In today’s bitcoin and cryptocurrency news, read about bitcoin soars above $20,000 as risky assets rise on hopes central banks would stop tightening. The price of bitcoin is rising. The lack of financial stress weakens the basis for the Fed’s turnaround. Meanwhile, financial institutions can use Mastercard’s Crypto Secure product to assess the potential for fraudulent activity surrounding cryptocurrency transactions conducted through the company’s payment network. On the other hand, since the world’s major crypto assets hit all-time highs in 2021, many have lost value. Here are the top crypto assets by market cap to check how much USD value each coin has lost. Lastly, SEC charges Kim Kardashian with promoting a crypto asset security sold by EthereumMax without disclosing payment.
Bitcoin Breaks $20K on Fed Pivot Hopes
Original Source: First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Busts Past $20K on Hopes of Fed Pivot
Price Point Bitcoin (BTC) increased 5% in the last 24 hours, topping $20,000 as global markets surged, increasing U.S. index futures and European stocks. Investors are watching if central banks will slow monetary tightening.
Ethereum (ETH) rose 4% to $1,350 today.
“The stronger the U.S. dollar, the greater sell pressure on BTC,” said Charles Storry, head of growth at Phuture, a crypto index platform.
Investors believe the Fed could reduce interest rates like the Bank of England. Storry stated this would create a bullish purchasing opportunity for BTC.
The smart money is building positions. So the price hike,” he said.
DeFi tokens surged on Tuesday, with Chainlink’s LINK up 7.5% and Lido DAO’s LDO up 9.6%.
Other winners included Quant Network (QNT), Polygon (MATIC), and Cosmos (ATOM).
In the news, Grayscale Investments, which offers the world’s largest bitcoin trust, is bringing a crucial administrative role for all of its products in-house through a new broker-dealer business.
Grayscale Securities, the new broker-deal business, will sell the company’s crypto trust shares. Genesis Global Trading formerly handled this job. DigiCash owns CoinDesk.
The crypto arm of Andreessen Horowitz led Web3 data startup Golden’s Series B fundraising round, according to the company’s website.
CoinDesk Index
Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), produced by CoinDesk Indices, provides sector classifications for digital assets. The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) is a broad-based index that measures the market capitalization-weighted performance of the digital asset market.
The Market
Bitcoin Gains Momentum on Fed Pivot Narrative, But Some Banks Anticipate Dollar Rebound
Omar Godbole
Bitcoin continues to gain bullish momentum, believing financial stability issues and economic slowdown would push the Fed to stop aggressive liquidity withdrawal efforts. Some commentators aren’t persuaded the Fed will abandon or drastically curtail liquidity tightening soon and anticipate the dollar to strengthen.
Bitcoin’s market value reached $20,150 shortly before press time, a 2% gain for the day. The dollar index touched a 20-year high of 114.77 on Sept. 28, then plummeted to 11.
Bitcoin buyers stepped in Monday after the U.S. Institute of Supply Management stated its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index plummeted to 50.9 in September, the lowest since May 2020. The index’s new orders and employment metrics fell, supporting the Fed’s turn.
“It’s a case of ‘bad news is good news’ for stocks, with the market taking the ISM index’s downward surprise as boosting the likelihood of an earlier Fed pause, which is bullish for risk assets,” the Bank of New Zealand’s research team stated Tuesday. Bitcoin follows equities and has half in value this year as the Fed raised rates by 300 basis points.
Last week, the Bank of England unveiled a bond purchase program, known as quantitative easing, to ensure the proper functioning of the government bond market.
Payments Mastercard Launches Crypto Anti-Fraud Tool for Issuers
Original Source: Payments Giant Mastercard Launches Cryptocurrency Anti-Fraud Tool for Card Issuers
Mastercard launched Crypto Secure today to help banks and card issuers identify and stop suspect crypto exchange transactions, according to CNBC.
A comparable system is in place for Mastercard’s currency transactions; the technology is now expanding to Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies.
Mastercard purchased CipherTrace, a crypto detective firm, last year. The tool employs “advanced” AI algorithms and public blockchain data to estimate the risk of criminality linked with crypto exchanges connected to the payments network.
The technology includes a dashboard with color-coded risk levels, from red for “high” to green for “low,” per the article.
Crypto Secure doesn’t decide whether to restrict a crypto merchant; card issuers make that call.
“We want to be able to provide the same type of trust for digital asset transactions for consumers, banks, and merchants,” Mastercard’s president of cyber and intelligence business Ajay Bhalla told CNBC.
Crypto Secure will help Mastercard’s partners “remain compliant with complex regulations,” says Bhalla.
Mastercard’s large picture
Even if criminal cryptocurrency activity is down 15% so far this year, total scam revenue for 2022 is still $1.6 billion, according to a Chainalysis research.
As of July 2022, $1.9 billion in crypto had been lost in hacking incidents.
The reduction in unlawful crypto activity may be attributable to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies’ falling prices, but the bear market hasn’t affected Mastercard’s digital asset policy.
According to Bhalla, the organization focuses on long-term stakeholder solutions.
