Author: vasdc

Contagion from the Dec. 12 flash loan attack against Euler has spread far and wide, resulting in frozen or lost funds for 11 different decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, according to Dec. 13 reports from each of them on Twitter. Balancer, an Ethereum protocol with over $1 billion total value locked (TVL), is among the affected protocols. Below is a rundown of the major exploits and what we know so far.BalancerBalancer reported on March 13 that the Euler Boosted USD (bb-e-USD) pool had been affected by the exploit. Approximately $11.9 million worth of tokens from this pool were sent to Euler during…

Crypto mining firm Marathon Digital Holdings has assured investors that the firm’s cash deposits at Signature Bank are secure and available for use as of Mar. 13.In a statement following the closure of New York’s Signature Bank, Marathon disclosed that it has approximately $142 million in cash deposits at Signature Bridge Bank. The Signature Bridge Bank was set up by the United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to manage customer accounts at the recently shut-down Signature Bank. The bridge bank is aimed at ensuring the flow of funds is not interrupted while the regulator searches for a buyer to acquire the…

Big Tech firm Meta is scrapping its nonfungible token (NFT) feature across its social media platforms Facebook and Instagram just under a year after it launched.Stephane Kasriel, Meta’s head of commerce and financial technologies, tweeted the news on Mar. 13, saying Meta is “winding down” its NFT support as it wishes to “focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses.”Some product news: across the company, we’re looking closely at what we prioritize to increase our focus. We’re winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses. [1/5]— Stephane Kasriel…

Caroline Hill, the director of global policy and regulatory strategy for stablecoin issuer Circle, has placed some of the blame from the recent collapse of banks tied to crypto on traditional financial institutions rather than digital assets.Speaking at a South by Southwest (SXSW) panel on regulating cryptocurrencies in Austin, Texas on March 13, Hill alluded to some of the concerns around the depegging of Circle-issued USD Coin (USDC) amid reports the firm held more than $3 billion in reserves at Silicon Valley Bank. The price of the stablecoin dropped roughly 10% on March 10 before repegging to $1 on March…

Banks saw their share prices take a rollercoaster ride over the weekend and into March 13. Trading was temporarily halted for dozens of United States regional banks amid volatility and falling prices. The Wall Street Journal reported early in the morning that trading was halted for First Republic Bank, which led bank losses when its price fell 65% by the time trading was stopped. Trading in PacWest Bancorp, down 25%; Zions Bancorp, down 25%; and Regions Financial, down 9%, was also halted.Those banks saw uneven recovery when trading resumed, with Regions Financial and Zions Bancorp springing back, and the others rising…

On Mar. 13, American derivatives marketplace CME announced the launch of Bitcoin (BTC) futures event contracts. The exchange, which is fully regulated and has cleared administrative review, will henceforth facilitate cash-settled, daily expiring contracts tied to Bitcoin futures with a “lower-cost way for investors to trade their views on the up or down price moves of bitcoin.” Tim McCourt, global head of equity and FX products at CME Group, commented: Our new event contracts on Bitcoin futures provide a limited-risk, highly transparent way for a wide range of investors to access the bitcoin market via a fully regulated exchange. These cash-settled, daily…

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 14.4% between March 12-13 after it was confirmed that financial regulators had rescued depositors in the failing Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). The intraday high of $24,610 may not have lasted long, but $24,000 represents a 45% increase year-to-date.On March 12, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chair Martin Gruenberg issued a joint statement to reassure SVB depositors. Regulators also announced a systemic risk exception for Signature Bank (SBNY), an intervention designed to compensate depositors for losses incurred by the previous management. Signature Bank…

Last week, another major quake shook crypto markets. Silvergate Bank — a crypto-fiat gateway network for financial institutions and a significant on-ramp for cryptocurrencies in the United States — shut down operations due to liquidity problems. A couple of days later, another ​​Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-insured institution, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), was shut down by California’s financial watchdog. The bank provided financial services to several crypto-focused venture firms, including Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, with USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle holding around 20% of its reserves with the bank. Following the news, USDC depegged and lost over 10% of its value…

According to a lawyer representing the bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi Inc.,the company is in a stable financial position with access to ample cash reserves, despite having over $200 million in exposure to Silicon Valley Bank, Bloomberg reported.According to the report, BlockFi had $227 million invested in a money market mutual fund that Silicon Valley Bank marketed; nevertheless, the risk is probably related to the performance of the fund, not the bank’s financials. https://t.co/xsgWgQRsLy— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 11, 2023 During a bankruptcy hearing on Monday, Christine Okike of Kirkland & Ellis claimed that BlockFi is not in immediate danger and has…

Barney Frank, a former member of the United States House of Representatives, has reportedly suggested New York regulators closed the crypto-friendly Signature Bank as part of a seeming show of force.According to a March 13 CNBC report, Frank — also a board member of Signature Bank — said the only indication of problems at the bank was a deposit run of more than $10 billion on March 10, which he called “purely contagion” from the Silicon Valley Bank fallout. The New York Department of Financial Services took control of Signature on March 12 and appointed the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation…

A group of shareholders have reportedly filed a lawsuit against Silicon Valley Bank’s parent company and some of its executives amid the unfolding crisis.Multiple news outlets reported on March 13 that many Silicon Valley Bank shareholders alleged fraud from the bank, CEO Greg Becker and chief financial officer Daniel Beck. The lawsuit would likely be one of the first filed in court since California regulators shut down the bank on March 10, leading to USD Coin (USDC) temporarily depegging from the dollar amid reports Circle had more than $3 billion of the stablecoin’s reserves at the financial institution. The shareholders…

The banking crisis in the U.S. has led to aggressive buying in Bitcoin and select altcoins, which are nearing stiff overhead resistance levels. Source link

US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced the suspension of trading for the Binance  USD (BUSD) stablecoin on March 13 via Twitter. We have disabled trading for Binance USD (BUSD). Your BUSD funds will remain accessible to you, and you will continue to have the ability to withdraw your funds at any time. https://t.co/jfpCZX7UTC— Coinbase Assets (@CoinbaseAssets) March 13, 2023 On Feb 27, Coinbase cited “listing standards” as the reason behind its decision to disable trading for BUSD on March 13. The February announcement read; We regularly monitor the assets on our exchange to ensure they meet our listing standards. Based on our most recent…

