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Paxos’ $500K Bitcoin fee, FTX tokens sales set to begin and other news: Hodler’s Digest, Sept. 10-16

The Bitcoin miner who received 19.8 BTC in fees from blockchain infrastructure firm Paxos has returned the funds following Paxos’ claim that it made a mistake in paying over $500,000 in transfer fees. On Sept. 10, Paxos paid the six-figure fee to move $2,000, with the average network fee typically being around $2. The company later acknowledged the mistake, confirming the transfer came from its servers. Almost a day after Paxos’ claims, the Bitcoin miner who received the funds went on X (formerly Twitter) to express frustrations after agreeing to refund the amount to Paxos. The funds were returned on Sept. 15.

A bankruptcy court has approved the sale of FTX digital assets in weekly batches through an investment adviser and under preestablished guidelines. The sale does not include Bitcoin, Ether and “certain insider-affiliated tokens,” which can be sold through a separate decision by FTX after 10 days’ notice. FTX sales are not expected to have a heavy impact on markets. According to a recent shareholder update, the bankrupt exchange has $833 million worth of Bitcoin and Ether. A total of $3.4 billion is held in Digital Assets A — the top 10 assets the company holds — which include Solana, Bitcoin, Ether, Aptos and others.

Digital Currency Group has proposed a new agreement plan for the creditors of the now-bankrupt Genesis Global. The plan estimates unsecured creditors will receive “a 70–90% recovery with a meaningful portion of the recovery in digital currencies.” Additionally, the remuneration plan says the recovery of claims for Gemini Earn users would be projected at “approximately 95–110%” without any contribution from Gemini. According to the filing: “If Gemini were to agree to provide $100 million to Gemini Earn users under the Proposed Agreement, as it previously did, there would be little doubt Gemini Earn users would receive more than full recovery.”

Asset manager Franklin Templeton applied with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). According to the application, the fund would be structured as a trust. Coinbase would custody the BTC, and The Bank of New York Mellon would be the cash custodian and administrator. Franklin Templeton has $1.5 trillion in assets under management and joins a long list of asset managers waiting for regulatory approval. The SEC recently delayed decisions on spot ETF applications from WisdomTree, Valkyrie, Fidelity, VanEck, Bitwise and Invesco on Aug. 31.

The exodus of executives from crypto exchange Binance has reached the firm’s offshoot in the United States, as at least three top employees left Binance.US over the past few days. This week’s departures included the exchange’s CEO, Brian Shroder, alongside legal head Krishna Juvvadi and chief risk officer Sidney Majalya. The mass exit is believed to be tied to the ongoing U.S. investigation into Binance and Binance.US. The SEC sued Binance.US, Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao in June for allegedly engaging in unregistered securities operations and other improprieties. On Aug. 28, the agency requested to file sealed documents in the case, fueling concerns about a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice.


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3 key Ethereum price metrics suggest that ETH is gearing up for volatility

Ether (ETH) price has been dealing with some strong headwinds and on Sept. 11, the price of the altcoin endured a critical test when it plunged to the $1,530 support level. In the days that followed, Ether managed to stage an impressive recovery, by surging by 6%. This resurgence may signal a pivotal moment, following a month that had seen ETH endure losses of 16%. 

Even with the somewhat swift recovery, Ether’s price performance raises questions among investors about whether it has the potential to climb back to $1,850, and ETH derivatives and network activity might hold the key to this puzzle.

Ether/USD price index, 1-day. Source: TradingView

Macroeconomic factors have played a significant role in mitigating investor pessimism given that inflation in the United States accelerated for the second consecutive month, reaching 3.7% according to the most recent CPI report. Such data reinforces the belief that the U.S. government's debt will continue to surge, compelling the Treasury to offer higher yields.

Scarce assets are poised to benefit from the inflationary pressure and the expansive monetary policies aimed at bridging the budget deficit. However, the cryptocurrency sector is grappling with its own set of challenges.

Regulatory uncertainty and high network fees limit investors’ appetite

There's the looming possibility of Binance exchange facing indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice. Furthermore, Binance.US has found itself entangled in legal battles with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), leading to layoffs and top executives departing from the company.

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Price analysis 9/15: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA, DOGE, SOL, TON, DOT, MATIC

Bitcoin (BTC) has been stuck inside a large range since April, indicating indecision about the next directional move. Efforts by the bears to sink the price below the support of the range were thwarted by the bulls on Sep. 11. However, Bitcoin is not out of the woods yet. 

