FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Faces US Extradition, Bankruptcy Court Says Top Execs Won’t Be Compensated

November 22, 2022 Bitcoin.com

$138B investment manager Man Group to launch crypto hedge fund: Report

November 18, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bloomberg

Institutional investors still see a future for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies despite the epic collapse of FTX and Alameda Research.

London-based investment manager Man Group Plc is preparing to launch a cryptocurrency hedge fund, signaling continued investor appetite for digital assets in the wake of FTX’s monumental collapse earlier this month.

Bloomberg reported on Nov. 18 that Man Group is preparing to launch its crypto-focused hedge fund through its computer-led trading unit AHL. Citing private sources, Bloomberg disclosed that the new hedge fund could be ready by the end of the year.

A spokesperson for Man Group declined to comment on the matter when asked by Cointelegraph.

Man Group already has exposure to digital assets through AHL, which actively trades crypto futures. By the end of September, Man Group had $138.4 billion in assets under management, down slightly from $142.3 billion during the previous quarter.

The company trades publicly on the London Stock Exchange and is a component of the FTSE 250.

Institutional appetite for digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC) has grown over the past two years, driven partly by the recognition that crypto represents a new investment class. However, broad institutional exposure to crypto has been hindered by a lack of clear regulations and the perception that fiduciary standards prevent fund managers from openly advocating for the sector.

Crypto’s push for mass adoption may have been hindered by the recent collapse of FTX and the firm’s subsequent Chapter 11 filing. Some believe that FTX’s failure will put more regulatory scrutiny on the industry at a time when investors were anticipating clearer and perhaps more favorable guidelines.

Troubled Crypto Exchange Zipmex on the Verge of Venture Capitalist Buyout: Report

November 2, 2022 The Daily Hodl

Bloomberg Analyst Says Ethereum Revolutionizing Fintech, Predicts Rallies As ETH Supply Gets Squeezed

October 31, 2022 The Daily Hodl

Bloomberg Analyst Says Ethereum (ETH) Can Outshine Bitcoin (BTC) and Stocks As ‘1929’-Style Conditions Intensify

October 26, 2022 The Daily Hodl

Investors are loving SEC’s crypto industry crackdown, according to survey

October 25, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bloomberg

Critics have called out the SEC's "regulation by enforcement" tactics, but to some investors, it's a positive sign they're seeing to invest in digital assets.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) more-than-enthusiastic crackdown on the crypto industry is being seen as a positive signal for the majority of crypto investors, according to a new survey.

Around 60% of 564 survey respondents in the latest MLIV Pulse survey from Bloomberg said they viewed the recent flurry of crypto crackdowns as a positive sign for investing in the asset class.

Around 65% of retail investors signaled they were “more likely” to invest with “greater enforcement against crypto” compared to 56% of professional investors.

Conversely, only 35% of retail and 44% of professional investors said they would be “less likely” to invest as a result of more enforcement action.

The U.S. SEC has stepped up its actions over the past months, with high-profile investigations of bankrupt crypto companies Celsius Network, and Three Arrows Capital along with a reported probe into Yuga Labs and the wider nonfungible token (NFT) space.

It also famously fined reality television star Kim Kardashian to the tune of $1.26 million for promoting the EthereumMAX cryptocurrency without proper disclosures.

The investor sentiment appears to run in contrast to many U.S. lawmakers and crypto industry participants, who have repeatedly criticized the SEC for taking what they call a “regulation by enforcement” approach to cryptocurrencies.

Gurbir Grewal, the SEC's enforcement director said in September it will investigate crypto firms regardless of the narrative that it’s “stifling innovation.”

The SEC has also boosted its ability to handle specialized issuer filings by adding an Office of Crypto Assets in September purely focused on dealing with crypto asset applications and services.

Despite the interest gained from investors by the crypto crackdowns, the market conditions have seen many major cryptocurrencies sit within a tight price band for months and around 43% of survey respondents said they would increase their crypto exposure over the next 12 months.

Bitcoin’s discount to hash rate highest since early 2020 — Mike McGlone

October 20, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

The senior commodity strategist is bullish on Bitcoin, revealing on Oct. 18 that its relative discount to hash rate has hit levels not seen since the first quarter of 2020.

Bloomberg Intelligence senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone says Bitcoin's (BTC's) relative discount to its high hash rate in October — the largest since the first quarter of 2020 — could soon see Bitcoin return to "its propensity to outperform most assets."

In an Oct. 19 Twitter post, the Bloomberg analyst suggested that Bitcoin's ever increasing hash rate — a measure of the processing power and securit of a blockchain — relative to its price points to "to risk/reward leaning favorably."

Many believe that in theory Bitcoin's hash rate should go up relative to its price.

McGlone pointed to a graph noting that the 10-day average of Bitcoin’s hash rate in October is “roughly equivalent” to the level it should be at around $70,000. However, the price is instead currently at $19,500 as of Oct. 18.

McGlone noted that such a large gulf between the price and the hash rate was last seen during the “1Q 2020 swoon" — a dip that preceded a meteoric climb that lasted through 2020 and 2021.

McGlone tipped that it was possible we are now seeing a “similar price foundation forming now."

*Graph of Bitcoin hash rate and price. Source: Bloomberg Intelligence*

The Bloomberg analyst, known to be a perma bull, said that the high rash rates, along with rising demand, adoption and regulation means Bitcoin could be entering an "inexorable phase of its migration into the mainstream and at a relatively discounted price."

In a separate post on Linkedin, McGlone said it "may be a matter of time" before Bitcoin returns to its propensity to outperform most major assets, commenting:

"Returning to its propensity to outperform most assets may be a matter of time, as mainstream adoption progresses and adaptive changes in US accounting standards give it a lift."

McGlone also said Bitcoin’s price “should continue to rise over time” given the laws of supply and demand, adding that the cryptocurrency is showing signs of "bottoming" in 4Q 2022.

“It's little surprise that a relatively new asset that had skyrocketed has declined due to the rapid pace of Federal Reserve tightening in 2022, but Bitcoin is showing signs of bottoming and divergent strength in 4Q," he explained.

Previously the Bloomberg analyst has suggested that BTC is a "wild card" which is "ripe" to outperform once traditional stocks finally bottom out, and predicted that BTC had the potential to reach $100K in 2022 as the digital currency completes its transition from a risk-on to a risk-off asset.

Bloomberg