✅ 100% Of USDC Reserves Are Safe As U.S. Gov’t Bails Out Silicon Valley Bank
The financial sector has endured a few chaotic days. In particular, for USDC stablecoin and Silicon Valley Bank and its stakeholders, since the lender swung from being presumed robust and profitable to being shut down by authorities in less than 48 hours. Now, a lifebuoy has just been tossed to save the drowning bank and others sinking deep into trouble. The U.S. government and financial regulators have announced that individuals having assets deposited at the troubled Silicon Valley Bank will have access to their funds. 🔗 Read more

🚀 Bitcoin jumps above 26k with crypto rallies for a second day after latest U.S. inflation data comes in as expected
Bitcoin jumped on Tuesday to levels not seen since last summer, extending its Monday rally as investors weighed the latest inflation data. Bitcoin rose more than 7% to $26,110.50, according to Coin Metrics. Chart analysts had been eyeing $25,200 as a key level to watch. Ether added 3.7% to trade at $1,747.11. Bitcoin is now up about 28.5% since Friday, when regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank, and 59% for 2023. Ether has gained 20% since Friday and 45% year-to-date.

The jump coincided with the latest consumer price index reading, which showed an increase of 0.4% in February from January, matching the consensus estimate of economists polled by Dow Jones. So-called core CPI, which removes volatile food and energy prices, showed a monthly increase slightly above economists’ expectations, and a year-over-year change in line with expectations. 🔗 Read more

🛑 One of the darkweb’s largest cryptocurrency laundromats washed out
German and US authorities, supported by Europol, have targeted ChipMixer, a cryptocurrency mixer well-known in the cybercriminal underworld. The investigation was also supported by Belgium, Poland and Switzerland. On 15 March, national authorities took down the infrastructure of the platform for its alleged involvement in money laundering activities and seized four servers, about 1909.4 Bitcoins in 55 transactions (approx. EUR 44.2 million) and 7 TB of data. ChipMixer, an unlicensed cryptocurrency mixer set up in mid-2017, was specialised in mixing or cutting trails related to virtual currency assets. The ChipMixer software blocked the blockchain trail of the funds, making it attractive for cybercriminals looking to launder illegal proceeds from criminal activities such as drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, ransomware attacks, and payment card fraud. Deposited funds would be turned into “chips” (small tokens with equivalent value), which were then mixed together - thereby anonymising all trails to where the initial funds originated. 🔗 Read more

🚀 Uniswap officially expands exchange services to BNB Chain
Uniswap, the world's largest decentralized exchange protocol by trade volume, has officially launched on BNB Chain, a decentralized EVM-compatible smart contract blockchain initially founded by crypto exchange Binance. The move comes after a successful governance proposal in February to deploy on BNB Chain and contentious governance deliberations to decide on a bridge solution for the deployment. With this expansion, Uniswap Protocol users will be able to leverage BNB Chain's low transaction fees, compared with Ethereum, to trade and swap tokens across the network. 🔗 Read more

The FED's total assets have increased by $300 billion in the past few days alone!

That's about 50% of the reduction of the whole last year. From QT to QE. Brrrrrr 💸

👉 Get more updates like this on our Discord server: https://rebrand.cryptoexplorer.cc/telegram-discord

#Bitcoin above $26,500 ✅
Highest price in over 9 months!

