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⚡Germany's Mega Crypto Bust👮‍♂️

Croxroad

31 Jan 2024 — 4 min read

☕️ GM Dear Plebs!

Here is Crox Road, your daily dose of orange pill that will turn you into a Bitcoin Maxi.

The menu for today:

🇩🇪 Record-Breaking Bitcoin Bust

German law enforcement officials have disclosed the seizure of approximately €2 billion ($2.17 billion) worth of bitcoins in Saxony, marking a significant development in the country's legal actions against cryptocurrency-related activities. The seizure involves 50,000 bitcoins and is being investigated as potentially the largest of its kind in Germany. Although no charges have been filed as of now, authorities are actively examining two suspects, aged 40 and 37, who are suspected of operating a piracy website until the conclusion of 2013. The investigation centres on alleged unauthorised commercial exploitation of copyrighted content and subsequent commercial money laundering, with authorities claiming that the suspects used the portal's proceeds to acquire bitcoins.

Notably, the bitcoins were voluntarily transferred by the accused to an official wallet of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). While the BKA has not provided specific details regarding this transfer, sources suggest that decisions about cashing in the bitcoins are yet to be made. The police emphasise that further information will only be disclosed upon the conclusion of the ongoing investigation, maintaining a level of secrecy surrounding the case.

This high-profile cryptocurrency seizure underscores the growing intersection between law enforcement efforts and the digital currency landscape, as authorities grapple with evolving challenges in combating cybercrime and illicit financial activities facilitated by cryptocurrencies.

🐂 Bitcoin Bulls Eyeing the Sky

Bitcoin's recent price movement showcased a 3% surge on Monday, reaching $42,762, only to retract most gains. Traders eye critical levels for potential short-term plays, considering a short position after revisiting Monday's high and aiming for profits near Monday's low in the range of $41,807 to $43,324. Key watchpoints include the Point of Control (POC) at $42,643, the 2024 yearly open at $42,479, and the midpoint of the previous bear market at $42,235. An intriguing area is the daily imbalance from $41,396 to $40,288, formed by rapid price movement, offering a potential entry point for long positions.

Zooming out, sustaining an uptrend relies on a daily candlestick close above $48,222. Positive signs emerge from the Relative Strength Index (RSI) finding support above the 50 level and the Awesome Oscillator (AO) hinting at a momentum shift favouring bulls. However, caution prevails, as a downturn below the $41,396 to $40,288 range, particularly a daily close under $39,851, would signal weakness and invalidate the bullish scenario. In this scenario, investors might anticipate a more pronounced correction with potential consolidation around $34,067 and $32,293 support levels.

⛑️ The History of Proof-of-Work

Alright, so back in 1993, there were these two folks named Cynthia Dwork and Moni Naor who were dealing with the annoyance of email spam and DoS attacks. They were on a mission to find a way to make it less attractive for spammers. What they came up with was the concept of proof-of-work.

They wrote a paper about it, and in 1997, a guy named Adam Black took their idea and incorporated it into something called Hashcash. Essentially, his system made it tough for spammers to send out a bunch of emails because it required them to include a complicated set of characters in each email. This way, the cost of sending individual emails went up, and spammers found it less appealing.

So, the idea was to use computational difficulty to assign value to things online. This got people thinking, "Hey, if we can do this for emails, can we do something similar to create a digital version of cash?"

This notion popped up again in Nick Szabo's 'Theory of Collectibles' and the paper "Shelling Out: The Origins of Money." Then, in 2004, Hal Finney put his spin on it and created reusable proof-of-work. Finally, in 2009, a mysterious person (or group) named Satoshi Nakamoto introduced the proof-of-work consensus mechanism for Bitcoin. This was a big deal because it solved a tricky problem called double spending and made Bitcoin the first successful digital cash that operates without a central authority. So, proof-of-work went from battling spam to paving the way for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.