Weekly Recap: Hamster Kombat Launches on Exchanges, Changpeng Zhao Released

The founder of Binance has been released from prison, the Hamster Kombat token has begun trading on exchanges, Russia has handed over the miners’ registry to the tax authorities, and other events of the past week.

Bitcoin Holds Near $66,000

On September 26, the price of digital gold surpassed the $66,000 mark.

The leading cryptocurrency could not maintain this level and traded in the range of ~$65,500-65,900 in the following days.

The largest digital assets ended the week in the “green zone.” The top performer among the top 10 coins by market capitalization was the meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE), which gained 18.9%. Bitcoin rose by 4.9% over the period. 

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization exceeded $2.4 trillion. Bitcoin’s dominance index decreased to 53.9%.

Binance Founder Released

On September 28, Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) was released two days ahead of the end of his detention period.

The entrepreneur served a four-month prison sentence on charges of money laundering and other illegal activities. As part of an agreement with the US Department of Justice, he agreed to pay a $50 million fine and step down as the exchange’s CEO.

The court sentenced him on April 30. It was expected that he would be released on September 29.

In one of his first posts on X, Zhao shared his plans for the coming years. He intends to focus significantly on the educational initiative Giggle Academy, invest in blockchain, AI, and biotechnology sectors. CZ also hopes to finish a book, which he says is two-thirds complete.

gm, the food taste so good… And what a luxury to be able to have more than one piece of fruit per day!

I know some of you may have a lot of questions. I won’t have all the answers.

Let me chill for a bit. Then figure out the next steps. There are always more opportunities in… https://t.co/9hvgp8Bo97

— CZ ? BNB (@cz_binance) September 29, 2024

“And yes, Binance seems to be doing fine without me, which is just great. Every founder’s dream!” Zhao emphasized.

Hamster Kombat Token Debuts on Exchanges, Project Updates Roadmap

On September 26, the team behind the gaming project Hamster Kombat began distributing the HMSTR token among 131 million users.

Simultaneously, major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, OKX, and Bybit, launched spot trading for the coin.

TON developers anticipated increased network load due to the airdrop. As a result, following the HMSTR listing on platforms, issues arose with Wallet and Tonkeeper wallets, as well as for some Binance users.

The token’s price reached $0.011 after trading began but then started to decline. At the time of writing, it stands at $0.0057, with a market capitalization of just over $369 million (CoinGecko).

Before the token distribution, the Hamster Kombat team updated the rules, causing discontent among active players. 

On the first day, users could only receive 88.75% of the allocated HMSTR tokens. The remaining coins were reserved for 10 months — approximately until July 2025. 

In addition to the unexpected vesting, developers gave significant preference in token distribution to referral leaders and large holders of in-game keys. 

About 2.3 million users were excluded from the drop for cheating.

On the day of the airdrop, the project presented development plans for the coming months. By the end of the year, developers promise:

• the launch of the second season;
• expansion of the game library;
• integration of external payment systems, as well as connecting third-party games and releasing NFTs.

At the beginning of 2025, developers plan to launch two major games, hold clan championships, and expand partnership projects. A second airdrop phase and an NFT marketplace are expected later.

Binance Continues to Serve a Limited Number of Russians

A year after announcing a complete exit from Russia, the cryptocurrency exchange Binance continues to serve a “limited number of existing Russian users.”

According to a platform representative, it “adheres to global sanctions regulations” and “fully complies with restrictions on individuals, organizations, and countries subject to international sanctions.”

He noted that services for Russian clients are provided to safeguard their digital assets. Additionally, Russian users who have confirmed residence outside the country retain access to Binance P2P.

Meanwhile, the exchange announced the launch of a pre-market where real tokens, not derivatives, will be traded.

Topics to Discuss with Friends

• A bitcoin exchange with a turnover of 200 million rubles was closed in Moscow City.
• Play Solana opened pre-orders for the PSG1 gaming console.
• Charles Hoskinson called Ethereum a Buterin dictatorship.
• Bitdeer tested the SEAL02 chip for bitcoin mining.

Russia’s Miners Registry Handed to Tax Authorities

The Federal Tax Service of Russia (FTS) will develop and maintain the miners’ registry. This was announced by Deputy Anton Gorelkin on his Telegram channel.

The creation of the registry is part of the legislative regulation of mining. In addition to the tax authority, the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of Russia was considered as the authorized government body. 

“This is a correct and logical step, as the FTS is one of our most high-tech agencies. It has much more experience working with the cryptocurrency market and miners than the Ministry of Digital Development,” explained Gorelkin.

Bybit Launches World’s First Islamic Crypto Account

Bitcoin exchange Bybit has launched the world’s first Islamic cryptocurrency account in compliance with Sharia law. Clients have access to spot trading of 75 tokens and two trading bots.

The product was developed in collaboration with the licensed advisory firm ZICO Shariah from Malaysia.

The account ensures no commingling of client funds, a transparent fee structure, and adherence to Islamic values.

US Imposes Sanctions on PM2BTC Exchange and Cryptex

On September 26, the OFAC added the cryptocurrency exchange PM2BTC, the Cryptex exchange, and their alleged administrator, Russian citizen Sergey Ivanov, to the sanctions list. 

According to the agency, both services are linked to money laundering from ransomware operators and other cybercriminals. 

FinCEN determined that nearly half of PM2BTC’s processed transactions are related to illegal activities. The service anonymously exchanged cryptocurrencies for rubles using financial institutions under US sanctions and did not comply with AML/KYC standards.

Harris Promises to “Encourage” Cryptocurrencies and AI

Kamala Harris stated that if elected President of the United States, she intends to “encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets with consumer and investor protection.” 

The mentioned areas align with her vision of an “economy of opportunities.”

Harris spoke about cryptocurrencies for the first time as a Democratic presidential candidate.

Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Decreases by 4.6%

Following the latest recalculation, the difficulty of mining the first cryptocurrency decreased by 4.6% to 88.4 T.

The average hashrate for the period since the previous adjustment was 740.3 EH/s, with an interval between blocks of eight minutes and 24 seconds.

What Else to Read?

This week, ForkLog explored how Bitcoin scaling is achieved using third-layer solutions.

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