ChainCatcher news, Piper Sandler & Co. options chief Daniel Kirsch stated: "We continue to see interest in U.S. election trading, which has picked up in recent days. Clients expecting Trump to win the election are increasing their exposure to financial and cryptocurrency stocks, while those betting on Harris are buying options on renewable energy stocks. Hedging has also increased, with traders buying put options on the S&P 500 index and QQQ ETF."Short-term S&P 500 implied volatility has remained elevated relative to the one-month level, as the impacts of the election and Federal Reserve rate hikes have permeated the calculations of short-term indicators. The Cboe VVIX index, which measures VIX volatility, is also at a high level.Penn Mutual Asset Management portfolio manager Zhiwei Ren commented: "Currently, the options skew is significant, with VIX far above actual volatility. These signs indicate that market hedging measures are in place."

ChainCatcher news, the Dutch police recently disclosed a long-term investigation into the "largest and longest-running" international dark web market, which led to the arrest of two operational administrators and the seizure of 8 million euros (8.7 million dollars) in cryptocurrency.The market consists of two major entities, Bohemia and Cannabia, where users can purchase malware, DDoS attack services, and primarily cannabis-related drugs. The police stated that this is the first time such a large-scale dark web market has been discovered, with 82,000 advertisements posted daily and 67,000 transactions facilitated monthly, earning 12 million euros (13.1 million dollars) in September 2023 alone.The investigation began in 2022, and the market collapsed at the end of 2023 due to an "exit scam," with service interruptions and a dispute with a "rogue developer" believed to be the reasons for its collapse.

ChainCatcher news, the Indonesian Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) has collaborated with Binance and Tokocrypto to capture a major fraud operation, identifying multiple suspects and seizing $200,000 in ill-gotten gains.Bareskrim has launched an investigation into a suspected trading fraud case involving a cryptocurrency trading website. The investigation confirmed that the website was part of a pig butchering scam. During the investigation, several individuals involved in managing accounts that received stolen funds were arrested. Authorities discovered approximately 50 mobile phones and several local bank cards, as well as banking applications, on the suspects' mobile phones and tablets. When asked about the cryptocurrency wallets they controlled, the suspects refused to cooperate.Through forensic analysis, Bareskrim investigators identified wallet addresses that may be controlled by the suspects and found supporting evidence in their communication records, particularly on Telegram. Their chat screenshots revealed several key wallet addresses, further linking the suspects to the fraud.Bareskrim has arrested individuals involved in managing the stolen funds.

ChainCatcher news, ByBit's institutional head Chris Aruliah has a different view on the impact of interest rate cuts on the crypto market. Aruliah wrote in an email statement: "The softening economic indicators and the geopolitical complexities leading to a general slowdown in the global economy are weakening investor sentiment. Therefore, while the Federal Reserve's decision to cut the policy rate by 0.5% may provide a short-term boost to the cryptocurrency market, it is crucial to remain vigilant about the potential challenges posed by economic uncertainty and market volatility."BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes pointed out in an interview that he believes an overall rate cut is unnecessary, and a 50 basis point cut would trigger a brief market rebound but ultimately expose deeper issues within the global financial system, leading to further price declines.He stated: "At a high level, I think they shouldn't raise rates. I believe the U.S. economy is quite strong. If you look at the GDP data from the past eight or nine quarters, you'll see it has been consistently growing. If they decide to continue cutting rates, inflation will accelerate into the fourth quarter."

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the Southern District Court of New York has denied Samourai Wallet founder Keonne Rodriguez's request to modify his bail conditions. The prosecution submitted Rodriguez's handwritten "escape preparation" notes as evidence, which detailed travel plans and emergency items. Rodriguez's lawyer argued that this was just a general emergency plan, but the prosecution believes it constitutes an active escape plan.ChainCatcher previously reported, according to The Block, that the co-founder of the crypto mixing service Samourai Wallet was arrested. Prosecutors stated that they are accused of laundering $100 million from Silk Road and other illegal markets. On Wednesday, Samourai CEO Keonne Rodriguez and CTO William Lonergan Hill were charged with operating Samourai Wallet.

