#1 Source For Bitcoin And Altcoin News
The Federal Reserve balance sheet increased by $ 300 billion in one week, leading to debate about whether these actions qualify as quantitative easing.
The article below is an excerpt from a recent edition of Bitcoin Magazine PRO, Bitcoin Magazine’s premium markets newsletter. To be among the first to receive these insights and other on-chain bitcoin market analysis straight to your inbox, subscribe now.
Stablecoins have become an integral part of the multiple developments and improvements that are ongoing in the crypto sphere and cryptocurrency networks are not the only systems executing new developments in the digital currency space.
Some banks are also recording new improvements in their operations. A recent scenario is the National Australia Bank, stating the successful completion of a first-ever stablecoin transaction using the Australian stablecoin, AUDN.
According to the report, the stablecoin transaction occurred on the Ethereum blockchain. The pilot’s success resulted from a combined effort from the bank and its partners, Fireblocks and Blockfold. Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade cryptocurrency platform, while Blockfold is an expert in service consultancy that commits to tokenization.
We may be heading into another financial crisis, government bailouts for reckless banks included. Bitcoin exists to fix this.
This is an opinion editorial by Julian Liniger, the co-founder and CEO of Relai, a bitcoin-only investment app.
At its core, Bitcoin is a transaction database. Every 10 minutes, a new collection of such transactions, called a block, is queued up on Bitcoin, immutable for all eternity. Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious mastermind behind the first and most popular cryptocurrency, created that first transaction block themself. But Bitcoin is also a political project — at least, the idea behind it was and always will be political. Nakamoto inserted a message into the code that still forms the start of the decentralized Bitcoin database: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”
The New Jersey-based regional bank has an increased profile after the trio of recent bank collapses – and will likely face added regulatory scrutiny.
CoinDesk: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Crypto News and Price Data
After being shut down by U.S. regulators on Sunday, crypto-friendly Signature Bank director and former Congressman Barney Frank claimed they had “no indication of problems.” They suggested the bank’s closure was a “strong anti-crypto message” from regulators.
Following the Signature director’s comments, the Department of Financial Services (DFS) claimed that the bank’s resolution “had nothing to do with crypto,” according to a report by Fortune Magazine. A Spokesperson for the Department of Financial Services told Fortune:
The decision to take possession of the bank and hand it over to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) was based on the current status of the bank and its ability to do business in a safe and sound manner on Monday
Signature Bank, another major crypto-friendly institution, was shut down by regulators on Sunday. The New York financial institution, with a large lending business in the crypto industry, was caught in the “crossfire” of regulators to prevent the spreading banking crisis.
Yesterday, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) stated that keeping the bank open could “threaten the stability of the entire financial system.” Similar to what was done to ensure depositors at the failed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), regulators stated that the crypto-friendly Signature Bank would have full access to their deposits. The Fed said:
Marathon terminated a credit facility with Silvergate last week.
CoinDesk: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Crypto News and Price Data
HSBC UK, the ring-fenced subsidiary of HSBC, has acquired Silicon Valley Bank UK for £1 ($ 1.21), according to a latest filing.
In a statement from the Treasury, it said the Bank of England oversaw the transaction with consultation from the UK Treasury to safeguard the deposits of Silicon Valley Bank UK customers.
According to the filing, as of March 10, Silicon Valley Bank UK held loans totaling approximately $ 6.6 billion and deposits of roughly $ 8.1 billion.
A joint statement ensured that all customer deposits at the respective banks will be honored by the federal government.
The U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced on Sunday that they would take “decisive actions” to strengthen public confidence in the U.S. banking system. This decision came after the FDIC and Federal Reserve recommended Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank be placed under systemic risk exceptions. The move would allow the FDIC to resolve Silicon Valley Bank, based out of Santa Clara, California, in a manner that “fully protects” depositors’ money and ensures their access to credit. The same would apply to Signature Bank, based out of New York, New York, which was closed today by its state chartering authority.
The financial sector has endured a few chaotic days. In particular, for USDC stablecoin and Silicon Valley Bank and its stakeholders, since the lender swung from being presumed robust and profitable to being shut down by authorities in less than 48 hours.
Now, a lifebuoy has just been tossed to save the drowning bank and others sinking deep into trouble.
The U.S. government and financial regulators have announced that individuals having assets deposited at the troubled Silicon Valley Bank will have access to their funds.
There might be some hope for Silicon Valley Bank to spring back to life.
Twitter and Tesla big boss Elon Musk hinted at the possibility of the social media behemoth purchasing the beleaguered Silicon Valley Bank.
“I think Twitter should buy SVB and become a digital bank,” tweeted Min-Liang Tan in the face of the ongoing chaos. Tan is cofounder and CEO of Razer, a company that sells gaming computers.
Elon Musk responded to Tan’s tweet by stating:
“I’m open to the idea.”
On Friday, US regulators announced the closure of Silicon Valley Bank and seized all of the institution’s assets.
