Autor Cointelegraph By Sam Bourgi

Crypto exchange FTX is looking into acquiring Robinhood: Report

Crypto exchange FTX is looking into acquiring Robinhood: Report

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 27, 2022 |

Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX is reportedly eyeing a takeover of Robinhood Markets, the popular trading app that introduced millions of traders to Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE).Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported Monday that FTX is holding internal deliberations about whether to acquire Robinhood. Although no decision has been made to pursue a takeover, FTX is said to be taking the matter seriously. Bloomberg’s contact clarified that FTX has yet to approach Robinhood with a buyout proposal and that it could still decide against pursuing a deal. Despite the onset of crypto winter, FTX has shown no signs of slowing its expansion. The exchange, headed by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, recently tabled a $250 million bailout offer to Bitcoin lender BlockFi. Earlier this month, FTX entered into an agreement to purchase Canadian cryptocurrency platform Bitvo for an undisclosed amount.Amid mass layoffs in the crypto exchange business, FTX confirmed earlier this month that it would not be reducing its staff. Bankman-Fried tweeted on June 6 that his exchange plans to “keep growing” for the foreseeable future. Related: Goldman Sachs downgrades Coinbase stock to ‘sell’As for Robinhood, the discount brokerage platform has lost roughly three-quarters of its value since debuting on the Nasdaq stock exchange in July 2021. The company’s share price was up 13% on Monday but is still down over 75% from its initial public offering.Since debuting at $38 a share, Robinhood’s stock price has tumbled over the past year. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.6 billion. Source: TradingView.In the first quarter of 2022, Robinhood’s net revenue declined 43% year-over-year to $299 million. Crypto-related revenue declined by 39% to $54 million over the same period. 

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Goldman Sachs downgrades Coinbase stock to ‘sell’

Goldman Sachs downgrades Coinbase stock to ‘sell’

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 27, 2022 |

Shares of Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) have been downgraded by analysts at Goldman Sachs after plunging cryptocurrency prices affected the exchange’s underlying business, underscoring the challenges posed by the bear market. The reason for the downgrade stems from the “continued downdraft in crypto prices,” Goldman analyst William Nance said in a note that was obtained by Bloomberg. The analyst said Coinbase “will need to make substantial reductions in its cost base in order to stem the resulting cash burn as retail trading activity dries up.”According to Bloomberg, Coinbase still has 20 buy recommendations, 6 holds and 5 sell ratings as of June 27. Stocks with a buy rating are on analysts’ recommended list. Stocks with hold ratings are expected to perform roughly on par with the broader market and sell recommendations are calls to liquidate an asset. Shares of Coinbase have plunged over the past seven months. Source: TradingView.Coinbase began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange in April 2021 and quickly exceeded its pre-listing reference price, eventually reaching $381. At those price levels, COIN had a fully diluted market capitalization of nearly $100 billion. However, since November, COIN has been on a downward spiral, plunging 84% to less than $58 a share. The stock was down 8% on Monday, dragging its market cap below $15 billion.The selloff in Coinbase stock has occurred in lockstep with plunging crypto prices. Since peaking at around $69,000 in November 2021, Bitcoin (BTC) is down almost 70%.In addition to its collapsing share price, Coinbase has been forced to lay off around a fifth of its staff and has even gone as far as rescinding job offers. CEO Brian Armstrong said the likelihood of recession could prolong the so-called “crypto winter” and lead to an extended period of adverse market conditions. Related: Google users think BTC is dead — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this weekAs Cointelegraph reported, credit rating agency Moody’s recently downgraded Coinbase’s Corporating Family Rating to Ba3 from Ba2. As Moody’s noted, Coinbase’s revenue model is tied to trading volumes, which have dried up in recent months due to the mass exodus of retail traders.

