• Bitcoin has surged beyond $26,000 as interest rate expectations flip
• The shutdown of three crypto banks will hurt industry, while there has been nothing but bearish developments since the start of the year
• The decoupling from other risk assets is also unusual and has not been seen to the upside since 2021
Bitcoin has surged beyond $26,000 as interest rate expectations flip. With the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) last week and its implications for USDC, the second biggest stablecoin on the market, investors have moved to betting that the Fed is more or less done with interest rate hikes. This shift in market expectation has helped propel Bitcoin prices higher.
The shutdown of three crypto banks will hurt industry, while there has been nothing but bearish developments since the start of the year. The disruption caused by these events could cause further downward pressure on prices in coming weeks and months.
The decoupling from other risk assets is also unusual and has not been seen to this extent since 2021. This suggests that a large part of this rally may be due to speculation rather than fundamentals driving demand. This could mean that any future price rises may be short-lived unless there are significant changes in sentiment towards cryptocurrency investing overall.
While it appears that this latest surge in Bitcoin prices is largely driven by speculation, it cannot be denied that there are some fundamental factors at play as well. It remains to be seen if this rally can maintain its upward momentum or if it will be quickly reversed when investors decide that they have had enough of putting their money into cryptocurrencies without seeing any tangible returns yet.
As always with investments such as cryptocurrencies, caution should be exercised when making decisions on where to invest your money. While it might seem like an exciting prospect to get involved with a new asset class with potentially lucrative returns, it also carries a high degree of risk and should only be considered after careful research and consideration of all available options before investing any funds into cryptocurrency markets or projects.
• Web3 startup nealthy raises $1.3M in pre-seed funding round
• Funds to be used to boost NFT and crypto investing space
• Investors include web3, celebrity crypto investor ‚DonGeraldo‘
Web3 startup nealthy has secured $1.3 million in a pre-seed funding round backed by several top investors across the investment space. Prominent Web3 investors who backed it include celebrity crypto investor ‚DonGeraldo.‘ The Dubai incorporated platform will use the capital injection to grow its team, hire new talent and seek greater adoption.
nealthy provides diversified exposure to NFTs and cryptocurrency investing via index tokens, which are investment assets that replicate traditional exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Investors can leverage the index tokens to invest across the Web3 space – easily and quickly – as the product allows for on-chain storage of digital assets, with the portfolio seamlessly diversified in the event of sudden market shifts. An example of an index token is nealthy’s $NFTS, which like other offerings, has value that is pegged nearly 1:1 to given blue-chip NFTs.
Ludwig Schroedl, CEO of nealthy noted in a statement that interest in diversification within the crypto sector is rising, especially with the massive growth witnessed in the NFT trading markets. He added that „A blue-chip index token, like $NFTS, can provide superior investment opportunities at a reduced level of risk.“
nealthy is looking to expand its reach with the release of multiple products targeting different asset classes such as decentralized finance (DeFi), nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies generally. These products will enable users to create portfolios according to their own risk appetite and goals more easily than ever before.
nealthy’s pre-seed funding round demonstrates just how much potential there is for investors looking for diversification options within both cryptocurrency and nonfungible token markets. With its experienced team and innovative range of products tailored for different investor types, neALTHY looks set to make a big impact on Web 3 investing going forward.
• Visa and Mastercard have reportedly paused their crypto-related products, citing uncertain market and regulatory conditions.
• The payment giants are however still focusing on blockchain technology, sources said.
• Both companies have struck numerous partnerships with projects and services across the digital assets space.
Visa and Mastercard, two of the world’s leading payment card companies, have reportedly put brakes on their respective crypto-related products due to recent turmoil in crypto markets as well as a fresh regulatory cloud that currently hangs over the broader sector. Sources say that both companies are pausing new partnerships until these conditions change but will continue to focus on blockchain technology.
Over the past two years, increased adoption of cryptocurrencies in the payments sector has seen Visa and Mastercard take an aggressive approach towards integrating crypto into their services. The US-based companies have indeed struck numerous partnerships with projects and services across the digital assets space including Crypto.com, Nexo, and most recently Wirex. However, due to current market uncertainty they are now pushing back on plans for new partnerships until further notice.
Despite this setback, both Visa and Mastercard are not scrapping their crypto strategies just yet according to sources. Instead they will continue to focus on exploring blockchain technology which could offer solutions for payments processing in the future. A spokesperson for Mastercard commented that this is where their focus lies at present irrespective of any other circumstances surrounding cryptocurrency assets.
