Blockchain
XRP At Risk Of Falling Out Of Crypto Top Five For First Time Since 2013

XRP has had an extremely difficult run since 2017 and things have only turned worse. But somehow despite the poor performance compared to its peers, it has managed to hold onto a top five rank by market cap dating back as far as 2013.
However, the legal blow dealt by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the subsequent crypto exchange delistings, the » Read more
” href=”https://www.newsbtc.com/dictionary/altcoin/” data-wpel-link=”internal”>altcoin is now at dangerous risk of falling out of the top five for the first time since back then. Here’s which cryptocurrency could take its spot, and a look at how far the top five has changed since 2013.
The Crypto Market Top Five: 2013 Versus 2021
The cryptocurrency market is constantly evolving, and new projects regularly appear that temporarily dominate the space, only to fall into obscurity later on. The best place for investors to look beyond Bitcoin itself, is the top five or ten cryptocurrencies by market cap.
The higher up the list you go, and the longer the asset has held the position, the more likely the » Read more
” href=”https://www.newsbtc.com/dictionary/coin/” data-wpel-link=”internal”>coin has staying power and will continue to do so.
Related Reading | Analyst Who Called Coinbase XRP Delisting Says SEC Is “Investigating” Other Altcoins
In a very risky space, these coins are among the least risky. But scanning through snapshots taken of the top five throughout the history of crypto, even the cream of the crop changes often.
A historical snapshot of crypto in 2013 | Source: CoinMarketCap.com
A handful of coins however have mostly maintained their notch in upper tiers of crypto market share, such as Litecoin, Ethereum, XRP, and of course, Bitcoin.
XRP typically held a number three, but sometimes two or four slot depending on the tides at the time, and for the first time since 2013 is at risk of being booted – possibly for good.
XRP Could Fall Out Of Favor As Investors Continue To Flee
XRP has long battled Ethereum for the number two spot, and as the crypto market grew and so did the need for stablecoins, Tether encroached on the top three.
Related Reading | Here’s Why Despite SEC Charges, XRP Will Soar Again Someday
A newcomer, Polkadot, has now unseated XRP’s fourth rank due to the ripple-effect of the lawsuit against the token’s parent company. The SEC alleges that Ripple sold unregistered securities and XRP are the securities in reference.
Ripple's market cap is barely holding higher than Cardano | Source: CRYPTOCAP-XRP on TradingView.com
The asset saw a mass delisting in the United States, and now even the fifth place rank of XRP is on the ropes against Cardano (ADA).
Ripple has $12 billion of market cap remaining, while Cardano is creeping up right behind with $11 billion. How far could the cryptocurrency fall from grace?
Featured image from Pixabay, Charts from TradingView.com and CoinMarketCap.com
Blockchain
Prepare For Liftoff: Bitcoin Loses Bear Market Trendline Against Altcoins

Aside from a few rare outliers, over the last several years, owning Bitcoin has been the better investment compared to other cryptocurrencies. Altcoins like Ethereum and others have only recently caught up, and BTC dominance has maintained the lion’s share of the crypto market cap.
However, dominance has lost an important trendline dating back four full years to the peak of the last bull market, and it could suggest a major turnaround is about to occur across the crypto market. Could this be the » Read more
” href=”https://www.newsbtc.com/dictionary/altcoin/” data-wpel-link=”internal”>altcoin season crypto investors have been waiting for?
Bitcoin Dominance Loses Crucial » Read more
” href=”https://www.newsbtc.com/dictionary/bear/” data-wpel-link=”internal”>Bear Market Trendline
At peak Bitcoin fever in 2017, interest turned to altcoins that were much cheaper per » Read more
” href=”https://www.newsbtc.com/dictionary/coin/” data-wpel-link=”internal”>coin by comparison as investors searched for the next BTC.
Related Reading | Five Signs That Say Altcoin Season Hasn’t Even Started Yet
Those investors ended up learning the hard way that there is no replacement for Bitcoin. Altcoins plunged by as much as 99% in most instances, while Bitcoin wiped out only 84% of its gains by comparison. Both scenarios are now far in the rear view, and since then Bitcoin has a commanding lead.
BTC dominance has lost an important monthly trendline dating back to the top of the last bull market | CRYPTOCAP-BTC.D on TradingView.com
At the height of that fever, dominance reached as low as 35%, but has since remained around or above 63%. That key level was lost at the same time a pivotal trendline was, and now there could be no over-performance in Bitcoin for the next year or more.
The trendline in question dates back four years to the bull market peak, and has kept dominance supported ever since.
Altcoins Are Ready To Explode If Dominance Dives Further
Bitcoin dominance holds the key to unlocking the true potential of any » Read more
” href=”https://www.newsbtc.com/dictionary/altcoin/” data-wpel-link=”internal”>altcoin season, which thus far the leading cryptocurrency by market cap has kept locked away for many years now.
A zoomed in view shows how many times BTC dominance tried to reclaim the line | CRYPTOCAP-BTC.D on TradingView.com
Losing the previous long term trendline resulted in some short term consolidation followed by a large move lower. A bearish retest of 70% BTC dominance failed, sending the important crypto market metric falling back lower to the second ascending trendline.
Related Reading | Altcoin Season Is Here: “Buy Crypto” Surpases Bitcoin Searches On Google
With the 63% level now lost also, BTC dominance should gravitate toward the mid-50% range, allowing altcoins to soar compared to Bitcoin for an extended period of time.
Altcoins could also theoretically hold up better in a wider correction, but that scenario is unlikely as the riskier assets typically are more volatile and react more sensitively to greater crypto market selloffs.
Featured image from Deposit Photos, Charts from TradingView.com
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Source: https://www.newsbtc.com/analysis/btc/bitcoin-dominance-trendline-altcoins/
Blockchain
John McAfee faces more charges connected to money laundering and wire fraud


