The total crypto market capitalization rejected at $1.13 trillion on Feb. 16, but there was no change in the month-long ascending channel structure. More importantly, this level represents a 43% gain in 2023, which is far from the $3 trillion level achieved in Nov. 2021. Still, the current recovery is notable. As shown above, the ascending channel initiated in mid-January has left some room for a 10% correction down to $1 trillion without breaking the bullish formation. Investors reacted positively to the 5.6% year-on-year U.S. CPI inflation increase on Feb. 14 and the 3% retail sales monthly growth on Feb. …

The multichain exchange aggregator DexibleApp has been hit by an exploit, and $2 million worth of cryptocurrency has been lost as a result, according to a Feb. 17 post-mortem report released by the team on the project’s official Discord server. As of 6:35 p.m. UTC on Feb. 17, the DexibleApp frontend shows a popup warning about the hack whenever users navigate to it. At 6:17 a.m. UTC, the team reported that they had discovered “a potential hack on Dexible v2 contracts” and were investigating the issue. Approximately nine hours later, they released a second statement that they “now know $2,047,635.17 …

The upcoming Ethereum (ETH) Shanghai hardfork is slated to occur in March 2023 and the upgrade will cap off the network's move to proof-of-stake (PoS) which started during the “Merge” on Sept. 15, 2022. Once Shanghai is implemented, previously locked Ether will gradually become liquid for the first time since December 2020. According to on-chain Etherscan data, over 16.6 million Ether are currently locked in the PoS staking protocol which was valued at $28 billion on Feb. 16, 2023. Ethereum’s move from proof-of-work (PoW) to PoS has started to achieve the original goal which was to make Ether’s supply deflationary. …

Bitcoin (BTC) price rallied over 12% on Feb. 15, marking the highest daily close in more than six months. Curiously, the movement happened while gold reached a 40-day low at $1,826, indicating some potential shift in investors' risk assessment for cryptocurrencies. A stronger than expected U.S. inflation report on Feb. 14 presented 5.6% growth year-over-year, followed by data showing resilient consumer demand caused traders to rethink Bitcoin's scarcity value. U.S. retail sales increased by 3% in January versus the previous month — the highest gain in almost two years. On-chain data indicates that the recent gains can be traced back …

An investigative report has suggested that major cryptocurrency exchange Binance was behind transferring roughly $400 million in funds from a Binance.US account to a trading firm managed by Changpeng Zhao. According to a Feb. 16 Reuters report, an investigation of Binance’s banking records and company messages showed more than $400 million was sent in a series of transactions starting in 2020 from an account controlled by Binance.US to trading firm Merit Peak. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly launched a probe into potential connections between Binance.US and the same trading firm in February 2022. Reuters reported that a …

While the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) continues to monitor the overheated economy, the most likely scenario is further interest rate hikes to curb inflation. The unintended consequence is the heightened government debt cost, creating a bullish environment for scarce assets such as commodities, stock market and cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin’s price gain practically extinguished bears expectation for a sub-$21,500 options expiry on Feb. 17, so their bets are unlikely to pay off as the deadline approaches. Bitcoin investors' primary concern is the possibility of further impacts from regulators following the staking rewards program by the Kraken exchange being halted by the U.S. …

The Bitcoin (BTC) price rose to a new six-month high of $24,800 on February 16, registering a double-digit surge of 15%. The prolific single-day Bitcoin price surge took many by surprise, given February has been historically bearish for the top cryptocurrency. BTC price rose by $1,820 in a single day, making it the biggest green day for the top cryptocurrency in six months. Many people attributed the BTC price surge to a number of factors, including a rise in dollar value and declining inflation. On-chain data indicates the current price momentum can be traced back to a mysterious fund that …

Binance, the world's leading crypto exchange by trading volume, will temporarily suspend bank transfers in U.S. dollars. The exchange stated in a tweet on Feb. 6 that no other trading methods would be affected. The announcement came with no explanation. However, exchange CEO Changpeng Zhao noted in a tweet that only 0.01% of the exchange’s total users will be affected by the suspension while assuring that they are looking to resolve the issue soon. Recently, Binance encountered related financial issues in the U.S. On Jan. 21, its SWIFT transfer partner, Signature Bank, announced that, as of Feb. 1, it would …

Bitcoin (BTC) is leading the cryptocurrency markets on the path to recovery. Although the United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) print for January was marginally higher than expectations, it did not dent the enthusiasm of bullish crypto trader. A positive response to seemingly negative data is a sign that the sentiment is bullish and traders are looking for buying opportunities. However, some analysts are cautious due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar index (DXY). They believe that a sustained rally in the DXY could limit the upside in cryptocurrencies. Usually, long-term downtrends are followed by a base formation. During …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has started ramping up its crackdown on the crypto industry and recent enforcement actions had a negative impact on crypto prices last week and at the start of this week. The SEC is focusing on stablecoin issuers. The most recent SEC stablecoin crackdown was on Feb. 13 through the issuance of a Wells Notice to Paxos Trust Company, the issuer of Binance USD (BUSD). While Paxos denies that BUSD is a security, which would place it outside the SEC’s jurisdiction, some lawyers say the answer is not so simple, which creates fear …

Matter Labs, the firm managing Polygon (MATIC), announced that the beta version of its zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) would launch on March 27, 2023. It’s possible that Polygon will enjoy a first-mover advantage in this space by launching a public mainnet before zkSync and Scroll. Zk-based roll-up technology is accepted as the gold standard for scaling. The existing optimistic-based roll-ups like Arbitrum and Optimism have EVM capability but are less secure because they are “fraud-proof.” Malicious transactions on an optimistic roll-up can stay valid for up to seven days or more before being reversed. Thus, giving an advantage to …

Judge John Dorsey of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has denied a motion appointing an independent examiner for FTX. In a Feb. 15 hearing, Judge Dorsey said he had some discretion under the law to choose whether to appoint an examiner in the FTX bankruptcy case despite some of the the parties meeting the debt threshold with the loss of funds. According to the judge, appointing an examiner would be an “unnecessary burden” on FTX’s debtors and creditors. He also cited CEO John Ray’s experience under similar circumstances. “There’s no question that if an examiner …