2024-09-11 08:13

The exchange is focused on the Indonesian market and recorded $11 million in trading volumes on Monday. Indodax was hacked with over $22 million worth of various tokens stolen. The exchange confirmed the security breach by pausing platform operations for "maintenance." However, there were indications of compromised social media activities, such as a suspicious giveaway announced on Instagram, suggesting further security issues. Indonesia-based crypto exchange Indodax was hacked for over $22 million worth of various tokens early Tuesday in an apparent attack on their hot wallets, security researchers said on X. Over $14 million worth of tokens including ether (ETH), $2.4 million in Tron’s TRX, $1.4 million in bitcoin (BTC) and $2.5 million in Polygon’s MATIC, among smaller amounts of other tokens, were stolen in the attack, security firm Slowmist and CertiK said. The stolen stash was a relatively small amount as the exchange’s wallets continue to hold over $400 million worth of various tokens, Arkham data shows. Indodax is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange established in 2014 and targets the local Indonesian market. It traded over $11 million worth of cryptocurrencies in the past 24 hours, CoinGecko data shows, and offers all tokens against the Indonesian rupiah, which is worth 15,409 IDR per U.S. dollar as of Tuesday. Indodax confirmed the attack on their X account early Tuesday, stating that platform operations were paused due to “maintenance” activities. However, several users on X and the exchange’s Telegram channel claimed they could no longer see wallet balances. While platform operations remain paused, Indodax’s X account is touting a “giveaway” of Indonesian rupiah on their Instagram page - suggesting it may be compromised. The exact mechanism of the attack remains to be determined and is not publicly known as of European morning hours. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/09/11/indonesian-crypto-exchange-indodax-hacked-for-22m-pauses-activity-before-bigger-hit/

2024-09-11 08:00

On Aug. 7, Singapore's police warned the public against giving away or selling their Worldcoin accounts or tokens. Singapore is investigating seven people offering Worldcoin services. Worldcoin has already faced regulatory scrutiny in Colombia, Hong Kong, Argentina and Kenya. Singapore is investigating seven "subjects" for offering services of buying or selling of Worldcoin accounts and tokens which is an offense, a written reply in parliament by the government revealed on Tuesday. OpenAI founder Sam Altman has founded the retina-scanning crypto startup, Worldcoin. Two Singapore Ministers of Parliaments, Rachel Ong and Derrick Goh raised questions about whether the sale of Worldcoin in the country has any regulations supporting it or any risks associated with it. Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, and Chairman of Monetary Authority of Singapore responded to say that while Worldcoin does not perform a payment service under Singapore regulations, people buying or selling Worldcoin accounts and tokens may be acting illegally by providing a payment service as unlicensed individuals. On Aug. 7, Singapore's police warned the public against giving away or selling their Worldcoin accounts or tokens for fear of it being used for criminal activities. Worldcoin has already faced regulatory scrutiny in Colombia, Hong Kong, Argentina and Kenya. "Neither Worldcoin nor Tools for Humanity are under investigation by police in Singapore. Individuals being investigated by authorities for possible violation of the Payment Services Act are not affiliated with Worldcoin or its operations in any way," a spokesperson for Tools for Humanity said in a statement. "The Worldcoin Foundation in Singapore, and around the world, operates in compliance with relevant laws and regulations pertaining to all aspects of the Worldcoin project including the Payment Services Act in Singapore. Any reports or speculation to the contrary are false and misleading." Read More: Sam Altman’s Layer-2 Blockchain Project, World Chain, Opens to Developers https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/09/11/singapore-investigating-seven-people-for-providing-worldcoin-services/

