Week 2 | 1/9/23 - 1/14/23
By Matthew BrienenNews Flash
Monday 1.9.23: The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized more than 55 million shares of Robinhood (HOOD) stock owned – via a holding company – by Sam Bankman-Fried and his FTX co-founder Gary Wang, according to a court document. The shares were worth just over $456 million based on HOOD's closing price of $8.25 on Friday.
Tuesday 1.10.23: Crypto exchange Coinbase today announced more sweeping layoffs, citing "the ongoing market conditions impacting the cryptoeconomy." In an 8-K filing with the SEC, the firm said that this restructuring would cut the firm's headcount by approximately 950 employees. The cost to do so, tallying severance packages, could range up to $163 million.
Wednesday 1.11.23: The FTX restructuring team has recovered more than $5 billion in cash, liquid cryptocurrency, and liquid investments in securities, FTX's lead attorney Adam Landis said on Wednesday morning at a court hearing in Delaware. The assets recovered also include “dozens of illiquid cryptocurrency tokens,” and Landis noted that the “holdings are so large relative to the total supply that our positions cannot be sold without substantially affecting the market for the token.”
Thursday 1.12.23: Digital Currency Group might sell assets from its venture portfolio to come up with funds to help Genesis, its wholly-owned subsidiary, cover a $3 billion shortfall, according to a report on Thursday from the Financial Times. That means DCG’s stakes in more than 200 crypto projects—including data firm Dune Analytics, Ethereum block explorer Etherscan, crypto exchange Coinbase, and USD Coin issuer Circle—could soon be up for sale.
Friday 1.13.22: The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged the cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Capital and the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust with offering unregistered securities through a program that promised investors high interest on deposits. The S.E.C. said that Genesis, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, and Gemini, which is run by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, had raised billions of dollars of assets from hundreds of thousands of investors without registering the program, which was called Gemini Earn.
Live Show Recaps
Monday 1.9.23: Matt goes on to discuss the seizure of Robinhood shares worth nearly $500 million in the FTX case, Galaxy Digital's head of research sees more venture funding for Web3 firms this year, and Kevin Cage's comparison chart between CSPR and OGN. Matthew examines volatile price action with Solana and provides a technical analysis of the markets.
Tuesday 1.10.23: The team talks about Fed members selling all of their stocks at the peak in September 2021, a letter from Cameron Winklevoss to the board of Digital Currency Group, and a breakdown of Ripple's opposition to the SEC's motion to seal certain documents. Matthew gives a technical analysis of markets and looks at a few altcoin charts.
Wednesday 1.11.23: Habib discusses the economic mess we're in, the Fed's stance on hiking, the upcoming CPI, and a few on-chain metrics. Matt explains Hong Kong's proposal to approve a set of crypto tokens for retail trading, the Swiss Central Bank's record $143 billion loss in 2022, and an intriguing video with Rosie Rios. Matthew also conducts a market technical analysis and examines a VeChain price chart.
Thursday 1.12.23: Dan Habib provides an overview of the December Consumer Price Index (CPI), December shelter, and the current Bitcoin hype. Brienen delves into El Salvador's historic crypto bill, what to expect in the SEC v. Ripple Labs case, and David Schwartz explains blockchain consensus models.
Friday 1.13.22: Brian Decker discusses how institutions are taking advantage of the opportunity to buy Bitcoin at a discount, as well as the opportunity with Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. Matthew Brienen discusses the SEC charging crypto companies with offering unregistered securities, Cardano developer IOG deploying sidechain toolkit to boost blockchain, and where we are in the market right now in comparison to the Wall Street Cheatsheet chart. Brian goes over the logistics of GBTC, the potential opportunity, and what Bitcoin Dominance is showing us. Matthew concludes with a technical analysis of the markets, demonstrating that multiple cryptos require a retest right now.
