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CFTC Chief Stresses Risks Of Uncontrolled Crypto Industry & Calls for Regulation

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During an invitation-only crypto symposium at Princeton University, Rostin Behnam, the chief of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stressed the risks of an uncontrolled crypto industry and the necessity for legislation, as reported by Fortune on Wednesday.

Behnam delivered his remarks at Princeton’s brand-new DeCenter, a blockchain-focused organization financed by prominent cryptocurrency investors and graduates, including those in attendance Joseph Lubin, Michael Novogratz, Peter Briger Jr., and Daniel Morehead.

The CFTC Chief Says Bitcoin Is The Only Commodity

During the speech, Rostin Behnam asserted that the only cryptocurrency asset that can be treated like a commodity is Bitcoin (BTC). Behnam’s recent remarks were a sharp contrast to his earlier ones from October when he asserted that Ethereum might also be considered a commodity.

At the time, he was responding to a question about which cryptocurrencies should be treated as commodities and which ones should be considered securities. 

Gary Gensler, the chairman of the SEC, has questioned whether Ether should be governed by the SEC given its switch to a proof-of-stake consensus method. He has claimed that [Ether] is a commodity, but Chair Gensler disagrees.

Behnam complimented agency cooperation while referring to the regulatory grid as an “imperfect system.” Nevertheless, the crypto sector generally considers the CFTC as a friendlier regulator than the SEC, besides the controversy surrounding the Ooki DAO case, a perception that Behnam has worked to dispel.

CFTC Relationship With FTX

Behnam’s CFTC has come under fire since FTX collapsed this month. Numerous crypto community members have raised concerns about the FTX’s former CEO associations with US lawmakers and his pushing attempts to make the CFTC the leading agency in charge of regulating cryptocurrencies.

He “did not address the CFTC’s relationship with FTX,” instead, Behnam emphasized the necessity for regulation in all areas of the cryptocurrency industry, from stablecoins to lenders, to avoid future catastrophes during his speech at Princeton,

He questioned the utility of lending organizations like BlockFi, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, by highlighting the participation of regular investors and the absence of crypto use cases beyond speculative ones.

Behnam stressed that it was imperative for regulators to strike a balance between regulation and innovation. He told the crowd that inaction could lead to paralysis but that it would be irresponsible for him to do nothing in the face of uncertainty about how these technologies will develop.

Related Reading | Shiba Inu [SHIB] Enters Luxury Hypercar Company

Bitcoin (BTC) Rises Toward $17,000, Two Weeks High Today

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Despite investors’ concerns over the recent FTX mess, Bitcoin (BTC) has continued to rise, fueled by an optimistic mood this morning. When it crossed a triple top resistance level, BTC extended its previous winning streak and climbed as high as $16,980 during the day, barely shy of the $17,000 threshold.

According to the data from Coinmarketcap, Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency in the world, last reached this level on November 16—nearly two weeks prior. However, it is currently trading at $16,840.11.

BTCUSD 2022 11 30 08 55 16
source: Tradingview

The token is displaying a gain of almost 3% in the last 24 hours, as well as a 2.28% rise in the previous seven days. In the past 24 hours, the token’s market cap has grown by 2.53% while its trading volume has fallen by 3.26%.

Its sudden surge might be linked to the prevailing bullish attitude in the cryptocurrency market, which frequently supports Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Per Coinmarketcap, the global crypto market cap has risen by 2.02% on a daily basis. 

Whereas Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, has seen significant growth of about 5% and 9.08%, respectively, in the daily and weekly charts. Additionally, its market cap is also up by 4.79% in the previous 24 hours. ETH is currently trading at $1,270.89.

 The Four-Largest Sell-Off Of Bitcoin (BTC)

Glassnode addressed the effects of the FTX fiasco on Bitcoin investors in the most recent edition of its weekly newsletter, “The Week On-Chain,” released on November 28th. According to the data, the fourth-largest sell-off of BTC ever occurred in November 2022.

As per the release, the most significant sell-offs for BTC were the 50% sell-off in 2018, the COVID crash in 2020, the LUNA collapse in May 2022, and the price’s initial decline below $20k in June 2022.

