Cointree Crypto Market Update - September 27th 2023

Market report for traders

🔮 BTC and altcoins

Over the last seven days, Bitcoin has dropped -6.69% to AU$40,975 at the time of writing. Ethereum remains follows at AU$2,490, moving -6.01% week-on-week. And in other altcoin movements, Solana falls back by -7.64%, Cardano similar with -6.6 2%, and XRP by -5.73%.

🗞 What’s happening in the news?

The world of cryptocurrencies and NFTs is as dynamic as ever. Recent events have underscored vulnerabilities in crypto exchanges, while also shining a spotlight on the evolving landscape of the NFT market. Let’s delve deeper.

Huobi Global's HTX crypto exchange recently encountered a breach, leading to a loss of $7.9 million in cryptocurrency. The culprits targeted a well-known Huobi hot wallet, transferring 4,999 Ether (ETH) to an unfamiliar address. In a surprising twist, Huobi offered the supposed perpetrator a 5% "white-hat bonus" if they returned 95% of the stolen amount. Blockchain analytics platforms, Cyvers and Arkham Intelligence, played instrumental roles in uncovering and verifying this incident. Although investor Justin Sun confirmed the breach, he reassured Huobi users of the safety of their funds.

In a similar vein, the decentralised Mixin Network also grappled with a significant security breach, reporting a loss of approximately $200 million. This intrusion, believed to be linked to a third-party cloud service provider's database, took place on September 23rd, with Mixin acknowledging it two days later. As a safety measure, Mixin temporarily suspended all deposit and withdrawal services. They've now enlisted blockchain investigator SlowMist, alongside Google, to expedite the investigation. Preliminary findings by PeckShield show Mixin's holdings at the time of the breach amounted to $141.32 million, diversified across Ether, Dai, and Bitcoin.

Shifting gears to the NFT arena, a different kind of imbalance is evident. Recent research, encompassing over 73,000 NFT collections, highlights a discrepancy between NFT creation and actual market demand. The findings are startling: about 95% of collections seemingly hold no value, and roughly 79% are yet to find buyers.

This trend underscores a discerning buyer's market, making projects without clear utility or genuine artistic appeal struggle. Nevertheless, there remains an optimistic outlook for NFTs. The study posits their potential to transcend mere digital collectibles, evolving into assets with diverse real-world applications.

📖 What we’ve been reading

Bitcoin Ordinals creator Casey Rodarmor pitches BRC-20 alternative ‘Runes: Read more

Crypto influencer Ben Armstrong, aka BitBoy, was Arrested Read more

Binance reopens in Belgium Read more

Disclaimer: The information provided is for educational purposes and does not constitute financial product advice. You should obtain independent advice from an Australian financial services licensee before making any financial decisions.