137999
Get the latest updates from Guy straight to your Telegram 📲 Includes: - Guy's trades 📈 - Portfolio updates ⚖️ - announcement of video's in the pipeline and coin's on our watchlist 👀 - guy.eth
Citing “people familiar with the matter,” the report states that the investigations will examine stock sales made by SVB’s financial officers days before the bank failed. Securities filing show the bank’s CEO, Greg Becker, and chief financial officer, Daniel Beck, sold shares two weeks before the bank’s failure.
However, WSJ’s sources clarified that the probes are in their preliminary stages and may not lead to charges or allegations of wrongdoing.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-sec-investigating-silicon-valley-banks-collapse-c192c2b2
🚨Rally Report🚨
CONFLUX
The price of CFX has rallied by 30% in the past 24 hours.
WHY?!
📊 Data from CoinMarketCap reveals that CFX has the 7th highest 24hr trading volume. This is largely driven by the recent increase in demand for China-related blockchains and tokens.
🇨🇳 Part of the demand can be attributed to investors speculating on the country taking a more crypto-friendly stance in the near future. This is due to recent news reports of China using Hong Kong as a testing ground for a more liberal crypto policy.
📈 Investors are also bullish about CFX due to its recent string of partnerships, the most notable of which is with China Telecom and Little Red Book.
If you want to buy or trade CFX, we have an exclusive 60% trading fee discount for one month, a bonus of up to $8,000 and $20 FREE on Bitget! 👇
https://www.coinbureau.com/deals/trading/bitget-crypto-exchange/
Hey Guys,
It was the second biggest bank collapse in US history, and the biggest collapse since the great financial crisis. It caught the regulators off guard and led to one of the biggest de-peggings of a stablecoin since Terra's UST meltdown.
The failure of SVB bank was an incredibly exposition of the fragility of the US banking system. It was a bank that badly managed its liquidity and took some outsized bets on fixed income assets. Not only that, but they also had no hedges in place to protect themselves from higher interest rates.
All of these factors combined with a downgrade and a botched share sale led to the run on deposits. In less than 48 hours, the bank went from a potential share sale to fully insolvent and in the hands of the FDIC.
This led to an even madder scramble over the weekend as companies (including Circle) wondered if they would ever have access to their funds.
It ended with a rescue operation by US regulators and agencies. But this came as a double edged sword as it saw Signature bank shuttered for no apparent reason (apart from being "pro crypto").
There is a lot more this story and I promised to do more in-depth video on the collapse. And that's what I have for you today.
Enjoy!
🚨Rally Report🚨
DYDX
The price of DYDX has rallied by 8% in the past 24 hours.
WHY?!
🎉 The community has voted and passed a governance proposal that sought to reduce trading rewards by 45%.
🤔 This is expected to slow down token inflation and help fund initiatives in V4 in a sustainable and controlled manner.
If you want to buy or trade DYDX, we have an exclusive 60% trading fee discount for one month, a bonus of up to $8,000 and $20 FREE on Bitget! 👇
https://www.coinbureau.com/deals/trading/bitget-crypto-exchange/
Hey Guys,
If you managed to make it through the weekend - good job!
It's been a crazy past few days and I would love to say that things are going to get better but that would be a lie. That's because in a few hours, US markets open and it's anyone's guess how they will process the news of SVB over the weekend.
Then of course there are the concerns that are swirling around USDC and whether it will manage to handle all the redemptions that are likely to come its way. USDC has managed to almost fully regain its peg as people have processed the SVB bailout.
Amoungst all of this, we had news coming from the White house that they wanted to target crypto miners with a punitive tax. They also plan to change tax laws around tax harvesting for crypto traders.
As if all of that wasn't enough, we are going to have a flood of important economic data this week. That includes inflation figures in the US that could inform the Fed's rate decision this month.
That's all covered in this week's crypto market news.
Enjoy, if you can...
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (13/03/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Feds Shut Down Signature Bank, Say Signature and Silicon Valley Bank Depositors Will Be Made Whole 🙌
Yesterday, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced that it was seizing crypto-friendly Signature Bank in order to “protect depositors.” The move comes shortly after California state regulators seized Silicon Valley Bank due to a run on deposits on Friday.
Shortly after the NYDFS announced the seizure, a joint statement addressing the crisis was delivered by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell along with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Martin Gruenberg.