However, according to Glassnode’s statement:

November has seen the fourth largest capitulation event on record, recording a 7-day realized loss of -$10.16B. This is 4.0x larger than the peak in Dec 2018, and 2.2x larger than March 2020.

7 Day Sum
Source: Glassnode

Nevertheless, the entities holding less than 1 BTC (Shrimp) across all cohorts have seen two separate ATH waves of balanced growth over the past five months. 

Since the demise of FTX, shrimps have added more than 96.2k BTC to their holdings. They currently have approximately 1.21M BTC, which is a significant 6.3% of the total supply in circulation.

Shrimp
Source: Glassnode

Additionally, for comparison purposes across cycles, there is a 7-day Cumulative Net Realized Profit/Loss. Surprisingly, the market had a net loss of -521k BTC during the last week, which is again very near to the greatest loss ever recorded in history.

Comparing the current Cumulative Net Realized Loss to the COVID and LUNA Crash, with 44% and 39% price decline respectively, the market has shown a larger degree of strength during the recent capitulation with only 26% correction.

Net loss
source: Glassnode

Related reading | Phantom Crypto Wallet Extends Support to Ethereum & Polygon Blockchains

Bitfront: The Demise Of LINE’s Crypto Exchange

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LINE’s crypto exchange, Bitfront, has announced that it is ceasing operations. The exchange declared its closure on November 28th while stating that it will not stop developing the LINE blockchain ecosystem or the LINK token ecosystem.

The company, known initially as Bitbox, was established in February 2020. It facilitates trading in US dollar fiat markets for the major cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), as well as Link, the mainnet token for Line’s blockchain.

The business stated that, unfortunately, they have decided that they must close down Bitfront despite their attempts to overcome the difficulties in this quickly-evolving market.

The closure of Bitfront comes in response to the market turbulence and liquidity problems brought on by the consequences of the FTX meltdown in early November. Services and enterprises were brought dangerously close to insolvency due to exposure to FTX and the market liquidity crisis.

According to Bitfront statement:

Please note that this decision was made for the best interest of the LINE blockchain ecosystem and is unrelated to recent issues related to certain exchanges that have been accused of misconduct.

However, by March 31st, 2023, the platform will also stop allowing withdrawals of any kind. Its US customers can claim their assets after that date in each state, while its international customers can do so in Delaware, US. Further details are mentioned in the notice.

Along Bitfront, Crypto Firms Hit Hard By “Crypto Winter”

Fears of interest rate increases and “Crypto Winter” have had a significant negative impact on cryptocurrencies. The biggest digital asset in the world, bitcoin, is down more than 56% from its high, and many cryptocurrency companies have had to file for bankruptcy. 

Additionally, in the first six months of 2022, following the implosion of TerraUSD and LUNA, the prices for all digital currencies plummeted. Multiple crypto-focused companies are now struggling financially; some have already gone under because they couldn’t keep up.

Similar to how Celsius Network began in 2017 and filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, the corporation claimed in a court document that between March 30th and July 14th, 2022, the value of its assets had fallen by 80%.

Following that, on November 11th, 2022, two significant cryptocurrency exchanges—FTX and FTX.US—filed for bankruptcy. The action was taken following a sell-off of FTT, FTX’s native token, and a significant number of withdrawals. Soon after declaring bankruptcy.

Related Reading | Ripple’s XRP Loses $790 Million In Market Cap Amid Unfavorable Market Conditions

Bitcoin (BTC) Shrimps & Crabs Balances On Rise Despite FTX Demise

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Data provided by Glassnode via Twitter thread shows that after the demise of the FTX exchange, 96,200 (96.2k ) coins have been added to Bitcoin “shrimps,” a cohort of holders that hold less than 1 BTC.  

This balance increase marks “an all-time high.” According to the statement, this cohort now has more than 1.21 million Bitcoin or 6.3% of the total supply. 

While Bitcoin Crabs (up to 10 $BTC holders) has also seen an aggressive growth rate of 191,600 (191.6k) Bitcoin over the last 30 days. It is a very convincing new high for them, and it eclipses their previous peak, which was 126k $BTC per month back in July 2022.