Crypto exchange Gemini had no funds at Signature Bank, and its Gemini US Dollar (GUSD) stablecoin was not backed by any deposits at the failed bank, according to a March 13 official tweet from the company.1/ It’s very sad to hear the news about Signature Bank. They have been incredible partners to Gemini and our industry for the better part of a decade.We have zero customer funds and zero Gemini dollar (GUSD) funds held at Signature Bank.— Gemini (@Gemini) March 13, 2023 The exchange further clarified that it had partnered with Signature in the past, stating, “They [Signature] have been…

Cryptocurrency investment products lost 10% of assets under management last week as institutional investors rushed for the exit during the latest episode of market volatility prompted by the Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank collapses.Digital asset investment products registered $255 million in outflows for the week ending March 12, marking the fifth consecutive weekly decline and the largest seven-day drop on record, according to CoinShares. The 10% drop in assets under management, or AUM, retraced all the gains in 2023. As the largest and most influential crypto asset, Bitcoin (BTC) witnessed a $244 million drawdown. Ether (ETH) products lost $11 million…

Banks are the lifeblood of a nation’s economic system, and any bank collapse is disturbing. Last week saw two failures. On March 8, Silvergate Capital — the cryptocurrency-focused banking company — entered into voluntary liquidation. On March 10, United States regulators shut down and seized the deposits of tech-oriented Silicon Valley Bank in what was being called the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history. Both California institutions were victims of bank deposit runs. The fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) could be significant, though it’s too early to tell. Stablecoins like USD Coin (USDC) and Dai (DAI) losing their dollar…

According to Web3 analytics platform Watchers, a total of 314.167 million USD Coin (USDC) was sent by its issuer, Circle, to the Ethereum null address with header 0x00 on March 13. The null address is typically used to remove tokens from circulation via one-way transactions.Stablecoin Burn Alerts:314,167,155.05 $USDC ($311,419,134) just burned by #CircleTx: https://t.co/ggqMMIhwS8— Watchers ( . ) (@0xWatchers) March 13, 2023 On March 12, Circle announced that following a joint announcement by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other regulators, all depositors with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) — representing $3.3 billion, or 8% of the total USDC reserve —…

According to a March 13 tweet by Okcoin CEO Hong Fang, the U.S. affiliate of cryptocurrency exchange OKX had no exposure to defunct U.S. tech bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). However, Fong stated that Okcoin’s U.S. dollar wire and ACH deposits have been “immediately paused” due to the regulatory intervention in Signature Bank, Okcoin’s primary partner for customer transactions in dollars. On March 12, New York state regulators closed Signature Bank, a major financial institution for fiat-crypto on-ramping, citing a “systemic risk exception” in the wake of SVB’s collapse. In addition to suspending dollar deposits, Fang wrote that “over-the-counter services will be…

Bitcoin (BTC) hit its highest since the start of the month on March 13 as U.S. bank stocks saw the largest mass halt in history.BTC/USD 1-day candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewBTC price sees “phenomenal” reboundData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked a thoroughly bullish hourly candle for BTC/USD, which reached $23,725 on Bitstamp.The move was eagerly anticipated by market participants, many of whom had warned of extreme volatility at the Wall Street open.45min into US open, and banks getting halted left, right and centre. By 4pm eastern the Fed Funds might be back at 0%. $XAU $XAG $BTC $ETH is…

On Jan. 25, the Committee on Elections introduced a bill to the Kansas House of Representatives aimed at capping political donations via crypto at $100. Regardless of the success of this legislative initiative, the state of Kanzas won’t be the first jurisdiction to target anonymous donations. From authoritarian nations like Russia or China to electoral democracies like Ireland or Canada, one can find recent attempts to ban crypto donations to politicians all around the globe. The opponents of crypto may have a strong point — it’s hard to imagine a healthy democracy where large sums of untraceable money are flowing between…

Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH), rallied on March 13 after the U.S. regulators shored up wavering confidence in the banking sector led by the shutdown of $209 billion Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and $110 billion Signature Bank.U.S. emergency measures help Ether recoveryEther’s price rose over 3% to around $1,635, its highest level in almost two weeks. The gains came as a part of the token’s broader rebound move that saw it rallying nearly 20% from its March 10 low of $1,369.ETH/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingViewOn March 12, the U.S. Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance…

Nonfungible token (NFT) memes have brought mainstream attention to the world of NFTs and digital art, helping to expand the market and increase its legitimacy. The high prices paid for some NFT memes have demonstrated the value of online culture and the emotional connection that people can have to internet memes. NFT memes have also created a new way for creators and artists to monetize their work, potentially leading to new opportunities and revenue streams in the digital economy.What are NFT memes?NFT memes refer to internet memes that have been turned into nonfungible tokens, which are unique digital assets that…

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has suffered a major fall from grace following half a decade of being rated as one of the best banks in America.SVB and its parent company SVB Financial Group have been held in high esteem as a financial institution serving a variety of companies across industries, from technology and venture capital firms to private equity clients.SVB has been included in Forbes’ annual list of the best banks in the U.S for five consecutive years, a point which its parent company had celebrated on Twitter not more than a few weeks prior to its closure under Federal Deposit Insurance…

Earlier this year, Joshua Browder, CEO of AI startup DoNotPay, attempted to bring a robot lawyer into a California courtroom, despite almost certainly knowing that it was illegal in almost all 50 states to bring automated assistance like this into a courtroom. DoNotPay bills itself as the “world’s first robot lawyer” whose goal is to “level the playing field and make legal information and self-help accessible to everyone.” It helps to serve society’s lower-income segment to lower medical bills, appeal bank fees, and dispute credit reports. It claims to have helped more than 160,000 people successfully contest parking tickets in…

The panic caused due to USD Coin’s (USDC) depeg from the U.S. dollar manifested itself in a wrong order, costing traders $50,000 per Bitcoin (BTC), albeit for several minutes.Bitcoin price sees $50K in “fat finger” error The BTC/USDC pair on Binance flash spiked to $50,000 on March 12 around 7 pm UTC. The reason for the impulse spike is unknown and was likely due to a “fat finger” trade of a large order. BTC/USDC hourly price chart on Binance. Source: TradingViewThe potential reason for the flash spike is likely thin order books for the newly launched BTC-USDC pair on Binance. The exchange listed…

