Qrafty heard about Worldcoin founders saved by US Gov, Elon wants you to pay for X and... what are MEV bots?

***Qrafty smiling the biggest smile*** Aloha, digital currencies enthuziast! I am Qrafty - the crypto lovin’ honey badger 🦡 !

Welcome to Coinqraft – the daily digital currency newsletter for busy but curious people who want to know, but don’t want to be a crypto bro!🌟

🦡   Qrafty is back from the crypto jungle with news, stories and juice 📰 🌟

1. A Short Explanation of MEV Bots

2. BTC Miners Trapped

3. Worldcoin Founders Saved by US Gov

Bonus: SBF mommy and daddy got rich from FTX

What Are MEV Bots?

MEV(Miner Extractable Value) bots have been all the rage lately, especially on Ethereum. These “clever” MEV bots can detect scenarios where a miner could rearrange transactions for extra fees. They then send specific transactions to entice the miner into making that move.

So basically it allows a miners to reorganize the transactions in a block in order to obtain maximum fees from that block.

Let’s explain this via a simple and straightforward story: imagine there's a big playground where kids come to trade their toys with each other. Now, some kids are faster than others, and they want to get the best toys first. These fast kids are like the "MEV bots" in the world of cryptocurrencies.

Here's how it works:

1. The Playground (Blockchain): Think of the playground as a special place where people trade digital money (like the money you use in online games).

2. Toy Trades (Transactions): The toys in the playground are like digital transactions. These transactions are like when you buy or sell things online.

3. The Fast Kid (MEV Bot): Imagine one kid in the playground who's really quick and can see what toys other kids want to trade before they even start trading. This kid is like a "MEV bot."

4. Getting the Best Toys (Making Money): The MEV bot wants to get the best toys (transactions) to make more money. So, they try to go before everyone else and grab the toys (transactions) that will make them the most money.

5. Sometimes, It's Not Fair: Now, here's the tricky part. When the MEV bot gets the best toys first, it might not be fair to the other kids. Imagine if you were about to trade your favorite toy, but the fast kid took it before you even had a chance. That wouldn't feel fair, right?

In the world of cryptocurrencies, MEV bots are like the fast kids who try to get the best transactions before others, sometimes making things unfair for regular people. So, just like in the playground, people are working to make sure everyone has a fair chance to trade their toys (transactions) without being pushed aside by the MEV bots.

The problem? Bots run transaction prices high for normal users. Some see it as a form of exploitation of regular users, some see it as a tactical advantage in the war like world of digital currencies. As always, Qrafty leaves it up to you to decide!

🙃 Qrafty hopes that today’s main story brought brave badgery value to you! Now it’s time for a break, you deserve a bit of fun! 😇 👇️

1. BTC Miners Are Trapped

The hash rate, which measures the computational power used to secure a blockchain, is increasing steadily, even though the prices of cryptocurrencies remain low and depressed. You can see a chart below with how it has increased considerably in the past two years.

This creates a challenging situation for public miners. Many of them find themselves in a tight spot. They're facing difficulties in expanding their operations because the costs associated with this growth are pretty damn high.

To increase their mining power, they're investing huge amounts of money in building and upgrading their infrastructure. Unfortunately, a significant portion of this investment is being funded by taking on debt or by diluting their ownership in the mining operation.

This strategy, however, is resulting in diminishing returns on their investment. The profits they're making from mining aren't keeping pace with the money they're putting in. This becomes a kind of financial treadmill: they're investing more and more, but not seeing the expected returns.

Also, they can't just pull out because they've already invested so much. Continuing in this way requires them to keep injecting more and more money into their mining operations just to maintain their current level of activity. It's like being caught between a rock and a hard place, where both options are tough and come with their own set of challenges.

The cherry on the cake? Halving will reduce the Bitcoin rewards in half, which means even less revenue for them. So most likely we will witness a consolidation of miners, meaning that hash power will be more concentrated in fewer facilities. Just like when banks go under and get acquired by bigger ones, get it? It’s called consolidation of power.

2. NY DFS Removes 20 Coins From Its Approved Asset List

Well, it seems the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has had a bit of a spring cleaning party for their list of approved tokens! They went all Marie Kondo on it, and over two dozen tokens, including Ripple, Dogecoin, and Litecoin, didn't quite spark joy. Now, we're left with a select group of eight tokens that made the cut, like the A-listers of the crypto world - Bitcoin, Ether, and the fancy new PayPal Dollar have made the cut.

DFS is also implementing stricter standards for assessing the risks associated with coin-listing policies. Additionally, they are increasing the requirements for businesses that interact directly with retail customers. Superintendent Adrienne Harris is leading DFS in maintaining rigorous oversight, particularly in the midst of the cryptocurrency market's bearish trend.

DFS has also taken enforcement actions, imposing a $100 million settlement on Coinbase for its shortcomings in compliance. The department has also issued an order to Paxos, a crypto firm, to cease the issuance of BUSD, a stablecoin created in partnership with Binance.