FinVgOaacAAtUJo
Source: Glassnode

On the other hand, Whales, the primary cohort with 1000 BTC, are selling off their Bitcoin holdings. The analytics firm said:

Whales have released approximately -6.5k $BTC to exchanges on net over the last month. Whilst this is distribution, it remains very small relative to their total holdings of 6.3M $BTC.

FinWOQ0acAE TP
Source: Glassnode

In light of this, the analytics firm asserts that it can be seen that the average investor is still bullish and is only awaiting the rebuttal. Of course, before they even consider entering Bullrun, most of them will have to deal with another significant decline. The firm further said, “next 2 months are going to be very much fun.”

Bitcoin Price Analysis

BTC is currently trading at $16,221.37, according to statistics from Coinmarketcap, with a loss of roughly 2.00% over the last 24 hours and a gain of 1.05% over the previous seven days. The amount of trade within a day increased by more than 28.76%.

BTCUSD 2022 11 28 04 19 16
Source: Tradingview.com

Price movements for BTC have been unpredictable in recent days. Investors are unsure of what’s going to happen next and are uncertain about when it’ll start rising again. 

Despite the recent rally seen in cryptocurrency markets over the past week, BTC’s price fluctuates between $15,500 and $16,500. Along with this new rally come many other uncertainties, such as how long it will last. This uncertainty has had negative impacts on the prices of some altcoins that are struggling to stay afloat due to this volatility.

Furthermore, Santiment claimed in a tweet on November 26th that Bitcoin holders were moving their currency from exchanges to cold storage, and only 6.95% of Bitcoin was accessible through exchanges.

Additionally, the amount of Bitcoins that are now listed on exchanges has reached its lowest point in four years. The current trend of removing BTC from exchanges started in 2020 but has lately picked up speed because of the FTX debacle.

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Bitcoin Returns To 2018: Current Crypto Bear Market Is Nothing New, Says Thomas Lee

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The current crypto bear market is nothing new, as the market went through a similar collapse in 2018, when Bitcoin (BTC) dropped more than 70% of its value from all-time highs, Top Wall Street strategist Thomas Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, claimed In an interview with CNBC.

Despite a dismal performance in 2022, he believes cryptocurrency will reemerge. He continues by saying that because it is cleansing the market of many undesirable actors, the current cryptocurrency winter is a crucial time for the sector, as the finest projects were developed during the previous bear market.

According to his statement:

It has been a horrific year for crypto. Nobody has made money in crypto in 2022. But it is not that different from 2018. If we look back at that crypto winter when Bitcoin went from $17,000 to something around $1,200, that was the time when some of the best projects were created.

Moreover, Thomas answered yes when asked if he still suggested purchasing Bitcoin. He made it clear that he did not believe that cryptocurrency is dead; instead, he was sure that the benefits of crypto would ensure its longevity.

He explains that they published about Bitcoin for the first time in 2017 and advised readers to invest 1% of their financial resources in it. Bitcoin was under $1,000 at the time. That position today would make up 40% of its portfolio without rebalancing.

Bitcoin BTC Price Analysis

The data from Coinmarketcap show that BTC is currently trading at $16,517.98, with a 0.03% gain in the last 24 hours and a loss of about 0.68% in the previous seven days. Additionally, its 24 hours trading volume is facing a significant decrease of about 25.07%.

BTC 1D graph coinmarketcap 1
Source: CoinMarketcap

According to the newest worst-case scenario forecast, Bitcoin (BTC) still runs the chance of falling below $7,000 during the current bear market. Trading platform DecenTrader shared targets for the bottom of the BTC price during its most recent Livestream show.

According to Filbfilb of Decentrader, a Bitcoin capitulation may cause BTC’s price to drop to a level twice as low as the bear market’s 2018 low. 

Regarding a bidding zone of around $6,500, he indicated it in the worst situation and believed that would be where they ultimately ended up – like old-school rock-hard support.

Filbfilb asserted that unlikely at the moment, additional severe effects from the FTX collapse would eliminate bid support farther up the order book, creating the possibility of such a capitulation scenario.

