Mar 05, 2023
Silvergate Stock Plummets as Fears of Bankruptcy Loom
Silvergate Bank Stock Plunges Following Postponed Financial Report
Silvergate Bank made headlines this week after delaying the filing of its annual 10-K financial report, causing alarm in the financial industry. Within 24 hours of the announcement, Coinbase, Circle, Bitstamp, Galaxy Digital, and Paxos all announced that they would be scaling back their individual partnerships with Silvergate. MicroStrategy and Tether also publicly denied any meaningful exposure to the bank. On March 2, Silvergate’s stock plummeted by over 50% on the NYSE.
FTX Presentation Exposes ‘Massive Shortfall’ in Assets
Cryptocurrency exchange FTX has revealed a “massive shortfall” in its digital asset and fiat currency holdings, with billions worth of customer funds missing from both the exchange and its United States-based arm, FTX US. In total, FTX recorded an $8.6 billion deficit across all wallets and accounts while FTX US recorded a deficit of $116 million. In addition, former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud along with wire and commodities fraud conspiracy.
Celsius Custody Customers Begin Withdrawals After 263 Day Freeze
For the first time in 263 days, customers of Celsius Custody have been able to withdraw funds following a freeze before its bankruptcy filing. Affected customers received an email listing those who were eligible to withdraw funds a few weeks ago, followed by another on March 2 notifying them that withdrawals were available. Customers who held funds in custody accounts — only available to U.S. residents — were able to withdraw 94% of their original funds. Customers who transferred funds from earn or borrow accounts to custody accounts can currently withdraw 72.5% of funds.
Senators Demand to See Binance’s Balance Sheets
Three United States senators led by Elizabeth Warren have sent a letter to Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder expressing concern over a number of aspects of the crypto exchange’s operations and asking the companies for their balance sheets. Senators claim the companies evaded U.S. regulators and sanctions, as well as facilitated the laundering of at least $10 billion. Binance is reportedly preparing to settle outstanding regulatory and law-enforcement issues in the U.S.
Jack Dorsey’s Decentralized Twitter Rival Enters App Store
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is making progress in the development of Bluesky, a decentralized Twitter alternative. A private beta test of the mobile application is available in the Apple App Store as an invite-only app, allowing certain persons to try out the new social media experience by creating an account via an invite code. Bluesky is built on the AT protocol, a new federated social network that integrates ideas from the latest decentralized technologies.
Crypto Market Recap
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $22,352, Ether (ETH) at $1,562 and XRP at $0.36. The total market cap is at $1.02 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Maker (MKR) at 29.45%, yearn.finance (YFI) at 21.79% and Stacks (STX) at 21.51%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are Conflux (CFX) at -20.20%, Optimism (OP) at -17.94% and Hedera (HBAR) at -16.27%.
Most Memorable Quotations
“Thanks to crypto we were able to cover some of our defenders’ immediate needs, there was literally no other way at the time.”
Alona Shevchenko, co-founder of Ukraine DAO
“Chair Gensler may have prejudged that every digital asset aside from bitcoin is a security, but his opinion is not the law.”
Jake Chervinsky, lawyer and chief policy officer at the Blockchain Association
“Our view has not changed that fiat backed digital currencies running on public blockchains have the potential to play an important role in the payments ecosystem.”
Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa
“[CBDC] is the single best step that we could take [to protect national interests] because it would crowd out the ecosystem of crypto.”
Daleep Singh, former deputy national security adviser for the White House
“Crypto investors and younger cohorts of Americans still believe that crypto is a worthwhile investment in the future that can lead to societal benefits.”
Morning Consult Survey
“As the world’s first free zone solely dedicated to digital and virtual asset companies, we look forward to supporting the ambitions of entrepreneurs from around the world.”
Sheikh Mohammed bin Humaid bin Abdullah Al Qasimi, chairman of the RAK International Corporate Centre
Prediction of the Week
Bitcoin Price Slides Amid Silvergate Uncertainty
The price of Bitcoin fell 5% in a single hour overnight into March 3, dropping to its lowest levels in over two weeks, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows, as cryptocurrency markets reacted to Silvergate Bank’s liquidity and BTC bulls failed to defend already weak support.
For some traders, the leg down for Bitcoin was already only a matter of time, as BTC price action has spent weeks trying and failing to overcome resistance above $25,000. Pseudonymous trader Credible Crypto noted in an update that the target support price lies around the $20,000 mark — a key psychological level originally reclaimed as support in January. “If they fail to, then my downside target will be met sooner rather than later,” the trader said.
FUD of the Week
Bitcoin ATM Decline: Over 400 Machines Went Off the Grid in Under 60 Days
Crypto ATMs have seen a drastic reduction this year. In the first two months of 2023, the net number of cryptocurrency ATMs installed
Disclaimer: All investment or financial opinions expressed by MoonLanding Media are not recommendations and are intended for entertainment purposes only. Do your own research prior to making any kind of investment. This article has been generated based on trending topics, has not been fact checked and may contain incorrect information. Please verify all information before relying on it.
