Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives are not mandated to vote against two upcoming pro-crypto bills, though they are strongly advised to do so.
A May 20 email from Democratic Party leaders to House members, shared by Politico, indicates the party has not insisted on a “no” vote for the Republican-led Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act and the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, known as H.R. 4763 and H.R. 5403, respectively.
Both bills are seen as favorable to the crypto industry if passed. FIT21 would clarify the classification process for cryptocurrencies as either commodities or securities, primarily placing regulatory control with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The U.S. crypto industry and lobbyists back this bill, with 60 companies advocating for its passage in a May 16 letter.
The CBDC act aims to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency.
However, the email noted that Representatives Maxine Waters and David Scott “strongly oppose” FIT21, and Waters also opposes the CBDC act.
Politico later obtained a letter from the pair urging a vote against FIT21.
“House Democratic leaders said today they will NOT whip against House Republicans’ crypto bill, I’m told,” Politico reporter Eleanor Mueller wrote on X, referring to FIT21.
In the email, Democratic leaders expressed concerns about parts of the bill, particularly its provision for trading digital commodities in the secondary market if they were initially offered as investment contract securities under the SEC’s Howey test.
READ MORE: Notorious Crypto Drainer Pink Drainer Retires After Stealing Over $85 Million
“This language undermines decades of legal precedent and case law, thereby creating uncertainty in our traditional securities market,” the email stated.
Leaders argued the bill “weakens investor protections and opens the door to fraud and market manipulation” by providing a “safe harbor” for entities to register intent, effectively shielding them from the SEC until crypto rules are finalized by both the SEC and CFTC.
Meanwhile, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act aims to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC, even in pilot programs.
Democratic leaders contend that stopping CBDCs could undermine the “primacy of the U.S. dollar,” as other countries with CBDCs seek to evade sanctions.
“According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill’s overly broad definition of CBDC raises concerns the bill could undermine the Fed’s ability to conduct monetary policy,” the email added. “Particularly concerning as it attempts to navigate a soft landing in regard to inflation.”
Floor debate and passage of FIT21 are expected on Wednesday, May 22, according to Politico’s Mueller.
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U.S. authorities have apprehended two individuals accused of orchestrating a significant money laundering operation.
This scheme allegedly funneled over $73 million through American financial institutions, ultimately converting the funds into the cryptocurrency Tether (USDT).
The U.S. Justice Department reported that Daren Li was arrested at Atlanta’s airport in Georgia on April 12, while Yicheng Zhang was taken into custody in Los Angeles on May 16.
The indictment against the pair, unsealed in a California court on May 16, details their purported involvement in the scheme.
Li, Zhang, and their associates are accused of managing an international criminal network that laundered millions of dollars from “pig butchering” crypto scams.
In these scams, fraudsters build victims’ trust, persuade them to invest large sums, and then abscond with the money.
The defendants allegedly directed accomplices to open U.S. bank accounts under shell company names.
Victims were tricked into transferring millions into these accounts, which were then used to launder the illicit proceeds.
The DOJ explained that the money was dispersed to various domestic and international accounts, stating:
“The fraud scheme involved more than $73 million laundered through U.S. financial institutions to bank accounts in the Bahamas and converted to the virtual asset USDT, or Tether.
“A cryptocurrency wallet involved in the scheme received more than $341 million in virtual assets.”
Li and Zhang face charges of conspiring to launder money and six counts of international money laundering.
If convicted, they each could face up to 20 years in prison for each count, amounting to a potential total of 140 years.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Eyes New Highs as Analysts Spot Imminent Golden Cross on Lower Timeframes
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco recognized the challenges posed by cryptocurrency fraud but emphasized the commitment to hold offenders accountable.
Pig butchering scams have become increasingly profitable for cybercriminals.
In November 2023, the DOJ seized $9 million from a similar scheme that victimized over 70 Americans.
The rising frequency and severity of such scams have alarmed lawmakers and regulators.
Regulators have intensified efforts to combat crypto scams, as seen in new regulations and industry guidelines.
While these measures aim to protect investors and safeguard digital assets, some fear they may hinder the sector’s growth.
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The number of transactions on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) more than doubled from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the end of the first quarter of 2024, while the average transaction cost nearly halved, according to Ripple’s Q1 2024 XRP Markets Report.
