{"id":9160,"date":"2021-09-25T16:30:02","date_gmt":"2021-09-25T20:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/?p=9160"},"modified":"2021-09-25T19:00:58","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T23:00:58","slug":"crypto-recovers-fed-evergrande-drops-china-fud-sorare-dapper-labs-raised-combined-930m-hodlers-digest-sept-19-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/25\/crypto-recovers-fed-evergrande-drops-china-fud-sorare-dapper-labs-raised-combined-930m-hodlers-digest-sept-19-25","title":{"rendered":"Crypto recovers on positive Fed and Evergrande news, then drops amid China FUD; Sorare and Dapper Labs raised a combined $930M: Hodler\u2019s Digest, Sept. 19-25"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coming every Saturday, <\/i><\/b>Hodler\u2019s Digest<\/i><\/b><\/a> 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 \u2014 a week on Cointelegraph in one link.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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Top Stories This Week<\/b><\/h2>\n

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Crypto markets soar after Fed commits to printing and Evergrande plans to pay its debt<\/b><\/a>
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The crypto markets were showing signs of recovery during the week as the U.S. Federal Reserve committed to carrying on its spending habits, while Chinese real estate giant Evergrande was able to strike deals with bondholders to avoid default on its hefty loan obligations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Evergrande\u2019s potential default on $305 billion worth of debt has essentially been a ticking time bomb that has loomed over the global financial market, with some asserting that this is China\u2019s Lehman Brothers moment. However, the firm is safe for the immediate term, and the news coincided with an 11.3% bump in Bitcoin\u2019s (<\/span>BTC<\/span><\/a>) price on Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

The spike in price also followed comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who explained that the central bank plans to continue its ridiculous level of monthly bond purchases for the foreseeable future. Both reports suggest that FUD related to Evergrande and the Fed\u2019s spending habits can now be shelved for a later date.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Old FUD, new BTC price dip \u2014 Weeks-old China crypto \u2018ban\u2019 sparks $42K Bitcoin price drop<\/b><\/a>
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Speaking of FUD, the crypto market recovery appears to be short-lived as old news regarding China was suddenly picked up on social media, sparking an instant price crash across the crypto market.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is down 2.7%, Ether (<\/span>ETH<\/span><\/a>) is down 6.4%, and FUD is up 100%. This knee-jerk reaction was the result of a memo from the People\u2019s Bank of China, or PBOC, that criminalized practically all crypto activity except possession.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chinese-language commentators noted, however, that the PBOC released the updated guidance on Sept. 15 but posted it online on Friday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It seems odd that the market has responded to China banning crypto again, as it’s not like the local government has done anything to foster excitement about digital assets in the country of late. At this stage, they might as well get it over with and ban possession too. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Biden to nominate anti-crypto and anti-big bank law professor to run the OCC<\/b><\/a>
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On Thursday, reports surfaced that the Biden administration intended to nominate Kazakhstani-American attorney, academic, and former policy advisor Saule Omarova to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Omarova is a crypto critic who is also not so fond of the big banks, having previously vowed to \u201cend banking as we know it.\u201d Currently employed as a law professor at Cornell Law School, she is expected to clamp down on crypto with tighter regulation, as she thinks the industry threatens the stability of the economy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If confirmed, bankers and crypto proponents alike may be in for some hairy moments as Omarova single-handedly works to tear down both sectors under the guise of protecting the economy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sports-themed NFTs spark gold rush as projects raise $930M in a week<\/b><\/a>
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To cleanse the palate, there was bullish news in the NFT sector this week as two firms known for tokenized sports collectible projects raised a combined $930 million in funding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

French-based soccer trading card NFT game developer Sorare closed a $680 million Series B funding round led by SoftBank at a valuation of $4.3 billion. Dapper Labs, the team behind the Flow blockchain and NBA Top Shot, also announced a $250 million funding round led by tech-focused hedge fund Coatue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sorare and Dapper Labs both outlined plans to expand their tokenized collectible model beyond soccer and basketball, respectively, along with scaling up their current widely popular NFT projects. The combined total of $930 million marks a significant bet on the tokenized sports sector at a time when the wider NFT market faces declining sales volume and floor prices. <\/span><\/p>\n

