DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Here's what's behind cryptocurrencies' recent rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHere's what's behind cryptocurrencies' recent rallyMeltem Demirors of Coinshares and Jacob Silverman of The New Republic join Eamon Javers and the 'CNBC Special: Taking stock' to discuss whether the banking crisis provided a use-case for cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin jumped as much as 9.6% to $26,533, its highest since June 2022, in its fourth straight days of gains. Major cryptocurrencies have been buoyed in recent days by U.S. authorities announcing plans to limit the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). U.S. authorities' action helped stabilise the major USDC stablecoin, whose issuer Circle had deposits of $3.3 billion at SVB. The widely anticipated reading may lead the Federal Reserve to slow or even pause hiking interest rates next week. Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft and Tom Wilson, editing by Sinead Cruise and Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - Bitcoin steadied on Thursday near its lowest since mid-February, after U.S. crypto-focused bank Silvergate said it would voluntarily liquidate, the latest in a series of high-profile crypto collapses triggered by the collapse of the FTX exchange. Silvergate Capital Corp (SI.N) said on Wednesday it planned to close and voluntarily liquidate, after warning last week that it was evaluating its ability to operate as a going concern. Bitcoin was last down 0.4% at $21,624 , having fallen 2.2% on Wednesday to a 3-1/2 week low of $21,590. Multiple partners of the bank, including major crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O), severed ties with Silvergate last week. Others, including Binance, said they did not have any asset losses at Silvergate.

MarketVector's Smart Contract Leaders Index (.MVSCLE), which tracks major tokens of this kind - including ether, dot and solana - is up 36% in 2023, outpacing even bitcoin's 33% rise. Bundeep Rangar, CEO of crypto-focused asset manager Fineqia, said he expected the biggest crypto returns to come from smart contract tokens on platforms that support decentralized finance (DeFi) apps. Around seven of the top 20 biggest crypto assets are smart contract tokens, including ether and dot , solana and cardano . BofA analysts also pointed to smart contract tokens and the blockchain-based applications they power as similar to growth stocks in the equities world, typically technology shares. They caution, though, that the global macro outlook and central bank policy could hit the growth of crypto projects and their associated tokens.

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - European crypto asset manager CoinShares blamed market turbulence for a 97% fall in full-year income and said it lost 26 million pounds ($31 million) in the collapse of major exchange FTX, CoinShares said on Tuesday. The crypto market plummeted in 2022, as rising rates and a series of bankruptcies at high-profile crypto firms prompted investors to ditch risky crypto assets. CoinShares' "total comprehensive income", a measure which includes expected losses, fell to 3 million pounds in 2022 from 113.4 million in 2021, its fourth quarter earnings report showed. CoinShares had previously said it had around $30 million worth of crypto assets stuck on FTX, which froze customer withdrawals in November before filing for bankruptcy. CoinShares describes itself as Europe's biggest digital asset investor and trading group, with 1.4 billion pounds of assets under management at end-2022.

☆ The SEC has a stablecoin firm in its sights — and it could shake up the whole $137 billion market
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Paxos has been ordered by New York regulators to stop issuing the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin. The move will have major implications for the $137 billion market, experts told CNBC. Are stablecoins securities? Renato Mariotti partner, BCLPIf BUSD is deemed a security by the SEC then the regulator would have oversight over the stablecoin. "Absent a successful fight, it is most likely BUSD will no longer be sold into the U.S. or be available on U.S.-based digital asset exchanges," Lansing said.

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Big investors are dipping their toes into crypto waters again after a bumper month for bitcoin. Bitcoin was far and away the biggest draw, with funds tracking it responsible for $116 million of that. They said shorter-term investors were selling their bitcoin at a profit, while longer-term "HODlers" were still sticking with their coin and not contributing to selling pressure. Additionally, bitcoin's "dominance" or share of the total crypto market has hovered around 41% this month, levels not seen since last July. Analysts at Citi said this mimicked a similar jump in bitcoin dominance in April 2019, when a bitcoin rally marked a crypto market bottom.

☆ Investors are pouring cash into crypto at the highest level in 6 months as risk appetite returns and bitcoin wraps up best January since 2013
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Inflows into crypto more than tripled last week to the highest amount since July 2022. The bulk of the funds went into bitcoin as the cryptocurrency's price has soared to kick off 2023. Investors veered away from products that made short bets on bitcoin. Total assets under management in investment products have risen 43% from their lows in November to $28 billion. Canada logged $30 million, the US pulled in $26 million, and Switzerland landed $23 million.

☆ Nothing to indicate there will be major shifts in the crypto market in the near term: CoinShares
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNothing to indicate there will be major shifts in the crypto market in the near term: CoinSharesMeltem Demirors of the digital asset investment firm discusses the 2023 outlook for cryptocurrency and says "we're in a pretty unique environment right now."

