DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Just weeks before crypto lender Genesis filed for bankruptcy, three former employees of the company had secured millions of dollars for a new crypto hedge fund, according to correspondence viewed by CNBC. Gemini, a crypto exchange and major Genesis client, accused Ballensweig of falsely reassuring Gemini in July that Genesis was financially stable. The ex-Genesis employees teamed up with Adam Guren from hedge fund Hunting Hill, Ballensweig said. Hunting Hill is a $718 million hedge fund, which launched in 2010 and moved into digital asset investing in 2020 with a crypto opportunities fund. Neither Hunting Hill nor Bessemer immediately responded to a request for comment.

☆ 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.

☆ Alameda liquidators just lost $72,000 on a DeFi lending platform while trying to recover funds for creditors, analytics firm says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Alameda liquidators lost $72,000 worth of crypto while trying to recover funds, per a report from Arkham Intelligence. Essentially, liquidators have been trying to consolidate assets from Alameda into a single wallet to simplify managing its holdings. As the team was trying to move funds and exit positions, they accidentally liquidated themselves on Aave, a DeFi lending protocol. Around $1.4 million worth of tokens have been returned to the central wallet from various Alameda wallets over the past two weeks. The wallet holds around $19.6 million worth of ether and $140 million of various other cryptocurrencies, The Block reported Thursday.

☆ Bernstein analysts offer a cautious bull case for crypto recovery after a year from hell
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Analysts from Bernstein laid out why they're still bullish on the crypto space. But Bernstein analysts Gautam Chhugani and Manas Agarwal offer crypto true believers a few reasons to keep the faith. Crypto keeps bouncing backThe past year was not the first "crypto winter," and crypto always bounced back fairly easily. Much of the crypto space remains decentralized. Chhugani and Agarwal said FTX's collapse had hastened DeFi adoption, which makes DeFi a bright spot in crypto investing, according to crypto VCs.

☆ Crypto had a catastrophic 2022. Here are 3 reasons it will bounce back again, according to analysts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Analysts from Bernstein laid out why they're still bullish on the crypto space. But Bernstein analysts Gautam Chhugani and Manas Agarwal offer crypto true believers a few reasons to keep the faith. In a note published on January 3, they wrote that despite a catastrophic 2022, the larger crypto ecosystem still has potential. Much of the crypto space remains decentralized. Chhugani and Agarwal said FTX's collapse had hastened DeFi adoption, which makes DeFi a bright spot in crypto investing, according to crypto VCs.

☆ Bitcoin still has a big opportunity in payments despite 60% drop this year and choppy waters ahead
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Investors are constantly reminded that despite the myriad coins, projects and innovations in crypto, bitcoin may be the only "safe" crypto asset to buy. And while Tesla didn't credit the volatility for its reversal, many observers saw it as evidence that the belief in bitcoin's payments capabilities were misguided. "Bitcoin's price on any given day — as a remittance vehicle — has no effect on us," he said. The group that runs the Lightning Network, a payment protocol built on the Bitcoin network, is committed to making Bitcoin network payments even faster, less costly and more readily confirmed than transactions made directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. Crypto investors, on the other hand, were "disproportionately high-income, almost always had a traditional banking relationship, and typically had other retirement savings."

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailEther rises above $1,200, and Grayscale explores returning some investor money: 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, Umee founder Brent Xu discusses the future of DeFi following the collapse of FTX.

☆ The FTX disaster has set back crypto by 'years' — here are 3 ways it could reshape the industry
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It aims to reduce the risks for consumers buying crypto, making exchanges liable if they lose investors' assets. The saga has set back adoption of crypto assets by "one or two years," according to Evgeny Gaevoy, founder and CEO of crypto market maker Wintermute. ConsolidationMany new companies and projects emerged in the years that followed the 2018 crypto winter — FTX among them. Marieke Flament, Near's CEO, said the firm had limited exposure to FTX — though the collapse was still "a surprise and a shock." Fears have risen over the financial health of other major crypto exchanges after FTX's failure.

☆ Kraken's incoming CEO shares 5 major crypto trends for 2023, including what he believes will be the leading use-cases
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

David Ripley says crypto price drops tend to expose those that aren't following proper protocol. Earlier this year, FTX swooped in to try and save the distressed firms, posing as the blue-chip of crypto companies. David Ripley, COO at crypto exchange Kraken and incoming CEO of the firm, says price drops tend to expose those that aren't following proper protocol. It will take the crypto from being just a global payment mechanism to a fast and low-cost global payment network. As for major providers in the space, trusted and reliable crypto companies will see an increase in their market share to fill the demand, he said.