On-chain transaction activity on the XRPL surged by 108% during Q1 of 2024, reaching approximately 251.39 million transactions compared to 121.03 million in Q4 of 2023, as noted in the report published on May 17.
Additionally, the average cost per transaction fell by 45%, amounting to approximately $0.000856.
“As such, the decrease in average cost per transaction indicated a reset and that no network congestion occurred in the quarter,” the report states.
The distribution of XRP trading volume among cryptocurrency exchanges remained stable in the first quarter.
Binance, Bybit, and Upbit together accounted for over 70% of the total traded volume.
During this period, the proportion of volume traded via fiat pairs decreased from 15% in Q4 to 11%. Currently, most XRP trading occurs against Tether.
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The report also addressed the ongoing lawsuit between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple.
The SEC filed the lawsuit in December 2020, alleging that Ripple’s executives conducted an initial public offering of XRP, which it considered an unregistered security during the capital-raising period.
On April 22, Ripple responded to the SEC’s request for $2 billion in remedies, disagreeing with the demand.
Ripple argued that the law doesn’t permit the SEC to demand disgorgement or interest on disgorgement unless they can prove someone was harmed.
“In terms of next steps, both parties will wait for the Judge to make a determination on the final remedies – likely in the coming months,” Ripple explained.
“Ripple remains confident that the Judge will approach the remedies phase fairly,” it added.
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The Venezuelan government has joined the ranks of countries that have opposed crypto mining due to its significant electricity consumption.
A local news outlet reports that Venezuela’s Ministry of Electric Power plans to disconnect cryptocurrency mining farms from the national grid.
This initiative aims to regulate excessive energy use and ensure a stable power supply for the population.
An X post from Venezuela’s National Association of Cryptocurrencies confirmed that crypto mining is now prohibited in Venezuela.
This development follows a recent crackdown in which authorities confiscated 2,000 cryptocurrency mining devices in Maracay as part of an anti-corruption effort.
The ministry highlighted the necessity of providing efficient and reliable electrical service across Venezuela by reducing the strain from high-energy-consuming mining farms.
Officials argue that these measures are crucial to stabilizing the national power supply, which has been inconsistent for the past decade.
Venezuela has faced recurring blackouts, especially since 2019, severely affecting residents’ daily lives and the broader economy.
Cryptocurrency mining’s heavy electricity demands have prompted other countries, such as China and Kazakhstan, to enforce strict regulations or bans on the practice.
READ MORE: Notorious Crypto Drainer Pink Drainer Retires After Stealing Over $85 Million
The Venezuelan government’s action against cryptocurrency mining is part of a broader anti-corruption campaign, which has resulted in the arrest of several top officials.
Joselit Ramírez, the former head of the National Superintendency of Cryptoassets, is a central figure in these corruption allegations.
Rafael Lacava, the governor of Carabobo state, has emphasized the importance of public cooperation in identifying illegal mining operations, urging citizens to report any illicit activities.
This is not Venezuela’s first measure against crypto mining.
In March 2023, the country’s energy supplier shut down crypto mining facilities nationwide as part of corruption investigations involving the state oil company.
At that time, Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, revealed that government officials were allegedly conducting parallel oil operations with the help of the national crypto department.
In 2023, eight major cryptocurrency mining operators in Kazakhstan sent an open letter to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, complaining about high energy prices for crypto miners.
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Bitcoin layer-2 developer Alex Labs has successfully frozen over $3.9 million worth of cryptocurrency exploited from its BNB Smart Chain bridge, according to a May 16 social media post.
The team stated that the attacker sent the funds to various centralized exchanges (CEXs), enabling the funds to be frozen with the cooperation of these exchanges.
The team announced that it recovered the entire balances for 17 different tokens, including “all aBTC, sUSDT, xBTC, xUSD, ALEX, atALEX, LiSTX, LUNR, SKO, CHAX, $B20, ORDG, ORMM, ORNJ, TRIO, TX20 and STXS.”
Additionally, $13.7 million worth of Stacks (STX) tokens were exploited. Of these, the attacker mistakenly sent “about 3 million” to centralized exchanges.
A linked spreadsheet shows STX balances at each exchange used by the hacker, revealing that $3.7 million is held at exchanges, while $9.6 million remains in wallets under the attacker’s control.
