Crypto

Don’t believe it’s back to boring, says Laura

Published

2 years ago

October 29, 2022

After the last few years – let alone the last few weeks – you can see why Michael Gove has said in a speech that he is grateful “boring is back”.

Mr Gove, who has returned to cabinet as levelling up secretary and appears on this week’s programme, made the comments at the London Press Club awards.

You too might feel relief that the crazy period of the Truss administration has come to an end, and that in Rishi Sunak we seem to have a prime minister who doesn’t revel in scrapes and scandals, who doesn’t have making headlines at the top of his to-do list. Now who might we be talking about?

One of his ministers told me that Sunak had “ended the Tory psychodrama with a careful reshuffle of all the talents and a focus on delivery”, saying it was a sign of the recent turmoil that commentators see that as “boring”. “It’s actually serious government,” they added.

Another of his MPs, who did not find a berth in government, had a less flattering assessment, saying: “He’s managed to appoint to some of the dullest people in Parliament to ministerial jobs, so if anybody can succeed in being boring, it’s some of these people.” Ouch!

It is true that we are at the start of a very different era. From 2015 until last month at least one of our big political parties has been led by a deeply unconventional leader.

Jeremy Corbyn’s time in office turned Labour upside down. Boris Johnson as the Tory boss provided a daily soap opera.

Much of the soundtrack to the last seven years has been noisy internal chaos for one – or sometimes both – of Labour and the Conservatives.

Sunak vs Starmer creates a different atmosphere altogether. The biggest beasts in our politics are now described by colleagues as “sensible” and “measured”. They are both known by their teams to be extremely hard working and diligent.

The self-perpetuating Tory circus has gone, the ring master retired after the crowd didn’t clamour for more. And as one government insider notes, both main party leaders “are keen to establish themselves for their competence rather than political pyrotechnics”. But that is not the same as “boring” for several significant reasons.

Firstly, we are not living in a time when things are ticking over nicely and government can just trundle along. The choices the new prime minister has to make about the economy are huge.

Rishi Sunak’s first PMQs in the top job… in 64 seconds

And it can’t have escaped your notice – with Jeremy Hunt’s sober tones, or countless briefings to journalists about the scary size of the black hole in the public finances – that cuts are coming, even if they end up being less grim than the scariest warnings suggest.

We’ll only know the likely result of those decisions when the chancellor gets to the despatch box on 17 November. We can be sure that it won’t be pretty. But the decisions for Mr Sunak go way beyond the choices he has to make about the economy, and they are certainly not “boring”.

With millions on waiting lists, social care creaking, the risk of blackouts this winter and climate change, choices have to be made fast on a vast range of issues, and those decisions will have massive consequences for us all.

And while Mr Sunak’s approach on the economy is widely known, his broader instincts are less well understood.

The job is huge, according to another government source, who says: “We have to get five years’ worth of work done in about two.”

But will it be dull? They add: “It will be calmer and more stable, but to say Sunak is boring is wrong. He actually has quite an innovative way of looking at things so will shake things up, but in a well thought through way.”

That’s an optimistic way of looking at it. One Whitehall source describes him differently, as “the least experienced prime minister we have had in recent history”. Additionally, as chancellor it was possible for him – as others before him – to stay out of sight for long periods of time.

Successive new prime ministers and their teams have started out with the intention of being less visible, popping up less, determined to concentrate on the job and their priorities rather than get caught up in frippery or spend time on events that don’t match their agenda.

They want to avoid the surreal spectacle of Tony Blair once giving a view on the fortunes of fictional Coronation Street character, Deirdre Rachid. If you are lucky enough not to remember this, it really did happen, as this BBC story from the time shows.

But successive teams who have entered No 10 with that intention find out that in the real world, they can dictate and control far less than they hope. Life comes at them fast, 24 hours a day, from 360 degrees.

Mr Sunak has discovered already this week with his first visit, to a hospital.

There were planned images of him chatting to patients, showing empathy and giving a brief clip to broadcasters on the issues of the day – but it was memorable not because of that, but because a patient took him to task, wagging her finger at him for not paying nurses enough. That encounter was not boring.

Rishi Sunak says it is right he “focuses on the… pressing domestic challenges” the UK faces in its economy rather than got to COP27.

And whether it’s on health, the environment, welfare, foreign affairs or other issues, it is hard to know where the new prime minister’s political reflexes will lie.

A Whitehall source who has worked alongside him says he “is sensible, but not a centrist”, and he may surprise some even of his own supporters by erring to the right.

Politics is about principles, and we’d all want our leaders to be deeply serious about how they make decisions, but it is also about instinct.

The source, who has served successive prime ministers, wonders if his character will be well suited for the crucible of Downing Street.