Circle has revealed that Cross River Bank, a bank recognized for its services to fintech firms like Visa and Coinbase, is now its new commercial banking partner for the production and redemption of USD Coin (USDC) stablecoins.In addition, Circle has established “expanded relationships” with other banking partners to assist with USDC redemption, including Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), which already provides custody services for Circle’s reserves.Surviving a harrowing weekend that saw Circle’s flagship USDC stablecoin break its peg to the dollar, falling below 90 cents early on Saturday before a series of moves by banks and regulators restored…

Ethereum-based noncustodial lending protocol Eurler finance faced a flash loan attack on March 13, with the attacker managing to steal millions in Dai (DAI), USD Coin (USDC), staked Ether (StETH) and wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC).According to on-chain data, as per the last update, the exploiter carried out multiple transactions, stealing nearly $196 million. The ongoing attack has already become the largest hack of 2023. The breakdown of stolen funds is as follows: Funds stolen from Euler Finance. Source: BlockSec.According to crypto analytic firm Meta Seluth, the attack correlates with the deflation attack one month ago. The attacker used a multichain bridge to transfer the…

Privacy-oriented blockchain platform Aztec is preparing to shut down Aztec Connect, the network’s privacy infrastructure serving as the encryption layer for Ethereum.Aztec Network officially announced the upcoming closure of Aztec Connect, planning to disable Aztec Connect deposits from front-ends like zk.money and zkpay.finance on March 17.According to a blog post by Aztec, users will be able to withdraw their funds from Aztec Connect with no fees for one year. “While withdrawals will always be possible, they will become significantly more burdensome after March 21, 2024,” Aztec said, recommending users to withdraw funds as soon as possible. Since launched in July…

Bitcoin (BTC) begins a new week with a bullish surge above $22,000 as the Federal Reserve injects liquidity into the United States economy.In a move which can rival any classic Bitcoin comeback, BTC/USD is up a full 15% off the two-month lows seen on March 10.The volatility — and at least temporary relief for bulls — is all due to events in the U.S. after the failure of one bank and the forced halting of another’s operations.Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank are the latest victims in a brutal year for financial institutions under the Fed’s rising interest rates —…

An NFT’s rarity plays a role in its perceived cultural and artistic significance. For example, an nonfungible token (NFT) that is the only one of its kind and possesses significant cultural or historical value may be considered a rare and must-have artifact. But why is NFT rarity important?NFT rarity is important because the market worth and appeal of an NFT can be significantly influenced by the nonfungible token’s rarity, which can also influence its resale value. Moreover, NFT collectors frequently look for unusual and distinctive nonfungible tokens to add to their collections.Nonetheless, it is crucial to remember that an NFT’s…

The wider cryptocurrency community continues to debate the ongoing fallout following the closure of three major American banks, with calls for neobank services for the industry on the cards.Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which has traditionally served startups across a number of innovation sector industries, was shuttered by California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation on March 10. The reasons surrounding the closure are still coming to light but the news caused shockwaves through the industry, primarily driven by USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle having over $3.3 billion of its $40 billion reserves locked up in the bank.Signature Bank, which also…

The failure of three major crypto-backing banks, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank caused the stablecoin (USDC) to fall to as low as $0.87 from its $1 benchmark. Amid the concern mounting around stablecoins, Binance CEO and co-founder Changpeng (CZ) Zhao tweeted on March 13 that with the “changes in stablecoins and banks,” it will be converting the remaining $1 billion funds in its Industry Recovery Initiative into “native crypto.”Given the changes in stable coins and banks, #Binance will convert the remaining of the $1 billion Industry Recovery Initiative funds from BUSD to native crypto, including #BTC, #BNB…

A solo Bitcoin miner has managed to solve/mine the 780,112th block in the Bitcoin blockchain and received a 6.5 Bitcoin (BTC) block reward in return. The estimated value of the payout is over $150,000.The solo miner was also lucky to have produced a valid hash just after two days of the mining, as the event itself is rare and can take months for a solo miner to produce a valid hash.The rare event occurred on March 10 and was only the 270th solo mined block in Bitcoin’s 13-year-long history. The event’s rarity could be understood from the fact that a…

Global banking giant HSBC Holdings is coming to rescue the United Kingdom-based branch of the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank with a new acquisition.HSBC officially announced on March 13 that its subsidiary HSBC UK Bank is acquiring Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited for one British pound sterling (GBP), or $1.21.As of March 10, 2023, SVB UK had loans of around 5.5 billion GBP ($6.7 billion) and deposits of around 6.7 billion GBP ($8.1 billion), HSBC said in the announcement.For the financial year ending Dec. 31, 2022, SVB UK recorded a profit before tax of 88 million GBP ($107 million). SVB UK’s…

Over the last year, a series of court cases have struck the crypto industry. Bankruptcy, liquidity issues and fraud have caused the industry to fall under the microscope of regulators around the world.The former cryptocurrency brokerage company Voyager Digital, Alameda Research – the investment arm of FTX- and cryptocurrency exchange Binance have been among some of the major entities dealing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in the battle over assets and owed funds.As the new year has continued on, so have many of these cases. Here is a brief round-up of the current status of some of…

Japanese automotive brand Nissan has become the latest car manufacturer to ramp up its Web3 efforts, filing four new Web3-related trademarks filed in the United States, while its Japan unit is experimenting with auto sales in the metaverse.According to Nissan’s Mar. 7 trademark applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the new filings cover its Infiniti, Nismo and Nissan brands.#NISSAN has filed 4 trademark applications for▶️ INFINITI▶️ NISMO▶️ NISSANThe filings signal plans forVirtual Clothes + CarsStores for Virtual Goods + NFTsNFT Marketplaces + Trading + MintingMetaverse Advertising Services#NFT #NFTCommunity #Metaverse #Web3 #Car pic.twitter.com/iG3ZVgyD5t— Mike Kondoudis (@KondoudisLaw) March…

Crypto companies could find it harder to access traditional banking partners with the loss of two major crypto-friendly banks in less than a week, according to some in the crypto community. On Mar. 12, the Federal Reserve announced the closure of Signature Bank as part of “decisive actions” to protect the U.S. economy, citing “systemic risk.” It came only days after the closure of U.S. bank — Silicon Valley Bank — which was ordered to shut down on Mar. 10. A week prior, Silvergate Bank, another crypto-friendly bank announced it would close its doors and voluntarily liquidate on Mar. 8.At least…

