2024-06-18 08:14

Attorneys for the victims said the bankruptcy process has left FTX customers feeling "aggrieved and robbed." FTX victims asked a New York court to rule that the crypto exchange's forfeited assets belong to its customers, not the bankruptcy estate. The filing said the bankruptcy code prioritizes certain creditors over others, such that holders of FTX’s FTT token are near the bottom of the priority list. FTX bankruptcy victims are seeking a ruling that the failed crypto exchange's forfeited assets, some $8 billion, belong to its customers, not the bankruptcy estate, according to a Friday filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Last month, the estate proposed a new reorganization plan that would see 98% of creditors get back 118% of their claims – in cash – within 60 days of court approval. The plan irked many of FTX customers, who had missed out on the opportunity to profit from the run-up in crypto prices while their funds were stuck in bankruptcy limbo. The court filing said FTX filed for bankruptcy during the so-called crypto winter, when cryptocurrency prices saw a dramatic drop. Measuring customer claims at that time value would be profoundly unfair, according to the filing, which said the price of Solana (SOL) has increased ninefold and the price of bitcoin quadrupled since the petition date. The victims' attorneys, Adam Moskowitz and David Boies, said in the filing the bankruptcy process has left "FTX customers feeling 'aggrieved and robbed,' many of whom view the bankruptcy process as a 'second act of theft' and that the 'FTX bankruptcy estate remains to be the same fraudulent corporate entity' as was the enterprise run by SBF." SBF, is former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud. FTX collapsed in November 2022. The lawyers said that the jury found SBF stole no less than $8 billion from FTX customers. Bankman-Fried, who was also ordered to forfeit $11 billion, plans to appeal his sentence and conviction. "If not for SBF’s crimes for which he was convicted—i.e., the theft and misuse of customer assets—the customers would have today owned their crypto investments," the filing said. The filing also points out that the bankruptcy code requires prioritizing certain creditors over others, such that holders of FTX’s FTT token are near the bottom of the priority list. "It is unlikely that holders of that token will receive compensation from the estate,” it said. “We don’t know what the damages will be because complete accounting has not been done,” Moskowitz told CoinDesk. While the fluctuating value of crypto might change things, “it is safe to say that over $8 billion” of damages are owed. Read More: Was Sam Bankman-Fried Proven Right About FTX’s Solvency? https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/06/18/ftx-victims-view-bankruptcy-process-as-second-act-of-theft-file-to-recover-8b-in-forfeited-assets/

2024-06-18 08:00

Fairlead's 12-week relative rotation graph shows signs of green shoots in XRP, LINK, ETH. Fairlead's 12-week relative rotation graph shows signs of green shoots in XRP, LINK, ETH DOGE likely to continue underperforming BTC and may become a "laggard." Crypto traders looking for clues on pockets of the crypto market seeing signs of green shoots might want to consider (XRP), Chainlink's (LINK) token, and Ethereum's ether (ETH). That's the message from Fairlead Strategies' latest analysis of the 12-week relative rotation graph of top alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) relative to bitcoin (BTC). The relative rotation graph (RRG) is a visual representation of the relative strength and momentum of multiple assets (altcoins) relative to a benchmark (BTC). The x-axis measures altcoins' relative strength compared to BTC and the y-axis indicates the momentum of altcoins' performance. The graph comprises four quadrants: leading, weakening, lagging, and improving. The leading quadrant (top right) indicates strong relative strength and positive momentum, weakening (bottom right), strong relative strength but negative momentum. Lagging (bottom left) represents weak relative strength and negative momentum and improving indicates weak relative strength but positive momentum. XRP's move into the improving quadrant from the lagging quadrant, accompanying ETH and LINK, indicates the three coins still have lower relative strength compared to BTC, but their performance is gaining momentum. "We use RRGs [relative rotation graph] to evaluate cyclicality among the top altcoins normalized versus bitcoin. A few altcoins have less downside momentum versus bitcoin, with Chainlink joining Ether and Ripple in the Improving quadrant," analysts at Fairlead Strategies said in a note to clients Monday. The positive shift from the lagging quadrant to the improving quadrant suggests a rotational opportunity could unfold in the coming weeks, whereby capital might flow into the improving sector as investors seek exposure to resilient corners of the crypto market. Momentum traders tend to view the cross into the improving quadrant as a potential opportunity, indicating that the asset is showing signs of improvement and may outperform in the near future. DOGE, SOL and BCH are in the weakening quadrant and point left, indicating a continued underperformance and an impending move to the lagging quadrant. The remaining top altcoins are already in the lagging quadrant, exhibiting both underperformance and negative momentum relative to BTC. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/06/18/xrp-link-eth-stand-out-relative-to-btc-in-sector-rotation-analysis-doge-struggles/

