Monthly Archives: March 2023

Bitcoin Slips Below $28K as Bank Contagion Fears Rattles Investors

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• Cryptocurrency prices dropped on Friday due to contagion fears from Deutsche Bank’s problems, as well as the continuing concerns about US monetary policy.
• Bitcoin (BTC) was recently trading at around $27,450, down 2% over the last 24 hours and 16% up in March.
• Analysts for bitcoin mining equipment provider Blockware Solutions said that BTC resistance had been formed at $28,800.

Cryptocurrency Prices Drop Amid Contagion Fears

Cryptocurrency prices sank Friday as investors grappled with a new threat to the global banking system as well as continuing concerns about U.S. monetary policy. Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was recently changing hands at about $27,450, down more than 2% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. BTC rose as high as about $28,300 earlier in the day and is up more than 16% in March.

Deutsche Bank Affects Market Sentiment

Shares of Deutsche Bank (DB) plunged 14% one point Friday before closing down 3%. Deutsche Bank’s problems come just days after UBS agreed to acquire its troubled rival Credit Suisse for $3.2 billion and less than three weeks after the failure of U.S.-based Silvergate, Silicon Valley and Signature banks.

BTC Resistance Formed at $28,800

In a newsletter Friday analysts for bitcoin mining equipment and hosting provider Blockware Solutions said that BTC’s resistance had formed at $28,800; this is approximately where it stood during a correction in the summer of 2021.

Unexpected Risks Can Lead to Volatility

The sudden surge in risk posed by Deutsche Bank highlights how unexpected events can push markets into volatility which can have an impact on crypto markets too – particularly when it affects global financial services giants such as this one.

What’s Next?

It will be interesting to see if BTC’s resistance at $28K holds or if investors continue selling off their holdings due to renewed fears of contagion throughout financial systems globally following this latest news event involving Deutsche Bank

Crypto Companies Reap Benefits as Bitcoin Surpasses $27.6K

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• Crypto stocks have been rising as the price of Bitcoin (BTC) surpasses $27,600.
• Coinbase (COIN), MicroStrategy (MSTR), Riot Platforms (RIOT), Hut 8 (HUT) and Hive Blockchain Technologies (HIVE) are among those with notable gains.
• Marathon Digital (MARA) reported record production of 1,562 BTC in the fourth quarter, but reported lower than expected earnings due to a $332.9 million charge related to mining rigs and vendor advances.

Crypto Market Sees Gains

The crypto market is seeing some notable gains on Friday as Bitcoin’s price surpassed $27,000 for the first time since early June. The surge has resulted in many crypto stocks experiencing positive movement, including Coinbase, MicroStrategy, Riot Platforms, Hut 8 and Hive Blockchain Technologies.

Coinbase Shares Rise

The shares of crypto exchange Coinbase have seen an increase of nearly 7% while those of MicroStrategy – which holds billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin on its balance sheet – rose by 7.7%. Crypto-mining stocks also experienced a surge in value with Riot Platforms leading the pack at 12%. Hut 8 and Hive Blockchain Technologies saw respective gains of 7%.

Marathon Digital Reports Earnings

Marathon Digital reported its fourth-quarter earnings late Thursday after a delay due to an inquiry from the US Securities and Exchange Commission related to accounting matters. Despite recording a record amount of 1,562 BTC during this period, Marathon Digital saw their earnings per share and revenue come up short from analyst estimates because of a $332.9 million charge related to mining rigs and vendor advances. Their share prices still saw a 5% increase despite less favourable results than anticipated.

Bitcoin Price Surges

The surge in Bitcoin’s price has seen it jump more than 10% over the last 24 hours with its current price standing at around $27,900 at the time this article was written making it one of the biggest single day surges since 2017 when BTC hit its all-time high near $20K USD per coin.

Conclusion

It appears that despite some companies not achieving their desired results there is still strong investor confidence in the crypto space which has caused several crypto stocks to rise notably alongside bitcoin’s own price surge – something that could be indicative of future growth potential within this sector going forward.

Crypto Market Goes Haywire After Silicon Valley Bank Collapse

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• Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) failure caused some of the industry’s core plumbing to go haywire.
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen convened top financial regulators to discuss the collapse of SVB.
• USDC stablecoin massively depegged from its intended $1 price – a harrowing development for a product designed as a place for investors to safely park money.

Silicon Valley Bank Failure

The cryptocurrency crisis went into high gear early Saturday as Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) failure caused some of the industry’s core plumbing to go haywire. Stablecoin prices wildly swung and gas fees soared as investors scrambled to move money around hours after regulators shut SVB amid a run on the bank, which had ties to crypto. It was the second crypto-linked bank to go under this week.

Regulators Discuss Collapse

In the aftermath, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen convened top financial regulators to discuss the collapse of SVB. Not long after, crypto markets went into turmoil, suggesting the more-than-year-long bear market has entered an even darker phase.

Stablecoin Price Swing

Circle Internet Financial’s USDC stablecoin massively depegged from its intended $1 price – a harrowing development for a product designed as a place for investors to safely park money. The USDC/USDT pair (which tracks Circle’s coin versus the bigger one issued by Tether) sank as low as 87 cents on the Kraken exchange at 07:16 UTC on Saturday – far lower than it ever got amid the market stresses that followed the FTX debacle in November. It was back around 94 cents as of 18:07 UTC.

Crypto Markets Turmoil

Crypto markets went into turmoil, suggesting the more-than-year-long bear market has entered an even darker phase with echoes of 2008 global financial crisis when bad news kept getting followed up by even worse news. Though in case of crypto, which lacks central bank like Federal Reserve that can bail out industry, question lingers: How will it end?

Reserves Backing Stablecoins

The financial services company confirmed late Friday that about $3.3 billion of the reserves backing their stablecoins were not held in their original accounts due to restrictions placed by banks and other financial service providers following SVB’s closure

Bitso and Mastercard Launch Debit Card in Mexico: Make Crypto Payments Easier!

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• Bitso, a Latin American crypto exchange, launched a debit card in Mexico in partnership with Mastercard.
• Mastercard also has partnerships with Binance, Belo and Buenbit in the Latin American crypto ecosystem.
• Bitso operates in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia with over 6 million users and 1,500 institutional clients.

Bitso Launches Debit Card in Mexico

Latin American crypto exchange Bitso has partnered with Mastercard to launch a debit card for customers in Mexico. The card is now available to more than 100,000 users who requested it after it was enabled for feedback purposes last November.

Mastercard Partnerships Across Latin America

Mastercard’s portfolio of partnerships in Latin America extends beyond Bitso to include Binance, Belo and Buenbit. Despite reports that the company was taking steps back from the crypto space, they have told CoinDesk that they still intend to bring relevant payments solutions and programs to market along with their partners.

Bitso’s Services Across South America

In addition to its operations in Mexico where the debit card is available, Bitso also offers services across Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. The exchange currently has over 6 million users as well as 1,500 institutional clients using its platform. In September 2022 it enabled QR code payments using Argentine pesos as well as bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and DAI stablecoin.

Visa Continues Crypto Plans Despite Winter

Despite reports of a winter cooling off within the cryptocurrency space, both Visa and Mastercard are continuing their plans around cryptocurrency-related products and services according to statements made by each company respectively.

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