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Bitcoin Maximalism

The Bitcoin Mempool Drama Was All Too Predictable

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So mempool.space recently added features to spot Runes and Ordinals transactions, and Bitcoin monetary maximalists totally lost it. As a Bitcoiner and observer of Bitcoin culture, this whole drama felt completely normal and predictable.

Over time, an ideological split has emerged between Bitcoin monetary maximalists “, who see Bitcoin as only money and nothing else,” and those open to buildings things on Bitcoin, whether it be innovative or crypto-esq, like Ordinals, Runes and Tokens.

With this split mindset now entrenched, the mempool.space backlash was inevitable.

From the purist viewpoint, anything beyond the Bitcoin protocol is heresy.

So, even just the neutral action of mempool.space displaying Runes and Ordinals data for their users to see provoked outrage. Never mind if it made one of the best open-source Bitcoin explorers more useful and data rich — it touched the “forbidden” topic, and all rationality went out the window.

This reaction perfectly followed the playbook. The monetary maximalists responded to perceived apostasy with fury, as they always do on X. 

The Season 2 crowd however, put their money where their mouth is and donated to the helpful platform, doubling the number of individual sponsors and approximately tripling the project’s yearly revenue from individual contributors. They financially backed a tool they found useful rather than just complaining. Actions over words.

Bitcoin purists should also put money where their mouths are and support the Bitcoin explorers who do not spot Runes and Ordinals transactions. I have yet to see them do this instead of just screaming on X, which says a lot about them.

Both sides acted true to form.

This type of drama is inevitable when you have two factions with fundamentally different perspectives. While certain views may go too far ethically, this is ultimately human nature. We’ll keep seeing this purist versus pragmatic conflict as Bitcoin evolves and divides into diverging philosophies.

Rationality gives way to belief and identity. But understanding these dynamics helps contextualise the mempool reaction.

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.





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Altcoins

Market Data Hints At 500x XRP Rally In Upcoming Altcoin Season

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Este artículo también está disponible en español.

According to market analysis, XRP might be near to having a significant price blowup. The next altcoin season could go anywhere from 10x to the amazing 500x, experts believe.

Two important charts by renowned market analyst Kevin Cage on XRP’s relationship with Bitcoin’s supremacy in past bull markets form the basis of this favorable prediction.

Recently, financial analyst Gary Cardone generated enthusiasm within the XRP community with a cryptic tweet suggesting a possible “launch” for the cryptocurrency.

Historically, Bitcoin’s market dominance has significantly influenced the performance of altcoins, such as XRP. When Bitcoin’s dominance declines, altcoins frequently experience significant increases.

This trend was apparent in previous altcoin seasons, as XRP flourished when Bitcoin’s market dominance diminished. Proponents such as Zach Rector assert that XRP is poised for a substantial breakout, bolstering the belief that the token’s future may be promising.

Historical Performance Indicates Potential

Cage emphasizes two critical epochs in XRP’s history. During the 2017 bull market, XRP surged more than 500-fold, increasing from $0.006 to $3.50 by early 2018. This increase occurred as Bitcoin’s dominance decreased from 95.91% to 35.46%. Altcoins including XRP surged significantly when Bitcoin fell, grabbing the chance to shine.

XRP market cap currently at $31 billion. Chart: TradingView.com

Though delisted from multiple exchanges and facing legal challenges from the US SEC, XRP had an incredible 10x gain in value during the 2021 bull run.

It increased from $0.18 to $1.96 with a corresponding decrease in Bitcoin’s supremacy, which fell from 73.51% to 39.54%. These historical examples demonstrate a distinct trend: XRP typically excels when Bitcoin declines.

XRP price up in the last seven days. Source: CoinMarketCap

Altcoin: Market Dynamics

Currently, Bitcoin’s dominance is approximately 58%, having recently increased. Should its dominance begin to wane once more, according to previous cycles, XRP may be poised for another substantial price surge.

A tenfold rise is possible, which would push XRP above $5. This shows that altcoin seasons are still a big reason for the token’s price changes.

Even though these predictions are getting a lot of attention, it’s still not clear how much XRP will rise. Things like the present lawsuits against Ripple could change how the market works.

The SEC’s recent appeal in its case against Ripple makes things more complicated. It makes the legal fight last longer and makes investors less sure of what will happen.

Community Discourse And Speculation

The XRP community is full of speculations. Cardone’s tweet made while using military imagery indicated some kind of upcoming development for XRP. Some members of the community seemed to take it as good news.

Supporters of XRP, such as Zach Rector, interpreted Garry’s tweet as an indication of the growing recognition of the altcoin. “Gary is hopping onboard the XRP train,” he remarked.

Featured image from HTX, chart from TradingView





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blockchain games

Did Jump Trading Just ‘Fracture’ the Trust of the Crypto industry?

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Is Jump Trading responsible for the collapse of DIO tokens? How did a market maker supposedly take advantage of a partnership with Fracture Labs to pocket millions and leave chaos behind?

Jump Trading, a prominent name in the crypto trading space, is now entangled in a legal battle. Fracture Labs, the creators of the blockchain-based game Decimated, has sued Jump, accusing the firm of executing a “pump and dump” scheme.

At the heart of the lawsuit, Fracture Labs claims Jump Trading exploited its role as a market maker to inflate the value of its DIO gaming token artificially. Once the price peaked, Jump allegedly sold off its holdings, triggering a sharp price decline.

How does a collaboration designed to promote a token’s success devolve into allegations of fraud and manipulation? Let’s break down the sequence of events leading up to the lawsuit and why it has drawn so much attention.

What happened between Jump Trading and Fracture Labs?

On Oct. 15, Fracture Labs filed a lawsuit against Jump Trading in an Illinois district court, accusing the firm of breaching their agreement and manipulating the DIO token.

