Here is the top crypto news of the day curated by CoinChapter.com.
Bitcoin Rally Fuels $100K Calls
Bitcoin’s price rebound has options traders bullish on the possibility of the cryptocurrency soaring past $75,000. They even expect it to reach the lofty $100,000 level this year. BTC has surged over 12% to $63,470 since the Federal Reserve signaled no further rate hikes. The dismal U.S. jobs data further added fuel to the rally.
This upswing has increased demand for Bitcoin call options, targeting new all-time highs on major exchanges like Deribit and over-the-counter (OTC) markets. With over $688 million in open interest, the $100,000 call strike is the largest on Deribit currently.
Grayscale Bitcoin ETF Reverses $17.4B Outflow
Crypto asset manager Grayscale has finally stemmed the four-month outflow streak from its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). The spot bitcoin ETF recorded inflows for two consecutive days after $17.5 billion in redemptions.
The downward spiral, which saw $218 million exit GBTC daily since January 11, has been upended, as GBTC raked in $63 million on May 3 and another $3.9 million on May 6. This has pushed overall spot bitcoin ETF inflows to $378.3 million over the last week.
Crypto Hackers Shift Stolen Funds to Tornado Cash
The hackers behind two major crypto exploits have started moving their ill-gotten gains, with a portion being laundered through the sanctioned crypto mixer Tornado Cash.
The Poloniex hacker, who stole $125 million last November, sent 1,100 ETH worth around $3.3 million to Tornado Cash in 100 ETH batches on Tuesday. This comes after moving 501 BTC ($32 million) to an unlabeled wallet on April 30th. In total, the wallet still holds over $181 million across various blockchains.
Similarly, the perpetrator of the $25 million Kronos Research hack has also been activated after a six-month hiatus. After transferring the 1,314 ETH haul to new wallets, the hacker made 10 transactions of 100 ETH each to Tornado Cash.
Tornado Cash allows users to obfuscate their crypto holdings by mixing assets from different wallets, aiding money laundering. It was sanctioned last year after being linked to North Korean hackers like Lazarus Group.
Another Crypto News of the Day: Ore Wins Solana Hackathon
The Solana-based project Ore, which disrupted the network in April, has won the Grand Prize of $50,000 at the Solana Renaissance Hackathon.
Ore was a key factor behind Solana’s transaction processing issues last month when the sudden surge in mining activity combined with the memecoin frenzy overloaded the network.
The Solana Foundation acknowledged the role played by projects like Ore in the congestion alongside networking faults.
Colombia’s Biggest Bank Launches Crypto Exchange and Stablecoin
Bancolombia Group, Colombia’s largest bank, has launched a new digital asset exchange called Wenia and its own Colombian peso stablecoin COPW.
The new crypto platform aims to onboard 60,000 users in year one as it competes with leading Latin American exchanges like Binance and Bitso. Alongside Bitcoin, Ether, USD Coin, and Polygon, COPW, pegged 1:1 to the peso, will serve as an on-ramp for local users looking to access crypto markets.
The move allows Bancolombia to capitalize on Colombia’s burgeoning crypto adoption, which ranks third highest in Latin America. Wenia will cater to both retail and experienced traders by providing a regulated fiat-to-crypto gateway for Colombian nationals.
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