Coming every Sunday, Hodler’s Digest tracks every important crypto news story from the previous week. Essential reading for all Hodlers!
Top Stories This Week
$12,000 Bitcoin price back on the table after BTC rallies above $11,400
At last. Bitcoin rallied to $11,448 on Friday, finally breaking above the symmetrical triangle where the price had been compressing for the past 30 days.
Earlier in the week, BTC had dropped to $10,528 when Donald Trump suggested negotiations on a second stimulus package wouldn’t happen until after the election.
But there were reasons to be cheerful. In a surprise move, Square announced it had acquired 4,709 BTC, describing it as an “instrument of economic empowerment.” This helped Bitcoin turn bullish — bringing $12,000 back into view.
DeFi tokens followed BTC’s bullish trend, with Yearn.finance surging by 58% in a 72-hour period. Also this week, Wrapped Bitcoin topped $1 billion in total value locked after a 900% increase in two months.
All eyes now are on the U.S. election, and whether it’ll impact Bitcoin’s price. One trader, “BigCheds,” told Cointelegraph a clear winner won’t affect crypto too much, but he believes “we should see a bounce in risk-off assets like gold and Bitcoin” if the result is contested.
SEC’s conservative approach to crypto needs to change, “Crypto Mom” says
Hester Peirce — the SEC commissioner affectionately known as “Crypto Mom” — has said the regulator’s conservative attitude to crypto needs to change.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, she admitted that the Securities and Exchange Commission has been “very slow” in giving guidance, even though interest in digital assets is growing.
“I think we’re going to be forced to confront that more and more in the coming years,” Peirce said.
In other regulation news, U.S. Attorney General William Barr published official guidelines for keeping crypto markets accountable and said the space could “fundamentally transform” society. His framework gives examples of crypto being used legitimately and illegally and sets out a game plan for the future.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice said it has jurisdiction over foreign crypto companies that touch U.S. servers and warned “rogue states” such as Russia, Iran and North Korea could use crypto to fund cyberattacks designed to undermine national security.
You can watch Hester Peirce’s interview with Cointelegraph here.
BitMEX founder and ex-CTO out on $5 million bail bond until court appearance
BitMEX’s former chief technical officer, Samuel Reed, has been released from custody after signing a $5-million bond.
He was arrested on Oct. 1 after being accused of flouting money-laundering rules in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, as well as illegally offering derivatives trading to U.S. retail customers.
Reed has deposited $500,000 in cash with the court as part of the agreement, and his bond will be forfeited if he fails to appear in court or doesn’t…
Read more:Bitcoin rallies, McAfee compares prison to Hilton, digital yuan airdrop
