Tether fights back against insolvency claims, EU struggles to curb inflation

The biggest news in the cryptoverse for Aug. 30 includes the FBI’s warning against using DeFi protocols, liquidation of $20 million in Bitcoin longs, and Tether’s fightback against WSJ insolvency claims.

CryptoSlate Top Stories

FBI warns against DeFi after data reveals sector accounts for 97% of stolen $1.3B during Q1

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned investors against using DeFi protocols due to growing cyber crimes. It highlighted that 97% of the $1.3 billion stolen in cryptocurrencies in 2022 were siphoned from DeFi protocols.

The FBI, however, recommended that investors who wish to proceed with DeFi services should perform due diligence on the protocols and access potential risks and audit reports.

DeFi protocols on their end were advised to conduct periodic monitoring and testing to curb smart contract risks.

Tether responds to WSJ’s insolvency claim, says its US Treasury assets are safe

With Tether’s reserve having an excess of $191 million, Wall Street Journal had claimed that a 0.3% decline in asset value could result in insolvency for the USDT issuer.

Tether in response stated that a large portion of its reserve assets is held in U.S. Treasuries which have remained “the premier safe asset for several decades.”

LUNA Classic pumps 70% on ambitions to wipe the past, revive the chain

Following the UST depeg in May, developers working on forked LUNA Classic have introduced high-yield staking rewards and token burns to regain investors’ trust.

Investors have reportedly shown support for the revival plan as the LUNC token has gained 54% in value over the last 30 days and has increased 70% from its bottom on Aug. 19.

Bitcoin sell-off leads to $20M in longs liquidated

In a swift response to Bitcoin’s price action over the last 24 hours, bears have forced BTC back to as low as $19,600. As a result, $20.28 million in longs were liquidated, according to Glasscoin.

CryptoSlate also highlighted the Open Interest by Strike price metrics, which revealed that derivatives traders expect BTC to fall below $19,500 which will trigger sales of their contract holdings by Aug. 31.

Crypto Lender Nexo allocates $50M to buyback its native token

Nexo said it will use $50 million to buy back its native token from the open market over the next six months. The approval is an ongoing initiative that has seen Nexo spend over $112 million in executing buybacks between 2020 and 2021.

Nexo Co-Founder Antoni Trenchev said the buyback will help stabilize its token price and accrue more rewards for investors.

Research Highlight

The European sovereign debt crisis 2.0

CryptoSlate Research detailed how the continuous raising of interest rates and debt purchase by the European Central Bank (ECB) may increase energy and food prices, forcing countries in the EU to battle a recession.

In a time of recession, the European economy may experience a mass outflow of funds into more tangible assets like Bitcoin.

Study shows 62% of Bitcoin network is zero-emission

Bitcoin research company Batcoinz conducted a study that revealed that Bitcoin is becoming more carbon neutral. The Bitcoin network’s carbon-neutral impact sits at 62% indicating a 41% increase since March 2021. Similarly, the usage of carbon-negative sources creates a -4.2% impact on Bitcoin’s carbon emission.

Overall, Bitcoin’s energy usage and carbon emission levels are expected to continue decreasing gradually as it nears zero-emission.

News from around the CryptoVerse

Ripple’s real estate partnership with Colombia may be discontinued

Ripple had earlier partnered with the Colombian government to help record the land title of the XRP ledger. The newly elected government noted that the project may be discontinued as it is not part of its priorities for 2022, as reported by Forbes.

Crypto.com mistakenly transfers $10.4 million to a customer

Seven months ago, Crypto.com in an attempt to make a $100 refund to Ms. Manivel, mistakenly transferred $10.4 million to her account. The error was discovered during its end of 2021 audit.

Crypto.com has taken legal action against the woman, who reportedly spent $1.35 million on a luxury apartment and had transferred $10.1 million out of her account. The Victorian Supreme Court is overseeing the case now.

Meta enables NFT showcase on Facebook

Social media giant Meta has rolled out its support for digital collectibles on Facebook. Users can now post their NFTs across Facebook and Instagram by simply connecting their digital wallets to the app.

Meta added that users will not be required to pay any fees for posting or sharing their NFTs on their social media.

The US has jobs in excess of 5.5 million as of July

The U.S. Labor Statistics released on Aug. 30 shows that the number of jobs available in July totaled 11.24 million, while the available workers were 5.67 million.

With labor demand sitting higher than supply, the limited workers are offered higher compensation which adds more pressure to the economy.

In expectations of the labor market data, Fed chairman Jerome Powell noted that the ongoing rate hikes may lead to “some softening in the labor market conditions.”