Lawmakers Outraged Over "Disgusting" War Bets on Polymarket | CoinDesk Daily

0:00Polymarket removes a controversial market tied to the rescue of U.S. soldiers in Iran and could Bitcoin crash all the way down to $10,000. If you're watching Queen Desk Thaley, I'm Jen Senasi. Polymarket is facing intense political backlash after allowing users to bet on the rescue of U.S. service members. The prediction platform listed a contract on when the U.S. would confirm the rescue of two airmen after a fighter jet was shot down over Iran. The crew members have since been rescued, but the listing drew criticism from lawmakers. Congressman Seth Molten blasted the market on X calling it disgusting and arguing that it reduced a life or death military rescue into a financial trade. Polymarket has removed the market, but the controversy comes at a highly sensitive time for the industry as congressional Democrats are actively pushing legislation to ban prediction contracts tied to war elections and government actions. The $270 million exploit of Salana's drift protocol wasn't a quick smash and grab, but a sophisticated six-month

1:02intelligence operation carried out by North Korean state-affiliated group. According to a detailed report from the drift team, the group posed as the legitimate quantitative trading firm initially making contact with the platform's developers last fall. The attackers built deep trust over several months, depositing over a million dollars of their own capital into the ecosystem and even sending third-party intermediaries to meet drift contributors face-to-face at global crypto conferences. The hackers then compromised developer devices using a known software vulnerability and a fake Apple test-flight app. Drift is now warning the entire industry that the traditional multi-six security model may not be enough if the attackers are willing to spend six months and a million dollars building a legitimate presence inside an ecosystem. And could Bitcoin really crash all the way back down to $10,000? Bloomberg intelligence's Mike McLone is reiterating his bearish forecast, but this time he's drawing a very clear line in the sand, and that's $75,000. According to the strategist, if Bitcoin can reclaim and hold the $75,000 level,

2:04his bearish thesis is officially broken, but if it fails, he argues the past of least resistance is a catastrophic drop to $10,000. McLone views $10,000 as Bitcoin's true historical equilibrium price, noting it was the most heavily traded zone before the massive pandemic era money pump of 2020. McLone also warns that the unlimited supply of new altcoins is acting as a structural headwind draining capital away from Bitcoin. In another bold prediction, he expects Tether's market cap to eventually flip both Ethereum and Bitcoin in the coming years, as stablecoins become the industry's most enduring trend. That's it for CoinDesk Daily. Get more updates on CoinDesk.com and we'll see you next time.