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    Exclusive-IMF, World Bank to decide Monday on Oct 9-15 meetings in earthquake-hit Morocco -Georgieva

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The International Monetary Fund and World Bank will decide on Monday whether to proceed with Oct. 9-15 annual meetings in earthquake-hit Morocco after completing a “thorough review” of the country’s ability to host the meetings, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told Reuters.Georgieva also said in an exclusive interview that the IMF has reached a staff-level agreement with Morocco to provide a $1.3 billion loan to bolster the country’s resilience to climate-related disasters from the Fund’s new Resilience and Sustainability Trust.Questions have swirled over whether the IMF and World Bank would still hold their annual meetings in Morocco’s tourist hub of Marrakech since a devastating, 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck in the High Atlas (NYSE:ATCO) Mountains, killing more than 2,900 people.Marrakech, 45 miles (72 km) from the quake’s epicenter, suffered some damage in its ancient Medina quarter, but Moroccan officials have pressed the IMF and World Bank to proceed with the gathering, which would bring some 10,000-15,000 to the city. “The Moroccan authorities are fully committed to the meetings,” Georgieva said in her first public comments on the matter since the disaster.In describing discussions with Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, Georgieva expressed concern that the IMF and World Bank “don’t want to be a burden” to the country as it deals with recovery efforts.But she said the prime minister told her that it would be “quite devastating” for Morocco’s hospitality sector if the meetings were not to take place in Marrakech. She added that she agreed to look for ways to simplify the meetings if they proceed in Marrakech, including possibly reducing their length and scaling back attendance.”Stay tuned. By Monday, we will have made a decision in taking into account all factors. Obviously physical capacity, how the logistics are going to work,” Georgieva said, adding that security for participants was not a major concern.Georgieva said the $1.3 billion RST loan for Morocco needed approval from the IMF’s Executive Board, but board consideration would likely take place in about two weeks, before the annual meetings start.While the loan would not be directly related to the earthquake disaster, she said it would be aimed at building reslience to climate shocks, including drought, and help build the country’s overall financial capacity.Morocco also has access to a $5 billion flexible credit line from the IMF, approved in April, that is aimed at strengthening the countries’ crisis prevention capabilities. More

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    Crypto Whale’s strategic moves boost Tellor altcoin price

    The individual, who holds around 18% of the total TRB supply across three wallets, has been buying low on Binance and OKX, two major exchanges. Following this, the whale re-deposits the currency on Binance at a higher rate. This cycle creates an artificial demand, subsequently driving up the price.From August 30 to September 13, the crypto whale accumulated a total of 772,733 TRB from Binance and OKX. These purchases were made at an average price of $18.51, totaling approximately $14.3 million. Subsequently, 331,825 TRB were deposited back to Binance at an average price of $21.85, equating to roughly $7.25 million. This strategy yielded an estimated profit of $1.11 million.As of Friday, the whale’s holding of 440,908 TRBs is valued at $13.8 million given the current TRB price of $38.16. The unrealized profit from maintaining this amount of TRB stands at approximately $5.61 million.In related developments, Andrei Grachev, founder of DWF Labs, has been posting content that potentially influences the TRB price. While he does not explicitly mention the token, Grachev regularly highlights the TRB token on social media due to anomalies in its funding rate.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

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    Bitcoin mining firm sells Texas data center to bankrupt competitor for $14 million

    The dispute between Core Scientific and Celsius Mining stemmed from disagreements over their hosting contracts, particularly regarding who should bear the electricity costs. Celsius had engaged Core Scientific to manage and house its numerous Bitcoin mining machines, but disagreements led to legal battles.Both companies had filed for bankruptcy last year in the wake of a series of cryptocurrency market crashes. Core Scientific cited Celsius’ failure to meet financial obligations as a contributing factor to its own liquidity issues.The Texas data center that Celsius will acquire is partially developed and non-operational at present. It boasts an available power production capacity of 215 megawatts and includes buildings that are under construction, as well as equipment and designs necessary for the completion of the facility. Once operational, it has the potential to be one of the largest mining facilities in Texas.Despite its bankruptcy status, Celsius Mining continues its operations and plans to increase its mining capacity to 300 megawatts with this new site. The company has engaged US Bitcoin Corp., the winning bidder in a bankruptcy auction for managing Celsius’s mining assets, to oversee the construction of the facility.On the other hand, Core Scientific is planning to get re-listed on an exchange later this year. The company clarified that this site sale would not impact its mining fleet nor interfere with its three-year roadmap outlined in June 2023.Celsius Mining had a bold entry into the industry, with an initial public offering (IPO) for the unit launched in 2022. However, it declared bankruptcy just a few months later. A significant portion of its mining fleet was managed by hosting service providers, including Core Scientific.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

