Top stories of this week
Coinbase could face SEC enforcement action for “potential securities law violations.”
Crypto exchange Coinbase received a notice from Wells of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suggesting an upcoming enforcement action. According to Coinbase, the “legal threat” could potentially target its staking program, listed digital assets, wallets, or Coinbase Prime services. The exchange’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, said the alert “comes after Coinbase submitted multiple registration proposals to the SEC over the months, to which the SEC ultimately declined to act.” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong again urged crypto users to “vote pro-crypto candidates” following development.
FTX Debtors Agree to Sell $95M of Mysten Labs Stakes
As the bankruptcy proceedings for FTX progress, the debtors of the defunct crypto exchange have agreed to an agreement aimed at selling their $95 million preferred stock to Mysten Labs, the company behind the Sui blockchain. Court approval is pending, as is the potential for other bids for the shares. In a related headline, FTX is trying to recover $460 million in allegedly embezzled client funds from venture capital firm Modulo Capital, which received a sizeable investment from Alameda Research last year. The investment was reportedly led by Sam Bankman-Fried, who is facing multiple counts of alleged fraud in federal court during his tenure as CEO.
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Do Kwon faces fraud charges from US prosecutors hours after his arrest
Just hours after his arrest in Montenegro, Do Kwon, CEO of Terraform Labs, was indicted by US prosecutors in New York on eight counts, including commodity fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud and market manipulation. According to reports, Kwon in Montenegro is also facing criminal charges for allegedly falsifying travel documents. Prosecutors in South Korea issued an arrest warrant for Kwon in September last year, followed weeks later by an Interpol red notice list. The charges against him relate to his alleged role in the collapse of the $40 billion Terra Luna Classic token and the TerraClassicUSD stablecoin in May 2022.
Mastercard to process transactions for the stablecoin wallet in APAC
Mastercard is launching a digital stablecoin wallet integration that will allow retail customers in Asia Pacific to spend U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins anywhere that accepts Mastercard. The international payments company plans to convert USDC stablecoin to fiat and settle it on its network by partnering with Australian stablecoin platform Stables. The service will initially be available to users based in Australia before expanding to Europe, the United States, the United Kingdom and most of Asia Pacific.
Celsius custodian holders can get 72.5% of their crypto, bankruptcy judge says
The judge overseeing the bankruptcy case of crypto lending firm Celsius Network has approved a settlement plan that allows custodians to recover 72.5% of their crypto assets. Owners have 30 days to review the terms. If they choose to do so, the assets will be paid back in two distributions – 36.25% upfront and 36.25% at plan termination (or at the end of the year). The defunct platform announced in February that NovaWulf Digital Management would serve as a sponsor for its restructuring plan, claiming that more than 85% of Celsius customers would get about 70% of their crypto back.
Winner and Loser
Bitcoin at the end of the week (Bitcoin) is at $27,157ether (ETH) at $1,734 And XRP at $0.41. The total market capitalization is at $1.15 Trillions, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin winners of the week are Mask Network (MASK) at 24.22% flare (FLR) at 22.23% and XRP (XRP) at 11.89%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are Arbitrum (ARB) steady at -89.76% (IMX) at -25.82% and Toncoin (TON) at -15.12%.
For more information on crypto prices, see Cointelegraph’s Market Analysis.
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Most Memorable Quotes
“What’s been happening over these months just goes to show that the bitcoiners and bitcoin maxis have been right all along.”
Paulo ArdoninoTether’s Chief Technology Officer
“It’s not about crypto versus Goldman Sachs or crypto versus institutions. It’s a race to see who is better at crypto.”
Oliver LinchBittrex CEO
“Stablecoins will play a central role in the new financial system and will be at the heart of bridging the worlds of traditional and decentralized finance.”
Daniel LiStables Chief Operating Officer
“What central bank digital currency is about is policing Americans and controlling American behavior.”
Ron DeSantisGovernor of the US state of Florida
“Bitcoin was created in response to Lehman Brothers in the 2008 crisis. It was developed because central authorities cannot be trusted.”
Pascal GauthierManaging Director of Ledger
“We are at serious risk of an entire strategic area of technology slipping from US leadership.”
Jeremy AllaireCEO of Circle
forecast of the week
Bitcoin Likely To Outperform All Crypto Assets After Banking Crisis, Analyst Says
According to Mike McGlone, Senior Commodity Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, the banking crisis could be the spark that will set off the next crypto bull run, where Bitcoin is likely to outperform all other cryptos.
According to McGlone, the US Federal Reserve’s unwillingness to ease monetary policy despite the banking crisis is driving the US economy into recession. This macro environment will ultimately favor Bitcoin, which will outperform all other cryptocurrencies.
“The more bitcoin can hold above $25k, the more the S&P 500 will possibly push below 4k, you will have an indication that bitcoin is about to take off,” McGlone pointed out. “I think Bitcoin will outperform virtually all cryptos, including Ethereum,” he concluded.
FUD of the week
US Senator Ted Cruz is trying again with a new bill to block CBDC
US Senator Ted Cruz has introduced legislation to prevent the Federal Reserve from launching a central bank digital currency “direct to consumers” because it “could be used by the federal government as a financial surveillance tool.” According to Cruz, the federal government has “no authority to unilaterally establish the digital dollar.” A similar bill was introduced by Cruz along with other senators on March 30, 2022 to prohibit the Fed from directly issuing a CBDC to individuals. Almost 12 months later, the bill has still not progressed beyond the introductory phase.
Hindenburg Research reports blocking short positions and alleging fraud alleviation and inflated ratios
A report following a two-year investigation by Hindenburg Research alleges that digital payments company Block “systematically exploited” its users by claiming the company inflated its user IDs and facilitated fraud. According to the report, Block’s practices allowed users to set up fraudulent accounts, which benefited many criminals who used the platform to steal funds. Block called the report “factually inaccurate and misleading” and said he intends to take legal action against the research firm.
European banks head for another weekend of uncertainty as default risks rise
European banks faced another weekend of renewed worries about their future when Deutsche Bank shares on the New York Stock Exchange plummeted on March 24 after a weak day in Frankfurt markets. Deutsche Bank shares were hurt by a rise in the cost of insuring against its potential default risk, with its five-year credit default swaps rising over the week to close at 222 basis points on Friday. The fear of European banks is not limited to Deutsche Bank. European stocks from Commerzbank, Société Générale and UBS also fell in European trading.
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US law enforcement agencies are heating up crypto-related crime
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Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.