🏦 SILVERGATE SHARES PLUNGE 46% AS CRYPTO BANK CUTS 200 JOBS
💳 Crypto bank Silvergate Capital (SI) has cut 40% of its staff, or about 200 employees, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, news that sent its shares down 46% to $11.76.
✅ The bank has also halted its plans to launch a digital currency and has written off the $196 million related to its acquisition of the technology and assets of Diem Association from Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META). Diem, formerly called Libra, was Facebook's attempt to create a stablecoin, which is a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar or other stable asset.
💳 Crypto bank Silvergate Capital (SI) has cut 40% of its staff, or about 200 employees, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, news that sent its shares down 46% to $11.76.
✅ The bank has also halted its plans to launch a digital currency and has written off the $196 million related to its acquisition of the technology and assets of Diem Association from Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META). Diem, formerly called Libra, was Facebook's attempt to create a stablecoin, which is a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar or other stable asset.
💻 WEB3 BUILDERS LOSE DOZENS OF HIGH-VALUE NFTS IN BACK-TO-BACK ATTACKS
😳 Two prominent Web3 builders lost dozens of high-value non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to scammers over the past few days after their crypto wallets were compromised.
✅ The first victim was NFT-collector CryptoNovo, who tweeted on Tuesday that he had been hacked.
The attacker appears to have made off with a hefty haul – three CryptoPunks, a Bored Ape, a Mutant Ape, three Meebits and two CloneX NFTs.
Within 16 hours of taking over the wallet, the new owner was able to sell all ten NFTs for a total of 492.66 ETH, worth around $618,000 at the time of writing. The funds were then apparently transferred to an account on crypto exchange ChangeNOW, according to on-chain sleuth ZachXBT.
It appears that an attacker may have also taken over CryptoNovo’s Discord account in an attempt to steal more funds.
😳 Two prominent Web3 builders lost dozens of high-value non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to scammers over the past few days after their crypto wallets were compromised.
✅ The first victim was NFT-collector CryptoNovo, who tweeted on Tuesday that he had been hacked.
The attacker appears to have made off with a hefty haul – three CryptoPunks, a Bored Ape, a Mutant Ape, three Meebits and two CloneX NFTs.
Within 16 hours of taking over the wallet, the new owner was able to sell all ten NFTs for a total of 492.66 ETH, worth around $618,000 at the time of writing. The funds were then apparently transferred to an account on crypto exchange ChangeNOW, according to on-chain sleuth ZachXBT.
It appears that an attacker may have also taken over CryptoNovo’s Discord account in an attempt to steal more funds.
💲Valkyrie Investments is out with a proposal for a much larger rival product: to become the new sponsor and manager of the crypto industry’s largest fund, the Grayscale Bitcoin trust.
✅ The Nashville, Tennessee-based asset manager, which oversees roughly $180 million, on Friday announced the launch of the Valkyrie Opportunistic Fund, which seeks to take advantage of the massive discount in Grayscale Investments’ $10.5 billion product (GBTC).
The Valkyrie fund will be increasing its holdings of GBTC, allowing the company to realize “the true value of the underlying Bitcoin for our investors,” which it says is a goal it will actively pursue on their behalf, according to the company.
“We understand that Grayscale has played an important role in the development and growth of the Bitcoin ecosystem with the launch of GBTC, and we respect the team and the work that they have done,” said Steven McClurg, co-founder and CIO of Valkyrie Investments, in a letter posted on the firm’s website.
✅ The Nashville, Tennessee-based asset manager, which oversees roughly $180 million, on Friday announced the launch of the Valkyrie Opportunistic Fund, which seeks to take advantage of the massive discount in Grayscale Investments’ $10.5 billion product (GBTC).
The Valkyrie fund will be increasing its holdings of GBTC, allowing the company to realize “the true value of the underlying Bitcoin for our investors,” which it says is a goal it will actively pursue on their behalf, according to the company.
“We understand that Grayscale has played an important role in the development and growth of the Bitcoin ecosystem with the launch of GBTC, and we respect the team and the work that they have done,” said Steven McClurg, co-founder and CIO of Valkyrie Investments, in a letter posted on the firm’s website.
