Grayscale, issuer of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) – the most expensive and worthless Bitcoin investment product in public markets, is set to argue its case against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 7th. The investment firm has charged the agency with arbitrarily denying its application to convert GBTC into a Bitcoin ETF. Launched in 2013, the Trust was the first publicly traded … Continue reading Notes 1/26: GBTC Shares Ownership, Bitcoin Price

The public spat between cryptocurrency exchange Gemini and lending firm Genesis Capital took an unexpected turn yesterday after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued both parties for an unregistered sale of securities. The agency is pursuing a different approach from its earlier case against bankrupt lending firm Celsius, when it targeted the company’s token CEL as an unregistered security. In its complaint, the agency … Continue reading Notes 1/13: SEC Sues Gemini, Bitcoin Price

It took less than two months for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and his merry band to turn from heroes to villains. Thanks to his generous marketing spend and numerous public sponsorships and appearances, SBF had become the face of cryptocurrencies.   Now he is a symbol of its excesses. After spending the night in a Bahamas prison and being extradited to the United … Continue reading Notes 12/23: SBF’s Bail, Bitcoin Price, and Buffett’s Crypto Play

Crypto observers say there is one more scandal – a massive one that will shake its foundations – yet to occur in its ecosystem. It might come to light soon enough with the arrest and extradition of disgraced FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). After some spending a couple of nights in a Bahamas jail, he is back in the United States. His former … Continue reading Notes 12/22: FTT and BNB, Ether Prices Decline

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) made an entertaining appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning to distinguish his exchange from FTX – the latest poster child of crypto greed and dysfunction. CZ told the show’s hosts that Binance does not owe money to creditors and does not have venture investors. “We also don’t have loans to other people that we depend on,” he said, adding … Continue reading Notes 12/15: CZ’s Simple Business, Bitcoin Price and Miners

Inflation data released this morning came in better than expected. The core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index rose 0.2%, less than September’s 0.3% increase. The overall PCE figures, which includes volatile food and energy prices, rose by 0.3%. The increase in inflation numbers on a yearly basis was 6%, again less than the 6.3% figure for September. Those numbers mean that the Fed’s aggressive interest … Continue reading Notes 12/1: Bitcoin Price, Binance’s Simple Business Model, and Team SBF

There was not too much to be thankful for this year in cryptocurrencies. The pandemic’s excesses, during which crypto markets set two price records in a single year, are still working their way through the system. A precipitous double-digit decline in crypto prices since the start of this year would be sufficient to generate headlines in ordinary times. But we live in extraordinary times. A … Continue reading Notes 11/25: Thankless Thanksgiving for Crypto, Binance’s White Knight Act, and FTX Gift Cards

Bitcoin price fell to a new two-year low of $15,480 amid talk of a possible bankruptcy for lending firm Genesis. The New York company was said to be in talks with crypto exchange Binance and investment firm Apollo Global Management for a loan of $1 billion. The firm had expanded operations and its loan volume surged during last year’s boom in crypto markets. This year’s … Continue reading Notes 11/22: Bitcoin Price, $1.2 Billion Everywhere, and Ticking Time Bombs

Even as reverberations of FTX’s collapse continue to echo through the crypto ecosystem, it seems to be having less of an effect on crypto prices. Many expected bitcoin price to bottom out in the aftermath of a crash of a major crypto institution. That didn’t happen. There was a blip in crypto markets after news of FTX’s troubles came out. But they avoided a steep … Continue reading Notes 11/16: Bitcoin Price, Liquidity Gaps, and DeFi