2024-03-21 16:02

The hacker attempted to contact the SSS team, stating their intention to reimburse users. A total of $4.6 million was lost, according to CertiK. The exploit was related to the smart contract's mint function. The token lost more than 99% of its value. A gaming token on layer-2 network Blast has been exploited with $4.6 million stolen less than a week after its introduction, according to an announcement in the token's Telegram channel. The project, named Super Sushi Samurai, released the SSS token on March 17 and had planned to start offering the game today. An unknown entity exploited a vulnerability in the smart contract's mint function before selling tokens directly into the SSS liquidity pool. SSS lost more than 99% of its value after sale, according to CoinGecko. Blockchain security firm CertiK said that a total of $4.6 million was affected by the exploit. "We have been exploited, it's mint related. We are still looking into the code. Tokens were minted and sold into the LP," the team wrote on Telegram. The exploiter attempted to contact the team, describing the event as a "white hat rescue" hack, in a BlastScan message. "Let's work on reimbursing users," they said. "We are in touch with the exploiter," the Super Sushi Samurai team wrote on X. Yuga Labs developer coffeexcoin wrote that the liquidity pool, a fundamental component of decentralized finance, was drained because "their token contract has a bug where transferring your entire balance to yourself doubles it." The Blast mainnet went live last month after receiving $2.3 billion in deposits, rapidly becoming the fourth-largest layer-2 network, with $1 billion in total value locked (TVL), DefiLlama data shows. The largest, Arbitrum One, has $4 billion TVL, according to CoinGecko data. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/03/21/newly-issued-gaming-token-exploited-on-blast-with-46m-drained/

2024-03-21 13:30

The broker expects a 7% reduction in hashrate post-halving from shutdowns versus 15% earlier, the report said. * Broker raised its year-end bitcoin target to $90K from $80K. * Bernstein now expects a 7% reduction in hashrate post halving from shutdowns. * Says bitcoin miners compelling buys for equity investors looking for exposure to crypto. Bernstein raised its year-end bitcoin (BTC) price forecast to $90K from $80K and updated estimates for mining stocks in its coverage, the broker said in a research report on Thursday. “With a new bitcoin bull cycle, strong ETF inflows, aggressive miner capacity expansion, and all-time high miner dollar revenues, we continue to find bitcoin miners compelling buys for equity investors seeking exposure to the crypto cycle,” wrote analysts Gautam Chhugani and Mahika Sapra. “We assume a 7% reduction in hashrate post halving from shutdowns versus 15% earlier,” the authors wrote. Hashrate refers to the total combined computational power that is being used to mine and process transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain. The quadrennial reward halving is when mining rewards are cut in half. The next halving is expected in mid-April. Bernstein raised its price target for outperform-rated CleanSpark (CLSK) to $30 from $14.20. It trimmed its price target for outperform-rated Riot Platforms (RIOT) to $22 from $$22.50 and lifted its Marathon Digital (market-perform) price target to $23 from $14.30. CleanSpark closed at $20.25 on Wednesday, Riot at $12.40 and Marathon at $22.43. Riot and CleanSpark are set to emerge as leaders in the sector, as the “largest miners with the largest self-mining capacity,” the report added. Read more: Bitcoin Miners Need to Be Proactive to Hold Their Positions After Halving: Fidelity Digital Assets https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/03/21/bitcoin-year-end-price-target-raised-to-90k-at-bernstein/

2024-03-21 12:14

Customers in the country have until April 30 to close out their positions. Crypto exchange OKX told clients it is no longer providing services in India. Customers need to close out their positions by the end of April, after which they will only be able to withdraw their funds. The exchange says it is responding to regulations in the country. Crypto exchange OKX notified clients in India that they have until the end of April to wind up their positions because it is ending its service in the world's most populous country as a result of local regulations. The notice – seen by CoinDesk – told the customers they need to close all margin positions, as well as positions in perpetuals, futures and options and withdraw all funds by April 30. "After this date we'll restrict your account" to withdrawals only, the emailed notice said. Digital asset service providers were brought under the country's anti-money laundering framework in March 2023. Exchanges wishing to operate in India must be registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIU IND) and comply with the rules. As of end-2023, OKX was not one of the 28 companies to have done so. India has been cracking down on exchanges operating illegally in the country. The FIU IND issued a notice in December to nine exchanges it said were operating illegally, including Binance, Kraken and MEXC Global. OKX was not on the list. Several of the exchanges that were sent notices have entered into discussions with Indian authorities, one person familiar with the matter told CoinDesk. Amitoj Singh and Shaurya Malwa contributed to reporting. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/03/21/crypto-exchange-okx-to-end-services-in-india/

