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The Crypto Minute
Your Weekly Guide to Surviving the Crypto Rollercoaster.
CoinBrain
February 24, 2025 • Reading Time: 10 minutes
Welcome to a new issue of Crypto Minute by CoinBrain! The crypto world never sleeps, and this week is no exception 💥
We're tracking North Korea's record-breaking $1.4B Bybit hack, presidential crypto scandals, and the quantum computing threat.
Plus, don't miss crucial market events that could shake up your portfolio this week.
🌊 Dive in for your essential crypto briefing!
⤵️ Today’s Agenda:
Heist of the Century 🚨 North Korea's hackers just made off with $1.4B from Bybit.
📅 G20 big players gathering + Fed's favorite inflation number dropping on Friday (grab your popcorn!)
Whale Watching: Dave Portnoy's epic $Greed token “totally unexpected” rug 🐳
Microsoft’s new Majorana 1 quantum chip has crypto bros worrying about their bags 💰️
And more…
📊 Market Snapshot
| $94,600BTC-0.5% | $2,700ETH+0.5% | $3.13TCrypto Market Cap-2.2% | 40 (Neutral)Fear & Greed Index+2 from last week |
📅 Crypto Events You don’t want to Miss
Wed, Thu, Feb 26-27: G20 Meetings (Days 1 & 2)
Global finance leaders, central bankers, and policymakers gather to discuss the economic outlook and regulatory frameworks.
Crypto regulation could be on the table, so keep an eye out for any policy updates that might shake the market!
Friday, Feb 28, 1:30 PM: US Core PCE Price Index (MoM)
The Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation metric drops this Friday (PCE or Personal Consumption Expenditures).
⬆️ A higher-than-expected reading could fuel rate hike fears, sending risk assets like Bitcoin into volatility mode.
⬇️ A lower reading? That’s a green light for bulls!
🐋Smart Money Tracker
Wed, Feb 19th: Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) created $Greed and bought 357.92M $Greed (35.79% of the total supply).
He sold all $357.92M $Greed in a single transaction, causing the price of $Greed to crash by 99%.
Fri, Feb 21st: A smart trader made a profit of $1.8M on Sonic $S (prev. $FTM)!
This trader spent $98K to buy $SHADOW on Jan 31 and Feb 2 and sold 9,325 $SHADOW for $1.72M on this day.
Fri, Feb 21st: According to @zachxbt, Bybit was hacked, with $1.4B worth of $ETH, $stETH, $cmETH, and $mETH outflow from Bybit.
The hacker is exchanging $stETH, $cmETH, and $mETH for $ETH. Later they moved $1.4B of stolen funds into multiple wallets.
Mon, Feb 24th: Since being hacked, Bybit has received ~446,870 ETH($1.23B) through loans, whale deposits, and ETH purchases.
The community holds together ❤️🩹
Mon, Feb 24th: It seems that the stablecoin bank @0xinfini was hacked and 49.5M $USDC was stolen.
The hacker swapped 49.5M $USDC for 49.5M $DAI and bought 17,696 $ETH.
The 17,696 $ETH was transferred to a new wallet "0xfcc8…6e49".
Source: Lookonchain
📰 News Recap (Feb 18 to 24)
Milei's Reaction on $LIBRA 🇦🇷 After shilling a token called $LIBRA that promptly rugged, Milei went from "oops" to "it's not my fault" faster than a Memecoin flash crash.
His defense? Only "5,000 people max" got burned (phew, what a relief 🙄). On top of that, accusations of corruption and insider trading are surfacing.
Hayden Davis bragging about controlling Milei. Source: CoinDesk
Fun fact: This isn't his first rodeo - he's previously backed two failed crypto projects. Maybe stick to economics, Mr. President?
Read more here.
Microsoft's Quantum Leap Has Crypto Sweating 🔐 Microsoft just dropped their new Majorana 1 quantum chip, and crypto bros are getting nervous!
