This week in the Altcoin realm: the market levels out and starts a recovery, CFTC supports ‘no harm approach’ for crypto, Bee Token and Seele ICOs hit by a phishing attack, Forbes releases a ‘Richest People in Cryptocurrency’ list, and Transnistria makes its bid welcome to crypto miners.
Transnistria makes its bid welcome to crypto miners
Moldova, a region also referred to as Transnistria, is a country that has struggled in the past with recognition of its independence, but has found itself in the press once again, this time as the center of attention in the crypto world. They have pleased communities worldwide with their recent statement that they are ready and willing to accept crypto miners into their country.
Vadim Krasnoselsky, the President of Moldova, has said: “We are a country that generates electricity,” and spoke further of the benefit of their cheap energy capacity and tax breaks that they are offering. At the moment, there is a 6 billion dollar debt on gas that has been billed to the Moldovan capital Chisinau while the region is still in dispute. The breakaway republic can burn even more gas that has been paid for by Russia for ‘transit fees’. Local residents of the FEZ areas will have the ability to import mining equipment free of any additional tariffs. In addition, the relocation of property outside of the zones will be unimpeded by any government restrictions. Moldova joins the ranks of post-soviet union countries that are in a ‘pro-crypto’ movement. Russia’s own central bank announced recently that it may welcome cryptocurrency mining in the country.
Forbes: the richest people in cryptocurrency
Forbes has just released what could be the most interesting list on the web right now. They have produced their own list of the richest people in cryptocurrency. By their own admission, they have estimated the wealth and figures shown could be off the mark. Forbes explained that they wish to highlight a number of fortunes to give the general public more of an idea of just how successful the adoption of crypto has become.
Among the rich list is Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple with an estimated crypto net worth of $7.5-$8 billion. Larsen personally owns 5.2 billion XRP (Ripple), a mere 8% of Ripple’s total 61 billion XRP control on the market. Also on the rich list is Changpeng Zhao, CEO of popular coin exchange Binance, with a slightly more ‘modest’ fortune of $1.1-$2 Billion worth of crypto. Zhao built the Binance community over just seven months, and it has become the world’s largest crypto exchange, an impressive feat for ‘CZ’ as he is known.
Bee Token and Seele ICOs hit by phishing attacks
Bee Token, an ICO we covered recently, and Seele ICO have just been hit by phishing attacks. Hackers were able to infiltrate the Telegram chat channels. The hacker devised false special offers and sent them out to an email list of investors, taking advantage of those who were eager not to miss out on the opportunity for huge profits. The losses for both ICOs were substantial, with Bee Token investors losing out on approximately $1 million. The losses for the Seele ICO came in a bit higher at $1.8 million; they have set up a special team to deal with the situation.
This news comes in tandem with stories circulating the media that the ICO for Prodeum, which began not too long ago, have performed an exit scam, it would seem. They disappeared with millions of investor dollars leaving the word ‘penis’ on their website, illustrating what kind of people these hackers are.
CFTC supports ‘no harm approach’ for crypto
The wider circles of crypto and cryptocurrencies have claimed an unlikely new champion in the form of J. Christopher Giancarlo, the chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He recently addressed the US Senate Committee on banking, expressing his view that any regulation must take a no harm approach’. He added: “We owe it to this new generation to respect their interest”.
As this news spread, Giancarlo experienced a huge growth in his number of Twitter followers and his popularity. There were numerous calls across Reddit groups to recognize his noble deeds and to support and thank him. Giancarlo was the man responsible for explaining the meaning of the phrase ‘hodl’ to a member of the US Senate Banking Committee, explaining to them that it means ‘Hold on for dear life’. Debate on the meaning of hodl goes on, but at least these talks are being held in the first place.
The market levels out and starts a recovery
The market is making what seems to be a steady enough recovery. A few factors may be responsible for this: the US Stock Exchange is on its way up, Mr. Giancarlo’s remarks about crypto, and Singapore confirming that there is no strong case for banning crypto trading. These recent developments could be the cause for the recovery and increases across the board of between 20-40% for the day.
Ethereum is back above $800, Ripple is holding out at over 70c, and in general, all altcoins are showing growth, but in a much slower fashion than before. This may just be a reaction to people buying in the dip but nevertheless, it is still positive. Looking at the last 48 hours, the graphs are looking good. Look at the last seven days as a whole and it paints a different picture, with all the top 50 coins being in the red.
