THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO

  • Bitcoin ‘Battle of Leverages’ makes $20,000 key level to watch. A drop in Bitcoin below $20,000 could trigger large liquidations of leveraged positions, putting more pressure on the asset. Investors are using leverage to short these positions and force prices down in a “battle of leverages." This could trigger margin calls for firms that have borrowed against the world’s largest digital token.

  • Celsius hires restructuring lawyers after account freeze. The crypto lender hired restructuring attorneys from the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP to advise on possible solutions for its mounting financial problems. This comes after Celcius paused all withdrawals, swaps, and transfers between accounts because of extreme market volatility. The crypto market plunged after the announcement. Read more here.

  • The crypto market sinks below $1 trillion. The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 100 Index, which measures 100 of the top tokens, dropped as much as 17%. And the total market value, which topped $3 trillion in November, dropped below $1 trillion. The selloff comes as traders are boosting bets for a more aggressive pace of Fed tightening.

  • Michael Saylor denies margin call and thinks it's time to buy more bitcoin.  Saylor encouraged investors to hold onto the volatile asset over the long term, saying that “nobody’s ever lost money investing in Bitcoin for four years.” MicroStrategy also denied it received a margin call. Saylor on CNBC said the firm is “comfortable” with a fortressed balance sheet and a well-managed margin load. Read more here.

  • A new crypto fundraising start-up will take political donations in digital currencies. The new platform, titled Engage Raise, is set to launch in July and allow federal candidates to raise campaign cash solely through cryptocurrencies. Crypto executives have contributed more than $30 million toward federal candidates and campaigns since the start of the 2020 election cycle. It's becoming a powerful lobbying force in Washington.

  • Crypto exchanges slash jobs as market turmoil triggers a trading downturn. Coinbase on Tuesday announced plans to lay off nearly a fifth of its workforce, amounting to more than 1,000 people, joining rivals including Gemini, Crypto.com, and BlockFi in cutting headcount. The pullback mirrors a broader decline across global financial markets but has been more severe in the most speculative asset classes.

  • Bill Gates says NFTs and crypto are ‘Based on Greater Fool Theory.' Speaking at a TechCrunch talk on climate change on June 14, the business magnate described the asset class as 100 percent “based on the greater fool theory,” adding that he prefers to invest in assets with tangible outputs. He prefers asset classes like a farm where they have output or a company where they make products.

  • Helium gains with new token announcements. HNT, the native token of the Helium blockchain, has gained 20% today as the organization releases new information about two forthcoming cryptocurrencies. These new tokens, MOBILE and IOT, will launch later this month and in August respectively and will further the mission of Helium by further incentivizing node operators to contribute coverage to Helium's network. Read more here.

  • Uniswap Labs hires a former NYSE president to be an adviser. The company behind Uniswap, an Ethereum-based DeFi platform, said Wednesday via a Twitter thread that it has hired Stacey Cunningham to be an adviser. Cunningham most recently worked at the New York Stock Exchange, where she served as its first female president from 2018 to 2021. Cunningham joined Uniswap Labs because she believes in the potential of the decentralized exchange.

  • Crypto Fear Index hits a near-record level of 'extreme fear' for investors. While the FGI has been in the "Extreme Fear" range for weeks, today's number of 7 out of 100 is the second-worst rating since the gauge was created. The worst rating was 5 out of 100 set in August 2019. The FGI barometer updates daily based on various data feeds including crypto-asset dominance, social media chatter, trading volume, volatility, and more.

  • Binance pauses Bitcoin withdrawals due to a ‘stuck transaction'. The stuck transaction is reportedly causing backlogs. Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao said in a tweet that this is going to take a bit longer to fix than the initial estimate. This is only impacting the Bitcoin network and holders can still withdraw Bitcoin on other networks like BEP-20.

  • Three Arrows Capital is reportedly facing insolvency. The VC firm had close to 10 billion in crypto assets under management at its peak and it may now be on the brink of insolvency due to margin calls. Three Arrows Capital had raised separate funds for venture investments in web 3 companies. They are now in the process of figuring out how to repay lenders and other counterparties after it was liquidated by top-tier lending firms in the space. Source(43:08)

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