Financial authorities in 25 U.S. states have reached a settlement with the cryptocurrency investment platform Abra and its CEO Bill Barhydt for operating without proper licensing. This settlement mandates significant changes in how Abra conducts its operations within these states. Abra Reaches Settlement Over Unlicensed Operations, Agrees to Major Concessions According to a report from […]
Bitcoin News
Bitcoin Price Settles Below $60K, Is This A Critical Bearish Sign?
Bitcoin price extended losses and settled below ,000. BTC is now consolidating losses near ,000 and remains at risk of more downsides in the near term.
- Bitcoin extended losses and traded below the ,000 zone.
- The price is trading below ,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.
- There is a major bearish trend line forming with resistance at ,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
- The pair could continue to move down since there is a daily close below the ,000 zone.
Bitcoin Price Takes Hit
Bitcoin price remained in a bearish zone and traded below the ,500 support level. BTC even settled below the ,000 level to enter a short-term bearish zone.
There was a drop below the ,000 level. A low was formed at ,378 and the price is now consolidating losses. There was a minor increase toward the ,000 level and the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the ,740 swing high to the ,378 low.
Bitcoin is now trading below ,500 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. Immediate resistance is near the ,000 level. There is also a major bearish trend line forming with resistance at ,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.
The first major resistance could be ,200. The next key resistance could be ,500 or the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the ,740 swing high to the ,378 low.
Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
A clear move above the ,500 resistance might send the price higher. The next resistance now sits at ,500. If there is a clear move above the ,500 resistance zone, the price could continue to move up. In the stated case, the price could rise toward ,500.
More Losses In BTC?
If Bitcoin fails to rise above the ,500 resistance zone, it could continue to move down. Immediate support on the downside is near the ,000 level.
The first major support is ,500. If there is a close below ,500, the price could start to drop toward ,000. Any more losses might send the price toward the ,500 support zone in the near term.
Technical indicators:
Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining pace in the bearish zone.
Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now below the 50 level.
Major Support Levels – ,000, followed by ,500.
Major Resistance Levels – ,500, ,500, and ,500.
Tradestation Settles With SEC and State Regulators for $3 Million
Tradestation has reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and state regulatory bodies, agreeing to pay million in fines for offering an unregistered crypto asset lending product to U.S. investors, a move that promised interest earnings on deposits without proper registration. Tradestation Settles SEC and State Charges for Million Tradestation […]
Bitcoin News
Genesis Settles SEC Lawsuit for $21 Million Over Unregistered Securities
Facing charges from the SEC over its crypto lending practices, Genesis has agreed to a million settlement. This move aims to close a chapter of legal challenges following the company’s bankruptcy filing last year amid a wider crypto market collapse.
Genesis Strikes Million Deal With SEC to Resolve Lawsuit
Genesis Global Holdco has agreed to a million settlement to resolve a lawsuit related to its crypto lending practices. Genesis, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, faced allegations from the SEC concerning the unregistered offer and sale of securities through its Gemini Earn program.
The proposed settlement, disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, is set to be a crucial step towards resolving the civil actions initiated by the SEC. This move comes after a tumultuous period for Genesis, which filed for bankruptcy in January 2023 following the collapse of major crypto entities such as Three Arrows Capital and the FTX exchange.
Genesis’s agreement to pay million is part of a broader strategy to navigate through its financial and legal predicaments, aiming to stabilize its operations amidst the uncertainties of the crypto market. The settlement is intended to mitigate the costs and uncertainties associated with prolonged litigation.
Genesis’s legal and regulatory woes extend beyond the SEC settlement. The firm, along with Genesis Global Trading, recently reached a settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), involving an million fine and the relinquishment of its Bitlicense, reflecting serious compliance failures within the company’s operations.
These developments come at a time when Genesis is entangled in additional legal disputes, including allegations of defrauding investors through the Gemini Earn program, as well as internal conflicts complicating its path to recovery.
Despite these challenges, Genesis’s efforts to settle outstanding legal issues appear to signal a commitment to restructuring and stabilizing its operations.
