• SVB Financial Group, the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, has filed for bankruptcy protection.
• The filing is in the Southern District of New York and aims to preserve company value.
• Customers will receive their funds from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and an emergency plan from the Biden administration and U.S. Treasury.

Silicon Valley Bank Parent Files for Bankruptcy Protection

SVB Financial Group, the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, has voluntarily filed for a court-organized reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the Southern District of New York. The restructuring team appointed by the board will explore strategic alternatives as determined by a board-appointed restructuring team made up of five members that are already in progress, with any sale that is arranged requiring approval in court before it is executed. The bankruptcy case aims to preserve company value with $2.2 billion liquidity, $3.3 billion debt in aggregate principal amount of unsecured notes, and $3.7 billion outstanding preferred equity; Joele Frank assisting in this process as well.

Silicon Valley Bank Ceased Operations

Shortly after announcing plans to over $2 billion of funds, Silicon Valley bank ceased operations on March 10th as U.S regulators took control of customer assets; leading to a weekend bank run and affecting companies such as Circle and BlockFi.

Funds Available Elsewhere

While SVB’s other services — SVB Capital and SVB Securities — will continue to provide services, customers affected by Silicon Valley Banks‘ failure can receive their funds elsewhere through Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) providing them with the insured portion or through an emergency plan created by Biden administration and U.S Treasury.

No Longer Associated With Failed Silicon Valley Bank

The press release noted that SVB Financial Group is no longer associated with failed Silicon Valley Bank.

Strategic Alternatives Process In Progress

The filing allows SVB Financial Group to explore strategic alternatives as determined by its board-appointed restructuring team made up of five members – with any sale that is arranged needing approval in court before being executed

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected VanEck’s proposal for a Bitcoin spot ETF.
• Two SEC commissioners criticized the regulator’s decision, stating that it applies “uniquely burdensome” rules to crypto products.
• The SEC has rejected multiple proposals for a Bitcoin spot ETF in 2021, 2022, and 2017, citing concerns over market manipulation prevention.

SEC Rejects VanEck Proposal for Bitcoin Spot ETF

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again rejected VanEck’s proposal for a Bitcoin spot ETF, according to a March 10 filing. The relevant filing indicates that the SEC has rejected a rule change through which Cboe BZX Exchange intended to list VanEck’s exchange-traded fund (ETF). The SEC previously denied similar proposals for a VanEck Bitcoin spot ETF in 2021 and 2017. It also delayed a decision on the product multiple times.

Concerns Over Market Manipulation Prevention

The core issue, according to the SEC, is that ETF providers have not shown that they can prevent market manipulation. Specifically, those providers have not shown that they have a surveillance-sharing agreement with a significantly-sized market. The SEC has also rejected competing proposals from other firms such as Wisdomtree, ARK Invest, and Valkyrie Investments on virtually identical grounds due to similar concerns over market manipulation prevention.

Commissioners Dissent

Though the SEC’s reasoning has been applied repeatedly, two SEC commissioners ⁠— Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda ⁠— criticized the regulator’s decision today. They noted that it has been six years since the SEC rejected the first application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund or exchange-traded product (ETP). Though the SEC claims it applies the same rules to other ETP proposals, Peirce and Uyeda say that its rules for Bitcoin spot ETPs are in fact „uniquely burdensome.“

Uniquely Burdensome Rules

Specifically, they argue that the SEC’s rules for determining a „significant“ market usually apply to a particular trading venue, not an overall market. They also say that the SEC applies a two-part test: first, whether someone attempting to manipulate the market would also need to trade on the relevant market so that surveillance measures are effective; second, whether ETP trading would be a predominant influence on prices in the relevant market – both criteria only applied to crypto products according to Peirce and Uyeda.

Ongoing Debate

Despite repeated rejections from regulators of these applications thus far due to worries over potential manipulation of markets by malicious actors if approved; debate continues between proponents of approving these applications who point out potential benefits such as increased institutional investments into cryptocurrencies as well as those concerned about possible risks associated with such approvals like increased volatility or even frauds targeting investors more easily than ever before possible with traditional stocks/equities etc..

• Bitcoin mining companies are exhibiting resilience amidst the recent market downturn, with some showing gains despite Bitcoin being down 4.5%.
• Silvergate Capital’s liquidation on March 2-3 has resulted in a decrease of $51 billion in the crypto market cap.
• Despite this, several mining stocks have seen positive returns including Iris Energy Limited (6.43%), Bitfarms Ltd (1.68%), Hut 8 (3.25%), and Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (7.46%).

Bitcoin Mining Companies Defy Market Trend with Positive Gains

The cryptocurrency market experienced a significant downturn on March 2 to 3 following news of Silvergate Capital’s liquidations, resulting in a decrease of $51 billion in the crypto market cap. However, amidst this bearish trend Bitcoin mining companies have demonstrated resilience; some even saw positive gains while BTC was down by 4.5%.

