Now onto the biggest stories of the day.
1. Bitcoin breaks $24,000 and hits a 5-week high.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap, rose over 20% in the past
7-days and is currently priced at $23,205 - according to data from CoinMarketCap.
The Bitcoin price briefly crossed the $24,000 threshold early Wednesday morning - its
highest price since June 13th - when Bitcoin saw a price drop of 25% - going from a
high of $28,000 - to a low of $21,000 - in less than 48 hours.
(38-day chart)
The total number of active Bitcoin wallets is also on the rise. An active wallet is one that
directly participates in a successful transaction, either as a sender or receiver. Nearly
300,000 new Bitcoin wallets have been activated since Monday - according to data from
Messari.
Bitcoin’s bullish run synced up with positive results for U.S. stocks. On Tuesday the
Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.43%, the Nasdaq jumped 3.11%, and the S&P 500
gained 2.76%.
2. Another crypto exchange places a freeze on its users’ funds.
On Wednesday, the crypto exchange Zipmex announced on its official Twitter account
that users would no longer have direct access to their funds, citing ‘volatile’ market
conditions.
The Twitter post reads,
“Due to a combination of circumstances beyond our control including volatile
market conditions, and the resulting financial difficulties of our key business
partners, to maintain the integrity of our platform, we would be pausing
withdrawals until further notice.”
The Singapore-based digital asset exchange, which brands itself as “South East Asia's
favorite Crypto App”, offers its services in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Australia.
Zipmex joins a growing list of crypto firms and lending platforms that have recently
taken similar action - including Celsius Network, CoinFlex, Babel Finance, and Voyager
Digital.
Both Celsius Network and Voyager Digital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
earlier this month.
The Zipmex token (ZMT) price plunged 30% after the news broke early Wednesday
morning. It’s currently trading at $0.39.
3. Metaverse gaming company ‘The Sandbox’ is stepping up its cyber
protection.
The Sandbox is partnering with BrandShield, a digital risk protection company, to
ensure the safety of crypto wallets and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its platform.
The Sandbox is a virtual world built on the Ethereum blockchain where players can own
and monetize their gaming experience.
Recently, however, NFT projects and communities have become the targets of
‘persistent’ and ‘coordinated’ attacks, resulting in millions in stolen funds and increasing
the need for security and vigilance.
The NFT company Yuga Labs Tweeted on Monday,
“Our security team has been tracking a persistent threat group that targets the
NFT community. We believe they may soon launch a coordinated
attack targeting multiple communities via compromised social media accounts.”
COO of The Sandbox Sebastien Borget explained in an email,
“In the open metaverse, users should be able to enjoy their true digital ownership
rights and have new ways to create, store, and trade value while having fun
rather than having to worry about online threats.”
Borget goes on to say,
“With its ability to monitor and protect against these attacks, BrandShield is a
strategic partner to help identify faster and take down phishing attacks and
various online threats from brand impersonators and bad actors.”
BrandShield says it has already neutralized 120 phishing sites and 58 fake social media
accounts impersonating the Sandbox platform.
SAND is the third largest metaverse token (by market cap), behind ApeCoin and
Decentraland, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
The SAND token price is down 7% in the past 24 hours and is currently trading at
$1.33.
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