Crypto
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Indian central bank’s ‘informal pressure’ disrupted payments: Coinbase CEO
Just three days after debuting in the Indian market, United States-based crypto exchange Coinbase abruptly stopped using United Payments Interface (UPI), the most popular payment service in the region. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong later revealed that the service disruption was due to an “informal pressure” from India’s central bank. During Coinbase’s 2022 Quarterly Earnings call, Armstrong spoke about the company’s global expansion plans while acknowledging Coinbase’s role in starting the conversation with regulators related to crypto adoption. When asked about the impact of the recent disruption related to offering payment services in India, Armstrong stated: “So a few days after launching, we ended up disabling UPI because of some informal pressure from the Reserve Bank of Indi...
Terra ‘rescue plan’ still at large as LUNA falls below $5, Bitcoin spikes to ‘$138K’ in UST
Panic appeared to set in on crypto markets overnight on May 11 as Blockchain protocol Terra failed to steady its bleeding cryptoassets. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed both the firm’s in-house token, LUNA and stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST) seeing fresh heavy losses on the day. A dubious new “all-time high” for Bitcoin After a mass sell-off which some argued was “coordinated” to destroy the Terra ecosystem, UST lost its peg to the U.S. dollar. Attempts to shore up the peg with both LUNA and Bitcoin (BTC) reserves failed, and as uncertainty gripped the market, both UST and LUNA dived to levels unimaginable just days previously. Getting close … stay strong, lunatics — Do Kwon (@stablekwon) May 10, 2022 Co-founder Do Kwon said that a “recove...
The Fed cites its concern about stablecoins in its latest Financial Stability Report
The United States Federal Reserve Board released its semiannual Financial Stability Report on Monday. The report points to the volatility on commodities markets brought on by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19 and “higher and more persistent than expected” inflation as sources of instability. Stablecoins and some types of money market funds were singled out in the report and noted to be prone to runs. According to the Fed, stablecoins have an aggregate value of $180 billion, with 80% of that amount represented by Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and Binance USD (BUSD). They are backed by assets that may lose value or become illiquid during stress, leading to redemption risks, and those risks may be exacerbated by a lack of transparency, the centra...
Michael Saylor assuages investors after market slumps hurts MSTR, BTC
MicroStrategy’s CEO and Bitcoin proponent Michael Saylor is confident his firm’s BTC holdings will more than cover a potential margin call on Bitcoin-backed loans. The American business intelligence and software giant made headlines in 2021 with a number of major investments into Bitcoin. Saylor was a driving force behind MicroStrategy’s decision to convert its treasury reserve into BTC holdings. Global markets have suffered major losses in early May and Microstrategy’s stock has not been spared. MSTR has seen its value drop by 24% and the value of Bitcoin has also slumped considerably along with the wider cryptocurrency markets. This is cause for concern as the company’s subsidiary MacroStrategy took out a $205 million loan from Silvergate Bank in March 2022, with a portion of MicroStrate...
Altcoins stage a relief rally while Bitcoin traders decide whether to buy the dip
The similarity in price action between the crypto and traditional financial markets remains quite strong on May 10 as traders enjoyed a relief bounce across asset classes following the May 9 rout, which saw Bitcoin (BTC) briefly dip to $29,730. Market downturns typically translate to heavier losses in altcoins due to a variety of factors, including thinly traded assets and low liquidity, but this also translates into larger bounces once a recovery ensues. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 Several projects notched double-digit gains on May 10, including a 15.75% gain for Maker (MKR), the protocol responsible for issuing the DAI (DAI) stablecoin, which likely benefited from the fallout from Terra (LUNA) and its TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin. Other notable gainers incl...
Environmental groups urge US government to take action on crypto miners
A group of eight organizations focused on the environment have called on different government agencies under the Biden administration to implement new approaches in response to Proof-of-Work and other crypto mining operations. In a letter to the United States Office of Science and Technology Policy on Monday, the Environmental Working Group, Earthjustice, Greenpeace, the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, the Seneca Lake Guardian, and the Milwaukee Riverkeeper urged the White House to enact policies aimed at curbing “the electricity use and climate pollution associated with digital currencies that rely on [PoW].” Specifically, the organizations alleged crypto mining in the United States harmed communities by creating increasing demand for electricity sour...
Bitcoin falls below $30k to retouch a ten-month low: Here is what is happening?
