Decentral Block Post

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week in a precarious place as global macro instability dictates the mood.

After sealing a weekly close just inches above $19,000, the largest cryptocurrency still lacks direction as nerves heighten over the resilience of the global financial system.

Last week proved a testing time for risk asset investors, with gloomy economic data flowing from the United States and, moreover, Europe.

The eurozone thus provides the backdrop to the latest concerns of market participants, who are watching as the financial buoyancy of major banks is called into question.

With the war in Ukraine only escalating and winter approaching, it is perhaps understandable that hardly anyone is optimistic — what could the impact be on Bitcoin and crypto?

A quick response from a number of blockchain security companies has helped facilitate the return of around 70% of the $23 million exploit of decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator Transit Swap.

The DEX aggregator lost the funds after a hacker exploited an internal bug on a swap contract on Oct. 1, leading to a quick response from Transit Finance team along with security companies Peckshield, SlowMist, Bitrace and TokenPocket, who were able to quickly work out the hacker’s IP, email address and associated-on chain addresses.

It appears these efforts have already born fruit, as less than 24 hours after the hack, Transit Finance noted that “with joint efforts of all parties” the hacker has returned 70% of the stolen assets to two addresses, equating to roughly $16.2 million.

These funds came in the form of 3,180 Ether (ETH) ($4.2 million), 1,500 Binance-Peg ETH and ($2 million) and 50,000 BNB ($14.2 million), according to BscScan and EtherScan.

In the most recent update, Transit Finance stated that “the project team is rushing to collect the specific data of the stolen users and formulate a specific return plan” but also remains focused on retrieving the final 30% of stolen funds.

Bitcoin (BTC) failed to hold $20,000 into the September monthly close as one trader eyed a final comeback before fresh downside.

Trader's $20,500 upside target remains

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD staying lower after finishing the month at around $19,400.

Capping 3% losses, the monthly chart failed to rally on Oct. 1, with BTC/USD down another 0.7% in “Uptober” so far, according to data from on-chain data resource Coinglass.

Dismal financial data from macro markets contributed to the lack of appetite for risk assets, and among crypto traders, the outlook remained gloomy.

For popular Twitter account Il Capo of Crypto, a return above the $20,000 mark was still possible on the day, this still to be followed by a dive much lower.