DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Ex-Deutsche Bank investment banker charged in U.S. with crypto fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - A former Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) investment banker has been charged in an indictment unsealed on Tuesday with misappropriating funds from investors who he wooed with promises of big returns from cryptocurrency trading. Rashawn Russell, 27, of Brooklyn, solicited investments from friends and colleagues but used the funds for gambling and other personal expenses, federal prosecutors said. According to the indictment, Russell was an investment banker from July 2018 through November 2021 at a financial institution that was not identified in the document. His LinkedIn profile states that he became a Deutsche Bank investment banking analyst in July 2018 and was promoted to associate in July 2020. U.S. prosecutors and regulators have been working to crack down on fraud involving digital assets.

Bitcoin peaked at $30,438 in Asian trade and was last up 1.4% at $30,070. It has gained nearly 6% since the start of the month, after rising 23% in March. This brings digital asset flows back into positive territory for the year, the report showed. "If (bitcoin) can survive the week over $30,000, we are going higher." While Shapella is not likely to directly drive sell pressure on ether, there could be heightened volatility around the event, Bank of America strategist Alkesh Shah said.

☆ Crypto stocks rally after bitcoin breaks above $30,000 to hit a 10-month high
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Crypto-related stocks rose Tuesday after bitcoin broke above $30,000 to hit a 10-month high. Bitcoin miners Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms also edged higher in early-morning trading, having logged double-digit gains the previous trading session. Amplify's Transformational Data Sharing ETF, which tracks crypto stocks, has outperformed in 2023. The crypto stocks logged gains Monday even as the Nasdaq Composite — which tracks the tech sector more broadly but tends to move in lockstep with bitcoin — closed 0.03% lower. Read more: Bitcoin's nearing a breakout moment — prices topped $30,000 for the first time since June 2022

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File PhotoApril 11 (Reuters) - Investors are finally set to gain access to more than $33 billion of ether this week under a planned revamp of the blockchain. A new software upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain, dubbed Shapella, will let market players redeem their "staked ether" - coins they have deposited and locked up on the network over the past three years in return for interest. About 15% of all ether is staked, totaling $33.73 billion in market value, according to data from Dune Analytics. "It seems unlikely, therefore, that much of the staked ether will be sold," Rangar added. Following the upgrade, staked ether will no longer be locked up on the blockchain, so investors may be more willing to stake coins.

☆ Failed crypto exchange FTX's spectacular collapse was due to 'hubris, incompetence, and greed,' says first debtors' report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

On Sunday, its debtors released their first report on the collapse of the crypto exchange. The report alleged a lack of controls including in management, governance, and accounting. Read further for the three key allegations from the debtors' report. The report alleged the management and governance of FTX were largely limited to Bankman-Fried, Singh, and Wang. The report also alleged FTX failed to put in place "basic, widely accepted" security controls to safeguard its crypto assets.

☆ US stocks face a 50% crash, a 'crypto apocalypse' is coming, and the economy is entering a 'doom loop.' Here are the 10 wildest predictions over the past quarter.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

From stocks to commercial real estate, several parts of financial markets are on shaky ground. Here are the 10 wildest predictions about asset prices and the economy over the past quarter. Grantham said the prices of stocks, bonds, real estate, fine art, and other investments surged to unsustainable highs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Crypto: an 'apocalypse' is coming for digital assets"Dr. Doom" economist Nouriel Roubini isn't hopeful about the crypto industry. "I think it will spread into commercial real estate as banks become more reluctant to lend," Cooperman said.

☆ Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary breaks down his latest crypto bet as regulators look to crush 'rogue' operators
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I caught up with Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary, an active crypto investor and market veteran, to get his take on the digital asset sector and recent regulatory action. Since November, he's moved his holdings to Canada, where he uses WonderFi, a name he's backed as an investor. They told regulators 'go get them,' and all of a sudden we have a mountain of enforcement action." The SEC said it's "neutral" about the technology at hand, yet "anything but neutral when it comes to investor protection." I bet if you looked at who's managing these companies 36 months from now, all the current guys are gone."

April 4 (Reuters) - Even as bitcoin flies high, investors are keeping their options open, judging by a record race to derivatives. Most options traders are betting on bitcoin prices jumping higher, with open interest in call options at 206,979 contracts on Deribit, more than double the bearish put options of 93,857. "We have reached the same levels of open interest as 2021 at half the prices, which means we have doubled." Options contracts give their buyers the right, but not an obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a fixed price in the future. Open interest in ether on Deribit features 1.7 million call options versus 656,158 puts.

