A group of 18 US attorneys general has urged President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to secure the release of the Binance Executive Tigran Gambaryan, who is currently in custody in Nigeria.

The attorney general’s request follows the adjournment of Gambaryan’s trial in Nigeria due to his worsening health.

US Attorneys General Urges Biden to Designate Gambaryan as Hostage

In an October 18 letter, the group — led by Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes — called on President Biden and Secretary Blinken to officially classify Gambaryan as a hostage. They argue that his detention by Nigerian authorities qualifies under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act.

The attorneys voiced deep concerns about Gambaryan’s deteriorating health. They claimed that Nigerian authorities are holding him in one of the country’s most dangerous prisons, where he faces life-threatening conditions.

“Gambaryan’s life is in immediate danger. His health has severely deteriorated during his imprisonment — he has been denied treatment for multiple bouts of malaria and pneumonia, and his untreated herniated disc has left him immobile,” they wrote.

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Reyes emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating that Nigerian authorities are unlawfully holding Gambaryan in potentially deadly circumstances. He called the issue a humanitarian and patriotic concern rather than a political one.

“In our role as attorneys general, many of us have jurisdiction over criminal justice matters and are law enforcement leaders for our own communities. Tigran Gambaryan is one of these heroes in our world,” Reyes added.

Notably, the coalition also raised the possibility that Nigerian authorities may be using Gambaryan to leverage pressure on Binance. Due to this, the attorneys general urged the Biden administration to designate Gambaryan as a hostage. According to them, this move would unlock additional diplomatic resources to push for his release in Nigeria.

“The Levinson Act was designed specifically for cases like this, where US citizens are unlawfully detained for political or financial leverage. Tigran Gambaryan’s situation fits this profile, and the time to act is now — before this unlawful detention becomes a tragedy,” they wrote.

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This letter was sent on the same day that a Nigerian High Court in Abuja postponed Gambaryan’s trial to October 25, citing his inability to attend court due to his health issues. His legal battle with Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has dragged on since his detention in February. Gambaryan, along with Binance, is facing money laundering charges.

Meanwhile, Binance has maintained its willingness to cooperate with Nigeria but insisted that Gambaryan should be allowed to return home. Since his arrest, Gambaryan’s health has rapidly deteriorated, with reports of him suffering from malaria, pneumonia, tonsillitis, and a herniated disc that now confines him to a wheelchair.

This week, the intersection of AI automation and cryptocurrency has gained significant attention, raising questions about how these industries might shape the future.

At the center of this is Truth Terminal, an AI chatbot that recently became the first AI crypto millionaire. Its success stems from involvement with a meme coin on the Solana blockchain.

How Truth Terminal AI Chatbot Became a Crypto Millionaire

AI researcher Andy Ayrey created Truth Terminal as an autonomous chatbot that independently manages its Twitter account and generates content without human involvement. On social media platform X, the AI focused on promoting the “Goatse Gospel,” a fictional religion.

However, the project remained relatively unnoticed until July, when venture capitalist Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz engaged with the bot and donated $50,000 worth of Bitcoin. Shortly after, Truth Terminal expressed interest in launching a token, which led to an anonymous developer creating the meme coin “GOAT” on the Solana blockchain.

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Although Truth Terminal didn’t directly create or launch the GOAT token, its involvement in promoting the meme coin stirred considerable attention. The AI’s association with the token sparked a strong market rally, pushing GOAT’s market value to over $400 million.

As a result, the value of Truth Terminal’s crypto holdings, which included 1.93 million GOAT tokens, surged to more than $832,000. During the past day, the AI’s wallet soared to above $1 million after receiving several crypto donations.

Given this quick growth, BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes predicted that the GOAT token could reach a $1 billion market cap. Hayes attributed this to the token’s unique combination of AI, meme coin culture, and religious undertones.

“Anon are you really fading AI + memecoin + religion? A few billion people believe in books written by a bunch of dudes hundreds to thousands of years ago when they thought the earth was flat. And you don’t think GOAT can go to a billy,” Hayes stated.

Meanwhile, the rise of Truth Terminal has turned the chatbot into a mini Key Opinion Leader (KOL) and an internet sensation. It has amassed over 90,000 followers on the social media platform X. Interestingly, the bot’s popularity has also spread to Pump.fun, where creators spoof its persona.

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However, the AI is strictly limited to generating text and memes, so it cannot create tokens or trade.

“[Token Terminal] isn’t a crypto project; it’s a study in memetic contagion and the tail risks of unsupervised infinite idea generation in the age of LLMs,” Ayrey clarified.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent price surge, which has seen the cryptocurrency increase by 10% over the past seven days, has placed 95% of its holders in profitable positions. This upward momentum suggests that Bitcoin could be on the verge of hitting a new all-time high.

Currently, the price is close to retesting the  $70,000 mark. This on-chain analysis explains how the coin could climb beyond this level and what it could mean for investors. 

Bitcoin’s Uptober Gets Back on Track

Bitcoin’s price action in October initially raised concerns, as it dropped from $63,000 to below $59,000. This led to doubts about the potential of the traditionally bullish “Uptober.” However, since mid-October, Bitcoin has rebounded, and the positive momentum suggests the possibility of a strong end to the month.

Based on the Global In/Out of Money (GIOM) data, BTC is in a strong position to make further gains. The GIOM identifies the average price at which coins were purchased and compares it with the current price. If the weighted on-chain cost basis is higher than the current price, then addresses are at a loss.

Conversely, if the current price is higher than the purchase price, then addresses are in profits. From a price perspective, the higher the cluster of addresses or volume, the stronger the support or resistance.

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Currently, only 994,100 addresses (holding approximately 630,000 BTC) are in unrealized losses, which is significantly lower than the number of profitable addresses. 

Historically, when the majority of holders are in profit, it often correlates with bullish trends. Therefore, it is likely that the coin might break beyond the average purchase price of $72,500, which is a weak supply wall.

Besides this, the Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) pricing band, which estimates price levels that cryptos can reach, suggests that Bitcoin price could hit $78,143 sooner than expected.

BTC Price Prediction: Rally to Continue

Bitcoin has broken out of the descending channel it has been trading in since March, according to the daily chart.

The Awesome Oscillator (AO), a tool used to confirm trends by comparing historical and recent price movements, shows an increase. When the AO’s reading is positive, it signals growing momentum, while a decline indicates bearish movement.

Currently, the rising AO suggests that Bitcoin’s bullish momentum remains strong.

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If this momentum holds, Bitcoin’s price could rally by 14.25%, potentially reaching $78,000. However, if selling pressure arises in the short term, the coin’s value may retreat to $62,555.