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Crypto Still Has Fans...And Deals

Run on digital assets leads platforms to freeze user accounts, including withdrawals. Bankruptcy looms. 

The Big Chill in Crypto

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AOFEX News 2023 | BankerAdvisor

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401(k) provider Fidelity aid it would give 23,000 employers the option to have employees add bitcoin and other crypto assets to their retirement savings.

Redefining Risk: Crypto and Retirement Savings

London financial services firm Ebury signed a deal to acquire Brazilian FinTech Bexs in a move to broaden Ebury’s offerings of global money transfer solutions for small- to medium-enterprises (SMEs).

London FinTech Ebury Expands Global Footprint with Bexs Acquisition

Swiss provider of banking software Temenos has launched ESG Investing-as-a-service, helping banks and wealth managers make use of sustainable investing. 

Temenos launches ESG Investing-as-a-Service

Crypto lender Voyager filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a week after halting withdrawals and two weeks after getting a $485 million bailout from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s firm Alameda Research.

Alameda Research now stands as Voyager’s biggest creditor with an outstanding loan of $75 million, according to multiple reports on Wednesday (July 6).

Voyager and its two affiliates, Voyager Digital LLC and Voyager Digital Holdings, filed Chapter 11 voluntarily in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York to restructure and “create a path” to resume operations and “return value to customers,” according to a press release. 

Crypto Lender Voyager Seeks Chapter 11 Protection

The co-founders of failed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital appear to be on the run from creditors, according to court documents recently filed in New York.

Founders of Bankrupt Crypto Hedge Fund Three Arrows Capital Go Missing

Celsius Network, a large cryptocurrency lender filed for bankruptcy after freezing customer assets that led to increased customer redemptions following a decline in cryptocurrency values.

Crypto Lender Celsius Files for Bankruptcy 

Forsage claimed to be a decentralized smart contract platform built on the Ethereum, Tron, and Binance blockchains allowing retail investors to earn profits by recruiting other investors.

SEC charges 11 people in alleged $300 million crypto Ponzi scheme

Global Payments announced plans to acquire EVO Payments today. EVO Payments provides payment technology and acquiring services solutions. 

Global Payments to buy EVO Payments for $4 billion 

Bitcoin traded below $19,000 for much of Wednesday, hitting its lowest level since June following a drop in stock markets globally and the continued strength of the U.S. dollar.
Policy tightening by the Fed has strengthened the U.S. dollar which has weighed on risk assets as Bitcoin continues to trade in a tight range of $18,000 to $24,000 mark, keeping investors on edge about where the price is going next. The value of the entire cryptocurrency market also fell below $1 trillion as digital coins across the board saw a sell-off.

Bitcoin Turns Positive

Coinbase is backing a lawsuit filed against the Treasury Department Thursday by six users of a recently sanctioned crypto service.  Treasury said that Tornado helped launder billions from state-sponsored bad actors. But crypto enthusiasts argue that sanctioning crypto code is an overstep and could cause negative ripple effects in the tech industry by creating "a dangerous precedent."

Coinbase bankrolls lawsuit against Treasury Department following Tornado Cash sanctions

The ex-CEO of bankrupt crypto trading firm FTX was arrested in the Bahamas after the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York shared a sealed indictment with the Bahamian government. Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to be extradited to the United States.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in the Bahamas after U.S. files criminal charges

The anniversary of El Salvador’s experiment with bitcoin as a legal tender hit without much fanfare on Sept. 7. El Salvador’s credit rating has tanked; plans for a $1 billion bitcoin-backed bond and construction of a geothermally powered Bitcoin City offering crypto miners and entrepreneurs tax breaks are on hiatus; and a planned loan from the International Monetary Fund to cover an $800 million Eurobond payment due in January stalled.  The reality is that hardly anyone is making payments or sending remittances using the cryptocurrency.

El Salvador Weekly: One Year in, Bitcoin Currency Experiment Has Bombed

Protego Trust Bank named Ron Totaro chief executive officer as the bank continues its push to serve institutional clients in crypto and digital assets. Totaro’s most recent role was CEO at Tassat Group, a blockchain-based tech firm focused on digital payments. In 2021, Protego raised $70 million in a Series A with investors including crypto exchanges Coinbase (COIN) and FTX as well as Digital Currency Group, the parent company of CoinDesk.

Digital Asset-Focused Bank Protego Trust Names Ron Totaro as CEO

Cryptocurrency startup Portofino Technologies has officially launched its high-frequency trading platform for digital assets, securing major funding from venture capital firms in the process. In launching its platform, Portofino disclosed that it had raised $50 million in equity funding from Valar Ventures, Global Founders Capital and Coatue. 

