Crypto
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‘Bad’ crypto projects should not be bailed out says Binance founder CZ
Binance founder and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao argues that “bad” crypto projects should be left to fail and not receive bailouts from crypto firms with healthy cash reserves. In a June 23 blog post, CZ said that firms that have been poorly operated, poorly managed or have released poorly designed products shouldn’t receive bailouts — and should instead be left to crumble: “In short, they are just ‘bad’ projects. These should not be saved. Sadly, some of these ‘bad’ projects have a large number of users, often acquired through inflated incentives, ‘creative marketing, or pure Ponzi schemes.” “Further, in any industry, there are always more failed projects than successful ones. Hopefully, the failures are small, and the successes are large. But you get the idea. Bailouts here don’t make s...
Moody’s downgrades Coinbase due to bear: Warns it may not be the last
Credit ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded the Corporate Family Rating (CFR) and guaranteed senior unsecured notes of crypto exchange Coinbase, and stated that both ratings have been placed under review for further downgrade. The CFR, a rating assigned to reflect Moody’s opinion of a company’s ability to honor its financial obligations, was downgraded from Ba2 to Ba3 which is considered as below non-investment grade. Senior unsecured notes are a type of debt a company holds that is not backed by any assets and in the event of bankruptcy must be repaid before any others. Moody’s downgraded Coinbase’s from Ba1 to Ba2. Earlier in May, Cointelegraph reported Coinbase’s junk bonds tanked in response to an underwhelming first quarter and since the report, the bonds have continued to fall a fur...
Nonfungible airdrops: Could NFA become the next big acronym in the crypto space?
Airdrops have become the bread and butter of the crypto world — for good reason. They’re an indispensable marketing tool for up-and-coming projects that want to create a buzz around their ecosystems. Done right, distributing free tokens to the public can help elevate demand — and unlock big benefits for recipients. After all, if these altcoins end up being listed on major exchanges at a later date, their value could explode. Unfortunately though, downsides have started to emerge. These campaigns aren’t just reaching enthusiasts who passionately believe in what a project has to offer, but “airdrop hunters” who are merely scouring for ways to turn a quick profit. Airdrop hunters typically want to sell off the tokens they’ve received for free — as soon as they ca...
‘Foolish’ to deny Bitcoin price can go under $10K — Analysis
Bitcoin (BTC) preserved $20,000 for another day on June 23 with calls for another 20% drop still surfacing. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Bitcoin under $10,000 not impossible Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD ranging just above the $20,000 mark over the 24 hours to the time of writing. As ever, the behavior reflected moves in United States equities markets, which stayed flat on the day. Remarks by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell had provided only brief volatility. Cointelegraph noted that Powell’s Congress testimony provided no new information regarding macro policy. As such, crypto commentators stuck to previous assertions — the outlook was uncertain, they said, but a potential fresh drawdown may only involve a ...
Voyager Digital cuts withdrawal amount as 3AC contagion ripples through DeFi and CeFi
The Singapore-based crypto venture firm Three Arrows Capital (3AC) failed to meet its financial obligations on June 15 and this caused severe impairments among centralized lending providers like Babel Finance and staking providers like Celsius. On June 22, Voyager Digital, a New York-based digital assets lending and yield company listed on the Toronto Stock exchange, saw its shares drop nearly 60% after revealing a $655 million exposure to Three Arrows Capital. Voyager offers crypto trading and staking and had about $5.8 billion of assets on its platform in March, according to Bloomberg. Voyager’s website mentions that the firm offers a Mastercard debit card with cashback and allegedly pays up to 12% annualized rewards on crypto deposits with no lockups. More recently, on June 2...
The community-centered approach to Web3 — Aave founder and CEO
Aave founder and chief executive officer Stani Kulechov said the firm was continuing to develop its decentralized social media platform, with Web3 potentially changing the way many view ownership. Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Collision conference in Toronto on Thursday, Kulechov said Web3 — a buzzword often thrown around which generally describes the next evolution of an internet based on blockchain technology — could impact how people use social media in much the same way cryptocurrency changed perceptions on finance. The Aave CEO remarked how developers had adapted protocols to handle custody, and the rise in nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, seemed to point to a community-centered approach. “I think Web3 is quite a lot related to the concept of ownership,” said Kulechov. “As we have owne...
