Although the upcoming FOMC meeting, in which a rate cut could be announced, has grabbed the attention of most investors, other interesting crypto stories that you should know about have come out in the past seven days. They include:
Court Hearing for Former FTX Boss’s Appeal Set for November
Sam Bankman-Fried, popularly known as SBF, who continues to serve a 25-year jail term after a US court found him guilty of misappropriating customer funds while serving as the CEO of collapsed exchange FTX, will appear in court again in November to appeal the judges’ decision.
His attorneys argue that US prosecutors told the judges that the assets of FTX clients were lost permanently, yet the exchange’s estate, a team assigned to compensate affected users, has been able to recover a large portion of the alleged misappropriated funds.
Bitcoin Consolidates as Institutions Accumulate Altcoins
Since September 8th, Bitcoin has traded in a tight range of between $112k and $116k. According to Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, this price action is happening because institutions have shifted their focus to altcoins. His statement couldn’t be far from the truth, given that several companies have recently announced large altcoin purchases.
For instance, blockchain tech company BitMine Immersion Technologies bought ETH worth $200 million last week, expanding its Ethereum treasury to 2,151,675 coins.
No 50-Basis-Point Rate Cut, Claims Goldman Sachs CEO
Although US President Donald Trump has been calling for a 50-basis-point rate cut, Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon is pessimistic that the American Central Bank (the Federal Reserve) will make such an aggressive move.
Notably, even traders do not forecast a 50-bps rate cut when the Federal Reserve board members meet on September 17th. According to data from the CME FedWatch Tool, there is only a 7.7% chance that a 50-bps rate cut will be announced despite the recent weak jobs report.
CFTC Chair Nominee Releases Private Messages With Gemini Co-Founders
Trump’s pick for the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair position, Brian Quintenz, released several text messages on September 11th, between himself and twin brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the founders of the Gemini exchange. He accused the two of attempting to mislead the US President in an effort to have his nomination revoked.
XRP Crosses $3 as Hopes for ETF Approval Grow
XRP’s price has risen above $3 amid growing speculations about the possible approval of a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF), which will allow more institutions to get exposure to the asset. Interestingly, the demand for XRP futures is up 5.2% over the past 30 days, indicating strong market participation from traders.
If interest in XRP rises further in the coming days, some analysts believe the token could head toward $3.60, a level not seen since July.
Nemo Team Admits That Auditor Raised Alarm Before the $2.59M Hack
On September 7th, Sui-based DeFi platform Nemo was targeted, with the hackers pocketing $2.59 million. The team behind the project has now admitted that smart contract auditing firm Asymptotic identified the vulnerability, but didn’t adequately address it, thus enabling cybercriminals to drain funds from wallets.
Blockstream Warns About New Email Phishing Tactic
Hardware wallet provider Blockstream has warned that bad actors have launched an email phishing campaign to target its users. The firm explained on Thursday that cybercriminals have been sending firmware files via email, claiming to be the latest version of its wallet. However, Blockstream says the files are malicious and designed to steal sensitive information. It adds that it does not send any files through email.
Winners and Losers
Although top coins saw some losses over the weekend, most of them have retained their 7-day gains, according to CoinGecko data. Three altcoins with the most gains are Mantle (50%), Worldcoin (81%), and MYX Finance (1,007%). On the other hand, Four is leading the losers with a 28% drop, followed by XDC and Ethena, down 8% and 7.43%%, respectively.
