Bitcoin $233K forecast, SEC X account hacker arrested, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Oct. 13

Top Stories of The Week

Trump’s crypto project claims 100K signups ahead of token sale

The Donald Trump-backed crypto project World Liberty Financial claims it has secured more than 100,000 signups before its public token launch on Oct. 15. 

In a meandering 90-minute-long Oct. 14 X space that offered little new information, the platform’s head of operations, Zak Folkman, said the WLFI token would be an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token and reiterated that it would function as the governance asset of the decentralized finance platform.

Folkman, along with fellow World Liberty Financial team members Chase Herro and Zach Witkoff, rehashed information shared days earlier in an Oct. 11 blog post, saying the platform will allow users to borrow and lend crypto, create and interact with liquidity pools and transact with stablecoins.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs see $556M inflows in biggest day since June

United States spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw their biggest one-day inflow in over four months, with more than half a billion dollars in inflows. 

The 11 ETFs saw aggregate net inflows of $555.9 million on Oct. 14, their largest daily net inflow since early June, according to data from Farside Investors. The big day came as Bitcoin hit a two-week high of $66,500 in late trading.

The ETF Store President Nate Geraci called it a “monster day” for spot BTC ETFs, adding that they were now approaching $20 billion in net inflows over the past 10 months.

“Simply ridiculous and blows away every pre-launch demand estimate,” he said in an Oct. 15 X post. “This is NOT ‘degen retail,’ it’s advisers and institutional investors continuing to slowly adopt.”

The Fidelity Wise Bitcoin Origin Fund (FBTC) was the leader of the pack with an inflow of $239.3 million — its highest since June 4. 

Warren, Deaton spar over crypto in first debate for US Senate seat

Senator Elizabeth Warren and crypto lawyer John Deaton exchanged blows over crypto policy in their first debate of the race for a seat as a United States senator from Massachusetts.

Deaton, a Republican candidate, called out Democrat rival and incumbent Warren during the Oct. 15 debate for focusing on building an “anti-crypto army” instead of prioritizing other issues impacting the lower and middle class in the state.

“With illegal immigration bankrupting the state, with inflation pricing regular people out of the economy […] why did this senator wake up one day and say with all that, I will build an anti-crypto army,” Deaton said.

Warren claimed she’s “fine” with people who want to buy and sell crypto but want to ensure the industry “follows the same rules” as banks and stockbrokers — namely consumer protection and counter-terrorism laws.

FBI arrests hacker behind SEC fake Bitcoin ETF approval

A 25-year-old man from Athens, Alabama was arrested by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation for hacking the Securities and Exchange Commission’s official X account in January.

According to an Oct. 17 statement, Eric Council Jr. was taken into custody following charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.

According to federal authorities, Council is accused of being part of a group that hacked the SEC’s X account in January 2024 and posted a fake message on Jan. 9 claiming that the SEC had approved the first Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States. 

The fake announcement caused Bitcoin’s price to spike by over $1,000 following the X post, leading to further shockwaves in markets. 

SEC approves NYSE, CBOE listings of Bitcoin options ETFs

On Oct. 18, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved applications from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) to list the long-anticipated options for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Options trading will now be available for the 11 approved ETF providers on the NYSE, including Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, ARK21Shares Bitcoin ETF, Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, Franklin Bitcoin ETF, VanEck Bitcoin Trust, WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust, Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, and Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange also filed an application to list options for the spot Bitcoin ETF providers in August 2024 through a proposed rule change.

This change in regulatory policy puts Bitcoin ETF options in the same category as other commodity-based ETFs, which the SEC approved to be listed on the CBOE, with the exception of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $67,759, Ether (ETH) at $2,625 and XRP at $0.54. The total market cap is at $2.32 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are BOOK OF MEME (BOME) at 54.05%, cat in a dogs world (MEW) at 49.77% and Ethena (ENA) at 40.45%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Maker (MKR) at 12.33%, Helium (HNT) at 9.16% and Uniswap (UNI) at 8.19%. For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

“Ethereum should feel like one ecosystem, not 34 different blockchains.”

Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum

“While Trump is undoubtedly more favorable for the industry, we’re optimistic that Harris could be more supportive than Biden has been.”

Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital

“Bears can only get giddy if BTC breaks below $58.8k.”

Matthew Hyland, independent crypto analyst

“We respectfully submit that the only appropriate sentence for Nishad, given all of these circumstances, is time served and a period of supervised release.”

