Bitcoin Bulls Crash as Coinbase Gets Hacked 😳
After a few boring weekends, the king of crypto couldn’t help but give us some entertainment involving some drama where the bulls go up before gravity kicked in, followed by a massive liquidation tsunami to wrap up a proper crypto weekend 😂
And guess who's finally paying their debts? Some good news for those FTX victims who've been waiting (im)patiently, we’ll finally see FTX open the vault after 2.5 years of keeping its victims in purgatory. If this makes you feel any better, it’s better late than never.
Meanwhile, our friends at Coinbase might be writing some hefty checks after their latest data breach. Nothing says "sorry we exposed your personal info" like a potential $400M payout.
Here are the Highlights:
- Bitcoin falls 4% to $102k causing $670M in liquidations after weekend rally to $106k
- FTX estate to start distributing more than $5B on May 30
- Coinbase Could Pay Customers Up to $400M for Data Breach
- SEC hacker sentenced to 14 months in prison
Bitcoin falls 4% to $102k causing $670M in liquidations after weekend rally to $106k
At 22.00 UTC on 18 May, a burst of short covering catapulted Bitcoin to $106,980, its highest price since February. The rally lasted less than five hours. By 02:00 UTC, take-profit orders and thin weekend liquidity reversed the entire move, plunging the price toward $103,000. An additional slide to $102,300 materialised before bids stabilised the market around breakfast time in London, around $103,200. CoinGlass data shows that the violent round-trip triggered $670 million in forced liquidations across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin futures. Roughly $465 million of long positions were wiped out, while $224 million of shorts were squeezed during the initial surge.
FTX estate to start distributing more than $5B on May 30
More than two-and-a-half years after filing for bankruptcy, cryptocurrency exchange FTX is moving forward with repaying users who have not had access to their funds. In a May 15 notice, the FTX Recovery Trust announced that it would begin disbursing funds to the second group of parties eligible under the exchange’s reorganization plan. Starting on May 30, FTX will send more than $5 billion to creditors “within 1 to 3 business days” through crypto firms BitGo and Kraken. In accordance with the reorganization plan, FTX said five groups of “convenience classes” would receive between 54% and 120% distribution of assets.
Coinbase Could Pay Customers Up to $400M for Data Breach
Coinbase expects to pay $180 million to $400 million relating to remediation costs and voluntary customer reimbursements related to this incident, which saw attackers gain access to users' personal information. Coinbase received an email communication from the unknown threat actor on May 11, according to the firm. Attackers were able to access customers' personal details, such as name, address, phone number, masked social security number, masked bank account numbers and other crucial details. They accessed those details by essentially bribing Coinbase's overseas employees/contractors and subsequently demanding customer details to be sent.
SEC hacker sentenced to 14 months in prison
A federal judge sentenced Eric Council Jr., who participated in posting a fake announcement on the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account saying it would approve spot Bitcoin BTCUSD ETFs, to 14 months in prison. Following a May 16 hearing in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department announced that Council would serve 14 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. “Schemes of this nature threaten the health and integrity of our market system,” said Jeanine Pirro, interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Other Highlights Worth Mentioning
Binance to Support Ukraine’s National Bitcoin Reserve Plan - Binance
SEC Investigates Coinbase Over Alleged User Data Misstatement in 2021 IPO - Coinstats
French Minister Agrees on Measures to Protect Crypto Professionals After Kidnappings - Coindesk
Telegram takes down $35 billion black-market networks, but illicit operators plan comeback - Cryptoslate