Ex-Citadel execs raise $50M for high-frequency crypto trading platform

Over the past week, the bitcoin price soared 4.9%, at one point hitting a high of just over $22,500. Most major altcoins are recovering too. Rumor has it bitcoin will soon take yet another step to mainstream adoption. People familiar with the matter told Wall Street Journal that Fidelity, the world's fourth largest asset manager overseeing $4.3 trillion in assets, is planning to let individual investors trade bitcoin.



‘Coming To 34 Million Accounts’ 

Recent turmoil in crypto markets “highlight how, without proper oversight, cryptocurrencies risk harming everyday Americans’ financial stability and our national security,” Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters at Thursday evening press conference.  The comments accompany several reports issued by the Treasury Department and other agencies Friday morning , as was mandated by an executive order issued by Biden in March. The reports cover topics ranging from consumer protection and financial stability to the national security implications of cryptocurrencies, and they put forward a series of recommendations that will guide Biden-administration policy on digital assets going forward. 

Crypto poses threat to ‘financial stability’ of everyday Americans, Biden administration warns in new report 

Fintechs like Chime, Current, N26, Level, Step, Varo and Moven are partnering with banks in an effort to make younger consumers comfortable doing all their banking online

Most Fintechs Partner with Banks

Nasdaq Digital Assets will begin by developing a cryptocurrency custody solution that will bring together the “best attributes of hot and cold crypto wallets”

Nasdaq to Launch Crypto Custody Service

According to Crunchbase data, M&A activity targeting VC-backed crypto startups hit an all-time high in the first quarter of the year when 16 were announced. However, deal pace has reverted to barely a trickle, with just seven deals in the last nearly two full quarters.

Crypto M&A Slows to a Crawl

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in a speech Tuesday that the central bank should play a leading role in regulating the issuers of U.S. dollar stablecoins, also floating wider crypto regulation that could impact digital asset wallets. Powell said the focus of stablecoin regulation should be crypto tokens, pegged to another asset like the dollar. Stablecoins form the bedrock of the crypto economy, for liquidity in trading and lending activities—as opposed to as a means of payment

Fed’s Powell Eyes Oversight of Stablecoin Issuers

Google will enable a subset of customers to pay for cloud services with bitcoin and cryptocurrency. The new payment method will go live early next year in a partnership with Coinbase. The exchange will migrate its data platform to Google Cloud.

Google to Accept Bitcoin, Crypto for Cloud Services in Coinbase Partnership

Binance is backing out of its plans to acquire FTX, the company said Wednesday, leaving Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire on the verge of collapse. The reversal comes one day after Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced that the world’s largest cryptocurrency firm had reached a nonbinding deal to buy FTX’s non-U.S. businesses for an undisclosed amount, rescuing the company from a liquidity crisis. Earlier this year, FTX was valued at $32 billion by private investors.

Binance backs out of FTX rescue, leaving the crypto exchange on the brink of collapse

Crypto lending platform BlockFi announced it was halting withdrawals Thursday night in the wake of the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. BlockFi said that due to the “lack of clarity” regarding FTX and Alameda, “we are not able to operate business as usual,” and that until there is “further clarity, we are limiting platform activity, including pausing client withdrawals.” The company asked clients not to deposit into BlockFi Wallet or Interest Accounts at this time, and said it will share more specifics “as soon as possible,” though it warned it likely would communicate “less frequently” than what its clients and stakeholders are used to.

Crypto lender BlockFi pauses withdrawals in wake of FTX’s collapse 

The former head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Sheila Bair, in speaking to the Financial Times said that rather than waiting for new laws, regulators need to join forces and use existing laws to protect investors in the wake of FTX’s failure.
Calls for crypto regulations have grown louder in recent weeks following the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, kicking off a digital asset market crisis. 


Ex-FDIC Head: People ‘Getting Hurt’ by Lack of Crypto Rules

Cryptocurrency exchange's attempts to reassure markets about their stability are having little effect on jittery users, who keep pulling funds from the venues. Platforms from Binance to Crypto.com have made full or partial disclosures outlining their assets since FTX.com unraveled last week. Yet clients' stampede for the exits has persisted, with exchange reserves of bitcoin, ether and stablecoins falling sharply.

After FTX, crypto exchanges struggle to convince customers they're safe

Robinhood’s crypto segment faces risks ‘given substantial price declines and material deterioration in investor confidence,’ analyst says. Robinhood had cut costs and made its platform more attractive to active traders. But he said uncertainty surrounding the stock market next year, as well as the cratering of the crypto market, made for a “mixed outlook” on the company.  Analysts expect Robinhood’s crypto-trading revenue to drop at least 50% for both this year and next year and the shockwaves from FTX’s collapse could ripple through to Robinhood in a variety of ways. 

