crypto prices, cryptocurrency news

Notes 3/9: Ethereum As A Security

In their crackdown on cryptocurrencies, regulators may have found their biggest target yet. The New York Attorney General’s (NYAG) office today filed a case against cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin for an unregistered offering of securities. In its filing, the agency alleged that Ethereum’s ether, the world’s second biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is a security. Just yesterday, when asked about the cryptocurrency’s regulatory status, the head … Continue reading Notes 3/9: Ethereum As A Security

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analysis, stablecoin

Why Does GUSD Exist?

The murky waters of cryptocurrencies consist of many worthless tokens. The Gemini dollar (GUSD), a stablecoin issued by cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, is one of them. The token serves no purpose in crypto or outside its ecosystem. It claims to be “regulated from day one” to alleviate user concerns about a run on its holdings. But its monthly attestations are suspect because they are issued by … Continue reading Why Does GUSD Exist?

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bitcoin price, cryptocurrency news

Notes 2/8: Bitcoin Price, MakerDAO

Bitcoin price continues to be at the mercy of Fed pronouncements. It slid to a three-week low, below $22,000, yesterday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested during a Congressional testimony that they would consider a half percentage hike in interest rates at its next meeting. It jumped above that figure this morning after Powell stressed that a decision about the extent of the hike … Continue reading Notes 2/8: Bitcoin Price, MakerDAO

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Bitcoin ETF, cryptocurrency news, regulation

Notes 3/7: Grayscale ETF, OKB Again

The Grayscale Bitcoin Investment Trust’s (GBTC) bid to overturn the SEC’s rejection of its spot bitcoin ETF last year received a shot in the arm from a US Appellate Court today. Questioning by Judge Neomi Rao and Judge Sri Srinivasan made news and upped the odds that Grayscale might prevail against the agency. Fraud in Futures and Spot Markets The SEC has rejected numerous applications … Continue reading Notes 3/7: Grayscale ETF, OKB Again

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Uncategorized

Notes 3/6: OKB Token, Multicoin Capital

Even at a time when major crypto coins are struggling to stay liquid, OKB, the native token of cryptocurrency exchange OKX, is up 100% this year. But its circulating supply, a key metric that determines its market capitalization, is a matter of dispute. On Coinmarketcap, a crypto data site owned by Binance – the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, the token has a … Continue reading Notes 3/6: OKB Token, Multicoin Capital

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Uncategorized

Notes 3/5: Tether and Binance

The crypto industry was hit by a double whammy over the weekend from the Wall Street Journal. First, the paper published a report on Friday that accuses Tether, the world’s biggest stablecoin, of using false documents to open bank accounts. On a conference call, Phil Potter, Tether’s former chief strategy officer, allegedly referred to “cat and mouse” games played by crypto players to get around … Continue reading Notes 3/5: Tether and Binance

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analysis

The Future of Crypto Banking

This past week threw crypto’s banking problems into sharp relief. Silvergate Bank was arguably the biggest provider of banking services to the crypto industry and its unraveling will significantly reduce options available to crypto businesses for access to the world of mainstream financial services.  As I wrote last year, three banks – Silvergate, Signature, and Customers – were responsible for banking most crypto firms. After … Continue reading The Future of Crypto Banking

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bitcoin price

Notes 3/3: Bitcoin and Ether Price

Bitcoin price, which had been range bound in the last week, plunged by 5.5% in 15 mins to $22,113 yesterday. The cryptocurrency’s latest price action is being blamed on Silvergate Bank’s problems. As of this writing, it is changing hands for $22,354.40, down 4.3% from its price a day earlier. The bank, which derives a significant chunk of its business from the crypto industry, told … Continue reading Notes 3/3: Bitcoin and Ether Price

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cryptocurrency news

Notes 3/2: Silvergate Bank, MakerDAO’s Terra Transformation

Shares for Silvergate Capital, the entity that owns a bank that services the cryptocurrency ecosystem, crashed by more than 40% after it announced a delay in filing its annual report. The company also said it was “analyzing certain regulatory and other inquiries and investigations that are pending,” suggesting that it may have been caught in the crosshairs of an ongoing crypto crackdown by regulators. Silvergate, … Continue reading Notes 3/2: Silvergate Bank, MakerDAO’s Terra Transformation

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cryptocurrency news, ethereum

Notes 3/1: Lido’s Decentralization, Ether Prices

Excitement for the Shanghai Upgrade, the next stage in Ethereum’s move to proof of stake, is reaching fever pitch. Staking platform Lido, the biggest player in the space, announced Saturday that it had recorded its highest daily inflow of staked tokens of 150,000 ether worth approximately $240 million. TRON founder Justin Sun, who also doubles up as a diplomat, staked the tokens. In an appearance … Continue reading Notes 3/1: Lido’s Decentralization, Ether Prices

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cryptocurrency news

Notes 2/28: Binance’s BUSD, Bitcoin Price

Coinbase today announced that it is delisting BUSD from its exchange. The cryptocurrency exchange claims that the coin did not meet its listing criteria for tokens. It is not clear what those listing criteria are since tokens without value or utility, such as Dogecoin, seem to have passed its listing test. In any case, Coinbase’s decision should not make much difference to BUSD’s prospects. The … Continue reading Notes 2/28: Binance’s BUSD, Bitcoin Price

