Month: February 2023

Bitcoin price more correlated to FTX developments than macro events: Research

The collapse of FTX and related developments did more to pull up or push down the price of Bitcoin (BTC) throughout Q4, compared to macroeconomic events such as rate hikes, according to research. In a “State of Bitcoin Q4 2022” report published on Feb. 10, Messari research analysts Sami Kassab and Chris Collar found that the collapse of the exchange resulted in a 25% decrease in the price of Bitcoin. How did #Bitcoin fare in Q4 22′ in the wake of unfavorable macro and crypto environments? +FTX collapse caused a…

Moonpay and Looksrare Partner to Bring Convenient NFT Purchasing to the Masses – Bitcoin News

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On Thursday, the fiat-to-crypto onramp business Moonpay announced a multi-year partnership with the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Looksrare. According to the deal, Looksrare will allow marketplace users to buy and sell crypto assets through Moonpay’s services. Moonpay and Looksrare Join Forces to Streamline NFT Transactions Moonpay, the fiat-to-crypto service founded in 2019, revealed that it has entered into a partnership with the NFT market, Looksrare. Launched in August 2022, Looksrare was one of the first NFT marketplaces to actively reward traders with its own token, LOOKS. According to dappradar.com statistics…

BTC miner CleanSpark on the hunt for further crypto miner fire sales

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Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm CleanSpark is planning to continue its strategy of scooping up distressed mining company assets this year.  The Bitcoin miner released its fiscal Q1 earnings presentation on Feb. 9, where the company said it remained optimistic about the coming year and continued growth. Chief Financial Officer, Gary Vecchiarelli, said CleanSpark has seen “explosive growth” in the last 12 months and feels very comfortable with its plans. He added that growth in terms of mergers and acquisitions would continue into 2023. “With respect to our strategy regarding M&A,…

French Luxury Brand Hermes Wins NFT Trademark Infringement Lawsuit – Featured Bitcoin News

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French luxury brand Hermes has won a lawsuit against an artist who depicted its famous Birkin bags in a non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The artist argued that NFTs should be covered under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment but the jury disagreed. Hermes Wins Lawsuit Against ‘Metabirkins’ NFT Creator French luxury design house Hermes has won a lawsuit against Mason Rothschild, the artist behind the “Metabirkins” non-fungible token (NFT) collection which features digital depictions of Hermes’ popular Birkin bags. Rothschild created the Metabirkins NFT collection in 2021, which he described as…

‘Agent of an anti-crypto agenda’ — Community slams Gensler over Kraken crackdown

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Members of the crypto community are seemingly outraged over the recent charges laid against crypto exchange Kraken in relation to its staking-as-a-service program in the United States.  On Feb. 9, the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it had settled charges with Kraken over “failing to register the offer and sale of their crypto asset staking-as-a-service program,” which it claims is qualified as securities under its purview. Kraken agreed to settle the charges by paying $30 million in fines and to immediately cease the staking services to U.S. retail…

Kraken Crypto Staking Settlement Bedevils Markets as Bitcoin Lingers Below $21.9K

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Ether, the second largest crypto by market cap, behaved similarly, dropping from its previous support comfortably above $1,600 to about $1,546, a 6.6% decline from Wednesday same time, that was part of a wider market downswing. The drop-off after a five-week spike began after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted Wednesday that his firm had heard rumors the SEC wanted to ban retail investors from engaging in crypto staking, the income-generating technique at the core of running blockchains including Ethereum. Original

Bitzlato Co-Founder Released After Arrest in Moscow, Pledges Relaunch of Seized Exchange

At the same time, he said the team was proactive about catching potentially criminal use of the exchange and from time-to-time even browsed the Hydra darknet marketplace in search of Bitzlato users. When found, those accounts would be blocked, he said. On one occasion, Shkurenko recalled, a tech support employee walking to the office saw an ad for an illicit drug shop painted on a fence – it turned out to be a Bitzlato user, upon investigation. The exchange blocked the account, he said. Source

Publisher says it’s trying to scrub all traces of ‘Mashinsky Method’ book

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A book once slated to be released by Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO and founder of the bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius, has been pulled before it could ever hit the shelves and the publisher of the title is trying to “remove all trace of it online.” The Mashinsky Method: The Decentralized Path to Financial Freedom was the name of an upcoming financial literacy book by Alex Mashinsky with a tentative release date set for sometime in June. It promised to teach his “7-step method” on “how to protect your assets…

Federal Reserve Officials Say More Interest Rate Hikes Are Needed to Curb Inflation – Economics Bitcoin News

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Several Federal Reserve governors and presidents say that more interest rate hikes are needed to curb inflation. “We are not done yet with raising interest rates,” Fed Governor Lisa Cook said. “We need to raise rates aggressively to put a ceiling on inflation,” Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari stressed. Fed Officials on Raising Interest Rates Further Several Federal Reserve governors and presidents said this week that more interest rate hikes are needed to curb inflation. Their comments followed a similar statement by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell who said…

‘Kraken Down’ — SEC commissioner rebukes own agency over recent action

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United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner Hester Pierce has publicly rebuked her own agency over the shut down of Kraken’s crypto staking program in the United States.  The commissioner blasted her regulator in a Feb. 9 statement called “Kraken Down,” noting that regulation by enforcement “is not an efficient or fair way of regulating” in an emerging industry, stating:  Today, the SEC shut down Kraken’s staking program and counted it as a win for investors. I disagree and therefore dissent. Peirce’s statement also slammed the regulator for shutting…