Top Stories This Week
Sam Bankman-Fried petitions court to prioritize reimbursing his legal fees
Signature Bank closed by New York regulators for not providing data
Crypto-friendly Signature Bank was officially closed down and taken over by the New York Department of Financial Services on March 12 for “failing to provide consistent and reliable data.” The bank has been investigated by two United States government bodies over whether it took adequate measures to monitor and detect potential money laundering by its clients. Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives Barney Frank suggested that New York regulators closed Signature as part of a seeming show of force against the crypto market.
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USDC bounces back toward $1 peg after Fed announcement
Circle’s stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC), climbed back to its $1 peg following positive developments concerning Circle’s $3.3 billion worth of reserves held at Silicon Valley Bank and its new banking partners: redemptions of USDC will now be processed by Cross River Bank and BNY Mellon. The stablecoin depegged from the U.S. dollar on March 10 following SVB’s sudden collapse, triggering the depeg of many other stablecoins. The stablecoins’ depegging prompted a growth in loan repayments over the weekend, allowing debtors to save more than $100 million on loans.
US Fed announces $25B in funding to backstop banks
Bitcoin market cap flips tech giant Meta, widens gap on Visa
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $27,571, Ether (ETH) at $1,823 and XRP at $0.38. The total market cap is at $1.18 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Conflux (CFX) at 186.02%, Mask Network (MASK) at 120.56% and Stacks (STX) at 102.97%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are UNUS SED LEO (LEO) at -2.22%, Tether (USDT) at -0.35% and Binance USD (BUSD) at -0.16%.
For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
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Most Memorable Quotations
“The recent shutdowns of financial institutions may be the opportunity for crypto to reach mass adoption.”
“We believe that elements of the future of finance will be blockchain enabled and we’re already witnessing rapid change in the tokenisation market.”
Drew Bradford, executive general manager, markets at the National Australia Bank
“Major adoption by mainstream businesses and their consumers is right around the corner thanks to recent developments in scaling and privacy technology.”
Mark Smargon, CEO of Fuse Network
“Drop the blockchain/NFT/play-to-earn (P2E)/metaverse/Web3 talk. […] They [players] just want to have an entertaining playing experience — not a science lesson.”
Peter Bergstrom, former producer of Age of Empires and CEO of BitBlock Ventures
“We are going to have a credit crunch in the U.S. and globally. […] You want to be long gold and silver […] and you want to be long Bitcoin.”
Michael Novogratz, founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital
“I believe regulators are using crypto as a scapegoat for their own lapses in oversight of traditional banking.”
Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest
Prediction of the Week
Bitcoin price hits $27K in new 9-month high as Fed injects $300B
Bitcoin hit new nine-month highs on March 17 as the latest events in the U.S. banking crisis boosted crypto markets. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting $27,025 on Bitstamp before consolidating. A catalyst for fresh upside had come overnight in the form of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet data, which showed almost $300 billion being injected into the economy as part of the banking crisis response.
Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, eyed specific levels up and down.
“Chopperino land on Bitcoin, which means that we’ll probably have some sideways structures,” he wrote on Twitter. “Needs to hold $26K. If that holds, $28–30K is next. If it loses $26K, I’m punting around $25K for some longs. Relatively easy to understand.”
FUD of the Week
Euler Finance hacked for over $195M in a flash loan attack
Europol seizes $46M from crypto mixer after $2.88B allegedly laundered
FBI, NY authorities probes collapse of TerraUSD stablecoin
The U.S. Justice Department is reportedly investigating the collapse of the TerraClassicUSD (USTC) stablecoin, which contributed to a $40 billion wipeout in the Terra ecosystem last May. Former staff at Terraform Labs have been interrogated in recent weeks by U.S. agencies, including the FBI. The probe covers similar ground to a lawsuit filed against Terraform Labs and its founder Do Kwon by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in February, including misleading investors.
Best Cointelegraph Features
4 out of 10 NFT sales are fake: Learn to spot the signs of wash trading
NFT wash trading inflates the volume on some platforms by 10x–20x the legitimate volume. Why is it encouraged, and what can be done about it?
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Crypto winter can take a toll on hodlers’ mental health
The relentless bear market, a string of high-profile criminal charges and the fall of trusted institutions have taken their toll on those actively involved in the crypto industry.
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Editorial Staff
Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.
