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US credit crunch means it’s time to buy gold and Bitcoin: Novogratz

The Galaxy Digital CEO predicts tough times ahead for the U.S. economy, but continues to be bullish on crypto.

The United States is headed for a credit crunch and now is the right time to buy gold, silver and Bitcoin (BTC), says Galaxy Digital founder and CEO Michael Novogratz.

“We are going to have a credit crunch in the U.S. and globally,” Novogratz explained in an interview on CNBC. "You want to be long gold and silver [...] and you want to be long Bitcoin,” he said.

Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on March 15, Novogratz noted that banks typically rebuild capital by lending less, meaning that a credit crunch is imminent, noting that indicators like the commodities market are already pointing to a recession.

The U.S. banking industry fell into turmoil this month, with Silvergate Bank, Signature Bank, and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) all collapsing in the same week. Moody's downgraded the U.S. banking system outlook to "negative."

Related: Blame traditional finance for the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

In the interview, Novogratz suggested a reversal in interest rate policy was on the cards, saying that while the Federal Reserve would “like to do a dovish hike, just for credibility’s sale,” doing so would be a “huge policy error.”

Alongside his prediction of tough times for the U.S. economy, Novogratz expressed a bullish sentiment for crypto, saying:

“If there was ever a time to be in bitcoin and crypto, this is why it was created, in that governments print too much money whenever the pain gets too great, and we’re seeing that.”

The price of Bitcoin dipped after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last week but managed to reach new 2023 highs of $26,514.72 on March 14, according to CoinMarketCap.

Uniswap responds to SEC Wells notice: ‘We are ready to fight’ for DeFi

Bitcoin Critic Nouriel Roubini Blasts BTC Amid US Banking Crisis, Says Crypto House of Cards Is Collapsing

Bitcoin Critic Nouriel Roubini Blasts BTC Amid US Banking Crisis, Says Crypto House of Cards Is Collapsing

Crypto critic and professor of economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business Nouriel Roubini is expressing skepticism on Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets amid a banking crisis in the US. In a new Stansberry Research interview, Roubini says that the crypto ecosystem has numerous bad actors, and the end days of the […]

The post Bitcoin Critic Nouriel Roubini Blasts BTC Amid US Banking Crisis, Says Crypto House of Cards Is Collapsing appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

Uniswap responds to SEC Wells notice: ‘We are ready to fight’ for DeFi

Silvergate, SBV collapse ‘definitely good’ for Bitcoin, Trezor exec says

While Signature’s Barney Frank referred to the recent events with SVB as an “anti-crypto message,” Trezor’s Josef Tetek says they are “definitely good” for Bitcoin.

The ongoing crisis of banks in the United States has many positive implications for Bitcoin (BTC), according to an executive at the hardware wallet firm Trezor.

On March 14, Bitcoin broke $26,000, a price level not seen since June 2022, posting the biggest gains this year so far. The multi-month high followed a series of shocking events in the U.S. banking industry, with banks like Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Silvergate and Signature shutting down operations.

According to Trezor’s Bitcoin analyst Josef Tetek, the current sharp rise of Bitcoin price — which is the fastest rise in price so far in 2023 — appears to be a direct result of the “apparent fragility of the banking system.”

Tetek said that the current banking crisis could potentially make Bitcoin emerge as a safe-haven and risk-off asset. He emphasized that Bitcoin was created soon after the world encountered the financial crisis of 2008 and was “likely a response to the unfairness of bailouts.”

“The current events are a timely reminder of why we need Bitcoin,” Tetek said, adding that the current events are not so good for many crypto businesses and assets that are centralized, referring to Circle’s USD Coin (USDC). The analyst stated:

“The current demise of certain banks is definitely good for Bitcoin as such, but not a good environment for custodians of any kind, and once again we reiterate that one the safest environments is to self-custody assets.”

According to Tetek, the recent events with Silvergate and SVB clearly show that counterparty risk in the banking system is a “serious problem,” though it is sometimes well hidden. He added:

“Banks no longer actually hold our money, but lend it out and buy volatile assets with it. Depositors are, in fact, the banks' creditors. Understandably, people are looking for alternatives such as Bitcoin."

Tetek also suggested that Silvergate’s collapse was a “direct result of its business relationship” with the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, while SVB’s collapse was a result of “poor risk management.” He went on to say that SVB had a large exposure to long-term treasuries, which tanked in price as a result of the abrupt interest rate hikes, while the bank failed to have hedges in place. “SVB had little connection to the crypto industry,” Tetek added.

