Crypto

The implosion of the audacious Luna and Terra coin project has left the crypto world shaken, regulators fired up, and lot of retail investors much poorer.

Kwon’s nonprofit took $1.5 billion, half of it in bitcoin, and tried to bail out Terra, which got back up to 90 cents a coin on Tuesday. Kwon tweeted that he was “deploying more capital,” then there was mostly silence until a Wednesday-morning thread took on a more formal tone and ended with a promise that Terra would “return.” The goal, said Cory Klippsten, CEO of the exchange Swan Bitcoin, appears to have been keeping the price as high as possible for as long as possible so investors could make a profit after a lock-up period ended and then bounce. Kwon — who had built up a persona as a proud crypto asshole, even saying once that he doesn’t “ debate the poor” in a thread about, I’m not kidding, financial panics — has lost whatever goodwill he had among his followers. For a while, it had been a cool way to make money out of nowhere, an excuse to move to Miami and show off your wealth. As 2022 wore on, it all started to feel more and more like the domain of weirdo-rap alleged money launderer Razzlekhan. Defenders have called it an “ attack,” though it’s unclear if this was anything more than a large withdrawal of money they weren’t prepared to cover. Meanwhile, shares in leading U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase were off by 25 percent, and the trillion-dollar-plus crypto industry is teeming with rumors about large funds or companies that may be on the brink of failure. While Terra should always be at $1, Luna could rise and fall with the markets — and the coins could freely be exchanged for each other for small profits. Terra is supposed to be trade reliable at the value of exactly one U.S. dollar, but it plummeted to 29 cents on Wednesday morning. At the time, Luna was on a massive run, up more the 1,000 percent over the prior six months. (The ex-Princeton wrestler also hired Hilary Duff to play at his birthday party a few years ago.) But even for Novogratz, the tattoo seemed a little over-the-top. “I’m officially a Lunatic!!!” he tweeted to his more than 400,000 followers.

As much as markets are going through it right now, cryptocurrencies are really going through it, and the myriad disasters haven't abated just yet.

Some of its remaining users don’t even use it for Bitcoin trading and merely use the virtual wallet to store dollars, while other Bitcoin traders are switching their holdings to private wallets. On Tuesday, he revealed plans for “Bitcoin City,” a so-called smart city to be powered by the currency, and as the Bitcoin crash continued, his government made its biggest Bitcoin purchase yet, “buying the dip” to scoop up 500 coins at an average cost of $30,744. Many of them downloaded the wallet during its rollout last September only to ditch it after receiving a small sign-up cash bonus, and new downloads of the wallet have slowed down. The International Monetary Fund is pegging offers of a loan to demands for the country to stop using Bitcoin as legal tender. It’s too soon to predict whether this bodes apocalyptic—after all, hundreds of reports of crypto’s death over the years were greatly exaggerated. Well, as is true with stock markets, there appear to be a lot of Bitcoiners selling off their holdings in the wake of financial and economic insecurity. This led to further loss of confidence in the overall Terra platform; as Luna went down, so did TerraUSD. The CEO of Terra’s parent company utilized emergency reserves of Bitcoin— which the project buys to back TerraUSD in part—to try to prop the stablecoins’ value back up, to little avail. When the Fed announced its interest-rate hike and traders withdrew their currencies en masse, billions of dollars of value fled Anchor at once. The crypto project Terra produces the two coins: the TerraUSD coin, a stablecoin, and its sister token, Luna, whose price moves with demand. Nearly 40 percent of Bitcoin holders have lost all the money they’d invested in the currency, as the value of a single coin has dropped below even last year’s post-crash July low. Bitcoin gains its value from the limited amount of coins available in its network, the number of holders, and investor confidence. Within the world of crypto, there are different types of value systems.

That's now just $2.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after a selloff in digital currencies from Bitcoin to Ether triggered a precipitous ...

Trading volumes at Coinbase have steadily fallen since the beginning of the year, while more internationally focused Binance saw an uptick in volume last month. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of rival crypto exchange Gemini, have each lost about $2.2 billion -- or roughly 40% -- of their wealth this year. By Wednesday that had shrunk to $11.6 billion, using the average enterprise value to sales multiples of Coinbase and Canadian crypto firm Voyager Digital as a basis for the calculations. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, and Ether have both fallen more than 50% since their record highs late last year. There is “no risk of bankruptcy” even amid a “black swan” event and users’ funds are safe, said Armstrong, the firm’s chief executive officer. Crypto exchanges in the US appear to be suffering more of a downturn than their global competitors.

The past several days have been trying times for crypto investors as a broader market pullback has wreaked havoc on token prices. While Bitcoin and Ethereum ...

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The impact of the unsolicited helps shows how cryptocurrency tycoons are emerging as the new power players in American politics. They are pouring millions of ...