According to the United States Department of Justice, Manhattan Federal Court today charged John McAfee and his team’s executive adviser Jimmy Gale Watson Jr for fraud and money laundering conspiracy crimes.
McAfee has been charged with securities fraud, touting, and wire fraud among other offenses stemming from the fraudulent promotion of crypto that federal law recognized as securities.
On 6 October last year, United States watchdog, Securities Exchange Commissions (SEC) charged the founder of the McAfee antivirus software firm for allegedly making over $23 million in the process of shilling seven initial coin offerings. Jimmy Gale Watson Jr. was also charged for violating Securities’ law in real-time on Twitter for shilling the ICOs along with McAfee.
The ICOs reportedly raised $41 million in the process with half of those proceeds pocketed by McAfee.
Manhattan US Attorney Audrey Strauss alleged that the duo exploited social media and “enthusiasm” among investors in the “emerging crypto market” to make millions through “lies and deception.” She further claimed:
…[McAfee and Watson] allegedly used McAfee’s Twitter account to publish messages to hundreds of thousands of his Twitter followers touting various cryptocurrencies through false and misleading statements to conceal their true, self-interested motives.
The investors of these ICOs allegedly concealed the fact that they were compensating McAfee and his team for their promotional tweets through funds raised from public ICO investors.
While McAfee is currently detained in Spain on separate criminal charges filed by the DoJ’s Tax Division. Watson was arrested on 4 March in Texas and will be presented before a federal magistrate judge in the Northern District of Texas, today.
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Source: https://ambcrypto.com/john-mcafee-faces-more-charges-connected-to-money-laundering-and-wire-fraud
Blockchain
PAID Network exploiter nets $3 million in infinite mint attack


Paid Network, a DeFi platform aimed at real-world businesses, has been exploited today in an “infinite mint” attack that has sent PAID token prices plunging upwards of 85%.
While the exploit netted nearly $180 million in PAID tokens at the time of the attack — what would have comfortably been the largest exploit of a DeFi protocol — the hacker’s payday will end up being far less. One observer noted that the attacker’s wallet only converted some of their tokens to wrapped ether, leaving the rest in rapidly-devaluing PAID tokens:
Summary of $PAID incident:
Total PAID swapped to WETH: 2079.603371141493
= $3,104,887.33Total PAID left in account: 594,717,455.71
= $24,313,147Total amount in attacker account = $27,418,034.33
Stay Safe. pic.twitter.com/Lz93qGKAq0
— vasa (@vasa_develop) March 5, 2021
The attacker’s wallet still has over 57 million PAID tokens worth $37 million.
The exploit is conceptually similar to an attack on insurance protocol Cover that took place in late December last year. In that instance, the team took a “snapshot” of holders prior to the attack and issued a new token, returning the supply of the token to pre-exploit levels.
The team confirmed on Twitter that they are currently planning for a snapshot and restoration:
We are investigating the issue. We pulled liquidity, are creating a new smart contract, & will be restoring everyone’s original balances to before the hack.
Those with staked, Lpool & UniFarm $PAID will have their tokens be sent to them manually.
We will share more updates soon
— PAID NETWORK (@paid_network) March 5, 2021
However, token holders anxious for a resolution may be out of luck. Some in the community are speculating that the attack on PAID wasn’t an exploit at all, but instead a “rugpull” — a colloquial term for an insider designing contracts to specifically make them exploitable and swiping user funds.
Nick Chong of Parafi Capital noted on Twitter that Paid’s deployer contract, an externally controlled account, transferred ownership of the deployer to the attacker shortly before the mint, indicating that a member of the team either rugpulled, or errantly allowed the attack to take place with a security lapse:
Paid Network’s deployer, an EOA, transferred ownership of a contract to the attacker 30 mins before the minthttps://t.co/h14GdV4fCf
— Nick Chong (@n2ckchong) March 5, 2021
Additionally, a DeFi risk analysis account @WARONRUGS warned of exactly this exploit in late January, noting that the contract owner can mint PAID tokens at any time:
❌ Scam Advisory #86- PAID Network $PAID (0x8c8687fC965593DFb2F0b4EAeFD55E9D8df348df)
Reason: The owner can mint tokens and did mint tokens to fresh wallets who never bought the presale. Contract is behind a proxy.
Likeliness of losing all funds: Very High
DYOR. #WARONRUGS❌ pic.twitter.com/YQunjpWuxY
— #WARONRUGS❌ (@WARONRUGS) January 25, 2021
An on-chain note sent to the attacker has ominously warned that “the LAPD will be in contact with Kyle Chasse very shortly.” Kyle Chasse is the CEO of Paid Network.
Paid Network did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
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Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/paid-network-exploiter-nets-3-million-in-infinite-mint-attack