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Bitcoin (BTC) Drops Below $16,000 As Market Troubles Mount

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Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, dropped even further and breached the $16,000 mark on November 21st. It might continue in the volatile market as investors are starting to lose faith.

BTC dropped to a daily low of $15,480 yesterday, its lowest level since November 2020, where bulls rushed to consolidate their positions and raise back, where it is currently trading at $16,049.60.

According to the data from CoinMarketcap, the token is currently displaying losses in both daily and weekly charts. But the 24 hours trading volume is up about 9% to $28.466 billion.

Additionally, the global cryptocurrency market cap is trading sharply lower, around $795.94 billion, with a decrease of about 2% in the last 24 hours. While the 24 hours trading volume increased by almost 18% to $198.83 billion.

BTCUSD 2022 11 22 06 21 36
Source: Tradingview

Near $16,000, Bitcoin is receiving rapid technical assistance, and candles above this level suggest that a bullish reversal is possible. Due to this fact, it can be speculated that the upwards trend will continue until it reaches resistance levels of $16,500 and 17,180 due to increased buying pressure.

Factors Dragging Bitcoin (BTC) Down

The continued effects of the collapse of FTX continue to ripple across the market, leaving very few tokens untouched as the cryptocurrency market fell even further into the “Crypto Winter.”

The creator of Cubics Analytics, Caleb Franzen, also commented on the bounce in the price of Bitcoin after it struck a daily low. He noted that he had been foreseeing the prospect of new lows.

However, considering the current state of affairs, investors find it difficult to adapt to both new highs and new lows. As much as Bitcoin tries to tackle its issues, such as security measures, people still remain skeptical.

Bitcoin is still struggling to keep up with the demand, and while there are multiple reasons behind it, one theory, in particular, has stood out. According to Santiment, this may have been caused by FUD- Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt- which happened when traders lost faith in centralized trading platforms after the FTX debacle.

Since the FTX cryptocurrency has been collapsing since November, contagion fears have destroyed more than $200 billion worth of crypto-currency. It is mainly because most investors are liquidating their futures positions to make sure that they can withdraw the remaining funds and leverage all of their portfolios.

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The True Potential Of Dogecoin: Insights From A Former Ethereum Researcher

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Alex Valaitis, the founder of W3T and former Ethereum researcher, posted research through his Twitter thread about Dogecoin basics and its implications for scalability as well as use cases.

In the tweet’s comments section, Alex stated that he selected three major areas of the DOGE coin to concentrate his investigation, including technology and protocol, instances of using Dogecoin, and “The Dogecoin community.”

He started by speaking about its’s fundamentals, specifically how it is a “standalone layer-1 blockchain” that employs Proof of Work as its consensus process. He went on to say it was based on other blockchains in existence, such as LuckyCoin and Litecoin, but unlike those two, he told DOGE had some additional features.

According to the statement:

While Dogecoin is a PoW blockchain like Bitcoin, its use of Scrypt technology means that SHA-256 bitcoin mining equipment cannot be used to mine DOGE. Instead, miners must purchase less powerful FPGA & ASIC devices for mining.

Dogecoin Mining More Approachable Than BTC

Theoretically, this should make DOGE mining more approachable than Bitcoin mining for the average individual. There are currently 5,896 nodes in total, which are evenly scattered over the world. 

FiCpHysX0AEGd8Q
Source: Alex Valaitis Twitter Thread

It’s also important to think about scalability and processing speeds when considering DOGE’s consensus method. Their average transaction time is only one-tenth of the duration it takes for BTC transactions; additionally, it can process up to 33 transactions per second at full capacity – which is 10x faster than BTC without a lightning network enabled.

Source: Alex Valaitis Twitter Thread

Moreover, Alex said:

One question that came up in my research, was whether or not Dogecoin supports smart contracts, like Ethereum does. Dogecoin developer @inevitable360 pointed out that while Dogecoin does not have smart contracts, it does support “Script Opcodes

One concerning thing found from the research was the high concentration of Dogecoin in just a few wallets. In comparison, there are very few addresses for Bitcoin that account for 5%

FiCpXkyWYAEBFY8
Source: Alex Valaitis Twitter Thread

Alex also highlighted that the block reward had been set at 10,000 $DOGE per block, and one is mined every minute. It creates an additional 5 billion new coins annually, giving the current inflation rate of 3.87%. In addition, he stated that there are 132.6 billion coins in circulation right now.

