 2016. https://t.co/Y7sJ7ZUrKB On Aug. 1, 2016, Heather Morgan posted a photograph with Ilya Lichtenstein and the caption: “I’ll all the time love stepping into bother w/ this loopy man.” pic.twitter.com/EjVmRtiYof
— Jack Morse (@jmorse_) February 9, 2022
Commenting on Morgan and Lichtenstein’s arrest, Dymtro Volkov, head of world improvements at crypto change CEX.io, instructed Cointelegraph that with the correct technical assets, “it’s attainable to trace the circulation of most funds shifting on a blockchain community” and that “hiding an enormous quantity of stolen funds is definitely fairly a fancy process.”
Notably, the pair isn’t being charged with the hack however laundering the stolen funds. The sordid particulars of the story have even caught the curiosity of filmmakers. Hulu is producing a true-crime restricted sequence about Morgan’s life, and Netflix has ordered a docuseries on the story.
Bankrupt Celsius Community’s CEL token surges 4,000%
Shortly after cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Community filed for chapter, the value of its native utility token, CEL (CEL), jumped by greater than 4,100%. In solely two months, the value climbed from a backside of $0.093 to a close to $4 excessive.
The surge got here amid rumors that Ripple, an organization engaged in a authorized battle with the US Securities and Alternate Fee, might take over Celsius’ belongings. Different rumors advised Goldman Sachs deliberate to accumulate Celsius for $2 billion.
FTX continues to be sucking up CEL liquidity.
550k CEL moved from OkeX to FTX 25min in the past.#CelShortSqueeze is quietly doing its factor behind the scenes. #celsius #CelsiusNetwork pic.twitter.com/T2l4pbrUfO
— CryptoChris (@Chris52508387) July 17, 2022
Merchants organized a large brief squeeze. Brief squeezes happen when an asset’s worth rises out of the blue, forcing brief sellers to purchase again the asset at the next worth to shut their positions.
The brief squeeze was attainable as a result of a freeze on Celsius token transfers considerably decreased the circulating provide of CEL.
On the time of the brief squeeze, Cointelegraph reported that FTX had about 5.1 million CEL tokens, amounting to 90% of the entire circulating provide on exchanges.
It’s at present believed merchants on FTX pulled off the brief squeeze, however deleted tweets recommend that the origins of the motion is probably not absolutely understood, and a few imagine Alameda Analysis was instantly concerned. We do know that no less than some merchants are nonetheless trying to get a CEL brief squeeze going once more, even after the token dropped to $0.50.
Binance’s letter of intent
Binance’s stunning letter of intent to accumulate the collapsing FTX change is one other bizarre story of 2022. On the time, many in crypto believed FTX was a solvent, well-run firm. When Binance introduced its intent to liquidate its holdings of FTX Token (FTT) following hypothesis concerning the solvency of FTX, what was seen as a rivalry between Binance and FTX quickly was a possible buyout nobody was anticipating.
As FTX’s solvency was hardly being questioned, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried introduced an “settlement on a strategic transaction” with Binance. It was a bizarre and surprising revelation as a result of, till that time, Bankman-Fried had dismissed issues in regards to the solvency of FTX.
This afternoon, FTX requested for our assist. There’s a vital liquidity crunch. To guard customers, we signed a non-binding LOI, intending to completely purchase https://t.co/BGtFlCmLXB and assist cowl the liquidity crunch. We can be conducting a full DD within the coming days.
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) November 8, 2022
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao added to these issues when he tweeted, “This afternoon, FTX requested for our assist. There’s a vital liquidity crunch. To guard customers, we signed a non-binding LOI, intending to completely purchase FTX.com and assist cowl the liquidity crunch. We can be conducting a full DD within the coming days”.
The deal fell by the subsequent day after Binance carried out its due diligence, with the explanations changing into clear quickly after.
European Central Financial institution spreads FUD
In late November, the European Central Financial institution (ECB) printed a weblog put up through which it argued that Bitcoin’s restoration from $17,000 to $20,000 was seemingly an “artificially induced final gasp earlier than the street to irrelevance.”
The ECB mentioned that Bitcoin is “hardly ever used for authorized transactions” and that “actual Bitcoin transactions are cumbersome, gradual and costly.” The central financial institution daringly wrote that Bitcoin has by no means been used “to any vital extent for real-world authorized transactions.”