Jamie Coutts, a chartered market technician and crypto market analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, while speaking to Cointelegraph said that if the tightening cycle extends, followed by “an uptick in unemployment and more stress in the banking sector, then there could be a bit more pain for risk assets like Bitcoin.”

Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360

Cryptocurrency traders have also remained cautious. A Bitfinex report shows that the cryptocurrency industry witnessed capital outflows of $55 billion in August. The drop in liquidity has caused isolated events to “have a bigger impact on market movements,” the report added.

Will Bitcoin turn down and retest its pivotal support? Could Bitcoin’s weakness trigger further selling in altcoins? Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin broke and closed above the 20-day exponential moving average ($26,228) on Sep. 14, indicating that the downside momentum is weakening.

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Solana traders prepare for FTX-induced sell pressure on SOL — Is it premature?

For a long time, Solana (SOL) has been associated with the founder of now insolvent crypto exchange FTX and hedge fund Alameda Research, Sam Bankman Fried. He was an early investor in the project and invested in numerous Solana ecosystem projects during the 2020-2021 bull mania.

So when FTX collapsed toward the end of 2022, Solana and other “Sam coins” plummeted significantly, falling to lows of $9.89 — down 96.3% from the peak of $259.96.

Since the start of 2023, Solana’s price staged a recovery to gain 175% to reach a peak of $27.37 as the ecosystem also witnessed growth.

However, more recently, SOL came under tremendous selling pressure after the Delaware Bankruptcy Court approved the sale of FTX’s digital assets, which includes 55.75 million SOL worth $1.062 million. However, the unlock schedule of FTX’s holdings and derivative market positioning suggest that a counter move to the upside could happen instead.

After Judge John Dorsey made the ruling at a hearing on Sept. 13. SOL price touched a weekly low of $17.96 after the court ruling.


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Web3 Gamer: PUBG devs’ Web3 project, Animoca’s $20M raise, Shardbound review

Krafton, the company behind PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), is venturing into Web3 with Settlus, a Cosmos-based blockchain project specifically designed for the creator economy. Settlus aims to provide content creators with a payment platform that streamlines transparent settlement processes.

The South Korean gaming giant’s project was announced at the Korea Blockchain Week’s Circle Hacker House event, co-presented by Circle and AngelHack. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire highlighted PUBG’s large user base of 30 million monthly active users.

Cosmos’ software development kit will serve as the framework, and network gas fees will be payable using stablecoins.

A metaverse project by the name of Migaloo is also in the works. The project will center around user-generated content, allowing creators to automatically create nonfungible tokens of their digital content and earn royalties from platform sales.

Krafton previously announced a collaboration with Solana Labs in March 2022 to “support the design and marketing of blockchain-based games and services,” but no Web3 products have been released since. Settlus’ testnet is scheduled to launch in early 2024.


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Are DAOs overhyped and unworkable? Lessons from the front lines

Ask 10 different people to define a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), and you’ll likely get 10 different definitions. But there is at least one thing most agree on: DAO governance is a mess. At best, it’s an experiment in the works.

According to DeepDAO, DAOs today handle a whopping $17.2 billion in value. Yet many DAOs managing millions of dollars have proven hopeless at heeding even the most basic of lessons in business management 101. One does not have to look too far in the annals of crypto history to recall major DAO catastrophes.

Recall Wonderland DAO, an Olympus fork that birthed arguably one of the most notorious scandals in DAO history. At its peak, Wonderland enjoyed a near $2 billion in total value locked, which came to a skidding halt in January 2022 when its treasury manager — who went by the pseudonym 0xSifu — turned out to be none other than Michael Patryn, co-founder of the failed crypto exchange QuadrigaCX and a convicted criminal for financial fraud.

Or consider a more recent exploit with the Solana-based trading protocol Mango Markets. In October, attackers exploited the DAO’s loosely governed parameters to acquire a disproportionate chunk of the DAO’s MNGO tokens. In an absurd turn of events, the attacker proceeded to propose on governance forums an offer to return half their heist in exchange for the DAO not to prosecute him, then voted “Yes” on it with the stolen tokens. The vote eventually failed, but Mango still ended up paying off $47 million to the attacker.