The joint statement stated that while the government will not be bailing out Silicon Valley Bank or Signature Bank, it will guarantee that all depositors of both banks will be made whole and have access to their funds starting Monday. This means that common and preferred shareholders will almost certainly be wiped out, while general creditors will get what's left over after paying depositors.
https://decrypt.co/123270/feds-shut-down-signature-bank-say-signature-and-silicon-valley-bank-depositors-will-be-made-whole
2️⃣ US Fed Announces $25B In Funding to Backstop Banks ❗️
The U.S. Federal Reserve has reportedly established a $25 billion funding program for banks called the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP). The program is part of the government’s efforts to avoid further banking liquidity issues following the recent collapse of major banks in the country.
Under the program, the Federal Reserve will offer loans of up to one year to “banks, savings associations, credit unions, and other eligible depository institutions.” In order to receive the loan, eligible firms must pledge U.S. Treasuries and other assets valued “at par” as collateral. The Fed stated that the program would serve as an “additional source of liquidity against high-quality securities, eliminating an institution’s need to quickly sell those securities in times of stress.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-fed-announces-25b-in-funding-to-backstop-banks
3️⃣ BCB Group Pauses US Dollar Payments Pilot After Signature Bank Closure ❌
UK-based payment services provider BCB Group has announced that it will be halting its planned U.S. dollar payments program due to regulators shutting down Signature Bank yesterday.
BCB Group which currently provides fiat-to-crypto rails for currencies such as sterling, euros, Swiss francs and yen in Europe, had previously announced that it was accelerating its plans to add U.S. dollar capabilities in response to the hole left by the closure of Silvergate Bank’s Silvergate Exchange Network on March 3rd.
BCB Group founder and CEO Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie revealed that the firm had partnered with Signature Bank for the program. The firm reportedly executed its first instant U.S. dollar transaction on March 10 and had 6 existing clients ready to test that system as part of a limited pilot program.
He stated,
“It’s sad to see [Signature Bank] go, but hopefully we can provide continuity for our clients through three new U.S. bank relationships going live soon. We’ll just have to accelerate those, mindful of how sustainable they’ll be under the Fed’s crypto-sceptic views.”
https://www.theblock.co/post/219152/bcb-group-pauses-us-dollar-payments-pilot-after-signature-bank-closure
4️⃣ HSBC Subsidiary to Acquire Silicon Valley Bank's U.K. Unit for 1 Pound 🏦
According to a recent filing, HSBC U.K. Bank, the U.K. subsidiary of global banking giant HSBC, is acquiring the U.K. subsidiary of defunct Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) for £1 ($1.21).
The filing also reveals that SVB U.K. had loans of around 5.5 billion pounds ($6.7 billion) and deposits of around 6.7 billion pounds ($8.1 billion) as of March 10th. The acquisition was reportedly facilitated by the U.K. government under its “resolution” powers.
HSBC Group CEO Noel Quinn stated,
Hey Guys,
Not sure if you've noticed, but governments around the world have been accelerating the rollout of their dystopian central bank digital currencies or CBDCs ever since the crypto market started crashing. I for one have seen many headlines in recent months.
That's why I think it's important to bring you up to speed on CBDC developments around the world. I know I have a habit of focusing on the United States, the EU, and the UK. For today's video I took the effort of covering entire regions.
What's fascinating is that the CBDC rollout hasn't gone as smoothly as the people in power expected. The few CBDCs that are already in circulation aren't seeing much adoption, and attempts by governments to increase this adoption has made it worse.
This is a video you don't want to miss!
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (11/03/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Circle Confirms $3.3B of USDC Cash Reserves Stuck at Failed Silicon Valley Bank 🥶
Yesterday, USDC stablecoin issuer Circle confirmed that wires initiated on Thursday to remove balances from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) have not yet been processed. It estimated $3.3 billion of its cash deposits to be stuck on SVB which was shut down earlier in the day by regulators after suffering a run on deposits.
Shortly after the confirmation, the USDC stablecoin fell off its peg on some exchanges after concerned investors attempted to swap out their USDC positions. Circle also reported that it processed over $1 billion in redemptions. At the time of writing, USDC is currently trading at $0.91 according to data from Coinmarketcap.
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/03/11/circle-confirms-33b-of-usdcs-cash-reserves-stuck-at-failed-silicon-valley-bank
2️⃣ Coinbase, Binance Suspend USDC Conversions as Dollar Peg Wobbles ❌
Crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase have temporarily suspended USDC conversions on their exchanges. The announcement comes shortly after stablecoin issuer Circle confirmed that it was impacted by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. While Binance did not provide a timeline for resuming conversions, Coinbase stated that it would resume conversions on Monday after the banks had opened up.
https://decrypt.co/123208/coinbase-binance-suspend-usdc-conversions-as-dollar-peg-wobbles
3️⃣ Aave DAO Votes For ‘Rescue Plan’ To Save Lost Tokens 🚀
Yesterday, Aave DAO passed the “Rescue Mission Phase 1 Long Executor” proposal. This proposal reportedly seeks to help Aave users recover ‘lost’ tokens that were accidentally sent to the wrong address in the past.