Related: SVB crisis: Here are the crypto firms denying exposure to troubled US banks

Tetek’s remarks come amid Barney Frank, Signature Bank board member and former U.S. Congressman Barney Frank, arguing that the latest U.S. banking events are connected to crypto.

“I think part of what happened was that regulators wanted to send a very strong anti-crypto message,” Frank stated, claiming that issues at Signature were “purely contagion from SVB.”

Uniswap responds to SEC Wells notice: ‘We are ready to fight’ for DeFi

SVB crisis: Here are the crypto firms denied exposure to troubled US banks

Some of the biggest firms in crypto have denied exposure to any of the failed banks in the United States.

Amid the ongoing United States banking crisis, a wide number of major cryptocurrency firms have denied exposure to dissolved U.S. banks like Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

As potential implications of the SVB crisis for the crypto market continue to unfold, Cointelegraph highlighted several major crypto firms that have declared to be unaffected by the issues so far.

Tether

Tether, the operator of the eponymous USD-pegged stablecoin, USDT (USDT), was one of the first companies to deny exposure to SVB and other troubled U.S. banks as of mid-March.

On March 12, Tether chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino took to Twitter to announce that the stablecoin company has zero exposure to Signature Bank. The tweet came shortly after Signature officially shut down operations the same day.

Ardoino previously said that Tether had no exposure to SVB on March 10. The CTO posted a similar tweet about Silvergate, declaring that Tether did not have “any exposure” to the bank on March 2.

Tether USDT is the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, with the market value amounting to $73 billion at the time of writing. Its biggest rival, USD Coin (USDC), briefly lost its 1:1 peg with USD after its issuer Circle became unable to withdraw $3.3 billion from SVB.

Crypto.com, Gemini, BitMEX

Kris Marszalek, CEO of major cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com, provided similar statements on the company being unaffected by the ongoing issues in the U.S. banking.

In subsequent tweets on March 10 and March 12, Marszalek declared that Crypto.com had zero exposure to Signature, Silvergate and SVB.

Other major exchanges, including Gemini and BitMEX, have also denied any exposure to the dissolved U.S. banks.

Despite having a partnership with Signature, Winklevoss brothers-founded Gemini exchange has zero customer funds and zero Gemini dollar (GUSD) funds held at the bank, the firm announced on March 13.

Gemini emphasized that all platform’s customer U.S. dollars, as well as GUSD reserves, are held at banks like JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and State Street Bank.

BitMEX exchange also took to Twitter on March 13 to announce that the company had “no direct exposure” to Silvergate, SVB, or Signature. “All user funds continue to be safe and accessible 24/7/365,” BitMEX added.

Related: Ripple CEO assures ‘strong financial position’ despite SVB collapse

Exchanges like Binance and Kraken have partly denied exposure to the dissolved banks, with Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao stating that Binance does not have assets at Silvergate and former Kraken CEO denying exposure to SVB.

Argo Blockchain

Bitcoin mining firm Argo Blockchain issued a statement on March 13, declaring that the company has no direct or indirect exposure to SVB and Silvergate Bank.

However, one of Argo’s subsidiaries holds a “portion of its operating funds in cash deposits” at Signature, the company said. “These deposits are secure and are not at risk,” Argo noted, citing a decision by the U.S. Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to rescue customer deposits at the bank.

A number of other firms, including Animoca, Abra and Alchemy Pay have partly denied exposure to the troubled U.S. banks, stating that they had no assets at SBV and Silvergate.

Some companies like crypto custodian BitGo declared to hold no assets at SVB, while being “not impacted” by issues at Silvergate, USDC and Signature Bank.

Uniswap responds to SEC Wells notice: ‘We are ready to fight’ for DeFi

US Fed faces internal probe over Silicon Valley Bank failure

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said a "careful and thoughtful" review is needed to understand how the bank collapsed under its watch.

The Federal Reserve is investigating the factors that led to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank — including how it supervised and regulated the now-collapsed financial institution.

In a Mar. 13 announcement, the Federal Reserve outlined that Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr is “leading a review of the supervision and regulation of Silicon Valley Bank, in light of its failure,” with a review set for public release by May. 1.

"The events surrounding Silicon Valley Bank demand a thorough, transparent, and swift review by the Federal Reserve," Chair Jerome Powell stated as part of the announcement.

"We need to have humility, and conduct a careful and thorough review of how we supervised and regulated this firm, and what we should learn from this experience," vice chair Barr added.

