Sam Bankman-Fried: Founder of crypto platform FTX sentenced to 25 years in jail March 28, 2024 Bankman-Fried, 32, was convicted in November of fraud and conspiracy – a dramatic fall from a year earlier when he and his companies seemed to be riding a crest of success
DOJ and CFTC set their sights on KuCoin March 28, 2024 This week, the crypto market experienced some of the most severe fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) of the cycle so far. Not only did two US government agencies indict one of the largest centralised exchanges on criminal charges, but North Korean hackers also exploited a popular protocol on a new Ethereum Layer 2. So, just a normal day during a crypto bull market. The exchange in question was KuCoin.
BlackRock’s BUIDL sparks real world asset boom March 27, 2024 Monday greeted us with the first day of Bitcoin ETF inflows after last week’s exodus. This time, Fidelity led the pack with their fifth highest inflow day, with over $261 million. Late last week, more information was released about BlackRock’s BUIDL fund. The market digested it and allocated strongly towards Real World Asset (RWA) related tokens. According to CoinGecko, on Monday, the sector’s market cap grew by over 29% to over $8 billion.
Blackrock boss Larry Fink warns of looming ‘retirement crisis’ for global pension savers March 26, 2024 The boss of the world’s biggest asset manager Blackrock has warned of a looming “crisis” for global pension savers today as he called on global leaders to rethink the “conception of retirement”.
FCA clamps down on ‘finfluencers’ hiding financial risks in their content March 26, 2024 The Financial Conduct Authority has issued new rules to clamp down on financial influencers, or ‘finfluencers’, hiding the risks of the products they’re promoting. In a report today, the FCA laid out details on how finfluencers and companies on social media should be appropriately including the risks of the products they’re promoting, while also not [...]
Grayscale’s GBTC distorts the ETF picture March 26, 2024 One of the primary drivers of crypto’s appreciation are easing monetary conditions. Last cycle, Covid-19 fiscal and monetary policy measures kicked off the bull market. Lower interest rates, furlough and stimulus checks, meant individuals had more time, and money, on their hands. Many chose to delve into financial markets with their additional resources. This was a perfect storm for the crypto market - growing nearly 28 times within 20 months. Is the perfect storm this time not going to include a world-halting pandemic and simply be crypto ETF adoption?
SEC probes if Ethereum is security as ‘final battle’ looms March 25, 2024 In reference to computer games, there is a concept of the 'final boss' in crypto folklore. For crypto, the 'final boss' is the government. The SEC's decision to issue subpoenas to crypto companies are an attempt by the agency to classify Ethereum as a security and therefore put it under its jurisdiction. SEC Head Gary Gensler may well see this as the final chance to keep the 'genie' of decentralised finance in the bottle by severely increasing the regulatory risk for crypto projects.
E.T.? March 25, 2024 The surge of institutional interest in digital assets and blockchain technology over recent months shocked many after last year’s crypto meltdowns. But the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) January approval of bitcoin exchange traded products (ETPs), the FCA’s recent update and approval of cryptoasset-backed Exchange Traded Notes (cETNs) for professional investors, BlackRock's bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) hitting the $10 billion mark faster than any other in history, and now their SEC filing last week for the USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund to invest in tokenised assets, all mark a milestone in the evolution and wider adoption of Web3 technology across financial services.
Building Blocks: the future is multichain March 25, 2024 In the rapidly changing world of blockchain, the future appears to be multichain. But what does it mean to be multichain, and why is it crucial for the growth and adoption of decentralized technology? Let's dive into the topic of interoperability and explore the solutions that are shaping the blockchain industry.
Base’s boom causes problems at Coinbase March 22, 2024 On Wednesday, the market made a strong reversal, as the Federal Reserve maintained interest rates at 5.25%-5.50%. However, ETF investors were not convinced. Net outflows for Wednesday stood at $261 million - the third day in a row of outflows. BlackRock’s IBIT maintained its undefeated inflow streak. However, it experienced its second lowest daily inflows of $49.2 million. Even with this week’s outflows, the market showed it does not have to rely on the ETF flows to have a good time.