- Founder of EOS Developer Block.One Buys 9.3% of Crypto Bank Silvergate
Brendan Blumer, the founder and CEO of EOS developer Block.One, has bought 9.3% of crypto bank Silvergate Capital (SI), while Block.One bought an additional 7.5%, according to Securities and Exchange Commission documents filed on Wednesday. According to the filings, Blumer bought 2,934,537 shares of the crypto bank on Nov. 16 while Block.One bought 2,363,186 shares.
The purchase makes Blumer the largest shareholder of Silvergate, according to the latest statistics from FactSet.
Block.one is a private blockchain company founded by Brenden Blumer and Dan Larimer in 2017. It is best known for developing the EOS.IO protocol, which the company announced in 2017 and subsequently released as open-source software in 2018.
- NYC Mayor Undeterred by FTX Collapse — Insists Crypto Is an Industry ‘We Must Embrace’
New York City Mayor Eric Adams answered some questions about how the meltdown of crypto exchange FTX affects his crypto stance Tuesday at the Manhattan Family Justice Center. Adams is a big supporter of bitcoin and crypto. He converted some of his paychecks into BTC and ETH earlier this year “to send a message that New York City is open to technology.”
The mayor was asked if he has any regrets about supporting bitcoin and whether New York City should continue to promote the crypto industry.
“Well, first I believe in technology — the whole thought of using crypto, blockchain currency, you call it cyber wallets,” he replied, elaborating:
We need to move into this space. This space is coming whether we like it or not.
- Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin Jump on Release of Fed Minutes
Bitcoin jumped slightly on the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its November meeting, the captured discussion suggesting that the central bank may make smaller interest rate increases going forward.
The stock market similarly ticked up as traders digested the news.
The biggest cryptocurrency by market cap was trading for $16,498 at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko—a 2.6% increase over 24 hours.
Ethereum also went up in value: the second biggest digital asset was up 3.3% in the past day, trading for $1,169.
The rest of the market also jumped, including the ninth biggest cryptocurrency and Elon Musk favorite Dogecoin, which was up 4.8% in 24 hours, trading hands for $0.08.
https://decrypt.co/115452/bitcoin-ethereum-dogecoin-jump-release-fed-reserve-minutes
- Block Earner CEO Calls for Licensing Clarity After Being Sued for Crypto Products
The CEO of fintech firm Block Earner has lashed out over the “lack of clarity” in Australia’s financial licensing regime after his company was sued by the country’s financial services regulator for providing unlicensed crypto-based investment products.
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) announced on Nov. 23 local time that it started civil legal proceedings against the company because it offered three crypto-linked fixed-yield earning products without an Australian Financial Services (AFS) license.
ASIC stated that the products should have been licensed as they were “managed investment schemes” where investors contribute money that is pooled together for an interest in the scheme.
The products, named “Crypto Earner”, “USD Earner” and “Gold Earner,” offered yields through users depositing Australian dollars that would be converted to Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), USD Coin (USDC) or PAX Gold (PAXG) depending on the product according to Block Earner’s website.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7294827
- Russia intends to launch a ‘national crypto exchange’
Russian lawmakers are working on amendments to launch a national crypto exchange. This effort is reportedly supported both by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Russia which have a long history of disagreement over crypto regulation in the country.
As local media reported on Nov. 23, members of the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the Duma, have been in discussions regarding amendments to the country’s existing cryptocurrency legislation “On digital financial assets” with market stakeholders. The amendments, which would lay down a legal framework for a national exchange, will first be presented to the central bank.
Sergey Altuhov, a member of Duma’s Committee of Economic Policy, highlighted the fiscal sensibility of such measures:
“It makes no sense to deny the existence of cryptocurrencies, the problem is they circulate in a large stream outside of state regulation. These are billions of tax rubles of lost tax revenues to the federal budget.“
https://cointelegraph.com/news/russia-intends-to-launch-a-national-crypto-exchange
- Binance Targets $1B Recovery Fund for Distressed Crypto Assets: Bloomberg
Binance is targeting $1 billion or more for a previously announced recovery fund to buy distressed crypto assets, CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday.
“If that’s not enough we can allocate more,” CZ said, according to the news outlet.
CZ has been a key figure in the industry the last few months, cementing his position as a key leader, after the fall of FTX and its CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Earlier this month, he raised concerns about FTX on Twitter and ditched a plan to acquire it to save it from its financial troubles.
The fallout of FTX’s bankruptcy has been felt deeply across the entire industry, leading to other companies like lender BlockFi reportedly preparing for bankruptcy.
- IMF Blog: Better Regulation of Africa’s Growing Crypto Market Urgently Needed
The collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and subsequent crypto market downturn once again highlights the need for better regulation of the industry, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said in its latest blog post. According to the blog, in Africa, where the crypto market is rapidly growing, urgent action is also needed in order to block or stop bad actors from using crypto assets to facilitate illegal activities.
As per the global lender’s latest blog post, only a quarter of countries in Africa’s sub-Saharan region formally regulate cryptocurrencies. However, in the Bretton Woods Institution’s latest post known as the “Chart of the Week,” it is stated that over two-thirds of countries from the region have implemented some restrictions.
Only six countries, namely Cameroon, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and the Republic of Congo have effectively banned crypto, the blog revealed. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, directed banks to stop processing crypto-related transactions.
- Japan Kicks Off Central Bank Digital Currency Experiment
Japan’s central bank has started planning a central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiment with the country’s major financial players, according to a major newspaper report today.
The Bank of Japan is working with three megabanks as well as regional banks in the Asian nation—and next year will trial a digital yen, Nikkei reported Wednesday.
If all goes according to plan, the newspaper added, the BOJ may go ahead and release a CBDC in 2026.
The BOJ’s experiment will explore how deposits and withdrawals can work with a digital yen, today’s report noted.
https://decrypt.co/115439/japan-kicks-off-central-bank-digital-currency-experiment
- Over 50% Of Bitcoin Addresses Are Now In The Red
According to data from the analytical site IntoTheBlock, the average purchase price of 55% of total Bitcoin addresses is currently less than what their owners paid for them, as a result of the price decline following the collapse of the FTX exchange.
At the price of $16,156 that IntoTheBlock took its most recent snapshot, which results in 44% being in the black and only 1% being at break even. However, the figure is different from the aforementioned analysis in that more than 50% of Bitcoin buyers are losing money, and this means that a lot of people have more than one address in their wallets.
Having said that, there were many sources to purchase Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the last two years. When these digital assets went mainstream, a lot of fresh and small buyers purchased cryptocurrencies via other sources like Paypal and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s Cash App. Therefore, the statement of saying more than half of the Bitcoin addresses in the red is probably accurate.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7294825
- 10,000 BTC moves off crypto wallet linked to Mt. Gox hack
A crypto wallet belonging to the shutdown crypto exchange BTC-e has just moved 10,000 Bitcoin BTC tickers down $16,541, currently worth over $165 million, to various exchanges, personal wallets, and other sources on Nov. 23.
A Nov. 23 Chainalysis report suggested while this withdrawal is the largest made by BTC-e since April 2018, BTC-e and WEX — an exchange which is thought to be BTC-e’s successor — both sent small amounts of BTC to Russian electronic payments service Webmoney on Oct. 26 before making a test payment on Nov. 11, then transferring out a further 100 BTC on Nov. 21.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/10-000-btc-moves-off-crypto-wallet-linked-to-mt-gox-hack
