French finance minister linked cryptocurrencies to drug trafficking

Institutions Open Record Volume of Bullish Positions for Bitcoin Despite Negative Events

During the week ending October 13, institutional longs grew by more than 9% to 3,500 contracts. The last time at comparable levels, the indicator was in mid-September.

According to the analyst, the resilience of Bitcoin against the backdrop of the recent string of negative events could instill confidence in investors. Bitcoin continues to trade above $ 10,000 despite the hacking of the KuCoin cryptocurrency exchange and the persecution of BitMEX by the US authorities. This week, they were joined by the OKEx exchange, which is still not possible to withdraw funds.

“If these events had happened in the past year, the bearish impact on the price of bitcoin would have been much more tangible,” said Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks.

French finance minister linked cryptocurrencies to drug trafficking and money laundering

French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire returned to criticism of the cryptocurrency space. Earlier, he stated that the Libra stablecoin would threaten the "monetary sovereignty of states."

In a tweet released today, Le Maire writes that cryptocurrencies are linked to drug and arms trafficking and are also used for money laundering. At the same time, he spoke positively about blockchain as a technology.

“We do not question the reliability and traceability of all blockchain technologies. But some cryptocurrencies can be used to carry out illegal activities (drugs, weapons, money laundering) anonymously, ”the Minister of Finance wrote.

Such a commentary was given by Le Maire in response to the statement of the general partner of the crypto fund Starchain Capital, Cyril Paglino, according to whom blockchain transactions "are not of interest to terrorists." Paglino referred to an earlier statement by Le Maire when he called for increased controls over cryptocurrencies due to terrorist financing risks.

Paglino noted that cryptocurrency transactions are traceable on the blockchain, and terrorists still prefer to use cash. He also cited a recent data breach from the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which showed that banks are actively used for money laundering.

In 2018, Le Maire announced the creation of a working group to develop norms for the regulation of cryptocurrencies. “We need a stable economy. We want to avoid the risks of speculation and financial sabotage associated with bitcoin, ”he said then.

Average Ethereum Transaction Fee Drops To Lowest Since Mid-July

The average cost of confirming a transaction in Ethereum has hit its lowest level since mid-July, when the decentralized finance (DeFi) boom was just beginning. Lower fees mean fewer transactions take place on the Ethereum blockchain.

According to BitInfoCharts, the average transaction fee on the Ethereum network reached $ 0.9 on Saturday and $ 1.02 on Sunday. Recall that in early September this indicator reached $ 14.58. In the first month of autumn, ETH miners earned $ 166 million in fees - a record amount in the entire history of Ethereum.

The boom in the DeFi market has been a major driver of miner revenue growth. However, Ethereum transaction fees were down 86.2% in early October from the September highs. At the same time, in the first week of October, the hash rate of the Ethereum network reached an all-time high of 250 Tx / s amid the growth of DeFi.

The decrease in fees may be attributed to the slowdown in the growth of the DeFi industry. According to DeFi Pulse, the dollar value of DeFi-blocked cryptoassets has hovered above $ 11 billion since late September. At the same time, in the previous months this indicator grew extremely rapidly. In February, it exceeded $ 1 billion for the first time, in June - $ 2 billion, and then surged upward, reaching $ 3 billion in July, $ 7 billion in August and a peak of $ 13.2 billion in September.