Orbit Bridge lost $82 million in hack, sending BTC plummeting.

This week Orbit Bridge suffered an exploit worth $82 million, Bitcoin (BTC) After a retest of $45,000, it plummeted as FUD widened. Meanwhile, the approval period for the spot BTC ETF is approaching.

Orbit lost $82 million due to the hack.

• On December 31, 2023, a cryptocurrency community member brought to public attention the possibility of exploiting the Orbit blockchain network’s native bridge protocol to leak multiple assets from a bridge contract.

• Shortly after this initial alert, the Orbit chain team confirmed reports that the bridge had been exploited. According to data, the hack caused the protocol to lose a whopping $81.5 million in multiple cryptocurrencies.

• In the disclosure, the Orbit team emphasized that it was assessing the cause of the hack and engaging with law enforcement on the matter. According to reports, the operation method was similar to that of North Korean hackers.

Coinpay hack, North Korea attracts attention

• Days after the Orbit Bridge attack, Estonia-based cryptocurrency payment protocol CoinsPaid was hacked for the second time in six months. The breach resulted in $7.5 million in losses across multiple cryptocurrency assets, including BNB and Ethereum (ETH).

• With hacking rates on the rise, a report from TRB Labs this week shines a light on North Korean hackers responsible for several attacks recorded last year. The report pointed out that these hackers stole $600 million in cryptocurrency through hacking last year, accounting for one-third of all hacking in 2023.

Increasing discussion surrounding spot BTC ETF

• With the approval of a spot BTC ETF expected, industry commentators have continued to predict an imminent price explosion for BTC. An advisor to VanEck, one of the asset managers considering launching its product this week, disagreed with the arrangement.

• In an elaborate disclosure by According to him, the expected BTC price explosion may not materialize.

• Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at K33 Research, shares similar thoughts. However, Lunde’s outlook has tilted towards bearish territory as market observers expect the approval of a BTC ETF to trigger a news selling frenzy that would result in a decline in the price of Bitcoin.

• Speculation about the approval of an ETF product emerged earlier this week, with several market observers defending the story. Fox journalist Eleanor Terrett refuted these claims, noting that a decision would not be made this week.

• Optimism for ETF approval remains high, but this week Better Markets CEO Dennis Kelleher called on the US SEC to reject applications for a spot BTC ETF. This is because it was claimed that the product could expose investors to market manipulation and fraud that resides in the cryptocurrency industry. .
• Former SEC executive and cybersecurity expert John Reed Stark rebutted Kelleher’s comments in a lengthy and scathing post on social media.

Update on Spot BTC ETF Submission

• This week also saw several updates on several reports for spot Bitcoin ETFs. According to reports on January 3, it was confirmed that Fidelity Investments, one of the asset managers participating in the ETF competition, has filed Form 8-A with the SEC to register the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund as a publicly traded security.

• Soon after, asset managers VanEck and Grayscale filed similar Form 8-A filings with the SEC for their respective BTC ETF products. These filings allow companies to list their products as securities that will be traded on public exchanges once approval is granted.

• Additionally, Ark 21Shares and Valkyrie filed their own Form 8-A filings on the same day as Grayscale and VanEck. As the list of Form 8-A submissions grew, optimism grew that product approval was imminent.

• Interestingly, to show his support for the Bitcoin community, VanEck this week gave 5% of his Bitcoin ETF proceeds to Bitcoin core developers, specifically BitBit, a non-profit dedicated to developing the Bitcoin protocol. Announced plans to donate to support Bitcoin Brink.

Bitcoin plunges after retest

• Meanwhile, as these ETF discussions and updates continue, the market maintains optimism surrounding Bitcoin, leading to a gradual but steady price rise. BTC eventually rebounded to its January 2 high of $45,879, retesting $45,000 for the first time since April 2022.

• However, this rally was short-lived as the ETF debate deteriorated. Cryptocurrency services provider Matrixport first claimed that Bitcoin could reach $50,000 in January, cementing its bullish outlook for the cryptocurrency’s top cryptocurrency asset.

• Nonetheless, following this report, Matrixport claimed in a January 3 paper that the SEC would reject all BTC ETF applications in January and give final approval in the second quarter of 2024. The Matrixport team noted that they expect BTC to fall to $36,000-$38,000 as follows: The result of this.

• Bitcoin crashed on January 3, falling to a low of $40,750 before recovering again. The asset ultimately closed down 4.68% on January 3, dragging down the entire cryptocurrency market. This resulted in nearly $700 million being liquidated from the perpetual market.

• BTC has recovered from this slump and is currently trading at $44,349, up 5.2% this week. During the recovery campaign, BitMEX founder and former CEO Arthur Hayes released a report stating that BTC could witness a healthy correction due to certain upcoming macro events.
• BitMEX is also part of the team responsible for launching approximately $45,000 worth of physical Bitcoin into space aboard the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket. Liftoff is scheduled for January 8 and lunar landing is expected to be February 23.

• Meanwhile, an unknown Bitcoin whale transferred $1.19 million worth of BTC to Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto’s wallet (commonly known as Genesis Wallet). This development has sparked speculation among cryptocurrency supporters.

Nigeria pushes cNGN, SEC claims BUSD is a security

• This week saw several incidents related to cryptocurrency regulation and enforcement. The apex bank of Nigeria, the most populous black nation, released a report this week providing rules for banks in the country regarding the operation of cryptocurrency accounts.

• The report comes shortly after the country lifted its blanket ban on cryptocurrency trading. This week the central bank also approved the proposed cNGN project, which is expected to launch next month.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the SEC has continued to pursue enforcement actions. The judge agrees with the argument in the Terraform Labs case that Terra ecosystem tokens are securities. The agency cited this ruling to argue that BUSD was a security in the Binance case as well.

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