FiCpa3lXwAgB7lU
Source: Alex Valaitis Twitter Thread

Dogecoin Use Cases & Community

After examining the various options for custody wallets on Dogecoin’s website, Alex said he “ultimately went with TrustWallet.” Sodogetip was also an option worth considering because it allows users to link their Reddit and Twitter accounts in order to get tips directly. 

FiCqNeOXgAIeg0h
Source: Alex Valaitis Twitter Thread

He believes that the most viable uses of Dogecoin appear to be as a payment method that could supplement already-existing institutions- including large retailers/social media sites- or as a complimentary form of currency.

Furthermore, the long-term viability of a layer-1 blockchain depends on the existence of a sizable and fervent core community. The active community is shown in the DOGE instance; some have even given it the moniker “the people’s currency.”

As demonstrated by the enormous online communities it has on popular websites, such as the 3.5 million followers it has on Twitter, the 2.4 million “Subscribers” it has on Reddit, and the 31,285 members it has on Discord.

According to the statement:

In conclusion, I believe Dogecoin is one of the most misunderstood blockchains in crypto. It would have been easy for me to dismiss Dogecoin and chosen to never research it, however, I’m glad I took the time to dive deep.

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Unchained Capital To Cut 15% Of Staff Amid Crypto Bear Market

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Unchained Capital, a blockchain financial services company, announced that it would cut about 15% of its staff as part of measures to manage the business amid the current bear market in cryptocurrencies.

In their latest blog post, the company’s CEO wrote about how these past few weeks and months had been rough for Unchained and its employees. They’ve watched many other firms crumble after failing to make it through this tough economic environment.

Although the company has never had exposure to FTX, Alameda, or any other firms that have lost customer cash, the CEO said that recent market events have dramatically limited funding for loans backed by bitcoin.

Against the backdrop of a record-breaking year for Bitcoin, Unchained has seen rapid growth in both clientele and bitcoin deposits. Despite recent turmoil in Bitcoin markets, they have managed to maintain their five-year streak without taking any losses on loans. They are sitting comfortably with leverage ratios exceeding 214%.

However, affected employees are receiving an offer from Unchained’s CEO that includes a severance package, including payment of up to two months’ worth of base salary plus additional monthly payments for health benefits. Additionally, it also provides acceleration of stock options and extended option window periods.

Unchained Is Not Alone In This Economical Trauma

Since the all-time high of $3 trillion in November 2021, the total market capitalization of the digital asset industry has plunged to just below $831.81 billion (over 75% less), making this recent recession one of the worst in history.

This huge economic downturn can be attributed to a variety of influences, some of which include the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and other regions, high inflation rates, and worse long-term economic outlooks. As a result, many cryptocurrency jobs are being eliminated.

For example, in the last week of May, Buenbit – one of the top crypto investment platforms – laid off nearly 45% of its staff, reducing its workforce from about 180 to just 100. In June, crypto exchange Gemini reported that the bear market had caused them to fire roughly 10% of their staff.

Additionally, due to developments in the world’s financial landscape, 2TM, the parent company of Mercado Bitcoin, also disclosed that it would be letting go 12% of its 750-person staff.

In April, the crypto sphere-friendly trading platform Robinhood laid off 9% of its staff. Similarly, Rain Financial – one of the most well-known crypto ecosystems in the Middle Eastern region – fired twelve workers, citing the global economic crisis as the reason for this move.

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Bitcoin Mining Stocks Hit Hard By Crypto Winter: Tanked To 2% From 44% Peak

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The volatile climate of the cryptocurrency industry has had an adverse effect not only on the price of crypto but also on Bitcoin mining activity.

The Viridi Bitcoin Miners ETF (“RIGZ ETF”) reported on November 17th:

Trading volumes for bitcoin mining stocks are at historically low levels, indicating these stocks are oversold by exhausted market participants.