SVB was shut down by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation on Mar. 10, with no specific reason offered behind the bank's forced closure.

However, prior to shutting down SVB was reportedly on the edge of collapse due to severe liquidity troubles relating to major losses on government bond investments and bank runs from spooked depositors.

It marked the second major U.S. bank in the same week to crumble following the bankruptcy of crypto-friendly Silvergate, with its parent company Silvergate Capital Corporation announcing a voluntary liquidation on Mar. 8.

Adding to the chaos, another crypto-friendly U.S. bank — Signature Bank — also went bust on Mar. 12 after the New York Department of Financial Services took over control of the firm.

Related: Fed starts ‘stealth QE’ — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

The latest announcement from the Federal Reserve comes just a day after it rolled out the $25 billion Bank Term Funding Program to backstop liquidity troubled banks, curb further collapses and protect depositors.

The Biden administration has taken swift action in that regard, with the president outlining in a Mar. 13 statement that:

“America can have confidence that the banking system is safe. Your deposits will be there when you need them. […] No losses will be borne by the taxpayers.”

Biden added that the management behind the collapsed banks will be held accountable for their failures, and suggested that those responsible could be prosecuted. He also called for stronger banking oversight and outlined that thorough investigations will take place.

“We must get the full accounting of what happened,” he said.

Uniswap responds to SEC Wells notice: ‘We are ready to fight’ for DeFi

Silvergate and SVB bite the dust: Law Decoded, March 6–13.

Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown didn’t miss a chance to attack the crypto industry after bank failures.

Last week, another major quake shook crypto markets. Silvergate Bank — a crypto-fiat gateway network for financial institutions and a significant on-ramp for cryptocurrencies in the United States — shut down operations due to liquidity problems. 

A couple of days later, another ​​Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-insured institution, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), was shut down by California’s financial watchdog. The bank provided financial services to several crypto-focused venture firms, including Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, with USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle holding around 20% of its reserves with the bank. Following the news, USDC depegged and lost over 10% of its value in 24 hours.

Some lawmakers, well known for their hostility to crypto, quickly attacked the industry. Senator Elizabeth Warren called Silvergate’s failure “disappointing, but predictable,” calling for regulators to “step up against crypto risk.” Senator Sherrod Brown shared his concern that banks involved with crypto were putting the financial system at risk and reaffirmed his desire to “establish strong safeguards for our financial system from the risks of crypto.”

The most important commentary, however, came on Sunday when United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen revealed that authorities were not considering a major bailout of Silicon Valley Bank. According to Yellen, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is considering “a wide range of available options,” including acquisitions from foreign banks.

Biden budget proposes 30% tax on crypto mining electricity usage

Crypto miners in the U.S. could be subject to a 30% tax on electricity costs under a budget proposal by U.S. President Joe Biden to “reduce mining activity.” According to a Department of the Treasury supplementary budget explainer paper, any firm using resources — whether owned or rented — would be subject to an excise tax equal to 30% of the electricity costs used in digital asset mining. It proposed the tax would be implemented after Dec. 31, phased in over three years at a rate of 10% a year, reaching the max 30% tax rate by the third year.

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​​Stablecoins and Ether are ‘going to be commodities,’ reaffirms CFTC chair

Stablecoins and Ether are commodities that should come under the purview of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to the commission’s chairman, Rostin Behnam.

In a recent hearing, senators questioned Behnam about the differing views held by the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following the CFTC’s 2021 settlement with stablecoin issuer Tether. Behnam said, “It was clear to our enforcement team and the commission that Tether, a stablecoin, was a commodity.” Behnam’s most recent comments oppose a view held by SEC chair Gary Gensler, who claimed that everything other than Bitcoin (BTC) is a security — a claim multiple crypto lawyers rebuffed.

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China announces plans for a new national financial regulator

The Chinese government reportedly has plans for a regulatory overhaul, including introducing a new national financial regulator. The reforms would mean that ​​its current banking and insurance watchdog — the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission — will be abolished. The responsibilities of this commission will be moved to a brand new administration, as will particular functions of the central bank and securities regulator.

This announcement follows a call for reforms for party and state institutions in China from President Xi Jinping. These reforms will also include a bureau for sharing and developing data resources, which will partly replace the duties of the current Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission.

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Uniswap responds to SEC Wells notice: ‘We are ready to fight’ for DeFi

Crypto investment products see largest outflows on record amid SVB collapse

Fear and trepidation spread across the crypto market last week following the high-profile collapses of Silvergate Bank and Silicon Valley Bank.