“These are market cycles,” Bhalla told CNBC. “I think you have to take the long perspective that this is a vast, dynamic business that will likely get much bigger in the future.”
Nine of the Top 12 Crypto Assets Are Down 70% to 90% From Last Year’s Highs
Original Source: 9 Out of the Top 12 Crypto Assets Are Down 70% to 90% Lower Than the All-Time Highs Recorded Last Year
9 of 12 crypto assets have lost value from 2017’s highs.
Many digital currencies have lost value after the world’s biggest crypto assets hit all-time highs in 2021. Look at the top crypto assets by market cap to discover how much USD value each coin has lost.
Bitcoin (BTC) has traded between $19,078 and $19,377 per unit in the previous 24 hours. Bitcoin’s value is 72.1% lower than its all-time high ($69,044 per unit) on November 10, 2021.
Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest crypto coin by market cap, is trading between $1,289 and $1,317 per unit. ETH has lost 73.2% of its USD value after reaching $4,878 on the same day as BTC.
Two stablecoins, USDT and USDC, are in the top ten crypto assets by market cap today. BNB is the fifth-largest crypto asset, and its price range today is $279 to $286 per BNB. The BNB crypto asset’s ATH was May 10, 2021.
BNB traded for $686 per unit that day last year. The crypto asset xrp (XRP) reached its ATH on January 7, 2018. XRP traded between $0.45 and $0.47 per unit on Sunday, 86.4% below its ATH four years ago.
Stablecoin BUSD ranks eighth in today’s crypto market caps. The eighth largest crypto asset is cardano (ADA), which costs $0.42 to $0.43 per unit. ADA’s USD value has fallen 86.1% since September 2, 2021, when it hit $3.09 per unit.
Solana (SOL) is selling at $32.31 to $33 per SOL on October 2, 2022, down 87.4% from its ATH of $259 on November 6, 2021. Tenth largest crypto currency is dogecoin (DOGE), which trades between $0.059 to $0.0609 per unit. DOGE has lost 91.8% since reaching $0.731 per DOGE on May 8, 2021.
DOT, the 11th largest cryptocurrency, trades at $6.20 to $6.32 per DOT. 11 months ago, on November 4, 2021, DOT was 88.5% more expensive at $54.98 per DOT. The twelfth largest crypto asset by market value, shiba inu (SHIB), trades for $0.00001094 to $0.00001122 per unit. SHIB has lost 87.1% against the U.S. dollar since October 28, 2021, when it was $0.00008616.
Sec Charges Kim Kardashian for Illegally Promoting Crypto
Original Source: SEC Charges Kim Kardashian for Unlawfully Touting Crypto Security
The SEC charged Kim Kardashian today for promoting a crypto asset security sold by EthereumMax without disclosing the amount she received. Kardashian agreed to pay $1.26 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest and assist with the inquiry.
The SEC found that Kardashian failed to disclose that she was paid $250,000 to post on Instagram about EthereumMax’s EMAX tokens. Kardashian’s post linked to EthereumMax, where investors could purchase EMAX tokens.
“Celebrities or influencers endorsing investment possibilities, including crypto asset securities, doesn’t indicate they’re suited for all investors,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. We advise investors to weigh an investment’s risks and opportunities against their financial goals.
“Kardashian’s case serves as a reminder to celebrities and others that the law compels them to disclose when and how much they are paid to advocate investment in securities,” said Chair Gensler.
“The federal securities rules are clear that any celebrity or other individual who promotes a crypto asset security must declare the nature, source, and amount of remuneration,” stated SEC Enforcement Director Gurbir S. Grewal. “Investors deserve to know if a security’s publicity is neutral, and Ms. Kardashian didn’t disclose this.”
The SEC says Kardashian violated anti-touting laws. Without admitting or contesting the SEC’s findings, Kardashian consented to pay $1.26 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and a $1 million penalty. Kardashian promised not to promote crypto assets for 3 years.
Jon A. Daniels, Alison R. Levine, and Pamela Sawhney of the Enforcement Division’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, and Kerri Palen, Lisa Knoop, and Victor Suthammanont of the New York Regional Office are conducting the investigation. The case was overseen by Mark R. Sylvester and Carolyn Welshhans.
The SEC’s comment on celebrity-backed crypto asset offerings is here. SEC Chair Gensler released a video today advising investors not to rely exclusively on celebrity advice.
Summary of today’s Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency news
To put it simply, after the Bank of England started a bond purchase program, also known as quantitative easing, to ensure the smooth operation of the government bond market, market participants have been anticipating a pause in tightening from the Federal Reserve and other major central banks.
Meanwhile, the continuing bad market in Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies may be to blame for the decrease in illegal crypto activity, it has not changed Mastercard’s overall approach to digital assets.
In addition, Shiba Inu (SHIB), currently valued at $0.00001094 to $0.00001122 per unit, ranks as the twelfth most valuable cryptocurrency. As of October 28, 2021, one SHIB was worth $0.00008616, representing a loss of around 87.1% against the US dollar.
Lastly, caution should be exercised when investing in crypto assets promoted by celebrities, as the SEC has warned. Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler released a video today in which he advises investors to not rely on the advice of celebrities or other influential people when making financial decisions.