A governance proposal on Mango Markets. (Twitter)

Case studies of DAO failures are not exclusive to outrageous one-off spectacles like the ones above. Despite the Libertarian rhetoric of self-sovereignty and self-custody, dozens of DAOs that kept their monies on centralized exchanges also saw their treasuries implode during the carnage of 2022’s blow-ups like FTX.


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Bitcoin ETF optimist and Worldcoin skeptic Gracy Chen: Hall of Flame

Gracy Chen, managing director of global cryptocurrency exchange Bitget, advised her followers and friends not to scan their eyeballs in exchange for a few Worldcoin tokens.

“There’s a huge privacy concern,” she tells Magazine, adding that she isn’t optimistic about its price prospects given the anticipated influx of WLD tokens in the near future.

“There will be much more released in the upcoming year or two,” she explains.

Chen admits that her gig with Bitget is pretty cool, but it also means her American pals constantly bug her for favors.

“Since we stopped onboarding U.S. customers, I’ve had lots of friends who hold a U.S. passport ask if they can get a little back way to open an account.”

“I refuse a lot of requests like that. It is a red line that we just don’t cross,” Chen says. 

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Hackers behind $41M Stake heist shifts BNB, MATIC in latest move: CertiK

The hackers behind cryptocurrency casino Stake’s $41 million hack have shifted another $328,000 million worth of Polygon (MATIC) and Binance Coin (BNB) tokens — its latest moves following the Sept. 4 exploit, according to blockchain security firm CertiK.

The most recent transfer involved 300 BNB tokens worth about $61,500 to an externally owned address “0x695…” which were then bridged to the Avalanche blockchain on Sept. 11 at 4:09 pm UTC.

Another 520,000 MATIC tokens worth over $266,000 were also moved to Avalanche seven hours earlier at 7:18 am UTC.

The 520,000 MATIC and 300 BNB — totaling $328,000 — add to the $4.5 million in stolen funds that were bridged to the Bitcoin blockchain (in the form of BTC) on Sept. 7, according to blockchain security firm Arkham.

The total $4.8 million transferred however only represents 1.2% of the total $41 million stolen from the hackers.

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Arbitrum (ARB) falls to all-time low as network usage metrics decline

Arbitrum (ARB) has emerged as a leading contender within the Ethereum network's layer-2 scalability solutions, boasting a significant total value locked (TVL) and notable activity. However, between Sept. 9 and Sept. 11, the price of ARB tokens experienced a sharp decline of 14.5%, marking its lowest point in history.

Investors are now eagerly seeking insight into the factors driving this movement and questioning whether Arbitrum still possesses the competitive edge, especially considering that irrespective of ARB token performance, the network TVL exceeds $1.6 billion.

Arbitrum (ARB) vs. competitors Polygon (MATIC), Optimism (OP), Loopring (LRC). Source: TradingView

It is worth noting that the past week has been challenging for most cryptocurrencies but among Ethereum's scaling solutions, none experienced a drop exceeding 9%, except for Arbitrum.

ARB governance proposals bring questionable benefits

One potential source of concern stems from the absence of any instances of fraud proof issuance since the launch of the Arbitrum mainnet in August 2021. Offchain Labs confirmed this information to Cointelegraph on Sept. 4. Developers, however, have explained that this situation aligns with the intended operation of the system, as validators with malicious intentions risk losing their entire stake. Consequently, this data is unlikely to have significantly impacted the price in the past week.

Additional factors that may help elucidate the recent price downturn are associated with governance proposals. The first proposal, posted on Sept. 2, aims to allocate up to 75 million ARB tokens from the project's treasury to address "short-term community needs" for active decentralized applications (dApps) within the ecosystem. However, even if approved, this allocation represents less than 2% of the DAO treasury holdings and is unlikely to have triggered the ARB token price correction, regardless of one's stance on the proposal.

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XRP bucks trend as crypto assets experience fourth straight week of outflows

Cryptocurrency asset outflows for the week of Sept. 3 through 9 totaled $59.3 million, bringing the current run to $249 million over four consecutive weeks. 

Bitcoin (BTC) experienced the bulk of activity last week, with its $68.9 million in outflows offset by Short Bitcoin inflows in the amount of $15.2 million and $0.7 million from XRP (XRP).

