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☆ Analysis: What's behind bitcoin's latest surge?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Tom Wilson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The original and biggest cryptocurrency has been here before, its 15-year history peppered with dramatic price increases and equally vertiginous drops. Driving bitcoin's gains have been its core user base of retail investors, analysts said. In the past, too, dramatic price swings for bitcoin have been closely tied to shifts in monetary policy globally. In 2022, bitcoin plummeted over 65% as higher rates triggered the fall of a major crypto token, precipitating the closure of major hedge funds and crypto lenders. To be sure, some investors say developments to bitcoin's intrinsic characteristics are now capable of supporting its price.

☆ Cryptocurrencies rally despite shutdown of crypto friendly Signature Bank, bitcoin breaks through $24,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Since the January rally in risk assets began to fizzle out, chart analysts have been looking for a meaningful break above $25,000. "Bitcoin is one of the most sensitive assets to market liquidity, since its 'risk' profile is unencumbered by earnings or ratings concerns," she said. Signature Bank was another famously crypto-friendly institution and the next biggest one next to Silvergate, which announced its impending liquidation last week. Wall Street analysts Friday had maintained buy ratings on Signature Bank, even as the bad news around Silvergate and SVB unfolded. The end of the Silvergate-Signature duo leaves crypto with few "on-ramps" that allow fiat money to flow into crypto assets.

☆ Why Silvergate’s post-FTX financial woes could spell trouble ahead for crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Further, the spillover into a traditional bank and its stock price could fuel regulators' arguments that crypto poses a systemic risk. The big problem in crypto is that to buy bitcoin, you eventually have to interact with the traditional banking system. Silvergate's crypto bet worked for the bank, particularly in bull markets. A big part of Silvergate's crypto banking efforts was the Silvergate Exchange Network, better known as SEN, a platform that institutions used to move money to crypto exchanges. Custodia is a Wyoming-chartered special purpose depository institution designed to bridge the crypto and traditional banking systems.

☆ Bitcoin struggles around $23,000 level as new-year rally loses steam
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bitcoin continues to trade in a tight range of $18,000 to $25,000 mark, keeping investors on edge about where the price is going next. Bitcoin fell as low as $22,655 early Monday morning, its lowest level since Jan. 31, according to Coin Metrics, after breaking through the $24,000 on Thursday. The price of bitcoin dipped below $23,000 over the weekend as investors digested the latest U.S. employment numbers and looked toward a batch of Federal Reserve member speeches. "Expectations are shifting to more tightening, and higher rates for longer (what the Fed has been saying all along), which is not good for risk-on assets," she added. Bitcoin is trading "at the deepest overbought condition in over two years" and is "due for a brake check," according to Wolfe Research.

☆ From the Shanghai upgrade to U.S. regulation: Watch these 5 events to see where crypto markets are heading in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Unlike in previous crypto winters, however, macro forces outside the crypto industry are the biggest drivers of the market. The Shanghai upgrade Ethereum developers are gearing up for the network's next big upgrade, the "Shanghai" upgrade, which has a target release of March 2023. "The problem right now is if you stake ether into the network, your ether will be locked until the Shanghai upgrade," Lau said. "There will be more liquidity of ether after the Shanghai upgrade," he added. Gox but the expected distribution of the bitcoin recovered from the exchange's 2014 implosion could be a near-term headwind for bitcoin investors.

☆ Bitcoin volatility fell to historic lows this week. Here’s why that might be bad news
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"An uptick in bitcoin volatility would, rather than trigger concern, be greeted as a positive sign and would most likely be closely followed by a similar move in spot and derivative trading volumes." Sigel also pointed to bitcoin miners who may be selling covered calls in order to monetize profits as much as they can. Bitcoin miners have had a difficult time with the bitcoin price stuck at such low levels. "Each time volatility has been this low, historically, bitcoin prices have bottomed," said Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital. Thorn said that while seeing lenders and exchanges collapse feels unstable, the crypto market will emerge from this period having significantly matured.

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.

☆ FTX flameout showed investors bought crypto for the wrong reasons. Why most are hoping that'll change in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In some ways, disgraced FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried helped bring more legitimacy to crypto, pushing it further into the mainstream. Decentralized finance has exploded in popularity, but there are other uses for digital assets that people are excited about. Now is a good time for investors to gain knowledge, and doing so would help them solidify their crypto investment thesis in 2023, he said. Specifically, Blumberg added, leaving funds on centralized exchanges is far more dangerous than keeping custody of funds yourself. "The smart investors are seeing this and remembering that what we have here is a fixed supply and, growing demand."

☆ Spooked investors have pulled billions of dollars off Binance. Data suggests fears may be overblown
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Investors have been pulling billions of dollars of funds off Binance amid growing scrutiny over the crypto exchange's reserves. On Tuesday afternoon, more than $6.6 billion in crypto had left the exchange over a 24-hour period, according to Nansen. This has investors spooked about the health of Binance in the wake of former competitor FTX's spectacular downfall, which ended Tuesday with CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's arrest and indictment . It remains to be see how wide the damage done by FTX spreads in the crypto market. Clara Medalie, research director at crypto data firm Kaiko, said liquidity on Binance has stayed stable and bitcoin's market depth is holding steady.

☆ Institutions are charging forward in crypto, even in the industry's darkest days
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

After years of pooh-poohing cryptocurrency, institutions finally entered the crypto market last year and fell straight into crypto winter. "Right now [investors] are going back to basics, doing their homework, finding out what this means," said Lyn Alden, founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy. Near-term risk Institutions often look at big crashes like this one as opportunities , Alden said. "FTX destroyed trust in the industry and may delay traditional finance institutions that haven't already committed to digital assets to invest," Belshe said. However, for "institutions and brands that are already building products in crypto and Web3, we have not seen a slowdown of interest to build, grow and invest."

☆ How to have a low-waste, climate friendly Thanksgiving feast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Susan Puckett | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Less is moreA classic Thanksgiving plate, featuring turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans and gravy. His Thanksgiving preparations start with a trip to a local farmers market, where he can thank the growers personally for his bounty. Leftover idea: Here’s how Acheson turns leftovers into a turkey avocado sandwich as memorable as the feast. Divide and conquerMeal prep is essential to make sure your Thanksgiving dinner tastes great and minimizes waste, says Lisa Bryan. Bryan understands that executing a chaos-free Thanksgiving dinner takes practice.

☆ Farmaceuticals: Vets face pressures to prescribe
▼ + stars: | 2014-09-15 | by ( Brian Grow | Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +29 min

The feed tickets examined represent a fraction of the tens of thousands issued annually to poultry farms run by or for major producers. Some of its feed has contained low levels of one antibiotic, feed tickets show. REUTERS/Randall Hill MODERN BARN: Nearly 20,000 broiler chicks are housed inside a Foster Farms chicken ranch in Stanislaus County, California. As the CDC studied what investigators informally called the “Foster Farms Outbreak,” researchers soon made a troubling discovery. Reuters asked to see Foster Farms’ feed tickets from that period; the company didn’t respond to that request.

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