Bitcoin price tested the level of $21.000 🚀
On the night of Saturday, January 14, the quotes of the first cryptocurrency at the moment exceeded $21,000. Over the past day, the asset has grown by 11%, according to CoinGecko.
At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin has retraced to below $21,000.
The second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization approached the level of $1600, but then returned to $1550(+10% per day, according to CoinGecko).
Following the flagships, all assets from the top 10 moved into the green zone. Cardano (+9.7%) and Dogecoin (+9.5%) show the highest growth. The total capitalization of the cryptocurrency market has exceeded $1 trillion.
On the night of Saturday, January 14, the quotes of the first cryptocurrency at the moment exceeded $21,000. Over the past day, the asset has grown by 11%, according to CoinGecko.
At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin has retraced to below $21,000.
The second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization approached the level of $1600, but then returned to $1550(+10% per day, according to CoinGecko).
Following the flagships, all assets from the top 10 moved into the green zone. Cardano (+9.7%) and Dogecoin (+9.5%) show the highest growth. The total capitalization of the cryptocurrency market has exceeded $1 trillion.
🛑 MICROSOFT BANS CRYPTO MINING TO PROTECT ITS CLOUD SERVICE CUSTOMERS
🤕 Microsoft has banned cryptocurrency mining from its online services to protect all of its cloud customers, media reports said.
✅ Microsoft's Summary of Changes to the license states: "Updated Acceptable Use Policy to clarify that mining cryptocurrency is prohibited without prior Microsoft approval."
🤕 Microsoft has banned cryptocurrency mining from its online services to protect all of its cloud customers, media reports said.
✅ Microsoft's Summary of Changes to the license states: "Updated Acceptable Use Policy to clarify that mining cryptocurrency is prohibited without prior Microsoft approval."
🌎 G20 WANTS TO BUILD POLICY CONSENSUS ON CRYPTO ASSETS
🪙 The Group of 20 (G20) countries are striving to build a policy consensus on crypto assets to inform better global regulation, India's federal economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth said on Wednesday. India, which currently holds the G20 presidency, is hosting the group's first meeting of finance and central bank deputies on Dec. in Bengaluru.
✅ The implications of crypto assets for the economy, monetary policy and the banking sector should be studied to inform this consensus, Seth said at a news conference on the second day of the forum. "The regulation should flow from the policy view taken. In fact, one of the priorities which have been put on the table is to help countries build a consensus for a policy approach to the crypto assets," he said.
🪙 The Group of 20 (G20) countries are striving to build a policy consensus on crypto assets to inform better global regulation, India's federal economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth said on Wednesday. India, which currently holds the G20 presidency, is hosting the group's first meeting of finance and central bank deputies on Dec. in Bengaluru.
✅ The implications of crypto assets for the economy, monetary policy and the banking sector should be studied to inform this consensus, Seth said at a news conference on the second day of the forum. "The regulation should flow from the policy view taken. In fact, one of the priorities which have been put on the table is to help countries build a consensus for a policy approach to the crypto assets," he said.
Justin Sun says he's willing to spend up to $1 billion to acquire DCG assets🔥💸
Justin Sun is ready to invest up to $1 billion of his own funds in the acquisition of assets belonging to Barry Silbert's Digital Currency Group (DCG). The founder of Tron.
🗓In November 2022, DGG's OTC platform Genesis Trading froze withdrawals and new loans, and later attempted to raise $1 billion in emergency funding.
🗞 According to the Financial Times, Genesis owes more than $3 billion to creditors and is considering selling a number of portfolio investments. In particular, the company, together with the parent structure , owes about $900 million to Gemini cryptocurrency exchange clients.
The latter's co-founder Cameron Winklevoss pressed Silbert to return the assets and subsequently urged him to resign. According to the head of the exchange, DCG was misleading the public about its financial condition and solvency.
Justin Sun is ready to invest up to $1 billion of his own funds in the acquisition of assets belonging to Barry Silbert's Digital Currency Group (DCG). The founder of Tron.
