Category: cryptocurrency news

cryptocurrency news, ethereum

Notes 8/12: Chandler Guo’s Crusade, the Tornado Cash Circus

Chandler Guo is what is known as an OG (Original Gangster, for the uninitiated) in crypto circles. A former beef salesman, Guo made his cryptocurrency millions by setting up a mining farm in Inner Mongolia and selling it for a massive payday during the asset class’s early days. He reportedly lives in a California mansion now and owns an estate, where he grows vegetables and … Continue reading Notes 8/12: Chandler Guo’s Crusade, the Tornado Cash Circus

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cryptocurrency news

Notes 8/11: Blackrock Launches Bitcoin Trust And Ethereum’s Merge

The world’s biggest asset manager is launching a private trust for Bitcoin. The Blackrock Bitcoin Private Trust will track the cryptocurrency’s price at spot exchanges and is open to the firm’s institutional clients in the United States. In a statement on its website, the asset manager said it had witnessed “substantial interest” from institutional clients interested in investing in cryptocurrency using its products. Blackrock had … Continue reading Notes 8/11: Blackrock Launches Bitcoin Trust And Ethereum’s Merge

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cryptocurrency news, regulation

SEC Wants More Information About Digital Assets Holdings From Hedge Funds

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) want to know more about trading strategies employed by hedge funds and their digital asset holdings, according to multiple reports this morning. The two agencies have approved a proposal that will change Form PF – filed by private funds – to require more disclosures about these holdings. Currently, digital asset holdings are reported … Continue reading SEC Wants More Information About Digital Assets Holdings From Hedge Funds

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analysis, cryptocurrency news

Coinbase Reports Disappointing Earnings, Reflecting Crypto Winter

There was not much to cheer about in Coinbase’s first quarter earnings for 2022 yesterday. If anything, they provided more proof of the pain in crypto markets. North America’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume reported losses and a revenue decline of more than a billion dollars in its latest earnings period. The exchange, among the pioneers of crypto industry, has previously benefitted from a … Continue reading Coinbase Reports Disappointing Earnings, Reflecting Crypto Winter

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More Celsius Filing Takeaways

Celsius started off as a simple crypto lending firm. Or at least that’s what I was told when I met its CEO Alex Mashinsky in 2018 at the Consensus conference. Over the years, its business has morphed into that of a bank, a crypto miner, and a custodian among others. Another filing by Mashinsky attempts to shed some light on the tangled setup of Celsius. … Continue reading More Celsius Filing Takeaways

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cryptocurrency news

Four Takeaways From Celsius’ Bankruptcy Filing

Troubled cryptocurrency lending firm Celsius filed for bankruptcy yesterday in the Southern District of New York. The filing does not provide much information into the company’s operations because the company has many businesses. The opaque nature of cryptocurrency markets and its complex web of relationships between different players make it even more difficult to accurately determine its effect on the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Celsius stated that … Continue reading Four Takeaways From Celsius’ Bankruptcy Filing

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cryptocurrency news, regulation

Notes 7/13: NFT As Collateral, Bitcoin Price, And Celsius

Because TradFi isn’t enough. Because DeFi isn’t enough. We now have the imaginatively titled NFTfi. The South Africa-based firm makes cryptocurrency loans using NFTs as collateral. NFTs or non-fungible tokens are digital artifacts for artworks currently but are expected to represent many other assets, such as real estate, in the future. They exploded in popularity during the pandemic, with some NFTs becoming worth as much … Continue reading Notes 7/13: NFT As Collateral, Bitcoin Price, And Celsius

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Notes: 7/8: Voyager and Alameda, Celsius, and Grayscale ETF

Last month, as the crypto contagion was beginning to spread, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who believes in “effective altruism”, talked about his “responsibility” to crypto with National Public Radio (NPR). “I do feel like we have a responsibility to seriously consider stepping in, even if it is at a loss to ourselves, to stem contagion,” he said. He has rescued many companies that have fallen … Continue reading Notes: 7/8: Voyager and Alameda, Celsius, and Grayscale ETF

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Notes: 7/6: Voyager Bankruptcy, Celsius Payback, and FTX’s Push For Retail Investors

Brokerage firm Voyager Digital has filed for bankruptcy, becoming the second crypto company – after hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) – to go under. In its filings, the firm stated that it had 100,000 creditors and between $1 billion to $10 billion in assets and liabilities. Its exposure to 3AC was worth $661 million, according to the filing.  Voyager had received critical cash infusion … Continue reading Notes: 7/6: Voyager Bankruptcy, Celsius Payback, and FTX’s Push For Retail Investors

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Notes: 7/3: BlockFi, Three Arrows Capital, and Tether

The BlockFi fire sale of $25 million did not happen. Instead, FTX upped its revolving credit facility to the crypto lending startup from $250 million to $400 million and acquired an option to purchase BlockFi for $240 million. As a reminder, BlockFi was once valued at $5 billion in private markets and claimed to be on pace for revenues of $475 million last year. Its … Continue reading Notes: 7/3: BlockFi, Three Arrows Capital, and Tether

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Notes: 1/7: BlockFi Valuation, EU Crypto Regulation, and More CoinFlex Drama

According to reports, lending firm BlockFi is being sold in a fire sale to FTX. The firm, which was seeking a valuation of $5 billion in its previous funding round has a price tag of $25 million now. The reasons for a crash in its valuation are not clear. BlockFi CEO Zac Prince yesterday linked to a podcast he did with Castle Island Ventures last … Continue reading Notes: 1/7: BlockFi Valuation, EU Crypto Regulation, and More CoinFlex Drama