📈 Ethereum's next big upgrade Shapella expected to hit mainnet on April 12
Ethereum core developers are targeting April 12 to release the highly-anticipated Shanghai-Capella upgrade, or Shapella, on the mainnet. The main feature of the upgrade is Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4895, which aims to enable validator staking withdrawals on the main network. This critical function was not introduced during Ethereum's switch to a proof-of-stake consensus in September to ensure a safe transition. Besides the withdrawals, developers have also planned three additional improvements aimed at optimizing gas costs for certain activities with the Shapella upgrade. 🔗 Read more

⚖️ YouTube Influencers Slapped With $1 Billion Lawsuit for Promoting FTX
A group of investors who did business with defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX brought a class action lawsuit against multiple internet influencers Wednesday, alleging the content creators pushed unregistered securities on their viewers and followers while promoting the collapsed exchange. The lawsuit seeks over $1 billion in damages and was brought against content creators that reached millions online, including BitBoy Crypto creator Ben Armstrong and finance YouTube creator Graham Stephan, among seven other individuals and the talent management firm Creators Agency. 🔗 Read more

📰 This Week In Crypto (CW 11)
1. Sam Bankman-Fried petitions court to prioritize reimbursing his legal fees
2. The worse the banks are doing, the better the cryptocurrency is doing
3. Major Cryptocurrency ATM Manufacturer General Bytes Hacked, Over $1.5M in Bitcoin Stolen
4. Signature Bank closed by New York regulators for not providing data
5. US Fed announces $25B in funding to backstop banks
6. Bitcoin market cap flips tech giant Meta, widens gap on Visa

CW10 (last week)

🚀 Goldman Highlights Bitcoin as Best-Performing Asset
Bitcoin has outpaced traditional investment assets and sectors, such as technology and gold, in year-to-date (YTD) absolute returns and risk-adjusted performance, according to recent data from Goldman Sachs. The leading cryptocurrency has gained 51% in YTD absolute returns, surpassing information technology (+16%), communication services (+15%), consumer discretionary (+11%), Russell 1000 Growth (+10%), gold (+4%), and the S&P 500 (+4%). Meanwhile, energy and crude oil have seen declines of 11% and 14%, respectively. Oil prices have dropped to their lowest level since December 2021 due to softer fundamentals and broader market concerns. The market's floor will depend on OPEC+ and the US. 🔗 Read more

💸 Cryptocurrency Outlook Is Strengthened by U.S. Banking Turmoil: Coinbase
The medium to long-term outlook for the cryptocurrency market has been “reinforced to the upside” following recent turmoil in the U.S. banking industry, Coinbase (COIN) said in a report Friday. “Cryptocurrencies have exhibited some resilience, in part due to technical reasons,” but also because more people “now appreciate the fundamental value proposition of having an alternative to the points of failure inherent in the traditional financial system,” wrote David Duong, head of institutional research. The Federal Reserve’s policy of raising rates has led to falling prices of Treasurys, which lowered the value of banks’ portfolios. The ensuing collapse of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank (SBNY) has created panic in financial markets and sent banking stocks tumbling in global markets. 🔗 Read more

🚀 XRP Token Surges on Positive Outlook in Ripple vs. SEC Case
The XRP token surged over 20% in the past 24 hours after reports of its issuer, Ripple, being well-placed to win a landmark case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange emerged on Tuesday. The SEC sued Ripple in 2020, alleging the firm sold unregistered securities. On Wednesday, XRP traded at 45 cents with over $5 billion in trading volume. Over $17 million worth of XRP-tracked futures were liquidated as some traders were likely caught off guard, Coinglass data shows. Earlier this week, Ripple defendants submitted a new filing in support of their fair notice defense. The filing referenced rulings on SEC objections in the Voyager Digital Holdings bankruptcy case. It noted that in rejecting the SEC's objections, Judge Michael Wiles of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York endorsed many of the arguments that Ripple defendants have presented. 🔗 Read more

😬 Just in: SEC publishes Warning On Cryptocurrencies
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy continues to urge investors to be cautious if considering an investment involving crypto asset securities. "Investments in crypto asset securities can be exceptionally volatile and speculative, and the platforms where investors buy, sell, borrow, or lend these securities may lack important protections for investors". While this is true, there continues to be a lack of clear rules and guidance from the SEC, the industry continues to have no certainty as to what is now categorized as a security and what is not. 🔗 Read more

