Bitcoin hit a 2023 high at the end of a week that witnessed chaos in other cryptocurrencies. The crypto’s price briefly rose over $38,000 on Friday, the first time it did since last summer and after a dip in 2022. Coinbase, too, achieved a 2023 high at the end of the week, its highest level since spring 2022.
However, the crypto world has been fraught with turmoil this week. Two cryptocurrency platforms, according to CNBC, were hacked with approximately $115 million stolen. These platforms are the HTX digital currency exchange, formerly known as Huobi, and Heco Chain, both tied to entrepreneur Justin Sun.
HTX assured it would “fully compensate for any losses resulting from the hot wallet attack”. They are currently investigating the source of the hack.
This week also saw Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), plead guilty to federal charges of money laundering. An agreement was reached to pay more than $4 billion in penalties.
The Department of Justice made it clear that crypto platforms must comply with the rules that keep everyone safe from terrorism, foreign adversaries, and crime, or face the consequences. Since the news broke, CNBC reported that Binance users have withdrawn more than $1 billion from the exchange.
The events of the past week, including the conviction of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of fraud, have caused quite a bit of chaos in the crypto world.
