This Week in Crypto
June 23, 2023
During this week, the price of Bitcoin showed an amazing uptrend, breaking above the $30,000 price mark. While the overall uptrend in the market has instilled a belief of an upcoming bull market, there are more factors to consider. In this week’s episode of This Week in Crypto, we are taking a look at some headlines that could potentially impact the direction of the next price volatility.
Key Takeaway
- Bitcoin (BTC) maintains $30,000 due to macroeconomic conditions
- BlackRock appeals for on-chain digital identity
- Atomic Wallet hack receives major update
- MXC Maxis receives a warm welcome
Bitcoin Maintains $30,000 Due to Macroeconomics Conditions
The price rally of Bitcoin (BTC) has surprised nearly everyone. While many institutions have been posting theories of what may have caused the sudden uptrend, the consensus appears to be on the macroeconomic conditions. Economists and analysts alike are pointing to the current macroeconomic uncertainty, high inflation, speculations on upcoming government policies, and the fear of traditional assets losing value as the potential reason. Additionally, the news of BlackRock applying for Bitcoin Spot ETF has added to the perceived legitimacy of Bitcoin as an investment vehicle.
Speculative traders should remain aware, as the current state of the cryptocurrency market seems to be largely dependent on external factors that are beyond the Web3 space as well.
BlackRock Appeals for On-Chain Digital Identity
Institutional involvement in crypto has always been a double-edged sword. Following the announcement of the application for Bitcoin Spot ETF, BlackRock has emerged to ask for full KYC for on-chain identity, even within the DeFi space. The top executives from BlackRock have made the remark, citing concerns over getting involved with potentially problematic capital within the DeFi and the wider Web3 space.
The remark has been met with both skepticism and dismissal. While many Web3 users were showing active signs of resistance against this area, even more users are fully aware that due to the design of the crypto ecosystem itself, forcing an unknown person to complete KYC for on-chain wallets is nearly impossible.
Whether this will have an impact on BlackRock’s Bitcoin Spot ETF, we will have to remain and see.
Atomic Wallet Hack Receives Major Update
A few weeks ago, Atomic Wallet suffered a hack that resulted in the loss of user assets worth over $35 million dollars. Now, a major update is in. Upon further analysis, the hack may have resulted in a loss of over $100 million dollars — much larger than the originally measured $35 million. On a more positive note, the Atomic Wallet team has confirmed that the hack has affected less than 0.1% of its entire user base and that a fund recovery effort is underway with collaborations from various exchanges. Currently, around $1 million dollars worth of assets are frozen across various exchange wallets.
It appears that wallet security is becoming increasingly more important than ever, while some wallet services are implementing additional KYC/AML requirements in order to deter hackers and make fund recovery efforts more easily. Always keep your seed phrases safe, use a different password, and never store large amounts of crypto in a single wallet.
MXC Maxis Receive Warm Welcome
The miners’ favorite time is back — this time, with MXC Maxis. A limited edition of 333 custom sneakers with a random amount of BTC topped up in each, MXC Maxis is available for those who are mining with NEO via referring their friends, or for new miners looking to enter the MXC mining ecosystem with the NEO mining rig.
The launch of the MXC Maxis has been met with a warm welcome, and we thank the existing miners for their continued support, and we welcome the new miners with open arms! If you have not had the opportunity to get your MXC Maxis, click here to get started.
