SBF legal fees, BTC market cap flips Meta and USDC climbs back to $1: Hodler’s Digest, March 12-18

Top Stories This Week

Sam Bankman-Fried petitions tribunal to prioritize reimbursing his ineligible fees

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is seeking to use FTX’s firm security policies to screen his ineligible expenses, according to a tribunal filing connected March 15. As per the filing, the policies supply “priority of payment” to insured individuals specified arsenic Bankman-Fried. The determination would enactment the erstwhile CEO connected apical of the FTX payout list. Another header shows that Bankman-Fried’s interior ellipse received $3.2 cardinal successful payments and loans from FTX-linked entities. The amounts exclude implicit $240 cardinal utilized for the purchases of luxury properties successful the Bahamas, governmental and foundation donations, arsenic good arsenic “substantial transfers” to non-FTX subsidiaries. In different headline, FTX debtors reported $11.6 cardinal successful claims and $4.8 cardinal successful assets, meaning there’s a $6.8 cardinal spread successful the exchange’s equilibrium sheet.

Signature Bank closed by New York regulators for not providing data

Crypto-friendly Signature Bank was officially closed down and taken implicit by the New York Department of Financial Services connected March 12 for “failing to supply accordant and reliable data.” The slope has been investigated by 2 United States government bodies implicit whether it took capable measures to show and observe imaginable wealth laundering by its clients. Former subordinate of the U.S. House of Representatives Barney Frank suggested that New York regulators closed Signature arsenic portion of a seeming amusement of unit against the crypto market.

USDC bounces backmost toward $1 peg aft Fed announcement

Circle’s stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC), climbed backmost to its $1 peg pursuing affirmative developments concerning Circle’s $3.3 cardinal worthy of reserves held astatine Silicon Valley Bank and its caller banking partners: redemptions of USDC volition present beryllium processed by Cross River Bank and BNY Mellon. The stablecoin depegged from the U.S. dollar connected March 10 pursuing SVB’s abrupt collapse, triggering the depeg of galore different stablecoins. The stablecoins’ depegging prompted a maturation successful indebtedness repayments implicit the weekend, allowing debtors to save much than $100 million connected loans.

US Fed announces $25B successful backing to backstop banks

United States national regulators announced “decisive actions” that would “fully support depositors” astatine some Silicon Valley Bank and the now-shuttered Signature Bank, including $25 cardinal worthy of backing aimed astatine backstopping banks and different depository firms. The Federal Reserve is investigating the nonaccomplishment of Silicon Valley Bank — including an interior probe arsenic to however the Fed supervised and regulated the fiscal institution. Amid the abrupt collapse, SVB’s U.K. limb was acquired by HSBC for 1 British pound ($1.21), with loans of 5.5 cardinal pounds ($6.7 billion) and deposits of 6.7 cardinal pounds ($8.1 billion).

Bitcoin marketplace headdress flips tech elephantine Meta, widens spread connected Visa

Despite a turbulent week for crypto pursuing the downfall of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, Bitcoin’s marketplace headdress has managed to flip that of tech elephantine Meta. On March 14, Bitcoin’s marketplace headdress reached $471.86 billion, surpassing Meta’s $469 billion, according to information from Companies Market Cap. The starring cryptocurrency climbed to the 11th spot among apical assets by marketplace cap, sitting down electrical conveyance shaper Tesla. The marketplace capitalization of Bitcoin has added implicit $190 cardinal successful 2023, outperforming apical Wall Street slope stocks, peculiarly arsenic fears of a planetary banking situation are rising.

Winners and Losers

At the extremity of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is astatine $27,571, Ether (ETH) astatine $1,823 and XRP astatine $0.38. The full marketplace headdress is astatine $1.18 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Most Memorable Quotations

“The caller shutdowns of fiscal institutions whitethorn beryllium the accidental for crypto to scope wide adoption.”

Johnny Lyu, CEO of KuCoin

“We judge that elements of the aboriginal of concern volition beryllium blockchain enabled and we’re already witnessing accelerated alteration successful the tokenisation market.”

Drew Bradford, enforcement wide manager, markets astatine the National Australia Bank

“Major adoption by mainstream businesses and their consumers is close astir the country acknowledgment to caller developments successful scaling and privateness technology.”

Mark Smargon, CEO of Fuse Network

“Drop the blockchain/NFT/play-to-earn (P2E)/metaverse/Web3 talk. […] They [players] conscionable privation to person an entertaining playing acquisition — not a subject lesson.”

Peter Bergstrom, erstwhile shaper of Age of Empires and CEO of BitBlock Ventures

“We are going to person a recognition crunch successful the U.S. and globally. […] You privation to beryllium agelong golden and metallic […] and you privation to beryllium agelong Bitcoin.”

Michael Novogratz, laminitis and CEO of Galaxy Digital

“I judge regulators are utilizing crypto arsenic a scapegoat for their ain lapses successful oversight of accepted banking.”

Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest

Prediction of the Week 

Bitcoin terms hits $27K successful caller 9-month precocious arsenic Fed injects $300B

FUD of the Week 

Euler Finance hacked for implicit $195M successful a flash indebtedness attack

Lending protocol Eurler Finance faced a flash indebtedness onslaught connected March 13. The exploiter carried retired aggregate transactions, stealing astir $196 cardinal successful stablecoins DAI and USDC, arsenic good arsenic staked Ether and wrapped Bitcoin. The onslaught was dubbed the largest hack of 2023 truthful far. A information of the stolen funds started to beryllium transferred to crypto mixer Tornado Cash soon aft a $1 cardinal bounty was launched to place the hacker. As of March 18, lone a tiny information of the funds had been recovered — astir 3,000 Ether ($5.4 million).

Europol seizes $46M from crypto mixer aft $2.88B allegedly laundered

Law enforcement bureau Europol has seized assets of cryptocurrency mixer ChipMixer worthy $46 cardinal for its alleged engagement successful money-laundering activities. ChipMixer’s website has been unopen down and 4 servers hosting the exertion person been seized. Europol claims that ChipMixer has laundered implicit 152,000 BTC ($2.88 billion) since its inception successful 2017.

FBI, NY authorities probes illness of TerraUSD stablecoin

The U.S. Justice Department is reportedly investigating the illness of the TerraClassicUSD (USTC) stablecoin, which contributed to a $40 cardinal wipeout successful the Terra ecosystem past May. Former unit astatine Terraform Labs person been interrogated successful caller weeks by U.S. agencies, including the FBI. The probe covers akin crushed to a suit filed against Terraform Labs and its laminitis Do Kwon by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission successful February, including misleading investors.

Best Cointelegraph Features

4 retired of 10 NFT income are fake: Learn to spot the signs of lavation trading

NFT lavation trading inflates the measurement connected immoderate platforms by 10x–20x the morganatic volume. Why is it encouraged, and what tin beryllium done astir it?

All emergence for the robot judge: AI and blockchain could alteration the courtroom

Do the developers of ineligible bots person capable cognition and acquisition of the law? Is the information utilized to “train” their algorithms timely? Will captious grounds beryllium filtered out?

Crypto wintertime tin instrumentality a toll connected hodlers’ intelligence health

The relentless carnivore market, a drawstring of high-profile transgression charges and the autumn of trusted institutions person taken their toll connected those actively progressive successful the crypto industry.