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    Ethereum users targeted in $11.5 million ‘sleepdropping’ digital fraud

    The fraudsters’ strategy is to lure users to deceptive websites where they are tricked into authorizing transactions that ultimately transfer their assets into the hands of the scammers. Despite ongoing investigations, the identities of those behind this operation remain unknown.The cybersecurity research identified more than 100 unique smart contracts associated with the scam, all displaying similar deployment patterns. These scams typically involve three main stages: first, the distribution of deceptive NFTs appearing to originate from credible sources; second, the creation of misleading websites; and finally, the deployment of malicious contracts that deceive users into parting with their funds.Over half a million addresses have received these deceptive token airdrops so far, with over 20,000 users confirmed as victims. One noted example involved users receiving a counterfeit Lido NFT token disguised as a “badge” for claiming an airdrop.The Lido token scam was particularly sophisticated as it seemed to come from an authentic smart contract that had previously issued an airdrop to early Lido stakers in 2021. The complexity of ERC token contracts allows them to be manipulated even when they are genuine.The NFT itself does not pose a risk to a user’s wallet. However, if users believe the airdrop is genuine and interact with it, they may end up claiming malicious tokens on a fraudulent site.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

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    Bitcoin eyes $30,000 mark amid robust market sentiment

    Yann Allemann, co-founder of analytics firm Glassnode, suggests that Bitcoin is poised for a significant breakout towards $30,000. According to Allemann, the market sentiment around Bitcoin is shifting positively, as evidenced by Risk Signal’s drop into the 60s. Despite expected resistance and profit-booking pressure around the $27,400 and $28,200 levels, Allemann believes these are merely hurdles before Bitcoin tackles the significant psychological barrier of $30,000.On the other hand, formidable resistance looms ahead for Bitcoin. Binance’s order book shows a strong sell wall indicating this resistance. However, robust buy-side orders are evident at the $26,000 level. Notably, Bitcoin remains resilient in the face of higher-than-expected US inflation data reported this week.The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data showed a 0.6% increase in August, led primarily by a surge in gasoline prices that account for more than half of the uptick. Despite this increase in inflation data, an immediate intervention from the Federal Reserve is unlikely as it is expected to leave interest rates unchanged in its policy meeting next week.CoinGecko data places Bitcoin’s current market cap at over $514 billion with a 24-hour trading volume of approximately $8.16 billion, underscoring the substantial financial stake involved.In related news from the broader crypto world, Genesis, a former titan among trading platforms, has ceased all global trading operations. This decision comes in the aftermath of the 2022 collapse of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, which Genesis cites as a pivotal factor in their closure due to the subsequent market turbulence.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

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    Coinbase’s Base blockchain hits record high transactions, driven by Friend.tech

    The surge in activity on Base was not driven by decentralized finance (DeFi) applications or non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces. Instead, a significant portion of usage was attributed to the new social application, Friend.tech, said Lucas Outumuro, head of research at IntoTheBlock.Friend.tech is a decentralized social network platform built on Base and describes itself as “the marketplace for your friends.” The platform saw increased usage over the last week, with its daily transactions also reaching an all-time high at 529,000. The rise in activity was partly attributed to users aiming to accrue points for an upcoming airdrop.Base witnessed a surge in activity following the launch of Friend.tech in early August. The launch drove daily active users to a record high and resulted in Base averaging a record high of 15.88 transactions per second, surpassing Ethereum and other rival layer 2 blockchains such as Arbitrum and Optimism.However, transactions on Friend.tech saw a significant decline after its initial surge, dropping from a peak of 525,000 in early August to 51,000 at the end of August. Base’s daily transactions also experienced a downturn over the same time period.IntoTheBlock attributes the recent uptick in activity on Base to the evolution of Ethereum’s layer 2 ecosystems with players becoming “more specialized in their own niche.” It further states that “Base has quickly become the L2 with the most unique addresses and transactions, fueled by Coinbase’s wide reach, making it a strong candidate for social applications like FriendTech to thrive.”Analysts have noted that the rise in Friend.tech activity did not result in congestion and increased fees on Ethereum, as has been the case with previous frenzies. This could be an indication that efforts to scale the blockchain by fostering supplemental “layer-2” networks, like Base, are proving successful.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More