Crypto exchange Coinbase, crypto lender Celsius and stablecoin issuer Paxos are among the crypto firms with funds reportedly tied up with the now-shuttered Signature Bank. The crypto-friendly Signature Bank was shut down by New York regulators on Mar. 12 in conjunction with the United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to “protect the U.S. economy” as they claimed the bank posed a “systemic risk.”Crypto exchange Coinbase tweeted on Mar. 12 that it had around $240 million in corporate funds at Signature that it expected would be fully recovered.As of close of business Friday March 10 Coinbase had an approximately $240m balance…

The President of the United States Joe Biden has vowed to hold those responsible for the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank while assuring Americans that their deposits are safe. On Mar. 12, the New York District of Financial Services (NYDFS) took possession of crypto-friendly Signature Bank. The Federal Reserve also stated that the closing of Signature Bank was made in order to protect the U.S. economy and strengthen public confidence in the banking system. It also announced a $25 million fund aimed at backstopping certain banks that could face liquidity issues in the future. U.S. President Joe Biden noted to his…

Nonfungible token marketplace OpenSea has reportedly patched a vulnerability that, if exploited, could have exposed identifying information about its anonymous users. In a March 9 blog post blog, cybersecurity firm Imperva detailed how it discovered the vulnerability, which it claimed could deanonymize OpenSea users “by linking an IP address, a browser session, or an email in certain conditions” to an NFT.As the NFT corresponds to a cryptocurrency wallet address, a user’s real identity could be revealed from the information gathered and linked to the wallet and its activity, Imperva explained.Imperva Red Team discovered a cross-site search vulnerability affecting the #NFT marketplace #OpenSea.This vulnerability…

Circle’s stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) is climbing back to its $1 peg following confirmation from CEO Jeremy Allaire that its reserves are safe and the firm has new banking partners lined up at “banking open tomorrow morning.”According to CoinGecko data, USDC is up 3.3% over the past 24 hours to sit at $0.99 at the time of writing. USDC price chart. Source: CoinGeckoThe price dropped to as low as $0.87 over the weekend amid concerns about $3.3 billion worth of USDC reserves being held at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which was shut down by the California Department of Financial Protection…

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse took to Twitter on Mar. 12 to discuss the company’s exposure to Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and reassure his followers of Ripple’s stability. Ripple had exposure to SVB, Garlinghouse said, but “we expect NO disruption to our day-to-day business, and already held a majority of our USD w/ a broader network of bank partners.”His short tweet thread was intended to reassure users. “Rest assured, Ripple remains in a strong financial position,” he tweeted.Setting the record straight on SVB Qs: Ripple had some exposure to SVB – it was a banking partner, and held some of our cash…

Hot on the heels of several United States bank collapses, the Federal Reserve has announced $25 billion worth of funding aimed at backstopping banks and other depository firms.The funds would ensure that “eligible banks” would have enough liquidity to cover the needs of their customers during times of turmoil.@federalreserve announces Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) to support American businesses and households, assure banks have ability to meet needs of all their depositors: https://t.co/JIMjkooIDV— Federal Reserve (@federalreserve) March 12, 2023 In a Mar. 12 statement, the Federal Reserve said it created a $25 billion Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) offering loans…

New York-based Signature Bank, another crypto-friendly bank, has been closed down by its state charter authority as of Mar. 12.The Federal Reserve explained in a Mar. 12 statement that the decision was made in conjunction with U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to protect the U.S. economy and strengthen public confidence in the banking system.However, the Federal Reserve quickly noted that it is backstopping all depositors of Signature Bank.”All depositors of this institution will be made whole. As with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank, no losses will be borne by the taxpayer.””This step will ensure that the U.S. banking…

Events surrounding Silicon Valley Bank are moving fast. Here is a breakdown of the major developments over the course of three days. Source link

Global clearing institution Bank of London has submitted a formal proposal to acquire the Silicon Valley Bank’s subsidiary in the United Kingdom, according to a statement disclosed by Reuters on March 12. As per the statement, the purchase is an effort from a consortium of private equity firms:”A consortium of leading private equity firms, led by The Bank of London, confirms it has submitted formal proposals to His Majesty’s Treasury, The Prudential Regulation Authority at The Bank of England and the Board of Silicon Valley Bank UK.”Reuters earlier reported that other U.K. financial institutions were reviewing similar moves, including the SoftBank-owned…

United States authorities are working on “material action” over the weekend in an attempt to limit the ripple effect across the country’s banking system after the Silicon Valley Bank abruptly collapsed on March 10.According to a Reuters report citing unnamed sources, officials in the Joe Biden administration assessed the impact of the bank failure over the weekend with a keen attention to venture capital firms and regional banks. “This will be a material action, not just words,” a source told Reuters.During a speech on March 6, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) chairman Martin Gruenberg spoke about the risks related…

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) prove ownership by creating a unique digital certificate for a specific asset. A decentralized digital ledger that keeps track of all nonfungible token transactions and ownership changes is used to create each NFT. When generated, an NFT has a unique digital signature, signifying the ownership of the asset it stands for. This signature is recorded on the blockchain with all the information about the asset and the transaction. Since the blockchain is decentralized and offers immutability, it provides a secure and transparent record of ownership that cannot be altered or deleted. Once an NFT is minted, it…

The United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FIDC) started an auction process on March 11 night for Silicon Valley Bank, Bloomberg reported citing unnamed sources. Bids are allegedly open for just a few hours, before the process closes later this Sunday. According to Bloomberg sources, the FDIC is seeking a buyer for the California bank over the weekend, ahead of the markets open on March 13. However, a final decision has not been made, and a deal may not be reached.Earlier today, the U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said during an interview that she is working with regulators to address the…

Traders dumped risky assets following the crisis and failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). The S&P 500 Index plunged 4.55% while Bitcoin (BTC) is down about 9% this week. The collapse of SVB led to a crisis in the crypto space with USD Coin (USDC) losing its peg to the U.S. dollar on reports that $3.3 billion of Circle’s $40 billion of USDC reserves were held at SVB. After trading near $0.87 on March 11, USDC has climbed up above $0.96 at the time of publication.SVB’s failure has increased uncertainty in the short term with investors closely watching for any signs…

A plan to rescue startups and tech companies affected by the Silicon Valley Bank collapse is underway in the United Kingdom, according to multiple reports on March 12. The emergency plan will include a cash lifeline to a number of businesses. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government is working “at pace” to deliver a plan in the coming hours that would secure “operational liquidity and cash-flow needs” for Silicon Valley Bank’s UK clients. In a statement published today, the U.K. Treasury stated:“We will bring forward immediate plans to ensure the short-term operational and cash flow needs of Silicon Valley Bank…

