Nomad Bridge Operator Reaches Settlement With FTC Over $186M Hack in 2022

The Federal Reserve's interest rate cut coincides with a surge in bullish options bets, particularly on the $100,000 call option expiring in December. Traders are strategically positioning for a limited bounce, reflected in open interest composed of specific strategies like long call condors and bull call spreads.

Paxful Holdings Inc., the firm behind a peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange that closed in 2023, has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges and pay a $4 million criminal penalty to the U.S. Department of Justice. The company facilitated approximately $3 billion in trades between 2017 and 2019, knowingly enabling criminal activity.

A Trump-themed mobile crypto game, Trump Billionaires Club, will launch by the end of the year. The game offers $1 million in TRUMP coin rewards and features a 3D board game format focusing on luck and smart decisions.

Bitcoin and Ethereum prices fluctuated after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate by 0.25% and announced plans to resume purchasing Treasury bills. The Fed's decision led to Bitcoin dropping 1.4% to $92,000, while Ethereum rose 0.6% to over $3,300, and Solana fell 3.2%.

Ethereum's treasury firm, BitMine, has been aggressively acquiring ETH, adding over 138,452 ETH last week. With a total of 3.864 million ETH, BitMine aims to hold 5% of the circulating supply. Tom Lee believes Ethereum has hit its bottom and is optimistic about its future growth.

Wallets linked to Silk Road and Ross Ulbricht, once holding 442,000 BTC, have been active after five years, transferring millions to a new address. Despite being reduced to 416 BTC worth $38.25 million, these wallets have grown in value due to Bitcoin's rise.

American Bitcoin Corp. (ABTC), co-founded by Eric Trump, acquired 416 Bitcoin, increasing its total reserve to 4,783 BTC. ABTC's Satoshis Per Share (SPS) rose by over 17% in a month. ProCap Financial (BRR) added 49 Bitcoin, reaching 5,000 coins post-merger.

An investigation by Solidus Labs reveals a Telegram group named "PumpCell" manipulating micro-cap tokens on Solana and BNB Chain through coordinated pump-and-dump schemes. The group orchestrates synchronized token deployments, bot-driven buying, fabricated hype campaigns, and timed exits to exploit retail traders.

Inflows into U.S. spot exchange-traded funds are increasing, with Ethereum ETFs hitting a six-week high of $177.64 million, surpassing Bitcoin ETFs. Solana and XRP also saw notable netflows, indicating a shift in investor sentiment towards altcoins.

Cathie Wood of Ark Invest believes that Bitcoin's four-year cycle may be disrupted due to increased institutional interest, leading to decreased volatility and potentially preventing significant declines. She also argues that Bitcoin is now functioning more as a "risk-on asset" rather than a "risk-off asset."