Tag: cryptocurrency market

Cryptocurrency market: Bitcoin price soars above $45,000 for first time since April 2022
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Cryptocurrency market: Bitcoin price soars above $45,000 for first time since April 2022

[ad_1] Cryptocurrency market: Bitcoin price rose 3% to break above $45,000 on Tuesday for the first time since April 2022 as the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency started 2024 with a bang. Bitcoin rose to touch a 21-month high of $45,386 earlier in the day and was last up 2% at $44,980. Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, was 1% higher at $2,376.Bitcoin rally shines spotlight on investor risksA much-anticipated US approval of wider bitcoin trading has helped the world's biggest cryptocurrency reach 20-month heights, risking however pain for new investors unaccustomed to its volatility. Bitcoin this week had reached above $44,000 for the first time since April last year, yet still remains far from a record-peak of almost $69,000 in 2021. The recent surg...
Billions Worth of Crypto Trades at Risk as Bank Shutdowns Take Toll
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Billions Worth of Crypto Trades at Risk as Bank Shutdowns Take Toll

[ad_1] The digital-asset market is coming off of a turbulent year featuring a number of high-profile blowups. Now, two shutdowns in the banking industry — SVB Financial Group's Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Capital Corp. — have set off a fresh set of stresses. SVB's failure triggered a knock-on effect in the crucial market for stablecoins after digital-asset giant Circle Internet Financial Corp., one of the biggest issuers of the widely used tokens known for their perceived safety, revealed it had $3.3 billion of reserves with the bank. The news caused Circle's token, USD Coin, to slip below its intended 1-for-1 peg with the dollar, sending a shock through the market. As concerning as USD Coin's de-peg was, it is the shutdown of crypto-friendly bank Silvergate...
Crypto Retrenchment Persists With Over 2,000 Jobs Lost in 2023
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Crypto Retrenchment Persists With Over 2,000 Jobs Lost in 2023

[ad_1] The digital-assets industry has shed more than 2,000 jobs in the first two months of 2023, as companies continued to retrench even as crypto prices staged a partial recovery.US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. this week indicated that more layoffs could be in store, after cutting 20% of its workforce in January. Other trading venues including Crypto.com, Huobi Global, Gemini and Luno also announced job cuts in the past two months. Exchanges' revenues are reliant on retail trading, which has been slow to pick up after a wave of failures and scandals ripped through the sector last year. Layoffs have been widespread among other types of crypto businesses too. Chainalysis, a company that specializes in tracking digital-asset transactions and counts Singapore's GIC among ...
A $92 Billion Crypto Profit Maker Is in Line for a Shake-Up
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A $92 Billion Crypto Profit Maker Is in Line for a Shake-Up

[ad_1] A lucrative corner of crypto that's fast becoming the lifeblood of the way many networks operate got a shock to the system this week. The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday signaled a crackdown on platforms offering rewards to their customers via a process called staking, as it reached a settlement with trading platform Kraken for $30 million and won agreement from the exchange to shut down those offerings domestically. It's possible other providers such as larger rival exchange Coinbase Global Inc. may feel the heat and follow suit in discontinuing their own staking services, experts said — or move them offshore. Staking allows users to lock up their coins on blockchains and help order the transactions that keep the protocols running, earnin...
Bitcoin Resurgence Brings Back Old Phenomenon of Wild Weekends
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Bitcoin Resurgence Brings Back Old Phenomenon of Wild Weekends

[ad_1] Amid this year's rally, Bitcoin has resumed one of its old habits: it's back to posting big moves on weekends, a phenomenon that's become an intriguing characteristic of the cryptocurrency market. Take last Sunday, when it gained 3.4%, a similar amount to what it notched the Saturday on the weekend prior. And the Saturday before that, the coin advanced 5.5%. That Bitcoin posts large moves is nothing new. But the token, like all other cryptocurrencies, trades around the clock, every day of the week, counter to most other assets, which tend to trade Monday through Friday on regulated exchanges. And it's been seen in crypto markets in the past, with Bitcoin shooting higher — or posting big down days — while other assets are taking a rest from work. ...
How Two Crypto Hedge Funds Dodged the Market Collapse
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How Two Crypto Hedge Funds Dodged the Market Collapse