Mining Stocks Show Resilience Amidst Market Downturn

Notable mining stocks that rose against the downturn include Iris Energy Limited (6.43%), Bitfarms Ltd (1.68%), Hut 8 (3.25%), Bit Digital Inc. (2.50%), Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (7.46%) HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd (0.74%) Riot Platforms Inc (6.53%) Stronghold Digital Mining Inc (-0.02%) and CleanSpark Inc (3.43%).

What is Bitcoin Mining?

Bitcoin mining involves solving complex mathematical equations to validate transactions on the blockchain and also create new coins through a process called ‚mining‘. It is rewarded for its efforts with newly minted Bitcoin tokens and transaction fees from users who use it for digital purchases or transfers of funds across borders without relying on third parties such as banks or governments to facilitate them as they would do traditionally..

Why Are Mining Companies Doing Better than Bitcoin?

This could be partially attributed to the fact that cryptocurrencies still remain volatile assets and are thus prone to short-term swings which could be leveraged by long-term investors who may be holding positions in these companies‘ stocks rather than just buying into Bitcoin itself directly as an asset class – allowing them to benefit from both its upsides and downsides over time instead of just one side of it at any given moment..

Conclusion

In summary, despite recent market volatility, many bitcoin mining companies have been able to demonstrate resilience with some seeing positive returns – highlighting their potential as long term investments for those willing to take on riskier assets due their inherent volatility but also rewards potentially associated with them too if managed correctly over time

• Coinbase recently announced their new product Base which enables anyone to build dApps cost-effectively.
• Chris Blec argues that this is part of the World Economic Forum’s plan for CBDCs and a cashless society.
• Coinbase stated that Base would not incorporate a token and Ethereum will be used as the native gas token.

Coinbase Launches ‚Base‘

Coinbase recently announced their newest product “Base”, an Ethereum layer 2 enabling „anyone, anywhere“ to build dApps cost-effectively. The company states that the goal with Base is to make onchain the next online and onboard 1B+ users into the cryptoeconomy.

Suspicions Over Network Neutrality

Chris Blec, host of the Proof of Decentralization Podcast, argued that Coinbase’s newly announced product Base is a WEF play for CBDCs and a cashless society. This statement rekindled discussion about Ethereum’s network neutrality in light of the U.S. Treasury sanctioning Tornado Cash mixer for laundering $7 billion of illicit funds by North Korean hackers Lazarus group.

Why Is Base Different?

Coinbase stated that Base would not incorporate a token but instead use Ethereum as its native gas token. Furthermore, they already have an established captive userbase meaning developers have easy access to existing users from launch day.

The Cornerstone Of WEF Plans?

Blec further warned that while building on Base may be permissionless, using it might require KYC verification first before being granted access. He then took this one step further by suggesting that Coinbase’s Base could actually be the cornerstone of WEF plans for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

Conclusion

Overall, Coinbase’s announcement has created much speculation over whether or not it is indeed part of WEF plans for CBDCs and a cashless society or simply another layer 2 solution offering more scalability on Ethereum network itself remains to be seen as time passes by.

• Public Bitcoin miners are in better financial health despite a 12.1% YoY drop in BTC holdings.
• The shares of several miners have risen by three figures on the year-to-date (YTD) metric and miners are selling their BTC to exchanges at extremely low levels compared to previous years.
• Bitcoin hash rate rose 34% on the year-on-year metric, making mining bitcoin cheaper.

Public Bitcoin Miners Improve Finances Despite 12.1% Drop

Glassnode data analyzed by CryptoSlate shows that Bitcoin miners are beginning to enjoy some respite in the current year after struggling in 2022. As of January 2022, Bitcoin miners held 36,003 BTC with mining firms like Core Scientific, Riot, Hut8, Marathon and Bitfarms holding over 30,000 coins; however the landscape appears to have changed in the current year as Hut 8, Marathon and Riot are now dominant miners controlling 87% — 27,760 BTC — of miner’s BTC holdings according to research from CryptoSlate.

Shares Rise Three Figures Year-to-Date

CryptoSlate’s analysis showed that miner’s appear to be in a healthier position compared to last year with shares rising three figures YTD for miners such as Hut8, Riot and Iris among others who all saw an increase of over 100%. This is likely due to profitability returning for the industry as Bitcoin’s price has risen by around 50%, briefly trading above $25000 for the first time since August 2022 on February 16th.

BTC Hashrate Hits Record High

The Bitcoin hash rate rose 34% YOY and hit a new all time high of 300 TH/s indicating current strength and consistency of the network. Mining bitcoin is now cheaper than ever before due to Difficulty Regression Model which measures cost associated with mining crypto assets being at its lowest level since November 2020 according to Glassnode data analyzed by CryptoSlate.