In fact, I’m willing to bet that the majority of those are fraudulent.” “They are not doing this out of the goodness of their heart. The Securities and Exchange Commission unveiled a plan last week that would nearly double the size of its staff focused on cryptocurrency oversight. She added, “The government could actually come in and really mess it up if we aren’t constructively engaging." “It can be an easy conclusion for people to say there’s so much fraud in that space,” said Ashley Ebersole, a former SEC attorney. “It tells every Democrat that, if you have a primary, they could come in with $2 million. The impact of the unsolicited helps shows how cryptocurrency tycoons are emerging as the new power players in American politics. They've been promoted as a way for those with limited means to build wealth by investing in the next big thing. Cryptocurrencies are a digital asset that can be traded over the internet without relying on the global banking system. They want no regulation, or they want to help write the regulation. “All you can do is hold your breath," Houchin’s longtime consultant, Cam Savage, said of when they learned about the ad buy. But, in fact, the opposite happened.

The CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange says there's currently no risk of bankruptcy.

The new risk factor disclosure, earlier reported by Business Insider, says that "because custodially held crypto assets may be considered to be the property of a bankruptcy estate, in the event of a bankruptcy, the crypto assets we hold in custody on behalf of our customers could be subject to bankruptcy proceedings and such customers could be treated as our general unsecured creditors." Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, released its first-quarter earnings report Tuesday and included a new disclosure to customers. However, the company's CEO tried to reassure customers there's "no risk of bankruptcy."

The cryptocurrency trading firm is warning that its customers could be viewed as general unsecured creditors during bankruptcy proceedings.

- Saks Fifth Avenue:$20 off sitewide + free shipping - Saks Fifth Avenue coupon You may cancel your subscription at anytime by calling Customer Service. Coinbase Global Inc. acknowledged that reality this week.

Cryptocurrency startup BVNK (pronounced 'bee-vee-en-kay') has closed a $40 million Series A funding round at a $340 million post-money valuation.

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While the cryptocurrency market is relatively small, recent downturns of Bitcoin and other digital assets could have an impact on traditional financial ...

In March, for example, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency warned that banks could be tripped up by crypto derivatives and unhedged crypto exposures, given they are working with little historical price data. Stablecoins are mostly used to facilitate trading in other digital assets. Most of the bitcoin and ethereum in circulation is held by a select few. While the overall crypto market is relatively small, the U.S. Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and the international Financial Stability Board have flagged stablecoins — digital tokens pegged to the value of traditional assets — as a potential threat to financial stability. While data on the proportion of retail versus institutional investors in the crypto market is hard to come by, Coinbase, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said institutional and retail investors each accounted for about 50% of the assets on its platform in the fourth quarter. In November, the most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin, hit an all-time high of more than $68,000, pushing the value of the crypto market to $3 trillion, according to CoinGecko. That figure was $1.51 trillion on Tuesday.

Bitcoin has a reputation as a volatile cryptocurrency. But losses are piling up in a corner of the crypto market that's supposed to hold up when everything ...

As their name implies, stablecoins are designed to maintain a fixed value, typically set at $1 per token. But losses are piling up in a corner of the crypto market that’s supposed to hold up when everything else tanks: stablecoins. But a fast-growing “algorithmic” stablecoin called TerraUSD crashed as low as 23 cents on the dollar this past week, before recovering to 72 cents.

Cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase has lost half its value in the past week, including its biggest one-day drop to date.

Biden’s order also directed federal agencies to study the impact of cryptocurrency on financial stability and national security. However, a recent run on the TerraUSD stablecoin dropped its value to as low as 30 cents, sowing doubt among investors about the safety of stablecoins. Terra recovered somewhat, to about 68 cents on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Yellen testified to the Senate Banking Committee, warning legislators about stablecoins, which are digital currencies usually pegged to the dollar or a commodity such as gold. On the day of its initial public offering just 13 months ago, prices hit $429 per share. Revenue was down as trading volumes fell, and active monthly users declined 19% from the fourth quarter.

Bitcoin plunged to its lowest level since December 2020 as a cryptocurrency selloff gathered steam Thursday. The world's largest cryptocurrency by market ...

- Target:Up to 60% off - Target Promo Code You may cancel your subscription at anytime by calling Customer Service. On the other, the decoupling of TerraUSD, a stablecoin whose value was tied to $1, has sent ripples through digital assets.

Bitcoin slumped below $27000 Thursday for the first time in over 16 months as cryptocurrency markets extended their losses.

Economists have long feared that tether may not have the required amount of reserves to bolster its dollar peg in the event of mass withdrawals. Adding to investors' fears Thursday was a drop in the value of tether, the world's biggest stablecoin. Ether, the second-biggest digital currency, tanked to as low as $1,789 per coin. Digital currency investors often turn to them for safety in times of volatility in the markets. That's a risky gamble, not least because bitcoin is itself an incredibly volatile asset. That marks the first time bitcoin has sunk below the $27,000 level since Dec. 30, 2020.

