Last Week in Crypto: ETH Pumps, Poloniex Loses Millions, Elon’s AI Triggers Shitcoin Storm

CoinMarketCap is here with the need-to-know news making waves in crypto. Some major developments went down recently so let's get you up to speed.

The TLDR:

Now let's dive into the details!

Poloniex Hacked, Loses Millions

Uh oh, looks like Justin Sun made a bad investment decision. Poloniex got hacked big time. A whopping $65 million in crypto was stolen!

A blockchain security firm spotted the suspicious activity first, raising alarms as the funds moved across multiple blockchains. Ethereum seemed to take the biggest hit.

In a twist, the hacker then pumped its price by 25%. That's some 4D chess right there.

Read the full story!

BlackRock's ETH ETF Plan Confirmed

In a new submission, BlackRock’s plan to launch an Ethereum ETF via a Nasdaq listing was disclosed. This huge development came out of the blue, with no prior indication from the asset manager giant.

It was a Twitter (now X) user who first uncovered the news, spotting that BlackRock's Ethereum Trust got registered as a new entity in Delaware yesterday. This stealth registration revealed BlackRock's Ethereum ambitions before its Nasdaq filing went public.

Traders were caught off guard, reacting rapidly to push Ethereum prices up. BlackRock making a move into Ether suggests Wall Street sees long-term value beyond just Bitcoin.

With competition lining up for SEC approval of the first ETH ETF, this filing cements BlackRock's intent to lead the charge. Read the full story!

Bitcoin Supply Reaches Historic Low

Bitcoin's available supply hit a new all-time low, indicating an accumulation trend and heightened bullish sentiment, according to Glassnode.

Long-term holders are increasing their Bitcoin holdings, with smaller entities accounting for 92% of newly produced BTC.

Read on to find out why this spells a positive outlook for the most valuable cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin Ordinals Volumes Spikes

Transaction volume for Bitcoin-based assets on the Ordinals platform has surged to its highest level since May, with approximately $14.7 million in assets being traded.

Ordinals, a protocol introduced earlier this year, enables the development of NFT-like assets on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Find out why traders are rushing back to Ordinals!

SEC Greenlights FTX Relaunch

The head of the SEC says he's open to scandal-ridden FTX rising from the ashes under new leadership. But only if they keep their nose clean! Talk about an extreme makeover opportunity.

The new FTX has big shoes to fill after the last disaster. They'll need a spotless track record and a wholesome moral compass if they want a chance. Of course, rebuilding public trust after such an epic collapse will be an uphill battle.

But the SEC chief seems willing to give them a shot if they can prove themselves reformed.

Read the full story here!

NFT Sales Rebound

Looks like the NFT market is finally seeing a turnaround after tanking for so long. DappRadar reports sales jumped 32% in October. The boost comes after months in the dumps for the NFT world.

Ethereum led the charge with a 50% increase in volume. But the signs of life may be premature - sales still remain below March's peak. Find more details!

Elon Triggers Memecoin Mania

Elon recently announced a new AI chatbot to challenge ChatGPT, aptly named after a sci-fi book series. This prompted a memecoin frenzy. Who could've predicted that?

Some traders scored big gains quickly, while others got "rug pulled" as usual in these hype cycles. Some of these tokens even reached over $1 million market cap.

Seriously, we need new hobbies in crypto besides chasing shitcoins. But hey, it's never a dull day in this industry!

Find out which of these tokens offered big gains to investors before the inevitable rug pull!

Gensler’s Salary to $1

In the latest chapter of ‘We Are Sick of Gensler,’ a US lawmaker proposed slashing the SEC Chair's massive $300k+ (estimated) salary down to a single buck.

While likely just political theater, it shows some politicians are still mad about crypto oversight.

The symbolic proposal underscores ongoing tensions over crypto regulation. Read the full story!

New Self-Custody Rights Bill

A US senator recently introduced a bill to protect the right to control your own crypto assets, without requiring third parties like exchanges.

This comes after FTX and other blows showed giving custody to centralized exchanges (CEX) can be super risky. But it'll likely stir up controversy with the traditionally cautious government wary of too much financial freedom.

The idea is to empower people to be their own bank and hold their crypto themselves. But regulators have been pushing hard for more visibility instead.

It sets up an old-fashioned policy battle between freedom and regulation in the new world of crypto. The public's still making up its mind on what's best long term. Definitely complex issues on both sides here.

With strong opinions all around, expect plenty of heated debate on this bill going forward. More information on what’s been included in the bill!

Fake App Steals Over $500K

Well, this leaves a bad taste - a fake Ledger app snuck into the Microsoft store and scammed users out of thousands of dollars. The app tricked people into thinking it was the real Ledger Live interface.

Microsoft removed it, but not before the hackers scored themselves a big haul. You can’t even trust software on the official app store anymore? How to avoid these scams? More details here!

ApeFest Lights Blind Attendees

Last bit of crazy news - it seems the lighting setup at Yuga Lab's ApeFest in Hong Kong was bright enough to burn retinas!

Multiple attendees reported eye damage, blurred vision and intense pain. Some even went to the ER. How many attendees were affected exactly? And how did that all happen? Read more!

And those were the need-to-know crypto headlines from the past week. We will be back with more!

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