Source: Microsoft
While we're not quite at "everyone's Bitcoin is toast" level yet, this baby brings us one step closer to the infamous "Q-Day" when quantum computers could crack current crypto security.
Don't panic-sell just yet though - experts say we're still years away from any real threat.
Kanye's Controversial Crypto Plans ⚠️ Ye (formerly Kanye West) is diving into crypto after just two weeks after saying memecoins "prey on fans," he's now planning to launch his own token.
There are also allegations of Ye selling his X account to a third party to promote their crypto projects. The figure is supposed to go as high as $20M.
Source: @boldleonidas
While we'd usually cover the details, the project's name and intentions are problematic enough that we'll just say: maybe skip this one, folks.
Small hint: the topic of the coin has to do with Ye’s recent far-right rants on X
🌍️ Story of the Week
🚨 Bybit's $1.4B Hack - North Korea's Biggest Crypto Heist Yet.
Well friends, we've got a new record in crypto... but not the fun kind! Bybit, one of crypto's biggest exchanges, just got hit with the largest hack in crypto history.
Let's break down this wild ride:
What Happened? 🤔 The Bybit team got bamboozled into signing what looked like a normal transaction but actually handed control of their ETH cold wallet to hackers. Sneaky stuff!
Bybit Inflows and TVL. Source: DeFiLlama
The Damage Report 📊
$1.4 BILLION in ETH and other tokens stolen
About 75% of users' ETH deposits affected
The biggest crypto exchange hack ever (the previous record was "just" $534M)
Plot Twist: The Usual Suspects 🕵️♂️ Enter the Lazarus Group, North Korea's infamous hack squad.
These folks have a track record longer than a CVS receipt, and crypto detective ZachXBT connected the dots. He even scored a $34,000 bounty for cracking the case!
The Silver Lining? ✨ Bybit's not giving up without a fight! They're offering a whopping 10% bounty to anyone who helps recover the funds.
Do the math - that's a potential $140M reward. Plus, they've already managed to recover some funds:
$43.5M in cmETH saved by mETH Protocol
$181,000 in USDT frozen by Tether
Source: @boldleonidas
What's Next? 🎯 While Bybit says they're still solvent and can cover the losses, they're scrambling to secure bridge loans to keep things running smoothly.
Meanwhile, the hackers are playing digital hot potato, splitting the funds across dozens of wallets.
🔒 Major Token Unlocks of the Week
$ZETA - 5.92% of the total supply will enter circulation on Feb 25, 2025.
$SOPH - 7.94% of the total supply will enter circulation on Feb 25, 2025.
$ECOx - 6.97% of the total supply will enter circulation on Feb 28, 2025.
$BMEX - 8.68% of the total supply will enter circulation on Mar 01, 2025.
$HIGH - 3.28% of the total supply will enter circulation on Mar 01, 2025.
Get full unlock details here.
🗞️ From our Blog
💡 1 Minute Learning: Soulbond Tokens
Ever wished you could actually verify the credentials and claims of others? That's where Soulbound Tokens (SBTs) come in! 🎓
Think of them as digital badges that can't be sold or transferred - they're bound to your crypto wallet like achievements in a video game.
Quick examples:
University degrees that can't be faked
Proof of event attendance
Reputation scores
Work credentials
Medical records
Source: napkin.ai
The cool part? Unlike regular NFTs, you can't buy someone else's achievements.
If you graduated from Harvard, that SBT is yours and yours alone. If you lose access to your wallet, there are no recovery methods 🫠
The catch? We're still early - most institutions aren't issuing SBTs yet. But they could revolutionize how we prove our identity and achievements in Web3! 🚀
And that’s a wrap! 🎉 Enjoyed this newsletter? Forward it to a friend, and let them know they can subscribe here.
Got any ideas or feedback? We’d love to hear from you! Drop us an email at [email protected].
DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or make financial decisions. Always do your own research and stay safe out there.