- Celsius Pays Off Aave Loan, Moves $418M ‘stETH’ Stack to Unknown Wallet
Celsius Network, the troubled crypto lender, fully paid off its debt on the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Aave, freeing up collateral through a maneuver almost identical to one it conducted last week on the rival protocol Maker.
Transactions on the blockchain show Celsius’ wallet transferred $8.4 million in Circle’s USDC stablecoin Tuesday afternoon to the DeFi lending protocol Aave. The move closed Celsius’s loan from Aave and freed up the remainder of tokens pledged on the platform as collateral against the debt – namely some $10 million in stETH, a derivative type of the ether (ETH) token, $13 million in Chainlink’s LINK tokens and $3 million in Synthetix’s SNX.
And in what appears to be a separate move, Celsius transferred its publicly known staked ether or “stETH” holdings – some 416,000 tokens, or $418 million of worth – to another, unlabeled wallet, a transaction history shows.
- Biggest Movers: SOL Snaps Recent Losing Streak, as MATIC Moves Towards Resistance
SOL was trading marginally higher in today’s session, as prices rebounded following a four-day losing streak.
This streak was snapped as bulls entered the market close to a support point of $32.65, pushing prices away from recent lows.
Tuesday’s rally saw SOL/USD hit an intraday peak of $35.64, with some now waiting to see if bulls will continue to push prices upwards.
Biggest Movers: SOL Snaps Recent Losing Streak, as MATIC Moves Towards Resistance
Historically, this current level has seen the birth of the last three bull runs, which typically take prices towards a ceiling of $40.
Looking at the chart, with the RSI also bouncing on a floor of its own, there could soon be a shift in momentum, which would show should the 10-day moving average extend its recent cross.
As of writing, relative strength is tracking at 43.5, with a short-term ceiling nearby at 45. Should this point be passed, sentiment will likely have shifted towards the side of the bulls.
- Yes, Hostess Really Made Crypto-Themed Twinkies Called $TWINKcoin
I thought it was a hoax—and so did my boss, and his boss too. We field plenty of exaggerated, nonsensical claims in the crypto media space.
But this was not one of those: Hostess really has released limited edition, cryptocurrency-themed Twinkies.
Snack blogs and food publications recently lit up with reports of $TWINKcoin snack cakes, but why would Hostess create a crypto-inspired version of the 92-year-old American icon? And didn’t they realize “twink” has a very specific meaning in today’s vernacular?
In any case, a Hostess representative confirmed to Decrypt today that $TWINKcoin is real. But it’s not a cryptocurrency—just a limited-edition batch of circular, coin-shaped Twinkies.
They’re available in 10-packs for about $3.50 a box via the Popwild website. Some reports noted that $TWINKcoin Twinkies also would be sold at Walmart, but they’re not listed on the retailer’s website, and this reporter could not find them at multiple Chicago-area locations.
https://decrypt.co/104983/yes-hostess-really-made-crypto-themed-twinkies-called-twinkcoin
- Long-Term Bitcoin Investors Stick It Out as Speculator Selling Drives Prices Lower: Coinbase
Long-term bitcoin investors preserved their holdings in recent weeks even as speculators fled the market, driving the cryptocurrency below $20,000, according to crypto exchange Coinbase.
“Recent BTC selling has been carried out almost exclusively by short-term speculators,” David Duong, head of institutional research at Coinbase, said in the monthly outlook published Tuesday.
The persistent holding by investors is perhaps a sign of confidence that the cryptocurrency would survive in what appears to be a Federal Reserve-induced bear market and eventually thrive as a fiat alternative or digital gold.
Duong called bitcoin ownership retention by investors a positive sentiment indicator, ensuring demand-supply balance in the face of speculator selling, which is a common feature of a bear market.
On-chain data tracked by Coinbase Analytics shows investors now hold about 77% of the total bitcoin supply of 21 million. While the number is off slightly from the early January high of 80%, it is still well above the peak of 60% observed during the height of the late 2017 bull run. The data show a significant amount of wealth has been distributed from speculators or traders to investor in 3.5 years.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/top/7149726
- Bitcoin to make new all-time-highs within 24 months: Coinshares CSO
Bitcoin (BTC) may have further to fall, but CoinShares chief strategy officer Meltem Demirors believes the top cryptocurrency will reach new all-time highs within the next 24 months.
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday, Demirors noted that Bitcoin has always been a “cyclical asset” with drawdowns from peak to trough at 80 to 90% historically.
With Bitcoin currently sitting at about 65% down from its all-time highs in November 2021, Demirors believes “there is still room for some downward correction.”
