- Jihan Wu’s Crypto Lender Matrixport Looks to Raise $100M at $1.5B Valuation
Crypto lending firm Matrixport, led by Jihan Wu, is looking to raise $100 million at a $1.5 billion valuation.
The Singapore-based firm already has commitments for $50 million from lead investors at the sky-high valuation, but is still looking for investors for the other half of the round, Bloomberg reported on Friday citing anonymous sources. The lending firm seemed to confirm the news by tweeting out the article.
The crypto industry has been in major turmoil in the past few months as various cryptos have seen sharp declines compared to last year highs. Matrixport competitor in Asia Babel Finance has been restructuring to deal with a liquidity crunch.
- NY Attorney General Urges Congress to Ban Crypto in Retirement Accounts
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday that she has “urged congressional leaders to adopt legislation that would prohibit investing retirement funds in digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, digital coins, and digital tokens.”
In the letter she sent to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), and Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) Tuesday, James wrote:
On behalf of the people of the state of New York, I urge Congress to pass legislation to designate digital assets — e.g., cryptocurrencies, digital coins, and digital tokens — as assets that cannot be purchased using funds in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and defined contribution plans, such as 401(k) and 457 plans.
https://news.bitcoin.com/ny-attorney-general-urges-congress-to-ban-crypto-in-retirement-accounts/
- Bitcoin, Ethereum Post Modest Thanksgiving Gains as Crypto Market Claws Back $12B
Crypto markets appear to have turned a corner after the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire.
In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin has risen roughly 1.5% and is trading at just over $16,600. On the weekly, however, the market’s largest cryptocurrency is still in the red, per CoinGecko. Ethereum also posted modest gains on Thanksgiving day, rising 4% in the past day and hitting $1,200 at press time.
Both tokens are, however, down a whopping 75% from their all-time highs set last winter.
The broader crypto market rose from just over $857 billion to $871 billion. Despite the roughly $12 billion reclaimed, the industry is still far from its peak capitalization of more than $3 trillion, which it reached roughly one year ago.
- Bitcoin Is Not A Security, According To Belgian Regulator
According to FSMA, the Belgian regulation is neutral as regards technology, i.e., whether an asset utilizes a blockchain or a more conventional method shouldn’t affect whether it is classified as a financial instrument or security.
“The stepwise plan is neutral as regards technology. The qualification as security, financial instrument or investment instrument does not depend on the technology that is being used,” read the document.
The regulations state that transferable instruments with an issuer are likely to be considered securities, much like how they were outlined in a July consultation.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7296723
- IMF calls for tighter crypto regulation in Africa as the industry unfolds
International Monetary Fund (IMF) is calling for increased regulation of Africa’s crypto markets, one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, the global institution blog reported on Nov. 22.
Among the reasons why countries in the region should embrace regulation, the monetary fund cited the collapse of FTX and its ripple effect in cryptocurrency prices, which is “prompting renewed calls for greater consumer protection and regulation of the crypto industry.”
Moreover, the authors argue that “risks from crypto assets are evident” and “it’s time to regulate” to find a balance between minimizing risk and maximizing innovation. Based on the October 2022 Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa, the piece states that “risks are much greater if crypto is adopted as legal tender,” posing a threat to public finances if governments accept crypto as means of payment.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-lender-matrixport-seeks-100m-funding-despite-lending-crisis
- Bitcoin, Ether Needn’t Follow Financial Rules, Belgian Regulator Says
Cryptocurrencies without an issuer such as bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) are not securities, Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority said Thursday.
The regulator said it was getting an increasing number of questions about the regulatory treatment of crypto and hoped to address the most frequently occurring gray areas, including when digital assets can be classified as securities.
In jurisdictions such as the U.S., squabbles over when crypto is a security have led to court proceedings, with the Securities and Exchange Commission saying Ripple Labs should have registered its cryptocurrency XRP.
- Latam Based Cryptocurrency Exchange Ripio Expands to US
Itau Unibanco, one of the largest private banks in Brazil and Latam, has decided to step into Ripio, one of the largest exchanges in Latam, with more than 4.5 million customers on the continent, has announced it will expand its operations to the U.S. The company obtained a license granted by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, that will allow it to offer its suite of services to United States customers.
With this endorsement, the company is ready to bring its products to customers in the country, including its custodial wallet and exchange services, and its newly launched Web3 wallet. Also, Ripio is planning to provide B2B integration with other companies.
Ripio decided to first introduce its Select platform, which focuses on offering crypto-based solutions to other companies and institutional investors. This will be the tip of the spear for the company in the country, with other services to be introduced later on.
https://news.bitcoin.com/latam-based-cryptocurrency-exchange-ripio-expands-to-us/
- Binance Launches $1 Billion Raise for Crypto ‘Recovery Fund’, Could Buy FTX Assets
Binance’s founder and CEO said the firm’s crypto rescue fund will initially have $1 billion to dole out as it steps into the role of industry white knight.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said the fund would have a “loose” structure and be publicly visible on the blockchain, with other industry players also able to contribute.
“The industry needs saving now, not in 2023,” he said.
A blog post outlining the launch also suggested that the fund could grow to as much as $2 billion “if the need arises.” The team will first assess how far the $1 billion goes before potentially injecting more cash, CZ said. The post also included the public address for these funds.
https://decrypt.co/115485/binance-eyes-1-billion-raise-crypto-recovery-fund-could-buy-ftx-assets
- Bitcoin, Ether Needn’t Follow Financial Rules, Belgian Regulator Says
Cryptocurrencies without an issuer such as bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) are not securities, Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority said Thursday.
The regulator said it was getting an increasing number of questions about the regulatory treatment of crypto and hoped to address the most frequently occurring gray areas, including when digital assets can be classified as securities.
In jurisdictions such as the U.S., squabbles over when crypto is a security have led to court proceedings, with the Securities and Exchange Commission saying Ripple Labs should have registered its cryptocurrency XRP.
The Belgian rule “is neutral as regards technology,” FSMA added, suggesting that classification as a financial instrument or security shouldn’t depend on whether an asset uses a blockchain or something more traditional.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7296197
- Independent research verifies GBTC’s 633K Bitcoin: So why won’t Grayscale?
With digital asset management firm Grayscale refusing to provide proof of reserves for its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), an independent analyst has spent days combing through the blockchain to independently verify its holdings.
The OXT Research analyst, Ergo, used on-chain forensics to confirm that as of Nov. 23 that the GBTC owns approximately 633,000 Bitcoin BTC $16,463 held by its custodian, Coinbase Custody.
Since the collapse of FTX, there has been increasing pressure on other exchanges and digital asset managers to prove they hold the funds they claim. A GBTC collapse, or liquidation of its holdings, would be a serious black swan event. Concerns have been heightened due to Grayscale’s relationship with embattled crypto lender Genesis Global Trading, given both are subsidiaries of venture capital firm Digital Currency Group.