United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is reportedly working with regulators to address Silicon Valley Bank collapse and protect investors, but not considering a major bailout.Yellen made the comments during an interview with CBS News on March 12, claiming that regulators are designing “appropriate policies to address the situation” at the bank. She stated:”During the financial crisis, there were investors and owners of systemic large banks that were bailed out, and we’re certainly not looking. And the reforms that have been put in place means that we’re not going to do that again. But we are concerned about depositors and…

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to have a stable value relative to a specific asset or a basket of assets, typically a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar, euro or Japanese yen.Stablecoins are designed to offer a “stable” store of value and medium of exchange compared with more traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), which can be highly volatile.Fiat money, cryptocurrencies, and commodities like gold and silver are examples of assets used to collateralize or “back” stablecoins. Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC) and Dai (DAI) are a few examples of stablecoins pegged to the U.S.…

While some global economies got distracted by the commotion around price instability and ecosystem collapses in crypto, South Korea doubled down on the potential of the metaverse as a new economic growth engine.South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT announced investments into a fund dedicated to driving metaverse initiatives in the country. According to the official announcement, the South Korean government invested roughly $18.1 million (24 billion Korean won) with the goal of creating a fund of more than 40 billion Korean won (approximately $30.2 million) toward metaverse development.With the help of the Metaverse Fund, South Korea will support the…

As the 40-year-old banking institution, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), winds down operation, numerous venture capitalists and investors joined hands and decided to cushion the impact in case the bank “were to be purchased and appropriately capitalized.”Approximately 125 VCs and investors signed a statement supporting SVB as a way to limit the fallout of the bank’s collapse and subsequent extinction of tech companies. The venture firms included Sequoia Capital and General Catalyst.Several VC leaders met today to discuss the aftermath of SVB’s downfall. This is a joint statement from all of us. @Accel @altcap @BCapitalGroup @generalcatalyst @eladgil @GreylockVC @khoslaventures @kleinerperkins @lightspeedvp…

Billionaire Bill Ackman said that SVB’s senior management made a “basic mistake” but should be fired. Source link

The death spiral of the Terra (LUNA) and TerraUSD (UST) ecosystem served as a catalyst to the 2022 bear market — causing losses in the millions, damaging investor sentiment and intensifying the regulatory spotlight over cryptocurrencies. However, the recent depegging of Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) led Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao to believe that traditional banks are a risk to stablecoins that are usually pegged 1:1 with fiat currencies, like the US dollar.On March 11, Circle disclosed that Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) did not process its $3.3 billion withdrawal request. The crypto market responded to the revelation by selling off…

Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) decisions concerning the future of Silicon Valley Bank may affect regional banks across the United States, putting trillions of dollars at risk of a bank run, said former Bridgewater executive and CEO of investment firm Unlimited Bob Elliot. In a Twitter thread on March 11, Elliot stated that nearly a third of deposits in the United States are held in small banks, and around 50% are uninsured. “The FDIC insures small deposits in all the banks in the US, but that only covers about 9tln of the nearly 17tln of outstanding deposit base.…

The Bank of England (BoE) has halted the operations of Silicon Valley Bank’s U.K. branch (SVB UK), stating that it has a “limited presence” and no “critical functions” supporting the financial system in the United Kingdom (UK).BoE issued a statement on Mar. 10, declaring that SVB UK will “stop making payments or accepting deposits,” as BoE intends to apply to the court to place SVB UK into a “Bank Insolvency Procedure.”This follows news on the same day that the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation ordered the closure of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States.BoE explained that a…

Several USD Coin (USDC) holders have fled to other stablecoins since March 10 amid fears surrounding its solvency following the disclosure that a small portion of USDC’s collateral was held at Silicon Valley Bank.However, not all of them had success during panic selling. One user paid over 2,000,000 USDC to receive $0.05 of Tether (USDT) by dumping a large amount of 3CRV (DAI/USDC/USDT) into USDT. KyberSwap aggregation router was used in the transaction. Kyberswap is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that aggregates liquidity from several DEXs. In a postmortem, the protocol team explained that “since the market was undergoing a volatile…

Top Stories This Week Silicon Valley Bank shut down by California regulator, holding over $5 billion for prominent crypto VCs Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was shut down by California’s financial watchdog on March 10 after announcing a significant sale of assets and stocks aimed at raising additional capital. The California watchdog appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as the receiver to protect insured deposits. However, the FDIC only insures up to $250,000 per depositor, per institution and per ownership category. The bank held over $5 billion in funds from major venture capital firms. Silicon Valley Bank is one of…

USD Coin issuer Circle plans to use “corporate resources” to cover the shortfall on its reserves following Silicon Valley Bank’s shutdown, said the company in a statement on March 11. According to Circle, USDC liquidity operations will “resume as normal when banks open on Monday morning in the United States,” enabling USDC redemption at 1:1 with the U.S. dollar. The announcement came after the stablecoin lost its $1 peg on March 11 to trade as low as $0.87 before slowly re-pegging at $0.95 at the time of publication. The stablecoin lost its peg after the disclosure of $3.3 billion of Circle’s…

Lending protocol Aave has frozen stablecoins trading and set Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio to zero in response to recent price volatility on stablecoins after the USD Coin (USDC) depegged on March 11. According to the Aave’s governance forum, the trading freeze follows an analysis from DeFi’s risk manager company Gauntlet, recommending that all V2 and V3 markets should be temporarily paused. “Setting LTV to 0 definitely helps everywhere, but on the Avalanche v3 Pool, given that cross-chain infrastructure doesn’t cover Avalanche, the Aave Guardian can act immediately. Setting LTV to 0 in practise discounts the “borrowing power” of the asset, without affecting…

According to a post on Mar. 11 by Bob Elliot, chief investment officer of Unlimited Funds, relief efforts may already be underway less than 72 hours after the collapse of prominent American tech bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Elliot claimed, among many items, that “big banks actively working on buying svb business,” the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is planning to cover 95% of uninsured depositors to the acquirer, and that “50pct of uninsured paid out next wk.”Hearing from some insiders:-big banks actively working on buying svb business-fdic considering insurance / liquidity covering up to 95pct of uninsured depositors…

