Tether Chats, Breaching Hacks, Hostile Takeovers, Bitcoin Gurus and 20 Crypto Jokes

This Week in Crypto: Bitcoin was on the verge of a breakout towards $30,000, Bitcoin’s correlation with US stock markets fell to its lowest level in a year and a half, a long spike in Bitcoin liquidations suffered the “sell the fact” reaction to the dovish US Fed and outflows from Bitcoin-backed investment funds rose sharply in the past week. Telegram users were given the ability to transfer USDT via chats, and Sony filed a patent to make NFTs transferable between various games, devices, and consoles.

Circle CEO Reveals One of Company’s Top Executives Who Promised USDC Airdrop Was Hacked, $1 Million in Cryptocurrency Stolen From Harvest Keeper Trading App powered by AI, and ATM maker General Bytes had suffered a security breach with $1.5 million worth of BTC stolen. Kraken to Suspend Automated Clearing House Deposits and Withdrawals Due to Silvergate Bank Shutdown, Bitfinex CTO Says El Salvador’s Long-Awaited Bitcoin Bonds Will Be Launched This Year, But May Not Be Bonds bonds after all, and an Australian crypto exchange was eyeing Hong Kong expansion amid a favorable regulatory landscape. Speaking of which, Hong Kong has garnered massive interest from virtual asset-related businesses as it attempts to become a crypto hub, while a growing number of Chinese employees and businesses can now use digital yuan to pay their social insurance premiums and taxes.

The U.S. Supreme Court has heard arguments in Coinbase’s effort to push two class action lawsuits against it to arbitration, Celsius account holders will be able to recover 72.5% of their holdings if they agree to a settlement plan, FTX asked a US bankruptcy judge to protect its property from liquidators in its Bahamas unit, and Binance was coming under increasing heat from regulators on multiple fronts. Meanwhile, a hostile DefiLlama takeover could have been underway with an internal rift among key team members exposed.

A Bithumb official was under investigation on suspicion of accepting bribes in exchange for a coin listing, a Bulgarian woman was extradited to the United States for her involvement in the system OneCoin crypto firm, the Venezuelan president said he had “purged mafia influences” from his government’s crypto regulators after overseeing the arrest of a former right-hand man, and Brazilian police launched what they called a sex-themed crypto extortion ring.

The digital asset industry has come under fire in a new report released by the US White House, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says CBDCs won’t be coming to the US state anytime soon, IRS considered treating NFTs as taxable collectibles, a major South Korean financier. The regulator has denied reports that it is cooperating with the US over efforts to classify certain cryptos as securities, the Belgian financial regulator has outlined new crypto advertising laws that require companies to include a disclaimer of high risk, and a Spanish lawmaker ditched the policy with plans to become a crypto and blockchain guru instead.

And here is a selection of the best crypto jokes – just for you.

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GM, CT. What’s on your mind?

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This famous actor is absolutely right.

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Wen revenge rally?

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That’s why you always wait for the dip instead of the dip. Basic investment.

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Let’s learn how to make money.

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Anyway….

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Chief.

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It parks really well.

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We had some legal firsts this week.

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DeJay.

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‘Go into brrrr mode, stat!’

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Just change, really.

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A real time machine. Only works upside down.

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Anybody? There is a “two deposits at the same time” offer.

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Burn? Burn.

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Burn? Yes, certainly, burns.

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Legend has it that Kron is still waiting for his rocks.

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Was there really the first? Has anyone actually seen it?

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You see, kids, you can be scammed too easily.

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And finally, a documentary.