After Silicon Valley Bank Failed, Fears Of A Financial Disaster Arose

The largest financial institution failure since the financial crisis more than a decade ago occurred on Friday as Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) had its assets seized by US regulators. SVB was the 16th largest bank in the country, catering to depositors such as technology workers and venture capital-backed companies. This week, many of its customers withdrew their money due to anxiety over the banks situation, resulting in the banks inability to manage the large withdrawals. Despite attempts to raise new funds, the bank ultimately failed. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took control of the bank and its management, as per their responsibility to guarantee deposits. Although it may not be well-known to the public, SVB specialized in financing start-ups and was one of the largest banks in the US, with $209 billion in assets and about $175.4 billion in deposits as of the end of 2022.Tech Employees Are Becoming More Anxious  Silicon Valley Banks collapse marks the second-largest retail bank failure in the US since 2008s Washington Mutual collapse. On Friday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen convened financial regulators to discuss the situation, assuring them that she trusted their ability to take appropriate action and emphasizing the banking sectors resilience.

2023-03-13Deep Dive

NY Attorney General Sues KuCoin for Alleged Violations of Securities and Commodities Laws

The KuCoin cryptocurrency exchange is being sued by the New York Advocate Generals office for reportedly breaking state securities and commodities rules. Attorney General Letitia James asserts that Ethereum (ETH), is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, as well as Terra (LUNA) and TerraUSD (UST) stocks.  KuCoin allegedly misrepresented itself as an exchange when it is actually a broker-dealer for commodities and stocks. The complaint seeks to geo-fence KuCoins website based on IP addresses and GPS positions in order to prevent entry to the exchange in New York.  Based on the “confidence score,” Seychelles-based KuCoin is the fifth-largest cryptocurrency market globally and the 17th-largest based on 24-hour trading activity. The business once billed itself as “the most sophisticated and safe bitcoin platform,” but in 2020 it was the victim of a $150 million breach.  In this case, it is claimed that the fact that holders of ETH can profit financially qualifies it as an asset. Since Ethereum switched to a proof-of-stake network last year, owning ETH immediately correlates to receiving staking compensation. A person can possibly make more compensation the more BTC they risk.  Given the focus that marking services have gotten from authorities, the timeliness of the case is noteworthy. Popular American exchange

2023-03-10Deep Dive

Coinbase Launches Wallet-as-a-Service to Help Crypto Firms Build Customizable On-chain Wallets

Coinbase Global (Nasdaq: COIN), one of the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has announced a new offering called Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS). The new service provides crypto firms with scalable and secure wallet infrastructure APIs, allowing them to create and deploy fully customizable on-chain wallets.  In a Twitter thread, Coinbase also highlighted that its wallet infrastructure provides multi-party computation (MPC) cryptography, which removes the need to manage a complicated 24-word recovery phrase. This feature provides an additional layer of security and convenience for users.  Coinbase has already onboarded several crypto firms, including Tokenproof, Floor, Thirdweb, and Moonray, to its WaaS. The company believes that this new offering will help bring the “next hundred million consumers into Web3”, the next generation of the internet powered by blockchain technology.  According to Coinbase, more and more companies are realizing the potential of Web3, which is expected to generate a massive industry of new decentralized applications and services. With WaaS, these companies can empower their customers to access these new services more easily.  For instance, Fonz, the founder of Tokenproof, explained that when users download the Tokenproof app, they will create their first wallet powered by Coinbase, welcoming them into Web3. This, he believes, is a significant step towards making the

2023-03-09Deep Dive

Silvergate, A Cryptocurrency Lending Bank, To Liquidate Following A Fallout With FTX

Silvergate Capital, a bank that has been lending to the cryptocurrency industry for a decade, has announced that it will shut down and liquidate. The decision was attributed to recent industry and regulatory developments. The move makes Silvergate the latest victim of the so-called “crypto winter” jitters in the digital asset industry, following the implosion of its major customer, the exchange FTX, in November.Silvergates Involvement in FTX Fraud Case Raises Concerns Over Cryptocurrency Industry Viability  The recent news that Silvergate Capital has been implicated in the FTX fraud case has sent shockwaves through the crypto community. The involvement of a well-respected bank like Silvergate in such a serious case has raised concerns about the risks associated with lending to the cryptocurrency industry and has led many to question the industrys long-term viability.  Silvergate, which is based in California, has been providing services to high-profile firms like Coinbase and Galaxy Digital. However, the collapse of FTX and its sister firm Alameda Research, as well as the arrest of their founder Sam Bankman-Fried for fraud and other crimes, resulted in a run on deposits at Silvergate. Customers withdrew more than $8 billion from the platform late last year, and the bank reported a $1

2023-03-09Deep Dive

East London Unlicensed Crypto ATMs Face FCA Action

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the regulatory body that oversees financial services in the United Kingdom. One of its primary responsibilities is to ensure that all financial activities, including those related to cryptocurrency, comply with the law. Recently, the FCA took action against an unregistered crypto ATM located in East London.Unregulated Crypto ATMs: A Potential Haven for Illegal Activities  UCrypto ATMs, also known as Bitcoin ATMs, allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using cash. They are becoming increasingly popular as more people invest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin. However, crypto ATMs are not regulated in the same way that traditional ATMs are. This means that they can be used for illegal activities, such as money laundering and terrorism financing.  The FCA has been closely monitoring the use of crypto ATMs in the UK. In September 2021, the regulator issued a warning to all crypto ATM operators that they must be registered with the FCA by January 2022. Failure to register could result in fines, imprisonment, or both.  Despite this warning, some crypto ATM operators have continued to operate without registering. In December 2021, the FCA took action against an unregistered crypto ATM located in East London. The regulator issued