🗓In November 2022, DGG's OTC platform Genesis Trading froze withdrawals and new loans, and later attempted to raise $1 billion in emergency funding.
🗞 According to the Financial Times, Genesis owes more than $3 billion to creditors and is considering selling a number of portfolio investments. In particular, the company, together with the parent structure , owes about $900 million to Gemini cryptocurrency exchange clients.
The latter's co-founder Cameron Winklevoss pressed Silbert to return the assets and subsequently urged him to resign. According to the head of the exchange, DCG was misleading the public about its financial condition and solvency.
💰 INDIA’S CENTRAL BANK HEAD CALLS FOR BLANKET BAN ON CRYPTO
💲The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a stark warning regarding the use of Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Citing the crash of FTX, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das proclaimed that these unstable instruments 'are nothing but gambling' and their perceived value is based entirely on “make-believe”.
✅ Addressing a Business Today event, Das fired repeated salvos against cryptos arguing that any asset or financial product must have some underlying value.
💲The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a stark warning regarding the use of Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Citing the crash of FTX, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das proclaimed that these unstable instruments 'are nothing but gambling' and their perceived value is based entirely on “make-believe”.
✅ Addressing a Business Today event, Das fired repeated salvos against cryptos arguing that any asset or financial product must have some underlying value.
In 2022, the volume of funds blocked in smart contracts for decentralized applications decreased by 75%, reaching $58.96 billion on December 31. The dynamics are due to problems in a number of projects, as well as a protracted correction in the digital asset market.
The largest declines in percentage terms were recorded in May-June and October-November. The first was the collapse of the Terra ecosystem (-44%), the second was the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange (-28%).
The largest declines in percentage terms were recorded in May-June and October-November. The first was the collapse of the Terra ecosystem (-44%), the second was the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange (-28%).
🌐 Ethereum network withdrew 1.8 million coins from circulation in 2022
Ethereum network burned about 1.8 million coins. At the same time, in the second quarter, the pace of the process significantly decreased against the background of falling quotes of the second largest cryptocurrency in terms of capitalization.
Since the activation of EIP-1559, the Ethereum network has withdrawn nearly 2.8 million ETH from circulation.
Ethereum network burned about 1.8 million coins. At the same time, in the second quarter, the pace of the process significantly decreased against the background of falling quotes of the second largest cryptocurrency in terms of capitalization.
Since the activation of EIP-1559, the Ethereum network has withdrawn nearly 2.8 million ETH from circulation.
The largest number of coins (~254,000 ETH) was withdrawn from circulation as part of transactions between users. OpenSea NFT marketplace and Uniswap v2 protocol took second and third place with 230,000 ETH and 145,000 ETH, respectively.
In autumn, the developers switched the blockchain to the Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm. In the period from September 2022 to January 2023, the issue of the asset increased by 3146 ETH. If the network continued to use the Proof-of-Work mechanism, the figure could exceed 1.38 million ETH.
At the end of the year, the share of cryptocurrencies blocked in smart contracts of decentralized applications reached 25.62% - during the reporting period, the value decreased by almost 4%. Over 12 months, the total amount of Ethereum held on centralized platform accounts decreased by 14.5% to ~19.3 million ETH.
In autumn, the developers switched the blockchain to the Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm. In the period from September 2022 to January 2023, the issue of the asset increased by 3146 ETH. If the network continued to use the Proof-of-Work mechanism, the figure could exceed 1.38 million ETH.
At the end of the year, the share of cryptocurrencies blocked in smart contracts of decentralized applications reached 25.62% - during the reporting period, the value decreased by almost 4%. Over 12 months, the total amount of Ethereum held on centralized platform accounts decreased by 14.5% to ~19.3 million ETH.
Bitcoin mining difficulty rises to new high ‼️🔥
📈 As a result of the next recalculation, the difficulty of mining the first cryptocurrency reached a record high of 37.59 T, adding 10.26% at once.
The indicator showed double-digit growth for the first time since October, when it moved to the previous high recorded in November.
Over a period of approximately two weeks between recalculations, the average hash rate was 269 EH/s. As a result, the interval between blocks was reduced to 9 minutes.