“Boris came to reasonable decisions, but made them in a crazy way and didn’t stick to them, Liz neither made the right decisions nor made them in a sensible way,” they said.

“He [Sunak] will make them in a sensible way, and it will make a difference. But given the way he delves into detail, how will he cope with the span of the job? You can’t do a spreadsheet on every issue when you are the prime minister.”

And while he might be generally seen as sensible, Mr Sunak has already willingly walked into a political controversy that is far from dull.

He hired back Suella Braverman as home secretary just days after she had been fired for breaking the rules for ministers. She had used her personal email to send government documents to a colleague, and they also ended up with someone else by mistake.

Holding his carefully constructed government together prevents a huge challenge for the new leader, and it’s simply not clear yet if he has the political ability to do that with long-term success. Could anyone?

The Conservatives concluded, less than a week ago, that after all the drama, Mr Sunak was their best option. The impulse to survive after the trauma of the Truss explosion led them to choose the candidate closest to being seen as a safe pair of hands.

With a smart team around him, a party exhausted by arguing with itself, and a personal reputation for being extremely capable and hardworking, that could turn out to be true.

But there is nothing remotely guaranteed about that coming to pass, nor is there any certainty that the Sunak premiership will be a success. And however much Conservatives might hope for dull stability, it certainly will not be boring for the rest of us to find out.

Reports /TrainViral/

Crypto

Bitcoin’s Recovery – the Downturn Is Over

Published

5 months ago

July 16, 2024

The market is currently in a news-driven environment where the prices of cryptocurrencies have been determined by news agenda rather than fundamentals.

Bitfinex analysts have warned crypto investors to be cautious as bitcoin’s (BTC) recovery over the weekend is not a sign that its correction is over; the asset could witness more bloodshed in the near term.

In the latest Bitfinex Alpha report, experts deemed the market’s reaction this week critical, especially as supply alleviated over the weekend could return when traditional markets open.

“No Man’s Land”

Since Saturday, bitcoin has risen almost 10% from $57,600 to $63,000, closing last week in the green. The asset has surged above the 125-day range low of $60,200, which it broke through earlier this month after news of the German government’s massive BTC selling hit the market.

Market sentiment began to improve after reports that wallets linked to the German government were almost empty. However, the positive sentiment may not be sustained for long as the BTC the German authorities moved to trading desks and exchanges are yet to be sold.

While the supply from Germany appears to have been factored into bitcoin’s market price, Bitfinex analysts believe the end of selling pressure depends on how the involved trading desks execute their trades in the coming days.

Although the shift in sentiment underscores the market’s capacity to integrate new information and adjust expectations quickly, analysts think the market’s reaction over the first two trading days of the week cannot be overlooked for two reasons.

First, the low support level in the $60,200 range has now become a potential resistance line. Second, trading patterns over the past three months suggest that weekends are usually favorable for markets, especially on Saturdays when supply pressure seems to subside.

“We are now in no man’s land until we get clear resolution above or below this level,” the analysts said.

A News-Driven Environment

Besides the potential resistance level and three-month weekend trading pattern, the market is currently in a news-driven environment, where the prices of cryptocurrencies have been determined by news agendas rather than fundamentals.

Since selling pressure concerns are not yet completely obsolete due to upcoming Mt Gox creditor distributions, Bitfinex analysts expect such headlines to continue to have some impact on price movements. As such, the analysts urged investors to exercise caution in their trading strategies.

Reports /Trainviral/

Crypto

Bitcoin ETFs Saw $300M in Daily Net Inflows

Published

5 months ago

July 16, 2024

BlackRock’s IBIT led with $117.25 million in inflows on July 15, also being the most traded Bitcoin ETF.

The US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a daily net inflow of $301 million on July 15th. This extended their winning streak to seven consecutive days amidst a broader market recovery.

None of the ETFs recorded outflows for the day.

Bitcoin ETFs Rake in $16.11B in Net Inflows Since Jan

According to the data compiled by SoSoValue, BlackRock’s IBIT, the top spot Bitcoin ETF by net asset value, recorded the largest net inflows of the day at $117.25 million. IBIT was also the most actively traded Bitcoin ETF on Monday, with a volume of $1.24 billion. Ark Invest and 21Shares’ ARKB came in close behind with net inflows of $117.19 million.

Fidelity’s FBTC experienced net inflows of $36.15 million on Monday, while Bitwise’s BITB saw $15.24 million in inflows. VanEck’s HODL, Invesco and Galaxy Digital’s BTCO, and Franklin Templeton’s EZBC funds also recorded net inflows. Meanwhile, Grayscale’s GBTC and other ETFs, such as Valkyrie’s BRRR, WisdomTree’s BTCW, and Hashdex’s DEFI, registered no flows for the day.