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Crypto Biz: Crypto was in full swing at Collision Conference, June 17-23

Crypto Biz: Crypto was in full swing at Collision Conference, June 17-23

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 24, 2022 |

For all the gloom and doom in the cryptocurrency market these days, our industry continues to make inroads into mainstream tech. This week, I had the pleasure of attending the sold-out Collision Conference in Toronto, and crypto was featured prominently. During the event, I got to moderate three panels, including two that were crypto-focused. The fact that the biggest tech conference in North America is letting me talk cryptocurrency after a six-month bloodbath proves there’s more to the industry than just price. And, I’m not saying the price isn’t important — but context is everything.My Collision panel on decentralized social media included Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave and Lens Protocol. This week’s Crypto Biz gives you a taste of Collision Conference 2022 and also draws your attention to the latest funding and business news from the world of blockchain. Institutions are exploring the space — KPMG Canada crypto teamDuring Collision, I sat down with KPMG Canada’s crypto team to talk about the firm’s recent foray into digital assets. If you recall, I got really excited in February when the KPMG Canada announced it had added Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to its corporate treasury. The firm’s decision to adopt digital assets didn’t come on a whim — it was directed by an internal governance council that did its due diligence before recommending crypto treasuries. The Canadian arm of the Big Four accounting firm remains bullish despite recent market turmoil. Voyager enters into $500M loan agreement with Alameda amid 3AC exposureI reported last week that crypto-focused hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) was inching closer to insolvency after a series of leveraged bets turned sour. We knew there would be contagion risk — we just didn’t know how much. Well, this week, trading platform Voyager Digital took out a loan from Alamada Research to cover losses tied to its exposure to 3AC. Specifically, Voyager borrowed 15,000 BTC from Alameda, which is roughly equivalent to the 15,250 BTC owed to it by 3AC. Voyager has requested that 3AC repay its outstanding debts by Monday, or else it’ll pursue legal action. Crypto brokerage FalconX raises $150M at $8B valuationCrypto has gifted us with a lot of nasty headlines over the past six months. But, during that time, billions of dollars in venture capital were pouring into the industry. This week, crypto brokerage FalconX announced it had raised $150 million at a valuation of $8 billion in a Series D round that was led by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC. The company’s valuation has basically doubled from August when it concluded its Series C funding round. As is always the case, when everyone seems to be panicking, smart money investors are busy accumulating. Meta set to begin testing NFTs on Instagram Stories with Spark ARZuckerberg’s Meta, which is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced that it’ll begin testing nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on Instagram Stories using Spark AR Studio. “We’re expanding our test so more creators around the world can display their NFTs on Instagram,” the CEO said. “Creators and collectors will be able to share their digital collectibles across Facebook and Instagram after we begin rolling out the feature on Facebook with select US creators at a later date.” Social media is about to undergo a major transformation. We’ll see whether Zuckerberg’s company will maintain its dominance during the transition to Web3 and the Metaverse. Before you go! Is Bitcoin ready for a recession?I wasn’t able to attend this week’s Market Report, but my colleagues Benton Yuan, Marcel Pechman and Yashu Gola were able to carry on without me. In addition to giving you the latest trading insights, they discussed Bitcoin’s prospects in the event of a global recession. You can watch the full replay below.[embedded content]Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse of the business behind blockchain and crypto delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.

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‘Bitcoin dead’ Google searches hit new all-time high

‘Bitcoin dead’ Google searches hit new all-time high

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 20, 2022 |

Collapsing Bitcoin (BTC) prices are reviving renewed speculation about the demise of the leading cryptocurrency, according to Google search trends. Google searches for “Bitcoin dead” spiked in the week ending Friday, June 18, and likely reached the highest level on record. Google Trends tracks interest in search terms over time, assigning scores of 1 to 100 based on the total number of user queries. The data are anonymized, categorized by topic and aggregated based on location. Google searches for “bitcoin dead” hit all time highs over the weekend. pic.twitter.com/oDXNqGEeIL— Alex Krüger (@krugermacro) June 20, 2022“Bitcoin dead” achieved a score of 100 for the period between June 12–18 based on preliminary data that is reflected by the dotted line. The last time the search query scored 100 was in December 2017 or thereabouts. Global searches for “Bitcoin dead” skyrocketed over the weekend. Searches for similar keywords, such as “Bitcoin is dead,” also rose sharply but didn’t reach a new peak. Source: Google Trends.The Google search results reflect peak anxiety for the cryptocurrency markets following weeks of relentless selloffs in asset prices. Bitcoin’s downward spiral, now in its seventh month, may have been triggered by the Federal Reserve’s massive shift in policy, which has placed downward pressure on risk assets. The implosion of the Terra ecosystem and its related contagion effects has also been a contributing factor. Adverse market conditions have also led to credible speculation that major industry players, such as Celsius and Three Arrows Capital, are facing insolvency. Related: Bitcoin mints more than 13,000 ‘wholecoiners’ in the past seven daysMainstream media outlets have written hundreds of Bitcoin obituaries over the years; their pundits have been cheering the latest market collapse as evidence that BTC is not a viable asset. Bitcoin supposedly “died” 45 times in 2021 alone — a year in which the digital asset reached multiple record highs.