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cryptocurrency news

Notes 2/27: Solana Outage, Crypto As Security

Solana, a blockchain that was once referred to as an “Ethereum Killer”, crashed twice over the weekend and ejected itself out of circulation to users for 20 hours. According to reports, the blockchain’s problems started on Saturday morning with a “forking” event during which transaction history on validators – systems responsible for confirming transactions on its network – began going awry. The number of transactions … Continue reading Notes 2/27: Solana Outage, Crypto As Security

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cryptocurrency news

Notes 2/24: Coinbase Base, Circle’s Hiring Spree, Bitcoin Price

Coinbase announced the launch of a test version of Base, a Layer 2 solution for Ethereum, yesterday. The company stated that the Layer 2 solution was a “secure, low-cost, developer friendly chain.” Base uses open-source software from Optimism – an already-existing solution that works off Ethereum.   It has also set up a Base Ecosystem Fund to entice developers to work on the test chain … Continue reading Notes 2/24: Coinbase Base, Circle’s Hiring Spree, Bitcoin Price

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cryptocurrency news

Notes 2/23: Coinbase Earnings

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase’s earnings yesterday reflected the debilitating pain of an unpredictable crypto winter. Perhaps, the most telling statistic in the company’s report is the precipitous decline in the number of assets held on its platform. Between the fourth quarter of 2021, a time when bitcoin price set a record, and the same period a year later, customers withdrew slightly more than $100 billion worth … Continue reading Notes 2/23: Coinbase Earnings

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bitcoin price, stablecoin

Notes 2/21: Reordering the Stablecoin Market

Binance’s stablecoin BUSD’s loss is Tether’s gain. According to Reuters, the biggest stablecoin by market capitalization has seen its share of the overall stablecoin market rise to 52.6% from 51% earlier. The USD Coin is also a beneficiary of BUSD’s fall. The Circle-issued token witnessed a 0.4% increase in its market share to 31.3% after investors fled BUSD. The shuffling around of market share among … Continue reading Notes 2/21: Reordering the Stablecoin Market

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bitcoin price, cryptocurrency news

Notes 2/20: Galois Capital, Bitcoin Price

Kevin Zhou of Galois Capital conducted a victory lap in the media after shorting Luna, the native token at Terraform Labs that collapsed in spectacular fashion, last May. “…And at some point, if everybody believes something, generally doing the opposite is very profitable,” he explained to one interviewer. Alas, his contrarian skills did not hold him in good stead when it came to analyzing FTX. … Continue reading Notes 2/20: Galois Capital, Bitcoin Price

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cryptocurrency news, stablecoin

Notes 2/15: Stablecoin Market Capitalizations and Legislation

There’s been considerable handwringing over regulatory action and its negative effect on cryptocurrencies in recent days. One place where that effect seems less pronounced is bitcoin price. While the crypto community erupted in protest against the SEC’s regulatory actions towards Kraken’s staking service and Binance’s stablecoin BUSD, bitcoin price seemed to take it into its stride. As of this writing, bitcoin price is $22,843.81, up … Continue reading Notes 2/15: Stablecoin Market Capitalizations and Legislation

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stablecoin

Notes 2/14: BUSD Damage

BUSD is the world’s third biggest stablecoin and is used extensively at Binance – the world’s third biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Perhaps it is a testimony to crypto’s heft (or grift) that even action by the world’s most powerful regulatory agency could not de-peg the stablecoin. According to research firm Nansen, $2.7 billion fled from Binance between Sunday – when news of the … Continue reading Notes 2/14: BUSD Damage

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cryptocurrency news, stablecoin

Notes 2/13: BUSD In Trouble

Following its settlement with Kraken on Friday, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped another bombshell last night. According to a WSJ report, the agency has served a Wells Notice to Paxos Trust Ltd., issuer of Binance’s stablecoin BUSD. A Wells Notice is an informational notice that is sent before the agency commences litigation. In this case, it plans to sue Paxos for selling unregistered securities. … Continue reading Notes 2/13: BUSD In Trouble

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analysis, stablecoin

Notes 2/12: Tether Finances, Tornado Cash Revisited

The mystery of Tether’s finances is slowly being unraveled. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) yesterday published a report claiming that the stablecoin is using investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald to help manage its $39 billion treasury bond portfolio. The firm is a primary dealer in the Treasury Market, a designation that enables it to conduct direct trades with the New York Federal Reserve. Separately, Forbes published … Continue reading Notes 2/12: Tether Finances, Tornado Cash Revisited

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bitcoin price, cryptocurrency news

Notes 2/10: Crypto Staking’s Future, Bitcoin Price

The SEC’s regulatory blow to Kraken yesterday and Chairman Gary Gensler’s warning this morning on CNBC have fed into speculation that cryptocurrency staking, one of the most lucrative corners of crypto, is facing an existential threat. But it might be a bit much to extrapolate from the SEC’s actions yesterday. Terms of Service Red Flags Kraken’s terms of service for its staking service had red … Continue reading Notes 2/10: Crypto Staking’s Future, Bitcoin Price

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