News
It may seem like the bears won out when Bitcoin dropped after its rally to $26,500, but that was the highest daily close in nine months. Even more impressive, since March 10 (when the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation shut down Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)), Bitcoin has seen a 26.5% increase. The Federal Reserve and the United States Treasury recently provided an extraordinary $25 billion in funding on March 12, which has been cited as one of the contributing factors to the recent price increase. As a result, banks have seen a decrease in their systemic risks. Despite this, Bitcoin bulls are in a prime position to gain up to $440 million when the weekly options expire on March 17.
News
Many crypto firms have been left anxiously awaiting the consequences of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Silvergate Capital, two of the most accommodating banks in the industry. Without these two banking partners, many companies will struggle to adhere to regulations and present their services in a manner compliant with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States. The revelation that Circle, one of the more established players in the crypto industry, held $3.3 billion at SVB following the collapse of the banks, caused USD Coin, the second-most liquid U.S.-dollar pegged stablecoin, to fall below $0.87. This news was shocking to investors and caused many to rethink their trust in cryptocurrencies.
News
Last year, PLBY Group (PLBY), which is the holding company of Playboy founded by Hugh Hefner, reported an impairment loss of $4.9 million on its Ethereum holdings. The broader market experienced a significant decline in prices during the crypto winter, resulting in this loss. According to an annual filing on Thursday, the lifestyle and media company, Playboy, disclosed that it received Ethereum as payment for its non-fungible tokens (NFTs) called “Rabbitars” which were launched in 2021. The company holds cryptocurrency as digital assets on its balance sheet. As of last year, the digital assets were valued at $327,000, per the filing.
News
Michael Bennet, a United States Senator from Colorado, has expressed the opinion that banks that have relationships with crypto companies did not act in a “prudently wise” manner. At a Senate Finance Committee hearing on March 16, Senator Bennet of Colorado discussed President Joe Biden’s FY 2024 budget with Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and other lawmakers. He used the recent closure of the crypto-friendly Signature Bank as an example to explain the relationship between banks and crypto companies, comparing it to the relationship between institutions and marijuana dispensaries. He noted that even though marijuana dispensaries are legal in many U.S. states, they are often “frozen out of the financial system”.
News
The Swiss Bankers Association proposes deposit tokens for the development of the digital economy!
On March 16, MakerDAO, a lending protocol, and stablecoin issuer voted in favor of a proposal to increase its holdings of United States Treasury bonds by 150%, from $500 million to $1.25 billion. This would represent a significant boost to its portfolio. In response to the Dai stablecoin losing its $1 peg during market volatility on March 11, MakerDAO has proposed a $750 million debt ceiling hike. This increase in exposure to real-world assets and “high-quality bonds” was approved by 77% of Maker’s delegates. According to a representative of MakerDAO, this move is intended to “enhance the stability of the protocol.”
News
European Banking Crisis Subsides, Bitcoin Maintains Stability Above $25K!
With the Swiss National Bank offers to lend about $50 billion to the struggling investment bank Credit Suisse, the European banking crisis appears to have been averted, and as a result, Bitcoin remained stable above the $25,000 mark. In addition, investors are optimistic that the U.S. central bank will adopt a more dovish approach at its upcoming rate-setting meeting. According to available data, the biggest digital currency by market capitalization was being traded at $25,050, experiencing a 3% increase within the last 24 hours. Since Tuesday afternoon, when there was a slight improvement in U.S. inflation data, BTC has been mostly restricted to a range between $24,000 and $25,000. This week, Bitcoin has surged by 19% due to the restored market confidence in the U.S. banking industry, and the possibility of the Federal Reserve suspending its present interest rate hike approach.
News
Bitcoin and Ether Remain Unaffected by Latest U.S. Jobs Data!
Despite the most recent information that indicates the U.S. job market remains robust, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) have not been significantly impacted. U.S. jobless claims decreased from 212,000 to 192,000, coming in short of the projected 205,000 figure and indicating that the labor market remains in a state of high demand. Despite efforts by the U.S. Federal Reserve to moderate labor markets, unemployment claims remain virtually unchanged since January. This is significant because tight labor markets have traditionally been associated with higher wages, which can be a major contributor to inflation. In recent months, the central bank has faced difficulty in determining how to factor in robust jobs data when deciding on interest rate hikes, leading to turmoil in financial markets.