tl;dr
• In addition to Fed's press conference today, you have US mega banks are on Capitol Hill today• NY court tells Tether to produce documentation on their reserves• US Justice Department announce new Digital Asset Coordinator Network to combat illicit activities• FTX and Binance vying to gain Voyager'...
• In addition to Fed's press conference today, you have US mega banks are on Capitol Hill today
• NY court tells Tether to produce documentation on their reserves
• US Justice Department announce new Digital Asset Coordinator Network to combat illicit activities
• FTX and Binance vying to gain Voyager's assets with Binance in the lead
• IMF says there needs to be a global crypto regulatory framework, but that isn't happening
• Former Obama fixer, Jim Messina, has been advising BlockchainCom on government affairs since 2021
• ECB recruits 5 companies including Amazon to test digital euro
• Global Head of Payments at JPMorgan, says crypto payments in a steep decline the past 6 months
There are a lot of macro events that are going to have almost profound effects on the Cryptoverse. Some are larger than others. Here is what is on my mind today.
1. In addition to Fed's press conference today, you have US mega banks are on Capitol Hill today, including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, PNC Financial Services Group, US Bancorp, Truist Financial Corporation and Morgan Stanley to name a few.
2. The world just changed for Tether. A New York court has requested documentation on their reserve. In a case that alleges Tether and Bitfinex engaged in market manipulation. The plaintiffs in the claim that Tether lied about the USDT backing and allege the stablecoin was used to purchase Bitcoin, inflating the market and leading to its eventual crash. This case is a clear example of why a lot people are distrusting of the stablecoin. Couple that with a rumors of a bill targeting algorithmic stablecoins and creating a framework for regulating them.
3. The US Justice Department announced a new network to address crime in the digital asset space. The creation of the Digital Asset Coordinator Network is meant to combat the "growing threat" of criminal activity. The network will draw 150 resources from the US Attorney's Offices around the country with each coordinator being that office's subject matter expert, providing insights into modus operandi as to the use of the technology. The coordinators will focus on current and future laws surrounding digital assets. This is a big deal as the US government starts to grow prosecutorial capability. I think this will help to bring more clarity and transparency.
4. I told you that FTX was going to settle its $200M loan debt with Voyager. I am pretty sure it's because they wanted to clean up the books to make the auction for Voyager's assets easier. Well, FTX and Binance are bidding for those assets with current bids at around $50M, although Binance seems to have the edge at the moment.
5. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) say there needs to be a "Global Regulatory Framework" for crypto. Wow! Rocket scientists over there! I guess they have finally come to the realization that crypto is here to stay. Because of that, they must find a way to either work with it or get crushed by it.
6. You know there is a lot of weight behind crypto lobbying efforts when you see former fixer for President Obama, Jim Messina, as a major adviser to BlockchainCom for government affairs.
7. The European Central Bank (ECB) has recruited five companies, including Amazon, to help test their digital Euro. They are specifically looking to test "user interfaces" for the CBDC trial. Each will handle a specific use case. Of course, Amazon will handle ecommerce.
8. Takis Georgakopoulos, Global Head of Payments at JPMorgan, says crypto payments have seen a steep decline in the past 6 months. That doesn't amaze me. This is because in the past 6 months you have seen crypto take a huge nosedive and no one wants to realize those losses by using their crypto.