$17M gamble on crypto goes south

Here's what happened....

Author

Daniel Akpobare
September 11, 2024

GM Explorer,

Ever wonder how a $16M investment can vanish in the twinkle of an eye?

Let’s dive into the Friend.Tech fiasco, where a high-stakes gamble turned into a shocking crypto crash.

Here’s what we got for you today:

  • 😱 $17M gamble on crypto goes south!

  • 🤝 PayPal and Venmo team up with ENS!

  • 🧱 Around The Block: Crypto whale facing liquidation of $26,470,000 WBTC position on Compound.

😱 $17M Gamble on Crypto Goes South!

Even big players can take a hit in the volatile world of cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency influencer Machi Big Brother learned this the hard way after losing a staggering $16 million on Friend.Tech.

According to Lookonchain in an X post, the crypto influencer spent around 5,200 ETH, equivalent to $16.7 million, to buy 11.1 million FRIEND tokens.

However, due to FRIEND's ongoing sell-off, the investment's value nosedived to just $0.7 million.

So, what went wrong?

A series of decisions by the Friend.Tech team caused the token to plunge like this!

For starters, they decided to ditch control of their smart contract, which means the platform will shut down within a year of its launch.

And that the platform will no longer be able to perform basic tasks such as fixing bugs or improving features.

On top of that, the platform lacks a community-driven narrative, which might have influenced its decision to give up control of the smart contracts.

But get this:

Some even speculate that the losses may be attributed to a rug pull, especially considering that venture capitalists supported the project.

The token is down by a massive 80% on the weekly chart, and the big question now is whether FRIEND will recover with community support or continue to face losses.

For more insights, read the full story here!

🤝 PayPal and Venmo Team Up with ENS!

PayPal and Venmo have just made crypto transactions super easy!

If you're in the U.S., you no longer have to deal with those long and confusing wallet addresses thanks to the new integration with Ethereum Name Service (ENS).

Now, you can send payments using a simple ENS username. It's just like using PayPal and Venmo normally, but with the added convenience of crypto minus the headaches!

What’s really cool is that this new feature significantly reduces the risk of errors, making crypto transactions as easy as sending cash to a friend.

All you have to do is type an ENS name in the app, and it instantly pulls up and verifies the wallet address with no fuss or mistakes.

Everything is coming together in the crypto space, doesn't it?

Oh, and in case you missed it, earlier this year, ENS also teamed up with GoDaddy, allowing you to link your .com web address to your ENS name and Ethereum wallet.

This is all part of PayPal and Venmo's big leap into the crypto world. They've expanded their crypto offerings and even introduced a stablecoin on Venmo.

The bottom line is that they're making digital assets easy to manage, even for newcomers to the game.

So, if you want to learn more, check it out here!

🧱 Around The Block

That's all we've got for you today.

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Catch you soon.

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell assets or make financial decisions.

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