As of June 19, 2024, bitcoin’s price is ,283, fluctuating within an intraday range of ,149 to ,633. On Wednesday, the leading cryptocurrency saw a trade volume of around .28 billion, with a market capitalization of .28 trillion. Bitcoin Bitcoin’s oscillators reflect mixed sentiment. The relative strength index (RSI) is at 41, suggesting neutrality. Similarly, […]
Bitcoin News
New York Tightens Customer Service Regulations for Crypto Companies
The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has introduced new guidance mandating regulated cryptocurrency entities to implement customer service policies and procedures. Crypto entities must collect data to ensure timely and fair resolution of issues, maintain records for regulatory review, and provide quarterly analyses. New York Regulator Requires Crypto Firms to Adopt New […]
Bitcoin News
South Africa’s Regulator Tightens Rules for Crypto Asset Transfers via Latest Directive
The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has proposed a directive regarding crypto asset transfers. This directive follows the licensing of 75 crypto asset service providers (CASPs) by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority in South Africa. The FIC aims to tighten regulations by requiring CASPs to implement more detailed and stricter requirements for digital transactions. The directive’s […]
Bitcoin News
Financial Squeeze Tightens for Bitcoin Miners as Earnings Continue to Fall
On Friday, Bitcoin’s hashprice was .95 per petahash per second (PH/s), but by Sunday, it had dropped to .66 per petahash. Over the last 100 blocks, bitcoin miners averaged about 3.55 BTC for each block they mined, indicating that bitcoin miners are receiving less than half a BTC per block in onchain fees. Bitcoin Miners […]
Bitcoin News
ECB Tightens Grip With 12th Consecutive Rate Hike; Lagarde Asserts ‘No Cuts’ Amid Lingering Inflation Concerns
The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised the benchmark bank rates by 25 basis points (bps) citing that inflation was down but still remained “too high for too long.” When ECB president Christine Lagarde was pressed about cutting rates by reporters, Lagard insisted the central bank was “not going to cut.”
ECB Boosts Interest Rates Amid Inflation Woes
The European Central Bank’s (ECB) Governing Council announced that it has raised three key ECB interest rates by 25bps on Thursday. The ECB’s move follows the U.S. Federal Reserve hiking the federal funds rate by 25bps the day prior. Similarly to the Fed’s decision, the ECB members of the Governing Council insisted that the bank looks to get annual inflation down to its 2% target. The interest rate hike will be the ECB’s 12th rate hike in a row.
“The rate increase today reflects the Governing Council’s assessment of the inflation outlook, the dynamics of underlying inflation, and the strength of monetary policy transmission,” the ECB detailed. “The developments since the last meeting support the expectation that inflation will drop further over the remainder of the year but will stay above target for an extended period.”
The ECB hinted at pausing the rate hikes in September but when reporters pressed ECB president Christine Lagarde about when the central banks would cut rates, she insisted it wasn’t going to happen. “We are not going to cut,” Lagarde stated. The ECB’s rate hikes have had an impact on mortgage rates in the euro area, which have risen significantly since the beginning of 2022 and the ECB’s rate hikes. For instance, the average mortgage interest rate exceeded 9% in Poland in Q4 2022.
The ECB detailed on Thursday that the principal refinancing operations interest rate, along with the rates of the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility, will be elevated to 4.25%, 4.50%, and 3.75% respectively, taking effect from August 2, 2023. Following the ECB’s announcement, the euro slid against the U.S. dollar by 0.78%. Euro area yield curves also experienced a downward shift.
What do you think about the ECB’s latest rate hike? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Report: Binance Asked to Provide More Information as Dubai Tightens Screws Against Crypto Entities
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has reportedly asked Binance to share more information about the crypto exchange’s ownership structure and its auditing procedures. According to reports, Dubai regulators are still keen on fostering innovation but without comprising the security of users’ funds.
Binance Asked to Provide More Information
The collapse of the crypto exchange FTX prompted Dubai regulators to ask for more information from crypto license applicants such as Binance, a Bloomberg report has said. According to the April 5 report, officials from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) have in recent weeks told Binance, which already holds the minimal viable product license, to share more information concerning its ownership structure, governance, and auditing procedures.
As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, no crypto firm including Binance has been granted a full market product (FMP) license. According to VARA, only holders of this license can offer a full spectrum of their services to Dubai residents. On the other hand, Binance and a few other crypto exchanges have been granted the minimal viable product (MVP) license. This license enables the holders to offer their services of an approved range of virtual asset-related services “to suitably qualified retail and institutional investors in Dubai.”
However, following the sudden collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX, global regulators including VARA are said to have adopted a stricter stance when dealing with crypto firms. According to unidentified persons quoted in the report, the objective of this new approach is to strike a balance between fostering innovation and protecting users’ funds.
Sam Blatteis, CEO of The MENA Catalysts, suggested that Dubai authorities have taken this approach because they want to maintain good relations with their Western counterparts.
“VARA wants to turn Dubai into a capital for the digital-assets economy while safeguarding its business ties with Western jurisdictions like Europe that are adopting more muscular crypto regulations,” Blatteis reportedly said.
Binance’s Governance Credentials Questioned
Meanwhile, the Bloomberg report suggested that VARA’s stricter approach could spell trouble for Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) who already faces legal problems in the U.S. As recently reported by Bitcoin.com News, Zhao is being sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) which accuses him and his firm of violating United States derivatives regulations.
