Pro-centralization Russian president grants citizenship to Edward Snowden: Report
U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin. Snowden, known for exposing classified information from the United States National Security Agency in 2013, has been a permanent resident in Russia since then. Despite this, Snowden holds views that favor limited government power, contrasting with Putin’s leadership style. Snowden has also been vocal on cryptocurrency and was involved in developing the crypto asset Zcash.
Breaking: Interpol ‘Red Notice’ issued for Do Kwon — South Korea prosecutors
Interpol has issued a Red Notice to help locate and detain Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, following the collapse of Terra’s ecosystem earlier this year. South Korean prosecutors have charged Kwon in relation to his role in the Terra project. Kwon, who has denied hiding, was initially believed to be in Singapore, but recent reports suggest a possible change in his location. Authorities in South Korea have taken steps to freeze funds linked to Kwon.
FTX US wins auction for Voyager Digital’s assets
FTX US emerged as the winner of the auction for Voyager Digital’s assets, outbidding CrossTower and Binance. The U.S. exchange secured the assets for approximately $1.4 billion, equivalent to the remaining assets of Voyager. The acquisition is subject to approval from a U.S. bankruptcy court, with Wave Financial also involved in the bidding process and expressing concerns about the outcome.
Judge orders SEC to turn Hinman documents over to Ripple Labs after months of dispute
U.S. District Court Judge Analisa Torres has ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must disclose information related to comments made by former SEC official William Hinman that could affect Ripple’s legal battle with the regulator. In a 2018 speech, Hinman stated that Bitcoin and Ether were not considered securities. The court’s decision compels the SEC to provide documents related to that speech as part of the ongoing legal conflict between Ripple and the SEC, which started in 2020 over the classification of XRP.
Pantera plans to raise $1.25B for second blockchain fund: Report
Pantera Capital, a crypto-focused hedge fund, is reportedly aiming to raise $1.25 billion for its second blockchain fund following the launch of its first fund in 2021. The fund will focus on digital asset projects, with Pantera CEO Dan Morehead emphasizing their bullish outlook for the next decade or two, aiming to provide liquidity for investors.
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $19,777, Ether (ETH) at $1,356, and XRP at $0.47, with the total market capitalization standing at $954.03 billion, as per CoinMarketCap.
Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three gainers for the week are Quant (QNT) with a 37.76% increase, Terra Classic (LUNC) up by 21.41%, and Helium (HNT) showing a rise of 20.93%.
The top losers for the week are Chiliz (CHZ) down by -9.29%, Lido DAO (LDO) with a decrease of -6.82%, and Cronos (CRO) showing a decline of -6.31%.
For more detailed cryptocurrency price analysis, check out Cointelegraph’s market insights.
Most Memorable Quotations
“The most important thing is that [the Ethereum Merge] was executed flawlessly. Everything that was supposed to happen did happen. And none of the things that people were worried about did happen.”
Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder of Starkware
“I think the world is just waking up to reality and Ethereum just went way off into fantasyland at the exact wrong time.”
Cory Klippsten, CEO of Swan Bitcoin
“In DeFi, you can’t get away with letting one borrower be half of a lending pool because people see that and they question the risk management there.”
Sid Powell, CEO and co-founder of Maple Finance
“In our genres that we’re hitting, there might be roughly 500 million people that we can bring in that literally won’t know that they’re playing a crypto game.”
Kieran Warwick, co-founder of Illuvium
“People need to be able to interact with apps and services and content and transactions without knowing that they’re using crypto.”
Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle
“SMS 2FA is better than nothing, but it is the most vulnerable form of 2FA currently in use.”
Jesse Leclere, security expert for CertiK
“I’m writing code in my living room. […] I’m making zero effort to hide.”
Do Kwon, co-founder of Terra
Prediction of the Week
Bitcoin price due ‘big dump’ after passing $20K, warns trader
Bitcoin’s price remained below $20,000 during the week, even though it crossed that threshold multiple times. After briefly surpassing $20,000 on Sept. 30, Bitcoin retraced below that level, coinciding with a recent speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin. A Twitter user, “Il Capo of Crypto,” predicted this price action with a tweet on Sept. 30 that anticipated a surge to $20,000–$20,500 before a significant drop.
FUD of the Week
California files order against Nexo interest account, says it’s 8th state to take action
California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) issued an order directing crypto lending platform Nexo to cease the operation of its Earn Interest Product. The DFPI stated that the product did not comply with regulatory requirements. Nexo had partially suspended the product for U.S. customers earlier in the year but faced further regulatory actions in California, New York, and several other states. Nexo stated it has been cooperating with U.S. regulatory authorities.
MEV bot earns $1M but loses everything to a hacker an hour later
An arbitrage bot utilizing Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) on Uniswap V2 garnered around $1 million in Ether in a day. However, due to vulnerabilities in its code, a hacker exploited the bot, seizing the funds on the same day, resulting in a substantial loss.
SEC alleges fintech and ‘market maker’ firms manipulated crypto market in token scheme
Hydrogen Technology Corporation and market maker Moonwalkers Trading Limited are facing allegations from the SEC of market manipulation. The firms are accused of collaborating to create artificial trading activity for the Hydro token in 2018, leading to profit from dumping the token on the market.
Best Cointelegraph Features
5 years of the ‘Top 10 Cryptos’ experiment and the lessons learned
“Index investing can be boring, but it saves you from the worst possible outcomes.”
Throw your Bored Apes in the trash
Nonfungible tokens have practical applications such as storing medical data and streamlining royalty payments, and Bored Apes detract from these important uses.
Tax on income you never earned? It’s possible after Ethereum’s Merge
IRS regulations are not fully prepared for the implications of Ethereum’s upgrade. While it may not result in the chaos seen during Bitcoin’s fork in 2017, taxpayers should consider potential tax implications and plan accordingly for any decisions made by the IRS.
The best of blockchain, every Tuesday
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