The Cosmos community has approved a vote to add “replicated security (RS)” to its chain, with 99.99% of votes in favor of the motion. The much-awaited upgrade is set to go live on March 15, 2023, with the v9-Lamba upgrade. RS is the first version of Cosmos’s Interchain Security (ICS) feature, allowing blockchains in the Cosmos ecosystem to share validation resources for improved security. Only protocols approved by Cosmos governance will be added as consumer chains in the upcoming update. Eight consumer chains are potential candidates for selection, including Neutron, PolymerDAO, Duality, Stride, Simply Staking, FairBlock and Comdex.Cosmos’s interchain security could…

Stablecoin swapping pool Curve Finance is experiencing the highest daily trading volume in its history, exceeding $7 billion in the past 24 hours after the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse triggered a wave of uncertainty across markets and depegged the USD Coin (USDC) from the U.S. dollar. Looks like we have the biggest daily trading volume in history— Curve Finance (@CurveFinance) March 11, 2023 Curve supports liquidity pools for major stablecoins, such as USDC, Tether (USDT), Frax (FRAX), Dai (DAI) and TrueUSD (TUSD). Fear, doubt, and uncertainty have spread across crypto markets during the last few hours, resulting in unbalanced pools…

According to a report that began circulating on March 11 in the aftermath of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), prominent blockchain venture capitalists (VCs) have over $6 billion worth of assets held by the now-defunct financial entity. These include $2.85 billion from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), $1.72 billion from Paradigm and $560 million from Pantera Capital.A16z currently holds active investments in projects such as Alchemy, Sky Mavis and Yuga Labs, and was previously an investor in cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. Paradigm has invested in projects such as Compound, Cosmos and Uniswap. Meanwhile, Pantera Capital holds stakes in projects such as…

Decentralized websites rely on decentralized networks rather than centralized servers to preserve and verify the data’s integrity. Decentralized websites offer a more private, secure and censorship-resistant alternative to standard websites by utilizing peer-to-peer (P2P) networking, cryptography and blockchain.This article will explain how to host a decentralized website, and the benefits and challenges of decentralized hosting.What is decentralized web hosting?A web server distributes the website’s files to its clients in a standard network setup for hosting websites. This allows larger organizations or governments to decide what content is displayed, which takes away the freedom that the World Wide Web initially provided.…

In response to the extraordinary depegging event of the USD Coin stablecoin caused by the collapse of its counterparty Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), crypto whales have reported severe losses and appear to have embarked on a series of capital flight to protect assets. Du Jun, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global, posted: “[I] dodged, LUNA, dodged 3AC, even dodged FTX [and their collapse], but I couldn’t avoid Silvergate, nor SVB and USDC. Asked a few crypto veterans; losses amounted to >$1 billion in stock and deposits, myself included. I’m very upset, and it’s time to cut down on my budget.”The same…

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse on March 10 has sparked fear, doubt, and uncertainty (FUD) across the crypto community, leading many to come back to crypto roots, reviving the Bitcoin white paper published just weeks after the Lehman Brothers meltdown in 2008. It’s truly amazing how many people are scared that a couple banks went down. Someone tell these people WHY BITCOIN WAS CREATED.— Toby Cunningham (@sircryptotips) March 11, 2023 “There’s an entire generation of builders who only read about Lehman and the financial crisis and scoffed at Bitcoin. Now, their eyes are wide open. Welcome new friends,” stated on Twitter Ryan…

According to play-to-earn nonfungible tokens (NFT) protocol Aavegotchi on Mar. 11, the entity closed the bonding curve defining the exchange rate between its namesake token (GHST) and the DAI U.S. dollar stablecoin (DAI). The same day, the DAI stablecoin depegged as part of the ongoing USD Coin destabilization, which was, in turn, caused by $3.3 billion in stuck stablecoin collateral deposits owed to its issuer Circle by now-defunct Silicon Valley Bank. GHST is described as an “entry ticket” into Aavegotchi, where users can use the token to purchase NFT portals, wearables, consumables within the Aavegotchi game, stake to farm rewards, or…

Layer-2 networks continue to gain momentum as the Ethereum ecosystem advances. For example, data from analytics provider Token Terminal found that layer-2 scaling solution Polygon had 313,457 daily active users as of Jan. 17, 2023 — a 30% increase in activity since October 2022. Moreover, the Polygon ecosystem recently announced the launch of its beta version Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine. As a result, Polygon’s native token, Polygon (MATIC), maintains a bullish narrative.While notable, some believe layer-2 networks offering token incentive models may soon become obsolete. For instance, Jesse Pollak — head of protocols and Base core contributor at American crypto exchange…

According to a forum post from Maker DAO, issuer of the U.S. dollar-pegged DAI stablecoin, on Mar. 11, the firm requested an “urgent executive proposal to mitigate risks to the protocol.” Maker said that it possessed multiple collaterals “exposed to USDC tail risk” in light of the extraordinary de-pegging of the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin that began on Mar. 10.  Maker DAO currently possesses more than 3.1 billion USDC in collateral backing its DAI stablecoin. Firstly, Maker proposes reducing the debt ceiling of UNIV2USDCETH-A, UNIV2DAIUSDC-A, GUNIV3DAIUSDC1-A, and GUNIV3DAIUSDC2-A liquidity provider collaterals to 0 DAI. Next, Maker wants to reduce daily minting…

Ethical hacking, also known as “white hat” hacking, is the process of identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities in a computer system or network in order to assess its security and provide recommendations for improving it. Ethical hacking is done with the permission and knowledge of the organization or individual that owns the system being tested.Ethical hacking aims to find flaws in a system before malevolent hackers may take advantage of them. The same tools and methods used by malevolent hackers are also used by ethical hackers, but their objective is to enhance security rather than cause harm.Here’s how ethical hacking typically…

Bitcoin (BTC) refused to let $20,000 support die for good on March 11 as the weekend opened to a battle for lost ground.BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewBitcoin shakes off USDC depegData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD circling $20,200 at the time of writing.A brief dip below the $20,000 mark overnight was short lived, and the mood appeared more stable on the day as the initial wave of panic over United States bank stability subsided.The collapse of SVB Financial, which followed Silvergate in dealing a fresh blow to some crypto firms, nonetheless continued to play out.At the…

