Bitcoin may sink ‘below $50K’ in bear, Justin Sun’s WLFI saga: Hodler’s Digest, Aug. 31 – Sept. 6
Top Stories of The WeekBanking giants now forecast at least two interest rate cuts in 2025Several financial institutions and market analysts are now projecting the US Federal Reserve, the countrys central bank, will slash interest rates from the current target rate of 4.25%-4.5% at least twice in 2025.The banking forecasts followed a weak August jobs report that saw only 22,000 jobs added for the month, versus expectations of about 75,000.Analysts at Bank of America, a banking and financial services company, reversed their long-held stance of no rate cuts in 2025 and are now projecting two 25 basis point (BPS) cuts one in September and another in December according to Bloomberg.Economists at investment banking firm Goldman Sachs are projecting three 25 BPS cuts in 2025, beginning in September and continuing throughout October and November.Trump Media closes Crypto.com deal to build $6.4B CRO treasuryTrump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of US President Donald Trumps Truth Social platform, finalized an agreement with crypto exchange Crypto.com on Friday that establishes a new entity to accumulate the exchanges native Cronos token, beginning with an initial purchase of 684.4 million CRO as part of a joint treasury strategy.In a Friday notice, Trump Media said it would buy the tokens at a price of approximately $0.153 each, bringing the total initial purchase to nearly $105 million. The transaction will be carried out as an equal exchange of stock and cash between the companies.The announcement followed Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, a joint venture established by Trump Media, Crypto.com and Yorkville Acquisition Corp., to establish a $6.4 billion crypto treasury of the CRO token. According to the company, the agreement will allow Truth Social users to potentially acquire CRO on the platform as part of a rewards program.Justin Sun urges Trump-linked WLFI to unlock unreasonably frozen tokensTron founder Justin Sun is urging World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a crypto project linked to the Trump family, to unfreeze his token allocation. His wallets were blacklisted after suspicious transactions flagged by blockchain trackers sparked accusations of selling.Suns WLFI token address was blacklisted on Thursday, after blockchain data from Nansen and Arkham flagged the address for a $9 million transfer, Cointelegraph reported.In a Friday response to the blacklisting, Sun said his pre-sale tokens were unreasonably frozen, urging the team behind World Liberty Financial to unlock his investment, in respect to the principles of decentralized blockchain technology. World Libertys decision to block his tokens is a violation of investor rights and risks damaging broader confidence in World Liberty Financial, wrote Sun in an X post.Trump Jr.-linked media company projects $100M Dogecoin mining haulTrump family-linked media corporation Thumzup plans to acquire 3,500 Dogecoin mining rigs and expects to bring in as much as $103 million in annual revenue, depending on whether Dogecoin hits a dollar. In a shareholder letter released on Thursday, Thumzup Media Corporation revealed that it has executed definitive agreements, pending shareholder approval, to acquire a Dogecoin mining operation with an initial 2,500 rigs and 1,000 more ordered.In August, the company said it is pivoting from an adtech platform to cryptocurrency mining through the pending acquisition of DogeHash Technologies, which operates the Dogecoin miners. The combined company will be renamed Dogehash Technologies Holdings and trade under the ticker XDOG. The firm reported the completion of a $50 million share offering in August. Avoidable errors wiped a years worth of Gary Genslers texts… oopsA US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into missing text messages from former SEC chair Gary Genslers phone between October 2022 and September 2023 has concluded that avoidable errors led to their loss. The SEC Office of Inspector General (OIG) launched an inquiry into how nearly a years worth of text messages from Gary Gensler were permanently lost between October 2022 and September 2023, during the height of the agencys crypto enforcement action campaign.In a report released on Wednesday, the OIG revealed that the SECs IT department implemented a poorly understood and automated policy that caused an enterprise wipe of Genslers government-issued mobile device, which deleted stored text messages and operating system logs. Read also Features Inside a 30,000 phone bot farm stealing crypto airdrops from real users Features NFT collapse and monster egos feature in new Murakami exhibition The loss was worsened by poor change management, lack of proper backups, ignored system alerts and unaddressed vendor software flaws.Winners and LosersAt the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $110,822, Ether (ETH) at $4,304 and XRP at $2.81. The total market cap is at $3.81 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are MemeCore (M) at 129.63%, Story (IP) at 33.12% and Pump.fun (PUMP) at 31.79%.The