Stablecoin issuer Circle disclosed late Friday that around $ 3.3 billion of its $ 40 billion USDC reserves remained at Silicon Valley Bank. This comes after the high-tech lender’s share price dropped precipitously in response to a run on deposits by nervous consumers.
Silicon Valley Bank crumbled on Friday morning, sending shockwaves through the cryptocurrency and global markets, 48 hours after a capital crisis triggered the second-largest collapse of a US financial institution in history.
With a total supply of $ 43.5 billion, all of which is backed by government bonds and cash equivalents, USDC is the second largest stablecoin in circulation.
The cryptocurrency market has seen a decline in the value of Dogecoin (DOGE) as massive amounts of fear, uncertainty, and doubt swept across the market after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on Friday morning as a result of a bank run and a capital crisis precipitated the second-largest failure of a financial institution in the history of the United States.
The collapse of crypto-friendly bank, Silvergate, has also triggered market sell-offs with the market cap of top meme tokens down by nearly 11% in the 24-hour period. The trading volume of DOGE has surged by almost 30%, indicating an impending intense market sell-off.
Once a major banking partner for various cryptocurrency firms, Silvergate will end its operations in line with regulatory requirements.
In a press release shared on Wednesday, Silvergate Capital Corporation, the holding company for Silvergate Bank, announced the immediate winding down of the bank’s operations along with voluntary liquidation of the bank.
“In light of recent industry and regulatory developments, Silvergate believes that an orderly wind down of Bank operations and a voluntary liquidation of the Bank is the best path forward,” the press release states. The wind down process will include full repayment of all deposits.
Per several reports, crypto-friendly bank Silvergate will liquidate the financial institution and reduce its operations. The bank faced issues following the collapse of one of its major partners, crypto exchange FTX.
Today’s announcement seems like an unavoidable step after weeks of speculations and concerns from investors about Silvergate’s capacity to continue operating. As Bitcoinist reported, the bank’s shares suffered from a massive downtrend as the company reported a decline in liquidity and delayed its annual report.
According to a Bloomberg report, Silvergate confirmed it would wind down operations due to recent events. The company issued the following statement:
Xapo Bank announced it has integrated the Lightning Network and formed a partnership with Lightspark. This collaboration will make the organization the first private bank to accept Lightning payments with a complete license.
According to a press release, Xapo Bank users can now pay instantly for minor purchases up to $ 100 at any vendor accepting Lightning payments, without incurring exorbitant transaction fees or lengthy blockchain confirmation wait times.
Xapo intends for the integration to bridge the gap between traditional finance and cryptocurrency. The platform currently offers a yearly interest rate of 4.1% on U.S. dollars in accounts with a deposit guarantee of $ 100,000, and will eventually offer up to 1% on Bitcoin.
Xapo is partnering with Lightspark to allow its customers to send bitcoin near-instantaneously to any vendor who accepts BTC over Lightning.
Gibraltar-licensed private bank Xapo Bank has partnered with Lightspark, the startup spearheaded by former Facebook crypto lead David Marcus, to integrate the Lightning Network and enable near-instant bitcoin payments for its customers.
Xapo Bank members can now make small purchases of up to $ 100 USD at any vendor that accepts Lightning payments, without high transaction fees and long blockchain confirmation waiting times. This integration will make Xapo Bank the first fully licensed private bank to offer Lightning payments.
Bitcoin is a lot of things to many people — digital gold, a speculative investment, a tech experiment, a decentralized replacement for fiat money, etc.
But being compared to a central bank is likely the last thing the cryptocurrency’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto expected their creation to be compared to. However, that’s what Strike CEO Jack Mallers says in a new Twitter thread. Is he right?
Jack Mallers is the CEO of Chicago-based BTC payment provider Strike and played a crucial role in bringing Bitcoin broadly to El Salvador. In a new Twitter thread, he compares the top cryptocurrency to a central bank — more specifically, the “central banking system of the internet.”
Singapore-based bank DBS plans to apply for a license to help offer crypto trading services in Hong Kong. In recent times, Hong Kong has been embracing the crypto industry, which is why significant banks such as DBS have been planning on penetrating the market to offer other kinds of crypto services.
Hong Kong has been working on the regulatory framework that would govern the industry for some time. According to officials, the Hong Kong government has completed its work on the matter, and regulations will be implemented later this year.
DBS Bank Hong Kong CEO, Sebastian Paredes, has mentioned:
In recent months, initiatives surrounding central bank digital currencies, (CBDC) have gained traction as banking authorities attempt to streamline cross-border transactions and stimulate innovation in the payments industry.
Regulators in Asia, Europe, and South America are becoming more interested in implementing virtual currencies issued by their respective governments.
In the Gulf area, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates is looking to launch a digital currency for both domestic and international use.
The issuance of a digital version of the Emirates’ national currency, , is part of the program’s initial phase of financial infrastructure transformation (FIT). The central bank has in the pipeline nine initiatives for its CBDC.