2024-06-18 07:14

The lack of immediate catalysts to prop up markets in the near-term are likely weighing down token prices, one trader said. Major tokens, including Bitcoin and Ether, experienced significant declines in Asian trading hours on Tuesday. This was influenced by ongoing profit-taking and outflows from U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETFs, which impacted bullish sentiment. The declines were led by notable losses in tokens like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Solana's SOL. Major tokens slid in Asia trading hours Tuesday amid continual profit-taking and another day of net outflows from U.S.-listed bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Monday, pressuring bullish sentiment. Bitcoin (BTC) slid to nearly $66,500, reversing all its Monday gains, while ether (ETH) fell to $3,400, reversing all of last week’s gains. BTC has been hovering around the 50-day moving average at $66,000, testing the medium-term uptrend. Meanwhile, BTC ETFs recorded net outflows of $145 million, continuing last week's dismal run. Major tokens dogecoin (DOGE) and Solana’s SOL lost as much as 9% in the past 24 hours, CoinGecko data shows, to lead losses. Ton Network’s TON fell 5%, while BNB Chain’s BNB outperformed with losses of just 1.5%. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid index of the largest tokens, minus stablecoins, is down 4.2%. Last week, BTC dipped below the $65,000 mark for the first time in a month as net outflows from ETFs crossed the $500 million mark and the Federal Reserve signaled just one interest rate cut in 2024. “Other factors haven’t helped,” shared Neil Roarty, analyst at investment platform Stocklytics, in an email to CoinDesk. “The political uncertainty triggered by Emmanuel Macron's surprise decision to call a snap election in France further strengthened the dollar as traders exited the euro.” “A strong dollar tends to put downward pressure on Bitcoin,” he said, adding that it would take considerably lower interest rates and a weaker dollar to push BTC closer to the $70,000 mark. Elsewhere, FxPro senior market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich warned of generally bearish sentiment as favorable ether ETF developments did little to buoy ETH prices. “Ethereum, on optimistic expectations about the ETF, was able to add over 6% after briefly dipping under its 50-day MA on Friday. However, a loss of nearly 1.5% since the start of the day on Monday makes one wary of the near-term performance of altcoins,” he said in a Tuesday email.” “The increased liquidity on weekdays will likely play into the hands of bears rather than bulls by increasing selling interest,” Kuptsikevich ended. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/06/18/dogecoin-solana-lead-crypto-majors-plunge-as-bitcoin-falls-below-66k/

2024-06-17 23:59

If reports about DJT are true, this would be the first time a presidential candidate from a major party created a cryptocurrency. That appears to be a big "if." DJT skyrockets on Trump rumors. PoliFi tokens that share the former president's name dropped over 10%. DJT, a crypto token minted two months ago on the Solana blockchain, rallied as much as 180% Monday on an unconfirmed report that former U.S. president Donald J. Trump is behind it. If the report is true, this would be the first time a presidential candidate from a major political party has created a cryptocurrency – but as of press time, that appears to be a big "if." "Per conversations, Trump is launching an official token — $DJT on Solana," Pirate Wires, a maverick media outlet, posted on X (formerly Twitter). Trump's son Barron is "spearheading" the project, said the publication, which is known for its critical reporting on San Francisco Bay Area politicians, irreverent voice and optimistic stance about technology. Mike Solana, the CMO of venture capital firm Founders Fund and editor-in-chief of Pirate Wires, posted a smart contract address in a reply to his publication's tweet "for visibility." The token in that contract had a $177 million market capitalization at press time. Meanwhile, PoliFi tokens that share the former president's name were down double digits on the news, according to CoinGecko data. The Trump token, the first PoliFi token with a market cap of over $370 million, was down 30%, while Tremp, another token that's a cross between the former President and Doland Duck – a bastardized version of Donald Duck with an attitude problem – is down over 40% while the Joe Biden-themed Boden token is down 30%. "They’re targeting us, putting us in the red. Literally seems like a greedy psy op," Steven Steele, marketing director of the PoliFi Trump token, told CoinDesk in a Telegram message. Pirate Wires' Mike Solana later clarified that he "didn't speak with Trump directly," and said it was possible that the Republican presidential candidate "could rug pull, or pivot, say it's not true." "Just reporting what I know via sources," said Mike Solana (his sharing a name with the blockchain is coincidental). The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As of press time, Trump had posted nothing on his TruthSocial platform mentioning a token. Crypto community members' reactions to the report were largely skeptical. Ryan Selkis, founder of data provider Messari and a vocal Trump supporter, said he guessed the odds were "50-50" that the token is legit or an act of deceit. On Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market platform, bettors gave only a 7% chance that Trump would launch a token by Friday. Shkreli Denies Involvement Crypto Twitter sleuths had quickly put together a connection between the coin and convicted pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli, noticing that the admins of the $DJT Telegram group were also admins of a token supported by Shkreli. On a late night X space Shkreli denied involvement in the token, but claimed to know that it was an authentic project from the campaign and may be listed on exchanges in the near future. "I can confirm that this is an authentic Trump token. I'm familiar with the situation, but it's not my token—it's Trump's. It's up to you to decide what you believe, but I'm 100% certain it's an official Trump token," he said on the X space. "It's not my project. I can't guarantee anything. I don't speak for it. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/06/17/djt-solana-token-surges-on-unconfirmed-report-trumps-behind-it/