☆ Brazil's BTG Pactual launches own dollar-backed stablecoin
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, April 4 (Reuters) - Brazil's BTG Pactual said on Tuesday it will launch a stablecoin priced in U.S. dollars at a parity of one to one, as it seeks to position itself in the digital assets market. The stablecoin, called BTG Dol, will be available on Mynt, the bank's crypto-asset platform, and through BTG Pactual's own investment system. A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency that is pegged to a stable asset as a way to reduce volatility. Now we have our own stablecoin," said Marcel Monteiro, Mynt's head of operations. Reporting by Paula Arend Laier; Editing by Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Niche cryptocurrency dogecoin spiked more than 30% on Monday after Twitter CEO Elon Musk replaced the blue bird on his company's website with an image of a shiba inu, the digital coin's logo. After the Twitter logo was altered to a shiba inu image, Musk shared a meme about the change to his 133.5 million followers on Twitter. But Musk's public endorsement of the coin goes further than social media messages. In January 2022, when Musk announced on Twitter that dogecoin payments were live, the cryptocurrency jumped as much as 15%. "We have not sold any of our dogecoin," Musk said on an earnings call last year.

☆ Stocks finished the quarter surprisingly strong. What’s next?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The tech-heavy Nasdaq made a remarkable resurgence, soaring nearly 17% in its best quarterly gain since the fourth quarter of 2020. The labor market has remained red hot, despite the Fed’s aggressive tightening campaign. The number of job openings fell in January , signaling a slight cooling but still hot labor market. The March jobs report. Friday: March jobs report and February consumer credit.

☆ Bitcoin outlook: Crypto may be in a bull market now, but investors should still tread carefully
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The case for a new crypto bull market has been slowly growing since the beginning of the year and gained more strength still in March. For Orsini, the new bull market in crypto began on Jan. 13, when bitcoin broke through its 200-day moving average. "But an enduring secular bull market will have clarity and regulation underpinning it." "When that framework gets introduced you're going to be closer to the beginning of a secular bull market." Less liquidity, bigger swings Bull market or not, investors agree it'll be no straight line up over the next few months.

☆ Hong Kong’s Crypto Ambitions Get a Boost From U.S. Crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Elaine Yu | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Ambre Soubiran, CEO of Kaiko, a digital assets data provider that plans to build a team in Hong Kong with customer-facing roles. HONG KONG—Hong Kong’s attempt to attract cryptocurrency companies is getting help from an intensifying crackdown by American regulators. The city was once home to a number of prominent companies, including Crypto.com, BitMEX and now-bankrupt FTX. But increasing competition from Singapore, concerns about China’s tough approach to crypto and Hong Kong’s prolonged and strict response to Covid-19 meant many companies in the sector left.

☆ Stocks bounced back in the first quarter, but it’s too early to celebrate
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The broad-based S&P 500 seesawed throughout the quarter, ending January on a high note before tumbling in February, rising again in March and ultimately ending the quarter up about 7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq made a remarkable resurgence, soaring nearly 17% in its best quarterly gain since the fourth quarter of 2020. That comes after a tough 2022 for tech stocks, as investors sought out less risky avenues to ride out turbulence from the Fed’s interest rate hike campaign. Bond prices rose as investors wagered that the Federal Reserve won’t raise rates as high as previously expected due to the banking crisis. Wall Street largely shrugged it all off, however, with stocks recouping their losses — and then some — as investors started snapping up tech stocks, boosting the broader equity market.

☆ Stocks bounced back this quarter, but it’s too early to celebrate
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to new federal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of failed cryptocurrency trading platform FTX, pleaded not guilty to five new federal charges of fraud and conspiracy, including one count of conspiring to bribe Chinese government officials. An attorney for Bankman-Fried entered the plea on his behalf of his client, who was seated beside him in the New York courtroom Thursday. He previously pleaded not guilty to eight other charges stemming from what prosecutors have described as one of the biggest financial frauds in US history. In the latest indictment, prosecutors alleged that Bankman-Fried sought to pay off Chinese officials to unfreeze accounts belonging to his hedge fund, Alameda Research. Three of Bankman-Fried’s former business partners — Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison and Nishad Singh — have pleaded guilty to numerous charges and are cooperating with investigators.

☆ Premarket stocks: Banking chaos has been bittersweet for crypto and wine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But it also gave the fine wine and crypto industry a big boost as panicking investors rushed out of the financial sector and into alternative assets. Bittersweet banking: SVB lent over $4 billion to winery clients since 1994, with over 400 wine industry clients (including wineries, vineyards and vendors) working with the bank’s premium wine division, according to the bank’s website. Recent SEC filings, meanwhile, indicated SVB had about $1.2 billion in outstanding loans to high-end wine clients when the bank collapsed. Circle, the company behind popular stablecoin USDC, said it had about $3.3 billion of its $40 billion in reserves at SVB. The collapse of Signature Bank, a major crypto lender, also had serious implications for the industry.