To fully grasp the situation, we need to revisit 2021. During this time, Fracture Labs had just launched its DIO token to support its blockchain game, Decimated, and entered a partnership with Jump Trading to facilitate the token’s market introduction.

Jump Trading agreed to serve as a market maker—a role that involves providing liquidity to ensure smooth trading and price stability for the token. Market makers typically buy and sell assets to maintain balanced trading conditions, especially for newly launched tokens like DIO.

As part of the arrangement, Fracture Labs loaned 10 million DIO tokens to Jump, valued at approximately $500,000 at the time. The expectation was that Jump would assist in the token’s debut on the crypto exchange Huobi (HT), now known as HTX.

In addition to the loaned tokens, Fracture Labs sent 6 million more tokens directly to HTX, worth about $300,000, as part of its broader marketing campaign. With these preparations in place, everything seemed primed for a successful launch.

HTX played its part by heavily promoting the DIO token and leveraging influencers and social media campaigns to boost its visibility.

The strategy appeared successful — perhaps overly so. The price of DIO surged to $0.98, dramatically raising the value of Jump’s 10 million DIO holdings from $500,000 to a staggering $9.8 million in a short period.

For Jump Trading, this price surge represented an enormous windfall. The 10 million tokens they had borrowed were suddenly worth nearly $10 million. However, what followed is where the allegations of manipulation arise.

Fracture Labs alleges that Jump Trading saw the soaring price as a profit-making opportunity. Instead of continuing to provide liquidity and stabilize the token, Jump allegedly began selling off its DIO holdings in large quantities.

This mass sell-off caused a steep drop in DIO’s value, plummeting from nearly a dollar to just $0.005—a dramatic collapse that decimated the token’s worth.

The lawsuit further claims that after selling the tokens at their peak, Jump repurchased the devalued DIO tokens for just $53,000. This allowed Jump to return the 10 million tokens it had borrowed, fulfilling its obligation to Fracture Labs, all while pocketing millions in profit.

The collapse of DIO’s price had devastating consequences for Fracture Labs. According to the lawsuit, the sudden and severe drop in value crippled the company’s ability to attract new investors or sustain interest in the DIO token.

Adding to their troubles, Fracture Labs had deposited 1.5 million Tether (USDT) into an HTX holding account as a safeguard against accusations of market manipulation. This deposit was intended to reassure the market that Fracture Labs would not manipulate DIO’s price during its first 180 days of trading.

However, due to the extreme price volatility that Fracture Labs claims were triggered by Jump Trading’s actions, HTX allegedly refused to return most of the USDT deposit. This left Fracture Labs with not only a devalued token but also a substantial financial loss from their USDT deposit.

Fracture Labs is now accusing Jump Trading of fraud, civil conspiracy, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty. They assert that Jump Trading abused the trust placed in them as a market maker, using their privileged position to manipulate DIO’s price for personal gain.

The lawsuit seeks damages, the return of the profits that Jump allegedly made from the scheme, and a jury trial to settle the matter. Interestingly, HTX is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Jump Trading’s troubled past

The controversy surrounding Jump Trading is not new, as the firm has been under regulatory scrutiny multiple times in recent years.

In fact, both Jump Trading and its crypto arm, Jump Crypto, have faced several legal and regulatory challenges, raising concerns about their operations in the crypto market.

One of the more prominent cases surfaced in November 2023, when Jump Crypto’s involvement came under the spotlight in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Terraform Labs.

The lawsuit, originally filed in February 2023, alleged that Terraform Labs and its former CEO, Do Kwon, engaged in fraudulent activities and sold unregistered securities, focusing on their failed algorithmic stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST).

The collapse of UST in May 2022 led to billions of dollars in losses and significant turmoil across the broader crypto market.

According to the SEC, when UST first began losing its dollar peg in 2021, Terraform Labs collaborated with Jump Crypto to artificially boost the stablecoin’s value. 

The regulator claimed that Jump Crypto purchased large amounts of UST to restore its price, temporarily stabilizing the asset. However, when UST experienced its final collapse in May 2022, no similar intervention took place.

Terraform Labs, however, denied these claims, stating that Jump Crypto’s actions had no bearing on UST’s earlier recovery.

In April 2024, Terraform Labs reached a settlement with the SEC, agreeing to pay $4.47 billion after a jury found them liable for defrauding investors. The settlement included $420 million in civil fines, $3.6 billion in disgorgement, and $467 million in interest.

Although Jump Crypto was linked to UST’s earlier recovery efforts, it was neither charged nor formally implicated in any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

By June 2024, Jump Crypto found itself under investigation by another U.S. regulatory body—the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC launched a probe into Jump Crypto, reportedly scrutinizing its trading and investment activities within the crypto sector. Kanav Kariya, the firm’s former president, resigned just days later.

While the specifics of the investigation remain confidential, and no official allegations have been made, the probe reflects a broader push by U.S. regulators, including the CFTC, to intensify their enforcement actions against crypto firms throughout 2023 and 2024.

What to expect next?

If Fracture Labs succeeds in proving Jump Trading’s misconduct, it could trigger a major shift across the crypto industry, leading to tighter regulations and increased scrutiny of market makers.

However, this case is more than just one lawsuit. Governments, especially in the U.S. and Europe, are actively developing policies aimed at curbing market abuses. This case might provide regulators with the prime example they need to justify stricter oversight of market makers.

Additionally, token creators may start advocating for decentralized solutions or pushing for more restrictive contracts that limit the influence of market makers.

For the crypto industry to truly mature, this could be a crucial moment that compels everyone — projects, exchanges, and investors — to reevaluate how tokens are launched and managed, placing a greater emphasis on fairness and trust.



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