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☆ Coinbase swings to quarterly loss as crypto winter hits trading volume
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Manya Saini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O) reported a fourth-quarter loss on Tuesday, as trading volume at the cryptocurrency exchange came under pressure from an industry-wide downturn triggered by a string of high-profile bankruptcies. The digital assets market suffered from dour sentiment over the last year, but the biggest blow to the sector came from the bankruptcy of Sam Bankman-Fried's major crypto exchange FTX in November. Amid the market downturn, trading volume at the crypto exchange plunged to $145 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $547 billion a year earlier. Retail traders also pulled back significantly, with their trading volume in the quarter plummeting nearly 89% to $20 billion. The company reported net revenue of $605 million in the quarter, compared with $2.49 billion a year earlier.

☆ Coinbase beats on revenue and earnings, but usage continues to decline
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Coinbase reported user numbers that fell short of analysts' estimates even as fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat projections. Loss of $2.46 per share, vs. loss of $2.55 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Revenue: $629 million, vs. $590 million as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. With crypto staking, investors typically vault their crypto assets with a blockchain validator, which verifies the accuracy of transactions on the blockchain. Haas added that staking was less than 3% of net revenue, so it was not material source of net revenue at this time — but an "important part of the ecosystem" that the platform plans to grow.

☆ Coinbase swings to quarterly loss as crypto winter hits trading volumes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shares in Coinbase, which lost roughly 86% of their value in 2022, were down about 2% in extended trading after results. But the biggest blow to the sector came from the bankruptcy of Sam Bankman-Fried's major crypto exchange FTX in November. Trading volumes at the crypto exchange in the fourth quarter plunged to $145 billion, compared with $547 billion a year earlier. The company reported net revenue of $605 million in the quarter, compared with $2.49 billion a year earlier. Coinbase reported a net loss of $557 million in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $840 million a year earlier.

☆ Inside the self-proclaimed first generative AI conference, executives explain why the hot new technology behind ChatGPT is 'not just hype, but something real'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AI startup Jasper hosted what it claims was the first conference dedicated to generative AI. The mood was reminiscent of the hype around crypto, but attendees say generative AI is here to stay. Thomas Maxwell/InsiderInsiders say generative AI is not just a fadGenerative AI has already run into some road bumps. Anthropic's Amodei said that consumers, businesses, and developers alike are moving at "record speeds" to adopt generative AI. Thomas Maxwell/InsiderWhat's different with generative AI is that large language models have been quietly in development for some time, , executives said.

☆ A crypto chartmaster shares why bitcoin could fall up to 50% after its massive comeback — and why he's bullish on these 4 altcoins in the long term
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Chartmaker Forrest Przybysz shared his 2023 price outlook for bitcoin and ether. Here are four altcoins that Przybysz is most optimistic about with bitcoin at risk of falling. In other words, while Przybysz's charts also indicate that ether could fall 20%, the token's potential upside of 57% is double that of bitcoin. Ether is trading above technical support but could rise substantially. Forrest Przybysz, Sistine ResearchDespite their strong showings so far this year, bitcoin and ether are still about 64% below their all-time highs.

☆ BUSD: US regulator orders Paxos to halt new issues of Binance-branded stablecoin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —New York’s top financial regulator has ordered a crypto company to stop minting a major stablecoin, widening a clampdown on the embattled digital assets sector. Paxos also said it would “end its relationship” with Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. It did not say why the regulator had ordered it to stop issuing BUSD. Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission said overseeing crypto assets was a key priority for 2023. According to crypto advocates, the growing global clampdown could undermine the ecosystem for digital assets.

☆ Why the ‘Crypto Bowl’ won’t be back this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Super Bowl LVI was the crypto world’s coming out party. You can expect a lot less noise from Team Crypto during Super Bowl LVII next Sunday. Of the four crypto or crypto-affiliated companies that advertised in the Super Bowl last year, one (FTX) has collapsed completely. “Crypto firms are focusing less on crypto advertising and more on investing in better user experiences, products, and customer service,” Lacayo added. Its Super Bowl ads featured Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen.

☆ End of easy-cash era is going to hurt
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The end of the easy-cash era is over and its impact yet to be felt on world markets, hopeful that the pain of aggressive rate hikes and high inflation has passed. Reuters Graphics3/ GOING PRIVATEPrivate debt markets have ballooned since the financial crisis to $1.4 trillion from $250 billion in 2010. Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics4/CRYPTO WINTERRising borrowing costs roiled crypto markets in 2022. Reuters Graphics5/FOR SALEReal estate markets, first responders to rate hikes, started cracking last year and 2023 will be tough with U.S. house prices expected to drop 12%. How the sector services its debt is in focus and officials warn European banks risk significant profit hits from sliding house prices.

