Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Bitcoin ETF Fake News Causes BTC Options Trades To Be Highly Volatile

In a tumultuous day for the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin experienced a roller-coaster ride in response to a Bitcoin ETF fake news about the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF.　　Source: Greeks.liveBTC‘s Wild Price Swing Amid Bitcoin ETF Fake News　　Early in the U.S. trading day, an inaccurate post claimed that BlackRock’s proposed spot Bitcoin ETF had gained approval, triggering a surge in trading activity and a 10% spike in Bitcoin‘s price, briefly reaching the $30,000 mark. The Bitcoin ETF fake news prompted significant market volatility, with Bitcoin’s value oscillating by as much as 10% within a single day before settling back to its pre-news price.　　According to Greeks.live, he misleading information not only impacted Bitcoin‘s price but also led to a spike in major maturity option IVs within the three-month period. BTC short- and intermediate-term IVs rose by 5%, while ultra-short-term IVs increased by nearly 20%. However, long-term option IVs expiring at the year’s end and beyond remained unchanged.Ethereum Unshaken as Bitcoin‘s Volatility Soars　　Interestingly, Ethereum (ETH) remained largely unaffected, with its major maturities showing no significant changes. The distribution of options trades revealed that Bitcoin’s growth was fueled by short-term calls in the 28,000 to 30,000 range, causing challenges for options players.　　Confirmation from

2023-10-17Deep Dive

Upbit Singapore Gains Preliminary Approval for MPI License from MAS

Upbit Singapore has announced that it has received in-principle approval for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This allows Upbit to continue offering digital payment token services to institutional investors while awaiting full approval.　　Its worth noting that in October alone, entities such as Coinbase, Ripple, and Sygnum Bank in Singapore also received MAS approval for their respective licenses, bringing the total number of digital payment token service companies with such licenses to 15.　　

2023-10-16Deep Dive

This Week's Token Unlock

Token Unlocks data indicates that four projects will experience significant token unlocks this week (October 16th to 22nd):　　On October 16th at 8 AM, Flow will unlock 7.29 million FLOW tokens, valued at approximately $3.23 million, representing 0.7% of the circulating supply.　　On October 17th at 8 AM, ApeCoin will unlock 15.6 million APE tokens, valued at around $16.6 million, accounting for 4.23% of the circulating supply.　　On October 20th at 21:10, Axie Infinity will unlock 1,513 AXS tokens, valued at about $64.59 million, constituting 11.5% of the circulating supply.　　On October 22nd at 8 AM, SPACE ID will unlock 18.49 million ID tokens, valued at approximately $3.41 million, making up 6.46% of the circulating supply.　　

2023-10-16Deep Dive

Platypus: LP Withdrawals Arranged, Negotiations with Hacker Underway

Yesterday, according to a report from PeckShield, it appears that the Avalanche ecosystem stablecoin trading project Platypus Finance may have fallen victim to a suspected hacking attack. At the time of the report, the project had suffered losses of approximately $1 million.　　Platypus Finance responded to the incident with a post on the X platform, stating, “Due to suspicious activities in the protocol, we have taken proactive measures to pause all pools. Any further updates will be promptly communicated to the community.”　　In the end, Platypus announced a loss of approximately $2.2 million in the sAVAX-AVAX pool. The team suspended the pool and initiated an investigation at 6:50 AM (UTC). With the assistance of the security platform Supremacy, they successfully recovered around 50,000 sAVAX and 7,000 AVAX from one of the attackers. The team is closely collaborating with security experts to identify and rectify vulnerabilities. Platypus will not restart the pool until these issues are fully resolved, and security measures are reinforced.　　Platypus Finance is a stablecoin exchange project built on the Avalanche platform. It had received leading investments from Three Arrows Capital and DeFiance Capital and supported single stablecoin collateral. According to data from Defillama, Platypus Finance had a TVL (Total Value

2023-10-16Deep Dive

MetaMask Wallet Returns To Apple App Store Following Temporary Removal

Popular DeFi wallet MetaMask, with 21 million monthly users, was pulled off the Apple App Store for a few hours on Saturday. Although the crypto wallet app has now been restored, there has been no official explanation of the reason behind this incident.　　FYI: We‘re aware that MetaMask isn’t currently available for download on the App Store. This is and not related to anything malicious, and our team is working hard to resolve it ASAP. We expect MetaMask to be back on the App Store shortly, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.　　In addition, the development team behind the wallet also admonished users against downloading fake versions of its application on the App Store. Such a warning is not far-fetched, as users have lost assets to bad actors through fake crypto wallets.　　Most recently, American billionaire Mark Cuban lost $870,000 of digital assets in a hack that he attributed to downloading a counterfeit version of the MetaMask wallet. An hour after MetaMasks statement, the crypto wallet returned to the Apple App Store. However, the reason for the initial removal remains largely unknown.　　 What Could Have Prompted This Event？　　One possible explanation for MetaMask‘s temporary absence from the Apple App

2023-10-16Deep Dive

U.S. Government Becomes Bitcoin Largest Holder With $5 Billion Seizures

The U.S. government is one of the worlds Bitcoin largest holders, with three recent seizures resulting in approximately 200,000 Bitcoins worth more than $5 billion seized from cybercriminals, as per WSJ.U.S. Government Becomes Bitcoin Largest Holder　　The U.S. government has been reportedly one of the worlds Bitcoin largest holders. The holding is a result of three recent seizures, which yielded over 200,000 Bitcoins valued at more than $5 billion.　　The seized Bitcoins primarily come from cyber criminals and darknet markets and are stored in encrypted hardware wallets controlled by various government agencies such as the Ministry of Finance, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Justice Department.　　The government‘s total stash is likely even larger than what has been publicly disclosed. While the U.S. has been slow in converting its Bitcoin holdings into dollars, recent seizures have added substantial value to its overall holdings. The legal process to convert seized Bitcoin into cash can take years, during which time the cryptocurrency’s value can appreciate significantly.Approach to Handling Seized Bitcoin　　The U.S. governments approach to handling seized Bitcoin differs from its treatment of other seized assets. When a government agency takes control of a crypto asset, it does not immediately become the property of the

2023-10-16Deep Dive

Beware: Scammers Exploit Bookmark Trick to Steal from Friendtech Users!