The stablecoin ecosystem felt an immediate effect as USD Coin (USDC) depegged from the US dollar due to a subsequent sell-off after Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) did not process $.3.3 billion of Circle’s $40 million transfer request. Given USDC’s collateral influence, major stablecoin ecosystems followed suit in depegging from the dollar.Dai (DAI), a stablecoin issued by MakerDAO, lost 7.4% of its value as a result of USDC’s depegging. As of June 2022, $6.78 billion worth of DAI supply was collateralized by $8.52 billion worth of cryptocurrencies, confirms data from Statista. Dai’s total crypto assets used for on-chain collateralization as of June…

Soon after Circle revealed that Silicon Valley Bank did not transfer $3.3 billion of its USD Coin (USDC) reserves, the market responded with a massive sell-off — depegging the stablecoin from the US dollar. However, not all investors were lucky enough to walk away with their funds amid the uncertainty.To cut losses, investors started selling their USDC tokens in exchange for other stablecoins, such as Tether (USDT) and avoiding impermanent losses. Unfortunately, a member of Crypto Twitter who goes by the name BowTiedPickle highlighted a transaction that shows that a USDC investor paid over $2 million to receive $0.05 of…

United States Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden asked the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to hold auditors accountable for failed crypto projects. The PCAOB — a non-profit overseeing the audits of public companies and other issuers — recently stated that proof-of-reserves (POR) are not equivalent to audits and are not conducted in accordance with PCAOB auditing standards. POR is a method widely adopted by crypto exchanges to confirm the availability of users’ funds. However, Sen. Warren demanded stricter oversight:“But let’s be clear: there’s more PCAOB needs to do so consumers aren’t left holding the bag when shady crypto firms…

Despite the recent crackdown by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on staking services offered by centralized providers, Coinbase has reiterated to customers that its staking services will continue, and “may actually increase.”In a new customer email, highlighted by popular traders such as @AltcoinPsycho via Twitter on March 10, Coinbase outlined its updated staking terms and conditions starting from March 29. New email from Coinbase regarding staking:”Your staked assets will continue earning rewards, no action is required… You earn rewards from the protocol, not Coinbase”Coinbase basically telling the SEC to take a hike? pic.twitter.com/ckAAaZXsQb— Psycho (@AltcoinPsycho) March 10, 2023…

Almost immediately after USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle revealed it was not able to withdraw $3.3 billion of its $40 billion from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the resultant sell-off caused the price of the stablecoin to fall below its $1 mark.On March 9, Circle had initiated a wire transfer for the removal of its funds from SVB as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-insured bank was about to shut operations. However, two days later, on March 11, Circle confirmed that the wire transfers were not completely processed and that $3.3 billion of the USDC reserves was still with SVB.2/ Like other…

On March 10, Blockchain payment technology company Circle confirmed that wires initiated on Thursday to remove balances have not yet been processed, leaving $3.3 billion of its $40 billion USDC reserves at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). “Following the confirmation at the end of today that the wires initiated on Thursday to remove balances were not yet processed, $3.3 billion of the ~$40 billion of USDC reserves remain at SVB,” the firm stated in a March 10 tweet. Circle said it is now joining other customers and depositors in calling for the continuity of SVB, which the company alleged is important…

According to a new bankruptcy filing, defunct crypto lender BlockFi has $227 million worth of uninsured funds allocated to a money market mutual fund (MMMF) offered by troubled Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). SVB — one of the U.S’s largest banks and key partners to venture-backed companies — was shut down by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) on March 10, with no specifics offered at the time of the closure. The move adds to the recent Silvergate bankruptcy carnage which has seen crypto markets tumble since the crypto-friendly bank’s financial woes came to light at the beginning…

USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle’s exposure to the United States banking system sits near $9 billion, according to its latest audit report from January. Circle’s reserves are held in a number of regulated financial institutions in the country, including Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and Bank of New York Mellon. According to the report, the amount held in cash by U.S. regulated financial institutions was $8.6 billion as of Jan. 31, representing roughly 20% of its reserves. Another $33.6 billion of its reserves are held in U.S Treasurys managed by BlackRock through the Circle Reserve Fund, registered as a government money…

Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you significant developments over the last week.DeFi has become a prominent choice for investors after multiple centralized finance (CeFi) collapses throughout 2022. Some key interest areas for investors include “NFTfi,” on-chain derivative platforms, decentralized stablecoins and Ethereum layer 2’s.February saw seven DeFi exploits resulting in a net loss of about $21 million. March is no different, with multiple exploits already recorded, such as on Hedera’s mainnet. DeFi lender Tender.fi was exploited, but the white hat hacker that drained $1.59 million returned…

On Mar 10, Reuters reported that the U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan has expressed concerns over the proposed bail conditions for former FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Judge still thinks proposed Bankman-Fried bail conditions too lenient https://t.co/qsfFqJ8Nlt pic.twitter.com/tLhMKMrRax— Reuters (@Reuters) March 10, 2023 As previously reported by Cointelegraph on March 4, U.S. district judge Lewis Kaplan serving on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York proposed that Bankman-Fried be prohibited from using smartphones, tablets, computers and any video game platforms or devices that allow chat and voice communication. The proposal said that Bankman-Fried’s communication should…

Big round numbers always pique the interest of investors and the $1 trillion total crypto market capitalization is no exception. It’s a level that held for 48 days before collapsing on March 9. After a 16-hour negative 8.6% price movement, the indicator fell to $914 billion, its lowest level since Jan.13.Total crypto market cap in USD, 1-day. Source: TradingViewConcerns about the stability of the U.S. banking industry, specifically the downfall and subsequent closure of Silvergate Bank (SI) on March 8 and the shut down of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on March 10 by The California Department of Financial Protection and…

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered against a rule change to allow investment manager VanEck to create a spot Bitcoin Trust on March 10. Commissioner Mark Uyeda joined his colleague Hester Peirce in releasing a statement that criticized the commission’s decision not to approve the listing and trading of the financial product. The commissioners noted that the SEC has disapproved every application for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) trust that has been filed, amounting to almost 20 over the last six years. Its decision on VanEck “repeats the analysis that the Commission has given in each of these recent…

Ethereum’s upcoming Shanghai upgrade will allow users to withdraw staked Ether (ETH), increasing the network’s liquidity and competitiveness while also boosting its staking ratio closer to its competitors.The Shanghai upgrade is a hard fork of Ethereum tentatively scheduled to occur in March. It implements five Ethereum Improvement Proposals, the headliner being EIP-4895, which allows users to withdraw their locked-up tokens representing staked Ether from the Beacon Chain.The ability to withdraw staked Ether could increase market liquidity and make it easier for users to access their funds. Ethereum liquid staking platforms, which largely emerged to alleviate the blockchain’s prohibitive lock-up and…