Cryptocurrency investment products lost 10% of assets under management last week as institutional investors rushed for the exit during the latest episode of market volatility prompted by the Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank collapses.

Digital asset investment products registered $255 million in outflows for the week ending March 12, marking the fifth consecutive weekly decline and the largest seven-day drop on record, according to CoinShares. The 10% drop in assets under management, or AUM, retraced all the gains in 2023.

As the largest and most influential crypto asset, Bitcoin (BTC) witnessed a $244 million drawdown. Ether (ETH) products lost $11 million in AUM, while multi-asset funds gained $2.2 million.

Year-to-date flows are now negative for Bitcoin, Ether and multi-asset funds. Although short-Bitcoin products registered minor outflows last week, these assets have seen $49 million in total inflows this year.

Investors were on edge last week after Silvergate Bank, a crypto-friendly financial institution, announced that it would unwind its operations and liquidate all remaining assets. Earlier in the month, Silvergate announced it would delay filing necessary paperwork with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, prompting widespread fears about its financial position. Like other companies, Silvergate’s problems stemmed from its involvement with the now-failed FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

Related: Crypto Biz: Silvergate shutting down, Alameda suing Grayscale

Adding to last week’s chaos was the sudden closure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a financial institution with deep ties to crypto-focused venture capital funds. Although the bank was allowed to fail, the Federal Reserve, U.S. Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation confirmed over the weekend they would guarantee all SVB deposits.

The resolution to the SVB collapse seems to have shored up confidence in the crypto sector, leading to broad market rallies for Bitcoin and other crypto assets. The Bitcoin price reached as high as $24,639 on March 13 after falling below $20,000 last week, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro.

Uniswap responds to SEC Wells notice: ‘We are ready to fight’ for DeFi

US bank bloodbath: Bitcoin hits $23.7K as BTC price analyst calls SVB dip ‘bear trap’

Bitcoin price is up nearly 20% in days as Wall Street opens to multiple bank stocks halted due to extreme losses.

Bitcoin (BTC) hit its highest since the start of the month on March 13 as U.S. bank stocks saw the largest mass halt in history.

BTC/USD 1-day candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

BTC price sees “phenomenal” rebound

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked a thoroughly bullish hourly candle for BTC/USD, which reached $23,725 on Bitstamp.

The move was eagerly anticipated by market participants, many of whom had warned of extreme volatility at the Wall Street open.

This came true, with Bitcoin and altcoins benefiting from intense uncertainty surrounding bank stocks, in particular, as trading got underway.

The fallout from the failure of two more U.S. banks over the weekend was keenly felt, not just at home but in Europe, where banks also saw heavy losses.

“Massive move of Bitcoin. Now facing next resistance zone (I couldn’t get $21.6K),” Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, reacted.

“Trend is back up, buying the dip on S/R flips seems the game. Resistance around $23.3-23.6K, if it stalls and consolidates -> altcoins should continue.”
BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Michaël van de Poppe/Twitter

Trader and analyst Rekt Capital, who previously argued that the monthly candle needed to close to confirm a longer-term trend break, called Bitcoin’s dip below $20,000 the week prior a “bear trap.”

“The way BTC has recovered within such a short space of time just shows that the drop to ~$20000 was a Bear Trap,” he wrote in one of many tweets as BTC/USD hit $23,500.

Rekt Capital called the uptick “phenomenal” in further analysis, with 18% added versus the local lows from March 10.

“If $22.4k holds as the new floor, that’s all and a bit more that price needs to gain momentum to the Main Resistance in the $24.1k-$25k range and truly break through,” trader Gaah continued.

“We could have more price explosions, watch out in that region.”

Gaah shared a liquidity chart from Caue Oliveira, head of research and on-chain analysis at Brazilian crypto insights firm BlockTrends:

BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Caue Oliveira/Twitter

Bank stocks halted as contagion spreads to Europe

Outside crypto, the picture was slowly improving for U.S. stocks — with the exception of some banks.

Related: Fed starts ‘stealth QE’ — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

Some of the worst performers of the day included First Republic Bank, which lost 76% to see trading halted soon after the opening bell.

Overall, as entrepreneur Brian Roemmele noted, more U.S. bank stocks were halted than ever before in history.

In addition to rethinking the likelihood of U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hikes continuing on March 22, markets meanwhile were also reducing expectations that the European Central Bank would hike by 0.5% this week.