top three altcoin losers of the week are World Liberty Financial (WLFI) at 19.31%, Pyth Network (PYTH) at 17.25% and Conflux (CFX) at 10.64%. For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraphs market analysis.Most Memorable QuotationsWhat if, from here on, Bitcoin simply slow-grinds up and to the right, with long, drawn-out, uneventful 1030% corrections and consolidations?PlanC, pseudonymous Bitcoin analystETH will likely 100x from here. Probably much more.Joseph Lubin, CEO and founder of ConsensysPokmon and other [trading card games] are about to have their Polymarket moment.Danny Nelson, research analyst at Bitwise Asset ManagerThe only reason were not at $150k right now is two massive whales.David Bailey, CEO of Nakamoto HoldingsIts a stark reminder of why crypto exists in the first place: if an intermediary can unilaterally cut you off from basic financial services for trying to build financial independence, then the financial system itself is fundamentally broken.Jonathon Miller, managing director, Australia at KrakenMy view is that its generally more prudent to focus on fundamental analysis rather than relying on what can often be spurious historical patterns.Henrik Andersson, chief investment officer at Apollo CryptoTop Prediction of The WeekBitMine buys $65M of ETH as chairman touts 1971 moment for EthereumOn Wednesday, BitMine chair Tom Lee appeared on the Level Up podcast, where he reaffirmed his stance that ETH will reach $60,000 in the long term.Lee said Wall Streets interest in ETH might become a 1971 moment, which could propel the asset higher. The New York Stock Market exploded on Aug. 17, 1971, setting records for volume and single-day gain as then-President Richard Nixon froze wages and prices for 90 days, along with other moves to fight inflation and strengthen the dollar.Wall Street moving onto crypto rails, I think, is like a 1971 moment for Ethereum. So I think its creating enormous opportunities to move a lot of things onto the blockchain. And Ethereum wont be just the only winner, but its one of the primary winners, Lee told Level Up co-host David Grider.Top FUD of The WeekToo few guardrails,’ CFTCs Johnson warns on prediction market risksOutgoing Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson warned that prediction markets pose increasing risks to retail investors. She cited a lack of oversight and regulatory clarity as primary concerns.In her farewell public address on Wednesday, Johnson voiced concern that some market participants are offering leveraged prediction market contracts to retail investors without clear regulatory boundaries.As of today, we have too few guardrails and too little visibility into the prediction market landscape, she said in a farewell speech at the Brookings Institution. There is an urgent need for the commission to express in a clear voice our expectations related to these contracts, she added.Venus Protocol recovers users $13.5M stolen in phishing attackDecentralized finance lending platform Venus Protocol helped a user recover stolen crypto following a phishing attack tied to North Koreas Lazarus Group. On Thursday, Venus Protocol announced that it had helped a user recover $13.5 million in crypto after the phishing incident that occurred on Tuesday. At the time, Venus Protocol paused the platform as a precautionary measure and began investigating. According to Venus, the pause halted further fund movement, while audits confirmed Venus smart contracts and front end were uncompromised. Read also Features Inside the Iranian Bitcoin mining industry Features Why Grayscale’s New Digital Currency Ad Could Bring Crypto Investing To Millions An emergency governance vote allowed the forced liquidation of the attackers wallet, enabling stolen tokens to be seized and sent to a recovery address. Bitcoin bear market due in October with $50K bottom target: AnalysisBitcoin could have just one month before the end of a four-year cycle, triggering a $50,000 collapse.New comments from Joao Wedson, founder and CEO of crypto analytics platform Alphractal, also include a $140,000 BTC price target.Bitcoin faces a new reckoning as the bull market endures its latest 15% correction from all-time highs.Amid misgivings over the future, Wedson sees the possibility of a new bear market starting as soon as October.Uploading charts of its so-called Repetition Fractal Cycle to X, he showed that is approaching the time when bear markets historically take over.Top Magazine Stories of The WeekChatGPTs links to murder, suicide and accidental jailbreaks: AI EyeCould making ChatGPT behave less like a human be the answer to AI psychosis? Plus Geoffrey Hintons new solution to AGI alignment.Korean bill to legalize ICOs, Chinese firms Ethereum RWAs mystery: Asia ExpressHong Kong regulators reportedly skeptical of Bitcoin treasury firms. Chinese state firm deletes posts on Ethereum RWAs, and more.Astrology could make you a better crypto trader: It has been foretoldCan tracking the movement of celestial bodies make you a better crypto trader? The answer may just be yes, in some cases. Subscribe The most engaging reads in blockchain. Delivered once a week. Email addressSUBSCRIBE