Musk fires Twitter execs, research stirs blockchain energy debate and other news


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A week in review: October 23–29

Your weekly highlights to stay up to date with the latest crypto news

#1. Twitter's top brass gutted as Elon Musk's takeover begins

Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter became final this week, after which he reportedly fired three top-level executives: CEO Parag Agrawal, head of legal and policy Vijaya Gadde and chief financial officer Ned Segal. Musk reportedly claims the three were dishonest about Twitter spam accounts — an issue that almost caused Musk to abandon the Twitter deal. On a more positive note, Musk said he has big plans for Twitter, including ensuring free speech on the platform. Twitter also commanded other headlines this week as Binance invested $500 million in the platform, and the New York Stock Exchange delisted the now-private company.

#2. Report: Vast majority of blockchain energy studies 'lack scientific rigor'

Much of the information floating around about blockchain carbon emissions lacks validity on several levels, according to a preprint produced by researchers from multiple universities. In short, the preprint states that numerous studies on blockchain energy consumption use incomplete data, lack clarity on electricity costs, and have made assumptions based on old data, among other points. Blockchains and their energy requirements have been a topic of much debate.

#3. Kazakhstan to build central bank digital currency on BNB Chain

Binance's BNB Chain will host Kazakhstan's central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. CBDCs have made headlines in recent years as regions across the globe have taken various steps toward the new form of money. The digital tenge, a product of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, will operate on BNB Chain. Binance has made regulatory strides in Kazakhstan — a country that has shown interest in crypto.

#4. Prediction of the week. Analyst puts Bitcoin price at $30K next month with breakout due

Early in the week, Bitcoin traded sideways between $19,000 and $20,000 with relatively little price fluctuation. On Oct. 25, the asset began moving up toward $21,000, finding resistance at the level on Oct. 26 before retracing back toward $20,000 on Oct. 27, according to Cointelegraph's BTC price index.

On Oct. 25, Eight CEO Michaël van de Poppe forecasted a possible near-term surge up to $30,000 for BTC. "Within 2-3 weeks, #Bitcoin will break out significantly," he tweeted, adding: "My take is the upside. My guess is probably $30K."

#5. FUD of the week. CFTC commissioner compares crypto contagion risk to 2008 financial crisis

Commodity Futures Trading Commission head Christy Goldsmith Romero recently requested additional power from the United States government to ensure crypto problems do not affect mainstream finance. Romero drew parallels between the 2008 financial crisis and the current atmosphere by citing Terra's downfall as a contagion risk for mainstream markets. She noted that the crypto sector could negatively impact mainstream finance due to increasing crossover activity between the two worlds.

#6. FUD of the week. 3Commas issues security alert as FTX deletes API keys following hack

Following investigations, crypto exchange FTX and digital asset trading bot service 3Commas found the cause of suspicious DMG cryptocurrency trading on FTX. Hackers phished victims out of their FTX API keys via fake websites that looked like 3Commas', resulting in unauthorized trades for DMG asset pairs on FTX. Other methods, including malware, may also be at fault.

Music legends partner up on a remarkable NFT project

The Avila Brothers, Billy Ray Cyrus and Snoop Dogg are preparing to unveil one of the most remarkable 3- tier collections of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) ever seen — "A Hard Working Man." This ambitious project takes music to the next level, bridging it to an immersive metaverse environment that will prove what it means to work hard.