Day: March 27, 2023

First Citizens snaps up Silicon Valley Bank — Branches open Monday

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North Carolina-based First Citizens Bank is set to acquire all deposits and loans of Silicon Valley Bank, according to a statement from the Federal Deposit and Insurance Corporation (FDIC).  Under a March 26 purchase and assumption agreement, 17 former branches of Silicon Valley Bank will open as First Citizens Bank and Trust Company on Monday, March 27, while all depositors of SVB will automatically become depositors of First Citizens Bank.  “Today’s transaction included the purchase of about $72 billion of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, National Association’s assets at a discount…

DeFi Derivatives Exchanges Struggle with Liquidity, Posing Concerns in Crypto Market

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Liquidity is a big problem in the cryptocurrency market today and decentralized finance (DeFi) has not been immune to this. One of the most interesting developments in the Defi space has been the emergence of decentralized derivatives exchanges. These exchanges are more efficient than centralized exchanges, making them attractive to investors despite the regulatory risks. However, they are currently struggling with liquidity, which is a cause for worry, a report in Coindesk said.  dYdX, the first perpetual futures decentralized derivatives exchange, has been successful, but it is not completely decentralized…

A Look at the Fed’s Recent Custodia Bank Denial and the Central Bank’s Push Back Against Narrow Banking – Economics Bitcoin News

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Over the past century, the number of American banks has significantly decreased, dropping from 30,000 banks in 1921 to 4,997 U.S. banks in 2021, according to data from the Federal Reserve. Recently, the U.S. central bank denied Custodia Bank of Wyoming, a financial institution that holds $1.08 for every dollar deposited by customers. Although there appears to be a need for such a bank after the collapse of three major U.S. banks, the Federal Reserve stated that board members have “heightened concerns” about institutions with plans to focus solely on…

Minecraft, GTA may change their tune on blockchain yet: GameFi execs

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While several mainstream game studios have taken a noticeable step back integrating blockchain tech, three blockchain gaming executives say it’s only a matter of time before they change their tune.  In July last year, Minecraft developer Mojang Studios announced a ban on NFTs and blockchain technology. By November, Rockstar Games updated its website to stipulate that fan-operated servers for Grand Theft Auto V can no longer utilize crypto assets, specifically non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Rip NFT worlds? pic.twitter.com/5bEy5oqtjm — DeeZe (@DeeZe) July 20, 2022 Walter Lee, Gaming Growth Lead at BNB Chain,…

ARK Invest Scoops Up Coinbase, Block Shares for Second Straight Day

Cathy Wood’s ARK Invest bought $12.6 million of Coinbase (COIN) shares on Friday, the second straight day the fund bought the crypto exchange’s stock after the company received a Wells Notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 22, sending COIN tumbling 16% the next day. The shares gained 1.5% on Friday to close at $67.83 apiece. Source

First Citizens Nearing Deal for Silicon Valley Bank: Bloomberg

While Silicon Valley Bank didn’t provide fiat on-ramps to exchanges, like Silvergate or Signature bank, a number of key crypto companies like Circle Financial banked there. Circle’s USDC stablecoin fell from its $1 peg for a few days after the company announced that $3.3 billion of its deposits were at Silicon Valley Bank. Source

Titanium Blockchain CEO behind BARs ICO fraud, put behind bars for 4 years

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The California-based CEO of Titanium Blockchain has been sentenced to four years of prison — putting an end to a 2018 initial coin offering (ICO) saga that stripped investors of $21 million.  Michael Stollery, who founded Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services (TBIS), was a key figure in a “cryptocurrency fraud scheme” which involved an initial coin offering for TBIS — conducted between late 2017 and early 2018, according to the Department of Justice. Investors purchased a crypto token called BARs to participate in the ICO. Approximately $21 million was raised from…

US Seizes 18 Crypto ATMs Purchased Using Fraudulent SBA Loans — Arrests Owner – Regulation Bitcoin News

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U.S. law enforcement has seized 18 cryptocurrency ATMs that were purchased using fraudulent loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) meant to assist small businesses financially harmed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The loans were also used to purchase bitcoin from a New York-based cryptocurrency exchange, said the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Coindawg’s Crypto ATMs Seized The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday that Charles Riley Constant, aka Chuck Constant, has been arrested “for charges in connection with a scheme to steal and launder over $1 million in…

Coinbase wants devs to build inflation-pegged ‘flatcoins’ on its new ‘Base’ network

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Crypto exchange Coinbase sees inflation-pegged “flatcoins” as one of four “critical” innovations that should be built on its recently launched layer-2 network Base. The other three include an on-chain reputation system, an on-chain limit order book (LOB) exchange and tools that make the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem safer.  The trading platform outlined the four areas in a post published on March 24, about a month after Coinbase launched Base, a network that is secured by Ethereum and powered by fellow layer-2 network Optimism. Are you a builder passionate about making the onchain economy…

Coinbase wants devs to build inflation-pegged ‘flatcoins’ on its new ‘Base’ network

Crypto exchange Coinbase sees inflation-pegged “flatcoins” as one of four “critical” innovations that should be built on its recently launched layer-2 network Base. The other three include an on-chain reputation system, an on-chain limit order book (LOB) exchange, and tools that make the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem safer.  The trading platform outlined the four areas in a March 24 post — about a month after Coinbase launched Base on Feb. 23. Base is secured by Ethereum and powered by fellow layer-2 network Optimism. Are you a builder passionate about making the…