Bitcoin Defies Bad Tidings to Register Its Best Week Since 2021

There may be a lot of bad stuff going on in the world of crypto right now, but Bitcoin true believers don’t seem to care.

By:BLOOMBERG
| Updated on: Jan 14 2023, 12:05 IST
This malicious Firefox add-on stole thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency
Bitcoin
1/6 A particular malicious add-on for Firefox, that goes by the name Safepal Wallet, has managed to scam users by stealing money from them and managed to live on the Mozilla add-ons store for seven months before getting detected and removed. (Pixabay)
image caption
2/6 Safepal is essentially a cryptocurrency wallet application that is capable of holding more than 10,000 types of assets, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Litecoin, etc. However, Safepal is an official smartphone app that is available for Apple and Android both. There are no known “authentic” Safepal browser extensions. (BleepingComputer)
image caption
3/6 According to a post shared by a user who goes by the name Cali on the Mozilla Support forum, within a few hours of installing and logging in to the Safepal Wallet extension with their real Safepal credentials, they saw their wallet balance drop to $0 from $4,000.  (Mozilla Support Forum )
image caption
4/6 While investigating Safepal Wallet, BleepingComputer came across the phishing domain used by the add-on and this webpage was also listed as the "support site" link on the fake add-on's home page: https://safeuslife.com/tool/. WHOIS records indicate the this phishing site was registered in January this year via Namecheap. And BleepingComputer reported that at the time of them filing this report, the webpage is still live and it instructs people to key in their "12-word Backup Phrase in the correct order to pair your SafePal Wallet". (BleepingComputer )
image caption
5/6 Once the recovery phrase is entered and the form is submitted, the page refreshes without any noticeable response and the recovery phrase is sent to the attacker. A stolen recovery phrase can give attackers control over your wallet along with the ability to access and transfer funds. (Pixabay)
image caption
6/6 Five days after Cali publicly reported the incident, a Mozilla spokesperson responded to say that they were investigating the issue and the page for Safepal Wallet has since been removed by Mozilla. The Mozilla add-ons store now has one-star reviews posted by some users that are warning others to not download “Safepal Wallet”. (BleepingComputer )
Bitcoin
icon View all Images
The largest cryptocurrency by market value, Bitcoin, has gained 12% this week, marking its best week since 2021. (AFP)

There may be a lot of bad stuff going on in the world of crypto right now, but Bitcoin true believers don't seem to care.

The largest digital currency by market value has gained roughly 12% so far this week, on pace for its best weekly performance since October 2021, Bloomberg data show. Other tokens have also gained, with an index of the 100 biggest coins adding more than 10%. Shares of some crypto-related companies are up even more, with Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital adding more than 60% this week.

You may be interested in

MobilesTablets Laptops
7% OFF
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
  • Black Titanium
  • 8 GB RAM
  • 256 GB Storage
28% OFF
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G
  • Green
  • 12 GB RAM
  • 256 GB Storage
Google Pixel 8 Pro
  • Obsidian
  • 12 GB RAM
  • 128 GB Storage
Apple iPhone 15 Plus
  • Black
  • 6 GB RAM
  • 128 GB Storage

It's a promising start to the new year for the token, which in 2022 lost more than 60% in its second-worst annual performance on record. And the rally has rekindled animal spirits, with fans enthusiastically posting on Twitter about the fear of missing out on further gains — even as the industry is still grappling with one of its darkest stretches yet amid the fallout of the FTX empire and others.

Also read
Looking for a smartphone? To check mobile finder click here.

“In spite of continued bad news for the crypto industry, the recent renewal of interest in BTC continued to gather steam,” wrote Noelle Acheson, author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” newsletter. “The market is facing seller exhaustion – buyers were having a hard time finding willing sellers, whereas earlier willing sellers had less trouble finding buyers.”

Acheson added that there are also signs interest from institutions has picked up — open interest of Bitcoin futures on the CME in native units has recovered to near end-of-year levels, she said.

The crypto market started 2023 at historically low levels of activity, open interest and volume following last year's drawdowns, according to Citi strategists led by Joseph Ayoub. Given the “systemic shocks” the space has suffered, interest has meaningfully decreased, they write in a report — though they add that higher prices can lead to more interest.

The bad-news flow hasn't stopped in the crypto world, with US regulators announcing on Thursday that they are suing Genesis Global Capital and Gemini Trust Co. for breaking securities rules. The Securities and Exchange Commission said the firms illegally raised billions of dollars from hundreds of thousands of investors through a high-yielding product that let customers loan out assets in exchange for interest payments.

Meanwhile, crypto companies are still tightening their belts, with some of the biggest firms collectively shedding thousands of jobs in the first weeks of the year, a Bloomberg analysis showed. Further upheavals could come as crypto brokerage Genesis and its parent firm Digital Currency Group seek to resolve their debt woes with Gemini and other creditors.

The 2022 slump scared away both retail and institutional investors, who watched as some of crypto's previously beloved companies, like FTX, imploded in embarrassing fashion. The money managers who avoided the many ups and downs of crypto may be feeling relieved for having done so, according to JPMorgan Asset Management.

“I'm interested in: is this on its way out in terms of becoming an accepted asset class that people are interested in?” said Brian Nick, chief investment strategist at Nuveen. “Or is it going to be on its way as something that gets more of a regulatory blessing and now requires more analytical rigor to figure out how to include it in portfolios?”

Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

First Published Date: 14 Jan, 11:58 IST
NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS