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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.

☆ Bitcoin rises to highest level since June 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - Top cryptocurrency bitcoin hit a nine-month high of $26,533 on Tuesday, in its fourth consecutive day of gains, as it appeared to benefit from chaos in global markets following last week's collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Bitcoin rose to $26,533 at around 1306 GMT, up around 10% on the day at its highest since June 2022. Cryptocurrency prices fell sharply in 2022 as rising rates prompted investors to ditch risky assets. A series of collapses at high-profile crypto firms, including major exchange FTX, left customers with large losses. Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft, editing by Sinead CruiseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - Binance is halting its sterling deposits and withdrawals, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday, a month after the world's largest crypto exchange ceased dollar transfers. Binance has been informed by its partner for sterling transfers, Paysafe, that it would halt its services from May 22, the spokesperson said, impacting all Binance customers. Sterling transfers for new users were stopped on Monday, it said. The company is working to find an "alternative solution" for sterling transfers, the spokesperson said. The cessation of sterling transfers, first reported by crypto news outlet The Block, is the latest obstacle for Binance in accessing traditional currencies.

Crypto analysts said that the U.S. bank closures, along with a regulatory crackdown in the U.S., would push firms to seek banking partnerships in Europe, Asia, and "offshore". Switzerland, long famous for its private banking sector, has also been one of the more welcoming countries in Europe for crypto firms, with the Swiss city of Zug dubbed "The Crypto Valley." "Crypto firms and other money managers have already started the onboarding process and many calls are scheduled next weeks," he said via email. Rani Jabban, head of treasury and financial institutions at Arab Bank, said around 80% of them had been Silvergate customers. Crypto firms relied on Silvergate's crypto payments network, the Silvergate Exchange Network, which allowed round-the-clock transfers between investors and crypto exchanges, unlike traditional bank wires, which can often take days to settle.

☆ Stablecoin USDC breaks dollar peg after revealing $3.3 billion Silicon Valley Bank exposure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Circle has $3.3 billion of its $40 billion of USDC reserves at collapsed lender Silicon Valley Bank, the company said in a tweet on Friday. Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on Friday in the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis, roiling global markets and stranding billions of dollars belonging to companies and investors. Circle said in a tweet on Friday that it and USDC "continue to operate normally" while the firm waits for clarity on what will happen to Silicon Valley Bank depositors. loadingCircle did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the dollar peg, sent outside of U.S. working hours. The chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange Binance said in a tweet on Friday it had no exposure to Silicon Valley Bank, as did Tether Chief Executive Paolo Ardoino.

☆ UK finance minister and Bank of England work to contain SVB fallout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Bank of England on Friday said it was seeking a court order to place SVB UK into an insolvency procedure. Advisory firm Rothschild & Co is exploring options for SVB UK as insolvency looms, two people familiar with the discussions told Reuters. More than 250 UK tech firm chief executives signed a letter addressed to Jeremy Hunt, the British chancellor of the exchequer (finance minister), calling for government intervention, a copy seen by Reuters shows. "The recent news about SVB going into insolvency represents an existential threat to the UK tech sector," the letter said. Sky News had reported earlier on Saturday that a British clearing bank, the Bank of London, was considering a rescue bid for the UK arm of SVB.

LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Zodia Custody, a crypto custodian owned by Standard Chartered (STAN.L), said on Friday it has registered its Irish unit with Luxembourg's financial regulator. The registration will allow Zodia to provide digital asset custody services for financial institutions in Luxembourg, the company said. According to the regulator's website, Zodia will be subject to supervision from the watchdog for compliance with rules around anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism. "There is a massive opportunity for financial institutions to offer a range of products and services related to cryptoassets," John Cronin, chief executive of Zodia Custody Ireland, said in a statement on Friday. Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ SVB collapse a sign of pain coming from end of easy-cash era
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - The easy-cash era is over and its impact is only just starting to felt by world markets yet to see the end of the sharpest interest rate hiking cycle in decades. European banks slid on Friday after JPMorgan (JPM.N) and BofA (BAC.N) shares fell over 5% on Thursday. BofA noted European banks' bond holdings have not grown since 2015. And with defaults rising, the focus is on the less visible private debt markets, which have ballooned to $1.4 trillion from $250 billion in 2010. Reuters Graphics5/FOR SALEReal estate markets started cracking last year and house prices will fall further this year.

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.