The uncertain regulatory landscape is one of the main factors causing Visa and Mastercard to pause plans for new crypto product partnerships for now according to sources close to developments at both companies. It remains unclear when or if certain regulations may be relaxed or changed which would pave way for further integration of cryptocurrency into mainstream payments systems such as those offered by Visa or Mastercard but they remain hopeful that these changes may come soon enough so that they can resume work on these initiatives once again in future.
It appears that although Visa and Mastercard have hit pause on some of their plans regarding integration of cryptocurrency into payments systems at present due to uncertain market conditions, they still remain focused on exploring potential applications of blockchain technology which could enhance existing methods in this space going forward – a sentiment echoed by a spokesperson from one company who noted that this is where their focus currently lies regardless of the circumstances surrounding cryptocurrency assets right now.
• The Web3 Domain Alliance announced 52 new members, including Blockchain.com, Rarible, Wyre, Bitdegree, WazirX and Klever.
• Unstoppable Domains has committed to not assert its patents necessary to adopt the Alliance’s interoperability and security standards against other members.
• The Alliance will engage on topics such as consumer protection, preventing naming collisions and more to foster innovation and a safe environment in the Web3 domain industry.
The Web3 Domain Alliance is a member-led coalition with the goal of improving the technological and public policy environments for users of Web3 naming services. The Alliance recently announced 52 new members from across various projects, systems and companies in the blockchain space such as Blockchain.com, Rarible, Wyre, Bitdegree, WazirX and Klever.
As part of this commitment to support the ongoing development of digital identity technology in Web3, Unstoppable Domains has agreed not to assert against Alliance members its patents that are necessary to adopt the Alliance’s interoperability and security standards. Unstoppable was recently awarded a patent around resolving blockchain domains and aims to support innovation across the Web3 industry through its IP investments.
Members of the Web3 Domain Alliance will engage on topics including consumer protection, interoperability of blockchain naming systems, fair and open use of intellectual property in the industry, preventing naming collisions and more in order to create an environment for people which is safe for them to use these services without any hassle or fear of getting scammed or defrauded. As an example of this commitment to safety from name collisions Metascan recently deprecated their NFT top-level domain joining the alliance shortly afterwords recognizing their importance within this field.
Sandy Carter SVP & Channel Chief at Unstoppable stated that they were honored to work alongside their co-members unlocking potential within this space together; demonstrating their commitment towards working with other organizations within this field rather than competing against each other for dominance within it..
Overall it is clear that there is a strong desire among those active within this space towards creating a safer environment where users have access too all they need while being protected from potential threats that could harm them or put them at risk financially or otherwise when using these services; something which organizations like Unstoppable hope can be accomplished by working collaboratively rather than competitively with each other towards achieving such objectives without infringing upon each others rights or products/services offered as part of their respective business models
• Wirex has announced a long-term service agreement with Visa, making them a global partner.
• This will allow Wirex to expand its crypto card services to more countries around the world including the UK and APAC markets.
• Customers of Wirex can use their cryptocurrency assets to make payments at about 80 million locations where Visa is accepted around the world.
Wirex, a London-based digital payment company, has announced that it has reached a long-term service agreement with Visa. This move is an important milestone for Wirex because it will allow them to reach customers in more than 40 countries around the world through their crypto card services. The core objective of this partnership is to introduce more crypto-linked payment methods for more markets worldwide.
The agreement allows Wirex to expand its crypto card services to more countries around the world, including UK and APAC markets. Mat Wood, the head of digital partnerships at Visa in the Asia Pacific region said: “We’re excited that Wirex is expanding their focus on Asia Pacific, making it easy and seamless for people to spend their crypto balance at the millions of merchants that accept Visa in the region.“
Wirex customers will be able to use their cryptocurrency assets to make payments at about 80 million locations where Visa is accepted around the world. Not only that but they will also receive 8% cashback instantly when they make such payments through this partnership with Visa.
In 2022, Wirex raised $15 million in its Series B funding round which was led by SBI Group and others who are part of Japan’s financial sector as well as other strategic investors from Europe and Asia Pacific regions.
After signing this global partnership agreement with Visa, WireX now has its eyes set on finalizing another card partnership related to Australia within the next coming weeks which shows how serious they are about expanding their services further into new international markets.