Nishad Singh’s lawyers

“Interestingly, the skew in ETH open interest, with nearly 2.5-times more calls sold than bought, suggests that traders see the upside as limited for now.”

Nick Forster, co-founder of Derive

“Given that Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other crypto assets can serve as a hedge against inflation and a store of value. To us, it’s not surprising to learn that Americans are increasingly focused on where their candidates stand on crypto.”

Craig Salm, chief legal officer at Grayscale

Prediction of The Week

Different this time? Bitcoin RSI says $233K BTC price possible in 2025

Bitcoin is technically on track to hit $233,000 — and that could come as early as Q1 2025.

In a new BTC price forecast, X analytics account Bitcoindata21 used the relative strength index (RSI) to predict six figures for BTC/USD.

Bitcoin price action is currently consolidating around $65,000, but forthcoming months have the potential to revolutionize the market.

Applying standard deviation to monthly RSI, Bitcoindata21 suggests that the top of the current bull market may equate to about a quarter of a million dollars.

This is possible by referencing historical highs in monthly RSI readings, which correspond to blow-off tops on BTC/USD. 

“The top of the trend channel for monthly RSI is around 88.6 in Q1 2025,” Bitcoindata21 said. “If you are expecting it NOT to get hit, then you believe this time is different.”

FUD of The Week

SUI price rally sparks $400M insider selling allegations

The recent triple-digit rally of the Sui token has sparked allegations of insider selling among cryptocurrency investors despite its impressive price gains.

Sui rose over 120% during the past month to trade at $2.25 as of 10:13 am UTC on Oct. 14. The token is up over 16% in the past week, according to Cointelegraph data.

However, allegations of insider selling have arisen despite the Sui token’s bullish price action. 

Wallets associated with the SUI initial coin offering have reportedly sold more than $400 million worth of tokens during the rally, according to pseudonymous crypto analyst Light, who posted the information on X on Oct. 14. Light stated:

“Insiders (including what is likely a large foundation wallet) have sold $400 million in tokens throughout this run-up, had already begun selling material amounts at much lower prices, and are even accelerating their selling at these more elevated levels.”

In an Oct. 14 statement posted on the X platform, Sui denied the allegations of insider trading, saying “[i]nsiders have not been involved in any preemptive selling or violation of lockups.”

Ledger users targeted by malicious ‘clear signing’ phishing email

A new wave of scam emails is targeting Ledger users and attempting to steal their crypto holdings.

The scam emails aim to convince users to activate a security feature called “Ledger Clear Signing” by Oct. 31, so they can continue using their Ledger device.

The emails — sent from addresses not associated with Ledger — direct users to a malicious link to activate the fake security feature. The phishing email says:

“To continue using your Ledger device securely, activating Clear Signing is mandatory starting November 1, 2024. This feature is essential in protecting your assets from phishing attacks and fraudulent activities that are becoming more sophisticated.”

Chainalysis to appear in court over $650M defamation suit

Chainalysis is being sued by Exceptional Media Ltd., the company behind the YieldNodes blockchain investment project. According to legal documents filed by Exceptional Media, Chainalysis erroneously labeled its YieldNodes project an “investment scam.” 

Exceptional Media seeks at least $650 million in damages, citing harm to its reputation and client base. It also alleges malicious intent.

In the time since the initial filing, Chainalysis’ legal team has filed numerous motions to dismiss. According to Chainalysis, Exceptional Media and YieldNodes failed to establish that the YieldNodes project isn’t a scam or to provide any refutation of Chainalysis’ allegations. 

Per a court document filed by Chainalysis’ legal team, “the complaint fails to allege falsity.”

Magazine Stories of The Week

gmoney’s anguish over ‘buying the top’ of CryptoPunks: NFT Collector

“I bought the Ape for $150K and wanted to sell it in 5 years for $5 million, not realizing that I could have done that in five months,” the collector says.

Fake Rabby Wallet scam linked to Dubai crypto CEO and many more victims

An investigation traces $1.6 million in crypto lost to February’s Rabby fake wallet scam to a wallet called “Konpyl,” but the rabbit hole is so much deeper.

Edgelord version of 3AC’s big fat bet on memecoin supercycle: Asia Express

3AC’s memecoin gamble, Bitcoin discounted in South Korea, Philippines crypto scam saga becomes even more sordid, and more.

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Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.