☆ Scaramucci sees bitcoin at $50,000 to $100,000 in 2-3 years as market hopes for bull run
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bitcoin is expected to trade within a range, be sensitive to the macroeconomic situation such as interest rate rises and continue to be volatile. "I think there's a little bit more downside, but I don't think there's going to be a lot," Bill Tai, a venture capitalist and crypto veteran told CNBC last week. "I don't think there's a lot of forced selling remaining, which is optimistic," Demirors told CNBC Friday. Bitcoin has proved to be closely correlated to risk assets such as stocks, and in particular, the tech-heavy Nasdaq . Last year, the Fed embarked on an aggressive interest rate hike path to try to tame inflation, which hurt risk assets along with bitcoin.

☆ New Year, new rally: Why bitcoin is up 26% this month after a tumultuous 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

"The most important macro data investors are focussing on is the weak services PMI and the trending down of employment and wage data. 'Whales' buying BTCLarger purchasers of digital coins known as "whales" may be leading the latest rally in bitcoin, according to Kaiko. Several bitcoin miners have been flushed out by the drop in prices. Bitcoin miners, who use power-intensive machines to verify transactions and mint new tokens, have been squeezed by the slump in prices and rising energy costs. That's historically a good sign for bitcoin, according to Ayyar.

☆ Bitcoin to trade in $15,000-$30,000 range in 2023, Coinshares CSO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBitcoin to trade in $15,000-$30,000 range in 2023, Coinshares CSO saysMeltem Demirors, CSO of CoinShares, disucsses her outlook for cryptocurrencies in 2023.

☆ Factbox: From BlockFi to Genesis, crypto firms reel from exposure to FTX
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Jan 5 (Reuters) - After the collapse of major cryptocurrency exchange FTX, the industry has felt a ripple effect due to the exposure of many companies to FTX and its affiliated trading firm Alameda Research. Here are some firms that have given information about their exposure to FTX. The crypto lending arm of U.S. digital asset broker Genesis Trading suspended customer redemptions last month, citing the sudden failure of FTX. Genesis said in a tweet on Nov. 10 that its derivatives business has approximately $175 million in locked funds on FTX. COINSHARESCrypto asset manager CoinShares has $30.3 million worth of exposure to crypto exchange FTX, it said in a statement on Nov. 10.

Ben McMillan, chief investment officer at IDX Digital Assets, said the rising popularity of blockchain-based tools including decentralized exchanges and decentralized finance had also been an important development this year. "We could see bigger allocations to digital assets once risk appetite resumes in 2023." Bitcoin and other tokens took a hammering, slumping by over half in just 49 days from the end of May. On a single day in June, bitcoin fell over 15%, its worst day since March 2020 when COVID chaos roiled financial markets. Bitcoin fell by a quarter in less than four days as Bankman-Fried scrambled for funds to bail his exchange out.

☆ Investors flock to short crypto funds, products as negative sentiment deepens -CoinShares
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Crypto products and funds saw inflows of $44 million, as of the week ended Nov. 18, but 75% of those flows represented investments in short crypto products, data showed. The total assets under management have plunged to $22 billion, the lowest in two years, CoinShares said. FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States more than a week ago in the highest-profile crypto implosion to date. CoinShares data also showed that bitcoin posted inflows of $14 million, but when offset by inflows into short investment products, the net flows were a negative $4.3 million. Investors poured in record inflows to short-Ethereum products of $14 million.

☆ FTX's collapse could be crypto's dot-com crash moment – with the industry struggling to ever regain investors' trust
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The collapse of FTX could weigh on cryptocurrencies for years, experts told Insider. And the dot-com crash shows that there could be further pain ahead. "In a very crude way, this isn't that different to the dot-com crash," Morningstar Investment Management CIO Dan Kemp told Insider. Just 48% of internet companies even survived the dot-com crash, and it took Amazon a decade to regain its peak share price of $113. Whether cryptocurrencies can bounce back as some tech stocks did 20 years ago remains to be seen.

Even though more than half the money ever invested in bitcoin would now be underwater if it had stayed, crypto monitors insist it's somehow still attracting punters. Cryptocurrency and bitcoin investors seem to be showing few signs of dumping their crypto-related assets, stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), despite the latest wave of turmoil and scandal to crash over the sector. Analysts at JP Morgan estimate that around $25 billion has flowed out of the crypto since May. He estimates that the stablecoin market cap peaked at around $170 billion earlier this year and has declined by around $25 billion since May. That is, $25 billion of redemptions flowing out of crypto, most likely to fiat currency, perhaps cash or cash-like products.