ChainCatcher news, according to Microsoft's official page, a serious security vulnerability has recently been disclosed in the Windows system, identified as CVE-2024-38063. This vulnerability affects all supported versions of Windows, including Windows 11, Windows 10, and several versions of Windows Server. The CVSS3.1 score for the vulnerability is 9.8, categorized as "critical." Attackers can remotely compromise devices and execute arbitrary code through specially crafted IPv6 packets. The vulnerability exists in the TCP/IP network stack of Windows and is a serious remote code execution flaw. Attackers can trigger the vulnerability and execute code remotely by repeatedly sending specially crafted IPv6 packets to Windows devices, without requiring user interaction or authentication. Microsoft strongly recommends that all users update to the latest version of Windows as soon as possible. Microsoft is releasing related patches to fix this vulnerability, and disabling IPv6 can temporarily prevent the exploitation of the vulnerability.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, blockchain security company Match Systems released a report on July 16 stating that the crypto phishing application Angel Drainer has been shut down after the developers may have exposed their identities. The Drainer program allows scammers to trick users into granting token authorization, easily stealing cryptocurrency.Previously, Blockaid reported that phishing scammers used Angel Drainer to steal over $25 million from 35,000 users.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, Paraguayan Senator Salyn Buzarquis has severely criticized the National Electricity Administration of Paraguay (ANDE), claiming that its senior officials accept bribes to allow illegal Bitcoin mining operations to run unchecked. Salyn Buzarquis stated that these unnamed officials receive bribes of up to $500,000 per month and called for ANDE President Felix Sosa to resign or be questioned about the matter.ANDE issued a statement denying these allegations and emphasized that the country's companies have been harmed in their efforts to combat energy theft. The statement claimed: "This agency is characterized by its proactive stance against such punishable behaviors (especially illegal mining operations for cryptocurrency)."

ChainCatcher news, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has approved the proposed regulations regarding banks' disclosure of cryptocurrency risk exposure. The Basel Committee, a subsidiary of the Bank for International Settlements, approved the proposed regulations on banks' disclosure of cryptocurrency asset risk exposure and amendments to the prudent regulation of cryptocurrency assets during a meeting held on the 2nd and 3rd of this month.This will require banks to disclose their risk exposure information related to virtual assets, including trading activities and holdings. The Basel Committee began developing the proposed regulations in December 2022, aiming to establish standards for the risk assessment of virtual assets and provide adequate information. The Basel Committee will release more detailed information about the proposed rules later this month. The finalized rules will take effect starting in 2026.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, data from investment firm River shows that by the end of the first quarter of 2024, 13 of the largest 25 hedge funds in the United States had exposure to Bitcoin ETFs.Among them, Millennium Management holds 27,263 Bitcoins, valued at $1.69 billion, accounting for approximately 2.5% of its total assets under management (valued at $67.7 billion). Other hedge funds with significant Bitcoin holdings include Schonfeld Strategic Advisors (holding 6,734 Bitcoins) and Point72 Asset Management (holding 1,089 Bitcoins).On the other hand, some top hedge funds, such as Bridgewater Associates, AQR Capital Management, and Balyasny Asset Management, have yet to invest in Bitcoin ETFs.

ChainCatcher news, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated that among ETFs with almost no exposure to Nvidia stock (NVDA), the ones that outperformed the S&P 500 index were mainly crypto-themed ETFs, home builders, fintech, and DXJ-themed funds.

ChainCatcher news reports that, according to data from a report released by ETC Group, the exposure of crypto hedge funds to the Bitcoin market has fallen to its lowest level since October 2020.André Dragosch, Head of Research at ETC Group, stated: "Crypto hedge funds have indeed recently abandoned Bitcoin. Over the past 20 trading days, they have reduced their Bitcoin market exposure to just 0.37, the lowest level since October 2020. It is difficult to determine the main factors behind the decline in risk exposure, as the crypto hedge fund industry encompasses many different strategies, which can be directional or market-neutral. However, it can be said that the overall net long exposure of these crypto hedge funds relative to Bitcoin as a benchmark has significantly decreased."