☆ Yellen says US bank rules may be too loose, need to be re-examined
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Mary F. CalvertWASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that banking regulation and supervisory rules need to be re-examined in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and Signature Bank (SBNY.O) failures to ensure current banking system risks are addressed. Yellen said a 2018 roll-back of bank capital requirements and stronger supervision for smaller and mid-size banks with assets below $250 billion should be re-examined. She added that regulatory reforms put in place after the 2008 financial crisis have helped the U.S. financial system weather shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic. adding that the financial system was significantly stronger than it was 15 years ago. The multi-regulator Financial Stability Oversight Council's restored Hedge Fund Working Group will continue to monitor risks and develop policy recommendations, Yellen said.

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSBF pleads not guilty to latest charges, and OKX to turn over some frozen FTX assets: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, Alex McDougall, the CEO of Stablecorp, weighs in on all of this month's digital asset developments, including the collapse of crypto-friendly banks Silvergate and Signature as well as the CFTC's lawsuit against Binance.

☆ 'Dr. Doom' economist Nouriel Roubini says the 'crypto apocalypse is coming' as SEC chair Gensler asks for more funding to catch bad actors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Nouriel Roubini says a "crypto apocalypse is coming," rooting for the downfall of the industry again on Thursday. Roubini cited a report that the SEC chief wants more funding to stop bad actors. The famed economist cited recent reports that US Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, Gary Gensler, is seeking more funding to police misconduct in the space. "Finally the SEC will have the [funding] to go after all the other crypto - and other - crooks," he wrote. Gensler added: "As the cop on the beat, we must be able to meet the match of bad actors.

NEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged crypto firm Beaxy.com and several executives for registration failures on Wednesday, expanding regulators' push to rein in the industry. That structure, which is common throughout the crypto industry, is one that the SEC's chair has criticized for conflicts of interest and risks to investors. On Monday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Binance, accusing the world's largest crypto exchange of violating rules preventing illegal activity. The next day, prosecutors in New York added a Chinese bribery charge to their fraud case against Sam Bankman-Fried, who founded the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. Another man, Brian Peterson, was accused of acting as an unregistered dealer by providing marketing services to Beaxy.

Bankman-Fried is expected to be arraigned on the new indictment on Thursday before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan federal court. The new indictment said Bankman-Fried ordered the $40 million cryptocurrency payment to a private wallet from Alameda's main trading account, to persuade Chinese government authorities to unfreeze Alameda accounts with more than $1 billion of cryptocurrency. Prosecutors said the Alameda accounts had been frozen as part of an investigation into an unnamed Alameda counterparty, and Bankman-Fried's prior efforts to lobby Chinese officials to lift the freeze were unsuccessful. They also said Bankman-Fried around November 2021 authorized a transfer of tens of millions of dollars of additional cryptocurrency to "complete" the bribe. Concerns that Bankman-Fried might tamper with witnesses prompted Kaplan to threaten jailing him unless tighter restrictions could be worked out.

☆ Experts from Amberdata, Custodia Bank, and United States for Kraken discuss the role digital assets are going to play in the future of finance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Elizabeth Wood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Today's financial system is growing, transforming, and increasingly focused on the adoption of digital assets. Shawn Douglas, cofounder and CEO of Amberdata, said that, "Digital assets are the "financialization of the internet," citing blockchain to safeguard real-world assets and, in digital rights management (like NFTs) as examples. CEO of Custodia Bank, Caitlin Long, believes the role of digital assets exists in the payments world. There are, of course, challenges to adopting digital assets including concerns about centralized banks and government agencies. Throughout the conversation, Hirsch remained focused on the potential digital assets have to enable greater freedom globally.

☆ Asia is 'very likely' to become the center of gravity for digital assets, tech company says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | 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 EmailAsia is 'very likely' to become the center of gravity for digital assets, tech company saysDave Chapman of BC Technology Group says the United States is a "very difficult region to navigate from a regulatory standpoint."

☆ Binance boss CZ shows what he thinks of the trading violations lawsuit with an enigmatic tweet: '4'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Binance boss Changpeng Zhao "CZ" Photo by Pedro Fiúza/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesBinance boss CZ showed what he thinks of trading violations lawsuit with an enigmatic tweet: "4"He was referring to one of his four principles: "Ignore FUD, fake news, attacks, etc." CZ said he eats his company's "dog food" by storing his personal crypto on his exchange. Binance boss Changpeng Zhao showed what he thinks of the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) lawsuit against him and the exchange with a cryptic, enigmatic tweet of the number "4." I eat our own dog food and store my crypto on Binance.com," he said. In other words, if a company's dog food is as high quality as advertised, it should be good enough for its employees to eat.

Search resuls for: "Digital Asset"

25 mentions found