☆ UK regulator cracks down on illicit London crypto ATMs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Signage is seen for the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), the UK's financial regulatory body, at their head offices in London, Britain March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoLONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - Britain's markets regulator and police have swooped on suspected illegal crypto cashpoints (ATMs) across east London as authorities step up attempts to disrupt unregistered businesses deemed high risk for consumers. The inspections were conducted under money laundering regulations, which allow officers to enter premises without a warrant, observe activities, seek explanations about documents or information and take copies. Crypto ATMs (CATMs) allow people to buy or convert money into cryptoassets. "But there is also definitely an element of fear and uncertainty about what the FCA is going to do next."

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoSummarySummary Companies U.S. stocks add to Thursday's gainsTreasury yields and dollar pull backEuropean, Asian stocks also advanceCrude oil gainsMarch 3 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks posted strong gains while Treasury yields and the dollar pulled back on Friday as data pointing to U.S. economic growth boosted risk appetite, even as expectations for rate hikes kept bond yields near multi-year highs. The recovery in euro zone business activity gathered pace last month, PMI survey data showed, in the latest piece of data to suggest the bloc would avoid a recession. U.S. Treasury yields paused their rally. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell to 3.967%, down from Thursday's high of 4.091% . The two-year Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, dipped 3.9 basis points at 4.865%.

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoSummarySummary Companies U.S. stocks add to Thursday's gainsTreasury yields and dollar pull backEuropean, Asian stocks also advanceCrude oil prices fallMarch 3 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks opened higher while Treasury yields and the dollar pulled back on Friday as risk appetite was boosted by data pointing to economic growth, even as expectations for rate hikes kept bond yields near multi-year highs. The recovery in euro zone business activity gathered pace last month, PMI survey data showed, in the latest piece of data to suggest the bloc will avoid a recession. U.S. Treasury yields paused their rally. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.007%, down from Thursday's high of 4.091% . The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was up 0.5 basis points at 4.909%.

REUTERS/StaffLONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - European stocks rose in early trading on Friday, as investor risk appetite was boosted by signs of an economic recovery in China, even after expectations for European Central Bank rate hikes kept government bond yields at their highest in years. Investors are trying to gauge the path for Federal Reserve rate hikes, after strong U.S. data in recent weeks suggested rates may need to be higher for longer. But stock markets rose on Wall Street overnight, in a move analysts attributed to Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic saying on Thursday that the Fed should stick to "steady" quarter-point rate hikes. The recovery in euro zone business activity gathered pace last month, PMI survey data showed. Euro zone government bond yields were still near their highest in years after euro zone inflation data on Thursday drove market expectations for the ECB's terminal rate to around 4%.

LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Britain's Nationwide Building Society has restricted customers' ability to buy cryptocurrencies, the lender said in an email to its members on Thursday. Nationwide said it will not allow payments to crypto exchanges using credit cards and will limit adult current accounts to 5,000 pounds ($5,995) of purchases per day. The building society said the move was in response to regulatory concern over the risks of buying digital currencies. Cryptocurrency prices surged in 2020 and 2021 before sharp declines last year as rising interest rates prompted investors to ditch riskier assets. In November, as part of measures to protect customers from scams, Santander (SAN.MC) introduced limits on the amount customers could transfer to cryptocurrency exchanges and said it would soon block UK customers from sending any real-time payments to cryptocurrency exchanges.

LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Binance's stablecoin, Binance USD, has seen around $6 billion of outflows following a U.S. regulatory crackdown on the company that issues the token, according to market tracker CoinGecko. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said that the regulator's decision meant the market cap of the token would decrease over time. On Wednesday, the value of all Binance USD was around $10.5 billion, down from $16.1 billion on Feb. 13, according to market tracker CoinGecko. The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that investors have pulled more than $6 billion out of the Binance-branded token in the past month, citing data from blockchain analytics firm Nansen. Analysts said the NYDFS move represented a setback in Binance's efforts to gain market share from larger stablecoins.

☆ Columbia Threadneedle to resume dealing in UK property fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Investment manager Columbia Threadneedle said on Friday it will resume dealing in a key UK property fund, four months after suspending dealing amid turmoil in Britain's gilt and pensions markets. Columbia Threadneedle said in October it had suspended dealing in the CT UK Property Authorised Investment Fund and its feeder fund, as market stresses accelerated. The suspensions will be lifted with effect from 12.01 GMT on 28 February, the company said in a statement. Reporting by Iain Withers, Editing by Elizabeth Howcroft and Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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.

