Week in review: Bitcoin holds above $21,000 as Binance chief comments on possible restrictions for Russians

Bitcoin prices breached the $21,000 level, Deribit was hacked for $28 million, Changpeng Zhao commented on possible restrictions for Russians and other events of the past week.

Bitcoin holds above $21,000

Against the backdrop of expectations for the Fed‘s decision on the key rate, Bitcoin prices opened the week lower. On Wednesday, 2 November, the regulator raised the target range by 75 basis points—to 3.75–4% per year.

The first cryptocurrency reacted to the Fed’s policy tightening with a slight drop, but the next day prices began to rise and on Friday breached the $21 000 level.

As of writing, the asset is trading near $21 250.

For the week, all top-10 assets by market capitalization were in the green. The best performer was Binance Coin (BNB), with the token price rising 16.5%.

Total market capitalization stood at $1.1 trillion. Bitcoin’s dominance index fell to 37.1%.

Bitcoin white paper marks 14th anniversary

On 31 October 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper. The technical document described the principle of a peer-to-peer payment system that would go on to revolutionize the world of financial technology.

The Bitcoin network launched in January 2009. Two years later, Nakamoto disappeared, and the public has never managed to determine who wrote the document behind the multi-billion-dollar industry.

Changpeng Zhao discussed Twitter prospects under an ‘unpredictable’ Elon Musk, and made several statements

Changpeng Zhao, at a Lisbon web summit, described Elon Musk as ‘an unpredictable guy’. The head of Binance expects that under the billionaire’s leadership the pace of rolling out new features on the social network will be much faster, even if ‘not all of them catch on’. Zhao added that he would join the social network’s board of directors if such an offer came from Musk.

The exchange’s CEO also commented on potential restrictions for Russians, saying that licensed Binance entities in Europe will certainly not be able to serve Russian citizens, but for other jurisdictions there is not yet a definite answer:

“We are talking with regulators about whether we can service Russian users. We are waiting for expert recommendations. This is a complex situation”.

Another statement concerned potential acquisitions. Zhao said that Binance is considering the possibility of acquiring banks to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the crypto industry. According to the head of the company, it is prepared for both minority stakes in banks and full acquisitions.

Media: South Korean authorities obtain evidence against Do Kwon

The South Korean prosecutors’ office obtained evidence that Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon manipulated the price of LUNA, local media reported.

The day before, a class-action suit against Terraform Labs and the CEO for $57 million was disclosed, filed on behalf of more than 350 investors. The hearings are set to take place in early November in a Singaporean court.

Deribit derivatives exchange hacked for $28 million

On November 1, unknown actors hacked Deribit’s hot wallet and withdrew $28 million — about 9,080 ETH ($14.2 million) and ~691 BTC ($14.1 million). The exchange managed to preserve assets due to the separation of proprietary and client funds — 99% of client funds are stored in a cold wallet.

What to discuss with friends?

• The MakerDAO co-founder Nikolai Mukhgyan died in Puerto Rico. The day before, he said he intended for the CIA and Mossad to “torture him to death”.
• The FTM token rose 20% on rumors of Andre Cronje’s return to the Fantom Foundation.
• 1inch and Revolut launched a training course for DeFi newbies with incentives paid in 1INCH tokens.
• The Gala Games token plunged 25% amid fears of a multi-million-dollar hack.

Experts calculate MicroStrategy’s gains from Ethereum vs Bitcoin

Experts calculated that instead of losing $1.3 billion, MicroStrategy could have earned $1.6 billion if it had invested in Ethereum rather than Bitcoin, according to Blockchain Center researchers.

Analysts say that, including staking income, the company’s reserves would now amount to 3,781,691 ETH ($5.9 billion). The current value of the assets is about $2.66 billion.

Instagram users will be able to create and sell NFTs on the Polygon blockchain

Meta announced the ability to create its own NFTs on Instagram. Initially, the feature will be available on the Polygon blockchain. The custodian partner is Arweave. Both assets surged following the announcement.

Meta is testing the feature with a small group of creators in the United States. According to the statement, the social network will support video format. At the same time, Instagram added support for the Solana blockchain and the Phantom wallet.

Fragment sells the first Telegram username

On November 2, at a blockchain auction Fragment sold the first Telegram username — @auto. The final price was 900,000 Toncoin (around $1.4 million).

Hong Kong eases crypto regulation and reconsiders Bitcoin ETF stance

The Hong Kong financial regulator published a statement on easing restrictions on cryptocurrencies and its willingness to engage with virtual asset service providers.

Hong Kong is also open to crypto ETFs and pledged to provide appropriate regulatory mechanisms and investor protections. Authorities are currently discussing a new licensing regime for virtual asset service providers.

Earlier, former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes suggested bringing China back into the crypto industry via Hong Kong.

Vitalik Buterin presents updated Ethereum development roadmap

Vitalik Buterin published an updated Ethereum development roadmap. The project team intends to address MEV issues and fully integrate zk-SNARK technology into the blockchain. zk-SNARK.

According to him, the updated chart specifies the steps for implementing each Ethereum development phase and highlights the role of quantum resistance for the blockchain’s future.

Also on ForkLog:

• Sources reported Bybit’s decision regarding sanctions on Russians.
• Hetzner blocked access to servers with Solana nodes.
• Allianz economist ruled out Bitcoin rising above $100,000.
• The price of Dogecoin surpassed $0.15 for the first time since April.

What else to read?

In an analytical ForkLog report, they explained the key changes in the industry for October.

In an exclusive ForkLog piece, they analyzed the most relevant on-chain indicators, gathered interesting opinions and found out when to expect the price recovery for the leading cryptocurrency.

In new educational cards they explained what Ethereum is and how the rollups technology helps scale the blockchain of the second-largest cryptocurrency.

In the traditional digest, the main weekly events in cybersecurity were gathered.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector continues to attract heightened attention from crypto investors. ForkLog has gathered the most important events and news of recent weeks in the digest.

Read ForkLog’s Bitcoin news in our Telegram — cryptocurrency news, rates and analysis.