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Hi everyone! Here’s what moved in crypto markets today:
Bitcoin traded down over 4% to $22,700, while ether dropped 5% to $1,560.
Equities closed down, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite off 1.9%.
Bridge platform LayerZero denies allegations it kept “backdoor” secret.
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Bitcoin (BTC): Thelargest cryptocurrency by market value was recently trading at about $22,700, down more than 4% over the past 24 hours and well off its high Sunday near $24,000. Bitcoin-related funds dominated last week’s digital-asset investment products inflows, accounting for almost all of the $117 million coming in.
Equities closed lower as traders awaited the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates Wednesday and studied a flurry of fourth-quarter earnings reports from big techs including Apple and Meta. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed down 1.9%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 1.3% and 0.7%, respectively.
LayerZero can bypass security controls to pass data between blockchains without anyone’s permission, alleged James Prestwich, founder of the cross-chain bridging service Nomad, in a blog post on Monday.
“A trusted-party vulnerability (also called a ’backdoor’) is an undisclosed capability of a trusted party that can compromise the function of the system,” Prestwich explained in a tweet outlining his findings. According to Prestwich, LayerZero has the ability to unilaterally steal or move around funds locked up with platforms that use its bridging services with default settings.
The project does have backdoor-like capabilities, said Bryan Pellegrino, a co-founder of LayerZero. But he denied the platform has ever tried to hide them. Pellegrino said LayerZero was open about its security practices and gave the developers the ability to set parameters barring LayerZero from special access privileges.
“What they have wrong is that every application has the ability to just select their own security properties,” Pellegrino told CoinDesk. “All you have to do is set your configuration and there’s nothing that anybody can ever do,” he continued. “James knows that describing anything as a critical security vulnerability is insane.”
Pellegrino suggested Prestwich’s motives may be tied to an upcoming Uniswap governance vote to pick a bridge provider.
The Sandbox (SAND): Virtual world The Sandbox’s native token saw a surge in price over the month ahead of its token unlock scheduled for Feb. 14. SAND was recently trading down 11% to $.71 cents Monday, but is up 86% this year so far.
Dogecoin (DOGE): Dogecoin spiked to its 24-hour high Monday to trade at 9 cents after a report from Financial Times said Elon Musk wants Twitter payments system to accommodate crypto. The meme token was recently changing hands at 8 cents, down 2% from Sunday, same time.
Market Analysis: Bitcoin ‘Whale’ Deposits
Per on-chain intelligence firm Glassnode, the net volume of BTC from wallets to exchanges has been increasing since Jan. 22. The movement of coins onto exchanges is often a bearish signal reflecting investors intent to sell assets.
To be sure, the number of whale deposits to exchanges has declined in recent weeks, which in isolation is bullish. But the volume of deposits to exchanges exceeds the number of withdrawals on a relative basis, which is not. The withdrawal of assets from exchanges is generally a bullish signal.
Historically, the net volume metric tends to move in waves. Although the current development does not guarantee a selling spree, it may foreshadow what larger investors will do. A prolonged movement of bitcoin to exchanges would signal that larger holders are preparing to sell, which could lead to a price drop. The movement is in early stages, though.
Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments.