According to CoinShares, regulatory and financial market insecurity are to blame for the streak:

“We believe continued worries over regulation of the asset class and recent dollar strength are the most likely reasons for this. Trading volumes also dropped significantly, by 73% in comparison to the prior week to just US$754 million for the week.”

Last week also brought an end to Solana’s (SOL) recent run. After nine weeks of inflows totaling $14.1 million prompted CoinShares to suggest that it was “the most loved altcoin amongst investors,” Solana saw $1.1 million in outflows.

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6 Questions for Kei Oda: From Goldman Sachs to cryptocurrency

Kei Oda is the head of Japan and the Asia-Pacific region for Quantstamp, a Web3 security firm that audits smart contracts and develops blockchain security solutions.

Kei spent 16 years trading bonds at Goldman Sachs before stumbling into cryptocurrencies out of boredom. He tells Magazine he was induced by the ability to trade Bitcoin and other assets around the clock.

He has since fallen down the rabbit hole, even finding a job in the industry.

So, I was actually a bond trader for 16 years before joining crypto. 

You know, we used to talk about Bitcoin when I was still trading bonds. I didn’t really understand it or believe in it, to be honest, but when I left my job in 2016 and tried to get into the startup space, what dawned on me once I left was that, having been a trader, you do have a long-term focus, but you also are very, very short-term in terms of how you trade, what you do day to day, minute to minute, and what ended up happening was, I would get bored very easily.

Kei Oda speaking
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Solana falls 6% amid fears of FTX dump — but there's a catch

The price of Solana (SOL) has plunged more than 6% the last 24 hours, amid fears that bankrupt crypto exchange FTX may soon liquidate its significant portions of the token and other Solana-affiliated crypto assets. 

The price of Solana has fallen 6% to $18.38 in the last 24 hours. Source: CoinGecko

According to a combination of data from Solscan, which has added up the value of the three publicly available FTX cold storage wallets, the FTX estate holds a combined $1.5 billion in crypto assets on the Solana network.

Of that weighty figure, Solana tokens account for just $128 million.

The rest of the amount is comprised of numerous Solana-based altcoins such as Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Maps token (MAPS), Serum (SRM) and a number of other tokens colloquially referred to as “Sam coins” — a jest at the former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

The total sum of Solana-based tokens on FTX Cold Storage #1 wallet. Source: Solscan

Still, the idea that liquidators may soon unleash $128 million worth of SOL and hundreds of millions worth of other SOL-affiliated tokens onto the market hasn’t inspired much confidence in the market.


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Arbitrum's fraud proofs haven't been used in the two years since it launched

Not a single fraud proof has been submitted on Arbitrum since it first launched its mainnet with the built-in security feature in August 2021, according to Ed Felten, co-founder and chief scientist of the Arbitrum-building Offchain Labs.

Operating as an Ethereum layer-2, Arbitrum’s interactive, multi-round fraud proofs work by allowing a layer-1 verifier contract to decide whether the challenger’s fraud-proof submission is valid. If so, the fraudulent validator’s stake is slashed.

Fraud proofs are submitted by challenging validators when it considers another validator to have fraudulently or otherwise incorrectly assembled an incoming batch of transactions into the next block.

However, Arbitrum’s mainnet is yet to see a fraud-proof attempt let alone a successful challenge, Felten told Cointelegraph at Korean Blockchain Week on Sept. 4:

“Not on mainnet. We did have one or two on Ethereum proof-of-work (POW). After the Merge, [...] there was a version of Arbitrum running on the Ethereum POW fork and somebody did try to steal all the data and there was a successful challenge which defeated that.”

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Lido assures LDO, stETH tokens remain safe despite flaw in token contract

Ethereum staking protocol Lido Finance has assured both Lido DAO (LDO) and staked-Ether (stETH) tokens remain safe despite hackers allegedly exploiting a known security flaw in LDO’s token contract.

Lido didn’t confirm any exploits, but acknowledged the security flaw was known and reassured LDO and stETH funds remain safe in response to a Sept. 10 post by blockchain security firm SlowMist.

SlowMist said LDO’s flawed token contract allows bad actors to facilitate “fake deposit” attacks on exchanges because LDO’s token contract enables users to execute transactions even where they don’t have sufficient funds. This code deviates from the Ethereum Request for Comment 20 (ERC-20) token standard, according to SlowMist.