2. The Legal Brain Behind OneCoin Denied

Mark Scott, the character in our financial drama, who found himself facing a two-decade-long vacation behind bars for his role in the OneCoin money laundering saga, tried to play his trump card with a request for a fresh trial. But the court didn't seem too impressed.

In a most ironic turn of events, the star witness, Mr. Ignatov, decided to come clean and confessed to a touch of perjury. It seems honesty is the best policy, even in the world of financial shenanigans.

Just to jog your memory, Mr. Scott's little adventure started back in November 2019 when he was handed a ticket to the big house for his involvement in money laundering and bank fraud called OneCoin, one of the biggest crypto currency scams in the last years.

3. WorldCoin Founders Saved by US Gov

Kenya's interior cabinet secretary, Kithure Kindiki, revealed that the illustrious US authorities swooped in to shield the top brass of the enigmatic Worldcoin project. Among the detained were none other than the project's co-founder and CEO, Alex Blania, and their legal luminary, Thomas Scott, apprehended in the dramatic setting of Nairobi's airport.

Worldcoin, brainchild of none other than Sam Altman, the mastermind behind ChatGPT, has been making waves worldwide for its entanglement in a web of privacy and ethical dilemmas. In Kenya, a staggering 350,000 people willingly offered up their irises for a mere $48 worth of the project's rollercoaster cryptocurrency, WLD.

4. Sam’s Parents Got $$$ from FTX

It’s pretty damn good to have well connected and rich parents. Why? Because you can make them richer with the money you stole from your customers! Cool, huh?

FTX has turned its legal gaze towards none other than the parents of its co-founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. The accusation? Alleged misappropriation of company funds in the form of extravagant gifts and charitable donations.

Sam Bankman-Fried's parents received $16.8 million in stolen customer funds and $16.4 million worth of property in the Bahamas and large political contributions - all under the watchful eye of FTX.

The parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, allegedly reveled in their "family business" status, even as insolvency loomed large over the company. Qrafty can't help but marvel at the audacity of all this.

Finally, in a supreme twist of irony, Joseph Bankman, portrayed as the seasoned adult amidst green executives, now faces allegations of aiding FTX mismanagement.

5. Elon wants to charge everyone for X

Elon Musk has a quirky solution to curb the bot invasion on X (formerly Twitter). Yes, X has a bot problem, a big one actually. It’s fully of ‘em and it’s definitely affecting the experience on the platform. Not that it was a delight to begin with, but it was reasonable.

So what Elon wants to do is to charge bot owners for the virtual real estate he’s providing to them now for free. So if you run a bot army, you will have to pay for each individual bot of yours. Considering a botnet has from dozens to thousands of bots, it adds up quickly.

With 550 million "monthly users" generating a whopping 100 million to 200 million posts a day, it seems like Elon is cooking up some premium-grade Twitter security… with your money!

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Tomorrow, the day we endlessly plan for, only to realize it's a masterful magician, forever hiding in the hat of the present!

Qrafty’s thougt of the day

Other stories

Judge denies SEC’s request to investigate Binance

The SEC wants Binance US to prove that customer funds are safe. It has been deeming additional information about its relationship with its service provider, Ceffu. The judge asked the SEC and Binance to play nice and work together. SEC is also threatening that there will be more exchanges charged.

A lot of money raised for crypto investments

Blockchain Capital has successfully secured a hefty $580 million in funding across a pair of funds. A generous portion of $380 million is allocated to their "early stage" fund, which will focus on supporting startups at the seed and Series A stages. The remaining $200 million is reserved for the "opportunity" fund, providing crucial backing to startups in the later phases of fundraising.

Ray Dalio says money printer go brrrr soon

Ray Dalio, the billionaire investor and founder of Bridgewater Associates, has recently voiced worries that the United States may opt for increasing its money supply due to the escalating national debt. So money printer go brrr again?

Japan's largest investment bank launches Bitcoin fund

Nomura, Japan's leading investment bank, has unveiled its Bitcoin Adoption fund through its crypto division, Laser Digital. This fund will provide institutional investors with a secure and regulated avenue for gaining long-only exposure to Bitcoin (BTC).

Market Whispers

Bitcoin's playing "catch me if you can" lately.

After yesterday's rally to 27400$ closed the day at 26760$, from where it went up again today, taking yesterday's high with 80$. Not much the expected pump, as everyone is watching 28400$ zone to decide if it's Yaaay to the Mooon, or, Naay...we're going to 20k again.

Qrafty thinks tomorrow we'll stay in the same zone as Monday and Tuesday, with the big move coming on Thursday, when the US inflation report comes out.

Qrafty ends channeling his inner trader.

Today is MEOW LIKE A PIRATE DAY!

That’s all from Qrafty 🦡 for today! Qrafty thanks you and wishes you to live each moment as if you are listening to the music you love most!

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