Specifically, the proposal will allow developers to upgrade the AAVE token contract, the LEND token contract, the LendtoAaveMigrator or the stAAVE token contract. This upgrade will reportedly cause the contracts to send the lost tokens they received back to their original owners automatically. Aave developer Bored Ghosts Developing Lab estimates the value of the rescued tokens to be about $2.18 million.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/aave-dao-votes-for-rescue-plan-to-save-lost-tokens
4️⃣ Developers Will Be Free To Fork Uniswap V3 Protocol After BSL Expires On April 1 ❗️
The current Business Source License (BSL) for the open-source protocol of Uniswap v3 will reportedly expire on April 1. The expiration will make the code become fully open-source and will allow anyone to fork the code without restrictions. This is a notable event in the broader DeFi ecosystem for developers and is expected to make the code for Uniswap v3 the next-generation foundational primitive for decentralised exchanges.
https://www.theblock.co/post/218750/uniswap-v3-will-become-free-to-use-after-business-license-expires-on-april-1
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (10/03/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Hedera Confirms Exploit on Mainnet Led to Theft of Service Tokens 🕵️♂️
The HBAR Foundation, the organisation behind the Hedera blockchain, has confirmed that a smart contract exploit on the Hedera Mainnet has led to the theft of several liquidity pool tokens.
The attacker reportedly targeted decentralized exchanges that derived their code from Uniswap v2 on Ethereum. The suspicious activity was detected when the attacker attempted to move the stolen tokens across the Hashport bridge.
The Hedera team stated,
"Once the solution is ready, Hedera Council members will sign transactions to approve the deployment of updated code on mainnet to remove this vulnerability, at which point the mainnet proxies will be turned back on, allowing normal activity to resume."
https://cointelegraph.com/news/hedera-confirms-exploit-on-mainnet-led-to-theft-of-service-tokens
2️⃣ SWIFT to Conduct More Tests with CBDC Project 🏦
According to a recent statement by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT), the interbank messaging platform witnessed positive results related to its pilot test of linking different central bank digital currencies. The project is reportedly moving on to the second phase of testing to assess applications like trade finance and securities settlement.
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/03/09/swift-to-start-phase-two-pilot-after-finding-value-in-cbdc
3️⃣ NY Attorney General Says Ether Is a Security in KuCoin Lawsuit ❗️
New York State Attorney General Letitia James has reportedly filed a lawsuit against crypto exchange KuCoin for allegedly violating securities laws by offering tokens that meet the definition of ‘security’ without registering with the attorney general’s office. Notably, James argues in the lawsuit that ether is also considered a security under the Martin Act because the value of ether is dependent on the efforts of others, such as co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-09/crypto-exchange-kucoin-sued-in-new-york-s-crackdown-on-industry
4️⃣ Biden Budget Proposes 30% Tax on Crypto Mining Electricity Usage 🥶
The U.S. Treasury Department has reportedly proposed a 30% excise tax on the cost of electricity used to power crypto mining facilities. The proposed tax will reportedly be implemented after Dec. 31 and be phased in at an increasing rate of 10% over the next three years. Crypto mining firms will also need to comply with reporting requirements on the "amount and type of electricity used as well as the value of that electricity."
https://cointelegraph.com/news/biden-budget-proposes-30-tax-on-crypto-mining-electricity-usage
5️⃣ US DOJ Appeals Billion-Dollar Binance.US Acquisition of Voyager Assets ⚖️
The U.S. Department of Justice has reportedly filed for an appeal on the New York Bankruptcy Court’s decision to approve Binance.US’ billion-dollar deal to acquire Voyager’s assets. The appeal comes less than a day after Judge Wiles announced his decision. The deal was expected to allow creditors to receive approximately 73% of what they’re owed.
https://www.theblock.co/post/218682/us-doj-appeals-billion-dollar-binance-us-acquisition-of-voyager-assets
Hey Guys,
I'm sure you've all heard of Silvergate by now, but I bet most of you don't understand the significance of the news related to this crypto bank. Silvergate was arguably the most important bank in cryptocurrency, and that's because of something called the SEN.
The Silvergate Exchange Network or SEN made it possible for institutional investors and crypto companies to move fiat and crypto between themselves 24/7. This is required for the crypto market to function optimally, because it too runs 24/7.