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Notes: 6/30: Grayscale’s SEC Rejection, Celsius Ponzi Scheme, and Genesis Losses

Pop quiz: What is common between a lawsuit, a Ponzi scheme, and “hundreds of millions” dollars’ in losses? If you guessed cryptocurrencies, then you are on the right track. Bitcoin price fell below $20,000 this morning after news came out that the SEC had rejected Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF application. For crypto enthusiasts, approval would have been a vote of confidence for the ecosystem. It would … Continue reading Notes: 6/30: Grayscale’s SEC Rejection, Celsius Ponzi Scheme, and Genesis Losses

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cryptocurrency news, recap

Notes 6/29: Three Arrows Capital Liquidation, Bitcoin Miners Losses, Saylor Buys More Bitcoin

Another one bites the dust. Embattled crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital has been ordered to liquidate its holdings by a court in British Virgin Islands. The order brings to the story that began a week ago, after Celsius’s pause on withdrawals, to a rapid end.   Three Arrows Capital or 3AC seems to have had exposure or interfaced with most scandals afflicting the crypto … Continue reading Notes 6/29: Three Arrows Capital Liquidation, Bitcoin Miners Losses, Saylor Buys More Bitcoin

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cryptocurrency news, stablecoin

Traditional Hedge Funds Are Shorting Tether. Can They Bring It Down?

According to reports, traditional hedge funds have begun shorting Tether, the world’s biggest stablecoin by market capitalization and transaction volume. Leon Marshall, head of institutional sales at Genesis – a market maker, told the Wall Street Journal that interest from traditional hedge funds in shorting Tether has spiked in recent weeks. There are two reasons for this. First, they believe that the broader macroeconomic slump … Continue reading Traditional Hedge Funds Are Shorting Tether. Can They Bring It Down?

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Notes: 6/28: CoinFLEX Drama, Bitcoin As Commodity, Grayscale’s ETF Bid, and Crypto’s Robber Barons

Bring out the popcorn. The dramas [and pyramid schemes] in crypto seem to go on forever. Just as the controversies about Three Arrows Capital and Celsius Lending were on the wane, we are being treated to another soap opera of sorts at CoinFLEX. The derivatives exchange stopped customer withdrawals due to “extreme market conditions” last week and was back in the news yesterday. It is … Continue reading Notes: 6/28: CoinFLEX Drama, Bitcoin As Commodity, Grayscale’s ETF Bid, and Crypto’s Robber Barons

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Notes: 6/24: A Web3 Phone And Crypto Hacks

The crypto ecosystem continues to sparkle and explode like a tinderbox. There’s a launch here. A potential blowup there in what promises to be a Summer of Disasters for crypto projects. All of this is happening even as the price of bitcoin remains rangebound. Earlier this morning, it touched $21,327.41, up 20% from its low of $17,721 six days ago. As of this writing, it … Continue reading Notes: 6/24: A Web3 Phone And Crypto Hacks

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Notes 6/23: Binance’s Zero Fee Gamble and Voyager Digital’s Crash

Binance Introduces Zero Trading Fees In Crypto It took decades for trading firms to offer zero commission trades. It took less than three years for Binance.us to offer the same feature. The trading platform announced yesterday that it has cut trading fees for many of its bitcoin pairs down to zero. According to the company’s blogpost, four market pairs will become free to trade: BTC/USD … Continue reading Notes 6/23: Binance’s Zero Fee Gamble and Voyager Digital’s Crash

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Web3 Critics, Bitcoin Price Recovery, And Crypto’s Effect On Mainstream Markets

Crypto. Web3. Blockchain. It can be difficult to keep track of jargon from tech’s box of wonders. Right now, though, those buzzwords do not sound so magical. Crypto’s critics are having a field day, what with plummeting valuations for tokens in the market and the collapse of multibillion dollar projects. Adding to the chaos are people like noted venture capitalist and crypto booster Marc Andreessen. … Continue reading Web3 Critics, Bitcoin Price Recovery, And Crypto’s Effect On Mainstream Markets

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Bitcoin Price Continues Crumbling As Celsius Contagion Spreads

The dreaded W word is re-entering the crypto lexicon. Chatter about a crypto winter is on the cards once again after the asset class’s spectacular pandemic run. The irony of crypto becoming one of the first casualties of an impending recession is rich because its enthusiasts have spent years positioning it as a hedge against central bank policies and distinguishing the asset class from mainstream … Continue reading Bitcoin Price Continues Crumbling As Celsius Contagion Spreads

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Celsius And The Many Narratives of Crypto Scandals

Following the news cycle of crypto scandals is a bit like unpacking stacked Russian dolls. Simple explanations and surface realities are rarely sufficient to explain the workings. As the scandals unfold, the central narrative has another one underneath and another one. A fresh cast of characters – in this case, mostly related to tokens – is introduced with each layer. And so on. Take the … Continue reading Celsius And The Many Narratives of Crypto Scandals

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Bitcoin Price And Crypto Markets In Turmoil

And they all come tumbling down. The congratulations and celebrations from crypto’s biggest and latest shindig had barely died down and its markets took a turn for the worst Monday morning.   Bitcoin price, which has been on a steady decline since last November, crashed below $25,000 this morning. As of this writing, it is trading at $23,557.23, a drop of roughly 15% from its … Continue reading Bitcoin Price And Crypto Markets In Turmoil

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