Internet Capital
Posts
Trump's $DJT Coin, Kraken HACK, Bitcoin + Ethereum Updates

Trump's $DJT Coin, Kraken HACK, Bitcoin + Ethereum Updates

Internet Capital
June 23, 2024

Hi Friends —

Welcome back to another edition of Internet Capital!

Today we're diving deep into BTC and ETH news, a critical glitch at the Kraken crypto exchange, and Trump’s(?) $DJT coin.

Check out this week’s YouTube show here, and thanks for reading!

Markets

Bitcoin

Bitcoin had another tough week, falling ~3.5% to ~$66,300. ETF’s experienced outflows everyday this week for a total of $900 million in net selling pressure, fueling the decline.

To make it worse, the German government has started to sell off its stockpile of over 50,000 BTC, amounting to $3 billion. These Bitcoins were seized from the operators of the movie piracy website Movie2k.to and are now being moved to exchanges like Kraken and Bitstamp.

In contrast to these sell-offs, Michael Saylor continues to be bulllish (no surprise) - his company MicroStrategy acquired 11,931 BTC for $786 million this week, funded through a private offering of convertible debt. As of June 20, 2024, MicroStrategy holds approximately 226,331 BTC, acquired at an average price of roughly $36,798 per Bitcoin.

Ethereum

Ethereum had a similar week in the market (down ~3.4% to ~$3,495), but received some better news.

The SEC has closed its investigation into Ethereum and Consensys, which focused on whether Ethereum's staking mechanism makes ETH a security. This regulatory clarity is a major win for ETH and American crypto developers, potentially paving the way for further institutional adoption.

In another positive development, all asset managers set to offer the ETH ETF have submitted updated S1 filings. Bloomberg analysts are expecting the ETF to go live as soon as July 2.

Hashdex also filed for a combined ETH & BTC ETF, which will be market cap-weighted. This combined ETF could offer a higher Sharpe Ratio (risk-adjusted returns), making it an attractive option for professional investors.

Adding to the positive momentum, Ethereum's first ETF commercial on TV has been released, highlighting the network’s 24/7 global financial system capabilities. Check it out 👇

ETH/BTC

According to Internet Capital’s in-house trader (not really) Stephen, the ETH/BTC ratio may be poised for an upswing. If you want to monitor how the Ethereum bull thesis is playing out, this is the chart to keep your eye on.

Kraken Free Money Glitch

Certik, a well-known crypto security firm, exploited a critical bug in Kraken’s (an exchange like Coinbase) codebase. The bug allowed Certik to artificially inflate their account balances and withdraw more crypto than they deposited, essentially printing free money.

Kraken Crypto Exchange Hit by $3 Million Theft Exploiting Zero-Day Flaw

Kraken quickly patched the bug within an hour of receiving a bug bounty alert on June 10th. However, by that time, three accounts had already exploited the vulnerability, withdrawing approximately $3 million.

One of the accounts was linked to an individual who claimed to be a security researcher at Certik. This person discovered the bug, credited $4 to their account, and then allegedly shared the exploit with colleagues.

These colleagues ultimately withdrew the $3 million. The original bug bounty report did not fully disclose these transactions, leading Kraken to contact the researchers for a complete account of their activities and to request the return of the funds.

Despite Kraken's efforts, the researchers refused to return the funds and demanded more money, citing the severity of the bug. Kraken’s Chief Security Officer condemned the actions of the researchers, labeling their behavior as extortion. Kraken began treating the hack as a criminal case and was coordinating with law enforcement agencies. However, Certik ultimately refunded the entire $3 million, ending the conflict.

The incident raises significant concerns about the integrity of security firms like Certik, which is notable for auditing various protocols in the crypto space. The implications are serious, as it suggests a potential conflict of interest where security auditors might exploit vulnerabilities for financial gain instead of disclosing them responsibly.

DJT Coin

Donald Trump goes from foe to friend on cryptocurrency

The saga of the DJT coin has been nothing short of wild. Rumors that this Solana meme coin was the official token for the Trump campaign have created a storm of speculation. The chaos began when Pirate Wires, a prominent politics/tech/culture newsletter, suggested that the coin was officially linked to the Trump campaign, despite lacking substantial evidence.

The plot thickened when Martin Shkreli, the infamous pharma bro known for jacking up the price of drugs, claimed to have created the coin with Donald Trump’s son, Barron.

This claim set off a series of events, including a $150,000 bounty posted by Arkham data to identify the coin's creator. Prominent on-chain investigator Zach XBT responded with evidence, causing Shkreli to reveal himself as the creator during a live discussion on X Spaces

Despite Shkreli’s detailed account of his involvement with Baron Trump, including sharing Instagram DMs to verify his story, Trump's political advisor Roger Stone denied any connection between the Trump family and the DJT coin. This conflicting information has left the crypto community unsure of what to believe.

Adding to the chaos, insider trading allegations emerged when a DJT insider was caught dumping $832,000 of DJT for USDC. This behavior has fueled further skepticism about the legitimacy and origins of the coin.

IMO, DJT is just further proof that we’re living in a simulation. I mean… “pharma hedge fund felon bro teams up with presidential candidate’s son to launch a controversial Solana meme coin, which is later discredited by Roger Stone amidst internet controversy”???

Regardless, this did in fact happen 🤷‍♂️. If you want some more details check it out here.

Other News

Thanks for reading!

Reply

or to participate.