Bitcoin Forecasted to Reach $233K, SEC X Account Hacker Arrested, and Other News: Hodler’s Digest, Oct. 13 – 19
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Bitcoin $233K price prediction, SEC X account hacker apprehended, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Oct. 13 – 19
A cryptocurrency analysis account has forecasted that Bitcoin could reach $233,000 by the first quarter of 2025, the FBI has arrested a man associated with the SEC X account hack from January, and other noteworthy news.
by Editorial Staff
8 min
October 19, 2024
Top Stories of The Week
Trump’s World Liberty Financial token failed to take off
Former President of the United States, Donald Trump’s token launch faced challenges.
On October 16, Donald Trump launched his World Liberty Financial (WLFI) token. The token’s website promised investors voting rights over a future decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol.
However, after almost a full day of trading, the token’s sales were lackluster. By 10:00 am UTC on October 17, only 848.63 million WLFI tokens had been sold ($12.7 million worth based on the presale price), with an additional 19.1 billion coins unsold ($287 million). The sales on the first day accounted for just 4.24% of the total.
Several factors contributed to the token’s failure. Unlike most cryptocurrencies, WLFI cannot be transferred between wallets. This restriction prevented accredited investors from selling the token to non-accredited individuals or individuals outside the US from selling to US residents.
Moreover, despite selling only a small number of tokens, the website struggled to handle the traffic, with users facing error messages when attempting to purchase tokens.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs witness significant inflows in the largest day since June
US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced their largest one-day inflow in over four months, totaling more than $500 million.
On October 14, the 11 ETFs saw a combined net inflow of $555.9 million, marking their highest daily net inflow since early June. This surge coincided with Bitcoin reaching a two-week high of $66,500 in late trading.
Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store, described it as a “monster day” for spot BTC ETFs, with nearly $20 billion in net inflows over the past 10 months.
The Fidelity Wise Bitcoin Origin Fund (FBTC) led the way with an inflow of $239.3 million — its highest since June 4.
Warren, Deaton clash over crypto in maiden debate for US Senate seat
Senator Elizabeth Warren and crypto lawyer John Deaton sparred over crypto policy in their first debate for a US Senate seat from Massachusetts.
Deaton, a Republican candidate, criticized Democrat incumbent Warren during the October 15 debate for prioritizing an “anti-crypto army” over other pressing issues affecting lower and middle-class individuals in the state.
Warren clarified that while she doesn’t oppose crypto trading, she wants to ensure the industry complies with regulations similar to those imposed on banks and stockbrokers, including consumer protection and anti-terrorism laws.
FBI detains hacker responsible for fake SEC Bitcoin ETF approval
The FBI arrested a 25-year-old man in Athens, Alabama for hacking the Securities and Exchange Commission’s official X account back in January.
Eric Council Jr. was taken into custody on October 17, facing charges related to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.
Council allegedly took part in a group that hacked the SEC’s X account in January 2024 and posted a fake announcement on January 9 claiming that the SEC had approved the first Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the US. This false news caused Bitcoin’s price to surge by over $1,000 following the announcement.
SEC sanctions NYSE, CBOE listings of Bitcoin options ETFs
On October 18, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved applications from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) to list long-awaited options for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Options trading will now be accessible for the 11 approved ETF providers on the NYSE, including Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, ARK21Shares Bitcoin ETF, Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, and others.
This regulatory change puts Bitcoin ETF options in the same category as other commodity-based ETFs listed on the CBOE, except Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust.
Winners
