Weekly Recap: Bitcoin Tests $52,000, CZ’s Sentencing Postponed to April

The leading cryptocurrency surpassed $51,000, Bitcoin mining difficulty reached a new peak, US inflation exceeded forecasts, and the sentencing of Binance’s founder was postponed to April, among other events of the past week.

Bitcoin Price Tests $52,000 Level

On Monday, February 12, the leading cryptocurrency’s price surpassed $49,000. By Wednesday, February 14, digital gold tested the $52,000 level.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $51,800.

All top-10 digital assets by market capitalization ended the week in the green. Cardano (+14.3%), Ethereum (+11.6%), and BNB (+10.1%) saw the largest gains.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at $2 trillion. Bitcoin’s dominance index is 53.6%.

Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Hits New High

Following the latest recalculation, the mining difficulty of the leading cryptocurrency increased by 8.24%.

The figure reached a historic high of 81.7 T.

US Inflation Exceeds Forecasts

In January, the US inflation index was 3.1%. This figure surpassed the forecast of 2.9% but was better than the previous month’s 3.4%.

Experts noted that a slower pace towards the target of 2% could influence the Fed’s policy regarding the key rate.

Market expectations for rate cuts have decreased to four in 2024, down from six a month ago.

The likelihood of the regulator deciding to cut the rate in March is estimated at no more than 10%.

Topics to Discuss with Friends

• Vitalik Buterin provided guidance on detecting deepfakes.
• Pre-orders for the Web3 smartphone Saga reached 100,000.
• In Ukraine, officials counted the number of cryptocurrency millionaires among them.
• Hackers breached the X-account of the Notcoin project.

Binance Founder’s Sentencing Postponed to April

The sentencing of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao on money laundering charges has been postponed to April 30.

The reason for the two-month delay is not specified — the verdict was initially expected on February 23.

Federal guidelines in Zhao’s case provide for a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison. Prosecutors previously stated their intention to seek a harsher sentence, with a maximum of 10 years.

Media: Peter Thiel Buys Bitcoin and Ethereum Ahead of Rally

Billionaire Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund invested $200 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum during the third quarter of 2023, sources told Reuters.

The amount was evenly split between the first and second cryptocurrencies.

According to the agency, this move marked a return of some institutional players to digital assets following the collapse of FTX and subsequent regulatory pressure.

As one of the earliest venture crypto investors, Founders Fund began aggressively buying Bitcoin in 2014, later liquidating it before the market crash in 2022, realizing a profit of ~$1.8 billion.

Founders Fund made its initial purchases when digital gold was valued below $30,000. With the current price at $50,000, this operation has yielded an unrealized profit of ~66%.

Reuters noted that Thiel’s structure is known for early investments in companies like Meta and SpaceX. Founders Fund invests in “revolutionary technologies that change how we interact with the world,” according to its website.

Also on ForkLog:

• Forbes included three crypto firms in its list of the 50 best fintech companies.
• CoinMetrics assessed the cost of a 51% attack on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
• AlphaQuest calculated the number of “dead” cryptocurrencies.
• Revolut to launch a cryptocurrency exchange.

Tuur Demeester Predicts Bitcoin at $600,000 by 2026

Early Bitcoin advocate Tuur Demeester suggested that the leading cryptocurrency could reach $600,000 by 2026.

He believes the price rally will be “fueled” by government economic stimulus programs and bailouts.

Demeester also suggested that retail investors will soon “wake up.” He advised market participants to “be cautious with debt and excessive risk exposure” due to the high volatility of cryptocurrencies.

Starknet Foundation to Airdrop Over 700 Million STRK

The Starknet Foundation announced the distribution of over 700 million native tokens of the Ethereum Layer-2 network StarkNet among nearly 1.3 million addresses.

The application for STRK will be available from February 20. Users can check their eligibility for the airdrop on the Starknet Provisions program page. 

Applications for tokens can be submitted over four months. Unclaimed STRK will return to the distribution pool.

The announced airdrop is the first round of the Starknet Provisions initiative, which allocates 900 million STRK. In total, 1.8 billion tokens (18% of the issuance) are planned for community needs.

According to the statement, the token distribution aims to reward early StarkNet users, community participants, and developers, including the entire Ethereum ecosystem.

What Else to Read?

This week, ForkLog released a review of the Jumpstart platform and reported on how phishers attacked Ethereum.

In the traditional digest, we compiled the main events of the week in cybersecurity.

The most important news from cryptocurrency industry participants was collected in a separate digest.