• Alameda Research, a crypto trading firm linked to Sam Bankman-Fried, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November.
• Wallets linked to the firm suddenly resurrected and transferred millions of FTT tokens on February 7.
• Two wallets were involved in this transaction: one transferring $2 million worth of FTT from SushiSwap and the other opening a loan position on Abracadabra.
In November 2020, Alameda Research, a crypto trading firm connected to Sam Bankman-Fried, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The filing included FTX and other affiliated firms.
On February 7th 2021, wallets linked to Alameda Research came back to life and transferred millions of FTT tokens (the native FTX token). Two wallets were involved in this transaction: „brokenfish.eth“ which transferred $2 million worth of FTT from SushiSwap; and „Alameda Research 4“ which bought more than 1 million FTT tokens worth about $2.3 million and opened a loan position on Abracadabra mortgaging 73,000 FTT tokens and $31,000 cash.
This is not the first time that Alameda wallets have seen activity post the FTX bankruptcy filing. Immediately after Sam Bankman filed for bail earlier in February 2nd 2021, Blockchain security firm PeckShield alerted that „Alameda Consolidation“ had received $13 million worth of crypto assets from three different wallets. Arkham Intelligence also revealed that Alameda Research withdrew $204M ahead of its bankruptcy filing.
The activity from these wallets has caused some concern within the crypto community due to its unprecedented nature as well as its potential implications for investors’ funds tied up with the bankrupt company’s assets.
It remains unclear what will happen with these funds or how it could affect those who had their money invested with Alameda Research before it declared bankruptcy. It is important to keep an eye on developments regarding this situation so that investors can be informed about any new developments or outcomes related to these wallet transfers or their associated funds moving forward.
• Celsius Network has published a list of those eligible to withdraw funds from their platform after Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• Creditors will be required to update their accounts with KYC and AML data before proceeding with withdrawals.
• Eligible creditors will only be able to withdraw 94% of their eligible custody assets, with the court deciding on the remaining 6%.
Celsius Network, a crypto lender, has recently released an official update regarding the upcoming withdrawals of funds from their platform after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2022. After US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District allowed the company to return funds transferred to the platform, Celsius has now published a list of those eligible for withdrawals.
In June 2022, Celsius Network halted withdrawals from their platform before proceeding to file for bankruptcy in July. Since then, creditors have been awaiting a chance to withdraw their funds from the platform and it appears to be just a matter of time now. The crypto lender has emphasized that eligible creditors will be required to first update their accounts with KYC and AML data before being allowed to proceed with withdrawals.
The list of those eligible to withdraw funds includes creditors who had deposited funds after the company filed for bankruptcy. Most importantly, those eligible will only be able to withdraw approximately 94% of their eligible custody assets. The court is expected to make a decision on the remaining 6% of assets, with the possibility of creditors being able to withdraw those as well.
Celsius Network has been working hard to ensure that creditors who lost funds due to the bankruptcy process receive their funds back in a timely manner. The court has granted them permission to process certain customer withdrawals and the company has now published the list of those eligible. It is important to note that creditors will be required to update their accounts with KYC and AML data before being allowed to proceed with withdrawals.
The list of those eligible to withdraw funds from Celsius Network includes creditors who had deposited funds after the company filed for bankruptcy. Those eligible will be able to withdraw 94% of their eligible custody assets, with the court deciding on whether the remaining 6% can be withdrawn as well. The crypto lender has been working hard to ensure that creditors who lost funds due to the bankruptcy process receive their funds back in a timely manner.
• This article discusses the benefits of using a mobile app for managing a small business.
• It outlines the features such as invoicing, tracking expenses, and creating financial reports that can make running a business more efficient.
• The article also highlights the potential risks associated with using a mobile app, such as security concerns, and suggests ways to mitigate these risks.
Mobile apps have become an integral part of managing a small business. They can provide a range of features that make running a business more efficient, from invoicing and tracking expenses to creating financial reports. With a mobile app, entrepreneurs can manage their business on the go and keep their finger on the pulse of their operations. But using a mobile app also comes with certain risks.
The benefits of using a mobile app for small businesses are numerous. First, mobile apps make it easier to manage finances. With a few taps of the screen, entrepreneurs can access an array of features that make it easy to invoice customers, track expenses, and create financial reports. This can save time and money, as there’s no need to manually track this information. Plus, a mobile app can help entrepreneurs stay organized and on top of their day-to-day operations.
