Two U.S. lawmakers have recently sent a letter to several U.S. banking agencies, arguing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) crypto accounting policy that came into force in 2022. In the letter, U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry and Sen. Cynthia Lummis pointed out that the regulator's accounting guidelines put crypto customers at higher risk because they would make regulated banks avoid crypto customers. More: - The letter's recipients include the Federal Reserve (Fed), the U.S. central banking system.
- The SEC's guidelines, Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, ask financial institutions to keep customers' crypto holdings on their own balance sheets.
- The letter claims that the policy could prevent customers from accessing safe and secure crypto custody services.
- The undesired opposite effect is explained by the guidelines' possibility to force regulated banks to reject offering these services since they have major capital requirements.
- The Republican lawmakers' letter also asks the banking agencies how they deal with the SEC's policy and whether it conflicts with their own policies.
Zoom Out: - McHenry also serves the government as the House Financial Services Committee chairman.
- Last year, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that the central bank was assessing the SEC's new digital asset custody policy.
| |
In a public presentation released on March 2, the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX revealed that $8.9B of customer funds are missing. It's the first time the crypto exchange disclosed a figure related to the fund deficiency since the bankruptcy in November 2022. More: - The presentation has shown that FTX seized control of around $2.7B in customer assets as opposed to the $11.6B of unpaid balance in customer accounts.
- $1.5B of those $2.7B assets involves illiquid crypto assets, including FTX’s native token, FTT.
- The $8.9B gap was mainly attributed to FTX’s sister company, Alameda Research, which borrowed around $9.3B from customer accounts.
- Alameda Research had only around $475M in cash in its accounts as of Jan. 31.
- John J. Ray III, chief restructuring officer of the FTX debtors, underlined that these figures are still preliminary and subject to change since FTX’s books and records are incomplete or, in some cases, totally absent.
| |
 A message from ROLLWORKS We want it all, and we want it now—Leads that is! With pressure on the rise to prove value AND generate results fast, marketers can no longer rely on just quantity. While the goal remains to maximize the volume of leads, the bigger focus now is on the quality of leads (your best-fit accounts!) Quality leads are best-fit accounts for your business that are ready to buy based on high fit scores, levels of intent, spikes in engagement, data, and more! Trust us, we know this shift in focus can make it hard to get leadership on board (let alone your marketing team), so we’ve created this guide to help cover the balancing act of moving from quantity to quality in 4 easy steps! Get the guide
| |
NFT trading volumes surpassed $2.04B in February, reaching the highest levels since the Terra ecosystem's collapse in May 2022 triggered the crypto winter, according to a recent report from Web3 data platform DappRadar. The report mainly attributed the surge in the trading volume to the increasing popularity of the new zero-fee NFT marketplace, Blur. More: - NFT trading saw a monthly 117% increase in February, up from $941M.
- On the flip side, NFT sales declined nearly 32% compared to the previous month.
- Trading volume refers to the amount of cryptocurrencies exchanged during the sales, while the NFT sales account for the number of NFTs traded.
- DappRadar's report explained the contrast between the trading volumes and sales with Blur's focus on professional traders consisting of a small number of whales instead of retail traders, who are the target of OpenSea.
- Loyal fans of Yuga Labs, the firm behind popular NFT collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks, were another catalyst for the huge increase in trading volumes.
- The firm's NFT collections alone made up 30% of NFT trading volume on the Ethereum network in February.
Zoom Out: - Blur launched in October 2022 as an NFT marketplace that aims at NFT traders who want to make large-scale purchases with zero fees and would not bring adoption.
- The platform surpassed OpenSea, one of the most popular NFT marketplaces, in trading volume last month by reaching $1.13B, nearly all of the entire NFT market's monthly gains.
- Most of this volume was generated by Blur's incentives scheme that encouraged users to do transactions on the platform before the launch of its native token, BLUR, in February to qualify for receiving the token.
| |
Popular crypto exchange Coinbase announced that it has acquired digital asset management firm One River. Coinbase hopes to bring more institutional capital to the crypto market, expand its business beyond retail customers, and build a successful asset management business for corporate clients amid the crypto winter through this acquisition. More: - The financial details of the deal have yet to be disclosed.
- The acquisition is also expected to create the foundation of Coinbase's investment advisory services for institutional clients.
