Overview
- The battle for online privacy.
- Acala native stablecoin exploited!
- Incoming: Do Kwon’s first interview since Terra meltdown.
- Anonymous to investigate BAYC.
Good morning Banter Fam,
The battle of privacy and decentralization has officially begun after the developments of Tornado Cash sent shockwaves through the cryptoverse.
According to Crypto Slate, who interviewed a Tornado Cash member, the protocol and DAO have shut themselves down because contributors fear prosecution. Authorities arrested one of the protocol’s top devs on August 12th in Amsterdam. The report suggests suspicions of “concealing criminal financial flows” and “facilitating money laundering.”
When asked about API tracking that caused services such as Aave, Uniswap, and Balancer to sanction addresses linked to Tornado Cash, the contributor stated, “there goes decentralization.”
Guests on Friday’s Crypto Banter show – Kevin O’Leary, Jurrien Timmer and Raoul Pal – also shared their thoughts on the Tornado Cash situation.
More on the topic below in Banter’s Take.
Market update 🌍
It was a relatively quiet weekend for crypto assets despite Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) reaching unsustained highs. BTC failed to break the 24k resistance, and price continues to hover around those same levels heading into the week.
BTC/USDT 1D
BTC’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) stochastic oscillator suggests a downwards leg. Additionally, the volume has begun to drop the higher price has reached. Unless buyers take decisive action this week, BTC appears primed for a visit to former support levels. BTC closed the daily candle down -0.56% to $24,305.
High-resolution chart
ETH/USDT 1D
ETH climbed steadily to a high of $2,030 on Sunday, breaking through a $1,744 resistance. Similar to BTC, the stochastic RSI and volume suggest ETH will likely fall to test support, although the ETH bulls may have something to say about it. ETH closed the daily candle down -2.41% to $1,935.
High-resolution chart
| US markets close | Gain |
| S&P 500 | *Market Closed |
| Nasdaq | |
| Dow | |
| VIX |
Notable Gainers (24h):
| Protocol (Coin) | Price ($) | Gain (%) |
| Shiba Inu (SHIB) | 0.000015 | +6.3 |
| LEO Token (LEO) | 5.26 | +6.2 |
| Civic (CVC) | 0.23 | +31.0 |
| Tenset (10SET) | 3.11 | +2.6 |
| Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index | 45 Fear |
| “Crypto” Google Trends 90d | 43 |
| “Bitcoin” Google Trends 90d | 29 |
Newswatch 📰
Polkadot-based stablecoin exploited. The stablecoin of Polkadot-based DeFi hub Acala, aUSD, was exploited yesterday. The attackers depegged the asset’s tie to the dollar after printing $1.2billion worth of aUSD. Acala has paused operations in response. The price of aUSD currently sits at $0.009, according to Coingecko. Acala’s response.
Do Kwon’s first interview since the collapse. Today, Coinage media will release footage of Zack Guzmán’s interview with Do Kwon, the founder of the collapsed Terra ecosystem. However, Terra critic FatMan has noted Zack Guzmán’s former shilling of the project and stated “why not have an interview with someone more neutral.”
News tidbits:
- FTX partners with Paradigm to release futures spread trading on eight cryptocurrencies.
- Monero’s privacy-focused upgrade is now live.
- China unexpectedly cuts interest rates.
NFT & metaverse update 🐵
- Anonymous vows to investigate BAYC. The hacker group Anonymous has released a video on Twitter that commits to investigating Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) alleged Nazi symbolism. The notion took precedence after YouTuber Philion released an investigative report nearly a month ago.
- Axie Origin Season 0: Phase 3 updates are live.
- Cronos-based NFT marketplace Minted launches and initiates partnership with Crypto.com.
Banter’s take
The arrest of one Tornado Cash developer has set a precedent by US authorities (OFAC), one that crypto advocates are looking to fight.
To arrest the developer of a neutral, open-sourced computer program is a harsh progression and whether he gets prosecuted or not is another story.
Here are some views from prominent names in Crypto:
- The sanctions threaten DeFi, privacy, and free speech, according to the well-written thread by LeXpunK_Army, asking for people to get involved.
- Jack Niewold called it an attack on digital freedom
- Lawyer Jake Chervinsky failed to find justification for the sanction.
Yes, there is money laundering on Tornado Cash, but the protocol is a neutral tool, and a large percentage of the transactions are non-malicious. In a way, it’s like outlawing computers because all criminal organizations utilize them.
Nevertheless, the subsequent legislation will hold implications for the future legality of digital privacy and the legal actions that governments can pursue towards those who violate what they choose to be illegal, regardless of written laws.
Gabri
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Disclaimer
Good Morning Crypto (issued by Crypto Banter) is a newsletter for entertainment purposes only.
All opinions expressed by the publisher, writers, and chartists should not be construed as financial advice and do not necessarily reflect the views of Crypto Banter. The publisher, writers, and chartists may hold positions in the tokens and assets discussed. Readers are encouraged to do their own research.
