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The 5 strangest stories of the industry in 2022

diffrint by diffrint
December 24, 2022
in ICO
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The 5 strangest stories of the industry in 2022

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From Terra to FTX, 2022 has given us many bizarre crypto tales. Whereas traders have been enduring a bear market that noticed the crypto business sink under the $1 trillion market capitalization mark, adoption within the house has been rising, and previous mysteries had been lastly solved.

From the unimaginable quick squeeze of a bankrupt firm’s token to previous anti-crypto arguments utilized by a serious central financial institution, we’re getting bizarre with 5 tales the very best fiction writers couldn’t dream up.

“Comedic rapper” charged over Bitfinex hack

Again in 2016, common cryptocurrency trade 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 return.

This yr, Heather Morgan, recognized 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 linked to the Bitfinex hack.

Throughout a courtroom 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 among her songs even says it’s devoted to “the entrepreneurs and hackers, all of the misfits and sensible slackers.”

Morgan, who calls herself the “crocodile of Wall Road,” was labeled a grasp of “deceit and deception” by federal authorities. Whereas her residence was being searched, Morgan allegedly requested federal brokers for permission to retrieve her cat from beneath the mattress and, whereas doing so, tried to lock her cellphone.

Morgan and Lichtenstein reportedly traveled to Ukraine in 2019 to achieve 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 “at all times love stepping into bother w/ this loopy man.”

Commenting on Morgan and Lichtenstein’s arrest, Dymtro Volkov, head of world improvements at crypto trade CEX.io, advised Cointelegraph that with the right technical sources, “it’s doable to trace the circulation of most funds transferring 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 more 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 USA Securities and Trade Fee, may take over Celsius’ belongings. Different rumors steered Goldman Sachs deliberate to accumulate Celsius for $2 billion.

Merchants organized a large quick squeeze. Quick squeezes happen when an asset’s worth rises out of the blue, forcing quick sellers to purchase again the asset at the next worth to shut their positions.

The quick squeeze was doable as a result of a freeze on Celsius token transfers considerably lowered the circulating provide of CEL.

https://cointelegraph.com/historical/?utm_source=CT&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=navigation
Click on “Accumulate” under the illustration on the high of the web page or follow this link.

On the time of the quick squeeze, Cointelegraph reported that FTX had about 5.1 million CEL tokens, amounting to 90% of the whole circulating provide on exchanges.

It’s presently believed merchants on FTX pulled off the quick squeeze, however deleted tweets counsel that the origins of the motion will not be totally understood, and a few consider Alameda Analysis was immediately concerned. We do know that at the least some merchants are nonetheless trying to get a CEL quick squeeze going once more, even after the token dropped to $0.50.

Binance’s letter of intent

Binance’s shocking letter of intent to accumulate the collapsing FTX trade 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 weird and unexpected revelation as a result of, till that time, Bankman-Fried had dismissed considerations in regards to the solvency of FTX.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao added to these considerations 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 totally purchase FTX.com and assist cowl the liquidity crunch. We will probably be conducting a full DD within the coming days”.

The deal fell by means of the following day after Binance performed its due diligence, with the explanations turning into clear quickly after.

European Central Financial institution spreads FUD

In late November, the European Central Financial institution (ECB) revealed a weblog submit wherein it argued that Bitcoin’s restoration from $17,000 to $20,000 was seemingly an “artificially induced final gasp earlier than the highway to irrelevance.”

The ECB stated 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: The most eco-friendly blockchain networks in 2022

Based on the ECB, Bitcoin has benefited from “waves of latest traders” whereas not being appropriate as an funding. It doesn’t generate money circulation or dividends, nor can 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 steered that cryptocurrency promotion bears a “reputational threat for banks.”

Each level the ECB introduced up has been used to assault the cryptocurrency group, and each single level has been rebuffed.

The ECB has recycled a number of crypto myths which were used to hold the industry back. The submit comes because the ECB accelerates progress on growing a digital euro. One of many submit’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 technique to exit the shortcomings of fiat foreign money methods.

Chatting with Cointelegraph, Anton Bukov, co-founder of 1inch Community, stated the ECB’s submit was good for the cryptocurrency group, because it means the “authorities got here to the second and even third stage of Gandhi’s thought: First they ignore you, then they chuckle at you, then they struggle you, then you definately 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 group initially celebrated the transfer, the bizarre aspect of this quickly grew to become obvious.

Though the CAR is a mineral-rich nation, its persons are among the many poorest on the planet. 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 choice was accompanied by little to no rationalization, with President Touadéra tweeting a easy “extra to comply with.”

The tweet was referring to an anouncement in regards to the nation’s “visionary” plan to create a “improbable 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 likelihood to form the longer term” by means of a governance system. Citizenship may be acquired by locking fastened collateral in Sango. Different advantages embrace 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 improvement. CEX.io’s Volkov advised Cointelegraph that cryptocurrencies are “nicely 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 at the least 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 stated cryptocurrencies can have a “vastly optimistic impact on international locations with growing monetary methods seeking to take part within the international economic system.”

The tales lined on this article make it clear how unpredictable the cryptocurrency house may be throughout bear and bull markets. If something, anybody following what’s occurring is having fun with a rollercoaster journey they’ll always remember.