The recent shut down of SEN and the banks subsequent insolvency is therefore a big problem for the crypto market. It's probably the primary cause of the bizarre price action we've been seeing. If you're wondering exactly what this means and what comes next, you need to watch this video.
Enjoy!
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (08/03/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Silvergate Is in Talks with FDIC Officials on Ways to Salvage Bank 🔎
According to a Bloomberg report, officials from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) have been consulting with the executives of troubled crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital on ways to keep the company in business and avoid a shutdown. The FDIC examiners reportedly arrived at Silvergate’s headquarters last week and have since been reviewing the firm’s books and records. One of the potential solutions reportedly discussed involves recruiting crypto-industry investors to help Silvergate shore up its liquidity.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-07/silvergate-in-talks-with-fdic-officials-on-ways-to-salvage-bank
2️⃣ Binance.US Can Move Ahead with Plan to Acquire Voyager Digital's Assets, Judge Rules ⚖️
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles has reportedly approved Voyager Digital’s modified restructuring plan and overruled the SEC’s various objections to the proposed acquisition. Voyager’s modified restricting plan involves a $1 billion deal to sell its assets to Binance.US and issue repayment tokens to impacted Voyager customers. This is expected to give them back approximately 73% of what they’re owed.
Judge Wiles stated,
“I am in the absolutely unenviable position of having to make a ruling about the proposed transaction in the face of hearsay accusations of potential wrongdoing in an industry where other firms have apparently engaged in real wrongdoing. I have been given no evidence … that Binance.US will misuse customer assets, or that it cannot be trusted.”
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/03/07/binanceus-can-move-ahead-with-plan-to-acquire-voyager-digitals-assets-judge-rules
3️⃣ Hacker Returns Stolen Funds to Tender.fi, Gets $97K Bounty Reward 🕵️♀️
Defi lending platform Tender.fi reportedly suffered a $1.59 million exploit after an ethical hacker took advantage of a misconfigured data oracle that allowed them to make repeated borrows with just a single GMX token worth $70 as collateral. The ethical hacker has reportedly returned all funds to the DeFi protocol after the platform agreed to pay them a 62.16 ETH ($97,000) “bounty.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/hacker-returns-stolen-funds-to-tender-fi-gets-97k-bounty-reward
4️⃣ Thailand Offers Tax Breaks for Companies Issuing Investment Tokens 💵
The Thailand government is reportedly offering a tax break for companies that raise capital by issuing digital tokens. The tax break will involve waiving the corporation and value-added tax and is estimated to cost the government 35 billion baht ($1 billion).
According to a statement by Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, companies will need to register their token offerings to benefit from the tax waiver which will be applicable for both primary and secondary offerings of the investment tokens.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/thailand-offers-tax-breaks-companies-issuing-investment-tokens-2023-03-07/
5️⃣ CoinFLEX Says Restructuring Plan Is Approved by Seychelles Court ❗️
In a blog post published yesterday, crypto investment platform CoinFLEX announced that it received approval for its restructuring plan from the courts in Seychelles. CoinFLEX informed users that trading of locked assets such as LUSD and LETH will remain halted until 24 hours after the written order of the court is published. According to the blog, the court may publish the written order within the week.
https://www.theblock.co/post/217724/coinflex-restructuring-plan-approved
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (07/03/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Hermès Asks Court to Block 'MetaBirkin' NFT Sales After Jury Win ⚖️
Hermès International, the French luxury fashion house, has requested a New York court to issue a permanent injunction to NFT artist Mason Rothschild following the landmark jury verdict that found Rothschild guilty of violating Hermès’ trademark rights last month.
Specifically, Hermès has requested the court to mandate that Rothschild stop using the “Birkin” trademark and hand over the MetaBirkins website, the NFTs he still possesses and his earnings from the token sales since the trial to Hermès.
The court filing comes after Hermès found that Mason Rothschild was still receiving a 7.5% royalty for each sale of MetaBirkin NFTs and that he has been promoting them on his website and social media accounts even after the verdict in February.
https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/hermes-asks-court-block-metabirkin-nft-sales-after-jury-win-2023-03-06/
2️⃣ Yuga Labs' Bitcoin NFT Collection Fetches Top Bid of Nearly $160K 💰
The auction for Yuga Labs’ TwelveFold Bitcoin ‘NFT’ collection ended yesterday. The auction reportedly saw 3,246 total bidders and generated 735.7 BTC (about $16.5 million) in bids. The highest accepted bid was 7.1159 BTC ($159,600) and the lowest accepted bid was 2.2501 BTC ($50,400).