☆ Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius used Quickbooks for its accounting just like FTX, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius used QuickBooks to log its finances just like FTX. According to an examiner's report, Celsius' tracked its finances in 15 QuickBooks files and failed to produce consolidated statements. Later, Pillay found "significant discrepancies" between account balances in Celsius' QuickBooks files and those used to create consolidated statements, per Decrypt. The court examiner found the "files produced by Celsius were not the original files used to prepare the consolidated financial statements." A detailed probe into the troubled crypto lender found that Celsius misled customers when it advertised its business model.

☆ Britain sets out plans to regulate crypto industry in wake of FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In a widely-anticipated industry consultation launched Tuesday, the government proposed a number of measures aimed at bringing regulation of crypto asset businesses in line with that of traditional financial firms. A big theme that emerged in 2022 was the rise of risky loans made between multiple crypto firms and a lack of due diligence done on the counterparties involved in those transactions. The collapse of FTX has added urgency to global regulators' attempts to govern the regulation-averse crypto space. The regulatory move comes as crypto firms in both the U.K. and beyond are feeling the chill of a deep downturn known as "crypto winter." Global crypto hub ambitionsThe U.K. wants to become a leader in crypto and blockchain technology on the global stage.

☆ Bitcoin and other cryptos slump as the Fed gets ready to raise interest rates again
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Crypto markets are slipping as the two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve kicks off. A blockchain exec broke down how crypto markets are thinking about this week's expected rate hike. Ethereum is flat ahead of the central bank meeting, trading at $1,585. Recent economic data points indicate that high inflation is easing, giving the central bank room to pull back on monetary tightening. "Any movement ahead of the Fed meeting is mere correlation," Jeremy Epstein, CMO of smart contract platform Radix, told Insider.

☆ January was bitcoin's best month since 2021, but crypto isn't ready for a 'rocket ship rally' yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

For some investors, however, its strong month isn't necessarily a green light to jump back into the crypto market. As of Tuesday, bitcoin is set to finish the month up 38.39%, which would make it its best month since October 2021 and its best January in 10 years, according to Coin Metrics. Ether , which led the crypto recovery last summer ahead of the merge, has risen 31% this month, coming off a 67.06% decline for 2022. However, "we're not so sure bitcoin is ready for another rocket ship rally just yet." "Thus far, the rise in BTC dominance looks reminiscent of April 2019, during which a BTC rally marked a crypto market bottom, much akin to rising BTC dominance lately."

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.

☆ Premier League signs deal with NFT-based fantasy soccer game despite crypto downturn
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Sorare NFT soccer trading card game has partnered with the Premier League on a multi-year licensing agreement. Sorare, the $4.3 billion fantasy soccer game, has signed a multi-year deal with the Premier League that will see the world's top soccer league license official player cards. Players of the game will be able to purchase and use official Premier League-licensed NFTs under the exclusive multi-year agreement. Sorare was first rumored to be in talks with the Premier League — the top tier of England's men's soccer leagues — about a licensing agreement in Oct. 2022. Sorare CEO Nicolas Julia said things took longer to wrap up than anticipated as the Premier League had an existing NFT licensing deal with another firm.

☆ Has crypto winter thawed out?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | 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 EmailHas crypto winter thawed out? Jalak Jobanputra, Future Perfect Ventures, joins CNBC's "Fast Money" to discuss crypto assets and the future of the industry after the FTX collapse. Chris Rhine, Galaxy Digital portfolio manager, head of Liquid Alpha strategy, also joins the discussion.

☆ I asked ChatGPT investors' burning questions – and a CIO told me why the bot won't be challenging Wall Street's top stock-pickers anytime soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I asked ChatGPT questions about markets and showed the answers to Morningstar Investment Management CIO Dan Kemp. He called some of its knowledge "remarkable" – but isn't worried it'll put top strategists out of their jobs anytime soon. "It provides answers, but it doesn't ask questions like a good investment manager," Kemp said. Kemp told me he was impressed with the breadth of the bot's knowledge – especially its ability to avoid unnecessary jargon when producing stock market content. "It's an interesting mistake and it's one that lots of investors made last year – not every high risk comes with a high reward."

☆ Ted Cruz wants lawmakers who get the munchies to use crypto at Congressional vending machines
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ted Cruz wants to support wider adoption of crypto allowing it to be accepted at vending machines in Congress. Cruz says foreign tourists will benefit as crypto payments would be free from costly transaction fees. Bitcoin on Friday was trading around $22,925, below the range of $36,000-$37,000 at the time Cruz bought the popular cryptocurrency in January 2022. Bitcoin and the broader crypto market have been suffering through a so-called crypto winter marked by a steep valuation slide. The cryptocurrency market's valuation this week pushed above $1 trillion for the first time since crypto exchange FTX collapsed in November.

