Bitcoin fell to $76,000 this week, while hackers returned most of the stolen BTC from the Liquid Network. Ethereum prepares for its Hegota upgrade.
Bitcoin's price dropped to approximately $76,000 this week, with hackers returning a substantial portion of the roughly 4,000 BTC stolen from the Liquid Network. In parallel, the Ethereum Foundation has pinpointed key EIPs for the forthcoming Hegota upgrade.
Market Dynamics and Trends
As the week opened, Bitcoin fell below the $80,000 threshold, attributed to diminished demand and a trend among long-term holders distributing their assets. Following the release of U.S. inflation data on September 11, Bitcoin's value fell sharply to $76,000 but quickly rebounded, attempting to retest $80,000.
As the weekend neared, Bitcoin fluctuated around $77,000, reflecting a weekly decline of about 3.4%. Ethereum remained stable near $2,500, while TRON saw a price increase of nearly 2%.
Other cryptocurrencies in the top ten by market cap underwent more significant corrections than Bitcoin. For instance, HYPE from Hyperliquid dropped by 12.2%, while Zcash and Solana fell by 6.5% and 5.6%, respectively.
Bitcoin spot ETFs experienced a capital outflow of nearly $463 million after three weeks of inflows, decreasing total assets in these products to $97 billion from over $100 billion. Conversely, Ethereum funds attracted over $197 million in investments, raising their assets under management to $16.3 billion, the highest since January.
The cryptocurrency fear and greed index decreased from 73 to 61, indicating a shift in investor sentiment while still remaining in the positive zone. The overall market capitalization of digital assets slipped from $2.7 trillion to $2.63 trillion, with Bitcoin's market dominance declining to 58.8% and Ethereum's share increasing to 11.6%.
Recovery of Stolen Bitcoin from Liquid Network Hack
On September 6, hackers exploited a vulnerability in the Liquid Network to withdraw about 4,000 BTC, valued at around $320 million. They claimed to be white hat hackers and indicated their intention to return the majority of the funds.
By September 8, the hackers had returned 3,400 BTC, keeping approximately 598 BTC, which Blockstream, the company behind Liquid, labeled as theft. They announced plans to involve law enforcement and blockchain specialists to track the remaining funds.
Ethereum's Hegota Upgrade Developments
On September 7, the Ethereum Foundation outlined critical EIPs for the Hegota upgrade, designating FOCIL (EIP-7805) and Frame Transactions (EIP-8141) as essential. Developers aim to enhance Ethereum's resilience against potential quantum attacks by December 2029, focusing on improving transaction inclusion mechanisms and integrating account abstraction into the protocol.
These advancements are anticipated to allow for smoother transitions to new signature schemes, thereby phasing out vulnerable algorithms.
Concerns Over USDT Management Risks
Recent findings by Hacken revealed that approximately 91.3 billion USDT on the TRON network is managed by a contract that could be compromised if two specific signatures are breached. Hacken highlighted that while no key compromises have been detected, the implications of potential vulnerabilities could impact other stablecoin deployments.