FTX collapse isn’t just Coinbase’s problem — it’s also Robinhood’s 

Small to midsized businesses (SMBs) are investing in new tools, including payment solutions to explore the size and scale of the opportunity for SMB retail and how merchants can drive growth with new payment technologies. Retailers are chasing of seamless payment experiences including buy now, pay later and considering new payment options for payment technologies that can streamline payment experience and help achieve scale for their businesses.  

Small Business Survival May Hinge on Digital Payment Features

Shares of Silvergate declined 42.7% on Thursday after the crypto-focused bank released preliminary fourth-quarter results that showed massive customer withdrawals. Total deposits from digital asset customers declined to $3.8 billion from $11.9 billion at the end of the third quarter, a decline of roughly 68% as crypto exchange FTX, a Silvergate customer, collapsed in scandal, raising questions about the stability of the digital asset industry. At the end of December, $150 million of the bank’s deposits were held by customers who had filed bankruptcy, Silvergate said.

Silvergate Capital tanks more than 40% after crypto bank discloses massive fourth-quarter withdrawals

The Bahamas’ Securities Commission seized $3.5 billion from FTX just after the company’s bankruptcy. The regulator announced the seizure Thursday (Dec. 29), saying the cryptocurrency funds were moved from FTX Digital Markets (FTXDM) — the company’s subsidiary in the Bahamas — and transferred to the commission’s digital wallets. The commission said it decided to move the funds after hearing from FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried about cyberattacks on FTXDM.

Bahamas Securities Commission Reports Seizing $3.5B in FTX Assets

Moneyhub, founded in 2014, creates software for open banking, open finance, and open data applications announced it received an additional $18.2 million (£15 million) investment from savings and retirement business Phoenix Group. The funding round is a follow-on to the recent $48.6 million (£40 million) Moneyhub received in October 2022 which was led by Legal & General and Lloyds Banking Group led that round, contributing $42.4 million (£35 million), and Shawbrook Bank. Moneyhub’s total funding now adds up to $81.6 million.. 

Moneyhub Raises $18.2 Million, Completing $66.8 Million Funding Round

Genesis Trading, a crypto lender, will eliminate 60 positions, or 30% of its workforce, as it attempts to economize and stave off a bankruptcy filing. Genesis was hit hard by the collapse of one of its clients, crypto exchange FTX, freezing redemptions shortly after FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2022. Barry Silbert’s Digital Capital Group is Genesis’ parent company, and has been under fire from prominent investors over the length of the withdrawal freeze and a lack of action from executives.

Crypto lender Genesis Trading lays off 30% of workforce

Crypto.com, the Singapore-based crypto wallet and payments firm, today announced a 20% reduction in the size of its global workforce during a week when Coinbase said it would reduce its headcount by the same percentage and Blockchain.com also announced layoffs. 

Crypto.com cuts 20% of workforce amid sector-wide layoffs

Gemini Trust, the digital-asset firm founded by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, announced another 10% reduction in its workforce. The company previously announced the firing of 10% of its staff in June after the collapses of the Terra stablecoin ecosystem and Three Arrows Capital hedge fund sent token prices tumbling. In November, Gemini customers lost access to their money when Genesis Global Capital froze redemptions from a lending product the companies offered jointly. Genesis sought bankruptcy protection last week. The Winklevoss brothers have been waging a public battle with Barry Silbert — whose Digital Currency Group is the parent of Genesis.

Winklevoss twins’ Gemini Trust cuts more jobs amid corporate feuding and a broader crypto industry slump

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed a new rule to ban excessive credit card late fees. Congress banned excessive fees in 2009, but the Federal Reserve Board of Governors issued actions to circumvent the law, the CFPB said.  The CFPB rule proposed Wednesday would lower the amount consumers can owe for late fees under the immunity provision to $8 from as much as $41, end the automatic annual inflation adjustment for the provision and cap late fees at 25% of the minimum payment owed by the cardholder. The new rule could potentially reduce excessive late fees by as much as $9 billion per year.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau targets excessive credit card fees in new rule proposal

Payment process Fidelity National Information Services, known as FIS, said Monday that it will spin off its merchant services business to create two separate publicly-traded companies with the new entity reclaiming its former name, Worldpay.  FIS is making the major moves to break apart the company and squeeze savings out of the operations after two activist shareholders, D.E. Shaw and Jana Partners, made investments in the company last year. Worldpay will be more likely to pursue acquisitions as a result of the plan to spin off the company. 

FIS plans to spin off merchant unit

Nomura's digital assets subsidiary, Laser Digital, has invested in Infinity, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol for institutional lending and borrowing. Infinity offers an interest rate protocol that forms the basis for benchmark rates and institutional-grade lending, borrowing, and risk management in DeFi. Infinity’s wholesale exchange provides inter-exchange clearing, fixed and floating rate markets, as well as enterprise-grade risk management utilising hybrid on-chain/off-chain infrastructures.