Crypto and traditional markets continue seeing wide-scale sell-offs in response to the Fed’s tighter monetary policy Glassnode says the rush to de-risk from assets such as Bitcoin pushed the token’s network transaction costs 15% higher than average Cryptocurrency markets have been in the red since the value of the largest crypto-token, Bitcoin, plunged below the $40k on April 28. Since last Thursday, the fall has been even more intense. Yesterday, the price of Bitcoin fell below $30k for the first time since July 2021, as markets – traditional and cryptocurrency – saw increased sell-offs in reaction to the US Federal Reserve’s renewed aggressive monetary policy. The price of the flagship crypto was spotted as low as $29,944 on CoinMarketCap during yesterday’s session. Though it...
Silence from Do Kwon says it all amid UST crisis
Do Kwon is the founder of Terra and the face of the ecosystem. He is also extremely active on Twitter, frequently discussing Luna, UST and the merits of the algorithmic peg. Tone Well, I say discussing, but it’s normally far from a discussion. He often takes a very aggressive line with accounts enquiring about the sustainability of the peg, the long-term viability of Anchor and many other (valid) questions about the experiment that is UST. 6/ On depeg risk – I’ve grown quite tired of arguing with idiots on Twitter on whether UST can remain stable in bear. So soon I will propose creating multi billion dollar reserves in decentralized assets (BTC and others) in an attempt to save myself time. More to follow. — Do Kwon 🌕 (@stablekwon) November 20, 2021 Yesterday, his UST stablec...
Cathie Wood says the bear crypto market could be nearing a close
ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood believes a bearish run for crypto markets could soon be over, as markets all over are now capitulating She predicted that the market cap of truly ‘disruptive innovation’ will exponentially grow to $210 trillion by 2030 CEO of asset management firm ARK Invest Cathie Wood remains unfazed over the long-term behaviour of cryptocurrencies despite the most recent downturn in the price levels of this asset class. Speaking during an appearance in a recent update of the Into the Know series, the ARK Invest chief explained that the increased co-movement between crypto-assets and the stock market, which has caused the current unimpressive run, is a sign that the bear market could be coming to an end. She said that a bear environment for crypto assets could soon tou...
El Salvador buys the dip to boost government’s coffer with 500 BTC
The Central American nation now holds 2,301 BTC Despite recent Bitcoin additions, its use as legal tender remains unpopular with Salvadorans The president of El Salvador Nayib Bukele, has remained resolute, sticking to his grand Bitcoin adoption masterplan. The Central American nation, earlier this week, boosted its Bitcoin position following another bulk purchase during the recent market dip. The second BTC purchase this year Tweeting out the news on Monday, President Bukele confirmed that El Salvador added 500 BTC for $15.37 million, translating to an average price of $30,744. Notably, this was a more enticing price level than the $36,585 average price for the 410 Bitcoins the country added in January. “El Salvador just bought the dip! 500 coins at an average USD price of ~$30,744,” ...
“There is more damage to be done,” insists Galaxy Digital’s Novogratz
Yesterday, Galaxy Digital reported a $111.7 million loss in Q1 due to unrealised losses on crypto holdings Mike Novogratz expects volatile and testing crypto markets to continue over the next few quarters Fintech and asset management firm Galaxy Digital on Monday reported that it recorded a loss in the first quarter of the year. The financial services firm explained that the downturn was largely due to the price volatility of crypto markets. Specifically, Galaxy Digital said it saw a net loss of $111.7 million for the quarterly period ended March 31, which overturned the $858.2 million net comprehensive income gain recorded in Q1 last year. It was not all bad, or rather, it would have been worse were it not for its investment banking and mining operations. Galaxy Digital revealed that it l...
UK government targets crypto in latest legislative agenda
The United Kingdom has introduced two bills, both concerning the seizure of and support for cryptocurrencies as part of Prince Charles’ remarks at the State Opening of Parliament. In a Tuesday publication released by the U.K. Prime Minister’s Office, the government said it will address crypto regulation in the country with the introduction of the Financial Services and Markets Bill and theEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill. The former aims to strengthen the country’s financial services industry, including by supporting “the safe adoption of cryptocurrencies.” According to the proposed financial services law, the measure will “[cut] red tape in the financial sector” in an effort to attract investors to the United Kingdom. The crime bill proposed “creating powers to more qu...