Associated: Probably the most eco-friendly blockchain networks in 2022
In line with the ECB, Bitcoin has benefited from “waves of recent buyers” whereas not being appropriate as an funding. It doesn’t generate money circulation or dividends, nor can or not it’s productively used or “present social advantages.”
The assertion argues that blockchain expertise has “created restricted worth for society” and that the “Bitcoin system is an unprecedented polluter.” It additionally advised that cryptocurrency promotion bears a “reputational threat for banks.”
Each level the ECB introduced up has been used to assault the cryptocurrency neighborhood, and each single level has been rebuffed.
I clicked on this text with an open thoughts, keen to have my thoughts modified
Nevertheless it opens with a provable lie
The overwhelming majority of Bitcoin utilization is for authorized spending, for-profit hypothesis, and playing – not “unlawful transactions”
It is not 2012 anymore… It is a joke. pic.twitter.com/037aehMyEN
— FatMan (@FatManTerra) November 30, 2022
The ECB has recycled a number of crypto myths which have been used to carry the trade again. The put up comes because the ECB accelerates progress on creating a digital euro. One of many put up’s authors, Ulrich Bindseil, has authored quite a few posts on central financial institution digital currencies.
Moreover the recycled myths, what’s bizarre is the ECB’s unclear angle, as many don’t take into account CBDCs to be competing with cryptocurrencies, which are sometimes seen as a option to exit the shortcomings of fiat foreign money methods.
Chatting with Cointelegraph, Anton Bukov, co-founder of 1inch Community, mentioned the ECB’s put up was good for the cryptocurrency neighborhood, because it means the “authorities got here to the second and even third stage of Gandhi’s thought: First they ignore you, then they snicker at you, then they combat you, then you definitely win.”
Central African Republic’s crypto plan
The Central African Republic (CAR) grew to become the second nation to undertake Bitcoin as a authorized tender earlier this yr, permitting round 5 million residents to make use of the flagship cryptocurrency alongside the nation’s fiat foreign money, the Central African CFA franc.
The transfer got here after Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra signed a invoice into legislation establishing a regulatory framework for Bitcoin as authorized tender. Whereas the crypto neighborhood initially celebrated the transfer, the bizarre facet of this quickly grew to become obvious.
Though the CAR is a mineral-rich nation, its individuals are among the many poorest on the earth. It has been devastated by a decade-long civil conflict, and it’s estimated that 9 out of 10 residents don’t even have entry to the web. CAR’s determination was accompanied by little to no clarification, with President Touadéra tweeting a easy “extra to observe.”
Extra to observe.
Vires in Numeris. #Bitcoin #BTC
Unité, Dignité, Travail#RCA #CAR #crypto #Cryptomonnaies
— Faustin-Archange Touadéra (@FA_Touadera) May 21, 2022
The tweet was referring to an anouncement in regards to the nation’s “visionary” plan to create a “incredible alternative for anybody who believes in crypto investing.” That chance is the Sango mission, which seems to now be an preliminary coin providing for the nation’s CBDC.
The mission claims that the nation’s treasury can have a devoted Bitcoin reserve and permit residents to have a “voice and probability to form the long run” by a governance system. Citizenship may be acquired by locking mounted collateral in Sango. Different advantages embody e-residency, land possession and 0% revenue tax for digital belongings.
Whereas attracting overseas funding is an clever transfer from CAR, a Bitcoin-based preliminary coin providing from a war-torn nation is a bizarre growth. CEX.io’s Volkov instructed Cointelegraph that cryptocurrencies are “effectively positioned to assist rising economies fill gaps within the providers their home monetary methods are missing” and will assist join home monetary methods to international markets. Volkov added that the transfer could assist the nation’s economic system:
“Making crypto authorized tender, or no less than making a authorized framework that defines its utilization, permits monetary firms to introduce low cost and quick monetary providers that prospects can entry even with unreliable entry to the web.”
He additionally mentioned cryptocurrencies can have a “massively optimistic impact on international locations with creating monetary methods seeking to take part within the international economic system.”
The tales coated on this article make it clear how unpredictable the cryptocurrency area may be throughout bear and bull markets. If something, anybody following what’s happening is having fun with a rollercoaster journey they may always remember.