However, Lido Finance argued the flaw is built into all ERC-20 tokens — not just Lido’s LDO token:

SlowMist said the “fake deposit” attacks came from LDO’s token contract executing transfers where the value is larger than what the user actually owns, triggering a false return as opposed to reverting the transaction. While the firm said Lido's token contract has recently been exploited via this attack, no on-chain evidence was provided.

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TON, XLM, XMR, and MKR could attract buyers if Bitcoin rises above $26,500

Bitcoin (BTC) traded in a narrow range this week and is on target to form the third consecutive Doji candlestick pattern on the weekly chart. The cryptocurrency markets did not receive any support from the United States equities markets, which ended the week on a negative note. The S&P 500 Index dropped 1.3% while the Nasdaq closed down 1.9%. 

Bitcoin’s weakness has dragged several altcoins lower, with many testing multi-week lows. This indicates that the broader crypto market is in a firm bear grip. Negative markets make it difficult for buyers to identify short-term bullish trades as rallies hardly sustain. However, it could be a good time for long-term investors to build a portfolio.

Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360

According to a recent Amberdata report, 24% of asset management firms are appointing senior executives dedicated to the implementation of digital strategies. Down the line, 13% more firms plan to adopt a digital assets strategy. This indicates “seriousness about implementation as well as senior management buy-in,” the report added.

Could Bitcoin break out to the upside, boosting buying interest in altcoins? Let’s study the charts of top-5 cryptocurrencies that are showing promise in the near term.

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin has been trading near the $26,000 level for the past few days, indicating a tussle between the bulls and the bears.

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3 reasons why Pepe price will continue to fall in September

Pepecoin (PEPE) price has crashed nearly 85% from its record high of $0.00000448 in May 2023. What's more, its bearish momentum is likely to continue in September. 

Back-to-back Pepecoin security breaches

Pepecoin has suffered two concerning security breaches in the last two weeks.

First, on Aug. 24, Pepecoin's rogue founding team members transferred $16 million worth of PEPE tokens to exchanges to potentially sell them. That created concerns across the community about a potential "rug pull scam," causing a 30% decline in the PEPE market.

Then, on Sep. 9, Pepecoin's official X (aka Twitter) handle confirmed that an anonymous entity dubbed "lordkeklol" had hacked their accredited Telegram channel. 

PEPE price has dropped over 12% since the news, hinting that the back-to-back security breaches have eroded investors' confidence in the memecoin project.

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Binance’s exec exodus, Nasdaq to trade AI orders and SBF loses bail appeal: Hodler’s Digest, Sept. 3-9

A key talking point in the crypto community has been the ongoing exodus of executives from Binance amid growing regulatory troubles. Binance has seen the departure of 10 key executives from various departments in the first nine months of 2023. The latest to join the list is Helen Hai, executive vice president of Binance, who announced her resignation from her post on Sept. 6. On the same day, Gleb Kostarev, vice president of Eastern Europe, Turkey, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Australia and New Zealand at Binance, also announced his resignation, as did CIS general manager Vladimir Smerkis. Four top executives from Binance reportedly all left on the same day after Binance’s response to the United States Department of Justice investigation. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has hosed down recent rumors against his firm, assuring its balance sheet and employee retention remain robust despite the recent market uncertainty.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has approved Nasdaq’s request to operate its first AI-driven order type on Sept. 8. Called the dynamic midpoint extended life order (M-ELO), the new system expands on the M-ELO automated order type by making it “dynamic,” meaning it will use artificial intelligence to update and, essentially, recalibrate itself in real-time. The follow-on effect should be a significant acceleration of orders placed with the system. Nasdaq says the dynamic M-ELO demonstrated a “20.3% increase in fill rates and an 11.4% reduction in mark-outs” during its research and testing.

Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried lost an initial appeal to be released again on bail prior to his criminal trial. His lawyers had petitioned the court for temporary release, claiming the current measures to allow SBF to prepare for his trial were inadequate due to limited internet access. An appeals court denied the motion on Sept. 6, maintaining SBF’s detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The former FTX CEO had his bail revoked on Aug. 11, following allegations of witness intimidation for leaking, to The New York Times, personal notes and diary entries from former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison. SBF has roughly four weeks to prepare for his Oct. 3 trial.