2024-06-17 20:33

The layer-2 blockchain ZKsync, has kicked off its highly anticipated airdrop of its ZK token, with 45% of the tokens already claimed. The layer-2 blockchain ZKsync has kicked off its highly anticipated airdrop of its ZK token, with 45% of the tokens already claimed, the team shared on Monday. The ZKsync Association, a non-profit created and launched last week by the development firm behind ZKsync, Matter Labs, is in charge of the airdrop claims. The team tweeted that 45% of tokens were claimed by users in under two hours. “It's a Monday, don't you have work?” the ZK Nation X account wrote. The ZK token opened at $0.31 and is down about 31% since then, trading at $0.22 at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko. The market capitalization stands at about $800 million, based on the circulating supply, with about 3.7 billion tokens eligible to be distributed. On a fully diluted basis, the market cap would be $4.5 billion. Cryptocurrency exchanges Binance, Bybit and KuCoin have currently listed the ZK token, even though Binance had announced earlier that it would postpone the listing on its platform after experiencing tech issues with their node. “Our tech team is fixing it urgently, and will be recovered before trading starts. Deposits will be credited once the block height catches up,” Binance wrote on X. Last week, the Matter Labs team shared with CoinDesk how the ZKsync Association plans to distribute the tokens. Some users were upset with the design of the airdrop, which led the team to acknowledge their "unconventional design." According to their plans, 89% of the airdrop can be claimed by ZKsync users, which includes anyone that transacted on the ZKsync blockchain and met an unspecified threshold of activity. The remaining tokens go to ecosystem contributors including: ZKsync native projects (5.8%), on-chain communities (2.8%) and builders (2.4%). Matter Labs also shared that employees will get 16.1% of ZK tokens, and investors 17.2%, which will be locked for a year and then released over three years. The rest of the token supply will be split and go to ZKsync’s Token Assembly (29.3%), which will use it for new governance purposes, and the rest to Ecosystem Initiatives (19.9%). https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2024/06/17/zksync-airdrop-of-zk-token-puts-initial-market-cap-near-900m/

2024-06-17 19:41

As bitcoin's volatility is nearing historically low levels, the crypto market is in need of news or catalysts to bring traders to action, one market participant noted. The digital asset market saw a quick reversal Monday with bitcoin (BTC) erasing an early decline to nearly $65,000 and returning to the $67,000 level for the time in three days. The $65,000 area was the same level from which bitcoin bounced during last Friday's big shakeout. At press time, it was changing hands at $66,800, up 0.9% over the past 24 hours. Most altcoins also bounced but lagged behind BTC on the daily timeframe. Ether (ETH) was still in the red nursing a 0.7% decline during the same period, while dogecoin (DOGE), shiba inu (SHIB) and native tokens of layer-1 networks Avalanche (AVAX) and Near (NEAR) were down 2%-5%. Ripple's XRP (XRP) outperformed most crypto majors with its 5% daily gain, and recently was the only cryptocurrency – apart from BTC – in the broad-market crypto benchmark CoinDesk 20 Index with a positive daily performance. Several smaller, publicly-listed bitcoin miners enjoyed double-digit gains. Hive Digital Technologies (HIVE), TeraWulf (WULF), Canaan (CAN) rallied 10%-20% during the day, while large-cap miners Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) were up 4%. Zooming out to traditional markets, the broad-market S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 continued their climb to new all-time highs and were up 0.9% and 1.2%, respectively. Bitcoin has been chopping sideways in a tight range below its all-time record prices since March, flushing out excess leverage in liquidation cascades, and surely causing some impatience from market participants, particularly the "number go up" crowd. Underscoring the boring price action, bitcoin's 30-day realized volatility has dropped to near historic low levels, Alex Thorn, research head of digital asset investment firm Galaxy, pointed out in an X post. Derivatives trading network Paradigm said that the crypto market is "losing momentum" in lack of catalysts to bring traders to action. "Despite positive predictions flying around, a new market needs real news to move forward and keep traction," it said in a Telegram update earlier today. Trader and market analyst Bob Loukas, however, tempered expectations for the short-term, noting that BTC is "clearly" in its declining phase of its daily cycle and could revisit the lower $60,000 area before a more sustainable uptrend. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/06/17/bitcoin-bounces-to-67k-with-btc-miners-rallying-5-10-xrp-leads-altcoins/