A total of $2.26 billion was traded on Monday. The trading volume for these ETFs was less than in March when it exceeded $8 billion on some days. Meanwhile, these funds have collectively attracted $16.11 billion in net inflow since their January launch.

What’s Next For Bitcoin?

Earlier this month, bitcoin’s price decline was mainly due to fears of massive selling pressure from Mt. Gox and the German government’s BTC sales.

But the assassination attempt on pro-crypto former US President and presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump at Saturday’s rally seemed to spark a recovery in the world’s largest digital asset, and experts are bullish on the asset’s price trajectory going forward. Bitcoin surged more than 9% over the past week and was currently trading slightly below $64,000.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt discussed bitcoin’s price outlook, suggesting a potential major rally. He referred to a pattern he terms “Hump->Slump->Bump->Dump->Pump” and highlighted that the July 5 double top attempt was a bear trap, confirmed by the July 13 close. He sees a likely continued upward trend but warned that a close below $56,000 would negate this bullish view.

“Bitcoin $BTC could be unfolding its often-repeated Hump…Slump…Bump…Dump…Pump chart construction. Jul 5 attempt at the double top was a bear trap, confirmed by Jul 13 close. Most likely scenario now is that bears are trapped. Close below $56k negates this interpretation”

Reports /Trainviral/

Crypto

LI.FI DeFi Platform Exploited, Over $8M Lost

Published

5 months ago

July 16, 2024

PeckShield alert reveals LI.FI’s protocol vulnerability is similar to a March 2022 attack, with the same bug recurring.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) platform LI.FI protocol has suffered an exploit amounting to over $8 million.

Cyvers Alerts reported detecting suspicious transactions within the LI.FI cross-chain transaction aggregator.

LI.FI Issues Warning After $8 Million Exploit

LI.FI confirmed the breach in a statement on July 16 via X: “Please do not interact with any http://LI.FI powered applications for now! We’re investigating a potential exploit.” The team clarified that users who did not set infinite approval are not at risk, emphasizing that only those who manually set infinite approvals seem to be affected.

According to Cyvers Alerts, more than $8 million in user funds have been stolen, with the majority being stablecoins. According to on-chain data, the hacker’s wallet holds 1,715 Ether (ETH) valued at $5.8 million and USDC, USDT, and DAI stablecoins.

Cyvers Alerts advised users to revoke relevant authorizations immediately, noting that the attacker is actively converting USDC and USDT into ETH.

Crypto security firm Decurity provided insights into the exploit, stating that it involves the LI.FI bridge. “The root cause is a possibility of an arbitrary call with user-controlled data via depositToGasZipERC20() in GasZipFacet, which was deployed 5 days ago,” Decurity explained on X.

“In general, the risks behind routers, cross-chain swaps, etc. are about token approvals. Raw native assets like (unwrapped) ETH are safe from these kinds of hacks b/c they don’t have approvals as an option. Most users & wallets also no longer do “infinite approvals” which gives a smart contract total control on removing any amount of their tokens. It’s important to understand which tokens you’re approving to which contracts.

This dashboard looks for all transactions of a user that intersects Lifi. Not all of these transactions indicate risk- but you can see how, broadly, integrations & layers of tech (like how Metamask bridge uses Lifi on BSC) can complicate how users do or don’t put their assets at risk. Revoke Cash is the most well known approval manager app.

But it’s also good security practice to simply rotate your address. New addresses start with 0 approvals, so starting fresh by moving your tokens to a fresh address is another good security practice.” – commented Carlos Mercado, Data Scientist at Flipside Crypto.

Recent Exploit Mirrors March 2022 Attack

Further analysis by PeckShield alert revealed that the vulnerability is similar to a previous attack on LI.FI’s protocol that occurred on March 20, 2022. That incident saw a bad actor exploit LI.FI’s smart contract, specifically the swapping feature, before bridging.

The attacker manipulated the system to call token contracts directly within their contract’s context, making users who had given infinite approval vulnerable. This exploit resulted in the theft of approximately 205 ETH from 29 wallets, affecting tokens such as USDC, MATIC, RPL, GNO, USDT, MVI, AUDIO, AAVE, JRT, and DAI.

“The bug is basically the same. Are we learning anything from the past lesson(s)?” PeckShield Alert said in a July 16 X post.

Following the 2022 incident, LI.FI disabled all swap methods in its smart contract and worked on developing a fix to prevent future vulnerabilities. However, the recurrence of a similar exploit raises concerns about the platform’s security measures and whether adequate steps were taken to address the vulnerabilities identified in the previous breach.

LI.FI is a liquidity aggregation protocol that allows users to trade across various blockchains, venues, and bridges.

Reports /Trainviral/