A European lawmaker has urged authorities to impose a ban on cryptocurrencies citing the current crisis in the banking sector as a reason. Johan Van Overtveldt, former finance minister of Belgium, believes these assets bring no economic or social value. Belgium’s Ex-Finance Minister Suggests Ban on Decentralized Digital Currencies Member of the European Parliament, Johan
Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVB UK) has granted millions of pounds in employee bonuses, just days after it was rescued by global banking giant HSBC for just 1 pound, according to unnamed sources. In a March 18 Sky News report citing unnamed sources, it was reported that payouts to SVB UK staff and senior executives
General Bytes experienced a security incident on March 17 and 18 that enabled a hacker to remotely access the master service interface and send funds from hot wallets, according to the company and sources. The breach forced a majority of U.S.-based crypto automated teller machine (ATM) operators to temporarily shut down. The hacker was able
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz has warned of a credit crunch in the U.S. and globally. Emphasizing that “we are heading into a recession,” he expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates “sooner than we think.” Novogratz on Global Credit Crunch and Recession Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz shared his outlook for the U.S.
Economist Peter Schiff has warned that the current financial crisis will be worse than in 2008. “Future rate hikes are now pointless,” he stressed, adding that any effect will be more than offset by the Fed’s quantitative easing. Peter Schiff’s Financial Crisis Warning Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff shared his outlook for the U.S.
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and Switzerland’s financial regulator reportedly believe that the acquisition of investment bank Credit Suisse by UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, is the “only option” to prevent a “collapse in confidence” in Credit Suisse. According to a March 18 Financial Times report citing three people familiar with the situation, Switzerland is preparing
Venture capitalist and angel investor Balaji Srinivasan says hyperinflation is happening now. Expecting the price of bitcoin to soon hit $1 million, he is making million-dollar bets that it will happen in 90 days. Srinivasan also advised investors to buy bitcoin, which he believes to be “a hedge against hyperinflation, monetary debasement, bank freezes, and
The Mid-size Bank Coalition of America (MBCA) has reportedly asked United States federal regulators to extend insurance on all deposits for the next two years. According to a March 18 Bloomberg report, the MBCA – a coalition of mid-size U.S. banks – sent a letter to the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) asserting that extending
The CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, has warned about additional bank seizures and shutdowns that could result from regulatory changes in response to the failures of several major banks in the U.S. “It does seem inevitable that some banks will now need to pull back on lending to shore up their balance
Former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan has made a millionaire bet on Bitcoin’s (BTC) price over the next 90 days, predicting the cryptocurrency price will reach $1 million by June 17. The wager was initiated on March 17, when pseudonymous Twitter user James Medlock offered to bet anyone $1 million that the United States
After Credit Suisse Group AG announced it would borrow 50 billion Swiss francs from the Swiss National Bank, UBS Group AG is reportedly considering acquiring the banking giant. However, UBS is requesting that the government issue a backstop to protect against any losses if it purchases Credit Suisse. According to unnamed sources familiar with the
Top Stories This Week Sam Bankman-Fried petitions court to prioritize reimbursing his legal fees Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is seeking to use FTX’s corporate insurance policies to cover his legal expenses, according to a court filing on March 15. As per the filing, the policies provide “priority of payment” to insured individuals such as Bankman-Fried. The
At the start of the week, a troy ounce of .999 fine gold was trading at $1,813 per unit. Seven days later, gold rose 9.65% against the U.S. dollar to the current spot price of $1,988 per ounce. Gold’s rise comes at a time when confidence in the global banking system is at an all-time
Amidst the chaos in the U.S. banking sector, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of Twitter, has been critical of the country’s central bank. Musk insists that the U.S. Federal Reserve is operating with “way too much latency in their data,” and he insists that the central bank needs to drop the federal
Ethereum classic rose by as much as 12% in today’s session, as cryptocurrency markets rallied to start the weekend. The global market cap is trading over 3% higher at the time of writing, as investors continue to buy crypto following the recent banking crisis. Solana was also higher in today’s session. Ethereum Classic (ETC) Ethereum
According to a presentation recently submitted by the FTX debtors on March 16, Sam Bankman-Fried’s companies had a $6.8 billion hole in their intercompany balance sheet when they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. FTX and its conglomerate of firms have debts of around $11.6 billion, including customer claims and various other liabilities. FTX’s $6.8
What is the Howey test? The Howey test is a legal test used in the United States to determine whether a transaction qualifies as an investment contract and, thus, is considered a security under federal law. The test was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. (1946), and it has
Ethereum rose above $1,800 for the first time since August, as markets continued to react to the Fed’s decision to inject $300 billion into the economy. This comes following the recent banking crisis, which saw the likes of Silicon Valley Bank collapse. Bitcoin neared $28,000 in today’s session. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) closed in on the
The lawyer representing crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) in the ongoing FTX case will soon present a revised bail package to Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York. The move comes after Kaplan expressed displeasure about SBF’s use of encrypted-messaging apps and virtual private network (VPN) services while out on bail. Legal
One of Africa’s fintech giants, Chipper Cash, is said to be weighing the possibility of selling the business or bringing in new investors. According to the CEO of the FTX and Silicon Valley Bank-backed fintech startup, Chipper Cash had insignificant exposure to both SVB and Signature Bank. Chipper Cash ‘Never Sought to Be Acquired’ The