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Crypto Biz: Crypto carnage pushes Celsius, Three Arrows Capital closer to insolvency, June 9-16

Crypto Biz: Crypto carnage pushes Celsius, Three Arrows Capital closer to insolvency, June 9-16

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 17, 2022 |

The 2022 version of crypto winter has been unlike anything we’ve seen before. As I warned last month, the meltdown of the Terra ecosystem didn’t end with Luna Classic (LUNC) hitting zero. The biggest threat was contagion. As the dust began to settle, we finally got a glimpse of who was left holding the bag. Crypto lender Celsius and Singapore-based venture firm Three Arrows Capital suffered heavy losses during the debacle. These firms, once a staple of the budding crypto industry, now risk demise following weeks of massive selloffs in the market. Celsius reportedly seeks advice from lawyers on restructuringAlex Mashinsky’s Celsius dominated headlines this week after the popular crypto lender paused withdrawals due to “extreme market conditions.” During the freeze, the firm unstaked roughly $247 million in wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) from Aave and sent it to the FTX derivatives exchange, along with $74.5 million worth of Ether (ETH). It didn’t take long for rumors of Celsius’ insolvency to proliferate. In response, Celsius has reportedly onboarded attorneys to advise on a restructuring plan. Digital asset lender Nexo has tabled a buy-out proposal to Mashinsky’s team, which has until June 20 to respond. Su Zhu’s cryptic statement as rumors swirl of 3AC liquidations and insolvencyFrom one debacle to another, crypto investors have spent the past few days fixated on Three Arrows Capital (3AC), one of the industry’s most prolific venture funds. Like Celsius, 3AC is also reportedly facing insolvency after incurring roughly $400 million in liquidations tied to the ongoing collapse of Ether’s price. The company was also a significant investor in Terra and had sizable positions in other tanking altcoins such as Solana (SOL) and Avalanche (AVAX). 3AC’s co-founder Su Zhu issued a cryptic tweet on Tuesday that the company is “fully committed to working this out.” He also removed all mentions of altcoins from his Twitter bio. This wallet (tagged as 3AC on Nansen) has been aggressively paying back AAVE debt against its 223k ETH / $264mm position to avoid liquidation. With $198mm in borrowings against it, @ a 85% liq threshold, a -11% move in ETH to $1,042 liqudates ithttps://t.co/y7yJJ0NlMc pic.twitter.com/2S55Rzl9Xc— Onchain Wizard (@OnChainWizard) June 15, 2022Crypto exchange Coinbase slashes staff by 18% amid bear marketOne of the most obvious signs of crypto winter is mass layoffs at major firms. This week, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced that it was reducing its staff by about 18%. Apparently, Coinbase has been growing “too quickly,” according to CEO Brian Armstrong. In addition to cutting jobs, the San Francisco-based firm has also been rescinding job offers even after candidates gave notice to their existing employer that they were leaving. Some of the stories are heartbreaking, to say the least. Tether aims to decrease commercial paper backing of USDT to zeroStablecoin issuer Tether has a plan to squash any remaining FUD, or fear, uncertainty and doubt, about its Tether (USDT) backing. This week, the company announced that it would eventually unwind its exposure to commercial paper, currently at $8.4 billion, to zero. Tether also categorically rejected any claim that 85% of its commercial paper portfolio is backed by Chinese or Asian assets. So, what’s the big deal with commercial paper? These are basically unsecured notes with a fixed maturity issued by corporations. The concern for some observers is that Tether is struggling to find a financial institution willing to take its cash as a deposit.Before you go! Don’t let the bear market distract you from the MetaverseWith crypto-assets plunging, it’s hard to think about anything else these days. In this week’s Market Report, I discussed the crypto carnage alongside fellow analysts Jordan Finneseth, Marcel Pechman and Benton Yuan before shifting course to the Metaverse. It’s hard to be bullish right now, but the metaverse economy will create enormous value this decade. Click below to watch a full replay of the show.[embedded content]Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse of the business behind blockchain and crypto delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.

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