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NEWS
Despite the bear market, crypto purchases exploded in 2022
The year 2022 and its slew of scandals have raised fears of a diminished use of cryptocurrencies. But when it comes to purchases of goods and services, that hasn’t been the case, according to the latest report from CoinGate. While customers were making 312,500 purchases per year on average, that number jumped to 927,294 during 2022. Interestingly, nearly half of these purchases were made in Bitcoin (48%), well ahead of USDT (14%).
Ireland’s central bank governor supports ban on crypto ads targeting young adults
After France strictly monitoring crypto influencers; Ireland’s central bank governor, Gabriel Makhlouf, has called for a ban on cryptocurrency advertisements targeting young adults, according to Bloomberg.
Makhlouf expressed concern over the potential negative impact of cryptocurrency on young adults, citing the high level of risk and volatility associated with the digital assets. He also highlighted the fact that many young people may not fully understand the risks involved in investing in cryptocurrencies.
The Global Regulation Landscape
The global regulatory scene is heating up as governments around the world race to finally get coherent crypto rules on the books. Here are some of the latest updates:
- The all-too-often anti-crypto Indian government holds the presidency of the G-20 economic alliance this year.
- The final vote on Europe’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework gets delayed to April.
- The EU is voting on new bank rules that allow banks to hold crypto but with strict restrictions.
- The Central African Republic – which made BTC legal tender last April – is now working on a broader crypto regulatory framework.
- The UK Treasury is looking for a “Head of Central Bank Digital Currency.”
Ethereum turns 9
Many of you will no doubt know the key dates in Bitcoin’s history. October 31, 2008, when Satoshi shared the white paper for the first time. January 3, 2009, when the Genesis Block was mined with its famous embedded Times headline”.
But how many of us know the date January 23, 2014? On that date, nine years ago this week, a 19-year-old named Vitalik Buterin posted a message on the BitcoinTalk forum titled “Welcome to the New Beginning.”
Goldman Sachs compliments Bitcoin
We’ve been tracking the crypto industry’s January rally. This week, before taking a little breather midweek, Bitcoin had hit 40% up on the year, topping out over $23,000.
It’s clear that the community is pretty mixed on what’s driving it. Some have argued that it’s market manipulation. Others are sure it’s the start of a blistering new bull run.
Still, others think it’s just a mean reversion as the contagion of last year seems to ebb. Whatever the case, as Goldman Sachs declared on Wednesday, Bitcoin is the best-performing asset of the year. Welcome home friend.
Not the worst bear market in crypto history
That’s what (or at least some of) the metrics suggest. According to Glassnode analysts, this bear market has seen a realized capital drawdown of 18.8%, which is eclipsed only by the 2011-2012 bear market drawdown of 24%.
Realized capital measures total market cap pricing each Bitcoin UTXO at the price it last moved, rather than its theoretical price if sold today – many see it as a more accurate representation of the market than total market cap.
Other metrics like the Percentage of Supply in Profit also put this as the worst bear market in history. So if you’re feeling bad, you’re not alone. Just remember, things are always darkest before dawn.
Ripple CEO: XRP Lawsuit Resolved by June, SEC Conduct “Embarrassing”
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated that he believes the lawsuit brought against his company by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will be resolved by June, calling the SEC’s conduct in the case “embarrassing.”
The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple in December, alleging that the company had raised more than $1 billion through an unregistered securities offering of its XRP cryptocurrency. Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen were named as defendants in the suit.
Barry vs the Winklevoss in a very public fight
In the days following the FTX collapse, crypto lender Genesis halted withdrawals. Among those with funds stuck was crypto exchange Gemini, whose users had about $900M invested via Genesis. After months of behind-the-scenes back-and-forth, the battle for resolution between Gemini, Genesis, and Genesis’ parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) has spilled publicly.
Recently, Gemini Co-CEO Cameron Winklevoss accused DCG head Barry Silbert of “bad faith stall tactics.” He ratcheted up that rhetoric even further, accusing Genesis and DCG of accounting fraud and misrepresenting their true financial troubles to investors, customers and partners.
To make things worse for the Winklevoss twins, the SEC has sued Gemini together with Genesis over selling unregistered securities, through the Gemini Earn Lending Program.
Staking DeFi
- Lido became the largest DeFi app by TVL (up 33% over the last month alone). Remember that thread by our KryptoKiril about stETH being ultra sound money? No joke.
- DeFi applications like Frax have also seen more engagement, with Frax’s FrxETH token holding more than $100m – up from $50m at the beginning of the month.
- New milestone for Ethereum – more than 16 million ETH are now staked. On-chain activity is also on the rise.
$100M fine for Coinbase
According to the NYDFS (New York Department of Financial Services), the giant Coinbase had numerous compliance gaps related to anti-money laundering requirements. Deficiencies justified by the hypergrowth of the American firm. Under these conditions, the authorities agreed on a fine of $50M in addition to an obligation to invest $50M in its compliance department over 2 years (recruitment, tools,…).
An other rebound for Coinbase, that has also been fined $3.6 million by the Dutch central bank that has fined the European branch of crypto exchange Coinbase (€3.3 million) for failing to meet registration requirements before offering its services in the Netherlands.
Sam Banksman Pleads Not Guilty
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has predictably pleaded not guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of New York to the charges against him in the FTX fiasco.
He will face eight counts in what is expected to be a lengthy trial, scheduled for October 2.
In the meantime, SBF has been released on a record $250 million bail and strict conditions.
Hacks broke all records in 2022
In the wake of a particularly complicated 2022 for the crypto industry with numerous scandals, it can also be noted that it was the scene of a number of disappearing funds and thefts, at the heart of crypto protocols. Crazy amounts, estimated at nearly $3 billion compared to less than $2 billion in 2021.
NFTs in Web 2.0
One of the real bright spots of this bear market has been the sustained passion of the NFT community. Reddit, for example, has seen 5 million NFT avatars minted. Recently, Meta’s Instagram began allowing select artists to mint and sell NFTs directly through the platform (powered by Polygon). So far, those sales have been a smash success.
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