The cryptocurrency market finally had a series of positive days, after a rather difficult couple of weeks thanks to the crash of the popular cryptocurrency exchange FTX. However, the consequences continue after said event, since several companies and projects in the crypto sector have suffered this fall, presenting liquidity problems and even going so far as to declare bankruptcy. Next, we tell you the most relevant news of the week in the 🌎 of cryptocurrencies.
Another Cryptocurrency Exchange Closed Its Doors!
Bitfront, an American exchange backed by Japanese social media firm Line Corp, said it has suspended new registrations, credit card payments and will cease operations in a few months despite efforts to overcome challenges in the rapidly evolving industry.
The California-based company announced it last Sunday through its website, mentioning that it is the best decision to be able to continue growing the LINE blockchain ecosystem and the LINK token economy.
Bitfront has suspended new registrations and credit card payments from November 28 and will suspend withdrawals on March 31, 2023. The company clarified that interest on deposits made between December 5 and December 11 will be paid on December 13, 2022.
Bitfront further mentioned that the situation is not related to recent issues between certain exchanges that have been accused of “misconduct.”
It wasn’t just Bitfront!
BlockFi, one of the most important DeFi projects within the crypto-asset ecosystem, has also been a victim of recent events.
The cryptocurrency lender filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday after the firm was hit with exposure to the spectacular FTX crash earlier this month.
The filing in a New Jersey court came as cryptocurrency prices have plummeted, despite a slight recovery this week.
New Jersey-based BlockFi, founded by fintech executive-turned-crypto-entrepreneur Zac Prince, mentioned in its bankruptcy filing that its substantial exposure to FTX created a liquidity crisis, due to its relationship with that exchange through loans to Alameda. , a crypto asset trading company affiliated with FTX, as the cryptocurrencies held on the FTX platform were trapped there. BlockFi listed its assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion.
In other news, Binance has finally managed to break into the Japanese market, having acquired 100% of Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC), a Japanese-registered cryptocurrency trading platform. After this acquisition, Binance enters the Japanese market, as an entity regulated by the Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA).
It now has regulatory clearances in France, Italy, Spain, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Poland, Lithuania and Cyprus. This has become Binance’s first license in East Asia.
A piece of news that fell quite optimistically for the crypto market! The United States could ease interest rate hikes by the middle of this month, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. With this announcement, Powell confirms that the next increases in interest rates could be below 0.75% or even up to 0.5%. Powell mentioned that it makes sense to ease the pace of rate increases as they reach a level sufficient to reduce inflation.
More optimism and pure oxygen for the crypto asset market!
Last week it was announced that the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved a regulatory framework that legalizes the use of some cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, as a means of payment. Now, the bill must be submitted for sanction by the President of the Republic to be promulgated.
This bill grants legal status to payments with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in exchange for goods and services, both for individuals, businesses and public administration entities. It should be noted that this does NOT represent its inclusion as legal tender, unlike what El Salvador did at the time. However, it is great news for crypto assets as it could mean mass adoption within one of the largest countries in Latin America.
Mass hack compromised Binance transactions?
The world’s largest exchange is investigating a hack that affected multiple tokens last Friday. According to its founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao, a private key, used to encrypt or decrypt data, had been hacked.
Binance proceeded to stop the withdrawals of the affected tokens, these being the “ANKR” tokens and the “HAY” stablecoin. The hacker managed to exploit a vulnerability in the code of the DeFi protocol known as Ankr, which allowed him to mine 6 quadrillion tokens, to later convert them into BNB tokens and transfer them to his wallet through the Tornado Cash platform.
It is worth mentioning that the hack was not through Binance, that is, the largest cryptocurrency trading platform was not violated, but the DeFi protocol in question.
Sam Bankman-Fried has talked! In recent days, the former CEO of the FTX exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), made statements to major US media, seeking to disclaim responsibility for the bankruptcy of the exchange. This, without a doubt, has unleashed the fury of the entire community, who demand justice. One of them is the CEO of Galaxy Digital, Mike Novogratz, who said in an interview with CNBC that SBF should be prosecuted.
Bitcoin is currently above $17,000, after a fairly positive week, in which a slight recovery could be seen after falling as low as $15,400. However, we can see that it is at a fairly important level, which it could perfectly use as resistance to later fall to $12,500.
BTC/USDT 1D (TradingView chart).
For its part, Ethereum behaves in a similar way, since it is also close to a fairly important resistance zone near $1,280, and is trading above $1,260. Could it be that a possible rebound in this area confirms a fall to $1,000?
ETH/USDT 1D (TradingView chart).
It has been a week in which there have been events that have pushed the market higher, with some optimism after the large number of catastrophic events that we have witnessed in 2022. However, we could still see more projects and companies affected by the FTX case in the coming weeks, so it will be important to be attentive to the news that is presented. Without further ado, we wish you an amazing week.