The attacker accessed the funds by taking control of a private key linked to one of the bridge’s “vaults.”
However, “The smart contract code and infrastructure underlying ALEX were not compromised,” the team asserted.
Alex Labs has offered a 10% bounty to the attacker and a promise not to prosecute if they return 90% of the stolen funds.
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They are also preparing a police report to be filed if negotiations fail.
Given the possibility that not all funds will be recovered, the team is “evaluating deployment of $ALEX reserves held by ALEX Lab Foundation.”
These reserves may support a “treasury grant program” to compensate users who lost funds in the attack.
Due to the significant amount of STX tokens exploited, the team may propose a Stacks network upgrade to freeze the remaining funds and mint new tokens for the victims.
Network upgrades to freeze an attacker’s coins are rare but not unprecedented. Similar actions were taken during the 2016 Ethereum DAO hack and the PopcornSwap rug pull on the BNB Smart Chain.
However, such upgrades are rarely approved, and in the PopcornSwap case, the upgrade froze funds but did not reimburse investors.
Alex Labs stated it continues to monitor the attacker’s addresses with “multiple alarms” to prevent further cash outs.
Recently, Alex Labs is not the only Bitcoin layer-2 bridge attacked. On May 17, the XLink bridge was also compromised, losing $10 million.
A white-hat hacker managed to recover $4.3 million of the stolen funds.
The XLink attack mirrored the one against Alex, with the attacker using a phishing technique to obtain the team’s private key for unauthorized withdrawals.
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In a surprise announcement on Telegram, Pink Drainer, a notorious crypto-wallet draining kit, declared its retirement after successfully facilitating the theft of over $85 million in crypto assets.
“After this message’s publication, we will begin winding down all of our infrastructure. All stored information will be wiped and securely destroyed,” stated the announcement.
The developer behind Pink Drainer, known as Pink, refused to comment further when approached by Cointelegraph, simply saying, “I do not wish to comment. Bye.”
Following this, Pink deleted the entire Telegram chat history.
CryptoSleuth ZachXBT shared a screenshot of Pink Drainer’s final announcement, revealing that the drainware service had shut down after stealing over $75 million.
PeckShieldAlert also reported on the shutdown, noting that Pink Drainer addresses had staked up to 18.1 million Dai into Spark, accounting for approximately 1.35% of the total sDAI tokens.
Data from Dune Analytics indicates that since July 2023, over $85 million has been stolen from more than 21,100 victims.
The Pink Drainer Telegram channel has since rebranded to “Bonadifier.”
READ MORE: ShibaSwap Upgrades to Shibarium Blockchain, Introducing New Features and Enhanced User Experience
It now features an image of Bonad, described as a drainer with a mental disability, along with the message, “never forget what he took from you.”
Pink Drainer’s toolkit was responsible for stealing $53 million from over 9,000 “participants” in 2023.
The security researcher behind Pink Drainer defended the service, stating, “I don’t phish, I just code.”
This announcement continues a trend among high-profile crypto drainers.
In November 2023, Inferno Drainer ceased operations after stealing $70 million, following Monkey Drainer, which shut down in March 2023 after facilitating the theft of $13 million.
While the closure of drainer services like Pink Drainer provides temporary relief for crypto users, the ongoing presence of other drainers, such as Angel Drainer, indicates that the threat remains.
In February, Angel Drainer stole over $400,000 from 128 crypto wallets by targeting users with a malicious Safe Vault contract.
For more information on phishing attacks and how to avoid online hacks, read Cointelegraph’s guide on crypto and artificial intelligence.
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ShibaSwap, the decentralized exchange (DEX) aligned with the Shiba Inu ecosystem, has undergone a major upgrade by moving to the Shibarium blockchain.
This transition brings a variety of new decentralized exchange and decentralized app (DApp) utilities for users.
New Features
According to a recent press release, the upgrade includes several new features:
- New Dashboard: Enhanced user interface for better navigation.
- Improved User Experience: More intuitive interactions with the platform.
- Discovery Charts: Highlighting new and trending tokens.
- Onboarding Process: Simplified integration of new tokens on the DEX.
