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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crypto business sink under the $1 trillion market capitalization mark, adoption within the house has been rising, and outdated mysteries had been lastly solved.
From the unimaginable quick squeeze of a bankrupt firm’s token to outdated anti-crypto arguments utilized by a significant central financial institution, we’re getting bizarre with 5 tales the very best fiction writers couldn’t dream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, well-liked cryptocurrency change Bitfinex suffered a significant 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 identify “Razzlekhan,” and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein had been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for allegedly conspiring to launder crypto related to the Bitfinex hack.
Throughout a court docket 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 good slackers.”
Morgan, who calls herself the “crocodile of Wall Road,” was labeled a grasp of “deceit and deception” by federal authorities. Whereas her house 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 faux 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’s going to “at all times love moving into hassle w/ this loopy man.”
Bitfinex introduced it had been hacked on August 2, 2016. https://t.co/Y7sJ7ZUrKB On Aug. 1, 2016, Heather Morgan posted a photograph with Ilya Lichtenstein and the caption: “I’ll at all times love moving into hassle w/ this loopy man.” pic.twitter.com/EjVmRtiYof
— Jack Morse (@jmorse_) February 9, 2022
Commenting on Morgan and Lichtenstein’s arrest, Dymtro Volkov, head of worldwide improvements at crypto change CEX.io, instructed Cointelegraph that with the right technical sources, “it’s potential to trace the stream of most funds transferring on a blockchain community” and that “hiding an enormous quantity of stolen funds is definitely fairly a fancy job.”
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 worth of its native utility token, CEL (CEL), jumped by greater than 4,100%. In solely two months, the worth 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 america Securities and Trade Fee, might take over Celsius’ property. Different rumors steered Goldman Sachs deliberate to accumulate Celsius for $2 billion.
FTX continues to be sucking up CEL liquidity.
550k CEL moved from OkeX to FTX 25min in the past.#CelShortSqueeze is quietly doing its factor behind the scenes. #celsius #CelsiusNetwork pic.twitter.com/T2l4pbrUfO
— CryptoChris (@Chris52508387) July 17, 2022
Merchants organized a large quick squeeze. Brief 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 potential as a result of a freeze on Celsius token transfers considerably diminished the circulating provide of CEL.
On the time of the quick squeeze, Cointelegraph reported that FTX had about 5.1 million CEL tokens, amounting to 90% of the entire circulating provide on exchanges.
It’s at present believed merchants on FTX pulled off the quick squeeze, however deleted tweets counsel that the origins of the motion will not be absolutely understood, and a few imagine Alameda Analysis was immediately concerned. We do know that no less than 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 stunning letter of intent to accumulate the collapsing FTX change 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 relating to 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 bizarre and surprising revelation as a result of, till that time, Bankman-Fried had dismissed considerations in regards to the solvency of FTX.
This afternoon, FTX requested for our assist. There’s a important liquidity crunch. To guard customers, we signed a non-binding LOI, intending to totally purchase https://t.co/BGtFlCmLXB and assist cowl the liquidity crunch. We will probably be conducting a full DD within the coming days.
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) November 8, 2022
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao added to these considerations when he tweeted, “This afternoon, FTX requested for our assist. There’s a important 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 way of the following day after Binance performed its due diligence, with the explanations changing into clear quickly after.
European Central Financial institution spreads FUD
In late November, the European Central Financial institution (ECB) revealed a weblog publish through which it argued that Bitcoin’s restoration from $17,000 to $20,000 was probably an “artificially induced final gasp earlier than the highway to irrelevance.”
The ECB mentioned 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 important extent for real-world authorized transactions.”
Associated: Essentially the most eco-friendly blockchain networks in 2022
In line with the ECB, Bitcoin has benefited from “waves of recent traders” whereas not being appropriate as an funding. It doesn’t generate money stream or dividends, nor can or not it’s productively used or “present social advantages.”
The assertion argues that blockchain know-how 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 neighborhood, and each single level has been rebuffed.
I clicked on this text with an open thoughts, prepared to have my thoughts modified
Nevertheless it opens with a provable lie
The overwhelming majority of Bitcoin utilization is for authorized spending, for-profit hypothesis, and playing – not “unlawful transactions”
It isn’t 2012 anymore… This can be a joke. pic.twitter.com/037aehMyEN
— FatMan (@FatManTerra) November 30, 2022
The ECB has recycled a number of crypto myths which were used to carry the business again. The publish comes because the ECB accelerates progress on growing a digital euro. One of many publish’s authors, Ulrich Bindseil, has authored quite a few posts on central financial institution digital currencies.
In addition to 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 option to exit the shortcomings of fiat forex methods.
Talking to Cointelegraph, Anton Bukov, co-founder of 1inch Community, mentioned the ECB’s publish was good for the cryptocurrency neighborhood, because it means the “authorities got here to the second and even third stage of Gandhi’s thought: First they ignore you, then they giggle at you, then they battle 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 forex, the Central African CFA franc.
The transfer got here after Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra signed a invoice into regulation establishing a regulatory framework for Bitcoin as authorized tender. Whereas the crypto neighborhood 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 warfare, and it’s estimated that 9 out of 10 residents don’t even have entry to the web. CAR’s determination was accompanied by little to no clarification, with President Touadéra tweeting a easy “extra to observe.”
Extra to observe.
Vires in Numeris. #Bitcoin #BTC
Unité, Dignité, Travail#RCA #CAR #crypto #Cryptomonnaies
— Faustin-Archange Touadéra (@FA_Touadera) May 21, 2022
The tweet was referring to an anouncement in regards to the nation’s “visionary” plan to create a “incredible alternative for anybody who believes in crypto investing.” That chance is the Sango undertaking, which seems to now be an preliminary coin providing for the nation’s CBDC.
The undertaking claims that the nation’s treasury could have a devoted Bitcoin reserve and permit residents to have a “voice and likelihood to form the longer term” by way of a governance system. Citizenship may be acquired by locking fastened collateral in Sango. Different advantages embody e-residency, land possession and 0% earnings tax for digital property.
Whereas attracting international 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 instructed Cointelegraph that cryptocurrencies are “effectively positioned to assist rising economies fill gaps within the companies their home monetary methods are missing” and will assist join home monetary methods to world markets. Volkov added that the transfer could assist the nation’s economic system:
“Making crypto authorized tender, or no less than making a authorized framework that defines its utilization, permits monetary corporations to introduce low-cost and quick monetary companies that clients can entry even with unreliable entry to the web.”
He additionally mentioned cryptocurrencies can have a “massively optimistic impact on nations with growing monetary methods seeking to take part within the world economic system.”
The tales coated on this article make it clear how unpredictable the cryptocurrency house may be throughout bear and bull markets. If something, anybody following what’s happening is having fun with a rollercoaster journey they are going to always remember.
