Hodler’s Digest, Dec. 15 – 21 – Cointelegraph Magazine

Top Stories of The Week

Hawk Tuah influencer speaks out after memecoin rug pull allegations

Haliey Welch, the influencer behind the viral “Hawk Tuah” video clip, has released a statement after a memecoin bearing her handle was pumped and dumped quickly after its December launch.

In a Dec. 20 X post, Welch said she was “fully cooperating” with lawyers who represented investors in the Hawk Tuah (HAWK) token.

The crypto users filed a lawsuit against the project’s creators and partners — Welch herself was not named as a defendant in the suit — alleging they engaged in the promotion and sale of an unregistered securities offering.

Cathie Wood foresees startup M&A surge, $1M Bitcoin under Trump

Cathie Wood, founder of ARK Invest, predicts a surge in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) will follow Donald Trump’s election and expects this influx to “support innovative strategies.”

In a Bloomberg interview, Wood said that US Federal Trade Commission changes could ease previously imposed regulatory barriers that stifled M&As.

Wood also reaffirmed her stance on Bitcoin, anticipating the cryptocurrency surpassing $1 million by 2030 and attributing the bullish sentiment to BTC’s fixed supply and scarcity compared to gold.

With high expectations for the upcoming Trump administration, Wood foresees a dual impact resulting in a boom for M&As among tech startups and a potential parabolic price movement driven by reduced regulatory friction. 

Bankrupt Cryptopia exchange distributes $225M to hack victims

Liquidators of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia have started distributing millions to users affected by a hack that took place almost six years ago.

Cryptopia’s liquidating firm, Grant Thornton, on Dec. 20 announced the start of distributions to more than 10,000 verified account holders affected by Cryptopia’s hack in 2019.

Over the past two days, verified account holders of Bitcoin and Dogecoin received crypto distributions worth at least 400 million New Zealand dollars ($225 million), the liquidator said.

The payouts mark a significant milestone in Cryptopia’s liquidation process since Grant Thornton launched the Cryptopia claims portal in 2020.

Following this first distribution, liquidators will continue to follow the approved process, including providing notice of cut-off dates before distributing the remaining BTC, DOGE and other coins to account holders, Grant Thornton said.

Craig Wright given suspended one-year sentence for contempt of court

Controversial Australian computer scientist Craig Wright, who for years falsely claimed to be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, has been given a one-year suspended sentence in the United Kingdom for contempt of court.

In a Dec. 19 hearing, Judge James Mellor handed down a sentence to Wright for filing lawsuits against Bitcoin developers in violation of a court order. Wright faces 12 months in jail, suspended for two years, after five counts of contempt of court and a 145,000 British pound fine — roughly $180,000 at the time of publication.

The contempt ruling was part of a case by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance, which filed a complaint against Wright over breaching a July court order to stop filing lawsuits against firms on the basis he was Satoshi. 

Bitfinex hacker speaks out after sentencing

Ilya Lichtenstein, the hacker who stole and laundered Bitcoin from the crypto exchange Bitfinex, has released a statement on social media after being sentenced to five years in prison.

In a Dec. 19 X post, Lichtenstein reaffirmed many of the statements he made in court leading to his incarceration. He confessed to hacking Bitfinex in 2016 and laundering “thousands of Bitcoin” but suggested he wanted to shoulder the entirety of the blame rather than his wife, Heather Morgan, who was also sentenced to prison time for her role in laundering Bitcoin.

“I knew what I was doing was wrong and did it anyway because I didn’t care, I didn’t care about anyone else except myself,” said Lichtenstein in a video message from prison, often appearing as though he were reading a prepared statement. 

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $97,321, Ether (ETH) at $3,464 and XRP at $2.28. The total market cap is at $3.63 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) at 492.34%, HyperLiquid (HYPE) at 56.23% and Movement (MOVE) at 38.42%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Aptos (APT) at 28.28%, dYdX (Native) (DYDX) at 28.05% and Curve DAO Token (CRV) at 28.18%. For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

“I expect $MARA will be the next.”