Developer Insights
Shytoshi Kusama, the lead developer of SHIB, commented on the upgrade:
“The new ShibaSwap empowers DEFI innovators looking for the next hit on Shibarium to find, swap, and interact with community tokens in an entirely new way! It is the redesigned beating heart of a freshly forked Shibarium, where community tokens can flourish.
“We invite the community to try our new swap and invite current Shibarium tokens to port over to our swap with ease.
“Finally, rest assured, this new UX is still an early ShibaSwap version, with more updates in the pipeline for the product.”
READ MORE: Brothers Indicted for $25 Million Crypto Theft in Groundbreaking Ethereum Blockchain Exploit
Benefits to Users
The upgrade will use part of the transaction fees to enhance the value of liquidity pools (LPs) in swap transactions, leading to increased LP token value for users and benefiting the yield farming community.
Future Updates
Pseudonymous SHIB developer and contributor Kaal posted on X that the upgrade rollout will focus on discovery, with more regular updates and upgrades expected.
Ecosystem Support
Shibarium supports various segments of the Shiba Inu Ecosystem, including:
- $SHIB and $LEASH tokens
- SHEboshis DN-404 tokens
- SHIB The Metaverse
- ShibaSwap DEX
- Shiba Eternity game
Shibarium Mainnet
The layer 2 Shibarium mainnet went live in August 2023, featuring the creation of 21 million wallets and being trialed by millions of users.
It introduced a new consensus mechanism called proof-of-participation (PoP), which selects validators based on their holdings of the associated cryptocurrency.
Market Impact
As of now, the price of SHIB is $0.0002548, up almost 7% in the last 24 hours, and it holds the 11th-largest market cap according to CoinMarketCap.
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pStake Finance, supported by Binance Labs, recently introduced its liquid staking solution for Bitcoin, marking a significant advancement in Bitcoin-native decentralized finance (DeFi).
This new solution, developed on Babylon’s Bitcoin staking protocol, is designed to simplify the Bitcoin staking process while providing additional opportunities for Bitcoin holders to generate yields.
Mikhil Pandey, co-founder and chief strategy officer of pSTAKE Finance, emphasized the company’s commitment to enhancing Bitcoin’s functionality as a yield-generating asset.
He stated, “Having fundamental faith and belief in Bitcoin, yields, and constantly identifying and solving crucial problems in this industry are some of the reasons behind moving in Bitcoin’s direction.
The opportunity to make Bitcoin a yield-generating asset, something that hasn’t existed inherently, is very exciting. Yield-generating Bitcoin is powerful for all ecosystems and not just Bitcoin L2s.”
This initiative is part of the broader Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi) movement, which seeks to integrate DeFi capabilities with the first blockchain network.
The growing interest in Bitcoin-native DeFi solutions has been bolstered by the 2024 halving event, which coincided with the launch of Bitcoin Runes, a new protocol for issuing fungible tokens on the Bitcoin network.
In the run-up to the halving, Binance Labs, the independent venture capital arm of Binance, has pivoted its focus towards BTCFi, marking its commitment with an investment in the Bitcoin-native restaking protocol BounceBit on April 11.
The launch of pSTAKE’s liquid staking solution represents the company’s inaugural venture into Bitcoin-native DeFi after three years of developing its protocol on the Cosmos network. pSTAKE is part of a growing number of protocols aimed at transforming Bitcoin into a yield-generating asset.
In a similar vein, Hermetica announced in early May the launch of the first-ever Bitcoin-backed synthetic U.S. dollar with yield capabilities, USDh, set to debut in June and offer up to 25% yields.
Pandey sees the BTCFi sector as an area ripe with promising products that enhance Bitcoin’s capital efficiency.
He believes, however, that the sector still requires further development to reach the maturity seen in Ethereum’s DeFi space. “Ethereum’s tech had to go through a lot of evolution before the actual DeFi Summer in 2020.
The Bitcoin DeFi landscape will likely follow a similar journey of development and progress before we see a full-fledged BTCfi Summer,” he explained.
Pandey also highlighted the significant financial potential in making Bitcoin a more versatile asset, noting the current minimal DeFi penetration in the Bitcoin market: “With less than 1% of the Bitcoin market cap in DeFi today, we could see huge growth as we develop more secure and reliable ways to generate yield on Bitcoin.”
