Week in crypto: Bitcoin gets caught up in a scandalous rumour

Bitcoin almost lost everything as a result of a rumour that spread in the crypto market. How much was it affected? We tell you!

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Overall, Bitcoin (BTC) did not have a positive week in the crypto market after falling approximately 8% over the past 7 days.What happened?

A rumour puts at risk everything Bitcoin has built up.
As we reported on CryptoTrendency, the crypto market was flooded with panic after last Wednesday BitMEX Research published a Tweet where it suggested to have detected a critical flaw in the Bitcoin Blockchain.

Bitcoin price drifts from $40,000, what happens now?
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It appears as if a small double spend of around 0.00062063 BTC ($21) was detectedhttps://t.co/o8lz9xagYG pic.twitter.com/IEdPu8JEjt

– BitMEX Research (@BitMEXResearch) January 20, 2021
Specifically, BitMEX believed it had identified a „double spend“, which translates to a flaw that leads to spending the same batch of Bitcoin twice, while manipulating the crypto’s Blockchain in order to cover up the action.

The rumour immediately alarmed the crypto market because, if true, this flaw would destroy crypto users‘ trust in the Bitcoin Blockchain. And, as we all know, Bitcoin is nothing without trust.

So much so that, as a result of the rumour, NexTech sold 130 Bitcoins, worth approximately $4 million, after hearing of the suspicions.

However, different reliable sources later denied the rumour, even BitMEX Research accepted the mistake. So no, it was not a double spending but a reorganisation of the Blockchain; something that is actually quite common.

Bitcoin (BTC) price forecast in the medium to long term
The crypto leader is still in intensive care
The news unleashed all hell for the leading crypto. Earlier on 21 January Bitcoin faced a correction that took it below USD 33,000.

However, later that day, in the evening hours, the crypto leader even dropped below USD 30,000. It has since found its way to slightly above USD 32,000.

Still, despite its recent volatility, Glassnode’s data revealed that institutions continue to dabble in crypto, specifically Bitcoin.

In this regard, the dice reflected that the number of addresses with 1,000 BTC or more continued to rise this week despite the price drop.

JPMorgan Strategist Maintains Crypto Enthusiasm in Bitcoin
JPMorgan strategists believe the leading cryptocurrency is actually a cyclical asset.
In a Thursday report obtained by Bloomberg, strategists called Bitcoin the „least reliable hedge during periods of acute market stress.“

Consequently, JP Morgan strategists John Normand and Federico Manicardi state that anyone betting on the crypto leader as a portfolio diversifier is putting themselves at risk.

Therefore, the opinion of the aforementioned strategists differs from strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, who believe that Bitcoin is driving investors away from precious metals.

Who owns the Bitcoin white paper, and is a battle about to break out?
Bitcoin whitepaper copyright is being claimed
Craig Wright, the self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto, was threatening this week to take legal action against all Bitcoin websites that distribute the crypto Whitepaper without his permission.

This caused the crypto Whitepaper to be removed from Bitcoincore.org to avoid legal trouble. However, Bitcoin.org refused to remove the paper and is prepared to fight back.

Institutions continue to buy Bitcoin
In a nutshell…
A crypto user belonging to the Yearn.Finance governance suggested following a different pattern than Bitcoin and modifying the supply of YFI crypto.
Bank of America survey showed BTC outperforming tech stocks.
Ruffer, the investment firm, reaffirmed to its investors its confidence in BTC after its acquisition in December.