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John Cena calls his own NFT sales a ‘catastrophic failure’<\/b><\/a>
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John Cena, the WWE hall-of-famer known for his braggadocious \u201cyou can\u2019t see me\u201d catchphrase, recently saw limited sales during his foray into nonfungibles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The professional wrestler said that fans only purchased 7.4% of his WWE NFTs that were dropped last month, labelling the sale a \u201ccatastrophic failure\u201d and citing the price point for the gold-tier NFT package as being too high at $1,000.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There were 500 gold tier NFTs offered in total, which were part of a package with physical collectibles, including a hat, shirt, wristbands, belt, towel, and autographed picture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI talk a lot about failure \u2014 this idea failed,\u201d said Cena. \u201cMyself and the folks in the WWE thought $1,000 was a fair price point. We were wrong. We were absolutely wrong.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Winners and Losers<\/b><\/h2>\n

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At the end of the week, Bitcoin is at <\/span>$42,223<\/b>, Ether at <\/span>$2,905<\/b> and XRP at <\/span>$0.93<\/b>. The total market cap is at <\/span>$1.88 trillion<\/b>, <\/span>according<\/span><\/a> to CoinMarketCap.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Celo <\/span>(CELO)<\/b> at 49.84%, Celer Network <\/span>(CELR)<\/b> at 34.97% and Cosmos <\/span>(ATOM)<\/b> at 17.34%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Huobi Token <\/span>(HT)<\/b> at -32.21%, SushiSwap <\/span>(SUSHI)<\/b> at -28% and EOS <\/span>(EOS)<\/b> at -26.22%.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Most Memorable Quotations<\/b><\/h2>\n

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\u201cWe have absolutely no intention of embracing cryptocurrencies. […] On the contrary, we have a separate war, a separate fight against them. We would never lend support to [cryptocurrencies], because we will move forward with our own currency that has its own identity.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tayyip Erdo\u011fan<\/b><\/a>, president of Turkey<\/b><\/p>\n

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\u201cA Matisse painting can run $100 million because a small amount of people decide they\u2019re worth $100 million. Over 150 million people around the world that have decided Bitcoin is worth something. That\u2019s enough for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mike Novogratz<\/b><\/a>, CEO of Galaxy Digital<\/b><\/p>\n

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\u201cStablecoins are almost acting like poker chips at the casino right now.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Gary Gensler<\/b><\/a>, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

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\u201cNinety-nine percent is about being in the right circle, having the right information at the right time. In the NFT space, you live with this constant frustration that you have missed a chance to make $1 billion.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Gauthier Zuppinger<\/b><\/a>, chief operating officer of Nonfungible.com on NFT investing<\/b><\/p>\n

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\u201cI know the crypto lovers never want to hear me say \u2018sell,\u2019 but if you\u2019ve got a big gain as I did, well, I\u2019m begging you to. Don\u2019t let it become a loss; sell some. Stay long the rest, then let\u2019s wait and see if China changes its attitude toward an Evergrande bailout.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jim Cramer<\/b><\/a>, host of <\/b>Mad Money<\/i><\/b> on CNBC<\/b><\/p>\n

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\u201cI think we should always be open-minded and, as such, I\u2019m very interested in all new creations and expressions from the art world. Metaverses will emerge, but I still believe physical art will always reserve a very special place in everyone\u2019s collection.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Elio D\u2019Anna<\/b><\/a>, founder of HOFA\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe ultimate test we will apply when assessing a central bank digital currency and other digital innovations is, \u2018Are there clear and tangible benefits that outweigh any cost and risks?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jerome Powell<\/b><\/a>, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve<\/b><\/p>\n

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\u201cI’m uncomfortable with any non-physical currency being the only currency.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

LordPimpernel<\/b><\/a>, Texan and Redditor<\/b><\/p>\n

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Prediction of the Week\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

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Bitcoin \u2018heavy breakout\u2019 fractal suggests BTC price can hit $250K\u2013$350K in 2021<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