Nomura invests in 'Hybrid Finance' startup Infinity

Cryptocurrency prices fell on Friday as investors weighed the latest financial woes at Silvergate Capital and assessed what a potential bankruptcy at the crypto bank could mean for the broader crypto industry.The drop came late Thursday night, hours after several crypto companies said they’d stopped accepting or initiating payments to or from Silvergate – including Coinbase, Galaxy Digital, Circle, Paxos and Bitstamp. Silvergate, which has become the go-to bank for cryptocurrency businesses, gave notice Wednesday that it won’t meet an extended deadline to file its annual report and warned it may not be able to operate for another 12 months. 

Bitcoin, ether slide on Friday as investors weigh potential fallout from Silvergate woes

The U.S. cryptocurrency firm Circle’s USD Coin lost its dollar peg and fell to a record low Saturday morning. The company revealed it has nearly 8% of its $40 billion in reserves tied up at the collapsed lender Silicon Valley Bank. USDC is designed to trade at $1, but it fell below 87 cents on Saturday, according to data from CoinDesk. In a tweet Friday, Circle said it has $3.3 billion in remaining reserves at SVB. The company called for the continuity of the bank and said it will follow guidance from regulators.

Stablecoin USDC breaks dollar peg after firm reveals it has $3.3 billion in SVB exposure

The New Jersey-based regional bank has a higher profile after a trio of recent bank collapses – and will likely face added regulatory scrutiny. Cross River Bank – a venture capital-backed, FDIC-insured regional bank in New Jersey that’s part financial institution and part fintech – has an increased profile in crypto circles thanks to the collapses of crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in under a week. 

What Is Cross River Bank, USDC Stablecoin Issuer Circle’s New Partner?

eToro recently completed a $250 million funding round at a valuation of $3.5 billion. Investors include ION Group, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Velvet Sea Ventures, and a number of existing investors. This funding stems from an Advance Investment Agreement (AIA) which eToro entered into in February 2021 as part of its proposed SPAC transaction.

eToro raises $250 million at $3.5 billion valuation

Remittance outfit Sendwave has launched a banking product for migrants in the United States. Sendwave, which is owned by London-based fintech Zepz, is offering select customers a FDIC-insured bank account with an accompanying debit card.


Sendwave launches bank account for migrants

The U.S. Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) case against Ripple, who are accused of trading securities with the question: are cryptocurrencies securities? Since then, the SEC has issued warrants against Binance and Coinbase which essentially all comes down to what the US refers to as the Howey Test.  In separate cases against crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase, it added 16 more digital assets to its list of likely securities but rather than going after them, it went after the exchanges that provide a venue for them to trade. By not registering as an exchange or broker, Coinbase is deemed in violation of such laws.

Why the SEC is chasing Coinbase, Binance, Ripple and more

On June 6th the Securities and Exchange Commission (sec) sued Coinbase, the country’s largest crypto exchange, for failing to register as a broker, exchange or clearinghouse of securities. When markets opened, Coinbase’s share price dropped by a fifth. The day before the sec had sued Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange—alleging both that it offered securities-trading services without the necessary registrations, and that it had placed customer funds in a trading outfit owned by its boss, Changpeng Zhao. Binance rejected all the allegations and said it would “vigorously defend” itself.

Regulators put the future of America’s crypto industry in doubt

Asset management giant Fidelity is close to submitting its own filing for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund, joining a long list of issuers keen to be first to market with such a product. A source familiar with the firm’s plans says that it could submit its filing as soon as Tuesday, following the lead of asset management giant BlackRock. BlackRock’s June 15 filing has been followed by other asset managers looking to launch their own spot bitcoin funds including Invesco, WisdomTree and Bitwise.



Fidelity preparing to submit spot bitcoin ETF filing: Source

A recent article was quoted as saying "that Wall Street is coming for crypto, whether early believers like it or not." Something has changed, and maybe the biggest change is that treasury managers want to use cryptocurrencies. If the customer wants it, then the big banks have to service it and there’s the rub. The big banks have stirred and incorporated digital assets, and specifically cryptocurrencies, into their remit. And then you know that cryptocurrencies are going mainstream when Standard and Poor’s (S&P) start to rate them. They don’t do that today, but they are moving that way. 

The moment you realise crypto has gone mainstream

A TD Cowen analyst views MicroStrategy as “an attractive vehicle for investors looking to gain bitcoin exposure." TD Cowen analyst Lance Vitanza, who initiated coverage on the Michael Saylor-led firm last Wednesday with an outperform rating, praised the company for its “hybrid corporate strategy.” MicroStrategy is known for converting all of its earnings from its core software intelligence business into bitcoin. This approach represents a “paradigm shift,” he wrote in a note to investors.

Bullish MicroStrategy Analysts Raise Price Targets Ahead of Q2 Earnings

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