In today’s bitcoin and cryptocurrency news, read about how, on Monday, cryptocurrency lender BlockFi became the latest victim of the demise of crypto exchange FTX by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Meanwhile, Bitcoin, the market leader, sank more than 3 percent to $16,160 after failing to break out of a falling triangle formation. Lastly, the loss of $32 billion (£27 billion) in Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX cryptocurrency empire is likely to be remembered as one of the worst financial disasters in history.
BlockFi, Latest Crypto Firm to Fail, Declares Bankruptcy
Original Source: BlockFi files for bankruptcy, latest crypto company to fail
After FTX’s collapse, cryptocurrency lender BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday.
Jersey-based An FTX line of credit saved BlockFi this summer after a year of struggle. FTX’s bankruptcy, however, doomed BlockFi. After FTX’s failure, BlockFi suspended withdrawals and hired bankruptcy specialists.
Recent crypto currency lenders include BlockFi. The company lent customers crypto assets as collateral. BlockFi’s collateral was often worth less than its loans due to the sharp decline in bitcoin, ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies.
The company was also burdened by FTX’s summer line of credit. Once BlockFi ran into financial trouble, FTX’s financial rescue package was no longer available to it, and BlockFi said any attempts to get additional funds before the bankruptcy were denied.
In a court filing, the company’s lawyers said “this exposure created a liquidity crisis.”
BlockFi’s bankruptcy filing listed over 100,000 creditors and $1 billion to $10 billion in liabilities. Bankruptcy will help it stabilize and restructure, it said. It expects to support some operations during the restructuring with $256.9 million in cash.
The SEC is one of BlockFi’s creditors. BlockFi settled with the SEC over its crypto lending products in February, paying $100 million in fines and penalties. About $30 million is still owed to the U.S.
Bitcoin Price and Ethereum Down 5% amid China Lockdown
Original Source: Bitcoin Price and Ethereum Down 5% amid China Lockdown – Time to Buy?
The top cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, failed to break a descending triangle pattern and plummeted over 3% to $16,160 amid an elevated level of FUD in the market.
Likewise, the second-most valuable cryptocurrency, Ethereum, has followed Bitcoin’s lead and plummeted drastically by about 5% to $1,171.
Crypto Market Capitalization
The global crypto market cap plummeted over 2% to $815.32 billion the previous day, sending major cryptocurrencies into the red early November 28. Over the last 24 hours, worldwide crypto market volume surged by 22.10% to $41.69 billion.
DeFi’s total volume is currently $2.60 billion, accounting for 6% of the whole crypto market 24-hour volume. Stablecoins make over 93% of the crypto market’s 24-hour volume at $38.85 billion.
Let’s take a look at the top 24-hour cryptocurrency gainers and losers.
Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers
Celo (CELO), Apecoin (APE), and UNUS SED LEO (LEO) are three of the top 100 coins with 24-hour gains. The CELO price has skyrocketed by more than 34% to $0.6970, the APE price has expanded by more than 13.5% to $3.70, and the LEO price has increased by almost 7%.
Aptos (APT), Trust Wallet Token (TWT), and Lido DAO (LDO) are three of the top 100 coins that have lost value in the last 24 hours, where APT has lost over 5.5% to trade at $4.65, TWT is down 4% to sell at $2. LDO is down over 3% to $1.09.
China Lockdown Triggers Sell-off In Global Markets \sCryptocurrencies sank Monday amid a bout of investor concern in global markets triggered by protests in China against Covid restrictions. Protesters enraged by draconian COVID-19 laws demanded for China’s strong leader to go.
This was a rare reprimand as officials in at least eight locations attempted to quell protesters Sunday that constituted a direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party.
Discontent with President Xi Jinping’s famed “zero-COVID” policy nearly three years into the pandemic has spawned a mainland civil disobedience not seen since President Hu Jintao entered office a decade ago.
COVID-19 laws affect the world’s second-largest economy. The largest rallies against the ruling party in decades began Friday in Beijing and on dozens of university campuses.
