Bitcoin Mysteries Not Solved
Good morning everyone, and welcome to your Daily Crypto News!
Quick shoutout to Cassidy from Detroit—thanks for the email yesterday! Your "Go Tigers, Go Detroit" subject line really made my day. I appreciate the friendly rivalry, but I’m sticking with my Guardians!
Anyway, let’s dive into today’s headlines.
Former Lawyer Sentenced for Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme
An 86-year-old former California lawyer, David Kagle, was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $14 million in restitution for running a Bitcoin Ponzi scheme. Cagle, who is currently in hospice care, will serve his probation at a senior facility in Las Vegas. If he leaves, he will have to wear a monitoring device. Cagle lured investors into the scheme by promising 20%-100% returns in 30 days through a fraudulent crypto trading bot. Victims were convinced their funds were secured by 1,000 Bitcoin held in escrow, but that turned out to be false.
Despite being in hospice, Kagle’s scheme ran from 2017 to 2022, netting $15 million from investors. He’s pleaded guilty, but his accomplices are still awaiting trial. Just goes to show that you should be cautious when someone promises you no-risk, high returns—especially if it’s coming from a fraudulent lawyer in hospice!
HBO's Satoshi Nakamoto Documentary Fails to Convince
The much-anticipated HBO documentary, Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, aired yesterday, attempting to reveal the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. Directed by Cullen Hoback, the documentary suggested Peter Todd—an early Bitcoin developer—could be Satoshi. Todd, however, dismissed the claims, calling the documentary’s theory ludicrous.
The documentary failed to present any conclusive evidence about Nakamoto’s identity, much like previous attempts that focused on figures like Hal Finney and Nick Szabo. The crypto community was unsurprisingly skeptical, and the documentary is getting a 5.3 rating on IMDb. If you're in for some entertainment, check it out, but it doesn’t seem like we’re any closer to solving the Satoshimystery.
Cardi B Launches Meme Coin: WAP
Yes, you read that right. Cardi B has launched her own meme coin on the Solana blockchain, called WAP, referencing her 2020 hit song. The token hit a market cap of $34 million in hours but has since dropped to $21 million. On-chain analysis firm Bubble Maps revealed that insiders controlling 60% of the token dumped after just 12 hours, profiting around $250,000. Insiders could potentially gain up to $16.6 million, but with a liquidity pool of only $310,000, selling won’t be easy.
Seems like Cardi B might be cashing in on meme coin hype, but it’s a reminder to be cautious with these schemes—especially when it comes to liquidity.
Polymarket Prediction Market Surges in Trump Bets
Polymarket, the decentralized prediction market, is seeing a surge in bets on Donald Trump winning the 2024 election, pushing his odds to over 53%. This comes amid speculation of market manipulation, with a user named fredi9999accumulating 7.8 million Trump shares, making them the largest holder on the platform.
There are whispers that this could be linked to Elon Musk, as the timing of the big bets coincides with Musk’s pro-Trump statements. However, there’s no concrete evidence yet. It’ll be interesting to see how Polymarket plays out in the long run, as these markets tend to reflect genuine sentiment over time.
Bitcoin Stuck Between Moving Averages
Bitcoin is still bouncing around between its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, stuck between $60,819 and $63,550. It’s been a sluggish month for Bitcoin, and people are wondering when the next big move will happen. Whether we’ll see a breakout soon or not, this is testing the patience of hodlers everywhere!
Crypto prices:
Fear and greed index is at 42
Bitcoin: $61,923, down 1.3%
Ethereum: $2,431, down 0.3%
Binance: $577, up 0.3%
Solana: $141, down 1.8%
XRP: 52.9 cents, even
Dogecoin: 10.8 cents, up 1.3%
Tron: 16 cents, up 2.5%
Toncoin: $5.18, down 0.5%
The total market cap is $2.16 trillion, with Bitcoin accounting for $1.22 trillionand Ethereum for $292.6 billion.
Remember—you can email me at matt@dailycryptonews.net. Until tomorrow, happy hodling everyone, and let’s hope my Guardians show Detroit what’s up!
Jameson Lopp’s Hal Finney Article
https://blog.lopp.net/hal-finney-was-not-satoshi-nakamoto/