Top news this week
The unsealed superseding indictment against Sam Bankman-Fried contains 12 felony counts
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was charged with four new crimes by the federal judge who presided over his case. According to the superseding indictment, Bankman-Fried now faces 12 criminal charges, including eight counts of conspiracy to defraud, as well as four counts of wire and securities fraud. In an effort to possibly adjust After his bail conditions, Bankman-Fried’s attorneys will hire a security expert to help a federal judge oversee his fraud case. A technical expert will help the judge navigate issues surrounding encrypted messaging, privacy-focused messaging apps, and VPNs.
Ethereum Shapell upgrade gets new date, making way for ETH staking cancellation
Ethereum Core Developer Tim Beiko announced that Shapell’s blockchain upgrade is scheduled for February 28th. The Shapella network upgrade goes live on the Sepolia network in epoch 56832. Major changes at the consensus layer include full and partial downloads for validators and independent state and block history accumulators that replace the original unique history roots. After the Sepolia fork, the next step would be the release of the Shanghai update on the Ethereum Goerli testnet, planned for March.
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A US lawmaker is introducing a bill that aims to limit the Fed’s authority over the digital dollar
Representative of the United States Tom Emmer has introduced legislation that could limit the Federal Reserve from issuing central bank digital currency (CBDC). According to Emmer, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act seeks to protect Americans’ right to financial privacy. The bill could prohibit the Fed from issuing a digital dollar “directly to anyone,” prohibit the central bank from conducting monetary policy based on CBDCs, and require transparency in projects related to the digital dollar.
Emojis count as financial advice and have legal implications, rules rule
United States District Court Judge decided that emoticons such as a rocket ship, a stock chart, and bags of money represent a “financial return on investment.” The ruling is part of a recent court filing regarding Dapper Labs’ motion to dismiss a complaint alleging that its NBA Top Shot Moments NFT violated safety laws. In a tweet, former head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) branch, Lisa Braganca, warned users of the possible legal consequences of using emoticons that may indicate future profits.
Ankr works with Microsoft to offer enterprise node services
Microsoft has partnered with decentralized blockchain infrastructure provider Ankr will provide a new node hosting service on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace. The partnership will integrate the two companies’ technologies and pair Ankr’s blockchain infrastructure with Microsoft’s cloud solutions. The enterprise node deployment service will offer low-latency blockchain connections for Web3 projects. The service transmits transactions, deploys smart contracts, and can read or write blockchain data.
Winners and losers
At the end of the week Bitcoin (BTC) is in $23,245Ether (ETH) on $1,596 and XRP on $0.37. The total market capitalization is at $1.06 trillion, according to on CoinMarketCap.
Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies are Stacks’ top three altcoin gainers of the week (STX) at 122.16%, Conflux (CFX) to 95.19% and Ankr (ANKR) to 38.31%.
The three biggest altcoin losers of the week are Fantom (FTM) at -16.07%, dYdX (DYDX) at -13.26% and Loopring (LRC) to -14.41%.
For more information on cryptocurrency prices, be sure to read on Cointelegraph Market Analysis.
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Most memorable quote
“I think it’s time for the Treasury, the Feds, the CFTC, the SEC, all of us to come together on crypto.”
Maxine WatersUS representative for California
“Where democracies have broken down, I think it’s very clearly related to fiat currency, and I think Bitcoin sort of fixes that.”
Alex Gladsteinhead of strategy at the Human Rights Foundation
“Bitcoin mining can really push the envelope around innovation and investment in renewables in a significant way.”
Jaime LevertonCEO of Hut 8
“By acting without the authorization of Congress [the SEC] it continues to contribute to a chaotic regulatory environment and harms the very investors it is supposed to protect.”
“The days when crypto companies like CoinEx acted like the rules didn’t apply to them.”
Letitia JamesAttorney General of New York
“Clinically, we’ve definitely seen an increase in people coming into therapy reporting difficulty managing their cryptocurrency trading behavior.”
Anastasia HronisovaAustralian clinical psychologist
Forecast of the week
Bitcoin Tracks 25% of World Wealth in New $10M BTC Price Prediction
Bitcoin can struggle with ‘brutal’ volatilitybut hodlers and critics alike shouldn’t doubt its long-term price trajectory, fund manager and bitcoin expert advisor Jesse Myers said as he revealed his own “outrageous” price target for BTC.
Analyzing Bitcoin’s value proposition, he argues that Bitcoin’s ability to appreciate over time means it is almost destined to siphon value from other asset classes.
“My conservative estimates indicate the tremendous full potential of Bitcoin’s price: $10 million/Bitcoin, in today’s dollars. Put another way, I believe Bitcoin’s full potential is to eat up ~25% of the world’s value… while it’s only 0.05% today. This is absurd. That means I believe Bitcoin could 500x in the coming decades, in real terms (adjusted for inflation),” Myers wrote.
FUD of the week
U.S. Cryptocurrency Regulation Takes Place “Behind Closed Doors” — Blockchain Association CEO
CEO Blockchain Association Kristin Smith says Congress needs to take control of crypto legislation and ensure it’s an “open process” by taking a comprehensive look at the market. Despite regulators working “very quickly,” legislation is moving “behind closed doors,” Smith noted, emphasizing the importance of industry involvement in an “open process” that includes Congress.
US regulatory crackdown leads to $32 million outflow of digital assets
Institutional crypto fund manager CoinShares reported that digital asset investment products saw outflows totaling $32 million last week, the largest outflow of the year. The outflow comes in the wake of a massive crackdown on the digital asset industry by the US securities regulator, targeting everything from betting services to stablecoins and crypto custody.
Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather File Motion to Dismiss Cryptocurrency Promotion Lawsuit
Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather and other celebrities are hoping to convince a judge to dismiss another attempt to hold them liable for allegedly promoting EthereumMax (EMAX) without proper disclosure. The US SEC recently issued a warning to celebrities promoting cryptocurrencies, reminding them that the law requires them to disclose how much they are paid and by whom.
Best features of Cointelegraph
Breakdancing medic’s NFT auctioned at Sotheby’s — Grant Yun, creator of NFT
Simple storytelling through digital art led this medical student and breakdancer to appear at Sotheby’s.
Green consumers want supply chain transparency through blockchain
Consumers want to support ethical, environmentally friendly products. Blockchain projects are here to help.
Hong Kong Crypto Craze, DeFi Token Rises 550%, NBA China NFT — Asia Express
Hong Kong wants to rebuild retail cryptocurrency trading, FTX Japan customers withdraw almost all assets after three months, and NBA China will continue to mint NFTs.
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