A Bitcoin analyst by the name of Bit Harington on Twitter recently posted a chart suggesting a possible upcoming price rally for BTC, if history repeats itself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Harington drew levels on top of a Bitcoin price chart from Buy Bitcoin Worldwide and Twitter user PlanB. Harington\u2019s levels essentially showed Bitcoin price resistance levels following Bitcoin\u2019s 2012 and 2016 halvings. On both occasions, price rejected off the resistance levels, gathered steam, and then broke through the levels later, leading to significant rallies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following those price rallies, Bitcoin then eventually returned to those breakout levels, finding them as support. Harington listed the new resistance level as $60,000 on their chart. So far, the chart shows Bitcoin rejecting off that level, subsequently finding support and looking upward back toward the resistance level.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Harington noted that BTC jumped above the two previous resistance levels by a factor of about six each time. Analyst Micha\u00ebl van de Poppe took a peek at the chart, crunched some numbers, and determined that BTC could reach up near $250,000 to $350,000, followed by a drop back down near $65,000 if BTC reacts similarly to the past.<\/span><\/p>\n

This week, however, Bitcoin faced a number of downward price moves and <\/span>comments indicating future bearish expectations<\/span><\/a> for crypto surfaced.<\/span><\/p>\n

FUD of the Week\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

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<\/b>\u2018We are at war\u2019 with crypto, says Turkish President Erdo\u011fan<\/b><\/a>
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According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan, the country is at war with cryptocurrency but quite fond of blockchain tech.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Erdo\u011fan hosted a Q&A event in Mersin, Turkey with naive youth from across the country who had no idea that crypto was posing a threat to their sovereignty. When asked for his opinions on cryptocurrencies, and whether the central bank would embrace crypto, Erdo\u011fan didn\u2019t mince his words when he said, \u201cWe have absolutely no intention of embracing cryptocurrencies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn the contrary, we have a separate war, a separate fight against them. We would never lend support to [cryptocurrencies], because we will move forward with our own currency that has its own identity,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/b>Binance to cease crypto futures and options in Australia<\/b><\/a>
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The world\u2019s biggest crypto exchange Binance has yet again limited its services in another country after crypto investors in Australia were notified that they have 90 days to close their positions for futures, options and leveraged tokens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As of Friday, Aussies are no longer able to increase or open new positions for derivatives products on Binance. However, they will still be able to top-up their margin balances to prevent liquidations and margin calls in the meantime.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the latest announcement, Binance\u2019s crypto futures and options market will cease on Dec. 23 as the firm restructures itself in order to reach its regulatory compliance goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are committed to our industry for the long term and we want to ensure our product offerings are welcomed by users and local regulators,\u201d a spokesperson for Binance told Cointelegraph.<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/b>Latest DeFi hack targeting BSC sees $12.7M in Bitcoin stolen from pNetwork<\/b><\/a>
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Cross-chain DeFi platform pNetwork became the latest protocol to be hacked on Binance Smart Chain after the team reported a loss of roughly $12.7 million worth of Bitcoin on Monday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a Twitter thread published by pNetwork, the hackers swiped 277 pBTC from the exchange \u2014 the majority of the network\u2019s collateral. The team noted the attack was executed by exploiting a bug in its codebase, adding that a fix was already in the works.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The pNetwork team was also kind enough to offer the hacker a $1.5 million bounty if the stolen funds were returned. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Best Cointelegraph Features<\/b><\/h2>\n

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Ethereum killers or just pretenders? But Ether remains king for now<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

The issue of high gas fees rears its head up for the Ethereum community yet again as \u201cEthereum killer\u201d networks continue to gain more attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adapt or die: Payments giants partner with crypto firms to ensure security<\/b><\/a>
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Mastercard\u2019s upcoming acquisition of CipherTrace demonstrates the need for payments giants to partner with crypto firms to enable digital asset innovation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ukraine joins the comity of crypto-friendly nations with new regulation<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Unlike Russia, Ukraine has passed laws that will ease the adoption of cryptocurrencies within the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more \u2014 one week on Cointelegraph in one link!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":9167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[35,2413],"tags":[2903,3111,3171,2725,2797,2904,2918],"yst_prominent_words":[225,731,222,267,950],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9160"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9160"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9178,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9160\/revisions\/9178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9160"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=9160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}