Gm☀️

It’s a good week for crypto. Lots of bullish news, and bitcoin and ether are making their comeback. If you've been following us for the past few weeks, you've hopefully cashed in on those golden buy opportunities and already enjoying your gains!

Here are this week’s highlights:

• Why bitcoin is up 20% this week

• David vs. Goliath of crypto

📈 MARKETS

It’s been a long wait, but the bull week is finally here. Bitcoin soared 20% just this week and ether also followed suit, both wiping out their losses from earlier this month.

It’s all thanks to the big banks filing for ETFs (more on this below) and Fed Chair Powell saying that crypto “appears to have staying power as an asset class”.

Boom. Your move, Gary.

DONUT HOLES

Hole lotta news…

• Elon Musk started following ETH founder Vitalik on Twitter

• Fortnite 🤝 Nike NFT is here

• Fed Chair Powell: “Crypto appears to have staying power”

• Prometheum, a mysterious startup becomes first to register with SEC as a broker-dealer

BITCOIN

Why is bitcoin up 20% this week?

Bitcoin has finally arrived in mainstream US finance, and it's got its price rocketing up by 20% this week. The SEC's ongoing smackdown on several altcoins seems to have funneled investors to put their money in Bitcoin, causing a price bump that's got us all grinning.

1. Bitcoin ETF - buying BTC without buying BTC

Our chief suspect behind this jump is the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock and their iShares Bitcoin Trust filing, which would let average traders buy into bitcoin on their existing stock exchanges. A Bitcoin spot ETF has been on the crypto community's wishlist for a while, but the SEC keeps playing hard to get. Luckily, BlackRock has $9 trillion under management, including $3 trillion in ETFs, and has an ETF success rate of 575 to 1 so far. So, it looks like we might be getting the first-ever Bitcoin spot ETF, folks. The magnitude of this is huge - think of it as laying down a freeway for mainstream funds to pour into crypto.

2. EDX - the safest crypto exchange ever

Meet EDX, a crypto exchange backed by major US finance giants like Citadel, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity. With trust in unregulated crypto exchanges still shaky post-FTX fiasco, EDX steps up to offer a safer space for institutional and corporate crypto trading. Unlike its counterparts, EDX doesn't hold onto customer assets. Crypto trades on EDX are more like trading stocks on the NYSE or NASDAQ, needing intermediaries. This 'no-hands-on-your-assets' approach makes EDX safer than your average crypto exchange. Plus, to stay out of SEC’s radar, EDX only supports four non-security assets: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.

Zoom out: With BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF and the launch of EDX, we've got two new major highways for crypto. And their launch seems to have driven bitcoin's price up by over 20%. Now, we wait and watch how much traffic these highways will get.

DRAMA

David vs. Goliath

Popular blockchain investigator, ZachXBT, finds himself the subject of a lawsuit filed by renowned crypto figure, MachiBigBrother in a real David & Goliath-like story.

How it unfolded

ZachXBT, operating under anonymity, has been voluntarily conducting on-chain investigations into alleged financial misconducts within the crypto industry. In June 2022, Zach brought forth serious accusations against MachiBigBrother, a big shot crypto influencer.

Zach suggested that Machi had unlawfully obtained 22,000 ETH (worth $37.8 million) from a now-dissolved crypto treasury platform he co-founded. Zach’s allegations were supported by corresponding on-chain data (which means the data themselves are undeniably true, it’s just the matter of interpretation).

How it’s going down now

Fast forward one year, MachiBigBrother has filed a defamation lawsuit against ZachXBT, insisting that Zach's claims are utterly false and have “unlawfully defamed” him.

Machi defended himself on Twitter, confidently asserting that Zach's allegations lack substance, and that he is eager to demonstrate this in court.

Yet, Zach isn't retreating. On Twitter, he expressed his views about the lawsuit, portraying it as a frivolous attempt by Machi to use his money to silence him. In response to the anticipated high legal expenses, Zach appealed to his Twitter followers for donations.

Community backing for ZachXBT

The crypto community swiftly united behind Zach, with more than $1M being donated to his wallet in a matter of days. Notably, major figures in crypto including CZ, Justin Sun, and Bankless, rallied behind him.

The situation has escalated into a significant crypto dispute - an alleged fraudster versus a determined investigator. The crypto community appears to be firmly supporting ZachXBT.

Despite the current downturn in the crypto market, it's inspiring to witness the sector's unwavering commitment to honesty. This saga is still unfolding, so stay tuned.

💰 REWARD QUIZ

Quiz yourself, earn rewards

Did you learn something new today? Let’s see if you were paying attention. Buckle up for a 20-second quiz—we might just have a little treat for ya—just for trying!

Afraid of getting questions wrong?

Yes, the shiny 100 points are awesome, but remember, it's about getting your hands dirty and giving it a go. If you get something wrong? They stick in your memory longer, which means you learn more.

So, hop on board with the rest of our brave quiz-takers. Remember, it's ok to score a zero!

🐦 TWEET OF THE WEEK

Alright, that's a wrap for now 🙌. If you made it to here, let us know by voting below. Catch you next Thursday!

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