Week in Review: Bitcoin slips below $42,000 as CFTC chief says most cryptocurrencies are commodities

Bitcoin fell below $42,000, Binance’s P2P platform will halt ruble support, and the head of the CFTC said that most cryptocurrencies are commodities, among other developments from the week.

Bitcoin slips below $42,000

On Monday, December 11, Bitcoin briefly fell to the level of $40,411. The rest of the week, Bitcoin traded in a range between $41,000 and $43,000.

On Wednesday, December 13, the U.S. Federal Reserve kept the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25–5.50%. After this, digital gold briefly surpassed $43,000.

Bitcoin was trading at $41,700 at the time of writing.

Most of the top-10 by market capitalisation finished the week in the red, with Avalanche the exception, up 25.5%.

Total cryptocurrency market capitalisation was $1.65 trillion. Bitcoin’s dominance index stood at 53%.

P2P platform Binance stops ruble support

From 00:00 UTC (03:00 MSK) on January 31, 2024, Binance’s P2P platform will halt ruble trading pairs.

Until that date, users can withdraw funds in this currency via the exchange’s fiat partners, convert them to cryptocurrency on Binance Convert or exchange them on the spot market.

The ruble’s future handling is to be conducted on CommEX, which owns Binance’s Russian business.

CFTC chief says most cryptocurrencies are commodities

Most cryptocurrencies are commodities, and the CFTC competes with the SEC for the authority to regulate the digital-asset industry. This was stated by CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam.

He acknowledged that there is an acute need for a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets.

\n«We are clarifying how a ten-year-old law fits into the new technology. The technology is evolving and demands a new way of thinking about policymaking. Under current law, many tokens are commodities», the official said.

Behnam stressed that regulators and Congress must work together to close the gaps in the regulations.

According to the agency head, one of the key issues is the “battle for turf” between agencies — primarily the SEC and the CFTC — over who will regulate the growing sector.

Behnam is convinced that Congress should intervene. Lawmakers could play a decisive role in legitimising and integrating cryptocurrencies into the existing financial system, he added.

What to discuss with friends?

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• A couple of retirees invested all their savings in Bitcoin and Ethereum.

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• The Kyivstar network was hacked. The outage will affect some ATMs.

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• ChatGPT passed a neurology exam.

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• Donald Trump released a series of NFTs featuring a prison photo.

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KuCoin to pay $22 million to settle New York attorney general suit

The KuCoin cryptocurrency exchange reached an agreement with the New York Attorney General’s Office to settle claims, under which it will pay more than $22 million.

In March, NYAG Letitia James filed charges against the platform for violating securities laws by offering digital assets without a license.

According to the statement, KuCoin operated without registration as a broker-dealer and “misrepresented itself as an exchange.”

The platform agreed to return $16,766,642 to state customers and pay $5.3 million to the regulator. KuCoin will cease operations in New York, closing user accounts.

Ledger users affected by wallet-connector compromise for dapps

The Ledger hardware-wallet maker reported a compromise of the software library used by decentralized applications. The attacker could inject malicious code into their interfaces.

According to the statement, on December 14 at about 4:35 (MSK, 3:35 Kyiv) the attacker replaced the legitimate Ledger Connect Kit with a counterfeit one. Physical devices and the Ledger Live app were not affected.

The team removed the malicious file, the new original version 1.1.8 is being distributed automatically. However, developers advised against using the software for 24 hours.

Preliminary investigation showed that the hacker gained access to an account on the NPMJS service via a phishing attack on a former Ledger employee.

The malicious file existed for about five hours, but the window during which funds were stolen lasted about two hours. To withdraw assets, the attacker used WalletConnect, which disconnected the wallet from the scammer.

Ledger did not disclose the amount of losses, but said it had contacted affected customers to discuss compensation. The company intends to involve law enforcement in locating the culprit.

Ledger reminded users that transactions must be signed via Clear Sign. If the information on the wallet’s display differs from the computer or smartphone screen, you should immediately stop the operation, the developers emphasised.

Also on ForkLog:

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• Experts explained the reasons for the correction and saw opportunities for altcoins.

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• Thirteen years have passed since Satoshi Nakamoto’s last publication.

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• Tether blocked 161 addresses from the US sanctions list.

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Opinion: approval of Bitcoin ETF could push the asset to $1 million

Bitcoin’s price would soar to $1 million after the SEC approves the first U.S. spot Bitcoin-ETF, said JAN3 CEO Samson Mow.

He believes this will occur within days or weeks after approval. The inflow of funds from institutional investors in 2024 will drive such a substantial rally, the expert added.

\n«We will reach a very limited supply of Bitcoin on exchanges available for purchase with the new influx of money. That’s why the asset could move very high in a short period», Mow explained.

Commenting on the failed bet by ex-CTO Coinbase Balaji Srinivasan on Bitcoin reaching $1 million, the JAN3 CEO emphasised that approval of a Bitcoin ETF would affect the asset’s price more than Fed money printing.

What else to read?

This week we explained how not to fall foul of regulation of crypto mixers. ForkLog also published reviews of the P2P service SmartSwap and the platform for building trading bots Veles.

In the traditional digest we rounded up the week’s main cybersecurity stories.

The decentralised finance sector continues to attract heightened investor attention. ForkLog has gathered the most important events and news of recent weeks in the digest.