2024-03-21 11:01

The cryptocurrency does not operate in a vacuum, and its price is also affected by non-crypto influences, such as macro factors, the report said. The next halving event is expected in mid-April. Bitcoin rallied into and after previous block reward halvings. Coinbase said non-crypto influences such as macro factors are also important. Historical precedent suggests that bitcoin’s (BTC) recent strong performance will continue into and after the upcoming halving, as the event reduces the supply of new BTC, but investors should be wary of this view, Coinbase (COIN) said in a research report on Wednesday. The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose an average of 61% in the six months before prior halvings and gained an average of 348% in the six months after, Coinbase noted. “While it’s possible that the halving could have a positive impact on bitcoin’s performance, there’s still only limited historical evidence about this relationship, making it somewhat speculative,” the report said. The quadrennial reward halving is when mining rewards are cut in half. The next event is likely to occur on April 15. “Bitcoin doesn’t operate in a vacuum,” and its price is affected by other influences, such as macro factors, Coinbase said. The report noted that much of bitcoin’s outperformance after the previous halving in May 2020 came in an “environment with extraordinarily loose monetary policy and historically strong fiscal stimulus in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.” Similarly, the recent rally in the world’s largest cryptocurrency was fuelled more by fever about the prospects of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) than by excitement over the halving, the note said. Another data point worth considering when looking at the upcoming halving is the total supply of bitcoin held by long-term holders, Coinbase said, adding that “long-term holders should be less likely than short-term holders to view halving as an opportunity to sell into strength.” The amount of bitcoin currently held by long-term holders is quite high by historical standards. On the positive side, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to begin cutting rates in May and to start tapering its quantitative tightening program, which is positive for risk assets, the report added. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/21/bitcoin-halving-may-have-a-positive-impact-on-prices-but-other-factors-still-at-play-coinbase/

2024-03-21 10:04

Crypto markets dumped, then jumped, as regulatory headwinds and macroeconomic decisions played their hand in a rollercoaster 24 hours. Crypto markets experienced volatility overnight as bitcoin and ether tumbled before recovering to trade 15% higher than their Wednesday lows. Wednesday's decline was attributed to profit-taking from last week's rally and a flush of leveraged bets on higher prices, with some traders suggesting a technical downtrend. Sentiment reversed after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's dovish FOMC speech, leading to a jump in BTC, ETH, and other major tokens, particularly those of layer-2 platforms and meme coins. The inherent volatility of crypto markets was on full display overnight as bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) tumbled, then recovered to trade as much as 15% above their Wednesday lows . BTC and ETH rose as much as 11% in the past 24 hours, leading gains among major tokens. Solana's SOL, Cardano's ADA and BNB Chain's BNB added as much as 8%, data from CoinGecko shows. The CoinDesk 20 Index, a measure of the broader crypto market, was recently 7.62% higher. Tokens of layer-2 platforms, or blockchains based on Ethereum, led as a sector with an average jump of 25% in the past 24 hours, CoinGecko data shows. Meme coins followed with a 16% jump. On Wednesday, markets started to slide in early Asian hours amid profit-taking from last week's rally and a flush of levered bets on higher prices. Overall capitalization dropped over 15% in the past week, as reported, with some traders stating that bitcoin showed signs of a technical downtrend – which indicated further losses in the offing. Sentiment reversed later in the day after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's FOMC speech hit a dovish tone. The central bank maintained its outlook for three rate cuts this year despite hotter-than-expected inflation figures. Singapore-based trading firm QCP Capital said in a daily note that buying was led by spot transactions – a better reflection of demand than futures-led trading, which is usually more speculative. "Demand seems to be largely spot driven with little change in funding rates. (BTC spot ETF flow data in the next few hours will confirm the spot demand)," QCP said in a Telegram broadcast. Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped 18% after a March 7 filing from the prominent crypto exchange Coinbase went viral on X, showing it plans to offer DOGE, litecoin (LTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH) futures as early as April 1. Some traders considered the move as a possible precursor to an eventual spot DOGE exchange-traded fund (ETF). Coinbase – known for its strict listing criteria and regulatory compliance – said in the filing that DOGE was beyond a "joke" token in the current investing climate. "Dogecoin's enduring popularity and the active community support suggest that it has transcended its origins as a meme to become a staple of the cryptocurrency world," it said. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/21/dogecoin-climbs-18-on-doge-futures-hopes-bitcoin-nears-68k/

2024-03-21 07:55

Speculative frenzy characterised by irrational exuberance and greed is an infamous sign of an impending market top. The spread between next-month and front-month bitcoin futures contracts can offer insights into the level of speculation in the market, one analyst. An above $1,000 spread on the CME has marked previous bull market tops. The spread recently widened beyond $1,000. Speculative frenzy, or periods of intense speculation characterized by irrational exuberance and greed, is an infamous sign of an impending market top. However, tracking signs of speculative frenzy in the bitcoin (BTC) market requires access to and understanding of sophisticated indicators like perpetual funding rates and social trends. But there is another surprisingly more straightforward way: tracking the spread or difference between prices for next-month and front-month futures contracts trading on major exchanges like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Deribit. The “front-month contract” has an expiration date closest to the current date. The contract expiring in two months is called the next-month contract. The futures term structure is usually upward sloping, as contracts with a more extended expiry time trade at a premium to short-duration ones. That said, when the spread becomes too large, it’s a good indicator of speculative sentiment, according to Griffin Ardern, head of options trading and research at crypto financial platform BloFin. “Usually, when the spread between the next months and the front months is large, investors’ speculation sentiment is high, and they are willing to pay higher costs to hold long positions,” Ardern told CoinDesk. “You can find clues into Deribit’s term structure.” The same applies to CME’s standard futures contracts, sized at 5 BTC and considered a proxy for institutional activity. The spread between the CME-listed next- and front-month contracts widened beyond $1,000 in late February 2021 and mid-October 2021, signaling speculative frenzy and presaging bull market peaks by a few weeks. In other words, the wider spread was a sign the bull market was in its final stages. We saw a similar spike above $1,000 early this month, indicating caution to bitcoin bulls. As the saying goes, once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern. Bitcoin changed hands at $$67,290 at press time, up 10% from lows under $61,000 reached Wednesday, according to CoinDesk data. The cryptocurrency hit a record high of $73,798 on March 14. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/21/want-to-track-the-speculative-frenzy-in-bitcoin-market-heres-how/