Yuga Labs has stated that a directory of all TwelveFold ordinals will be published following the inscription process. It also reminded purchasers that the TwelveFold project will have no future utility or connection with its Ethereum projects.
https://www.coindesk.com/web3/2023/03/06/yugas-bitcoin-nft-collection-fetches-top-bid-of-nearly-160k
3️⃣ Argo Increases Bitcoin Production Despite BTC Difficulty Growth 📈
Publicly-listed Bitcoin mining firm Argo Blockchain has reportedly increased its daily BTC production despite a 10% month-over-month increase in average network difficulty. According to an operational update posted by Argo, its daily BTC production rate in February was 5.7 BTC per day.
This is a 7% increase compared to its daily BTC production rate of 5.4 BTC in January. This is especially impressive considering that data from Blockchain.com reveals that the BTC network difficulty surged to new all-time highs in February, with February 25th recording a difficulty rate of 43 trillion.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/argo-increases-bitcoin-production-despite-btc-difficulty-growth
4️⃣ BIS Develops Cross-Border Retail CBDC Payment System 🏦
According to a recently published report by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), a cross-border system connecting central bank digital currencies could allow for cheaper and safer global payments.
The report contained findings from ‘Project Icebreaker’- a project conducted with the help of the central banks of Israel, Norway and Sweden, that used a "hub-and-spoke" method to connect the countries' different national CBDC systems.
The report describes the "hub-and-spoke" used by the project as follows,
“FX providers would hold and manage [retail CBDC] liquidity in their operating currencies. Each FX provider would submit buy and sell rates for those currencies to the Icebreaker hub. The Icebreaker hub, therefore, maintains a live database of the submitted FX rates and returns the best available rate along with the identity of the FX provider to the payer upon request […] This competitive setup mitigates the risk of insufficient liquidity in the desired currency pair, which can drive fees up and even delay the transaction.”
https://www.theblock.co/post/217346/bis-develops-cross-border-retail-cbdc-payment-system
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (15/03/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ EU Parliament Passes Bill Requiring Smart Contracts to Include Kill Switch ❗️
A 2022 European Union bill known as the Data Act was passed by the European Parliament yesterday with 500 votes in favour and 23 against. The bill, which is intended to give people more control over information from smart devices, has raised concerns within the Web3 community.
This is due to some provisions within the bill mandating developers to include a kill switch, “rigorous access control mechanisms” and the protection of trade secrets when creating “smart contracts for data sharing”.
The primary concern of the crypto community seems to be around the lack of clarity on what qualifies as a “smart contract for data sharing” and the inclusion and governance of a kill switch which goes against the principle of immutability in blockchains.
However, Natalie Linhart, the legal counsel at ConsenSys, believes the smart contract provisions aren’t too overbearing on the industry. She stated,
“We see Article 30 as a marginal provision applicable to smart contracts facilitating data transfers involving IoT products — not those deployed in DeFi applications.”
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/03/14/eu-parliament-passes-bill-requiring-smart-contracts-to-include-kill-switch
2️⃣ Unstoppable Domains Releases Web3 Domain Names for Polygon Blockchain 🚀
Web3 domain provider Unstoppable Domains (UD) has partnered with Polygon Labs to launch “.polygon” domain names. Users will reportedly be able to use the “.polygon” domains to create digital identities that are compatible across 750 applications, games and metaverse platforms.
Sanket Shah, the Vice president and head of growth at Polygon Labs, stated,
"Web3 domains will give our community a digital identity that they fully own, so they can log into dapps without giving away their personal information and transact crypto without lengthy wallet addresses.”
https://www.theblock.co/post/219619/unstoppable-domains-releases-web3-domain-names-for-polygon-blockchain
3️⃣ Signature Bank Faced Criminal Probe Ahead of Firm’s Collapse 🧐
According to a Bloomberg report, the crypto-friendly Signature Bank was being investigated by both the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prior to its seizure by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
While the DOJ was reportedly looking into whether Signature Bank took adequate measures to detect potential money laundering by clients, the details regarding the nature of the SEC’s probe remain unknown.
The report clarifies that Signature Bank and its staff have not been accused of wrongdoing and the investigations may have been finalised without any charges or further action taken by the SEC or the DOJ.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-15/signature-bank-faced-criminal-probe-ahead-of-firm-s-collapse
4️⃣ NatWest Bank Puts $6K Monthly Limit on Crypto Exchange Payments 🏦
NatWest, a retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom, has reportedly sent an email to customers informing them that it was introducing a daily and monthly cap of 1,000 GBP ($1,218) and 5,000 GBP ($6,090) respectively for transactions involving crypto exchanges.