☆ Cramer: Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Google will fuel the next rally — but not in the usual way
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Those who fought this trend abandoned Twitter, hired bodyguards and tried to hide from the angry mob that was attempting to will stocks higher by savaging the sellers. As a result, they overran their brains and outsourced them to others who claimed to know more than they did. My point is this: The crypto con and the Robinhood dollar conflagration can't produce enough money to buoy stocks. We will hold Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Amazon , even as we've trimmed them higher. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Crypto winners and losers from the FTX fallout, according to Bernstein
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bernstein has sifted through the various sectors of the crypto industry and identified winners and losers for 2022. Crypto suffered the added handicap of the financial contagion from the collapse of Terra in the first half of the year and FTX currently. Binance, which operates in a regulatory gray zone, will eventually become the "global consolidator" of smaller off-shore exchanges, Bernstein said. While FTX taught investors about the risks of storing crypto holdings with centralized entities, revelations in the stablecoin sector went the other way around. Solana, on the other hand, took a hit, stained by the fallout of FTX, a big and early backer of Solana.

The answer is simple, according to more than a dozen Washington insiders, FTX employees, and crypto industry observers who spoke with Insider. I don't think anyone believed that he was going to fund candidates who were, quote unquote, committed to ending pandemics who were also hostile to the crypto industry." Alex Wong/Getty ImagesRebuffed by the SEC, Bankman-Fried turned his attention to Congress. "It's not that he was welcoming regulation," says the senior figure in the crypto industry who attended meetings with Bankman-Fried. But while Bankman-Fried was busy wooing Washington, FTX was about to become Exhibit A in the case for more effective oversight of the crypto industry.

☆ Bank of Korea's Rhee 'not so sure' about digital currencies
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Dec 2 (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank governor Rhee Chang-yong said he became sceptical of the benefits of new technologies related to Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), after recent events in the cryptocurrency market. "I was more positive before, but after seeing the Luna, Terra, and now the FTX issues ... I don't know (if) we will see the real benefit of this new technology, at least for monetary policy," said Rhee, a panelist at a session on digital currency. The market saw another rout last month, after one of the world's biggest crypto exchanges FTX filed for bankruptcy, with crypto lending company BlockFi following suit. Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BlockFi users must still account for gains and/or losses on their 2022 taxes, but there are ways to reduce your tax bill. The crypto lender says it's requesting approval from the Court to restore withdrawal activities for those with BlockFi Wallet accounts. BlockFi also asked users not to submit any deposits to the BlockFi Wallet or its interest accounts. Georgia Quinn, General Counsel of Anchorage Digital, believes coverage for crypto users could be stronger. In addition, users are typically last to receive payouts in the event of crypto bankruptcy, since companies settle debts with creditors first.

☆ Venture capitalists flock to blockchain firms in third quarter - Pitchbook
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 29 (Reuters) - Decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 were the primary targets of early-stage startup funding from some of the top private investors in the third quarter, research firm Pitchbook said on Tuesday, even as overall venture capital investments declined. Outlook for funding in the current quarter has darkened as cryptocurrencies reel from the impact of the stunning collapse of FTX earlier this month. Overall, venture capital (VC) activity softened for the third consecutive quarter, totaling $4.7 billion across 153 deals, a 32% decline from second quarter's $6.9 billion across 244 deals, Pitchbook said. Other hot sectors for VC investments included financial technology, accounting for $737.4 million across 24 deals during the quarter, and biotechnology, that lured in $725.8 million across 11 deals, Pitchbook said. Pitchbook's Emerging Tech Indicator report tracked 153 early and seed-stage deals that involved the top 15 VC firms out of 5,997 total deals in the third quarter of 2022.

☆ 3 Crypto lender BlockFi files for Chapter 11
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

It listed crypto exchange FTX as its second-largest creditor, with $275 million owed on a loan extended earlier this year. MARTHA REYES-HULME, HEAD OF RESEARCH, BEQUANT, LONDON"The BlockFi bankruptcy is a sad chapter in the short history of our industry that has forced participants to be more mindful of risk management, counterparty risk, and governance. MONSUR HUSSAIN, SENIOR DIRECTOR, FITCH RATINGS, LONDON“BlockFi’s Chapter 11 restructuring underscores significant asset contagion risks associated with the crypto ecosystem, and, potentially, deficient risk management processes. The decentralized finance models used proper collateralization and they're intact. It was yet another example of neglected risk management when prices were going up, as crypto winter hit those that took on the most counterparty risk are getting exposed."

☆ FTX spent $300mln on Bahamas real estate, 'substantial' assets missing, lawyers say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Crypto exchange FTX was run as a “personal fiefdom” of Sam Bankman-Fried, attorneys for the firm said on Tuesday, describing that one of the company’s units spent $300 million on Bahamas real estate. An attorney said the $300 million spent on real estate was largely homes and vacation properties for senior staff. At the hearing, an attorney for FTX also said that the company continues to suffer cyberattacks as bankruptcy begins, and that “substantial” assets are missing. Bankman-Fried, FTX and the Bahamas liquidators did not immediately respond to requests for comment. FTX said that it was communicating with U.S. regulators and bankruptcy court officials, but did not mention Bahamas regulators.