2024-09-11 07:26

The yen picked up a strong bid in late July as the Bank of Japan hiked interest rates for the first time in decades, triggering an unwinding of the risk-on yen carry trades. Asian markets and U.S. stock futures experienced a downturn, with Bitcoin dropping over 2% to $56,300, reflecting a risk-off sentiment in financial markets following the presidential debate where Kamala Harris was perceived to outperform Donald Trump. Dogecoin led declines among major cryptocurrencies, while Trump-themed political finance tokens saw significant losses, contrasting with a gain in Harris-themed tokens, indicating market sentiment aligning with the debate's perceived outcome. It's a risk-off day in Asia after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris supposedly outshined former President and pro-crypto Republican candidate Donald Trump in the second presidential debate. Bitcoin (BTC), the leading cryptocurrency by market value, fell over 2% to $56,300, with the CoinDesk 20 Index, the broader market gauge, falling nearly 2.5%, according to CoinDesk data. Dogecoin (DOGE) led losses among major tokens with a 4% slide in the past 24 hours, CoinGecko data shows, while xrp (XRP), Solana’s SOL, ether (ETH) and BNB Chain’s BNB remained little changed. Meanwhile, bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) extended inflows to a second-straight day after a record losing streak, bagging $117 million led by Fidelity’s FBTC product. Early this year, Trump began courting the crypto community, often touted as single-issue voters, establishing bitcoin and the wider crypto market as bet on his presidency. Since then, traders have closely watched Trump and Harris' odds on the betting platform Polymarket. According to Polymarket traders, Harris won the first presidential debate between her and Trump. Trump had debated Joe Biden earlier, before the President dropped out of the race and handed the reins to Harris. In traditional markets, futures tied to the S&P 500 lost 0.4%, and Chinese stocks fell to a seven-month low as Trump defended trade tariffs during the debate, saying they would not result in higher prices for the U.S. consumers. The anti-risk Japanese yen strengthened to 140.70 per U.S. dollar, the highest since January, appreciating beyond the early August level of 141.68. The yen picked up a strong bid in late July as the Bank of Japan hiked interest rates for the first time in decades, triggering an unwinding of the risk-on yen carry trades. Trump-themed tokens deep in the red While Polymarket bettors have the election tied to 49-49, polls say that Kamala Harris won this debate. Meanwhile, Trump-themed Political Finance (PoliFi) tokens are hurting, with the MAGA (TRUMP) token down 11.7%, Solana’s Doland Tremp (TREMP) token down 27%, and the MAGA Hat (MAGA) token down 23.5%. Meanwhile, the Harris-themed ‘Kamala Horris’ (KAMA) token is up 7.6%. The entire PoliFi category market cap is down 8.8% to just over $540 million. Back on Polymarket, bettors are putting their money on a 56% chance of another debate happening, and a 27% chance that Trump fires his campaign manager. Immediately after the debate wrapped, Trump made an appearance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show, which observers say is a sign that the campaign felt the debate performance wasn’t that strong. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/09/11/bitcoin-slides-yen-gains-as-trump-harris-debate-disappoints-markets/

2024-09-11 04:51

The former Alameda Research CEO testified against her former boss, Sam Bankman-Fried, last year. Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison should be sentenced to time served and supervised release at most, her attorneys said in a late Tuesday filing. Despite her role in propping up FTX and Alameda, Ellison cooperated with prosecutors, FTX's bankruptcy estate and creditors, the filing said. A presentence report similarly recommended no prison term or fine, the filing said. Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison should be sentenced to time served and supervised release for her role in FTX's operation and subsequent collapse, her attorneys said in a filing late Tuesday night. Ellison, one of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's top lieutenants, testified against him at his trial last year, where he was convicted on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. Ellison had previously pleaded guilty to fraud tied to FTX's operation shortly after the exchange filed for bankruptcy in the fall of 2022. In Tuesday night's filing, her attorneys noted that the Probation Department had filed a presentence report recommending three years of supervised release due to her "extraordinary cooperation with the government" and the character testimonials accompanying the submission. The presentence report also recommended that Ellison not be fined. "[Ellison] poses no risk of recidivism and presents no threat to public safety. It would therefore promote respect for the law to grant leniency in recognition of [Ellison's] early disclosure of the crimes, her unmitigated acceptance of responsibility for them, and – most importantly – her extensive cooperation with the government," the filing said. The document outlined Ellison's childhood, college and early career, including meeting Bankman-Fried at Jane Street and eventually joining Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried's first company. Ellison began taking Adderall and had an on-again, off-again relationship with Bankman-Fried during her time at Alameda (which the document described as Bankman-Fried repeatedly ghosting her), the attorneys said. As part of her role at Alameda, she became isolated from friends when she moved to Hong Kong shortly before COVID lockdowns shuttered travel between there and the U.S. The sentencing submission was accompanied by diary entries, statements about her cooperation with FTX's bankruptcy estate and letters from former colleagues, friends and family. Some of these names have been redacted, though Inner City Press has requested that the court at least allow a hearing to argue for unredacting these names. Ellison's attorneys said in an initial filing that the people who wrote the letters are at risk of harassment or doxing, and at least one letter said it was written by another former Alameda Research employee. John J. Ray III, the CEO of the FTX bankruptcy estate, wrote that Ellison's assistance was "valuable" in helping his team take over the exchange as it was falling apart, and that the estate was close to a settlement with Ellison where she would "turn over ... substantially all of her remaining assets" and continue assisting the bankruptcy team in restructuring FTX and its affiliated entities. Similarly, attorneys who filed class action lawsuits against FTX's former executives said she "provided valuable assistance" to help them recover funds for FTX's creditors. Robert Cleary, the court-appointed examiner, also wrote a (brief) message saying Ellison was helpful. Ellison's diary entries – a select few pages anyway – also lay out her thought process during her time at Alameda, describing her mood, how work and her relationship with Bankman-Fried affected her and her thoughts on how to improve her life (taking a day off work, going outside, keeping in touch with friends and reducing her Adderall dosage, among other possible remedies). Ellison is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 24, 2024, in the same courthouse where Bankman-Fried went on trial. Fellow FTX executives Nishad Singh and Gary Wang will also be sentenced this year, in October and November. Read all of CoinDesk's coverage here. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/09/11/caroline-ellison-shouldnt-go-to-jail-after-ftx-collapse-attorneys-say/

