Coming every Sunday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link. Top Stories This Week Bitcoin price drop nets Bitfinex “whale” $10 million in five minutes Bitcoin’s struggle to maintain $10,000 has been an ongoing theme this week. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency was surging toward $10,500 on Thursday, but faced rejection at this level and dropped suddenly by over $300. It was the second time in a week that BTC …

Late Saturday night on Feb. 15, Bitcoin (BTC) price briefly reclaimed the $10K mark after a tumultuous day of trading that saw the price drop 5.35% to $9,853. The possibility of a downside break was enhanced by Bitcoin’s failure to hold above $10,330 and for the past 4 days $10,450 to $10,500 served as a stiff zone of resistance. According to data from Skew Analytics, the swift 5.35% drop resulted in $90 million worth of liquidated leveraged positions at BitMex. BitMEX XBTUSD Liquidations. Source: Skew.com Bitfinex whale recovers $10M in 5 minutes In the immediate aftermath of Bitcoin’s sharp price …

One of the biggest names in crypto has joined in an ongoing argument about who will lead the class-action suit against Bitfinex and its affiliates over alleged market manipulation leading to Bitcoin’s 2017 bull run. Antonopoulos’s affidavit Amid a flurry of filings seeking to lead the class, Andreas Antonopoulos has come out in support of the legal team of Liebowitz, filing an affidavit on Jan. 27 vouching for the expertise of the team — which Antonopoulos has seen in action on the Kleiman v. Wright case. Liebowitz’s representation includes a laundry list of attorneys from three separate firms, but Antonopoulos …

The four class-action suits against Bitfinex, Tether and parent company iFinex over alleged market manipulation leading to Bitcoin’s (BTC) 2017 bull market have been consolidated — with implications for every BTC buyer since April 2017. Per an order dated Jan. 24 and filed Jan. 27 from Judge Failla of the court of the Southern District of New York (SDNY), four complaints have been consolidated. Plaintiffs Leibowitz, Young, Faubus and Ebanks — as well as assorted sub-listed parties in each of those cases — will now have their cases heard jointly. The original allegations and controversy surrounding Bitfinex, Tether The class-action …

Tether is now supporting a gold-backed stablecoin, Tether Gold (XAU₮), according to a Jan. 23 press release. One token represents ownership of one troy fine ounce of physical gold, currently worth approximately $1,550. The new product is available as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, as well as a TRC20 token on Tron (TRX). The funds are said to be backed by physical gold held in a “Switzerland vault,” the press release reads. According to Tether, its gold offering is the only product among its competition that does not charge custody fees. Tether has also invited all exchanges wishing …

Currently facing multiple lawsuits, cryptocurrency stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT) received a request from prosecutors asking for consolidation, combining three lawsuits into one, which Tether has not denied. “We did not oppose the plaintiffs’ requests to combine these frivolous claims, originally filed, respectively, in October in New York, in November in Washington and in January in New York,” reads a Tether statement shared with Cointelegraph via email on Jan. 17, 2020. Multiple lawsuits Various parties have suspected Tether, alongside related exchange Bitfinex, of foul play numerous times over their years in existence. One of the most recent ordeals on the subject …

The origin and destination of the funds at first remained unknown. The transaction followed fresh developments in the court case involving Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who claims to be Bitcoin inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto. As Cointelegraph reported, Wright now says he can prove ownership of 1 million BTC ($8.6 billion). Available evidence nonetheless suggests he has only divulged publicly available information and has not proven ownership of the given private keys. Against a backdrop of uncertainty surrounding Wright, fears were already palpable about a major selloff impacting the Bitcoin price. A fake tweet from Whale Alert purportedly showing a …

One legal team looks to lead the three ongoing suits against IFinex alleging that illegal conduct involving iFinex’s subsidiaries Tether and Bitfinex was behind Bitcoin’s (BTC) 2017 bull run. Per a Jan. 13 filing with the court of the Southern District of New York (SDNY), the counsel for Eric Young, Adam Kurtz and David Crystal are asking to be deemed “Interim Lead Counsel” for a number of parties filing similar class-action suits. Young et al are represented by law firms Radice and Kirby McInerney. Meaning of the new classification for the case Such a classification would make Young’s counsel the …

An Oct. 10 class-action lawsuit filed against iFinex Inc., the parent company of Bitfinex and Tether, was refiled on Jan. 8 in New York’s Southern District. The lawsuit by Young et al. was followed on the next day by a similar class-action filing by Bryan Faubus. The original lawsuit alleges that iFinex manipulated the cryptocurrency market in 2017 by issuing unbacked Tether (USDT) that was then sold for Bitcoin to increase its price. Plaintiffs argue that the common belief that each USDT represented one real dollar led traders to eagerly participate in the market, boosting it by an excessive amount …

Cryptocurrency exchange, Bitfinex, has reportedly strengthened its know your customer (KYC) requirements, sending an email to verified users asking for more identifying information. Additional personal data requested According to a Dec. 27 report from the Block, the purpose of the email from Bitfinex was to enhance the exchange’s due-diligence procedures, and bring all of its client accounts “to the same level.” Verified users were apparently asked to share information on the source of — and use of — funds, along with proof of residential address, such as a utility bill. Constant drive to improve compliance Bitfinex Chief Technology Officer, Paolo …

Hong Kong-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex now enables its users to purchase cryptocurrencies with both credit and debit cards. The exchange made the announcement on Dec. 20, saying: “Buy cryptocurrencies with your debit or credit cards on Bitfinex. Whether it's Bitcoin, USDt, Ethereum, or any other ERC20 tokens, pick your favorite and purchase with your credit or debit cards directly.” Bitfinex’s recent developments December has witnessed a number of Bitfinex’s developments, with the exchange and crypto store Bitrefill partnered to allow the trading platform’s clients to shop with Bitcoin (BTC) over the Lightning Network. The collaboration will allow customers to buy …

In a filing with the New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, New York Attorney General Letitia James roundly criticized the efforts of Bitfinex and Tether to halt her office’s investigation into the companies. Bitfinex and Tether are under investigation for an accounting coverup in which Bitfinex is alleged to have improperly transferred $625 million that had been backing the Tether stablecoin in order to conceal Bitfinex’s liquidity shortfall. In the filing from Dec. 4 but made public on Dec. 12, Attorney General James wrote that Bitfinex and Tether are attempting to stop the “ongoing investigation by the Office of …