In January, the computing power of the network recovered after the December collapse associated with the storm that covered the United States. Due to bad weather, many local miners suspended the work of data centers to balance power grids or for the safety of personnel.
Against the background of the recovery of the price of bitcoin to levels around $ 21,000 hashpricerose to around $0.078 per TH per day. The increase in complexity has collapsed the indicator by about 10%.
📈 As a result of the next recalculation, the difficulty of mining the first cryptocurrency reached a record high of 37.59 T, adding 10.26% at once.
The indicator showed double-digit growth for the first time since October, when it moved to the previous high recorded in November.
Over a period of approximately two weeks between recalculations, the average hash rate was 269 EH/s. As a result, the interval between blocks was reduced to 9 minutes.
In January, the computing power of the network recovered after the December collapse associated with the storm that covered the United States. Due to bad weather, many local miners suspended the work of data centers to balance power grids or for the safety of personnel.
Against the background of the recovery of the price of bitcoin to levels around $ 21,000 hashpricerose to around $0.078 per TH per day. The increase in complexity has collapsed the indicator by about 10%.
📚 University of Texas to Launch Educational Bitcoin Course
🏫 In the spring of 2023, Texas A&M University will launch an educational program dedicated to Bitcoin. This was told by Professor Korok Ray, who will conduct the training.
A course called Bitcoin Protocol will be included in the educational program for students of educational institutions as part of the university - the May Business School and College Engineering.
The initiative is based on the book Programming Bitcoin by Bitcoin Core developer Jimmy Song.
According to Ray, it took months for the course to be approved. He called the program important in the long run and thanked Riot Blockchain mining company for their support.
Recall that in January 2022, the analytical service CoinGecko published the book “How to NFT” in English.
🗓 In October, 1inch and fintech company Revolut launched the Learn and Earn course for newcomers to DeFi.
🏫 In the spring of 2023, Texas A&M University will launch an educational program dedicated to Bitcoin. This was told by Professor Korok Ray, who will conduct the training.
A course called Bitcoin Protocol will be included in the educational program for students of educational institutions as part of the university - the May Business School and College Engineering.
The initiative is based on the book Programming Bitcoin by Bitcoin Core developer Jimmy Song.
According to Ray, it took months for the course to be approved. He called the program important in the long run and thanked Riot Blockchain mining company for their support.
Recall that in January 2022, the analytical service CoinGecko published the book “How to NFT” in English.
🗓 In October, 1inch and fintech company Revolut launched the Learn and Earn course for newcomers to DeFi.
⚙️ Solana RPC Endpoints Go Offline Following Bug In Latest Update
According to blockchain researcher and journalist Colin Wu, Solana’s RPC Endpoints and Mainnet explorer are offline due to a bug in its latest release.
Solana has urged users operating on the impacted nodes to change to version 1.13.
Solana Foundation-run Remote Procedure Call (RPC) endpoints are currently offline due to a bug in its latest test release, 1.14. While Solana has urged those operating on the impact nodes to change over to 1.13, the Solana Network remains unaffected, with block production taking place normally.
Journalist Colin Wu also updated Twitter followers, highlighting that the network was functioning normally despite the RPCs being offline.
💬 “Mainnet beta Explorer and Solana Foundation Public RPC endpoints are currently offline as RPC node software is upgraded, following a bug in test release 1.14. Block production has not been impacted, and the Solana network has not been impacted.”
According to blockchain researcher and journalist Colin Wu, Solana’s RPC Endpoints and Mainnet explorer are offline due to a bug in its latest release.
Solana has urged users operating on the impacted nodes to change to version 1.13.
Solana Foundation-run Remote Procedure Call (RPC) endpoints are currently offline due to a bug in its latest test release, 1.14. While Solana has urged those operating on the impact nodes to change over to 1.13, the Solana Network remains unaffected, with block production taking place normally.
Journalist Colin Wu also updated Twitter followers, highlighting that the network was functioning normally despite the RPCs being offline.
💬 “Mainnet beta Explorer and Solana Foundation Public RPC endpoints are currently offline as RPC node software is upgraded, following a bug in test release 1.14. Block production has not been impacted, and the Solana network has not been impacted.”
