Sacrebleu! French Cuffs

Telegram and TONCOIN big wig arrested in France, ADA & ALGO team up idea, and more in today's Litepaper

Author

Jonathan Morgan
August 26, 2024

OVERVIEW

Sacrebleu! French Cuffs

Before we dive in, here’s today’s crypto market heatmap:

Source: Santiment

And here’s a look at crypto’s total and altcoin market cap YTD:

Most bullish/bearish symbols on Stocktwits at the close: 📈 $HNT, $JUP, $BIT, $SOL, $LINK, 📉 $FTM, $JASMY, $INJ, $PEPE, and $BONK.

*If you’re a business and want to access this data via our API, email us.

NEWS
French Authorities Detain Telegram’s Durov 🖇️ 

Pavel Durov, Telegram's CEO, got detained in France, throwing the crypto, privacy, and free speech worlds into chaos on August 24th. 🫢 

Details on the charges were murky over the weekend. Earlier this morning, there was no official response regarding crimes/charges. French President Emmanuel Macron made an attempt to address the status of Durov on X this morning:

Source: X

The real fallout hit Toncoin ($TON), Telegram's native token, which is down -16% since August 24. Traders panicked, pushing open interest to a record $300 million and volume up 1000%. 😱 

The Charges

Fast forward to this afternoon, and France has charged Durov with twelve alleged crimes:

  • Web-mastering an Online Platform: Enabling an illegal transaction within an organized group.

  • Possessing Pornographic Images of Minors.

  • Distributing Pornographic Images of Minors.

  • Acquiring, Transporting, and Selling Narcotic Substances.

  • Organized Fraud.

  • Offering Unauthorized Tools or Data: Making available tools or data designed to access and damage automated data processing systems.

  • Non-compliance with Authorities: Refusing to provide information or documents necessary for lawful interceptions.

  • Intent to Commit Serious Crimes.

  • Laundering Proceeds from Organized Crimes.

  • Providing Unauthorized Cryptology Services: Ensuring confidentiality without a certified declaration.

  • Providing Cryptology Tools Without Declaration: Offering cryptology tools not solely for authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration.

  • Importing Cryptology Tools Without Declaration: Importing cryptology tools ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration.

Support For Durov Growing

The arrest caught the attention of heavyweights like Vitalik Buterin, Elon Musk, and Robert Kennedy Jr., who chimed in to defend free speech and privacy. 🥊 

Andrei Grachev of DWF Labs stepped in, dropping $500,000 on Toncoin, signaling his unwavering support for Durov, while Justin Sun pledged $1 million for legal aid via a DAO.

With #FreePavel trending, the crypto and Telegram communities aren’t backing down. We’ll keep you updated as this story develops. 🗞️ 

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News In Three Sentences
Bitcoin, Ethereum, And Solana News 🪙 

🚀 Pump.NoMoreFun

$SOL's meme token platform, pump.fun is losing steam as daily launches plummet by 47% in just two weeks, hitting their lowest since March. The decline comes amid oversaturation and competition from Tron's ($TRX) new platform, SunPump. Despite Tron's efforts to capitalize, its activity still lags behind pump.fun, which has seen its revenue drop nearly 40% in the same period. SolanaFloor.

🐋 Solana Whale Stakes $4.5 Million in SOL Despite Market Turmoil

A whale has doubled down on Solana, purchasing 28,717 SOL tokens worth $4.5 million and staking them despite recent market turbulence. He/she must feel good about the future Bitcoin holds steady above $64,000 and Solana reclaims the $160 level, indicating continued bullish sentiment among major holders. CoinJournal.

💸 Ethereum Foundation Moves 35,000 ETH to Kraken, Raises Investor Concerns

The Ethereum Foundation recently moved 35,000 $ETH, valued at $94.07 million, to crypto exchange Kraken, sparking concern among investors. The foundation clarified that the transfer was part of routine treasury management and not a sign of any negative outlook on $ETH’s future. However, the timing of the move during a minor market rally has led to speculation about its potential impact on Ethereum’s price. Coinpedia.

News In Three Sentences
Altcoin News 🗞️ 

🔗 Cardano and Algorand Might Merge Chains in Groundbreaking Partnership

Cardano ($ADA) and Algorand ($ALGO) could be on the verge of a partnership that may see parts of their blockchains merge. Charles Hoskinson, Cardano's founder, has been pushing for Algorand to join as a partner chain, a move Algorand's CTO, Gary Malouf, seems open to. This potential collaboration could enhance both networks' strengths and possibly drive significant price action for their respective tokens. X.

💵 Whale Moves 99 Million XRP in Mysterious Transfer

A whale transferred 99 million $XRP tokens, valued at approximately $62 million, from an unidentified wallet to a newly created one. The transaction has sparked speculation that it may involve a prominent XRP holder consolidating assets or an over-the-counter (OTC) deal. CryptoDNES.

🔒 Polygon Discord Server Recovered After Hack, $150K in ETH Lost

Polygon’s ($MATIC) Discord server was hijacked for three hours by scammers posing as support agents, leading to the loss of $150,000 in Ether ($ETH) for one user. The breach was quickly resolved, but it raised concerns about security on the platform, especially as Polygon prepares for a major network upgrade. Discord hacks have become increasingly common in the crypto community, with several high-profile incidents reported this year. CryptoNews.

🚀 Stacks' Nakamoto Upgrade to Revolutionize Bitcoin Layer-2

Stacks is gearing up for the Nakamoto upgrade, set to drastically reduce transaction times from 10 minutes to seconds and introduce sBTC, a decentralized Bitcoin-pegged asset. With $STX up 68% since August, the upgrade hopes to enhance Stacks' role in DeFi and NFTs, positioning it as a major player in the Bitcoin ecosystem. CoinJournal.

🐕 Whale Continues to Accumulate Dogwifhat (WIF), Holds $77M in Profits

The largest holder of Dogwifhat ($WIF), a meme cryptocurrency, has continued to accumulate the token, spending over $2 million to purchase an additional 2.6 million WIF. This whale now holds 28 million WIF, with a total profit exceeding $77 million. The whale’s moves are being closely watched as WIF dominates Solana’s ($SOL) meme coin space. U.Today.

🐶 Shiba Inu Team Prepares to Launch DAO for Community Governance

The Shiba Inu ($SHIB) team is set to launch a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), allowing SHIB holders to vote on future initiatives. The DAO will feature two councils, the "Charity Council" and the "Culture & Heritage Council," to steer community-driven projects. This move is aimed at further expanding the utility of the SHIB ecosystem, following the migration of ShibaSwap to the Shibarium blockchain. Cointelegraph.

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