ARK Invest and 21Shares requested the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to approve the listing of shares of a spot Ether ETF on the Cboe BZX Exchange. The investment vehicle, called the ARK 21Shares Ethereum ETF, will have crypto exchange Coinbase act as a custodian and will measure the performance of Ether based on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate. The proposal from ARK Invest and 21Shares is one of many spot crypto ETFs that will be reviewed by the SEC in the coming months. The U.S. regulator has been delaying decisions on crypto investments products lately, especially concerning Bitcoin spot ETF proposals.

Grayscale has told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it has no legal reasoning left to block the conversion of its flagship Bitcoin fund to a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). The company’s lawyers sent a letter to the SEC requesting the pair meet to discuss the next steps following the regulator’s court loss regarding the conversion of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) on Aug. 29. Grayscale added that it believes the SEC should conclude there are “no grounds” for treating the GBTC differently from Bitcoin futures ETFs whose filings “the Commission has previously approved.” According to Grayscale, its fund conversion application has been pending for nearly three times longer than the length of time stipulated by the SEC’s rules.


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Why is Stellar (XLM) price up this week?

Stellar (XLM) token experienced a notable 11.5% increase in value between Sept. 2 and Sept. 8, a novelty given that Bitcoin and most altcoins are down for the week. The surge came after XLM tested the $0.113 support level, which marked its lowest point in the past eight weeks. The price upswing followed a preliminary announcement made by Stellar Org on social media. 

While the announcement was somewhat cryptic, it hinted at something significant occurring on Sept. 12, with phrases like "something cool is dropping" and "change" on the horizon.

XLM price in USD at Bitfinex, 12 hours. Source: TradingView

More recently, on Sept. 7, Stellar Org further heightened expectations by teasing a potential partnership. However, similar to the earlier announcement, no specific details were provided, with only words like "brand" and "real world" used, suggesting a possible rebranding and a shift towards real-world assets (RWA)like stocks, bonds and real estate.

Caroline Pham, one of the five commissioners of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), emphasized on July 17 that recent court decisions regarding the classification of cryptocurrency assets would ultimately lead to regulatory clarity. Commissioner Pham also stressed the significance of RWAs and highlighted the opportunities for modernizing financial markets through the tokenization of money market funds on blockchain technology.

No, it’s not likely that Elon Musk is coming to save XLM

Unfounded rumors circulated regarding Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter) could potentially integrate XLM after the social network obtained a currency transmitter license from regulators on Aug. 28. It's worth noting that X had previously received approvals from six other states prior to this latest announcement.

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Price analysis 9/8: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA, DOGE, SOL, TON, DOT, MATIC

The bulls tried to shake Bitcoin (BTC) from its slumber on Sept. 7 but the rally was short-lived. This suggests a lack of clarity between the bulls and the bears about Bitcoin’s next directional move. Analyst CryptoCon said on X (formerly Twitter) that Bitcoin could remain in a “mid cycle lull” until the start of the next bull run in November 2024.

On similar lines, ARK Invest said in a report that cryptocurrencies could continue to face headwinds in the remainder of 2023 due to several macroeconomic issues such as interest rates, gross domestic product estimates, unemployment, and inflation.

Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360

In comparison, the bulls will be closely following the decision of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on the various Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications. In addition to that, the race for a spot Ethereum ETF also began officially on Sep. 6 with filings from VanEck and ARK Invest. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart expects more Ethereum ETF filings to happen in the next few days.

Could Bitcoin’s range-bound action increase the selling pressure on altcoins? Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin reached the 20-day exponential moving average ($26,419) on Sep. 7 but the bulls could not overcome this obstacle. This suggests that the bears are fiercely guarding the 20-day EMA.

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Human vs. AI: Who is better at crypto investing?

Cointelegraph YouTube

Cointelegraph video journalist and YouTube host Giovanni Pigni challenged ChatGPT to a crypto investment game. Both contenders had $100 to build a strong crypto portfolio and make as much money as possible in two weeks. 

The goal of the experiment was to find out whether artificial intelligence can beat a human in crypto trading and to find human strengths and weaknesses relative to AI’s investment approach.

In order to build the AI’s crypto portfolio, Giovanni trained it on a summary of the main events that happened in crypto in the last two years. Given the bearish market conditions of the previous few months, ChatGPT came up with a low-risk portfolio.

To build his own portfolio, Giovanni relied on the expert advice of Cointelegraph market analyst Marcel Pechman, who suggested a more aggressive but riskier approach.

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