Stuart Skinner, NatWest’s head of fraud protection, stated that the move was part of the bank’s efforts to protect customers from losing “life-changing sums of money” to the increasing number of scams using “cryptocurrency exchanges.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/natwest-bank-puts-6k-monthly-limit-to-crypto-exchange-payments
5️⃣ Justice Department, SEC Investigating Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse 🔎
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, both the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have launched separate investigations into the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (14/03/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Meta ‘Winding Down’ Instagram NFT Support to Focus on Creators ❌
Tech giant Meta has announced that it is ‘winding down’ its NFT-related digital collectables initiative “to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses.” The announcement comes barely a year after the initiative was launched.
Stephane Kasriel, Meta’s head of commerce and financial services, tweeted,
“A big thank you to the partners who joined us on this journey and who're doing great work in a dynamic space. We learned a ton that we’ll be able to apply to products we’re continuing to build to support creators, people, and businesses on our apps, both today and in the metaverse.”
https://decrypt.co/123379/instagram-winding-down-nfts-to-focus-on-creators-and-businesses
2️⃣ Justice Department Probes Collapse of Do Kwon’s TerraUSD Stablecoin ⚖️
The U.S. Justice Department is reportedly investigating the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin. Two of the department’s agencies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office SDNY, have reportedly interrogated former employees of Terraform Labs in recent weeks. Based on the results of the investigation, the U.S. Justice Department could file criminal charges against the TerraUSD creator, Do Kwon.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-probes-collapse-of-do-kwons-terrausd-stablecoin-10bd5ffb
3️⃣ Euler Attack Causes Locked Tokens, Losses In 11 DeFi Protocols, Including Balancer ❗️
Yesterday, noncustodial lending protocol Euler finance suffered a flash loan exploit that saw over $196 million worth of assets being stolen. According to on-chain data, the stolen assets comprised of DAI, USDC, StETH and WBTC. The attack has reportedly resulted in lost or frozen funds for over 11 DeFi protocols connected with Euler. This includes Balancer, Angle Protocol, Idle Finance, Yearn Finance, and Yield Protocol among others.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/euler-attack-causes-locked-tokens-losses-in-11-defi-protocols-including-balancer
4️⃣ OKX-Affiliated Okcoin Pauses USD On-Ramp Due to Signature Bank’s Collapse 🥶
Okcoin, the U.S.-based crypto exchange affiliated with global crypto exchange OKX, announced that it was ‘immediately pausing’ U.S. dollar wire and ACH deposits due to the collapse of Signature Bank, Okcoin’s primary bank for customers’ USD transactions.
Okcoin reassured concerned users by clarifying that “all corporate and customer funds” were safe and that its other operations such as USD withdrawal, crypto deposit and withdrawal, and other fiat deposits remained intact.
Okcoin CEO Hong Fang tweeted,
“Our team are working very hard on alternative channels and solutions in real-time. We’ve been through much worse times since our inception. If this weekend has told us anything, it’s the significance of the future that we are building. Our commitment to you hasn’t changed either.”
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/03/13/okx-affiliated-okcoin-pauses-usd-on-ramp-due-to-signature-banks-collapse
5️⃣ Digital Asset Funds Experience Biggest Weekly Outflows on Record 🔎
According to a report by asset manager CoinShares, crypto investment products saw their largest dollar-figure outflows on record ($255 million) last week. The report noted that the outflows have wiped out all of the inflows from earlier this year, with outflows totalling $82 million year to date
https://www.theblock.co/post/219227/digital-asset-funds-biggest-weekly-outflows-on-record
“This acquisition makes excellent strategic sense for our business in the U.K. It strengthens our commercial banking franchise and enhances our ability to serve innovative and fast-growing firms, including in the technology and life-science sectors, in the U.K. and internationally."
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/03/13/hsbc-subsidiary-to-acquire-silicon-valley-banks-uk-unit-for-1
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (12/03/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Circle To ‘Stand Behind’ USDC, Cover $3.3 Billion Shortfall Held in Silicon Valley Bank 🏦
In a blog post published yesterday, stablecoin issuer Circle reassured users that it is legally obliged to “stand behind” USDC and that it will “cover any shortfall” using corporate resources and "external capital if necessary."
