cryptocurrencies
Basel Committee: Banks worldwide reportedly own €9.4 billion in crypto assets
According to a new study published by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a supranational organization responsible for setting the standards on bank capital, liquidity and funding, 19 out of 182 global banks supervised by the committee reported that theyowned digital assets. Combined, their total exposure to crypto is estimated to be €9.4 billion ($9.38 billion). In context, this represents 0.14% of the total risk-weighted asset composition of the 19 crypto-owning banks surveyed. When taken into account overall, cryptocurrencies only comprise about 0.01% of the total risk-weighted assets of all 182 banks under the Basel Committee’s supervision. Two banks made up more than half of the overall crypto-asset exposures, while four more comprised approximately 40% of the rema...
Ether exchange netflow highlights behavioral pattern of ETH whales
The exchange netflow of Ether (ETH) over the past couple of years highlights a behavioral pattern among Ether whales that market analysts believe is done to pump the price of the second-largest cryptocurrency. The “exchange netflow” is an indicator that measures the net amount of crypto entering or exiting wallets of all centralized exchanges. The metric’s value is simply calculated by taking the difference between the exchange inflows and the exchange outflows. Data shared by one of the pseudonymous traders of crypto analytic firm Cryptoquant indicates that ETH whales have consistently sent their holdings onto exchanges to raise the price of ETH and sell it at a higher market price. The Ethereum exchange netflow data confirmed the behavioral pattern among ETH whales and in...
Basel Committee crypto asset prudential treatment proposals get detailed responses
The comments period has ended for the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) “Second Consultation on the Prudential Treatment of Cryptoasset Exposures,” a document published in June 2022. International financial associations had a lot to say in response to it. Several did so at once in a joint 84-page comment letter released Oct. 4. In addition, there were a few lone voices, although they did not differ significantly in content from the conclusions made by the joint associations. All the commenters had the same basic message. Institute of International Finance (IIF) director of regulatory affairs Richard Gray, speaking on behalf of the joint associations working group that participated in the response letter, summed up the response when he told Cointelegraph in a stateme...
Binance signs MoU with Kazakhstan to fight financial crime
Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan as a part of its global law enforcement training program. The program, which involves officials from regulatory and law enforcement organizations worldwide, aims to strengthen industry cooperation with national and international law enforcement in the fight against financial crime and cybercrime. The program further aims to identify and block digital assets obtained illegally and used to launder criminal proceeds and finance terrorism. Kazakhstan has emerged as one of the leading crypto nations for Bitcoin (BTC) mining and in recent times, the Central Asian nation has also beendeveloping favorable crypto regulations such as allowing crypto...
Crypto and decentralization could influence voters in 2022 US midterm elections: Report
A poll of 800 likely midterm voters in four U.S. swing states suggested that the overwhelming majority favored ideas around decentralization, and many were HODLers. According to a Sept. 29 report from venture capital firm Haun Ventures on a survey conducted by business intelligence company Morning Consult, roughly one in five voters polled in New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania said they owned cryptocurrency or nonfungible tokens. In addition, 91% of respondents supported a “community owned, community governed” internet that “gives people greater control over their information.” Poll of 800 swing state voters who own digital assets. Source: Haun Ventures “Significantly, and reflective of how the values that voters associate with Web3 will drive electoral behavior, voters are less ...
What is the economic impact of cryptocurrencies?
Although the cryptocurrency market appears to grow in a positive feedback loop, that does not mean that (un)expected events may not impact the trajectory of the ecosystem as a whole. Although blockchain and cryptocurrencies are fundamentally meant as ‘trustless’ technologies, trust remains key there where humans interact with one another. The cryptocurrency market is not only impacted by the broader economy, but it may also generate profound effects by itself. Indeed, the Terra case shows that any entity — were it a single company, a venture capital firm or a project issuing an algorithmic stablecoin — can potentially set into motion or contribute to a “boom” or “bust” of the cryptocurrency ma...