Police pepper-sprayed Shanghai demonstrators demanding Xi’s resignation and an end to one-party rule, but they returned hours later.
A reporter watched protestors who had been arrested being hauled away in a bus as police once again dispersed the demonstration.
China and the Crypto Drop?
China, the world’s second-largest economy, affects global financial markets; therefore, investors want a safe haven.
Stocks and cryptos are not regarded as safe havens, which is why we are witnessing bearish market movement today.
However, when China’s situation improves and the protest ends, we may witness a big bullish reversal in Bitcoin and other currencies.
Bitcoin price prediction.
BTC Price
Bitcoin costs $16,174 and trades for $25 billion every day. During the previous 24 hours, the BTC/USD pair has declined roughly 2.5%, while CoinMarketCap currently ranks first with a live market valuation of $310 billion, down from $318 billion yesterday. It has 21,000,000 BTC coins and 19,218,643 coins in circulation.
The BTC/USD is trading lower on Monday after being rejected below the $16,600 resistance level, which was extended by a downward trendline. Bitcoin has established a descending triangle pattern in the 4-hour timeframe, which often promotes a selling trend.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $16,150 and is moving lower, approaching an immediate support level of $16,000. Bitcoin’s next support level is $15,650, a double bottom support level.
Leading technical indicators, such as the RSI and MACD, are in a sell zone, indicating that there is substantial selling pressure. The 50-day moving average is extending resistance at $16,450, indicating that the decline is likely to continue.
If buyers enter the market, a bullish breakout of the $16,450 barrier could drive Bitcoin to $17,000 in just a few days.
Ethereum Price
The current price of Ethereum is $1,170, with a 24-hour trading volume of $5 billion. Ethereum lost 4% in 24 hours. CoinMarketCap presently ranks #2, with a live market cap of $143 billion. It has a circulating supply of 122,373,866 ETH coins.
In the 4-hour timeframe, Ethereum has formed “three black crows,” suggesting a significant selling trend. The ETH/USD has broken through an upward channel that had been supporting the pair at $1,210 and is now serving as resistance.
At $1,175, Ethereum has crossed below the 50-day moving average line, signifying a strong sell signal. On the downside, Ethereum’s immediate support is $1,150, extended from a November 23 low.
ETH may approach $1,115 because the RSI and MACD indicators are in sell zones.
If ETH breaks above $1,185, it might reach $1,235.
Presale Cryptocurrency With Enormous Potential Gains
dash2trade (D2T)
Dash 2 Trade, an Ethereum-based trading intelligence platform, gives traders of all skill levels real-time analytics and social data to make better judgments. The platform will go online in the first quarter of 2023, offering information to investors to aid them in making proactive trading decisions.
Dash 2 Trade, a crypto trading intelligence and signals platform, attracted investors after raising $7 million in a month. As a result, the D2T team has chosen to stop the project at stage 4 and cut the hard cap goal to $13.4 million.
Dash 2 Trade was also successful, with LBank and BitMart promising to list the D2T token after the presale. After the transaction, 1 D2T will be worth $0.0533 USDT. D2T has raised more than $7 million so far by selling more than 82% of its tokens.
Crypto Will Survive the FTX Crash, but There Will Be More Scandals
Original Source: Crypto will survive the FTX collapse – but more scandals will follow
FTX, wunderkind Sam Bankman-$32bn Fried’s (£27bn) crypto enterprise, collapsed in one of the biggest financial disasters ever. Filmmakers and documentarians have a bright future with a tale full of celebrities, politicians, sex, and drugs. To paraphrase Mark Twain, crypto death rumors are much overblown.
True, the loss of faith in “exchanges” like FTX—essentially crypto financial intermediaries—almost certainly means a persistent severe drop in asset prices. Off-chain exchanges handle most bitcoin transactions. These financial intermediaries are simpler, more energy-efficient, and more convenient.
