Week 49 | 12/5/12 - 12/10/22
By Matthew BrienenNews Flash
Monday 12.5.22: Crypto lenderNexo today announced it will gradually phase out U.S. products and services over the coming months due to hitting a “dead end” with regulators. The U.K. company said in a Monday announcement that it had been talking with regulators for 18 months but the U.S. “refuses to provide a path for enabling blockchain businesses.”
Tuesday 12.6.22: Bitcoin payments app Strike said in a statement Tuesday that it had launched Send Globally, a new feature that lets U.S. users instantly and cheaply send money to Africa. “With exorbitant fees to transfer funds in and out of Africa and incumbent providers halting services, payments companies are struggling to operate in Africa and people cannot send money home to their family members,” said Jack Mallers, Strike founder and CEO, in a statement. “Strike offers an opportunity for people to transfer their US dollars easily and instantly across borders.”
Wednesday 12.7.22: New York-based hedge fund Fir Tree Capital Management has filed a lawsuit against digital asset manager Grayscale Investments over “potential mismanagement and conflicts of interest” at the firm’s flagship Bitcoin fund, according to a Bloomberg report. The news came as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s (GBTC) discount plunged to a record low discount of more than 43% from the underlying Bitcoin value on Tuesday, with Fir Tree alleging that this is partly the result of Grayscale issuing “an immense number” between 2018 and 2021 without providing investors means of exiting their positions aside from selling shares to other investors.
Thursday 12.8.22: The U.S. bankruptcy judge responsible for the Celsius Network case has ordered the bankrupt crypto lender to return around $44 million worth of cryptocurrencies. ccording to Bloomberg, the ruling by Judge Martin Glenn will impact customer funds that never touched the firm’s flagship interest-bearing lending service, which represents a fairly small minority of the overall customer funds held by Celsius.
Friday 12.9.22: In what may signal the beginning of a new phase in the battle for stablecoin dominance, Coinbase, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, is now encouraging its users to swap from Tether's USDT to Circle's USDC with zero-fee trades.
Live Show Recaps
Monday 12.5.22: Dan Habib discusses a variety of news and topics, including the weaknesses in the most recent jobs report, previous stock market rallies this year, leading indicators of inflation, and Bitcoin on-chain metrics. Brian Decker speaks about the current state of the cryptocurrency market, and Matthew provides a technical analysis of the markets.
Tuesday 12.6.22: Matt discusses the Bitcoin app Strike launching instant and cheap remittances to Africa, well-known crypto bulls and bears, and a detailed breakdown of Ripple's reply brief in the SEC V. Ripple case. Matthew also provides a technical analysis of the markets, citing Bitcoin dominance as an indicator of a Bitcoin bottom.
Wednesday 12.7.22: The team addresses Grayscale's lawsuit, Tether's launch of offshore Chinese Yuan on Tron, Binance's BTC reserves are fully collateralized, and Part 2 of Ripple's reply to the SEC's opposition. Matthew also provides market technical analysis and shows what XRP could do during the next bull run.
Thursday 12.8.22: Brian Decker discusses the current state of crypto investing and what future regulation might mean for crypto. Dan Habib gives a presentation on the definition of a recession, investments, and other economic data. Brian provides additional insight into treasury bills, and Matthew offers a market technical analysis.
Friday 12.9.22: Dan Habib addresses the Producer Price Index (PPI), the upcoming Consumer Price Index (CPI), inflation expectations, and trading opportunities. Matthew Brienen mentions the UK including crypto assets in financial services reform package, Coinbase announces zero-fee USDT to USDC conversion, and Sam Bankman-Fried says opening the FTX exchange is a "productive path" forward.