Bitcoin slumped below $27000 Thursday for the first time in over 16 months, as cryptocurrency markets extended their losses amid fears over rising ...

Digital currency investors often turn to them for safety in times of volatility in the markets. Economists have long feared that tether may not have the required amount of reserves to bolster its dollar peg in the event of mass withdrawals. Adding to investors’ fears Thursday was a drop in the value of tether, the world’s biggest stablecoin. Ether, the second-biggest digital currency, tanked to as low as $1,789 per coin. That marks the first time bitcoin has sunk below the $27,000 level since Dec. 30, 2020. That’s a risky gamble, not least because bitcoin is itself an incredibly volatile asset.

Amid a collapse in many cryptocurrency prices this week, fans of the Washington Nationals might have spotted an odd tweet from the baseball team's account.

“Prices had to come back down to earth, and it happened,” said Abraham Chaibi, co-founder of crypto trading firm Dexterity Capital. “This is not an existential crisis for crypto by any means.” The crypto crash has not spurred a groundswell of new momentum for creating clearer federal rules for the assets. The announcement drew criticism from the Labor Department and a pair of Democratic senators — Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Tina Smith (Minn.) — who wrote the company asking it to address the “significant risks of fraud, theft and loss” associated with the assets. Warren said this week’s meltdown in crypto prices underlines the danger for retirees. “There was a big drop in 2014, and then in 2018, there was a ‘crypto winter,’ and many smaller episodes in between. The NBA, for example, has bet big on it, with the Warriors, Mavericks and Heat all making splashy deals with crypto companies — a potential optics issue as all three teams play postseason games this week. The plunge in crypto prices tracks a broader move by investors to dump risky assets, such as tech stocks, as the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates to battle inflation. “After several years of missing out on the profits, many in traditional finance have just recently committed to getting involved in digital asset markets. In total, an estimated 40 percent of bitcoin holders are underwater on the asset, according to a new analysis from crypto analytics firm Glassnode. The exchange reported that its active monthly users dropped to 9.2 million in the first quarter of this year, down from 11.4 million in the previous quarter. It does not use algorithms the way UST does; the latter is an unorthodox method that essentially relies on trades instead of assets to back it up, which may be responsible for its plummet. Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based crypto trading platform, posted a first-quarter loss of $430 million on Tuesday as its stock continued a slide that has it down 79 percent this year.

The scale of the cryptocurrency selloff is massive, but this isn't the first time digital assets have seen intense volatility.

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Crypto investors panicked as bitcoin and other digital coins continued to plummet. Titans who run leading marketplaces such as Coinbase and Binance were ...

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index is down 30% so far this year and has been heavily correlated with the price of bitcoin in recent weeks, according to Refinitiv data. “I feel for anyone who has been badly beaten up by what’s happening,” he said. Shares of Coinbase, the only major publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange, have fallen 84% since the company went public in April 2021. “I lost over 450k usd, I cannot pay the bank,” reads one of the top posts on the Reddit forum for Terra Luna, a cryptocurrency that has lost more than 99% of its value over the past week. “My ex-colleague attempted suicide,” reads another top post on the forum. While Luna’s collapse is the most spectacular, other cryptocurrencies are also in freefall.

A leading cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, has been hit hard by a recent drop in the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, making the recent outage ...

The company reported a steep drop in revenue earlier this week, and its stock has shed more than half its value over the course of a week. The downtime comes amid a widespread crash in cryptocurrency prices, adding particular urgency to trades and withdrawals. We’re seeing recovery after implementing a fix, but our teams are continuing to monitor the situation.

After his departure from Facebook in November, many crypto industry insiders speculated where long-time executive David Marcus would land.

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An epic crash in algorithmic stablecoins spells trouble for the entire industry.

It is fully shielded from the real world, and takes pride in it. At a Mexican restaurant in North London a few weeks ago, a handful of small-time but remarkably discerning retail cryptocurrency investors predicted that terra and luna would crash. “So far,” he said, “this story has always followed the most humorous timeline.”

The near-total crash of terra has fuelled real panic that the crypto sector may face existential problems. A gold-plated souvenir cryptocurrency tether coin ...

We are a quickly evolving industry and as an industry we will learn from these events together.” That represents about half of the company’s cash on hand. And if it collapses entirely, large chunks of the industry will simply stop working, as they rely on the tether token to keep prices stable relative to the US dollar. However, on Monday another prominent stablecoin, terra, broke its peg to the dollar and has slumped since, now trading at barely half of its supposed stable value. The company prompted panic among its users with a legally mandated disclosure that, if it goes bankrupt, customer deposits are not protected in the same way bank deposits are. Losses have been even bigger for the smaller players, with dogecoin falling 10% on Thursday and 35% over the week.

Hello and welcome back to the Chain Reaction podcast, where we unpack and explain the latest crypto news, drama and trends, breaking it down block by block ...

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