Twitter Expands Cryptocurrency Price Demonstration Feature
📈 Twitter developers have quietly added three dozen leading cryptocurrencies to the function that displays asset price charts.
The add-ons are an extension of the $Cashtags initiative that Twitter Business announced on December 21, 2022. When searching for a combination of the $ symbol and the ticker of a public company, index or ETF, a price chart began to appear. Initially, the function also supported the two largest cryptocurrencies - Bitcoin and Ethereum.
✅ At the time of writing, the option includes approximately 30 coins from the top 50 by capitalization. Among them: USDT, Binance USD (BUSD), Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC), Litecoin (LTC), Avalanche (AVAX) Uniswap (UNI), Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB) other.
However, a number of leading cryptocurrencies do not support the function. This applies, for example, to BNB. There are also no price widgets for Polkadot (DOT) and Tron (TRX) — both assets are in the top 20🔝.
📈 Twitter developers have quietly added three dozen leading cryptocurrencies to the function that displays asset price charts.
The add-ons are an extension of the $Cashtags initiative that Twitter Business announced on December 21, 2022. When searching for a combination of the $ symbol and the ticker of a public company, index or ETF, a price chart began to appear. Initially, the function also supported the two largest cryptocurrencies - Bitcoin and Ethereum.
✅ At the time of writing, the option includes approximately 30 coins from the top 50 by capitalization. Among them: USDT, Binance USD (BUSD), Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC), Litecoin (LTC), Avalanche (AVAX) Uniswap (UNI), Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB) other.
However, a number of leading cryptocurrencies do not support the function. This applies, for example, to BNB. There are also no price widgets for Polkadot (DOT) and Tron (TRX) — both assets are in the top 20🔝.
Iran and Russia to discuss creation of a gold-pegged stablecoin
The Central Bank of Iran is discussing with the Russian Federation the possibility of creating a joint stablecoin of the Persian region for foreign trade settlements.
The fact of negotiations was confirmed by Anton Tkachev, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications. To discuss issues at the state level, the Russian authorities will have to develop regulation of cryptocurrencies, he specified.
In 2023 the special economic zone in Astrakhan will begin to receive cargo from Iran. On the basis of this, a stablecoin pegged to gold can be launched. Settlements in dollars between countries are prohibited due to sanctions - payments are made in the national currency.
Maria Agranovskaya, Managing Partner of the Grad Bar Association, called the solution “quite a working tool, which, among other things, can solve problems associated with restrictions on SWIFT transfers .”
The Central Bank of Iran is discussing with the Russian Federation the possibility of creating a joint stablecoin of the Persian region for foreign trade settlements.
The fact of negotiations was confirmed by Anton Tkachev, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications. To discuss issues at the state level, the Russian authorities will have to develop regulation of cryptocurrencies, he specified.
In 2023 the special economic zone in Astrakhan will begin to receive cargo from Iran. On the basis of this, a stablecoin pegged to gold can be launched. Settlements in dollars between countries are prohibited due to sanctions - payments are made in the national currency.
Maria Agranovskaya, Managing Partner of the Grad Bar Association, called the solution “quite a working tool, which, among other things, can solve problems associated with restrictions on SWIFT transfers .”
💸 Binance Will Allow Institutions to Store Collateral Off the Platform
The Binance Bitcoin exchange will allow institutional investors to store collateral for leveraged positions off the platform. It is reported by CoinDesk with reference to Bloomberg.
According to the publication, the Binance Custody service will be used to store collateral on cold wallets. User assets will also protect against on-chain hacks that hot wallets are susceptible to.
🗓 In this way, the exchange aims to solve the problem of trust in centralized trading platforms caused by the crash of FTX in November 2022.
The Binance Bitcoin exchange will allow institutional investors to store collateral for leveraged positions off the platform. It is reported by CoinDesk with reference to Bloomberg.
According to the publication, the Binance Custody service will be used to store collateral on cold wallets. User assets will also protect against on-chain hacks that hot wallets are susceptible to.
🗓 In this way, the exchange aims to solve the problem of trust in centralized trading platforms caused by the crash of FTX in November 2022.