📈 Bitcoin outperforms 97% of all S&P 500 companies in 2023
As the cryptocurrency market continues to brave through the financial crisis that has already crushed several major banking institutions, Bitcoin (BTC) has recorded better results than nearly 100% of the 500 leading publicly traded companies in the United States during the third month of 2023. Indeed, since March 10, the price of Bitcoin has increased by 37.06% and over 72% since the year’s turn, while the flagship cryptocurrency registered better year-to-date (YTD) returns than 488 or 97.6% of S&P 500 companies, including FedEx (NYSE: FDX), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), according to the data shared with Finbold by the crypto education platform CryptoManiaks on March 22. 🔗 Read more

🚀 Bitcoin at $100,000? Insiders say the cryptocurrency could test new highs this year
Marshall Beard, chief strategy officer at U.S.-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, said $100,000 could be a possibility for bitcoin. “I think bitcoin probably breaks all-time highs this year,” Beard said, adding that the $100,000 price figure is an “interesting number.” Beard said that if bitcoin gets to its previous record high of near $69,000, “it doesn’t take much more for it to lift up” to $100,000. Bitcoin would need to rally around 270% to hit $100,000. Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer at stablecoin issuer Tether, said bitcoin could “retest” its all-time high near $69,000. The predictions of new record highs mark a more optimistic outlook than in January when industry executives told CNBC that they expected 2023 to be a year of caution. 🔗 Read more

🤖 President of El Salvador readies bill to remove taxes on AI and tech innovations
Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador, announced plans to present a bill to the country’s Congress next week that would abolish all taxes on technology innovation, artificial intelligence (AI) development, computing, and communications hardware manufacturing. In a tweet on March 24, Bukele declared his intentions by stating that the tax exemption would include income, property, capital gains, and import tariffs on technology innovations such as coding, software programming, AI development, as well as computing and communications hardware manufacturing. 🔗 Read more

📈 $12,000,000,000 Asset Manager Says Investors Flocking to Bitcoin and Crypto Amid Global Banking Fallout
The CEO of the $12 billion financial advisory firm deVere Group, Nigel Green, says investors are seeking alternatives like Bitcoin and crypto as the U.S. enters a new era of quantitative easing. In a blog post, Green says the U.S. Treasury’s actions after the fall of Silicon Valley Bank represent a new wave of money printing and financial stimulus that has investors looking at ways to preserve their capital. Green highlights Bitcoin’s scarce supply of 21 million coins as one of the key features that makes it appealing in the current economic environment. “Bitcoin surged in price following the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, with the banking crisis acting as a springboard event for the world’s largest cryptocurrency, as global investors seek safe haven, alternative currencies…". 🔗 Read more

📰 This Week In Crypto (CW 12)

1. Over 1,200 German banks can now offer Bitcoin trading to their retail customers

2. Florida Governor Moves to Ban CBDCs, Calls for Coalition of States to Follow Suit

3. El Salvador President Bukele to Introduce Bill That Would Eliminate Taxes on Technology Innovations

4. Telegram Users Can Now Transfer USDT Through Chats

5. XRP Whales Amass Nearly Half A Billion Coins As Traders Shower Confidence On A ‘Ripple Win’ In SEC Case

CW11 (last week)

💨 Polygon Labs unveils zkEVM Layer 2 to help scale Ethereum
Scaling project Polygon has released a highly anticipated zero-knowledge-based rollup network, with Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin set to perform the first symbolic transaction in a YouTube broadcast scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EDT. The network, called Polygon zkEVM, was under development for a year and provides a scalability solution for Ethereum apps, with ZK-rollups performing off-chain computations on a secondary layer to enable faster and cheaper transactions while still maintaining Ethereum's security as a priority. The network is EVM-equivalent, meaning it will support the same code as Ethereum and allow developers to use their existing tooling and infrastructure. The mainnet is permissionless, and anyone can bridge assets and use them in zkEVM native apps, according to the development team. 🔗 Read more