☆ As early as 2017, we saw the need for custody to be done properly and independently, says CoinShares CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAs early as 2017, we saw the need for custody to be done properly and independently, says CoinShares CEOCoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti joins 'TechCheck' to discuss crypto asset self-custody, congressional calls for crypto leaders to testify in its FTX hearing and regulatory framework proposals for crypto.

☆ Factbox: From Binance to Voyager, crypto firms' exposure to FTX is coming to light
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - After major crypto exchange FTX filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on Friday, the crypto industry is bracing for further fallout. While the extent of the contagion across crypto markets remains unclear, here are some firms who have given information about their exposure to FTX. loadingCOINBASECoinbase Global Inc (COIN.O) said in a blog post on Nov. 8 that it had $15 million worth of deposits on FTX. It said it had no exposure to FTT, no exposure to Alameda Research, and no loans to FTX. COINSHARESCrypto asset manager CoinShares has $30.3 million worth of exposure to crypto exchange FTX, CoinShares said in a statement on Nov. 10.

☆ Factbox: From Genesis to Voyager, crypto firms' exposure to FTX is coming to light
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoNov 17 (Reuters) - After major crypto exchange FTX filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on Friday, the crypto industry is bracing for further fallout. While the extent of the contagion across crypto markets remains unclear, here are some firms that have given information about their exposure to FTX. GENESISThe crypto lending arm of U.S. digital asset broker Genesis Trading suspended customer redemptions on Wednesday, citing the sudden failure of FTX. It said it had no exposure to FTT, no exposure to Alameda Research and no loans to FTX. COINSHARESCrypto asset manager CoinShares has $30.3 million worth of exposure to crypto exchange FTX, CoinShares said in a statement on Nov. 10.

Bankman-Fried said he was in talks with "a number of players" in the crypto sector, including Justin Sun who is the founder of crypto token Tron, after a potential rescue deal with larger rival Binance fell apart. He also said his firm Alameda Research, which sources have said was partly behind FTX's problems, was winding down trading. FTX's native token, FTT , is down more than 90% this week and was attempting to steady around $3.50. Another exchange, OKX, said it had been approached earlier in the week by Bankman-Fried, who described liabilities of $7 billion that needed covering fast. Bankman-Fried said FTX.US, the U.S. operations of the exchange, however, had not been financially impacted.

☆ CoinShares says has $30.3 million exposure to FTX
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Crypto asset manager CoinShares has $30.3 million worth of exposure to crypto exchange FTX, CoinShares said in a statement on Thursday. CoinShares said its exposure to FTX includes $3.1 million worth of bitcoin and $1.2 million worth of ether in pending withdrawals requests which were sent before FTX halted customer withdrawals on Nov. 8. Its exposure also includes $25.9 million worth of dollars and the stablecoin USDC, and $110,000 of unspecified "other assets." "The financial health of the Group remains strong," said CoinShares CEO, Jean Marie Mognetti, adding that its net asset value on Sept. 30, 2022 was 240.6 million pounds ($279.10 million). ($1 = 0.8621 pounds)Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

He is seeking the remainder from other funds, including current investors in FTX such as venture capital fund Sequoia Capital, the source added. Bankman-Fried told investors that Alameda owes FTX about $10 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. FTX had lent more than half of its customer funds to Alameda, the newspaper said. The U.S. securities regulator is investigating FTX.com's handling of customer funds and crypto-lending activities, according to a source with knowledge of the inquiry. Canada's Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, Tiger Global and Japan's Softbank are also FTX investors.

Crypto markets have come under intense pressure this year, as rising interest rates prompt investors to ditch risky or speculative assets. In the case of FTX, U.S. residents can't trade on its global platform due to strict regulations for the crypto space in the United States. Ken Lo, co-founder at Hong Kong-based crypto exchange and custodian Hong Kong Digital Asset Exchange, said counterparty risk, which comes from a lack of transparency and information disclosure, underscores the need for "clear regulatory framework and vision statement." In an interview with Reuters in July, Bankman-Fried said his company still had a "few billion" on hand to shore up struggling firms that could further destabilize the digital asset industry. Max Boonen, co-founder of digital asset liquidity provider B2C2, said FTX's problems have set the crypto space back by six months.

☆ A startup building software to encrypt messaging tools such as Slack just raised $11 million from Molten Ventures. Check out the 17-slide pitch deck Worldr used to secure the round.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A startup building encryption software to secure business communications on Slack and Teams just raised $11 million. London-based startup Worldr has built an additional layer of "zero-trust" infrastructure offering security, privacy, and compliance for business communication apps. As the company scaled into new markets, it became a highly regulated business, Buchan told Insider. This means that despite using Slack or Teams for business communications, those companies can't access the customer's data. The company has built integrations for Microsoft Teams, Slack, and WhatsApp, and has Microsoft Outlook in the works.

Search resuls for: "CoinShares"

25 mentions found