With the Bitcoin (BTC) halving more than a year away, don’t expect crypto industry narratives to change anytime soon. Nay, crypto winter is still in full force, and the nasty headlines show no signs of abating. This week, Silvergate Bank’s parent company announced it would shut down and liquidate the crypto bank “in light of recent industry and regulatory developments.” This hardly comes as a surprise after most of Silvergate’s high-profile partners abandoned the company when the regulators came knocking. The latest Crypto Biz newsletter documents the voluntary liquidation of Silvergate, a new lawsuit from Alameda Research targeting the Digital Currency…

The collapse of crypto-friendly bank Silvergate will likley have a significant impact on the crypto ecosystem and its ties with the banking sector in the U.S. Earlier this week, the parent company of Silvergate Bank announced plans to wind down operations and liquidate the bank. The announcement came after the crypto-friendly bank had suffered 1$ billion worth of losses in the last quarter of 2022 as a direct consequence of the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, one of Silvergate’s main clients. Silvergate was one of the very few regulated financial institutions providing banking services to crypto companies and exchanges. Its downfall…

Some AAVE users who accidentally sent tokens to the wrong address may soon be able to recover them, according to the text of a proposal passed by the AAVE decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) on March 10. The proposal, called “Rescue Mission Phase 1 Long Executor,” authorized AAVE developers to upgrade smart contracts that have been mistakenly sent tokens in the past, causing the contracts to automatically send the lost tokens back to their original owners.Here’s your chance to join the rescue mission. Vote now https://t.co/JJr6qhTKAv— Aave (@AaveAave) March 7, 2023 The confirmed proposal only affects lost AAVE, LEND, Tether (USDT), Uniswap…

Bitcoin (BTC) led a sharp sell-off in the cryptocurrency markets on March 9 as the woes at Silvergate Bank and Silicon Valley Bank dented investor sentiment. In addition, crypto-specific news of a suit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James against cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin for selling securities and commodities without registration increased uncertainty about the future of crypto sector regulation.The selling momentum continued on March 10 and pulled Bitcoin below the $20,000 mark. Several other cryptocurrencies have also broken below their important support levels.Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360But a minor positive in favor of the bulls is that February’s…

Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, has used her authority to veto legislation aimed at changing the definition of money to exclude cryptocurrencies.In a March 9 notice to South Dakota house speaker Hugh Bartels, Noem said she had vetoed House Bill 1193, which proposed amending the state’s Uniform Commercial Code, or UCC, to specifically exclude cryptocurrencies and other digital assets — with the possible exception of central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs. According to the governor, passage of the bill would put South Dakota residents “at a business disadvantage” and potentially allow for “future overreach” from the federal government…

Four United States Republican senators lead by Bill Hagerty have written a letter to the heads of federal banking regulatory agencies questioning the ideological motivation behind recent regulatory moves in regard to cryptocurrency. They compared the regulators’ policies to the Obama administration’s Operation Choke Point.The senators addressed Federal Reserve Board chair Jerome Powell, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) chair Marty Gruenberg, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) acting comptroller Michael Hsu. The March 9 letter said that their agencies, along with the White House, have issued statements on heightened supervision that have resulted in unfortunate consequences for…

The show Macro Markets, hosted by Marcel Pechman, which airs every Friday at 12 pm ET on the Cointelegraph Markets & Research YouTube channel, explains complex concepts in layman’s terms and focuses on the cause and effect of traditional financial events on day-to-day crypto activity.In today’s episode, crypto analyst Pechman looks at the price-to-earnings ratio (P/E), which is the main way stocks are valued and how it relates to cryptocurrency markets. For example, one should try to avoid times when the P/E expectations stay the same or are going down.Viewers will learn how the ups and downs of the S&P…

Silicon Valley Bank, a major financial institution for venture-backed companies, was shut down by California’s financial watchdog on March 10 — marking the first FDIC-insured bank to fail in 2023. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation confirmed that Silicon Valley Bank was ordered to close and that depositors “will have full access to their insured deposits no later than Monday morning, March 13, 2023.” The regulator explained that uninsured depositors will be given a “receivership certificate for the remaining amount of their uninsured funds” and entitled to future dividend payments once the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation sells all of…

Staked Ether (ETH), liquid derivatives — it’s a whirlygig of smart contracts and big-brain blockchain jargon out there. Nonetheless, there are a few paths through the ETH staking wilderness.But remember, anon, as the poet Antonio Machado said, “There is no path, paths are made by walking” — which is a fancy way of saying this isn’t financial advice and make sure you do your own research.Let’s start with the first personality type and the type of ETH staking that might be appropriate.The Ox: Slow and steadyThe ox, archetypally, has a strong, dependable personality but can be stubborn and suspicious of…

Learning the principles of finance is essential for managing personal and business finances, making informed investment decisions and understanding the economy. Here are five basic principles of finance that you should know.Time value of moneyThis principle suggests that a dollar received today is worth more than a dollar received in the future due to the potential to earn interest or investment returns. It is the foundation of many financial decisions, including investment strategies and loan repayment plans.For example, if an investor bought 1 Bitcoin (BTC) for $10,000 in 2017 and held onto it until 2021, when its value reached $50,000, the…

Bitcoin (BTC) struggled to reclaim $20,000 support at the March 10 Wall Street open as fears mounted over Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) contagion.BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewTrader targets $18,000 BTC priceData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it nursed fresh losses, reaching $19,569 on Bitstamp. The pair had seen further downside prior to the open as embattled SVB Financial saw another 60% wiped off its stock price.In a move that mimicked crypto exchange banking partner Silvergate, SVB also began to spark knock-on effects for non-U.S. banks on the day.For Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO…

Degen Zoo, an NFT game inspired by YouTuber Logan Paul’s controversial Crypto Zoo concept, has seen more than 115,000 wallets register to join the game, with pledges of over $700 million. DAO Maker founder Christoph Zaknun took on the challenge of building his variant of the shelved zoo-themed game in just 30 days.In August 2021, Logan Paul announced a project called Crypto Zoo, which involved buying nonfungible token eggs that would supposedly hatch into animals, allowing owners to earn passive income through zoo tokens. The project reportedly raised over $3 million in NFT sales and tens of millions in zoo…