☆ Galois Capital flagship fund to close after FTX losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | Elizabeth Howcroft | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO: The logo of FTX is seen at the entrance of the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 12, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File PhotoLONDON (Reuters) -Galois Capital hedge fund founder Kevin Zhou said on Monday his flagship fund would close after “losing almost half” of the fund’s money when cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed. Zhou’s statement, released on Twitter, confirmed a report in the Financial Times that the hedge fund had decided to close its main fund and return its money to investors. In his tweet, Zhou also said Galois Capital had lost almost half of its assets “to the FTX disaster”. The newspaper report cited an investor letter which said the hedge fund was no longer viable, had stopped trading and exited its positions.

LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Norway has seized a record $5.8 million worth of cryptocurrency that was stolen by North Korean hackers last year, Norwegian police said in a statement on Thursday. North Korean hackers stole $625 million in March 2022 from a blockchain project linked to the crypto-based game Axie Infinity. "This is money that can be used to finance the North Korean regime and their nuclear weapons programme," Norway's senior public prosecutor, Marianne Bender, said in a statement. North Korea has denied allegations of hacking or other cyberattacks. Norway's national economic crime unit, known as Okokrim, said it had seized 60 million Norwegian crowns ($5.84 million) in "one of the largest seizures of money ever made in Norway" and a record amount for a crypto seizure.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationLONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - New York's chief financial regulator has ordered Paxos, the company behind the stablecoin of major crypto exchange Binance, to stop issuing the token, Paxos said in a statement on Monday. The Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin, one of the world's biggest, is issued and redeemed by New York-based Paxos Trust Company, both of which are regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services. Paxos said it would stop issuing new BUSD as of Feb. 21 "as directed by and working in close coordination with the New York Department of Financial Services". Binance USD is the seventh-largest cryptocurrency, with more than $16 billion in circulation, according to market tracker CoinGecko. Zhao said Binance would "continue to support BUSD for the foreseeable future" and that he saw users "migrating to other stablecoins over time."

The checking is not done by individuals, but by computers in the blockchain network, often via third-party staking services. Nearly all of the major crypto exchanges offer staking services to their customers for a variety of tokens, including Coinbase (COIN.O), Binance, Crypto.com, Gemini, Huobi and OKX. The SEC has said most staking providers fail to provide customers proper disclosures about how their cryptocurrency will be used and should register their staking services with the agency. In its settlement with the SEC on Feb. 9, Kraken neither admitted nor denied the SEC's claim that its staking service should have been registered. Kraken said it would continue to offer staking to customers based outside of the United States.

☆ BNY Mellon says investors 'absolutely interested' in digital assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Samuel Indyk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Bank of New York Mellon's head of digital assets Michael Demissie said on Wednesday that digital assets were "here to stay", citing a 2022 study of the custodian bank's clients. "What we see is clients are absolutely interested in digital assets, broadly," BNY Mellon's Demissie said, speaking on a panel on cryptocurrency at Afore Consulting's 7th Annual FinTech and Regulation Conference. Demissie cited a survey of BNY Mellon clients conducted in October 2022 that found that more than 90% of them expected to invest in tokenised assets in the near future. Cryptocurrency markets plunged in 2022, as rising interest rates and a series of high-profile collapses at crypto firms made investors cautious. We need responsible actors who can offer reliable services that live up to investors trust."

Owners of crypto assets that use a "proof-of-stake" blockchain can stake some of their assets to potentially take part in the process of validating transactions. In exchange for their work, validators get transaction fees and/or newly created crypto assets. Lawmakers have stepped up calls for regulation after crypto firms' customers were left with large losses. Revolut said customers' staked funds would be held with "trusted custodians" but did not specify who these custodians were. Asked how the firm established the trustworthiness of the custodians, a spokesperson told Reuters that Revolut completed its own due diligence.

☆ Central bank test lab to trial 'stablecoin' monitoring system
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A global central bank test lab run out of London is designing a 'stablecoin' monitoring system aimed at giving authorities a clearer picture on how they work and how to regulate them in future. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency which aim to maintain a 1:1 peg with a fiat currency such as the dollar. The collapse last year of a widely-used stablecoin pair, Luna and TerraUSD, sparked widespread turmoil in crypto markets. In a bid to ensure there is more oversight going forward, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), often dubbed the central bank for the world's central banks, is to begin work in its London 'innovation hub' on a tool to keep tabs on them. "Most central banks lack tools to systemically monitor stablecoins and avoid asset-liability mismatches," the BIS said.

☆ 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.

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