Good Morning Crypto Enthusiasts!

Glad to have you back for another edition of the UseTheBitcoin.com newsletter.

1. Apple Computers Vulnerable to Crypto Theft, No Fix Available: Security researchers uncover a critical flaw in Apple's M-series chips, leaving devices vulnerable to crypto theft. Despite notifying Apple, a fix remains elusive, prompting users to remove crypto wallets as a precautionary measure.

2. Base TVL Doubles as Memecoins Gain Traction: Coinbase's Base network experiences a significant surge in total value locked (TVL), reaching $2.13 billion in less than a month. The growth is attributed to the rising popularity of memecoins like Degen and Base God, positioning Base as a potential hub for meme token trading.

3. Terra Founder Do Kwon Released Amid Extradition Review: South Korean crypto fugitive Do Kwon receives temporary reprieve as the Supreme Court of Montenegro reviews extradition requests from the U.S. and South Korea.

4. ParaSwap Addresses Critical Smart Contract Vulnerability: ParaSwap responds to a critical vulnerability in its smart contract, swiftly returning assets to affected users and revoking permissions to the flawed contract.

5. 💡Feature of the Day - Hospitality Worker Convicted of $2.5B Bitcoin Money Laundering: A U.K. court convicts a hospitality worker of money laundering after discovering $2.5 billion worth of Bitcoin in her possession.

6. 📈Technical Analysis Masterclass - Did you know that UseTheBitcoin now publishes videos on crypto topics? Watch our latest video for “Major Coin Price Predictions,” and get in the loop of what’s about to happen in the crypto space!

   
   All this and more in today’s headlines!

📰 News Highlights:

🍏 Apple Computers Vulnerable to Crypto Theft [Source][Source][Source]

Recent findings by security researchers unveiled a critical flaw in Apple's M-series chips, affecting devices produced over the last five years. The vulnerability exposes cryptographic keys, including those safeguarding software crypto wallets, leaving high-value users susceptible to theft. The vulnerability poses a significant risk to web browser encryption and browser-based applications like MetaMask and iCloud backups.

Dubbed the "GoFetch exploit," the vulnerability leverages Data Memory-Dependent Prefetchers (DMPs) within Apple's M1, M2, and M3 series chips to gain access to CPU cache. Despite researchers notifying Apple in December 2023, a viable fix remains elusive. While Apple introduced a fix in its M3 chips released in October, delayed communication to developers has hindered its implementation.

For crypto users on vulnerable Apple devices, removing crypto wallets is the only immediate recourse, as wallet makers like MetaMask and Phantom work to deploy patches against the exploit.

💰 Base TVL Doubles [Source][Source][Source]

Coinbase's Base network witnesses a staggering surge in total value locked (TVL), doubling to $2.13 billion in less than a month. The rapid growth underscores Base's emergence as a potential hub for memecoins, drawing comparisons to Solana's memecoin frenzy.

With memecoins like Degen (DEGEN) and Base God (TYBG) gaining momentum, industry pundits foresee a shift in memecoin market share from Solana to Base. This trend aligns with Coinbase's efforts to onboard 100 million registered users onto Base, leveraging a native smart contract wallet for seamless trading.

Despite skepticism, Base's record-breaking 2 million transactions following the Dencun upgrade on Ethereum hint at its growing prominence in the DeFi landscape.

🏃‍💨 Terra Founder Do Kwon Released [Source]

South Korean crypto fugitive Do Kwon finds temporary reprieve as the Supreme Court of Montenegro deliberates extradition requests from the U.S. and South Korea. Kwon, facing fraud allegations in both countries stemming from the Terra Luna collapse, was released following procedural challenges to South Korea's extradition bid.

The decision marks a significant development in Kwon's legal battle, with potential extradition to the United States carrying severe penalties. While the court's action buys time, Kwon's fate remains uncertain pending further deliberations.

🔐 ParaSwap Critical Vulnerability [Source][Source][Source]

ParaSwap swiftly responds to a critical vulnerability in its Augustus v6 smart contract, returning assets to affected users and revoking permissions to the flawed contract.

The DeFi aggregator's proactive approach, coupled with white hat intervention, mitigates potential losses and underscores the importance of robust security measures in decentralized finance.

Collaborating with blockchain analytics firms, ParaSwap initiates investigations into the incident, urging the return of stolen funds through on-chain messaging.

💡 Feature of the Day: 

💼 $2.5B Bitcoin Money Laundering [Source]

A U.K. court finds a hospitality worker guilty of money laundering after authorities discover $2.5 billion worth of Bitcoin in her possession.

Jian Wen's lavish lifestyle raised suspicions, leading to investigations into her source of wealth, ultimately uncovering illicit activities involving multi-million pound real estate transactions.

While crypto's role in criminal activities continues to draw scrutiny, recent reports from the U.S. Treasury Department challenge prevailing narratives, highlighting cash as the preferred medium for money laundering.

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📈Technical Analysis Masterclass:

📊 Technical Analysis and Price Prediction for Major Cryptocurrencies

🔍 Analysis of Bitcoin:

• Bitcoin needs to break resistance levels to stay in an uptrend, requiring a 15-17% increase.
• A 7% decrease could shift Bitcoin into a downtrend.
• Currently under the 100MA in the 4-hour timeframe, indicating potential downward movement.
• Advises investors to consider adding positions within Fibonacci retracement levels for long-term goals.

🔍 Analysis of Ethereum:

• Mentions news from the website regarding the US SEC's potential classification of Ethereum as securities.
• Possible delay or denial of Ethereum ETF could drive prices down.
• Predicts a bounce back to Fibonacci golden zones, indicating consolidation.
• Ethereum needs to break past resistance areas for an uptrend, requiring a 24-25% move.

🔍 Analysis of BNB (Binance Coin):

• Suggests that good news is needed for BNB to break resistance levels.
• CZ (Changpeng Zhao) launching Giggle Academy outside the crypto space could impact BNB's price.

Watch the whole YouTube video of our in-house Technical Analysis Expert Ray as he gives us “Major Coins Price Predictions,” and please give us a follow for more crypto-related video content.

😂 Crypto Meme of the Day: 

And that’s it for this today.

See you all tomorrow’s edition!

Jonathan Gibson
UseTheBitcoin.com