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Crypto Weekly Recap: Hacks, Arrests, Bybit Proof

FinCrypt Staff

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Crypto Weekly Recap: Hacks, Arrests, Bybit Proof

In this week’s guide, we plan to expose the underbelly of the crypto industry. We’ll dissect the latest exploits of North Korea’s Lazarus Group, a daring heist targeting Gala Games with a surprising twist and the takedown of a major online drug market.

These cases highlight the ever-present threats facing the crypto industry.

Lázaro Group strikes again!

In a surprising revelation from the United Nations, the notorious Lázaro Group, a cybercrime syndicate originating from North Korea, made headlines by laundering a staggering $147.5 million worth of stolen cryptocurrencies back into North Korea. Using Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer blacklisted in 2021, they stealthily channeled their ill-gotten gains, leaving authorities scrambling in their wake.

This is not the first time the Lazarus Group has struck gold. In March 2023, they orchestrated a daring heist on the crypto exchange HTX, profiting millions. The skillful use of Tornado Cash has facilitated seamless money laundering, with the UN report revealing a staggering $3 billion stolen from crypto companies between 2017 and 2024.

Gala games under attack

On May 20, 2024, Gala Games was a victim to a malicious hack that saw attackers mint a staggering 5 billion $GALA Tokens without authorization. Initially estimated at a staggering loss of US$200 million, Gala Games managed to mitigate the damage, with the actual figure being US$21 million before their quick intervention.

Operating with administrative access to the Gala Games smart contract, the attacker released a torrent of illicit tokens, plunging the GALA token’s market capitalization from $0.048 to $0.0388. Despite the chaos, Gala Games’ resilience shone through as they recovered and the token price returned to $0.042.

In a surprising turn of events, the attacker returned 5,950 ETH worth around $22.75 million. Gala Games announced a Burn Program, using the recovered funds to purchase $GALA tokens and burn them, with the aim of restoring stability to the token’s value.

The Fall of the “Dark Lord”

In a dramatic confrontation, federal agents arrested Rui Siang Linthe mastermind of the ‘Mercado Incógnito’ empire, at John F. Kennedy International Airport, on May 18. Lin faced multiple charges and ended up pleading guilty, sealing his fate and guaranteeing a lifetime behind bars.

From October 2020 to March 2024, Mercado Incógnito thrived as a black market for narcotics, earning Lin tens of millions of dollars. However, justice caught up with him.

Also check out: Crypto Hack Report Q1 2024: Trends, Losses and Recovery Efforts

However

This week’s crypto roundup was a whirlwind tour of the challenges the market faces all too often. From North Korean money laundering schemes to audacious hacks and black market takedowns, it’s a reminder that the crypto world is still under construction.

But amid the growing pains, there is a sense of resilience. Hackers are acted upon quickly, stolen funds are recovered, and vulnerabilities are patched.

The future of cryptography is uncertain, but one thing is certain: it is never dull.

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We are the editorial team of FinCrypt, where seriousness meets clarity in cryptocurrency analysis. With a robust team of finance and blockchain technology experts, we are dedicated to meticulously exploring complex crypto markets with detailed assessments and an unbiased approach. Our mission is to democratize access to knowledge of emerging financial technologies, ensuring they are understandable and accessible to all. In every article on FinCrypt, we strive to provide content that not only educates, but also empowers our readers, facilitating their integration into the financial digital age.

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Crypto Markets Rebound as Spot Bitcoin ETFs Attract Massive Inflows

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Crypto Markets Rebound Ahead of Early Ethereum ETF Approval

This week saw $722 million worth of Bitcoin spot ETF inflows, including the largest daily inflow in a month.

Cryptocurrency markets rallied on Wednesday, driven by inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) is up 3% over the past 24 hours to last change hands at $65,200, according to CoinGecko. Ethereum (ETH) is up 2% and is trading at $3,471. Solana (SUN) and Polkadot (POINT) increased by 4%.

Bitcoin spot ETFs saw $422 million in daily inflows on Tuesday, the highest in the past 30 days, according to Far side data, . The all-time record for a single day was $1.05 billion on March 12.

Among Tuesday’s top contributors, BlackRock’s IBIT led with $260 million in inflows, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC with $61 million. This week has already seen more than $722 million in inflows.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap, Worldcoin (WLD) led with a 28% increase, followed by Helium (HNT) with 20% and Lido DAO (LDO) with 15%.

Worldcoin, a decentralized identity project led by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, announced is extending the lockups for early investors and team members. This means that tokens will be gradually released through 2029, instead of the original 2027 plan. Token unlocks are generally seen as a negative because they increase supply and early investors can sell their tokens for profit.

Meanwhile, XRP, the token of the XRP Ledger network, jumped 8% after the CME and CF benchmarks introduced new indices and reference rates for XRP.

U.S. stocks faced a downturn on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average both fell 2%.

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Altcoins on the cusp of a major breakout – WLD, AR, and INJ prices could surge by 20% in the coming days

FinCrypt Staff

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Altcoins on the cusp of a major breakout – WLD, AR, and INJ prices could surge by 20% in the coming days

Crypto markets appear to have been taken over by the bulls as major tokens have surged above their crucial resistance zone. Bitcoin surged above $65,000 while Ethereum was above $3,500, and XRP, which had remained passive for quite some time, surged over 40% in the past few days to hit $0.6. The uptrend has been captured in most altcoins, with Worldcoin (WLD), Arweave (AR), and Injective (INJ) leading the rally. Here’s what to expect for these tokens in the coming days.

Worldcoin (WLD) Price Analysis

O Worldcoin Price has been trading inside a descending wedge since it marked a new ATH near $12 in the final days of Q1 2024. The recent price action helped the price break out of the upper resistance of the wedge, breaking above the crucial resistance zone between $2.21 and $2.39. Market sentiments have changed, but technicals suggest that the bulls may remain passive for a while, which could offer some room for a bearish pullback.