2024-09-11 03:43

Crypto was once again not mentioned in the second 2024 debate, the first between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris appears to have beaten former President Donald Trump in the first debate between the U.S. presidential candidates on Tuesday, based on the direction of prediction bets on Polymarket, while crypto policy went unmentioned. Despite Harris' performance, the two candidates are effectively tied in the Polymarket contract for who will win the actual election, with Harris' odds increasing slightly during the course of the debate. Read More: Bitcoin Slides, Yen Gains as Trump-Harris Debate Disappoints Markets This is the second presidential debate in the 2024 election. Harris' campaign called for a third debate – which would be the second between Harris and Trump – after Tuesday's event ended. It's also the second debate that did not delve into crypto, or even general technology or finance issues beyond a section on the economy. Trump, as he has been doing in recent weeks, touted the benefit of tariffs during his time on the stand, saying he would have "substantial tariffs." Harris pushed back, saying Trump left the Biden administration with a trade deficit, "one of the highest we've seen in history." As with an earlier debate between Trump and President Joe Biden before the latter dropped out of the race, fact-checkers including CNN reporter Daniel Dale said Trump made more inaccurate statements than Harris. At one point Trump claimed – falsely, according to the Wall Street Journal – that migrants are "eating the dogs" in Springfield, Ohio. (That remark inspired a few new memecoins on the token launchpad Pump.fun, including EATING DOGS AND CATS.) Following the debate, musician Taylor Swift endorsed Harris, saying Harris "fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion." Polymarket's busy night Bettors had a busy night on Polymarket, after the night began with an unexpected handshake between the candidates. The market had pegged the chance of a handshake at roughly 30%, with around $360,000 on the line. Trump and Harris shook hands as the night began – something that didn’t happen since the first 2016 debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton. Bettors were quite skeptical that crypto or bitcoin would get mentioned during the evening, placing the chances of it happening at 26% for Trump and 14% for Harris. One user going by the handle "trumpisreal" won over $10,000 in the stablecoin USDC by correctly guessing that Trump would mention “Springfield” and “Cat,” a reference to debunked claims that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating pets. The debate moderator pointed out that city officials said there was no evidence of that happening. On the Harris side, bettors took home money early in the evening when the Democratic candidate mentioned “Project 2025” and “Artificial Intelligence” in the first moments of the debate. Bettors are confident that polls will say that Harris had won the debate, putting it at 98%, and giving a 59% chance that Harris will be the Polymarket election contract favorite the day after the debate. Harris will be the confirmed debate winner on the contract if an Ipsos/538 opinion poll taken the same day indicates she had a better performance. Overall, there is nearly $860 million bet on the presidential election. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/09/11/harris-won-us-presidential-debate-versus-trump-polymarket-betting-suggests/

2024-09-10 20:43

The 30-day average funding rates for perpetual swaps slid to negative levels, a rare occasion that marked a bottom in prices historically, K33 Research said. Bitcoin (BTC) was rising on Tuesday as the crypto market continued its rebound from last week's fear-inducing plunge. The largest crypto's price was nearing $58,000 late in the U.S. trading session, up 1.7% in the past 24 hours and higher by nearly 10% from last Friday's low. Ether (ETH) and solana (SOL) each advanced 1.5% over the past day. Toncoin (TON), Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) and Internet Computer (ICP) were the biggest gainers among altcoin majors, advancing 5%-8%. The broad-market benchmark CoinDesk 20 Index climbed 1.3% to 1,835, with 16 out of its 20 constituents advancing during the day. Chances are low that crypto gets a mention during tonight's U.S. presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, but the striking contrast between the two parties' approach on digital assets, and what their leadership would mean for prices, nevertheless lends importance to the event. Uncertainty around the election will likely weigh on crypto prices until November, said Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at Nansen, but today's debate "could bring a small breather [as] Harris’ lead in the polls might erode somewhat as the tailwinds of the Democratic National Convention fade." While investors are still fearful of further downside, one reliable metric foreshadows a significant rally in the coming weeks and months, a Tuesday market report by K33 Research said. The 30-day average funding rates for perpetual swaps slid to negative levels, which has only happened six times since 2018, according to the report. "In the past, monthly funding rates hitting negative levels have coincided with a market bottom," K33 analysts Vetle Lunde and David Zimmerman wrote. Based on the previous occasions when the metric flipped negative, the average return in the following 90-day period was 79% with the median 90-day return being 55%, the report said. Open interest for derivatives, meanwhile, gradually climbed to the highest level since late July as shorts piled in. This, combined with persistent negative funding rates, leaves the market for potential short squeezes, according to the report. "Similar funding rate environments offer a very compelling case for aggressive exposure in BTC in the months ahead," the authors said. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/09/10/bitcoin-eyes-58k-with-downtrodden-crypto-markets-exposed-to-short-squeezes-says-analyst/