[ad_1] The cryptocurrency space is undergoing one of its roughest stretches in memory. The cryptocurrency space is undergoing one of its roughest stretches in memory, with trouble brewing at exchanges and lenders, and token prices collapsing. But one company has been able to ride out the volatility. Pythagoras Investment Management LLC has two funds that have been rare bright spots in a market that's been eviscerated by a number of scandals. Both its Market Neutral Fund -- a strategy that doesn't have exposure to the price of any crypto at any time -- and its trend-following Pythagoras Token Fund have each gained about 8% this year, according to the company. Meanwhile, the world's largest digital token Bitcoin is down around 60% this year. “We particularly outperform in bear mark...
Crypto Exchange Bybit to Cut 30% of Jobs in ‘Deepening Bear Market’
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Crypto Exchange Bybit to Cut 30% of Jobs in ‘Deepening Bear Market’

[ad_1] Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit is planning to cut its workforce by 30% amid a continued bear market in the asset class, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Ben Zhou said. Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit is planning to cut its workforce by 30% amid a continued bear market in the asset class, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Ben Zhou said. The moves are part of an ongoing reorganization aimed at refocusing efforts, and reductions will be across the board, Zhou said Sunday, adding the priority is to ensure business operations are unaffected and client assets remain safe. He cited crypto prices trending lower and the struggles of companies such as bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi and embattled crypto brokerage Genesis as signals “to tell us that we are entering into an eve...
FTX Japan Says Work Underway to Allow Withdrawal of Client Funds
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FTX Japan Says Work Underway to Allow Withdrawal of Client Funds

[ad_1] The Japanese subsidiary of failed crypto empire FTX said it is working to allow users in the country to withdraw their funds. The Japanese subsidiary of failed crypto empire FTX said it is working to allow users in the country to withdraw their funds, paving the way for a rare case of investors getting money back from the collapsed exchange. The plan for the resumption of withdrawal services, which were first suspended on Nov. 8, has been approved by the new FTX Trading management team, according to an update on its website on Thursday. As part of the plan, the firm is incorporating controls, security audit, reconciliations, and reviews. Sam Bankman-Fried's sprawling tangle of FTX group companies slid into a chaotic bankruptcy on Nov. 11, potentially bilking more than a mi...
‘Too Much Speculation’ Is Hurting Crypto, BitGo’s Belshe Says
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‘Too Much Speculation’ Is Hurting Crypto, BitGo’s Belshe Says

[ad_1] There’s a lot going on in crypto following the collapse of the FTX exchange. But traders’ focus has turned to the price disparity between Bitcoin and a derivative of the largest cryptocurrency. There's a lot going on in crypto following the collapse of the FTX exchange. But traders' focus has in recent days turned to the price disparity between Bitcoin and a derivative of the largest cryptocurrency. Wrapped Bitcoin, or wBTC, is backed 1-to-1 by the token, which is held in custody by the digital-trust firm BitGo. The offshoot normally trades on par with the original token but had over the past few days traded at a discount to Bitcoin. Mike Belshe, chief executive officer of BitGo, spoke with Bloomberg News on Tuesday about wrapped Bitcoin, the state of crypto markets and mo...
Kraken to cut about 1,100 global jobs as crypto winter bites
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Kraken to cut about 1,100 global jobs as crypto winter bites

[ad_1] Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken said on Wednesday it would cut its global workforce by 30%. Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken said on Wednesday it would cut its global workforce by 30%, or about 1,100 employees, citing tough market conditions that have crippled demand for digital assets this year. Higher interest rates and worries of an economic downturn have roiled cryptocurrencies as investors fled risky assets, with recent bankruptcies adding to the uncertainty. "Since the start of this year, macroeconomic and geopolitical factors have weighed on financial markets," the company said. Kraken said it has seen a drop in trading volumes and fewer client sign-ups, adding that the layoffs will take total headcount to where it was 12 months ago. Earlier this month, crypto excha...