Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | September 25, 2023

Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents

Market Moves and Investments

• MicroStrategy's Latest Bitcoin Buy
• HTX Exchange Hack and Justin Sun's Response
• Mixin Network's $200 Million Security Breach
• Arbitrum's Unclaimed Airdrop and Its Impact

Currency-Specific Updates

• Bitcoin Struggles Amid Strong US Dollar
• Ether Retail Traders in Sell-Off Mode

Regulatory and Banking Developments

• Coinbase Enters Spanish Market
• Hong Kong SFC's New Measures for VATPs

Token and Stablecoin News

• Terra Classic Halts Minting of USTC Tokens
• Upbit's APT Token Scandal

Investment Trends

• Six Weeks of Crypto Investment Outflows
• North Korea-Linked Lazarus Group's Crypto Holdings

Legal and Security Incidents

• Australian Man's Crypto.com Windfall and Legal Trouble
• OpenSea Advises API Key Replacement After Breach

MicroStrategy's Latest Bitcoin Buy

MicroStrategy has acquired an additional 5,445 BTC for $147.3 million, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to approximately 158,245 BTC. The average purchase price of the latest acquisition was $27,053 per coin. MicroStrategy remains bullish on Bitcoin despite recent price fluctuations.  

HTX Exchange Hack and Justin Sun's Response

Crypto exchange HTX, formerly known as Huobi, has suffered a hack resulting in losses of $8 million. Stakeholder Justin Sun confirmed the attack and announced that current user deposits are secure and the platform is operating normally. Sun has offered the hacker a 5% reward for returning the remaining funds and even a job at the exchange. 

Since the security breach, Tron (TRX) has experienced nearly $10 million in outflows, adding volatility to crypto price trends. Sun had recently posted a video in which he defeats a hacker with a single punch.

Mixin Network's $200 Million Security Breach

Hong Kong-based decentralized cross-chain transfer protocol Mixin Network experienced a $200 million hack on September 25th. Users affected will be compensated up to 50% of their stolen assets, with the remainder to be repurchased using future profits. Mixin had nearly $400 million across 48 chains locked in its protocol before the incident.  

Arbitrum's Unclaimed Airdrop and Its Impact

Arbitrum users missed out on $59 million in unclaimed airdrop tokens, causing a 1.6% dip in the token's value. The unclaimed tokens have been transferred to the Arbitrum treasury, holding close to $3 billion, to be used for ecosystem growth. Users cannot claim the tokens anymore.  

Bitcoin Struggles Amid Strong US Dollar

Amidst fluctuating crypto coin prices, Bitcoin had a hard time breaking the $26,000 barrier as the US Dollar Index hit a 10-month peak. Analysts warn of a potential head-and-shoulders pattern that could lead to a drop towards the $22,000-$20,000 range. The strong US dollar is seen as a headwind for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.  

Ether Retail Traders in Sell-Off Mode

As the Ethereum market cap takes a hit, retail traders are offloading their holdings with the price hovering around $1,570. Addresses holding 1+ ETH and 10+ ETH hit three-month lows. Addresses holding 0.1 ETH reached a five-month low. Transaction volume and average transaction fees also dropped to their lowest points in months. This decline comes as ETH supply enters an inflationary phase. 

The number of Ethereum addresses in loss has also reached a new all-time high, with over 49 million addresses affected. Ethereum's open interest in perpetual futures contracts and accumulation among mid-sized investors have also declined. 

Coinbase Enters Spanish Market

Coinbase has locked in its status with the Bank of Spain, now officially recognized as a cryptocurrency exchange, a move that could influence cryptocurrency charts in the Spanish market. This allows Coinbase to offer its products and services to retail and institutional users in Spain. The move is part of Coinbase's broader international expansion strategy.

Hong Kong SFC's New Measures for VATPs

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is increasing investor education and information dissemination on virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs) following a major crypto scandal. The SFC has published lists of licensed VATPs and those closing down or seeking licenses, and plans to enhance its Alert List to include suspicious VATPs. 

It has also imposed stringent requirements on licensed VATPs, and will collaborate with the Investor and Financial Education Council to educate investors. The SFC is also in talks with the police to establish a dedicated channel for sharing information on suspicious VATP activities.

Terra Classic Halts Minting of USTC Tokens

The Terra Classic community has voted to end the minting and reminting of Terra Classic USD (USTC) tokens. This comes more than a year after the collapse of the Terra UST stablecoin, which caused a widespread meltdown in cryptocurrency markets. 

The community aims to protect investors and the community by eliminating any form of minting, and the move opens the door for institutions like Binance to start burning USTC tokens.

Upbit's APT Token Scandal

The APT token, a counterfeit version of Aptos, temporarily shut down services on the Korean exchange Upbit after some users were able to deposit and cash out the fake coin. The token originated from a scam site and is held by approximately 400,000 wallets. 

Upbit accepted the fake tokens due to a bug in its system, but services were later resumed. But instead of impacting the price negatively, APT saw a 6% increase and an 800% increase in trading volume.

Six Weeks of Crypto Investment Outflows

Crypto investment products experienced their sixth consecutive week of outflows, with $9 million exiting the market. Bitcoin and Ether saw outflows, while XRP and Solana gained investor confidence with inflows. 

Regional activities showed a divergence in sentiment, with European products experiencing inflows and U.S. products facing outflows. Weekly trading volumes dropped below average levels.  

North Korea-Linked Lazarus Group's Crypto Holdings

The Lazarus Group, allegedly backed by the government of North Korea, currently holds over $47 million in stolen crypto assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, and Binance USD. However, this amount has decreased from $86 million in September. The group's wallets were tracked by Dune Analytics, but the actual holdings may be higher.  

Australian Man's Crypto.com Windfall and Legal Trouble

A man in Australia mistakenly received AUD 10.5 million from Crypto.com and used the money to buy houses, cars, art, and furniture. He will appear in court next month on theft charges. 

The accounting error occurred when a worker accidentally entered the man's account number into a spreadsheet, and the company discovered the mistake seven months later. The man's partner received an 18-month sentence for her involvement in transferring the funds.

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

Aptos APT (+5.95%)

Chainlink LINK (+4.84%)

Immutable X IMX (+4.52%)

Losers:

WEMIX WEMIX (-13.45%)

Radix XRD (-11.62%)

Rollbit Coin RLB (-4.59%)

NFT Market Map

OpenSea Advises API Key Replacement After Breach

OpenSea, a leading NFT marketplace, has advised users to replace their API keys following a security breach involving a third-party vendor. The breach does not have an immediate effect but could impact rate and usage limits. OpenSea has not confirmed the extent of the data affected or the vendor involved. This comes after a similar breach at analytics platform Nansen.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.