Today in crypto, social sentiment is pointing toward an impending recovery in the Bitcoin price, Interpol has issued a Red Notice for Hex founder Richard Schueler, also known as Richard Heart, and Jump Crypto subsidiary Tai Mo Shan settles with the SEC.
Bitcoin social sentiment drops to yearly low, signaling BTC breakout
Social sentiment around Bitcoin has hit its lowest point in 2024, which could signal an incoming recovery above the $100,000 mark for the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) price is currently down over 10% from its all-time high of above $108,300 recorded on Dec. 17, trading above $97,150 as of 12:38 pm UTC, Cointelegraph data shows.
Following the 10% correction, social media sentiment around Bitcoin fell to its lowest level of 2024, to an average ratio of four to five positive versus negative Bitcoin-related comments.
However, this low retail investor sentiment could be a sign of an incoming Bitcoin breakout, wrote market intelligence platform Santiment, in a Dec. 22 X post:
“Vocal traders are now showing severe FUD, and that’s good news for contrarians who know markets move in the opposite direction of retail’s expectations.”
Other crypto analysts are also expecting an end to Bitcoin’s correction under $100,000. On Dec. 20, Bitcoin’s daily chart produced three consecutive red candles for the first time since the first week of November, which coincidentally was the lead-up period to Donald Trump’s US election victory.
Interpol issues “Red Notice” for Hex founder Richard Heart
The world’s largest international police organization, Interpol, has issued a “Red Notice” for Hex founder Richard Schueler, also known as Richard Heart, for allegedly committing tax fraud and assault.
A Red Notice is a global request for law enforcement to locate and provisionally arrest a person — with Finnish authorities seeking Schueler’s arrest. However, a Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant.
Richard James Schueler has been issued a red notice by Interpol. Source: Interpol
Schueler was also listed on Europe’s most wanted fugitives list, where the same allegations went into more detail. It alleged that Schueler “physically assaulted a 16-year-old victim by grabbing their hair, dragging them into the stairwell and knocking them to the ground.”
Heart is suspected of tax evasion between June 2, 2020, and April 2, 2024.
The Red Notice comes just three months after a remand order was initially issued for Schueler on Sept. 13, according to Finnish public broadcaster Yle.
Jump Crypto subsidiary settles with Securities and Exchange Commission
Jump Crypto subsidiary Tai Mo Shan entered into a $123 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for misleading investors about the TerraUSD (UST) algorithmic stablecoin.
According to a Dec. 20 announcement from the SEC, Tai Mo Shan misled investors about the stability of the algorithmic stablecoin by purchasing $20 million in UST to artificially keep the price of UST pegged at a 1:1 ratio with the US dollar.
Approval of the settlement offer between Tai Mo Shan and the SEC. Source: Securities and Exchange Commission
TerraUSD eventually lost its dollar peg in May 2022 — first de-pegging to $0.98 due to a whale offloading roughly $285 million in UST — then plummeting to $0.67 days later.
The fear, uncertainty, and doubt created by the initial price declines caused a cascade of liquidations in the Terra ecosystem — eventually leading to the complete collapse of UST.