A concerning security threat has emerged as malicious scripts target the popular website Friendtech users.　　These scripts, written in JavaScript, are the crafty handiwork of scammers aiming to deceive unsuspecting Friendtech users into adding a nefarious bookmark to their browsers.　　The scheme operates as follows: once a user unwittingly adds the malicious bookmark to their browser, the JavaScript code springs into action upon accessing the ft site. It then launches a sinister attempt to pilfer sensitive data, including passwords, with a specific focus on ft‘s two-factor authentication (2FA) credentials, as illustrated in Figure 1. Additionally, these malevolent scripts seek to compromise the tokens linked to Privy, an embedded wallet used by ft, as depicted in Figure 2. This puts the user’s ft account and any associated funds in grave jeopardy, as the scammers endeavor to gain unauthorized access and control.Malicious JavaScript Tactics Targeting Friend.tech　　What makes this threat even more alarming is that the method employed is far from novel. The usage of such malicious bookmarks has been increasingly prevalent in schemes aimed at compromising Discord accounts. It serves as a stark reminder that similar tactics can easily be deployed in various online platforms and websites, putting a wide range of accounts and

2023-10-16Deep Dive

New Android Uniswap Wallet Is About To Be Launched To Users

Uniswap Labs, the creators of the popular Uniswap decentralized exchange, announced a significant development for their user base. The Android Uniswap wallet is now set to launch for users, with the beta version already live for registration.Uniswap Labs Expands Reach with Android Uniswap Wallet Beta Launch　　Initially launched on iOS in April, the Uniswap wallet quickly rose to become one of the top 3 wallets for new downloads within a month. The team has been meticulous in adapting the wallet for Android, ensuring that users can experience the same seamless swapping experience that millions enjoy on Uniswap.　　The Uniswap wallet is designed for the ideal swapping experience. It offers features such as easy token discovery, automatic transitions between Mainnet and Layer-2 networks, and rapid swaps. The team has consistently rolled out updates to enhance speed and expand the range of tokens and chains available for swapping.Enhanced Swapping and Security Features in Android Uniswap Wallet　　Uniswap is also gearing up for a wave of user adoption on chains with cheaper and faster transactions, including Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, and BNBChain, with more to come. Swapping on these Layer-2 solutions is made effortless with automatic chain detection.　　To protect users from potential issues like frontrunning and

2023-10-13Deep Dive

Fall In Bitcoin Donations To Hamas, What Mainstream Media Overlooked About Crypto

Following the events in Israel, mainstream media has pointed out the alleged connection between Bitcoin and crypto with Hamas. The terrorist group has been using digital assets to raise money globally, but the situation is complex and sheds light on the indirect use cases of cryptocurrencies.　　 Bitcoin Not A Tool, But A Weapon Against Terrorists？　　Via social media platform X, Sam Lyman, Director of Public Policy for Bitcoin mining company Riot, addressed the recent reports on the connection between Hamas and crypto donations. As mentioned, the group supposedly raised over $100 million in donations using digital assets.　　Mainstream media has been reporting on these donations from the perspective of digital assets, enabling groups like Hamas to maintain a financial lifeline. A report from The Wall Street Journal claims that the events of last Sunday, when members of Hamas infiltrated Israel, resulting in the death of hundreds of civilians, were financed with crypto.　　Lyman claims that the reports lacked certain nuances that point at Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies not as a tool but as a potential obstacle for terrorist groups. Hamas instructed their followers to refrain from donating money in Bitcoin. Lyman explained:　　Why？ Because the transparent nature of the blockchain had Western intelligence following their

2023-10-13Deep Dive

Polkadot Lays Off 300 Employees: What’s The Way Forward?

Parity Technologies, the developer of Polkadot, a platform at the forefront of blockchain interoperability, has reportedly laid off more than 300 employees. According to an X post shared by “chainyoda,” a core contributor, on October 12, the number retrenched is more than that of developers working on dapps deployed on the blockchain.Parity Technology Game Plan: To Be More Decentralized　　There has been no confirmation from Parity on the exact number of employees whose contracts have been terminated. However, as of October 11, the company updated its community on what it plans to do in the coming months.　　On social media platform X, Parity said they advocate for decentralization and don‘t want to be a “bottleneck, slowing down the growth of Polkadot.” As part of this, they will look to continue enhancing Polkadot’s technology, improve developer experience, and foster a strong community of developers.　　Accordingly, this meant a change of strategy. Parity said it would be “sunsetting its go-to-market functions to make room for the emergence of new ecosystem leaders” to spearhead Polkadots development.　　As part of this transition, Parity Technologies pointed to a new program launched by Web3 Foundation, which it believed would help build and mold the next cohort of leaders to take

2023-10-13Deep Dive

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