Although CZ and Binance have denied the allegations, the lawsuit’s announcement is reported to have caused many users of the exchange to exit the platform. Besides the alleged derivative rules violations, Binance is said to have a complex ownership structure. This structure as well as Binance’s lack of global headquarters have sparked questions about the crypto exchange’s corporate governance credentials.
Such allegations and accusations against the crypto exchange have prompted regulators like VARA to ask for more information about Binance’s ownership structure and board procedures. The report also said other crypto exchange platforms operating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have similarly been asked to furnish VARA with more information about their activities.
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Ethereum Tightens Grip On $1,500 As ETH Drops 7% In The Last Week
The crypto market has been shaken to the core once again as major cryptocurrencies plummet to crucial support levels. Ethereum, the prized altcoin of the crypto industry, has recently gained nearly 7% in the daily time frame. This is the coin’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its current support located at ,500 as it lost the same value last week in the face of negative investor sentiment.
Recent external events have shaken investor confidence, such as macroeconomic events that are currently spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the market. This February 16 is the release of several macroeconomic indicators that are expected to impact the broader financial market.
Vitalik Buterin Sells Some ETH
In another development, Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin recently sold 210 ETH in the market. This was first noticed by PeckShieldAlert, a Twitter account dedicated to tracking large transactions. The recent movement of Buterin’s ETH has been the subject of discourse online with some questioning where the funds will be used.
During the date of the Tweet, February 15th, the amount sold is worth 4,400 of USDC. The stablecoins are then deposited to Kraken. This transaction, however, did not have a strong effect in the market. In the meantime, investors should watch out for these macro indicators.
Macroeconomic FUD
Meanwhile, economists are pessimistic about the short to medium term prospect of the US economy. Recent macroeconomic data released on February 14th certainly had some effect on the coin’s trajectory.
However, this positive sentiment is negated by events that happened recently. Matt Weller, Global Head of Research at FOREX.com, recently shared his thoughts about the state of the global economy. He said that events from 2022 and the fact that the International Monetary Fund is hawkish about the future of the world economy still sets the mood for investors.
The IMF recently warned about how shock-prone the global economy really is. With the fear of a global recession still lingering around, Ethereum – and the crypto market in general – might experience volatility because of this.
Ethereum At .5K Support
At the time of writing, the coin is trading at ,651 with support at .500. This recent rebound of Ethereum might be a sign that the bulls have successfully strengthened the coin’s crucial support at such an important time.
This recent price action is also the result of improving macros which will inevitably pull the price of Ethereum upwards. However, the massive price jump should be taken with a grain of salt as the next couple of days are expected to be filled with volatility.
-Featured image from Oxygen Mag
Macro Hold Tightens As Losses Spill Over To Crypto Market
The macro market has been influencing the price of crypto to a much larger degree in the last couple of months compared to a year ago. This is no surprise given that some of these companies, which are heavily involved in the macro market, also extended their investments to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Hence, when the macro environment affected these companies, crypto was affected. Even now, the influence continues to maintain hold.
Losses Flow To Crypto
Over the last week, there have been some major happenings in regard to the economy. Fed Chair Jeremy Powell said that as the government tried to get the inflation rate under control, there would be a lot of “pain” coming to the market. The market had taken such grim forecasts and ran with them, triggering massive losses across the stock market.
By the end of Sunday, the stock market had recorded .25 trillion in losses. For comparison, this number is much larger than the entire crypto market cap. The effects of Powell’s speech would continue to be felt, with the Nasdaq losing 4% and the S&P losing 3.3%.
Total market cap below 0 billion | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap on TradingView.com
The spillover from the losses was quickly felt in the crypto market. Crypto make losses had come to about 0 billion total in the same time period, dragging it down below the trillion mark once more. Inflation rates did not help either, as it was reported at 2%. Furthermore, speculations are that there is a high chance that a 75-basis point rate hike would be coming in September.
The crypto total market cap has now recovered to 1 billion at the time of this writing, after hitting a local low of 9 billion in the early hours of Monday.
Looking To The Future
There has been a small recovery in the crypto market over the last few hours, but with the trading week opening up, there is still uncertainty regarding which way the market will swing. Powell’s speech had come just ahead of the weekend, not giving the stock market enough time to absorb and regulate the news. This regulation is expected to happen this week.
As for the expected increase in interest rates, like before, it is likely to trigger another downtrend as investors pull out money from the market. This trend is already being seen in the crypto market, where large investors have been pulling out of digital assets such as Bitcoin, leading to double-digit outflows.
September has also been a historically red month for the crypto market. A good example was the market crash that happened at the beginning of September 2021. So if the market stays true to this trend, then there are likely more losses to come as September rolls around.
Featured image from Finance Magnated, chart from TradingView.com
Follow Best Owie on Twitter for market insights, updates, and the occasional funny tweet…
Switzerland’s FINMA Updates Money Laundering Rules, Tightens Crypto Transaction ID Requirements
The post Switzerland’s FINMA Updates Money Laundering Rules, Tightens Crypto Transaction ID Requirements appeared first on DCEBrief.
Binance Tightens Compliance, Turning to IdentityMind for KYC
Binanceis moving to boost compliance and data security through a new partnership with Medici Ventures portfolio firm IdentityMind.
CryptScout #BitFeed RSS – Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency News 24/7