2023-03-09Deep Dive

Binance.US's $1.3 Billion Takeover Of Voyager Gets The Go-Ahead From US Bankruptcy Court

Judge Michael Wiles of the US Bankruptcy Court has authorized Voyagers reorganization plan, which calls for Binance.US to buy the business. As part of the agreement, Binance.US will hand over the crypto assets placed by Voyager clients, which were assessed at $1.3 billion in February, and give $20 million in cash to Voyager. The digital assets owned by the clients account for the majority of the deals value.  Wiles overturned the US Securities and Exchange Commissions challenge to the Binance purchase, which the SEC had argued was running an illegal stock exchange, and the reorganization plan was authorized. Wiles characterized the complaint as “vague,” contending that the SEC should not have delayed until the last minute to raise a particular concern and that it failed to provide any supporting documentation.  The transaction is still under review, despite Wiles acceptance of Voyagers plan enabling the business to start moving client assets to Binance. The dangers to national security posed by foreign investment in Voyager are being looked into by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).  Voyagers financial advisors have stated that the company requires up to four weeks to review new questions about Binance.USs commitment to the acquisition, Binance.USs regulatory

2023-03-08Deep Dive

Singapore Probes TerraUSD's Do Kwon for Securities Fraud

Singaporean authorities have opened an investigation into Do Kwons Terraform Labs, the company behind the failed TerraUSD stablecoin. The announcement came after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Kwon and his organization for securities fraud. The SEC claimed that Kwon and Terraform Labs had transferred over 10,000 Bitcoin out of their project and were cashing out through a Swiss bank.      Terraform Labs is a Singapore-based company that developed TerraUSD, an algorithmic stablecoin intended to maintain a constant value of $1 through a combination of algorithms and trader incentives involving a sister token, Luna. However, in May 2022, the stablecoin lost its peg to the US dollar after a wave of sell-offs hit the cryptocurrency market. Terraform Labs managed to partially repair the peg by purchasing $2 billion in UST, but the continued sell-off drained those funds, hyperinflated LUNA, and crashed the price of both LUNA and UST.  The investigation by Singaporean authorities is ongoing, and Kwon is not currently in the city-state. The SEC lawsuit, which was filed in February 2023, is also ongoing. The commission accused Kwon and Terraform Labs of orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud involving TerraUSD and other crypto asset securities.      The

2023-03-08Deep Dive

TradingView And Bitget Collaborate To Enable Crypto Derivatives Trading

Bitget, a well-known exchange for cryptocurrency derivatives and copy trading platform, has announced that it will work directly with TradingView, a well-known charting and trading platform. With this integration, users will be able to trade cryptocurrencies without leaving the TradingView interface. This will make Bitget more useful. So, traders can make better decisions and enjoy the best protection and security Bitget has to offer.  TradingView is a full charting and trading platform that lets users use different tools to do both technical and fundamental analysis. Also, it has the largest social platform for investors, which lets traders talk to millions of other active traders around the world. With this integration, Bitget users can access a number of advanced analysis tools, such as charting tools, real-time market data, and technical indicators. They can also learn from TradingViews active community about new strategies that have been tried and tested by millions of traders.  Also, Bitget users can now trade perpetual futures directly from the TradingView interface. This gives them more options and makes it easier for them to trade on the go. This integration speeds up the trading process and reduces risks significantly by making it easy to get up-to-date market information and help

2023-03-03Deep Dive

Robinhood's Wallet Can Now Be Used By IOS Customers Worldwide

Robinhood, the commission-free stock and cryptocurrency trading app, has formally released its self-custody wallet to all 1 million+ iOS customers in its queue. The Robinhood Wallet is now accessible in over 130 countries and can be purchased from the IOS App Store. Users can make up to 5 USDC after moving $10 of crypto from Robinhood Crypto or 1 USDC after depositing $10 from another wallet or exchange for a limited period.  According to Johann Kerbrat, CEO of Robinhood Crypto, the comments for Robinhood Wallet have been highly favorable since the test debut. Customers have praised the apps accessibility and ease of use, as well as the ability to self-custody their digital assets and exchange them with no network costs on Polygon. Robinhood rapidly introduced Ethereum support, realizing that customers want more currencies on more networks. Despite the turbulent few months in the crypto sector, Robinhood stays dedicated to its goal of becoming the most trustworthy, low-cost, and simple-to-use on-ramp to crypto.Introducing Robinhood Wallet: The User-Friendly Web3 Wallet with Powerful Features  Robinhood Wallet is a multi-chain, self-custody Web3 wallet that enables users to own and exchange cryptocurrency while also connecting to a variety of autonomous applications (dapps). To support the next wave

2023-03-03Deep Dive

Kolon's Top Executive and Binance Collaborate to Create a Crypto Exchange in South Korea

Binance, the worlds biggest cryptocurrency trading platform, is said to be in talks with Lee Woong-yeol, the senior head of Kolon Group, a South Korean pharmaceutical and textile company, about launching a new virtual asset exchange in the nation. The market would be created in collaboration with other blockchain-native companies and would appeal to government and banking officials. This step is part of Binances intentions to return to the South Korean market after departing due to government pressure in 2021.Kolon Group and Binances Plans for the New Digital Asset Exchange  Lee Woong-yeol is collaborating with other blockchain companies to create a new cryptocurrency exchange network in South Korea. This exchange would serve the countrys government and financial officials while also assisting in mitigating the dangers of money smuggling and market abuse. The South Korean government has imposed stringent restrictions on bitcoin companies, which went into force last year. Kolon Group, which has interests in South Korean markets such as Dunamu, wants to reach an income of $2.6 billion by 2025.The Return of Binance to South Korea  Binance has been working hard to re-enter the South Korean market after leaving in 2021. As part of its recovery strategy, the exchange purchased a majority

2023-03-02Deep Dive
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