According to Lookonchain statistics, there have been five significant hacking incidents in November, involving funds exceeding $290 million: Kronos Research: $25.65 million KyberSwap: $46.5 million Poloniex: $118 million HECO Bridge: $86.6 million HTX Exchange: $13.6 million
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart posted on the X platform, stating that Grayscale has submitted a new S-3/prospectus for the conversion of GBTC to an ETF. The most significant update is the plan to change the code from GBTC to BTC, confirming that Grayscale is in negotiations with the SEC. The product documents are being updated/changed following discussions and feedback from the SEC. Yesterday, James Seyffart mentioned on the X platform that Grayscale had a meeting with the SECs Trading and Markets division (responsible for approving or disapproving 19b-4 filings). There are rumors that other potential Bitcoin spot ETF issuers have also met with the SEC in the past week.
Dune data indicates that the total minted supply of Bitcoin Ordinals has surpassed 43 million, reaching 43,184,547, with the current total transaction fees amounting to 3,020.2689 BTC, approximately 113 million USD.
According to Spot On Chain monitoring, KyberSwap has been attacked on multiple networks, including Arbitrum, Optimism, Ethereum, Polygon, and Base. The total loss amounts to $48.3 million, primarily including 16,217 ETH (valued at $33.5 million), 3,987,332 ARB (valued at $4.06 million), 591,441 OP (valued at $1.03 million), and 1,111,926 DAI.
JPMorgan states that the resolution reached by cryptocurrency exchange Binance with U.S. prosecutors is positive for both its operations and the crypto industry as a whole. “We see the resolution prospects as positive as it removes uncertainties around Binance itself,” says JPMorgan analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, adding, “Smart chain businesses will benefit. For cryptocurrency investors, the prospect of resolution will remove potential systemic risk stemming from assumed Binance collapse.” This comes after Binance and its co-founder CZ admitted to violating anti-money laundering and U.S. sanctions laws in a comprehensive settlement with U.S. authorities on Tuesday. Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion, marking one of the largest corporate settlement agreements in U.S. history.
Mt. Gox is planning to begin cash repayments to creditors in 2023, and the process may extend into 2024. The trustee for the exchange, Nobuaki Kobayashi, stated in an email that due to the large number of creditors, specific repayment timelines have not been determined, and as a result, it is not possible to notify each creditor in advance of the exact repayment timing. Creditors can check the repayment status in the claims filing system. Mt. Gox was established in 2010 and became the worlds largest Bitcoin exchange by 2013 but halted all withdrawals in early 2014 and filed for bankruptcy protection after losing over 800,000 bitcoins.
Later on Monday, cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius announced in a court filing that the company will pivot to become a new entity focused on Bitcoin mining, shifting away from its earlier restructuring plan that also included a focus on staking. This move comes after the U.S. SEC raised feedback on “certain aspects of the plan.” Several hours before Celsius announced this news on Monday, CoinDesk reported that the court-approved restructuring plan hit a snag as the SEC sought more information about the companys assets. Earlier, a judge handed over the implementation of Celsius restructuring to Fahrenheit Holdings, a group including Arrington Capital and crypto mining firm U.S. Bitcoin Corp. Fahrenheit won the bid for Celsius assets in May 2023. As per the plan, the company will register a new entity in Delaware, currently referred to as NewCo in the documents. According to the court-approved plan, the company will focus on mining and staking. The filing states: “In the coming weeks, the Debtors intend to file a motion with the Bankruptcy Court seeking approval of modifications to the Plan to reflect the new transaction with Mining NewCo, which the Debtors do not anticipate will require vacating the Plan. The Debtors still anticipate beginning distributions
Some traders anticipate that Bitcoin will experience a period of consolidation in the coming weeks, citing uncertainty about the next steps from the Federal Reserve and a key regulatory decision regarding an ETF being delayed, causing recent upward momentum in Bitcoin to stall. Yukari Kusu, an analyst at the Japanese exchange Bitbank, stated in a report on Tuesday: “Bitcoins upside has been capped at the psychological level of $38,000. One reason Bitcoin failed to break through this level is that the SEC postponed last Thursday Hashdexs application to convert its existing Bitcoin futures ETF into a spot ETF.” Meanwhile, analysts at the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex mentioned in a report on Tuesday that they expect the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates steady at its December meeting: “Overall inflation has significantly decreased from the beginning of the year, which should give the Federal Reserve enough room to keep interest rates steady at its December meeting. This aligns with the current expectations in the Federal Reserve futures market and its goal of maintaining economic expansion.”
Matrixports latest report indicates that with CZ stepping down as CEO and the fine amount being lower than the previously feared $10 billion, Binance is likely to remain one of the top three exchanges in the next 2-3 years. There might be pressure for a “rationalization adjustment” of the company with its 6,000 employees. While the guilty plea agreement does not involve the U.S. SEC, it is considered a very favorable outcome for CZ and Binance itself. Some may view the regulatory actions in the U.S. this year, dissolving banks associated with U.S. cryptocurrency and running an internal ledger that crypto companies could use to transfer fiat currency around the clock, as clearing the industry. Few remaining major players are thought to be involved, and the market is digesting a significant risk-avoidance event. Regarding the impact of this regulation, the report analyzes that more exchanges will strengthen their compliance plans and become part of monitoring-sharing agreements, which will help in the approval of a Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. With this guilty plea agreement, expectations for a spot Bitcoin ETF may have increased to 100%, as the entire industry will be forced to comply with the rules that traditional financial companies must
Coinbase executive Conor Grogan posted on the X platform stating that, according to Binance Corporates Proof of Reserves (PoR) data, its cryptocurrency holdings include a total of $6.35 billion in assets and $3.19 billion in stablecoins. This does not include off-chain cash balances or funds not in the PoR wallets. Binance is most likely to fully pay the $4.3 billion Department of Justice fine without selling any cryptocurrency assets. In earlier reports, Binance and its CEO CZ admitted guilt to criminal charges related to money laundering and violating U.S. sanctions, including allowing transactions with terrorist organizations like Hamas. This was part of a comprehensive agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Justice aimed at maintaining the companys operations. Binance agreed to plead guilty and pay over $4 billion in fines. As part of the settlement, CZ agreed to resign and pay a $50 million fine, which he pleaded guilty to in a Seattle court this Tuesday. The agreement involved the participation of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, concluding investigations into the cryptocurrency exchange that had lasted for several years. The negotiated settlement will resolve all criminal allegations related to improper conduct.