In addition to providing convenience, a mobile app can also help entrepreneurs save money. By automating routine tasks, such as invoicing and tracking expenses, entrepreneurs can reduce their overhead costs. This can free up funds that can be used to invest in other areas of the business.
However, there are also risks associated with using a mobile app for small businesses. Security is a major concern, as any breach of information can have serious implications for a business. To mitigate this risk, entrepreneurs should make sure to use a secure app and keep their information up to date. Additionally, entrepreneurs should be sure to use only trusted app providers to ensure the safety of their data.
Overall, a mobile app can be a great tool for entrepreneurs looking to manage their small business more efficiently. It can simplify routine tasks, such as invoicing and tracking expenses, and save money in the process. But it’s important to understand the risks associated with using a mobile app and take steps to protect your information. With the right precautions, a mobile app can be a powerful tool to help entrepreneurs reach their business goals.
• Floki has struck a strategic partnership with crypto payments provider Binance Pay.
• Binance Pay will provide crypto payments for Floki Shop, a newly launched Floki merchandise store.
• Customers can now buy items from the merch store using funds in the Binance Pay account.
Floki, the people’s cryptocurrency, has partnered with crypto payments provider Binance Pay in a strategic move to boost adoption of the recently launched Floki Shop. The Floki Shop is a merchandise store where customers can buy unique items, including fashion pieces.
The partnership between Floki and Binance Pay was announced on Tuesday, with both parties revealing the strategic collaboration via a Medium post and Twitter. Binance Pay is a payments feature in the Binance ecosystem, and it will become Floki’s main crypto payments provider, allowing customers to buy items from the merch store using funds in the Binance Pay account.
Speaking about the partnership, Floki Inu CEO and Co-Founder, Benson Toti, said: “We are delighted to partner with Binance Pay as our main crypto payments provider for Floki Shop. This partnership will enable us to provide customers with a fast, secure and convenient payment method when buying items from our store. Binance Pay is well-known for its secure and reliable payments infrastructure, and we look forward to continuing to work with them to drive the adoption of crypto payments.”
The Floki Shop is now live and taking orders, with customers able to purchase items with either crypto or fiat currencies. The store offers a wide range of items, including apparel, accessories, and collectibles. All purchases come with Floki rewards, giving customers the opportunity to earn additional FLOKI tokens.
Binance Pay CEO, Changpeng Zhao, also commented on the partnership, saying: “We are excited to provide Floki Shop customers with a secure and reliable payment method. This partnership is another testament to our commitment to driving the adoption of crypto payments. We look forward to working with the Floki team to further expand the reach of their store.”
The partnership between Floki and Binance Pay is a key move in the cryptocurrency platform’s plans to expand its influence and reach. The strategic collaboration will enable customers to easily and quickly purchase items from the Floki Shop, giving the platform a competitive advantage in the digital assets payments space.
• Tom Brady and Robert Kraft held significant stakes in Sam Bankman-Fried’s business, FTX Group.
• Brady and Kraft are unlikely to recover their losses due to the collapse of the platform.
• Brady and Bunchen both held 1.1 million and 680,000 common shares, respectively.
The recent collapse of crypto trading platform FTX Group has left some of the most famous people in US sports and other investors, such as Paul Tudor Jones and Peter Thiele, holding the bag. Star NFL quarterback Tom Brady and New England Patriots owner and billionaire Robert Kraft are among those facing the consequences of the collapse.
It wasn’t clear how Brady was paid in shares of the company, but regardless, he is an FTX creditor according to court documents. Su Keenan of Bloomberg Television reported that the star quarterback, who is currently playing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, joins the club of those unlikely to get their money back. FTX was even among the crypto companies that bought an advertising slot during the Super Bowl, making the situation even more disappointing.
Keenan also reported that Kraft owns significant shares in several FTX-related entities. Brady is said to own more than 1.1 million common shares of FTX Trading, while his ex-wife Gisele Bunchen holds 680,000 shares. The new FTX CEO, John J. Ray III, stated that no one is likely to recover their losses due to the collapse.
The news of the collapse serves as a stark reminder of the volatility of the cryptocurrency markets and underscores the importance of making educated investment decisions. Those who were affected by the collapse of FTX Group are certainly feeling the pinch, and it remains to be seen if they can recoup their losses.