Cryptocurrency news: We bring you an update of what’s been taking place in the world of cryptocurrency this week. Feels like Groundhog Day, again.
This week, the focus falls on Binance (again). According to the exchange, it shifted $1.78 trillion in stablecoin to hedge fund managers. Forbes reported that without reducing its supply, the platform drained its collateral at B-peg USDC. The B token is an issuance that allows other blockchain tokens to be utilized on the BNB Chain. Binance will only issue B-token if it has 100% collateral. In addition, it must have 100 USDC collateral for each 100 B-USDC.
No surprise both Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, and the community responded with “FUD”.
Crypto News – Social Media
Gensler Taking Aim at Cryptocurrency
Any lingering doubts about Gary Gensler’s long-term plan for cryptocurrency were laid to rest by his interview with New York Magazine. In his own words, he said “everything but Bitcoin”. This falls under the jurisdiction of the Securities And Exchange Commission (SEC). According to Gensler, the “road” or “runway” for cryptocurrency companies that are not listed with the SEC is “getting shorter”.
Gensler also highlighted the difficulty of regulating crypto-related businesses in the US. He commented, “Everything other than Bitcoin, you can find a website, you can find a group of entrepreneurs, they might set up their legal entities in a tax haven offshore, they might have a foundation, they might lawyer it up to try to arbitrage and make it hard jurisdictionally or so forth.”
This Week’s NFT Sales
Non-fungible token (NFT) sales hit new highs that had not been seen since the start of the crypto winter. Blur was responsible for the 117% rise in volume last month. January. Blur’s month-on-month gains are mostly due to the NFT sector’s performance. The NFTs are up by more than 60% in the past 30 days.
The news this week is that crypto broker Voyager is to be acquired by investment firm Apollo Global Management. The deal is worth “up to” $1.2 billion. Voyager is the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency company in the US. The acquisition makes Apollo one of the largest players in the cryptocurrency space.
The cryptocurrency sector made some interesting movements this week, with the bankrupt lender Voyager allegedly selling off its assets, and Binance and Gensler back in the news. On-chain research revealed that the lender had sent various crypto assets to the exchange Coinbase since February 14, with the assets valued at over $100 million.
Voyager is one of the many crypto companies that failed in 2022, filing for bankruptcy in July due to volatile market conditions. Maker (MKR) was one of the week’s biggest gainers, rising nearly 23%. SSV.network came in second place, with 13% more than SSV, and SingularityNet was third with 10%. The biggest losers were Conflux (CFX), with a drop of just over 30%, and Klaytn and Hedera both dropping 19%.
Malicious software targeting Mac users has been detected, with crypto-jacking malware versions of Final Cut Pro, a movie editing package, spreading. Jamf Threat Labs, a cybersecurity company for the Apple ecosystem, first discovered the malware. Polkadot (DOT) gave mixed signals, with a bearish divergence observed in the daily timeline, but two bullish indicators on the weekly timeline, leading to potential long-term gains.