Michael Saylor, co-founder of MicroStrategy

“The market will instantly wake up to the reality that Trump has, at best, one year to enact any policy changes on or around January 20th. This realization will lead to a vicious sell-off in crypto and other Trump 2.0 equity trades.”

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX

“No to the digital euro, yes to a strategic Bitcoin reserve.”

Sarah Knafo, member of the European Parliament for France

“Welch’s involvement and her reputation as a trusted public figure signaled to her followers and potential investors that the project was poised for success.”

Attorneys for Hawk Tuah memecoin investors

“We’ve had such a bullish narrative over the last month that the market was completely unprepared for bad news. Now we’re seeing indiscriminate selling.”

Pav Hundal, lead market analyst at Swyftx

“Today I am stepping away from Aptos Labs to start a new chapter.”

Mohammad Shaikh, co-founder and CEO of Aptos Labs

Prediction of The Week

Bitcoin correction ‘almost done’ as realized losses rise above weekly average

On Dec. 20, Bitcoin’s daily chart produced three consecutive red candles for the first time since the first week of November, which coincidentally was the lead-up period to Donald Trump’s US election victory.

Another similarity between the last time three or more red candles were observed on the daily chart was that Bitcoin retested the 50-day EMA level.

With BTC’s price dropping by more than 15% since its all-time high, one analyst said that most of the drawdown is potentially over for the largest cryptocurrency.

With Bitcoin price falling under $93,000 on Dec. 20, Captain Faibik, a pseudonymous independent crypto trader, said that BTC’s correction was approaching a conclusion.

In an X post, the trader highlighted that BTC’s current decline is due to a massive bearish divergence between its price and relative strength index over the past month. Such divergences are usually followed by an 8%-to-10% fall, which is considered a “healthy reset.”

FUD of The Week

Alleged SEC hacker allowed to travel for the holidays

Eric Council Jr., the individual who allegedly hacked the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account in January and posted a message suggesting that Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) had been approved, will be allowed to travel for the holidays. 

In a Dec. 13 filing with the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Council could travel to North Carolina with a third-party custodian between Dec. 23 and 29. The judge said the alleged hacker “must provide Pre-Trial Services with his precise itinerary and information concerning where he will be staying at least two business days before traveling.”

Council pleaded not guilty to hacking the SEC’s X account on Jan. 9 and posting a message suggesting the commission had greenlighted spot Bitcoin ETFs at a time when many in the industry expected a decision. The fake message, complete with a quote from SEC Chair Gary Gensler, shook markets before the commission officially approved the investment vehicles roughly 24 hours later.

Trump’s inauguration may trigger crypto sell-off, says Arthur Hayes

Cryptocurrency market commentators and observers have predicted positive market trends associated with United States President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, but BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has a different perspective.

Hayes cautioned against the high expectations of quick crypto policy changes promised by Trump, highlighting a gap between market anticipation and the realities of policy implementation.

In his “Trump Truth” blog post published on Dec. 17, Hayes said his investment fund, Maelstrom, plans to trim some positions early to buy later at lower prices in the first half of 2025.

Unlike many forecasters, Hayes doubts that the US and other countries will start creating national Bitcoin reserves any time soon.

Bybit to halt crypto services in France by January 2025

Bybit, a global cryptocurrency exchange, said it will halt withdrawal and custody services for French users starting Jan. 8, 2025, at 8:00 am UTC, amid an increase in regulatory scrutiny by French financial authorities.

The company advised affected users to withdraw their funds before the deadline to avoid complications with account access or fund transfers.

Bybit plans to transfer unclaimed assets exceeding 10 USD Coin to Coinhouse, a licensed cryptocurrency custodian in France. Users will need to complete a verification process with Coinhouse to regain access to their holdings. For accounts with balances under 10 USDC, Bybit will impose a termination fee equivalent to 10 USDC, deducting it from available assets.

The move reflects growing regulatory pressures on global crypto exchanges as legislation in many jurisdictions looks to get a tighter grip on crypto.

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