The price broke out of the wedge with a significant increase in volume, but the current volume suggests that the bulls have taken a step back. Meanwhile, the RSI is about to reach the upper boundary, which could attract bearish forces. Additionally, the DMI has undergone a bullish crossover, but the decline in the ADX suggests that the rally may remain consolidated above the gains. Therefore, the WLD price is expected to maintain a horizontal consolidation between $3 and $3.3 and trigger a fresh rally to $4.4 during the next bullish rally.

Arweave (AR) Price Analysis

Arweave formed a strong base around $25, which helped the rally trigger a recovery during the bearish attack. Mt. Gox and German terror forced the price to fall below $20. However, the recent price action has brought the altcoin within the bullish range and raised expectations of maintaining a decent uptrend for a few more days.

AR price has hit one of the major resistances around $30 to $31.5, which could act as a strong base once overcome. The buying volume is slowly increasing, which could keep the bullish hopes for the rally high. Moreover, the supertrend has just flashed a buy signal, indicating a clean reversal of the trend. Therefore, AR price seems primed to maintain a healthy uptrend and rally above $40. However, if the bulls maintain a similar trend, making new highs above $50 may not be a tedious task for the bulls.

Price Analysis of Injective (INJ)

Injective price has been showing sharp strength since the beginning of the year and hence, the recent turnaround is expected to revive a good uptrend going forward. The bears engulfed the rally to a large extent, but the recent price action suggests that the bulls have regained their dominance. Therefore, INJ price is expected to maintain a strong uptrend with a bearish interference on the way down.

INJ price has surged above the lower support zone and has registered consecutive bullish candles. Although the volume is below the required levels, the OBV is maintaining a sharp uptrend. Furthermore, the Ichimoku cloud lead span B is heading towards the lead span A and a healthy crossover indicates the start of a new uptrend. However, INJ price may be out of the bears’ reach once it secures the resistance zone between $30.77 and $32.12, which seems to be on the horizon.

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Ethereum at $3.5K, Exchange Supply Hits 34-Month High

FinCrypt Staff

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Ethereum at $3.5K, Exchange Supply Hits 34-Month High

Ethereum (ETH) supply on exchanges has hit a 34-month high as the asset’s price surpassed the $3,500 mark.

ETH has risen 2.3% over the past 24 hours and is trading at $3,490 at the time of writing. The second-largest cryptocurrency — with a market cap of $419 billion — briefly touched an intraday high of $3,517 earlier today.

ETH Price, Whale Activity, RSI, and Exchange Supply – July 17 | Source: Santiment

Ethereum’s daily trading volume also increased by 7.6% to reach $19.8 billion.

According to data provided by Santiment, the supply of Ethereum on exchanges has reached $19.52 million ETH. This level was last seen in September 2021, when the asset was trading around the same price.

On the other hand, data from the market intelligence platform shows that the number of whale transactions has fallen by 12% in the last day — falling from 8,730 to 7,629 unique transactions per day.

The move shows that the supply of Ethereum on exchanges has been increasing with small deposits rather than large transactions from whales.

Additionally, the ETH Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently hovering at the 60-mark, per Santiment. The indicator shows that Ethereum is slightly overbought at this price point, but it may not be in a critical position due to its large market cap.

One of the main drivers of Ethereum price increase is ETH spot expectations ETFs in the US Investment products are scheduled to start trading on July 23rd.

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Bits + Beeps: How to Play the ‘Trump Trade’ in Cryptocurrencies After the Assassination Attempt

FinCrypt Staff

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Bits + Bips: How to Play the ‘Trump Trade’ in Crypto After the Assassination Attempt

Also, how much will the Fed cut rates (and when)? What will be the inflows into ETH ETFs? And what is the near future for Bitcoin?

Posted on July 17, 2024 at 12:00 PM EST.

Listen to the episode at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Capsules, Source, Podcast Addict, Pocket molds, Amazon Musicor on your favorite podcast platform.

In this episode of Bits + Bips, hosts James Seyffart, Alex Kruger and Joe McCann, joined by guest Jack Platts, dive into the market reaction to the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, analyzing how this event will influence the 2024 US presidential election and the cryptocurrency markets.

They also cover potential rate cuts: Could there be a cut in July? How big could the September rate cut be? Could the decision be influenced by the upcoming election?

They also give their predictions on what percentage of BTC ETF inflows the ETH ETFs will reach, and James talks about what he expects for Grayscale’s ETHE (hint: his outlook would be positive for ETH).

Finally, they delve into what’s next for Bitcoin as the German government runs out of BTC and Mt. Gox distributions begin. Just now?

Program Highlights:

  • Whether Trump’s shooting decided the election and whether the event caused a “flight to safety”
  • How election markets are becoming a place to watch election probabilities and whether cryptocurrencies “lean right”
  • Whether rate cuts will occur in July or September and by how much they will cut: 25 bps or 50 bps
  • How Joe sees the relationship between global liquidity cycles, rate cuts, and the potential rise of Bitcoin
  • What are the new updates about Ethereum ETFs and their expected launch?
  • Why Solana Hasn’t Performed Significantly Better Since Trump News
  • What Market Breadth Indicates About the Current Market Rally and the Impact of Rates on Small Caps
  • Everyone’s predictions on ETH ETF inflows and how much outflow we’ll see on Grayscale’s ETHE
  • What’s Next for BTC After German Government Exits Bitcoin and Mt. Gox Giveaways Starting This Week

Hosts:

Guest:

  • Jack PlattsCo-Founder and Managing Partner of Hypersphere Ventures

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