Will Genesis be able to settle all of its legal troubles and eventually resume business operations? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Genesis Global Trading Settles With New York for $8M Over Regulatory Non-Compliance, Forfeits Bitlicense
According to the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), Genesis Global Trading has agreed to a settlement fine of million and will forfeit its New York state Bitlicense as part of the agreement over compliance failures. Adrienne Harris, the DFS Superintendent said Genesis displayed a “demonstrated a disregard for the Department’s regulatory requirements.”
Genesis Global Trading to Pay M, Relinquish NY Bitlicense Over Regulatory Failures
Genesis Global Trading has consented to settle an million penalty for non-compliance with state financial regulations. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) discovered, through regular audits and an inquiry, that Genesis did not adhere to the Bank Secrecy Act norms, anti-money laundering (AML) protocols, and the requirements for filing suspicious activity reports (SAR). The New York state authority clarified that Genesis Global Trading operates independently from Genesis Global Capital, both subsidiaries under Digital Currency Group (DCG).
Superintendent Harris said, “DFS’s virtual currency and cybersecurity regulations are often cited as the gold standard, providing clear and stringent requirements to protect consumers and safeguard institutions from bad actors. Genesis Global Trading’s failure to maintain a functional compliance program demonstrated a disregard for the Department’s regulatory requirements and exposed the company and its customers to potential threats.”
The DFS further claimed it was the “first regulator in the world” to address Binance by ordering Paxos to stop minting the BUSD stablecoin. The regulator also mentioned the 0 million settlement with Coinbase calling it one of the “largest virtual currency settlements in the world.” In 2018, the Department authorized Genesis Global Trading to conduct virtual currency business activities in New York State. As part of the settlement, Genesis Global Trading is relinquishing its Bitlicense and is currently in the midst of winding down its operations.
What do you think about the DFS settlement with Genesis? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
City of Basel Settles Tokenized Bonds Using Wholesale CBDC
The Swiss city of Basel recently settled a series of tokenized bonds using a wholesale central bank digital currency (WCBDC) as part of Helvetia III, a WCBDC pilot program. The system is designed to prioritize efficiency, as having on-chain funds bypasses the need for reconciling transactions with a private bank account.
Basel Issues Tokenized Bonds Settled Using a Wholesale CBDC
The city of Basel in Switzerland has achieved a milestone by completing what might be the first regulated settlement of tokenized bonds in a production environment. As part of the Helvetia III wholesale central bank digital currency (WCBDC) pilot program, the city issued a tokenized bond via the Basel Cantonal Bank that was settled using a WCBDC.
The issuance, valued at almost 0 million, was managed by the Swiss National Bank and the SIX digital exchange, the entity in charge of tokenizing the Swiss francs for the transactions. Using on-chain money is said to make these transactions cheaper and more efficient, given that participants don’t have to wait for private bank redemptions in the settlement process.
David Newns, head of SIX digital exchange, praised this development as a new step in modernizing securities markets. He stated:
The settlement of the first securities transactions in WCBDC … represents a major milestone for the entire industry on the road of adoption of a tokenized, DLT based financial markets infrastructure.
The Helvetia III pilot involves six commercial banks and the SIX digital exchange. The next step for this WCBDC is to be used for repo transactions, something that had already been hinted at by the SIX digital exchange in November.
All of these operations use R3’s Corda blockchain platform, with its CEO David Rutter stating the endeavors represent “another key milestone for the wider development of wholesale CBDC and digital assets which will importantly be used in a live production environment.”
What do you think about Basel issuing tokenized bonds settled with a WCBDC? Tell us in the comments section below.
Greenidge Generation Settles Debt and Sells SC Bitcoin Mining Site to NYDIG
Greenidge Generation Holdings has successfully wiped out .8 million in secured debt and divested its South Carolina bitcoin mining facility to NYDIG. The firm detailed that the move enhances Greenidge’s financial stability and liquidity.
