Illustration by Mitchell Preffer for Decrypt
Crypto this week was a mixed bag. After three weeks of consecutive growth, the fourth full week of 2023 saw Bitcoin prices virtually unchanged since last weekend, and while Ethereum depreciated a little, several altcoins like Aptos (APT), Axie Infinity (AXS) and Avalanche (AVAX) managed sizeable rallies.
On Monday, Conor Grogan, a director at Coinbase, alleged that there has been some pretty obvious insider trading at Binance in the last 18 months. This is not the first time such allegations have been made.
It appears that there is a pattern of Binance front-running over 18+ months
I found connected wallets that:
-Bought $900k Rari seconds before and dumped minutes after listing
-Bought ~78K ERN between June 17 and June 21 and sold right after listing announcement
-Did same w/ TORN https://t.co/yAolrfeHkO pic.twitter.com/VRq3vzfcgd
— Conor (@jconorgrogan) January 23, 2023
Researchers from crypto financial services platform Matrixport last weekend said that the end of the first day of Chinese New Year is an optimal time to open up long positions in crypto, because—based on the last eight years—selling 10 days later nets an average profit of 9%. Their findings were shared widely on Monday.
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Buying Bitcoin at the end of the first day of Chinese New Year and selling it 10 days later would have returned +9%, on average, with all of the last eight years (2015-2022) showing positive returns.
This is a hit ratio of 100% (8 wins, 0 losses).
– Matrixport research pic.twitter.com/ryPoJvZ7ql
— db (@tier10k) January 23, 2023
On Tuesday, crypto whale news account @unusual_whales announced the latest assets to be seized by authorities in the ongoing investigation into the now-bankrupt FTX exchange’s disgraced former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. And we all thought he was down to his last $100k!
BREAKING: Prosecutors have seized $50 million from Sam Bankman-Fried’s account in the tiny rural Washington State bank, the Farmington State Bank, where last year he purchased an $11 million stake in the bank itself.
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) January 24, 2023
That day, El Salvador’s Bitcoin-obsessed authoritarian President Nayib Bukele posted a multi-thread string of hit pieces criticizing his decision to coerce his country into accepting Bitcoin as legal tender. In his thread, he wants everyone to know that El Salvador is doing just fine. That day, his government paid out an $800 million bond that had matured.
In the past year, almost every legacy international news outlet said that because of our “#Bitcoin bet”, El Salvador was going to default on its debt by January 2023 (since we had an 800 million dollar bond maturing today).
Literally, hundreds of articles https://t.co/rEiK7K13U4
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 24, 2023
Crypto lender Genesis claims it is owed $21 million by one Roger Ver, also known as “Bitcoin Jesus.” Roger has other ideas and responded that Genesis needs to be solvent before he fulfills his obligations, as allegedly stipulated in their contract.
Republican U.S. Representative Bill Huizenga on Tuesday had some sharp words for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, a regulator which has redoubled its efforts to control the crypto industry after the spate of recent bankruptcies.
Also that day, Twitter user Paul (@darkport) found a fascinating get-out clause buried in the legal bumf of Porsche’s NFT minting page. According to Paul, a clause like this opens up discussions about the refundability of NFTs—discussions that regulators no doubt would like to hear more of.
Something caught my eye on the Porsche NFT mint page that might just change the entire game for everyone.
And no one is talking about it… 👇🧵 pic.twitter.com/Vd4Mzidvhk
— Paul | Top Dog Studios (@darkp0rt) January 25, 2023
Twitter user @Degentraland, who regularly tweets about NFTS, on Wednesday posted hefty stats from the launch week of Yuga Labs’s new Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)-inspired, crypto-integrated arcade game Dookey Dash.
Dookey Dash players have spent almost $750,000 on in-game boosts in one week.
There are 30,000 max Sewer Pass holders.
Average spend of $25 per user. $100 monthly.
Estimated monthly active revenue per paying user on Fortnite was ~$27 in 2020.
Common @yugalabs W.
— Degentraland (@Degentraland) January 25, 2023
Robinhood’s official Twitter account was hacked midweek. Luckily, it was an obvious hack. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao helped raise the alarm.
Looks like Robinhood account got hacked and was promoting a coin on BNB Chain. Always have critical thinking even is the account looks or is real. https://t.co/XSwHIVdEdw
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) January 25, 2023
Crypto analyst Adam Cochran got offended when McDonalds’ official account appropriated some hip cryptospeak.
Alright pack it in.
We’re done here.
Just shut crypto down and forget it ever happened, cause McDonalds sure as fuck isn’t tweeting wagmi at the bottom… https://t.co/FlI9gBK72W
— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) January 26, 2023
On Thursday, crypto user @AutismCapital, who regularly rants about industry news stories, posted a comprehensive list of FTX creditors.
And on that note, news also emerged this week that FTX execs were throwing their capital behind disgraced New York Congressman, Republican George Soros, who is currently on the wrong end of a Department of Justice criminal probe for being—allegedly—a compulsive scammer, and certainly a liar.
Finally, one of the Bored Ape Yacht Club founders had a somber announcement to make on Saturday and will be taking time off from the space.
Some heavy news: a few days ago I was told by my doctor I have congestive heart failure. Symptoms started last year out of the blue and I put off seeking help (like an idiot) so I could keep working. But after testing, my doctor called and asked me to radically change my life.🧵
— GordonGoner.eth (Wylie Aronow) (@GordonGoner) January 28, 2023
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Source: https://decrypt.co/120181/this-week-on-crypto-twitter-binance-faces-more-insider-trading-allegations