GitHub users respond with ‘Bitcoin bill’ idea to Gillibrand-Lummis bill
Now every interested user has a chance to leave their mark on a crypto bill that could define the industry guidelines in the United States in the near future, the Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA). The document was uploaded on GitHub, a platform populated by software and product experts, by its co-sponsors to get public feedback. On Wednesday, June 22, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand uploaded the full content of their Responsible Financial Innovation Act on GitHub. As Lummis’ representatives commented: “The senators seek comments from industry stakeholders, consumers and interested parties to ensure that this landmark legislation reflects the innovative nature of the industry it regulates, while also adding confidence, trust and stability for consumers.” By t...
Bybit enters into settlement agreement with Ontario Securities Commission
Bybit announced that it reached a settlement agreement with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) on Thursday, a day after the OSC released a Statement of Allegations against the crypto asset trading platform. The agreement includes several measures to be taken by Bybit as it engages in registration talks with the Canadian regulator. This announcement comes after the OSC issued financial penalties against Bybit and KuCoin, claiming violation of securities laws and operating unregistered crypto-asset trading platforms. According to the Settlement Agreement, Bybit has disgorged revenues totaling approximately $2.47 million and compensated the OSC $7,707 (CAD 10,000) for costs. No additional monetary penalties were levied on Bybit as part of the agreement. Also, Bybit announced that it woul...
Wire Network’s new protocol aims to end Web3 interoperability woes
Layer-1 blockchain platform Wire Network announced the launch of its blockchain interoperability protocol called Universal Polymorphic Address Protocol (UPAP). In the Web3 ecosystem, which is comparatively nascent to the larger crypto market, the primary interaction occurs over digital goods and NFTs. However, the growing number of Web3 platforms lack interoperability which could be a huge roadblock to a seamless Web3 experience. Wire Network aims to change that with its universal wallet address protocol. Blockchain interoperability is the ability to share information across different blockchain networks without restrictions. With the evolution of the blockchain industry, hundreds of new protocols and blockchain standards have emerged. Thus, the interactions among different blockchain...
Polygon price jumps 60% in four days amid ‘pretty big’ MATIC accumulation
Polygon (MATIC) took a break from its prevailing bearish course, posting one of sharpest rebound in the crypto market this week. Notably, MATIC’s price has risen to $0.50 this June 23, four days after hitting $0.317, its lowest level since April 2021. This amounts to roughly a 60% gain, surpassing the performances of even Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) in the same timeframe. MATIC/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView Nevertheless, MATIC is still down significantly from its December 2021 high of $2.92, coinciding with the overall crypto bear market and a hawkish Fed putting pressure on risk-on assets. MATIC “in a pretty big accumulation” Meanwhile, some of its richest investors have been accumulating MATIC tokens despite the general downtrend, on-chain dat...
Meta set to begin testing NFTs on Instagram Stories with Spark AR
Instagram’s parent company, Meta, announced Wednesday that it will begin testing NFTs on Instagram Stories using its augmented reality platform Spark AR. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said of the news, “We’re expanding our test so more creators around the world can display their NFTs on Instagram.” The company also stated in an announcement, “Creators and collectors will be able to share their digital collectibles across Facebook and Instagram after we begin rolling out the feature on Facebook with select US creators at a later date.” Zuckerberg also confirmed that Facebook is set to support NFTs in the future: “We’ll bring this feature to Facebook soon too — starting with a small group of US creators — so people can cross-post on Instagram and Facebook. ...
‘Rush of radical rulemakings’ — Hester Peirce criticizes SEC agenda
United States Securities and Exchange (SEC) commissioner Hester Peirce said the newly released SEC Agency Rule List is full of “hot-button” topics implemented in an unreasonable hurry, while crypto was ignored. Commissioner Peirce, who is sometimes referred to as Crypto Mom for her strong positive views on cryptocurrency, released a statement concerning the SEC Spring 2022 Regulatory Agenda and the SEC Agency Rule List. Though the SEC list had no entries that made explicit reference to crypto, Perice noted that one of the proposed rules, Amendments to Exchange Act Rule 3b-16, “might regulate crypto protocols or platforms through an unmarked backdoor.” She went on to name four areas relating to crypto where regulatory clarity “would be appreciated.” Those included defining securities and is...
