Bitcoin Soars to $19,000 Amid $380 Million in Liquidations

Bitcoin has returned to a trading price last seen before FTX’s implosion.

Bitcoin has returned to $19,000 for the first time since October, soaring beyond its low trading range established after FTX’s collapse.

The move has many on crypto twitter calling for a new bull market – though some believe it’s a bull trap. 

Bitcoin traded for $17,911 early on Thursday, experiencing some volatility after December’s CPI inflation clocked in at 6.5%. 

The asset pumped by roughly $1000 at about 17:35 UTC, and has maintained its elevated price level since then. By 19:47 UTC, Bitcoin had reached $19,036, before pulling back to $18,864 at writing time.

Data from Coinglass shows that the crypto market has experienced $382 million worth of liquidations within the past 24 hours, affecting over 59,000 traders, stemming from recent volatility. 

Most of these liquidations took place on ETH trades, which alone accounted for $165 million in wiped trades. 

The biggest liquidations took place on OKX, on a BTC-USDT swap with a value of $3.52 million.

📣 Cosmos-based e-Money discontinues euro-backed stablecoin

Cosmos-based electronic payment system e-Money has stopped issuing its euro-backed stablecoin EEUR citing bear market conditions. They can exchange their tokens for USDC or Cosmos-native assets like atom and osmo. 

Customers who wish to redeem amounts larger than 100,000 EEUR can do so directly for euros, the announcement added. These users will have to pass through customer identification checks and the process will take up to five business days. e-Money stated that unwinding its stablecoin project was a difficult decision. “Given the current market conditions, that effort has unfortunately reached a stage where it is prudent and responsible to wind it down,” the project stated.

Bank of France Governor Thinks Crypto Companies Should Abide by Stricter Rules

The “disruption” in the crypto sector is the main reason for more stringent rules, Villeroy stated.

Francois Villeroy de Galhau – Governor of Banque de France – believes cryptocurrency firms should obtain tougher regulatory licenses to continue providing their services.

He also stated France should introduce stricter rules for domestic digital asset entities as soon as it is ready with its legislation instead of waiting for other European countries. 

Mutant Ape Planet scammer also probably pulled rug on Crazy Camels and Fashion Ape NFTs

Pseudonymous blockchain sleuth ZachXBT discovered that Aurelien Michel — the man recently charged for running the Mutant Ape Planet non-fungible token (NFT) exit scam — also pulled the rug in the Crazy Camels and Fashion Ape NFT collections.

In his research, ZachXBT uncovered that the Binance address where Michel moved his ill-gotten Mutant Ape Planet proceeds also received funds from the Crazy Camels and Fashion Ape NFT exit scams.

Crypto-Focused Bank Silvergate Slashes 40% Workforce, Abandons Several Projects

CEO Alan Lane said that Silvergate currently maintains a cash position in excess of its digital asset-related deposits.

The FTX collapse has accelerated lay-offs as the sector struggles to weather the incessant turmoil.

Crypto-focused bank – Silvergate Capital – has become the latest to slash 40% of its workforce, which is around 200 employees, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday.

AAG releases MetaOne wallet to open more economic opportunities in the metaverse

 AAG, a web3 infrastructure company dedicated to building software and expanding economic opportunities throughout the world via the metaverse, has released its flagship product, the MetaOne® Wallet. 

In a press release on Jan. 4, AAG said the objective is to onboard more people into the metaverse, creating more opportunities in this developing sphere, and as they do so, save users the need to store their seed phrases. The demand by wallet providers for users to safely store their seed phrases, which are required for verification and approval of web3 transactions, is among the many reasons slowing down adoption. 

Logan Paul Plans to Sue Coffeezilla Over CryptoZoo Allegations

Meanwhile, Paul has threatened to sue the blockchain investigator.

Logan Paul has been at the receiving end of seemingly endless controversies since his career took off as a media star. His two-year-old NFT venture – Crypto Zoo – is now under intense scrutiny.

The latest development has ruffled a lot of feathers in the space. The crypto scam allegations are yet to fizzle out, but the investigative journalist who interviewed purported investors of the project has dropped bombshell allegations about Paul and his team members.