Circle also stated that it is “hopeful” of the FDIC seeking a purchaser for SVB to “ensure all depositors are made whole.” It further stated that USDC will be redeemed 1:1 “when banks open on Monday morning in the United States."
https://decrypt.co/123224/circle-to-stand-behind-usdc-cover-3-3-billion-shortfall-held-in-silicon-valley-bank
2️⃣ Failed Tech Bank SVB Held Over $5B For Prominent Crypto VCs: Report 🔎
Prominent venture capitalists active in the blockchain and emerging technology space reportedly held over $6 billion worth of assets in the now-defunct Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
The figure comes from a report that began circulating online on March 11 in the aftermath of the collapse of SVB. The VCs and their holdings detailed in the report include Andreessen Horowitz ($2.85B), Paradigm ($1.72B) and Pantera Capital ($560M). These firms currently hold active investments in projects such as Alchemy, Sky Mavis, Yuga Labs, Compound, Cosmos, Uniswap, 1inch, Ankr and Zcash.
However, the figures in the report are a point-time disclosure extracted from the firms’ U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. It does not include updates such as recent withdrawals, deposits or transfers after the time of disclosure.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/failed-tech-bank-svb-held-over-5b-for-prominent-crypto-vcs-report
3️⃣ FDIC Races to Sell SVB Assets to Make Uninsured Accounts Partly Available on Monday ❗️
According to a Bloomberg report, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is rushing to sell assets of the failed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) this weekend in order to make between 30% to 50% of uninsured deposits available for withdrawal on Monday. SVB had approximately $209 billion in total assets and $175.4 billion in total deposits as of Dec. 31, 2022. The FDIC insures up to $250,000 in deposits.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-11/fdic-races-to-start-returning-some-uninsured-svb-deposits-monday
Hey Guys,
What would you say if I told you that the crypto crackdown we're seeing in the United States will be coming to other countries around the world? Well, this looks likely, and that's because of the the Financial Stability Board or FSB's upcoming global crypto regulations.
The those unfamiliar, the FSB is a sort of subsidiary of the Bank for International Settlements or BIS, the bank for central banks. It should come as no surprise then that the FSB is as anti-crypto as its parent institution, and has a very specific hatred for stablecoins.
Although the FSB's global crypto regulation recommendations won't be published until the summer, past and present comments by its members and its recent crypto reports shed some light on what they could look like. That's exactly what I'm unpacking for you today.
Enjoy!
Market Update! 🚨
You will likely have seen the news surrounding Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). I will be doing a video on it in the coming week, but the TLDR is the bank had a run and has now collapsed.
It holds the deposits of numerous tech companies in Silicon Valley, as well as $3.3bn of cash reserves backing Circle's USDC.
https://twitter.com/circle/status/1634391505988206592
While this is 'only ~8% of USDC's cash reserves, it's a significant amount of its liquidity. Moreover, even though Circle will get the majority of those deposits back, it will take some time for that to happen.
Beyond that, it's not clear how far this run could spread. Which other banks could be in a similar position? Circle has bank deposits at other banks, including Signature.
As a result, and out of an abundance of caution, I have reduced my exposure to USDC. I have converted it to a combination of cash and crypto. I will update you on the exact proportions in my newsletter tomorrow. If you are not following, you can signup here:
https://guy.coinbureau.com/signup/
Times like this call for a cool head, however, I do see this situation worsening in the short term. What we need now is decisive action from US authorities to steady the ship and prevent more banks from going under.
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (09/03/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Mt. Gox Registration and Repayment Deadlines Pushed Back Again 🤔
The registration deadline for Mt. Gox creditors has once again been pushed back to allow creditors to file claims for another month. According to the announcement, the registration deadline has been moved from March 10 to April 6 and the distribution deadline has been pushed from September 30 to October 31. However, the announcement notes that this might be the last time an extension is provided.
https://www.theblock.co/post/218331/mt-gox-repayment-deadlines-pushed-back
2️⃣ Crypto Bank Silvergate Announces 'Voluntary Liquidation' ❗️
According to a recent SEC filing, Silvergate Capital Corporation is planning to voluntarily liquidate Silvergate Bank and wind down its operations.
The filing reads,
"In light of recent industry and regulatory developments, Silvergate believes that an orderly wind-down of bank operations and a voluntary liquidation of the bank is the best path forward. The bank’s wind-down and liquidation plan includes full repayment of all deposits. The company is also considering how best to resolve claims and preserve the residual value of its assets, including its proprietary technology and tax assets."
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/03/08/crypto-bank-silvergate-announces-voluntary-liquidation
3️⃣ Coinbase Launches Wallet-As-A-Service for Businesses 🚀
Crypto exchange Coinbase has launched a new “wallet as a service” business that will allow enterprises to offer customised in-app Web3 wallets for their customers. Patrick McGregor, Coinbase’s head of product for Web3 developer platforms, stated that the service can be used by applications such as Web3 gaming apps to provide an “almost invisible” wallet to the end user.
