Never let your guard down - Crypto Investor's Weekly 12.05-20.05

The scammers are back??

What do scammers, North Korea and memecoins all have in common? They’re all coming for your money, so you need to be ready.??

Have you thought about buying an insane token that you’d never heard of before last week? ?

?Does it have a cartoon animal as its logo? ?

Are you worried you’ll miss out on the epic returns everyone else is getting? ?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, then you need to stop reading this newsletter, lock your computer away and go and have a cold shower and a lie down. Because you’ve got a bad case of crypto FOMO with a side helping of desperation. And that’s how you get rugged and stay poor forever. And no one wants that.??

The main culprits at the moment: memecoins.??

Memecoins are funny and get loads of traction on social media. Some of them have celebrities engaging in the narrative. It looks like everyone is in on the joke. But the joke usually ends when the person behind these projects rugs the community and is never seen again.?

But sometimes it’s not just ruggers and celebrities behind the scams. And when it’s not, it’s almost always North Korea. ?

You heard us right, it’s Kim Jong Un and Co, sneaking out from the Hermit Kingdom and into the cryptosphere.??

A UN report found that North Korean hackers stole around $630 million in crypto earlier this year and around 1/3 of Korea’s missile program is funded by stolen cryptocurrency.?

If this is all getting a bit much, don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom. Sometimes governments, international organisations and the crypto community come together for the forces of good.??

The IRS, Chainalysis and the Ukrainian government are teaming up to crack down on Russians trying to evade sanctions imposed by countries for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.??

Let’s dive in.??

Chart of the week?

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Ethereum staking has been a runaway success so far, with over 18 miillion ETH staked by the end of Q1 2023. On February 26th, 197k ETH was staked in a single day.??

With the Shapella upgrade successfully out of the way last month, many analysts predicted that millions of staked Ether that was now free to be unlocked would be withdrawn immediately, creating strong sell pressure for ETH. But that didn’t happen and investors are queueing around the block to stake their Ether to secure the network and earn rewards on their assets.??

And there’s good reason for that. Ethereum stakers are able to earn up to 8.7% per year, the highest rate since the Shapella upgrade. Ether’s price shot up by nearly 50% in Q1 and that’s clearly given many investors the idea that staking is their next step.??

Source: Twitter ?

This week’s crypto prices?

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The idea that crypto markets could further decouple from traditional markets appears to be ringing true this week, with equities responding well to news of a potential rise in the U.S. debt ceiling. Crypto is not following suit and Bitcoin slipped back below $27,000.??

It seems like bears could be set to regain control of prices with evidence of sell pressure pushing prices down closer to the low $25,200s. Bulls have the chance to bounce back from here, but they face an uphill struggle.??

One positive piece of news this week for Bitcoin is that Tether plans to invest 15% of its net profit into Bitcoin to diversify the backing of its USDT stablecoin. According to some estimates, that would bring the investment figure to around $222 million. This could point to positive price action for BTC in the event that such a large volume moves the markets, potentially also spurring other investors to buy.??

Ether also fell as the week came to a close, with some analysts predicting that the price could drop all the way to $1,600 if bears get their way. Ethereum’s price could face a challenge if Celsius, a bankrupt lender that has 428k staked ETH on Lido’s liquid staking platform, has its request to withdraw its assets approved. This could put stronger sell pressure on Ether. Bulls will try to push prices up into the mid $1,840s.??

Crypto news??

IRS, Chainalysis Helping Ukraine Track Russians Using Crypto to Evade Sanctions?

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said it’s working closely with Ukraine to help it trace crypto transactions of Russian sanctions evaders. The agency is providing the Ukrainians access to a Chainalysis tool as well as specialized training to Ukrainian law enforcement.?

Full article: Bitcoin.com ?

HL EU’s Crypto Legal Framework Inches Towards Law With Finance Ministers’ Sign-Off?

The EU’s Council, which represents 27 member states, unanimously approved the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA), making the bloc set to be the first major jurisdiction in the world with a crypto licensing regime. It also agreed new anti-money laundering measures on crypto funds transfers.?

Full article: Coindesk ?

North Korean crypto thefts target Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong?

North Korea is using cyberattacks to target Japanese cryptocurrency assets. Hacker groups affiliated with North Korea have stolen $721 million from Japan since 2017, according to a study by a U.K.-based compliance specialist. That is equal to 30% of the total of such losses worldwide.?

Full article: Nikkei ?

CFTC chair says DeFi crypto exchanges will be regulated even if they are 'just code'?

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin Behnam said decentralized crypto exchanges will be regulated either by the CFTC or the Securities and Exchange Commission even if they are based on “self-effectuating” protocols that are “just code,” in a conversation for Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast.?

Full article: The Block ?

Ledger Crypto Wallet Under Fire Over Seed Phrase Recovery Service?

Connecting your crypto seed phrase to your passport. What could go wrong? Hardware wallet provider Ledger has caused a stir online after releasing its latest Ledger Recover service in their latest firmware update.?

Full article: The Decrypt ?

We’ll see you at the same time next week.??

Bye!??