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Musk fires Twitter execs, research stirs blockchain energy debate and CFTC brass shares crypto concerns: Hodler’s Digest, Oct. 23-29
Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.
Top Stories This Week
Twitter’s top brass gutted as Elon Musk’s takeover begins
Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter became final this week, after which he reportedly fired three top-level executives: CEO Parag Agrawal, head of legal and policy Vijaya Gadde and chief financial officer Ned Segal. Musk reportedly claims the three were dishonest about Twitter spam accounts — an issue that almost caused Musk to abandon the Twitter deal. On a more positive note, Musk said he has big plans for Twitter, including ensuring free speech on the platform. Twitter also commanded other headlines this week as Binance invested $500 million in the platform, and the New York Stock Exchange delisted the now-private company.
Kazakhstan to build central bank digital currency on BNB Chain
Binance’s BNB Chain will host Kazakhstan’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. CBDCs have made headlines in recent years as regions across the globe have taken various steps toward the new form of money. The digital tenge, a product of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, will operate on BNB Chain. Binance has made regulatory strides in Kazakhstan — a country that has shown interest in crypto.
Read also
Features
Are CBDCs kryptonite for crypto?
Binance may form a team to support Twitter's blockchain efforts
Binance also confirmed that it helped finance Elon Musk's acquisition of the platform with $500 million.
Compound pauses 4 tokens to avoid price manipulation: Finance Redefined
The last week of October turned bearish for the DeFi market despite the string of hacks, as the majority of the DeFi protocols registered bullish weekly gains.
Here is why strong post-Merge fundamentals could benefit Ethereum price
The shift of the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain to a proof-of-stake (PoS) protocol opened new opportunities for developers and investors to explore, including the burning of Ether. Now, Ethereum PoS transactions are validated through staking rather than mining.
Staking impacts the supply and price dynamics of Ether in ways that are different from mining. Staking is expected to create deflationary pressure on Ether as opposed to mining that induces inflationary pressure.
The increase in the total amount of funds locked in Ethereum contracts could also push its price up in the long term. This is because it affects one of the fundamental forces that determine its price, supply.
The percentage of newly issued Ether versus burned Ether has increased by 1,164.06 ETH since the merge. This means since the merge, almost all new minted supply has been burnt through the new PoS Ethereum burn mechanism which is expected to turn deflationary when the network sees an uptick in use.
According to Bitwise analyst Anais Rachel, “all the ETH issued since The Merge will have been taken out of circulation by the end of this week.”
Here is why strong post-Merge fundamentals could benefit Ethereum price
The shift of the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain to a proof-of-stake (PoS) protocol opened new opportunities for developers and investors to explore, including the burning of Ether. Now, Ethereum PoS transactions are validated through staking rather than mining.
Staking impacts the supply and price dynamics of Ether in ways that are different from mining. Staking is expected to create deflationary pressure on Ether as opposed to mining that induces inflationary pressure.
The increase in the total amount of funds locked in Ethereum contracts could also push its price up in the long term. This is because it affects one of the fundamental forces that determine its price, supply.
The percentage of newly issued Ether versus burned Ether has increased by 1,164.06 ETH since the merge. This means since the merge, almost all new minted supply has been burnt through the new PoS Ethereum burn mechanism which is expected to turn deflationary when the network sees an uptick in use.
According to Bitwise analyst Anais Rachel, “all the ETH issued since The Merge will have been taken out of circulation by the end of this week.”
Crypto Biz: Is Zuckerberg’s $100B metaverse experiment doomed to fail?
Meta's Reality Labs division lost $3.672 billion in the third quarter. Some shareholders aren't happy with the company's oversized investment in metaverse technology.
Self-sovereignty in the creator economy and Web3 — Is there room for both?
On Oct. 28, NFT Steez, a bi-weekly Twitter Spaces hosted by Alyssa Expósito and Ray Salmond, met with Web3 content writer, Julie Plavnik to discuss the importance of self-sovereignty while building a digital identity in Web3.
Plavnik references author Gavin Wood when describing Web3 and says that “communication” is a core tenant in the subsequent iteration of the internet. “Web3 is the communication of encrypted channels between decentralized identities,” Plavnik affirms.
According to Plavnik, the emerging concept of Web3 placed a magnifying glass on user data and ownership, especially concerning the creator economy. Plavnik describes the creator economy as a place with “no entry barriers or casting.”
During the show, Plavnik explores how users are coming around to the notion that they can potentially monetize from their individuality in Web3, but she also questions how they can maintain their self-sovereignty?
When speaking to Plavnik regarding how self-sovereignty is intertwined with Web3, there was no hesitation in explaining that the core tenet of Web3 is to uphold a self-sovereign identity — meaning decentralization is vital.
Crypto companies are still hiring, but you may not find a job post about it
Engaging and networking are key tactics for landing a position in the industry during the crypto winter, recruiters said.
Pro-crypto city of Lugano and El Salvador sign economic agreement based on adoption
As part of the agreement, El Salvador will establish a physical government presence in an effort to “foster cooperation with educational and research institutions.”
Cowboy hats, boots, guns and crypto talk with Dan Held
Bitcoiner Dan Held takes journalist Nicole Behnam around Austin, Texas, as they recount their journeys into the world of cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin price due sub-$20K dip, traders warn amid claim miners 'capitulating'
Miners may hit pause on the good times for BTC price action, one theory believes, as the weekend promises support tests.
Bitcoin price due sub-$20K dip, traders warn amid claim miners ‘capitulating’
Bitcoin (BTC) climbed back to $20,500 at the Oct. 28 Wall Street open as United States equities sought a stronger finish to the week.
BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewBets that $20,000 will fail as support increase
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD capitalizing on renewed optimism as markets began trading.
The atmosphere was volatile after tech stocks suffered a major out-of-hours rout, with Bitcoin managing to avoid sustaining knock-on losses to the same extent.
At the time of writing, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index were both up around 1.3%.
“In this current range bound phase after a prolonged downtrend,” popular trader CryptoYoddha summarized to Twitter followers.
What the Russia-Ukraine conflict has revealed about crypto
Cryptocurrencies are being used to provide military and humanitarian aid in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Binance still serving Russians while seeking clarity on EU crypto sanctions
There is a challenge of not overdoing EU sanctions against Russia, according to Binance head of sanctions Chagri Poyraz.
3 striking similarities with past Bitcoin price bottoms — But there's a catch
The fundamentals accompanying the previous Bitcoin bear markets are entirely different from 2022, however, putting the BTC price recovery at risk.
3 striking similarities with past Bitcoin price bottoms — But there’s a catch
Bitcoin (BTC) has been consolidating inside the $18,000–$20,000 price range since mid-June, pausing a strong bear market that began after the price peaked at $69,000 in November 2021.
Many analysts have looked at Bitcoin’s sideways trend as a sign of a potential market bottom, drawing comparisons from the cryptocurrency’s previous bear markets that show similar price behaviors preceding sharp bullish reversals.
Here are three strikingly similar trends that preceded past market bottoms.
2018’s sideways trend for BTC price
The 2018’s Bitcoin bear market serves as a major cue for a potential market bottom in 2022 if one looks at its eerily similar price trends and indicators.
One of the key indicators is Bitcoin’s 200-week exponential moving average (200-week EMA; the blue wave in the chart below). In 2018 and 2022, Bitcoin entered a long period of sideways consolidation after closing below its 200-week EMA.
Ethereum sets record ETH short liquidations wiping out $500 billion in 2 days
New all-time highs in short liquidations — at least when measured in dollars — point to overly bearish market sentiment.