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In a remarkable financial feat, an anonymous trader garnered over $46 million in profits from trading the Pepe memecoin, achieving a staggering 15,718 times return on their initial $3,000 investment.
This individual initially purchased 4.9 trillion PEPE tokens on April 15, and by May 15, the value of these tokens had surged to more than $56 million.
The trader has already cashed out 1.41 trillion PEPE for $7.4 million and still holds 3.5 trillion PEPE, currently valued at $38.9 million.
Pepe memecoin, with a market capitalization of $4.5 billion, is now the third largest behind giants like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, reflecting a 40% increase in value over just the past week.
The resurgence in memecoins like Pepe is partly due to the same cultural disillusionment that propelled punk rock to prominence after initial skepticism.
Hao Yang, head of financial products at Bybit exchange, compared the phenomenon to punk rock, telling Cointelegraph,
“The success of memecoins can be seen, like punk rock, as a symptom of disillusioned young investors who have seen the opportunities afforded to their parents disappear.”
Yang further critiqued the broader financial system, noting, “By printing tokens out of thin air and pumping them to billion-dollar valuations, these creators are showing the absurdity of our current fiat system.”
The recent spike in Pepe’s price appears linked to the renewed excitement around GameStop’s stock, which surged following Keith Gill’s return to social media after nearly three years.
Gill’s comeback coincided with Pepe reaching new all-time highs and GameStop stock experiencing a dramatic 111% increase within 24 hours, surpassing Bitcoin’s annual returns.
READ MORE: Shibarium Sees Transaction Fees Surge by 267% Amid Rising Interest in Shiba Inu Tokens
Xiaohan Zhu, CEO of Meter, believes the GameStop saga played a crucial role in Pepe’s recent momentum. Zhu explained to Cointelegraph,
“The GME saga may be one of the factors contributing to PEPE’s momentum.”
While it’s challenging to predict a broad memecoin rally, some speculate that the profits from the GameStop event might flow into other cryptocurrencies, similar to the 2021 bull market.
However, not all memecoins will likely benefit from this trend, but Pepe, with its deep cultural resonance, seems well-positioned for further gains.
Aleksandra Artamonovskaja, head of art at TriliTech, Tezos, emphasized Pepe’s unique cultural position, telling Cointelegraph,
“Beyond being the most recognized meme on the internet, Pepe is a culture of its own and symbol against the establishment, symbol of freedom and hope – a relatable narrative of the GME saga.”
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Recent data reveals a 15% decrease in significant transactions involving Shiba Inu, a development that could considerably impact the cryptocurrency’s market dynamics.
This decline is typically indicative of diminished activity by whales, the large-scale investors whose substantial trades can significantly influence market directions.
Such a trend might suggest waning confidence among these investors or a pivot towards smaller, more discreet transactions.
In spite of this downturn in large transactions, there are faint signs of bullish sentiment.
A marginal increase of 0.32% in the creation of new addresses on the SHIB network hints at a growing interest or the arrival of new participants in the market.
This is generally viewed as a positive indicator, although the minimal rise indicates a lack of strong new momentum.
Moreover, there’s a slight 0.04% uptick in the concentration of SHIB holdings among top addresses, suggesting that some major holders may be quietly increasing their stakes, or that a smaller number of addresses are accumulating more SHIB.
READ MORE: Mark Cuban Urges CFTC Regulation of Crypto and Suggests Impact on 2024 Election
Currently, SHIB is experiencing a consolidation within a tightening price range, suggesting a potential spike in volatility soon.
The decline in transactions by major investors could lessen the impact of significant sell-offs or purchases, possibly leading to a temporary stabilization of prices.
Nevertheless, the ongoing consolidation phase points to a likely breakout, the direction of which will probably be influenced by broader market trends rather than SHIB-specific factors.
The landscape of Shiba Inu’s market is undergoing a complex transformation, highlighted by the reduction in large transactions coupled with modest bullish indicators.
While the decrease in significant transactions might reflect a lack of confidence among larger investors, the incremental growth in new addresses and the slight increase in holdings by top addresses indicate a burgeoning interest.
As SHIB navigates through a narrowing price range, an impending volatility spike seems imminent.
The future trajectory of Shiba Inu will largely hinge on overall market movements, making it a cryptocurrency worth monitoring.
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