Among European losses on the day was the already-embattled Credit Suisse, which was down over 7% to new all-time lows at the time of writing.

Credit Suisse 1-day candle chart. Source: TradingView

“The problem for Credit Suisse (and others like it) is that it cannot cover deposit flight by borrowing in money markets. It can only go to the Swiss National Bank, in effect for a second bail out. Will the SNB play ball?” Alasdair Macleod, head of research for Goldmoney, queried.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Uniswap responds to SEC Wells notice: ‘We are ready to fight’ for DeFi

Bitcoin price flash spikes to $50K on Binance after USD Coin peg snaps

The market frenzy that started with the Silicon Valley Bank collapse is pushing BTC price higher but with some casualties left behind.

The panic caused due to USD Coin's (USDC) depeg from the U.S. dollar manifested itself in a wrong order, costing traders $50,000 per Bitcoin (BTC), albeit for several minutes.

Bitcoin price sees $50K in "fat finger" error 

The BTC/USDC pair on Binance flash spiked to $50,000 on March 12 around 7 pm UTC. The reason for the impulse spike is unknown and was likely due to a "fat finger" trade of a large order.

BTC/USDC hourly price chart on Binance. Source: TradingView

The potential reason for the flash spike is likely thin order books for the newly launched BTC-USDC pair on Binance. The exchange listed the pair only a few hours before the impulse price surge.

According to a trader on Crypto Twitter, it is likely that a Bitcoin market order ate through the limit sell-orders on the pair up to $50,000.

The pair's trading price returned toward the market spot price of around $22,000 in a minute following the spike, suggesting this was an isolated incident. Fortunately, the futures market remained unaffected by the spot BTC-USDC pair; otherwise, it could have triggered massive short-side liquidations.

But this isn't the first time cryptocurrency exchanges have seen flash crashes and spikes. Multiple exchanges in the past had similar issues, inciting anger and refund requests from affected customers.

Related: Deribit to Pay Users $1.3M After Bitcoin Price ‘Flash Crash’ to $7.7K

In August 2017, a flash crash on GDAX saw ETH prices plummet to as low as $0.1 due to a customer error. Ether was trading around $300 at the time.

USDC stablecoin peg recovers

USDC's value dropped to lows of $0.87 on March 11 after Circle, the issuer of USDC, revealed that it had $3.3 billion exposure to the defunct U.S. bank, Silicon Valley Bank.

USDC trading pairs have been unstable on other exchanges since the SVB revelations. On March 11, the BTC/USDC pair on Kraken spiked to over $26,000 due to fears about the collapse of USDC.

At the time, USDC was trading at a 10% discount, which would have priced Bitcoin at around $22,200. However, the spike toward $26,000 indicates that panic causes serious volatility.

The fears amplified over the weekend due to uncertainty around the fate of depositors of the SVB bank. In response, the U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC decided to bail out the customers of SVB and Signature Bank but not the shareholders and other stakeholders, restoring the market’s confidence for the meantime.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Uniswap responds to SEC Wells notice: ‘We are ready to fight’ for DeFi

USDC bounces back toward $1 peg after Fed announcement

Positive developments concerning Circle's $3.3 billion worth of reserves held at Silicon Valley Bank and its new banking partners have seen USDC climb back toward its $1 peg.

Circle’s stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) is climbing back to its $1 peg following confirmation from CEO Jeremy Allaire that its reserves are safe and the firm has new banking partners lined up at “banking open tomorrow morning.”

According to CoinGecko data, USDC is up 3.3% over the past 24 hours to sit at $0.99 at the time of writing.

USDC price chart. Source: CoinGecko

The price dropped to as low as $0.87 over the weekend amid concerns about $3.3 billion worth of USDC reserves being held at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which was shut down by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation on Mar. 10.

Circle also has an undisclosed amount of reserves stuck at the recently bankrupted Silvergate.

In a March 12 Twitter thread, Allaire praised the U.S. government and Federal Reserve for its $25 billion funding program to support liquidity-troubled banks such as SVB:

“100% of USDC reserves are also safe and secure, and we will complete our transfer for remaining SVB cash to BNY Mellon. As previously shared, liquidity operations for USDC will resume at banking open tomorrow morning.”

Allaire added that following the implosion of crypto-friendly Signature Bank on Mar. 12, Circle is no longer able to process USDC minting and redemption through SigNet, and that the firm will be temporarily “relying on settlements through BNY Mellon.”

Uniswap responds to SEC Wells notice: ‘We are ready to fight’ for DeFi