Week 9 | 2/27/23 - 3/4/23
By Matthew BrienenNews Flash
The Solana blockchain is back online after two attempts to restart the network. The fix occurred at 01:28 UTC, after which engineers were said to continue monitoring the performance of the network, according to monitoring site Solana Status. At 02:09 UTC, the issue was deemed to be resolved.
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), Israel's sole public trading platform for equity and debt, is looking to set up a blockchain-based digital asset trading platform, according to a strategy document published Monday. Establishing the platform is one of four goals outlined in the document, which lays out the institution's road map for the next five years. The TASE is looking to "promote the implementation of innovative technologies" and will explore the use of distributed ledgers (DLT) for immutable record-keeping, tokenization and smart contracts (which can be used to execute crypto trades) to improve existing markets infrastructure, and offer digital asset "services and products." "We see in the next five years a critical window of opportunity for the integration of the Israeli Stock Exchange in the technological revolution that the world's capital markets are going through," CEO Itai Ben-Zeev said in the document.
The bankrupt crypto broker Voyager Digital announced that 97% of its customers with account holder claims have voted in favor of the proposed restructuring plan that will see Binance.US acquire the firm’s assets for $1.02 billion. Bankruptcy administration company Stretto, which conducted the poll, divided the eligible voters into four categories, one for “account holder claims” and three for “general unsecured claims.” The majority of voters representing the latter groups also voted in favor of the proposal.
French lawmakers have approved a set of stricter rules for crypto companies, which now only need the approval of President Emmanuel Macron to be signed into law. Members of the country’s National Assembly voted 109 to 71 to adopt a package of European Union laws, which include an amendment imposing tighter requirements on new players looking to get in on the French crypto market. But the 60 companies which have opted for the simpler registration under the country’s existing two-tier system will not be affected and will have until Europe-wide regulations come into force.
Australia drew one step closer Wednesday to potentially establishing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced an upcoming pilot phase for its digital version of the Australian dollar called the eAUD. In a joint announcement with Australia’s Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre, the RBA says it invited a small number of companies to help explore 14 use cases for the eAUD, asking firms like ANZ and Mastercard to participate in the program. The use cases range from facilitating offline payments to tokenized invoices for businesses, and even livestock auctions. "The pilot and broader research study that will be conducted in parallel will serve two ends—it will contribute to hands-on learning by industry, and it will add to policymakers’ understanding of how a CBDC could potentially benefit the Australian financial system and economy,” the RBA’s Assistant Governor Brad Jones stated.
The US Department of the Treasury under President Joe Biden is sketching the technology that can be used to create a central bank digital currency (CBDC), even as lawmakers remain split on whether to go ahead with the plan. Policymakers are currently deliberating on the merits of a CBDC and what it would entail. Nellie Liang, the undersecretary of the Treasury for domestic finance, delivered a speech at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank on Wednesday, outlining the administration’s plans on CBDCs.
Policymakers in the European Parliament are negotiating changes to the text of an EU anti-money laundering bill to highlight that NFT platforms or other companies providing services related to NFTs are covered by the regulation. “NFT platforms are not covered in the current definition of crypto-assets service providers under the MiCA Regulation to the extent they do not provide services in crypto-assets that are fungible and non-unique,” reads a draft of the AML proposal obtained by The Block and confirmed by multiple sources familiar with the negotiation. “In order to close this gap and mitigate associated money laundering and terrorist financing risks, NFT platforms should therefore be included in the horizontal AML/CFT framework as a separate category of obliged entities.”
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) said it bought One River Digital Asset Management, an institutional digital-asset manager, as it looks to expand beyond its core business catering to retail customers. One River Digital, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission-registered subsidiary of One River Asset Management, will become Coinbase Asset Management and will "form the foundation" of Coinbase's investment advisory service for institutional clients, the exchange said in a blog post Friday. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
CryptoCharged Live Show Recaps
Dan Habib talks about orders for durable goods, pending home sales, and trade dates. Matthew Brienen discusses why you should not use BUSD as a stablecoin, the Solana network is back online after a second restart, and Americans agree on the financial system's future. Matthew and Dan provide a technical market analysis as well as updates on some popular altcoins.
Matthew Brienen explains Casper Labs' collaboration with Google Cloud, a tokenized Texas house for sale on Solana, and Visa's reaffirmation of its crypto strategy. Kevin Cage is reintroduced by Matthew, and they discuss the current crypto market, a XRP buyback, the utility with Casper, and the top 5 assets for 2023. Matthew also provides a technical analysis of the markets as well as updates on short positions.
Brian Decker talks about recessions, home sales, and the state of the economy in general. Matthew Brienen explains how France is moving forward with stricter crypto rules for new entrants, how Voyager clients voted 97% in favor of a $1 billion restructuring plan, and how Ripple is in talks with over 20 central banks about CBDCs. Brian debunks some options trading misconceptions, and Matthew provides a market technical analysis.
Dan Habib dissects market conditions, bond yields, home prices, credit card balances, credit card rates, sentiment, and e-commerce real retail sales. Matthew Brienen discusses the US Treasury weighing CBDC adoption prospects, Audius naming a new chief business officer, and a new version of Casper. Matthew gives a technical analysis of the markets and what he expects from Casper during the bull run.
Matthew Brienen talks about Coinbase acquiring One River Digital Asset Management, Gary Genslers' thoughts on crypto exchanges not being safe custodians, and Brad Garlinghouse's thoughts on the future of crypto regulation. Matthew also provides a technical market analysis and an update on a few altcoins.