DeFi needs appropriate regulation before moving to retail, says Fed Chair: Finance Redefined
Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you significant developments over the last week. United States Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell has given his verdict on the evolution of the DeFi market, claiming there is a definite need for robust regulation before the nascent market could expand to retail. Maple Finance CEO believes that separating the risk from lending saved DeFi from the market crash. He added that crypto lending has operated as intended through the crypto winter because of the transparency. Members of the Ooki DAO are discussing various ways to respond to the recent lawsuit filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Another interesting turn of events from the DeFi ecosystem ...
Bitcoin profitability for long-term holders decline to 4-year low: Data
Bitcoin’s (BTC) long-term profitability has declined to levels last seen during the previous bear market in December 2018. According to data shared by crypto analytic firm Glassnode, BTC holders are selling their tokens at an average loss of 42%. Bitcoin long term holders. Source: Glassnode The Glassnode data indicate that long-term holders of the top cryptocurrency selling their tokens have a cost basis of $32,000, meaning the average buying price for these holders selling their stack is above $30,000. The current market downturn added to the declining profitability can be attributed to several macroeconomic factors. The BTC market still has a heavy correlation with the stock market, especially tech stocks, which are currently seeing an even bigger downtrend than crypto. The rising inflat...
DEX dev Uniswap Labs looks for new funding at unicorn valuation: Report
Major decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap is in the early stages of raising significant funds to further expand its decentralized finance (DeFi) offerings, according to a new report. Uniswap Labs, a DeFi startup contributing to the Uniswap Protocol, is engaging with a number of investors to raise an equity round of $100 million to $200 million, TechCrunch reported on Sept. 30. The startup is working with investors like Polychain and one of Singapore’s sovereign funds as part of the upcoming funding round, the report notes, citing two anonymous people familiar with the matter. According to the report, Uniswap would be valued at $1 billion, but the terms of the deal are subject to changes as the discussions around the round have not been finalized. The new funding reportedly aims to bring m...
Russia unlikely to choose Bitcoin for cross-border crypto payments: Analysis
Despite Russia pushing the idea of using cryptocurrencies for cross-border payments, the specific digital asset the government plans to adopt for such transactions still remains unclear. Russian authorities are quite unlikely to approve the use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) for cross-border transactions, according to local lawyers and fintech executives. Bank of Russia needs to control cross-border transactions That Russia would allow Bitcoin or any other similar cryptocurrency to be usefor cross-border payments is “highly questionable” because such assets are “hard to control,” according to Elena Klyuchareva, the senior associate at the local law firm KKMP. Klyuchareva emphasized that the draft amendments to the legislation on cross-border crypto payments are not...
Crypto startup to save iconic fiat money sculpture with 1M euros in funding
The paths of traditional finance and the cryptocurrency industry have intersected again, with a crypto startup coming to save the iconic “Euro-Skulptur” monument in Frankfurt. Frankfurt-based crypto startup Caiz Development will provide 1 million euros, or about $961,000, in funding over the next five years to rescue the famous sculpture depicting the symbol for the Euro. Announcing the news on Tuesday, Caiz said that the firm saw a good marketing opportunity in supporting the sculpture by obtaining unique exposure. Through the funding, the firm was able to put its product board next to the 14-meter-high art installation bearing 12 yellow stars, which represent the original members of the currency union. Euro monument and Caiz’s marketing program. Source: Caiz Development The iconic euro s...
Genesis director to step down and move into advisory role
On Wednesday, Matthew Ballensweig, managing director of cryptocurrency broker Genesis, announced via Linkedin that he was formally leaving his post after over five years of tenure. Ballensweig is also the co-head of sales and trading. As told by Ballensweig, he has been transitioning his core responsibilities to a handful of trusted colleagues who will be taking the front-line role. “I am forever thankful to both Digital Currency Group [Genesis’ parent company] and Genesis for giving me the opportunity to build a capital markets business from the ground up. We built an eight-person company huddled in a small office in New York City back in 2017 to a sell-side trading behemoth doing billions in volumes in multiple countries today.” Ballensweig will stay with the firm...