NEW YORK/LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - FTX has a total cash balance of $1.24 billion, a court filing by advisers on the stricken crypto exchange's restructuring showed ahead of U.S. bankruptcy hearings set for later on Tuesday. Its cash balance as of Sunday was "substantially higher" than previously thought, Monday's filing by Edgar Mosley of Alvarez & Marshal, a consultancy firm advising FTX, said. The details of FTX's cash balances came ahead of a hearing in Delaware on FTX's so-called first-day motions. FTX, led since the bankruptcy filing by new CEO John Ray, has accused Bankman-Fried of working with Bahamian regulators to "undermine" the U.S. bankruptcy case and shift assets overseas. Since the implosion of FTX, some crypto players are taking to decentralized exchanges known as "DEXs" where investors trade peer-to-peer on the blockchain.

Nov 22 (Reuters) - As the crypto castle crumbles, some true believers say the answer is to double down on DEX. Decentralized exchanges, that is. "It is now clear that there can be risk associated with holding assets in a centralized entity," said Varun Kumar, CEO of decentralized crypto exchange Hashflow. "Data is showing that users are turning to decentralized trading solutions." Many market participants see both centralized and decentralized exchanges coexisting.

☆ Insiders detail how Wall Street is preparing for a post-FTX world, from heightened scrutiny on crypto deals to rethinking hiring plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Morgan Chittum | Bianca Chan | Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Most Wall Street firms have executed big crypto and blockchain initiatives. The ties between Wall Street, Main Street, and digital assets have never been tighter. Some traditional firms have chosen crypto custodians to do that for them, while others offer it themselves. Fidelity also has its own digital assets custody offering, and reportedly had plans to continue building out its digital-asset team as recently as late October. 121, which requires most SEC registrants to record the fair value of custodied digital assets as a liability.

☆ Lower valuations, regulatory crackdowns, and a push for DeFi: 5 VCs break down their crypto-market outlooks after FTX's swift downfall
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

FTX, the crypto exchange once worth $32 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov 11. FTX, the crypto exchange reportedly worth $32 billion in February, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 11. A regulatory crackdown and the bull case for DeFiInsider asked five venture investors about their biggest takeaways from the fallout. "First, the crypto market is being de-leveraged, which paves the way for the next upturn. Risks of FTX's downfall could have been mitigated with a "hands on approach" by venture investors.

☆ Billionaire Bill Ackman says crypto 'is here to stay' in the wake of the FTX collapse, as the one-time skeptic outlines some of his investments
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman said "crypto is here to stay," in a Tweet thread published Sunday. Calling himself an initial crypto skeptic, Ackman said he is a small investor in a "hobbyist" capacity. He outlines his crypto observations following the dramatic collapse of crypto exchange FTX. "As such, I was initially a crypto skeptic, but after studying some of the more interesting crypto projects, I have come to believe that crypto can enable the formation of useful businesses and technologies that heretofore could not be created." The world's once third-largest crypto exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Friend is seeking bankruptcy protection in the US and could leave up to 1 million creditors exposed to losses.

☆ Crypto watchdogs have a giant offshore problem
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The European Union’s mammoth crypto regulation would help. Known as MiCA and recently agreed by lawmakers, the rulebook forces custodians to segregate clients’ crypto holdings from the firm’s own assets. Security firm Chainalysis reckons almost three-quarters of stolen crypto in 2021 was taken from DeFi services. Take Binance, by the far largest crypto exchange. Reuters GraphicsFollow @liamwardproud on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSFTX suffered a “severe liquidity crisis” that led to its bankruptcy, according to court filings dated Nov. 14.

☆ Solana is facing its 'crucible moment' after the FTX blowup sent it down 50% last week
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Investors say it feels like a make-or-break moment for the Solana network, but they're optimistic it'll pull through. "Every community has to have a crucible moment," said Avichal Garg, a managing partner at venture capital firm Electric Capital. "FTX really helped construct this ecosystem, they put a lot of money and resources behind it and helped the flywheel get going," Garg said. On the bright side, whatever amount of Solana tokens was locked on the FTX exchange can't be sold now. However, those close to the Solana community have been strongly encouraged by growth trends in its developer base.

☆ Wall Street pushed into digital assets. Now investors are paying the price as FTX's crisis raises questions of a ripple effect in cryptoworld.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | Danielle Walker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

FTX, the crypto exchange in crisis, found backers in BlackRock, VanEck, and Ontario Teachers. The solvency crisis facing the exchange and its famous CEO raises questions of a ripple effect. Now, in the middle of crypto winter, FTX is in the middle of a solvency crisis. Binance, a rival crypto exchange that was initially going to buy FTX, backed out. "What we like about it is that we're not really speculating on whether prices of crypto assets, bitcoin or otherwise, are going up or down.

Search resuls for: "DeFi"

25 mentions found