22nd May 2024 > > A scam & US politics.

tl;dr

A new scam levels the playing field. Regulatory developments in the US, driven by political necessity, might prove to be very exciting.

Market Snap

Market Wrap

The Van Eck spot ETH ETF has been listed on DTCC with ticker $ETHV. This doesn’t mean we have approval, but it’s a strong indicator we might not be that far away. Take-up of ETH ETFs will be a slow-burn at first, as we saw with BTC, but over any reasonable timescale this is a buy the rumour and buy the news event.

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – New scam

Or at least, new to me.

The objective is clear. This scammer – and I promise you he is a scammer – wants those who see this post to put the private key into a wallet, say MetaMask, or some other hot wallet.

If you did that, you would see that the wallet is empty, but at some earlier date 4,300 USDT had been transferred in, and transferred out again. Perhaps someone was quicker off the mark than you? Well, that’s what the scammer wants you to think. In truth, he made both transfers, in and out.

So, what’s the scam? He hopes that you leave this wallet in your MetaMask front end, just sitting there quietly minding its own business. Perhaps someone does that in the hope that the scammer might move more cryptos into it.

Trust me, he won’t. He is waiting for you to accidentally use the public key for this wallet with the result that the cryptos you inadvertently transfer into it are immediately stolen.

…

There is a little twist in this tale.

Much as I detest feral scumbag scammers, if someone falls for this scam, it serves them right I say.

Anyone who tries to access the scammer’s wallet using the private key is doing so simply to steal the assets, putting them on a level par with the scammer.

They deserve each other.

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – Spot ETH ETF

If the House passes FIT 21 later today (https://www.curiouscryptos.com/post/19th-may-2024-us-regulation) the probability of rapid approval of a spot ETH ETF must surely increase.

The pivot by some senior Democrat politicians in favour of cryptos is to be welcomed. Notably Chuck Schummer, Senate Majority Leader, a man whose influence is second only to Joe Biden’s. His motivation for this pivot – an election later this year – is neither here nor there, except inasmuch as it is a public recognition that cryptos are now a major factor in the (re-)election or otherwise of politicians. The CCC has been telegraphing this development for two or more years now. It is good to see it come to fruition.

If the repeal of SAB 121 and the passing of FIT 21 both escape without a Presidential veto (ever increasingly likely), and an ETH ETF is approved, there is no going back. Warren’s anti-crypto army might well be stood down immediately.

This week and next might prove to be seismic for the crypto industry in the US.

Perhaps it is these events – if they do come to pass – that ignite this cycle’s true bull market, with several more waves to come. investment class.