Bitcoin Mining stocks have been crashing ever since late November 2021, as reflected by its declining share of BTC trading volume, which hit its all-time high at 44% and is now just 2%. While over the same period, BTC’s daily trading volumes have risen rapidly because the price decreased. 

Btcoin Mining
Source: VIRIDI FUNDS

Based on the Viridi research, BTC’s daily trading volume is approximately $4 billion, which shows consistency. Individuals are selling it as a result of the cryptocurrency market’s unusual contagion effects and the more restrained macroeconomic situation.

As Per Jadran Mellerud, a Bitcoin mining analyst and consultant, the market is saturated and running out of sellers, as seen by mining stocks’ present modest trading volumes in comparison to BTC.

Bitcoin Mining Stocks Average Trading Volume

Trading volumes for the whole BTC mining industry are now quite low, and they are mostly focused on a small number of these stocks:

Since November 2021, Marathon has been responsible for 46% of the total trading volume, followed by Riot at 27% and Hut 8 at 7%. Together, these three companies have made up 80% of the sector’s trading volumes over the past year.

The research report indicates that since November 2021, Marathon has had an average daily trading volume of $215 million, indicating that the company has high liquidity and can support sizeable stock purchases without the price changing too much.

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Source: VIRIDI FUNDS

Whereas, the average daily trading volume for four stocks since November 2021 has been less than $1 million, which indicates that some bitcoin mining stocks are extremely illiquid. 

However, according to The Viridi Bitcoin Miners ETF, some of these stocks continue to generate sizable daily volume despite the sector’s overall weak trading activity.

These high-volume equities are the most likely to be bought by significant investors, while low-volume stocks may experience rapid growth if bitcoin prices soar once again.

Related Reading | FTX Ordered To Move its Assets to the Control of Bahamian Securities Regulator

TRON Founder Pushes Nayib Bukele’s Plan To Buy Bitcoin Daily

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Founder of TRON blockchain Justin Sun echoed El Salvador President Nayib Buklele’s plan to purchase Bitcoin every day. The developments would infuse hope into the crypto industry, which has been plagued by the FUD bug.

Many prominent figures, like DOGE supporter Elon Musk, former whistleblower turned crypto advocate Edward Snowden, and trading analysts like Stockmoney Lizards, are now bullish on the biggest cryptocurrency.

Sun for one, emerged as the new savior in the ongoing FTX collapse after Binance’s snub when the crypto entrepreneur announced on Twitter he was looking at ways to bail out FTX.

Though he didn’t share the complete details, he wrote that he and his team were “putting together a solution together with FTX to initiate a pathway forward.”

The TRON founder asserted that he intervened to “avert further deterioration” in the cryptocurrency business and as a promise to TRON community members.

Even though Sun is well-known for his significant crypto holdings and somewhat controversial initiatives, many in the community were surprised by his declaration considering the seriousness of the accusations made against FTX.

Sun’s Tron DAO Reserve, a community-driven body that supports development on the Tron network, has bought millions in Bitcoin [BTC], Tron’s native token TRX, and tether [USDT] as collateral for its dollar-pegged stablecoin USDD.

On the other hand, Bukele who is a Bitcoin maximalist has led the Central American nation to adopt BTC as a legal tender, making it the first in the world to do so.

TRON Founder And Nayib Bukele Vouch For BTC

Bukele cited the most recent FTX fall to highlight why Bitcoin is distinct from other currencies, despite the criticism he previously faced for buying the asset at these times.

“FTX is the opposite of Bitcoin,” said President Bukele as he described the underlying workings of the Bitcoin protocol. The white paper highlights the importance of an immutable peer-to-peer network in achieving a trustless financial system.

The Bitcoin strongman singled out FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and financial criminal Bernie Madoff, pointing out how the Bitcoin protocol stops such bad actors from committing financial crimes.

“Some understand it, some not yet. We’re still early.”

Additionally, he emphasized that bitcoin has a 21 million market cap limit, making it a genuinely unique asset to acquire globally. His comments drew praise from BTC supporters.