However, Demirors noted there has been strong support around $20,000 and that she did not expect Bitcoin to fall below $14,000. She predicted the pain would be a distant memory by 2024, saying:
“In the next 24 months, we will see new all-time highs in Bitcoin.”
Bitcoin is currently priced at $19,401, down 2% in 24 hours and down 72% from its all-time high.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-to-make-new-all-time-highs-within-24-months-coinshares-cso
- Bitcoin of America’s customer service advancing the cryptocurrency industry
Popular BTM operator, Bitcoin of America, is changing the way we think about the cryptocurrency industry. Bitcoin of America is a virtual currency exchange, registered as a money services business with the United States Department of Treasury (FinCEN)(RegNum). They currently have 2,500 plus Bitcoin ATM locations across 31 states. They offer Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Bitcoin Cash options to purchase in major cities.
Bitcoin of America has made some major updates to its customer support services. The popular operator recognized the struggle that many customers go through when they are new to the cryptocurrency industry and decided it was time to change their approach. Bitcoin of America has a quick response time and a high answer rate. This has made it a breeze for customers since they typically never have to wait in a call line. They even provide their customers with real Bitcoin expert agents, unlike many operators in the industry.
https://ambcrypto.com/bitcoin-of-americas-customer-service-advancing-the-cryptocurrency-industry/
- US Treasury Opens Door for Public Comments on Biden’s Crypto Order
The U.S. public can now weigh in on President Joe Biden’s order to come up with new rules for the cryptocurrency industry.
In March, the president ordered several U.S. agencies to start work on a comprehensive system to oversee digital assets, and the Treasury Department is now inviting the public to submit comments on what they think it should look like. Letters must be received by Aug. 8, according to the Tuesday announcement.
“The Treasury Department is seeking to benefit from the expertise of the American people and market participants by soliciting public comment as we engage in this important work,” said Nellie Liang, the Treasury’s undersecretary for domestic finance, in a statement.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen must submit a report to the White House in September in response to the president’s order, outlining the implications of the growth of crypto in the U.S. and what she recommends be done about it.
- Twitter Sues Elon Musk to Enforce $44 Billion Buyout Deal — Insists Breach Allegations Lack Merit
Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) has filed a lawsuit against Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk for backing out of the deal to buy the social media platform. The lawsuit, filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, names Musk and his companies — X Holdings I and X Holdings II — as defendants.
Twitter alleges:
Musk refuses to honor his obligations to Twitter and its stockholders because the deal he signed no longer serves his personal interests.
The lawsuit explains that after Musk signed the agreement with Twitter, the market fell and the value of his stake in Tesla, and therefore his personal wealth, dropped by more than $100 billion since its November 2021 peak.
The social media giant further claims that “Since signing the merger agreement, Musk has repeatedly disparaged Twitter and the deal, creating business risk for Twitter and downward pressure on its share price,” stressing that the Tesla CEO’s “exit strategy is a model of hypocrisy” and “a model of bad faith.”
Regarding Musk’s claims that Twitter is in material breach of the agreement, as Bitcoin.com News previously reported, the social media company insisted that “These claims are pretexts and lack any merit.”
- Crypto Lender ‘Celsius Is Deeply Insolvent’, Says Vermont’s Financial Regulator
On Tuesday, the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) alerted investors to exercise caution with the crypto lender Celsius.
It called the lender “deeply insolvent” and operated without a proper license.
The New Jersey-based firm offered interest-bearing products for cryptocurrency depositors on the platform.
Celsius deployed its customer funds across high-risk and illiquid investment, trading and lending activities according to the alert.
Most of the assets currently held by Celsius are illiquid, with the chances of the firm repaying their debt obligations low, according to the Vermont-based regulator.
“Previous representations made by the Company, its CEO, and other Celsius representatives about the safety of customer funds and the company’s ability to meet withdrawal obligations are untrue,” read the alert issued by Vermont’s DFR.
- Vermont becomes the sixth US state to launch investigation against Celsius
Vermont’s Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) issued a warning against troubled crypto lending firm Celsius on Tuesday, reminding users that the crypto lending firm is not licensed to offer its services in the state.
The DFR alleged that Celsius is “deeply insolvent” and doesn’t possess “assets and liquidity” to fulfill its obligations towards the customers. The state regulator accused the crypto lender of mismanaging customers’ funds by allocating them towards risky and illiquid investments.
“In addition to the ordinary risks of cryptocurrency investing, holders of Celsius interest accounts were also exposed to credit risk that Celsius would not be able to return their tokens upon withdrawal.”
The financial regulator noted that the high crypto interest account offered by Celsius qualifies as unregistered security and the firm also lacks a money transmitter license to offer any investment services in the state.
