Tag: regulation

Notes 3/31: Tether Attestation Report, Stablecoins as Free Banking, and The Banality of Another DeFi Hack

Tether, the algorithmic stablecoin that straddles all of crypto, released an attestation report for its second quarter this morning. As usual, it is a sham and a mishmash of meaningless statistics and assertions. The report does not provide much clarity about its finances though it does bring to light some of the underlying risks. According… Read More Notes 3/31: Tether Attestation Report, Stablecoins as Free Banking, and The Banality of Another DeFi Hack

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Notes 7/3: All-time Highs for Bitcoin and Ether Options, Restaking Once Again, and Future of Crypto Exchanges

Bitcoin price edged past the $31,000 mark once again this morning. As of this writing, it is trading at $31,040.82, up 2% from its price yesterday. There are no fresh catalysts to pump its price further. But it might be preparing for a big move if derivatives are signals for future price action. The open… Read More Notes 7/3: All-time Highs for Bitcoin and Ether Options, Restaking Once Again, and Future of Crypto Exchanges

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Notes 5/12: Bitcoin Price, Ethereum Staking, and Withdrawing Ether from Lido

Bitcoin price rose yesterday after the release of positive consumer price inflation (CPI) data and sparked hopes that it was making another bid for the $30,000 mark. But the slight increase in its price turned out to be false narrative. A familiar one of declining prices took over shortly afterwards. As of this writing, the… Read More Notes 5/12: Bitcoin Price, Ethereum Staking, and Withdrawing Ether from Lido

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Notes 4/19: SEC Chief Gary Gensler’s Congressional Hearing

There was a thaw in the crypto winter yesterday, a glimmer of celebration, cloaked in schadenfreude, at the House Financial Services Committee hearing yesterday. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler, sometimes referred to as crypto’s favorite whipping boy, testified before the committee yesterday. Crypto twitter cheered when a group of Republican Congressmen laid… Read More Notes 4/19: SEC Chief Gary Gensler’s Congressional Hearing

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What Does The Future Hold For Ethereum’s Biggest Staking Service?

The Shapella upgrade happening later today is a lucrative event for investors because they will finally be able to unstake their tokens, and associated rewards offered through Ethereum’s staking programs. But investors with staking rewards aren’t the only winners from the event. Investors in Lido, the world’s biggest staking service, are also booking profits. The… Read More What Does The Future Hold For Ethereum’s Biggest Staking Service?

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Notes 3/28: CFTC Lawsuit Against Binance, Staking Withdrawals, and Tron and Tether

What does the CFTC’s case against Binance mean for crypto’s future? Binance is the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. It is also home to the biggest trading volumes for bitcoin and ether, the world’s two biggest cryptocurrencies. But the announcement of a lawsuit against the company by the CFTC yesterday hardly dented bitcoin… Read More Notes 3/28: CFTC Lawsuit Against Binance, Staking Withdrawals, and Tron and Tether

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Notes 12/13: FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Is Arrested

We finally have respite from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) media tour. The thirty-year-old boy genius’s repeated public appearances to “explain” his actions were finally cut short last evening after he was arrested by the Royal Bahamas Police Force based on charges filed by the Department of Justice. The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has… Read More Notes 12/13: FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Is Arrested

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Notes 12/2: Benham’s Testimony, Tether Loans

CFTC Chairman Rostin Benham reiterated the case to bring “comprehensive market regulation” to cryptocurrencies and said existing rules are sufficient to rein in hijinks in its ecosystem in his Senate testimony. “We (can) eliminate contagion by applying the same principles of financial regulation that we apply to traditional financial assets,” he said. Benham’s views echo… Read More Notes 12/2: Benham’s Testimony, Tether Loans

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SEC Chief Gensler Will Work With Congress to Ensure CFTC Regulates “Non-Security” Crypto Tokens

There were no surprises in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chief Gary Gensler’s conversation with Coindesk this morning. He hammered his main talking points – most crypto tokens are securities and crypto services should register with his agency – throughout the interview. In a later industry conference, however, he said that he was looking… Read More SEC Chief Gensler Will Work With Congress to Ensure CFTC Regulates “Non-Security” Crypto Tokens

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Tornado Cash Sanctions Become Rallying Cry For Crypto Privacy Activists

The fallout from the Treasury Department’s sanctions on Tornado Cash continued this week. The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) claims that the crypto-mixing service, which is a decentralized application (dApp) running off Ethereum’s blockchain, was used by hackers in North Korea to launder more than $7 billion worth of cryptocurrencies. Privacy activists in… Read More Tornado Cash Sanctions Become Rallying Cry For Crypto Privacy Activists

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What Does The Future Hold For GBTC?

Among the limited number of bitcoin-related investments available to investors, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is the most well-known. It was the first publicly traded investment vehicle in public markets and has the biggest number of assets under management. In the last year, however, GBTC’s popularity has waned. Its shares, which traded at significant premiums… Read More What Does The Future Hold For GBTC?

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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… Read More Four Takeaways From Celsius’ Bankruptcy Filing

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

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Miner Extractable Value: A Source of Profits and Future Regulation

I have written about Ethereum’s expensive gas fees earlier. The fees are an important source of revenue for miners in a volatile crypto market where double-digit price swings are not uncommon. But they are not the only source of profits. The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) released a bulletin last month highlighting the need to… Read More Miner Extractable Value: A Source of Profits and Future Regulation

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

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

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