- One River Digital Asset Management (ORDAM) will be rebranded as Coinbase Asset Management as part of the deal.
- The firm will also operate as a fully-owned division of Coinbase.
- The CEO of One River Asset Management, Eric Peters, will carry out the CEO position both in ORDAM's parent company and Coinbase Asset Management.
- In an official statement, Coinbase said it shares the same moral sentiment based on prudent risk management with ORDAM.
Zoom Out: - ORDAM, founded in 2020, manages the digital assets of institutional customers by offering investment products and services.
- Coinbase was already among the investors of ORDAM, along with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Liberty Mutual Group Inc.
- In February 2022, Coinbase and ORDAM also partnered to roll out an institutional platform for Coinbase Prime users.
| |
Leading cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have decreased by nearly 5% in value within 24 hours amid the rising concerns around Silvergate Bank and, hence, the crypto market. BTC fell from $23,500 to the $22,000 level with an almost 4.5% decline, the lowest value in two weeks. More: - A similar decrease was also seen in ETH, with a nearly 4.6% drop in 24 hours.
- Other altcoins suffering a parallel loss include Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), Polkadot (DOT), Avalanche (AVAX), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Litecoin (LTC).
- The market cap of all cryptocurrencies also fell by roughly $48B, retreating to $1.077T.
Zoom Out: - Silvergate Bank recently notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it would fail to file its annual 10-K report for the 2022 fiscal year on time and asked for another two weeks to complete it.
- The U.S.-based crypto-focused bank also warned that it might not survive another 12 months since it might be less than well-capitalized.
- Following the notice, many crypto-related firms, including Coinbase, Crypto.com, Kraken, Circle, Paxos, Bitstamp, Galaxy Digital, and LedgerX, cut ties with Silvergate Bank.
| |
Payment processing giant Mastercard has partnered with Latin American crypto exchange Bitso to launch a debit card in Mexico. The card will allow users to pay with the Mexican Peso from the digital assets in their Bitso wallets in the stores included in Mastercard's network. More: - The move aims to increase adoption by bringing crypto to daily life in the region.
- The debit card was brought into the use of over 100,000 customers who had demanded it in Mexico.
- The duo already piloted the card with a group of customers in November to get feedback.
- Bitso also carries its business in Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia.
- The Latin American exchange has over 6 million users and 1,500 corporate customers.
Zoom Out: - Mastercard also has partnerships with Binance, Belo, and Buenbit in Latin America.
- Reuters recently reported that Visa and Mastercard put aside their plans toward the crypto industry and halted new partnerships with crypto firms due to the market downturn based on the information from sources familiar with the issue.
- However, both payment giants denied the claims, saying their plans for the crypto market continue despite the crypto winter.
| |
Quick Hits: - Get Gusto, the #1 payroll software according to PCMag. Set up your free account and get 25% off for the first 6 months when you run payroll by May 31, 2023. Terms apply.*
- A recent survey co-hosted by Ripple has shown that 97% of payment firms believe in crypto's power in enabling faster payments over the next three years.
- Crypto wallet provider Giddy announced that its users can now pay for gas using USDC stablecoin or the GIDDY token on the Polygon blockchain beside the network's native token MATIC.
- Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius' custody customers were able to withdraw their funds from the firm 263 days after the withdrawals were frozen.
- Don't waste weeks or months on the typical hiring process. Hire carefully vetted talent on demand with Toptal. Start your no-risk trial today.*
*This is a sponsored post.
| |
Upcoming events at Inside: - March 07 - Inside Startups Coffee Break (Register Here)
- March 09 - Inside Marketing w/ Jen Bryan (Velocity Growth) (Register Here)
- March 09 - Webinar on how Jiminny leverages AI for conversation intelligence (Register Here) *
- April 18 - Human Resources Summit'23 (Register Here)
*This is a sponsored listing.
| |
 |  | Doga is a tech and science editor who has been writing news for nearly 10 years. She worked for leading tech platforms and mainstrem media channels as an editor and presenter throughout his career. Then, she carried her know-how to more than one platform. She is a part-time cat lover and binge-watcher, and also fond of science, space, and emerging tech. She always has a story to tell. She is a bit addict to the laughter and -unfortunately- the '90s culture. |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
Find out here how to Shrink Time to Revenue in 4 Steps. | |
Comments
Post a Comment