Exchanges boosted cryptocurrency prices, so if regulators crack down on them, token prices will decrease. Thus, bitcoin and ethereum prices fell.
Price adjustments alone are not catastrophic. Will crypto lobbyists limit the damage? Bankman-Fried provided $40m to US Democrats, whereas his FTX colleague Ryan Salame gave $23m to Republicans. Such largesse likely persuaded regulators worldwide to take a wait-and-see approach on crypto regulation rather than stifle innovation. We hope they observed the FTX crash after waiting.
Then what? Improved regulation of centralised exchanges, which enable people store and trade cryptocurrencies “off chain,” is anticipated. No matter your opinion on crypto’s future, the fact that a multibillion-dollar financial middleman was exempt from record-keeping obligations is shocking.
Firms would pay compliance costs, but good regulation may restore confidence, benefiting honest firms, which are clearly the majority, at least if these exchanges are weighted by size. Greater confidence in the existing exchanges could potentially contribute to greater crypto prices, though much would rely on the extent to which regulatory constraints, particularly on individual identities, ultimately undercut demand. Crypto transactions may be mostly remittances from rich countries to poor economies and emerging markets and capital flight in the other direction. Both parties value anonymity to circumvent exchange regulations and taxes.
However, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of the ethereum blockchain and one of the crypto industry’s most influential thinkers, believes that FTX’s collapse shows that crypto must revert to its decentralized roots. Centralized exchanges like FTX make holding and trading cryptocurrency easier, but they also invite managerial corruption like any financial institution. Bitcoin and ethereum, the major cryptocurrencies, have survived attacks despite decentralization.
Advertisement
Only decentralized exchanges are inefficient compared to Visa, Mastercard, or advanced economies’ bank transactions. Centralized exchanges like FTX democratized crypto, allowing non-technical investors and traders. Centralized exchanges’ speed and cost benefits may someday be replicated. However, this looks unlikely in the near future, making it hard to understand why anyone other than tax and regulatory evaders (and criminals) would utilize crypto, a point I have long made.
Regulators might promote decentralization by forcing exchanges to verify customers’ identities, including on the blockchain. This may seem harmless, but it would make trading on the anonymous blockchain for exchange customers problematic.
“Chain analysis” can algorithmically evaluate bitcoin wallet transactions, revealing the underlying identity in some situations. But if this technique was always enough and all anonymity could always be wiped, crypto would struggle to compete with more efficient financial intermediation choices.
Finally, rather than simply outlawing crypto intermediaries, many countries may ultimately try to ban all crypto transactions, as China and a handful of developing economies have already done. Making bitcoin, ethereum, and most other crypto transactions illegal would limit the system but not everyone. China was among the first, but that doesn’t mean the plan is bad, especially if tax evasion and crime are the main transactions, like with $100 bills.
Eventually, many more countries are likely to follow China’s lead. With its weak and fragmented crypto regulation, the US, the biggest player, is unlikely to embrace a bold policy. FTX may be the largest scandal in crypto so far; tragically, it is unlikely to be the last.
Summary of today’s bitcoin and cryptocurrency news
To sum it all up, the Securities and Exchange Commission is one of BlockFi’s creditors. About regards to the SEC’s concerns with BlockFi’s cryptocurrency loan products, the company reached a settlement in February in which it agreed to pay a total of $100 million in fines and penalties. A portion of that sum, around $30 million, is still owing to the federal government.
Meanwhile, the impact of China’s status as the world’s second-largest economy has caused investors to seek out alternative safe havens. This day’s selling can be attributed to the fact that stocks and cryptocurrencies are not seen as safe havens. However, with an improvement in China’s situation and the end of the protest, Bitcoin and other currencies may experience a sharp bullish reversal.
Lastly, it’s conceivable that many other countries will eventually follow China’s example. The United States is a major player, but with its weak and fragmented crypto legislation, it is unlikely that the country will soon launch a bold plan. While FTX may be the biggest crypto scandal to date, it will unfortunately likely not be the last.