He emphasised that this provides brands with “control over end-to-end product experiences,” a reduction in “implementation cost and complexity” and helps them improve security while reducing risks.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-launches-wallet-as-a-service-for-businesses
4️⃣ CFTC Chair Says Ethereum Is a Commodity—Despite Gensler’s ‘Bitcoin Only’ Position 🔎
Following an appearance before the Senate Agriculture Committee, CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam stated that Ethereum and most stablecoins are considered ‘commodities’ by the regulator as long as there is no new law that could change their classification. Notably, this stance seems to directly contradict the one taken by SEC chair Gary Gensler who considers every crypto besides Bitcoin to be a security.
Addressing stablecoins, Behnam stated,
"Based on the cases that we've brought around stablecoins, I think that there's a strong legal argument that USDC and other similar stablecoins would be commodities.”
Addressing Ether, Behnam stated,
“We have regulated ether derivatives. It's not a coincidence that those futures were listed on CFTC markets. We did the analysis, the listing exchange did the legal analysis, and the analysis led to the conclusion that ether is a commodity, and I've been pretty consistent with that in the past."
https://decrypt.co/123032/cftc-chair-says-ethereum-is-a-commodity-despite-genslers-bitcoin-only-position
5️⃣ Biden’s Budget Plan Wants to Double Capital Gains and Clamp Down on Crypto Wash Sales 🇺🇸
U.S. President Joe Biden’s upcoming budget proposal reportedly seeks to double capital gains for certain investors and clamp down on a tax loss harvesting loophole used by crypto investors.
Specifically, the Biden administration expects to raise up to $24 billion by introducing a provision that will subject crypto assets to wash-trading rules. It also proposes to almost double the capital gains tax rate from the current 20% tax rate to 39.6% on long-term investments for investors making at least $1 million.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-budget-to-propose-saving-hundreds-of-billions-by-cutting-drug-prices-fraud-5fa0f927
Hey Guys,
So you may have heard that a bunch of independent journalists were dropping bombshells about censorship at twitters in a series of lengthy threads known as the 'Twitter Files'. The revelations have been eye opening, but it's been crickets from the media.
There have been more than a dozen of these threads since December, and I know it's been hard for most people to keep up. That's why I took it upon myself to summarise all 17 twitter files releases in today's video, and give you my take on what comes next.
I believe this is ultimately a bullish case for decentralised social media, and I would go as far as to say that a transition to CeSo to DeSo is inevitable at this rate. Governments around the world are trying to take control of online information, and this will cause an exodus.
Enjoy!
🚨Rally Report🚨
BONE SHIBASWAP
The price of BONE has rallied by 10% in the past 24 hours.
WHY?!
🚀 Layer 2 network Shibarium, a project spearheaded by lead Shiba Inu developer Shytoshi Kusama, officially announced that its Public Beta will be launching this week.
🦴 The price of BONE which is the utility token used to pay for gas on the network has rallied positively on the news.
If you want to buy or trade BONE, we have an exclusive 60% trading fee discount for one month, a bonus of up to $8,000 and $20 FREE on Bitget! 👇
https://www.coinbureau.com/deals/trading/bitget-crypto-exchange/
Hey Guys,
Have you ever wondered how the crypto hedge fund space has been faring over the past year? Well, thanks to a recent research report, we have one of the most comprehensive answers.
It shows us that despite the tumult over the past year, these investment managers have still been able to outperform the TradFi hedge fund standard. That's thanks to a collection of strategies that have allowed some of these funds to generate exception alpha. In some cases, these are up to 100% APY on seemingly "boring" TradFi strategies.
The report also digs into the broader crypto fund landscape and how it has evolved since 2018. What started as small extensions of family office, has evolved into a large industry with infrastructure and talent designed specifically to serve it.
In my video today, I am going to take you through the report and go over some of the most important details. I will also give you some of my own views around how the sector is likely to evolve over the coming year.
This is a vid you don't want to miss!
🚨Rally Report🚨
FLOKI
The price of FLOKI has rallied by 14% in the past 24 hours.
WHY?!
🇮🇳 Major Indian crypto exchange WazirX announced that it will be listing FLOKI on the exchange.
🏏 Floki also announced an exclusive marketing partnership with the cricket team ‘India Maharajas’. The partnership will see the team members wearing Floki’s logo on their shirts during major cricket matches.
If you want to buy or trade FLOKI, we have an exclusive 60% trading fee discount for one month, a bonus of up to $8,000 and $20 FREE on Bitget! 👇
https://www.coinbureau.com/deals/trading/bitget-crypto-exchange/