Musk fires Twitter execs, research stirs blockchain energy debate and CFTC brass shares crypto concerns: Hodler’s Digest, Oct. 23-29

Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

Top Stories This Week

Twitter’s top brass gutted as Elon Musk’s takeover begins

Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter became final this week, after which he reportedly fired three top-level executives: CEO Parag Agrawal, head of legal and policy Vijaya Gadde and chief financial officer Ned Segal. Musk reportedly claims the three were dishonest about Twitter spam accounts — an issue that almost caused Musk to abandon the Twitter deal. On a more positive note, Musk said he has big plans for Twitter, including ensuring free speech on the platform. Twitter also commanded other headlines this week as Binance invested $500 million in the platform, and the New York Stock Exchange delisted the now-private company.

Kazakhstan to build central bank digital currency on BNB Chain

Binance’s BNB Chain will host Kazakhstan’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. CBDCs have made headlines in recent years as regions across the globe have taken various steps toward the new form of money. The digital tenge, a product of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, will operate on BNB Chain. Binance has made regulatory strides in Kazakhstan — a country that has shown interest in crypto.

Report: Vast majority of blockchain energy studies ’lack scientific rigor’

Much of the information floating around about blockchain carbon emissions lacks validity on several levels, according to a preprint produced by researchers from multiple universities. In short, the preprint states that numerous studies on blockchain energy consumption use incomplete data, lack clarity on electricity costs, and have made assumptions based on old data, among other points. Blockchains and their energy requirements have been a topic of much debate.

Aussie federal budget reaffirms BTC won’t be treated as foreign currency

Australia will not be making Bitcoin legal tender, according to the country’s latest federal budget. The document detailing the budget indicated that Bitcoin will be taxed in the same category as other crypto assets and not as a foreign currency, despite El Salvador’s move to make BTC legal tender. El Salvador classified Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. The Central African Republic also classifies Bitcoin as currency. Since 2014, Australia’s tax authority has classified crypto in general as a type of investment rather than a form of currency, according to comments from Koinly head of tax Danny Talwar.

Equifax, known for huge data breach, is building a Web3 KYC solution

Equifax is working with blockchain firm Oasis Labs on a decentralized identity product that may improve Know Your Customer practices. Hosted on Oasis’ platform and working with application programming interface (API) keys from Equifax, the solution will essentially let individuals provide identity confirmation without exposing sensitive information, with the information maintaining a trail on the organization’s blockchain. Tech specifics for the solution were not revealed, however. Equifax’s reputation is overshadowed by a significant global data breach it suffered in 2017.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $20,485, Ether (ETH) at $1,536 and XRP at $0.46. The total market cap is at $994.97 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Klaytn (KLAY) at 77.92%, Dogecoin (DOGE) at 46.52% and TerraClassicUSD (USTC) at 18.72%.  

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Chain (XCN) at -23.33%, Maker (MKR) at -13.67% and Casper (CSPR) at -9.28%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

“Blockchain is not simply a technological change but also one that enables socio-political change.

Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands

“The U.K. government has a policy vision that the U.K. will become an international hub of cryptocurrency and digital assets.

Lisa Cameron, member of U.K. Parliament

“Traditional assets are driven by economic growth, Fed policies, inflation. Crypto is driven by the technology itself, millennial adoption.

Mark Yusko, CEO and founder of Morgan Creek Capital Management

“I do believe that the IMF is an implacable foe of crypto.

David Tawil, co-founder and president at ProChain Capital

“When [China] loves crypto, the bull market will come back. It will be a slow process, but the red shoots are budding.

Arthur Hayes, former CEO of BitMEX

“Knowledge drives empowerment and confidence.

Flori Marquez, co-founder and chief operating officer of BlockFi

Prediction of the Week 

Analyst puts Bitcoin price at $30K next month with breakout due

Early in the week, Bitcoin traded sideways between $19,000 and $20,000 with relatively little price fluctuation. On Oct. 25, the asset began moving up toward $21,000, finding resistance at the level on Oct. 26 before retracing back toward $20,000 on Oct. 27, according to Cointelegraph’s BTC price index. 

On Oct. 25, Eight CEO Michaël van de Poppe forecasted a possible near-term surge up to $30,000 for BTC. “Within 2-3 weeks, #Bitcoin will break out significantly,” he tweeted, adding: “My take is the upside. My guess is probably $30K.”

FUD of the Week

CFTC commissioner compares crypto contagion risk to 2008 financial crisis

Commodity Futures Trading Commission head Christy Goldsmith Romero recently requested additional power from the United States government to ensure crypto problems do not affect mainstream finance. Romero drew parallels between the 2008 financial crisis and the current atmosphere by citing Terra’s downfall as a contagion risk for mainstream markets. She noted that the crypto sector could negatively impact mainstream finance due to increasing crossover activity between the two worlds.

3Commas issues security alert as FTX deletes API keys following hack

Following investigations, crypto exchange FTX and digital asset trading bot service 3Commas found the cause of suspicious DMG cryptocurrency trading on FTX. Hackers phished victims out of their FTX API keys via fake websites that looked like 3Commas’, resulting in unauthorized trades for DMG asset pairs on FTX. Other methods, including malware, may also be at fault.

Bithumb ex-chairman could face 8 years in prison over alleged $70M fraud

Bithumb ex-chairman Lee Jung-hoon faces fraud charges in South Korea for allegedly defrauding prospective Bithumb buyer Kim Byung-gun out of $70 million. Jung-hoon allegedly received $70 million from Byung-gun as a down payment for the purchase of the Bithumb exchange. However, the deal was contingent on Bithumb listing crypto asset BXA, which allegedly never occurred. If deemed guilty on Dec. 20, Jung-hoon could face eight years in prison.

Best Cointelegraph Features

Crypto City: Guide to San Francisco Bay Area

“There were a lot of cypherpunks at those early Bitcoin meetups that I went to.”

Building community resilience to crises through mutual aid and Web3

“We’re going to use whatever seems easiest — whatever’s going to work. And when it’s not working, we’re going to ditch it.”

Ethereum at the center of centralization debate as SEC lays claim

Ethereum’s transition to PoS was celebrated as a key upgrade. However, a month after the move, centralization concerns are mounting high.