☆ DCG's crypto exchange Luno to cut 35% jobs amid harsh crypto winter
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"2022 has been an incredibly tough year for the broader tech industry and in particular the crypto market," Luno said in a statement, adding that its growth and revenue has been affected by the downturn. More than a trillion dollars in value was wiped out from the crypto sector last year, with rising interest rates exacerbating worries of an economic downturn. The crash led to high-profile bankruptcies of key industry players such as crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and Celsius Network. Still, the biggest blow came after major exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in November. Last week, the lending unit of crypto firm Genesis filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection, owing creditors at least $3.4 billion after being toppled by the crypto market rout.

☆ Crypto comeback is just a 'mean-reversion' rally, Bernstein says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

That's one observation about the current crypto bounce Bernstein analysts made in a note to investors Monday. They called it a mean-reversion rally, meaning that they see bitcoin prices reverting to their long-term mean or average level. "We reckon, the mean reversion of crypto still has some headroom," analyst Gautam Chhugani said in the note. BTC.CM= 6M mountain Bitcoin Nevertheless, Chhugani attributed the recent bounce to capital already within the crypto industry, namely "sidelined stablecoins" being deployed. As the crypto asset class becomes "more regulated," Chhugani expects to see institutions take crypto positions this year, he said.

[1/4] People stand in front of the Blockchain Hub Davos 2023 at the Promenade road during the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2023, in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannDAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 19 (Reuters) - In the snow and ice on the main drag in Davos, the impact of the crypto winter is plain for WEF attendees to see. Executives in Davos said they are now all about blockchain technology, proper controls and regulation, and the promise of disruption that it holds for financial services and beyond. Colm Kelleher, chairman of Swiss bank UBS (UBSG.S), told a WEF panel that blockchain technology will help reduce costs for banks. "We kind of dodged a bullet," Kelleher said, noting that the collapse in the value of crypto currencies had not caused systemic problems.

☆ Bitcoin’s popularity with developers shrunk last year while Ethereum’s flourished. Here’s what that means for investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Crypto prices suffered badly in 2022, but developer activity for the year paints a more optimistic picture for investors. That puts developer growth at 9% for the year, the report showed, even as the price of ether dropped 67%, according to Coin Metrics. Its price collapsed 50% last year, but the strength of its developer community gave investors hope it would pull through. Meanwhile, bitcoin's developer population shrunk 4%, though it's still the fifth largest in the market at 300 full-time builders. Why it matters for investors Developer activity is an indicator of a network's utility and potential for end users.

☆ Crypto hedge funds ended 2022 down almost 50% - BarclayHedge data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Hedge funds trading crypto currencies tracked by index provider BarclayHedge ended 2022 down almost 50%, the research firm said on Tuesday, a sign that the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX continues to ripple through the industry. "The more skeptical voices have turned to openly wondering if the 'Crypto Winter' isn’t a season at all, but a state more akin to a nuclear winter," said Crawford. An index of 47 hedge funds, the names of which BarclayHedge keeps anonymous, posted a loss of over 47% for the year, the data said. But the 2022 result was not the worst performance the index has seen in the last five years. The Cryptocurrency Traders Index ended 2018 down over 60%, said BarclayHedge, which is part of the company Backstop Solutions.

☆ Crypto is a ‘hot ball of money’ with very little intrinsic value, hedge fund says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

For the uninitiated: Momentum trading is in an investment strategy that aims to capitalize on a trend. See a stock going up, buy the stock, make money. See a stock going down, short it, make money. The crypto trading world functions in much the same way. The momentum effect becomes self-fulfilling “as market participants attempt to front run the hot ball of money.”

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried is now writing his own newsletter while under house arrest at his parents' $4 million property: 'I didn't steal funds'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Presumably writing from his parents' $4 million property in Palo Alto, California near Stanford, Sam Bankman-Fried published a lengthy newsletter yesterday, titled "FTX Pre-Mortem Overview." One statement stood out to me: "I didn't steal funds, and I certainly didn't stash billions away." In the note, Bankman-Fried highlighted that both FTX and Alameda Research were raking in billions in profits in 2021. A key to the collapse, he explained, was 2022's crypto bear market that left just about every token worth dramatically less than the year prior. Well, Bankman-Fried yesterday outlined two versions of the hedge fund's balance sheet, one from each of the past two years.

☆ Morning Bid: Money in the bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Kicking off the fourth-quarter corporate results season in earnest, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon and Wells Fargo are among the countries biggest banks updating on Friday. It will take some twist to puncture the optimism on peak inflation and peak Federal Reserve interest rates, however. Futures markets still see rates topping out below 5% by midyear and pencil in a half point of rate cuts between then and yearend. The yen surged on speculation the Bank of Japan could revise its ultra-loose monetary policy again at next week's policy meeting. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

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