Greenidge Generation Holdings Clears .8 Million Debt, Sells Mining Site to NYDIG
On Wednesday, Greenidge finalized the sale of a 22-acre mining site with 44 megawatts (MW) of capacity in Spartanburg, SC, to NYDIG. This deal marks the resolution of all outstanding secured debts Greenidge owed to the bitcoin asset management firm.
In 2023, Greenidge achieved a reduction in its financial obligations, slashing .3 million from its debt. This substantial repayment accounts for more than half — specifically, over 54% — of its total debt.
However, the company continues to manage million in unsecured debt, due in 2026. The agreement entitles Greenidge to an approximate .2 million cash payout. Moreover, the company retains around 153 acres in Spartanburg, earmarked for potential expansion into data centers.
NYDIG, operating under the umbrella of Stone Ridge Holdings Group, provides a spectrum of services including bitcoin (BTC) custody, financial solutions, infrastructure, and BTC mining operations. Acquiring this facility allows NYDIG to further integrate its mining operations with enhanced infrastructure.
Over the last two years, several cryptocurrency miners incurred substantial debts to NYDIG due to loans taken out to support their mining ventures. These loans were secured during a bullish market period, characterized by high profitability.
Nonetheless, the transition to a bear market posed challenges for some of these miners in repaying their debts. Companies including Core Scientific and Iris Energy are among those that held rig-backed loans from the firm.
What do you think about Greenidge clearing its debts? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
JPMorgan Settles Transactions for $1 Billion Daily Using JPM Coin
JPMorgan announced that it is registering transactions for billion daily using its own currency, jpm coin. JPMorgan Global Head of Payments Takis Georgakopoulos added that while these movements are denominated in U.S. dollars mostly, the institution is seeking to expand on that in the future.
JPMorgan’s JPM Coin Sees Billion in Movements Daily
JPMorgan has reported that jpm coin, the cryptocurrency created by the financial giant, is being used to settle billion daily. According to statements from JPMorgan’s Global Head of Payments Takis Georgakopoulos, the bank plans to expand on jpm coin’s usage in the future, widening adoption.
In an recent interview with Bloomberg, Georgakopoulos stated:
JPM Coin gets transacted on a daily basis mostly in US dollars, but we again intend to continue to expand that.
Jpm coin allows making transactions denominated in dollars and recently in euros using the Qorum blockchain, a distributed ledger created by the bank in 2016 and sold to the Ethereum software company Consensys in 2020.
Announced in 2019 by JPMorgan and beginning to be used commercially in 2020, jpm coin is one of the few blockchain applications being used by banks to reach this level of adoption, even if the amount pales in comparison to the trillion transacted using JPMorgan’s traditional banking solutions, according to Bloomberg.
Blockchain Retail Adoption
Georgakopoulos hinted at a possible application of deposit tokens for retail purposes. Deposit tokens, which JPMorgan considers an evolution of stablecoins, represent a claim on a deposit at a regulated financial institution, like a bank.
Georgakopoulos detailed:
The next step in that journey is to think about how you can create a more retail version of that, so that you can bring that same efficiency to consumers.
JPMorgan announced its interest in deposit tokens in February, seeing promise in this tech and profiling it as another implementation for programmable money, explaining that such tokens “can become a strong foundation for digital money and an important part of a broader tokenized asset ecosystem.”
More recently, in September, sources stated the bank was developing a platform that would use deposit token technology to bring quick settlements and payments to its institutional customers. However, the institution would not offer these services until the project is revised and approved by U.S. regulators, and it would supposedly be ready for launch a year after this approval.
What do you think about JPMorgan’s implementation of jpm coin for settlements? Tell us in the comments section below.
Crypto Exchange Bittrex Settles With SEC — Agrees to Pay $24 Million
Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex has agreed to settle charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Bittrex and Bittrex Global agreed to pay million. The SEC’s director of enforcement alleged that for years, Bittrex worked with token issuers to “scrub” their online statements “to evade the federal securities laws.”
