Crypto Chaos: Why This Week is Giving Us All the Feels! đŸ˜±đŸ’ž

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Oh dear, whether you’re a crypto newbie or a battle-hardened veteran, let’s not kid ourselves—this week has been a total disaster for the markets! Bybit just experienced the biggest hack in the history of crypto (yes, it’s a thing), Bitcoin (BTC) took a nosedive of over 20% from its peak, and just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, President Trump is contemplating slapping a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico. Talk about a triple whammy! 📉💔

This week’s Crypto Biz newsletter is here to dissect the wreckage from the Bybit hack, the latest price plummet of Strategy, and Paolo Ardoino’s dramatic warning that politicians are out to “kill Tether.” Grab your popcorn! 🍿

Bybit hack: The latest

So, on February 21, Bybit was hit with a staggering $1.4 billion exploit by the infamous Lazarus Group (yes, the North Korea-affiliated one). They targeted the exchange’s staked Ether token wallets. Bybit’s CEO, Ben Zhou, declared “war” on these hackers and promised to do everything in his power to recover the lost funds. Meanwhile, he reassured users that Bybit was “back to 100% 1:1 on client assets.” Because who doesn’t love a good reassurance in times of crisis? 🙄

A forensic investigation later confirmed that the Lazarus Group was indeed behind the attack, and guess what? Safe(Wallet) was the compromised vector. Surprise, surprise! 🎉

Read more$70 million in 24 hours: Can Ethereum crack $4,000 thanks to whales?

Forensic reviews by Sygnia and Verichains revealed that “the credentials of a Safe developer were compromised [
] which allowed the attacker to gain unauthorized access to the Safe(Wallet) infrastructure and totally deceive signers into approving a malicious transaction.” Classic! 🙈

Miners’ shares drop

In other news, shares of Bitcoin mining stocks Bitdeer Technologies and Cipher Mining took a nosedive after their fourth-quarter financial results were released. Bitdeer’s stock plummeted by over 25% after reporting earnings that were, let’s just say, less than stellar. Cipher’s share price fell more than 17% after revealing that its operating losses more than doubled year-over-year. Ouch! 😬

Some miners are still trying to figure out how to adapt after Bitcoin’s 2024 halving, which cut mining rewards in half. Bitdeer claimed their weak performance was “primarily driven by the impact of the April 2024 halving.”

Strategy shares follow Bitcoin lower

Read moreBitcoin halving could be a ‘sell-the-news’ event, at least for a few months

With Bitcoin’s price dropping more than 20% from its January all-time high, shares of Michael Saylor’s Strategy have also taken a hit. Since the start of the year, MSTR has declined by 16%. Not exactly a winning streak! đŸ„Ž

Strategy’s strength lies in its ability to raise capital backed by its expanding Bitcoin treasury. However, “In a situation where their liabilities rise significantly higher than their assets, this ability could deteriorate,” according to market commentator The Kobeissi Letter. Yikes! đŸ˜±

But fear not! Strategy remains undeterred by Bitcoin price volatility. Earlier this week, they announced they had acquired another 20,356 BTC for a cool $1.99 billion. Just a casual Tuesday, right? 💰

Strategy is now the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin treasurer, boasting 499,096 BTC on its books. Meanwhile, mining company MARA Holdings is a distant second with a mere 45,659 BTC. Talk about a power move! đŸ’Ș

Read morePEPE flips Optimism: Can OP emerge from the memecoin mania?

Tether CEO: Politicians want to “kill” stablecoin issuer

In a dramatic twist, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has warned that some not-so-friendly politicians are trying to push the world’s largest stablecoin issuer out of the crypto market. How very villainous! 😈

In a post on the X social media platform, Ardoino said that competitors should focus on building a better product than Tether. However, “their real intent is to ‘Kill Tether,’

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2025-02-28 23:37