Bittrex Settles With SEC
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Thursday that crypto trading platform Bittrex Inc., its co-founder and former CEO William Shihara, and Bittrex’s foreign entity Bittrex Global GmbH have reached a settlement with the regulator. The SEC charged Bittrex entities and Shihara in April.
Specifically, the SEC explained that Bittrex and Shihara “agreed to settle charges that they operated an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.” Meanwhile, Bittrex Global “agreed to settle charges that it failed to register as a national securities exchange.”
The securities watchdog stated that as part of the settlement, subject to court approval, the defendants consented to be permanently enjoined from violating the securities laws. Moreover, the SEC detailed:
Bittrex and Bittrex Global agreed to pay, on a joint and several basis, disgorgement of .4 million, prejudgment interest of million, and a civil penalty of .6 million, for a total monetary payment of million.
Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, commented: “For years, Bittrex worked with token issuers to ‘scrub’ their online statements of any indicia that they were investment contracts — all in an effort to evade the federal securities laws. They failed.”
The SEC has taken several enforcement actions against major crypto firms this year, including and Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN). The Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase, which attempted to have the charges against it dismissed last week, claimed that the SEC “overstepped” its statutory authority. The regulator reportedly asked Coinbase to delist all crypto tokens except bitcoin in order to comply with securities laws. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who has been slammed for his enforcement-centric approach to regulating the crypto industry, believes that all crypto tokens except bitcoin are securities. He also said that crypto is a highly speculative field that is rife with fraud.
The SEC has also revealed its plan to appeal the Ripple decision made by District Judge Analisa Torres regarding XRP. The securities watchdog believes that some parts of the Ripple ruling are “wrongly decided,” according to Gensler.
What do you think about Bittrex settling charges with the SEC? Let us know in the comments section below.
Latam Insights — Argentina Settles IMF Payment in Yuan; Brazilian CBDC to Be Launched in 2024
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue, Argentina settles part of its billion debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) using the Chinese yuan, Central Bank of Brazil officials estimate the Brazilian central bank digital currency (CBDC) will be available by 2024, and Bitfinex launches a Latam-focused P2P platform.
Argentina Settles Part of IMF Payment in Chinese Yuan
Argentina keeps implementing the Chinese yuan as part of its national and international economy. Besides adopting it as a recognized currency to open bank accounts due to the limited supply of U.S. dollars in the economy, the country is now using it to settle debts with international institutions. According to the state news agency Telam, the Central Bank of Argentina disbursed part of a .7 billion payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) using the Chinese yuan.
.7 billion were paid using Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), an international reserve asset created by the IMF, and billion was disbursed using part of a swap line provided by the Chinese government. With China’s help, Argentina fulfilled its obligations to the IMF without touching its dwindling dollar-denominated reserves.
Argentinian government officials will travel to Washington to negotiate an agreement to reprogram the remaining payments of the billion Argentina owes the organization.
Brazilian CBDC to Be Launched in 2024
While the Brazilian digital currency is now entering a new pilot test phase, experts are speculating about when it will be launched for general audiences. At Fetraban Tech, a fintech event, two different experts gave their predictions on the timeline of the launch of the Brazilian central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Larissa Moreira, Itau Unibanco’s CBDC coordinator, declared that the specs of the digital real could be determined in February as the team is currently studying how its architecture can be configured to comply with existing privacy and data protection regulations. However, Fabio Araujo, Central Bank of Brazil’s digital real project coordinator, noted that the population might start to use the product in 2024.
Bitfinex Launches P2P Platform in Venezuela, Argentina, and Colombia
Bitfinex, a cryptocurrency exchange, announced the launch of a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform directed to customers in Venezuela, Argentina, and Colombia. The platform will allow the customers to trade bitcoin, usdt, xaut (Tether Gold), and ether directly with other traders, using different payment options.
Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Bitfinex, stated:
By offering a reliable and efficient platform for P2P token trading, we are empowering our customers to engage with the marketplace in a way that affords maximum convenience based on their needs and preferences.
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What do you think about this week’s Latam Insights report? Tell us in the comment section below.