Miners Sell Low Levels Compared To Previous Years

Miner’s seem content selling their coins back into circulation at much lower rates than previously seen with Glassnode data showing they are selling their BTC into exchanges at “extremely low levels” compared to prior years indicating a growing sense of comfortability when it comes market certainty for these organizations which may indicate an overall rise in confidence within the space this year so far when it comes industry leaders participation within it.

Conclusion: Financial Health Improving For Miners

Overall it seems that 2021 will bring more good news than bad for public bitcoin miners who have been able to take advantage of rising prices coupled with lower costs associated with mining operations giving them increased flexibility when it comes how they manage their funds going forward this year

• Bitcoin (BTC) saw a realized loss of $200 million and a realized profit of $184 million on Feb. 9, following Kraken’s settlement with the SEC to end staking for U.S. customers.
• The total net realized loss stands at $16.2 million, suggesting liquidations were the main driver of negative price action.
• Net Realized Profit/Loss is defined by the difference between Realized Profit and Realized Loss which are both based on the USD value of all moved coins.

Kraken Settles with SEC

Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 3.9% in the past 24 hours following Kraken’s settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to end staking for U.S. customers on February 9th, 2021.

Realized Losses Hit $200 Million

As a result of this settlement, Bitcoin saw a realized loss of $200 million and a realized profit of $184 million on February 9th 2021 .The total net realized loss stands at $16.2 million, suggesting liquidations were the main driver of negative price action in that particular day for Bitcoin holders in United States.

Net Realized Profit & Loss Defined

Net Realized Profit/Loss is defined by the difference between Realized Profit and Realized Loss which are both based on the USD value of all moved coins; where Realized Profit denotes total profit (USD value) while Realized Loss denotes total losses (USD value).

Conclusion

The sudden dip in Bitcoin prices due to Kraken’s settlement with SEC resulted in losses worth up to 200M USD; however it was compensated by an overall net realizable profit/loss ratio standing at 16M USD which suggests that liquidations were primary drivers pushing prices down on that particular day for US-based investors..

Disclaimer

CryptoSlate does not endorse any project or investment mentioned here nor does it take responsibility should you lose money trading cryptocurrencies

• NFTs accounted for 28% of the ETH gas usage in January.
• The second, third, and fourth most significant shares of gas usage were Defi (8%), ERC20 (8%), and stablecoins (6%), respectively.
• CryptoSlate analysts divided all transactions on the Ethereum (ETH) network into eight categories—Vanilla, ERC20, Stablecoins, DeFi, Bridges, NFTs, MEV Bots, and Others.

According to recent research from CryptoSlate, the NFTs category accounted for 28% of the total gas usage on the Ethereum (ETH) network in January 2021. The analysis divided all transactions on the ETH network into eight distinct categories—Vanilla, ERC20, Stablecoins, DeFi, Bridges, NFTs, MEV Bots, and Others—in order to gain more detailed insights into the gas usage of the network.

The Vanilla category encompassed pure ETH transfers between Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) issued without calling any contracts. The ERC20 class counted all transactions that call ERC20 contracts, excluding stablecoin transactions. The Stablecoins category represented all fungible tokens that have their value pegged to an off-chain asset either by the issuer or by an algorithm. This category included over 150 stablecoins, with Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD), and DAI (DAI) being the most prominent ones.

The Defi category covered all on-chain financial instruments and protocols implemented as smart contracts. Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) also fell under this category. More than 90 Defi protocols were represented, including Uniswap, Aave, and Compound. The Bridges category consisted of all transactions related to the transfer of assets between different blockchains, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The NFTs category included all transactions related to the issuance, transfer, and burning of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The MEV Bots category included all transactions related to miner extractable value (MEV) bots. These bots are able to detect arbitrage opportunities in the Ethereum network and execute transactions to capitalize on them. Finally, the Others category encompassed all transactions that did not fall into any of the other categories.

In terms of the relative share of gas usage, the NFTs category was the largest, accounting for 28% in the first month of the year. The second, third, and fourth categories that occupied the most significant gas usage by share appeared as Defi (8%), ERC20 (8%), and Stablecoins (6%), respectively.

Overall, the research provides a valuable insight into the gas usage of the Ethereum network. It is likely that NFTs will continue to occupy a large share of the network’s gas usage as the industry continues to grow and mature.

• On-chain Bitcoin metrics suggest a bottoming of the market.
• CryptoSlate revisited several Glassnode metrics which point to a price reversal.
• Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) further splits into Long-Term Holders and Short-Term Holders to indicate when the Bitcoin price is trading above or below fair value.

Recent research into on-chain Bitcoin metrics continues to point to a bottoming of the market. CryptoSlate recently revisited several Glassnode metrics which suggest a price reversal is on the horizon. One of these metrics is the Bitcoin Supply P/L Bands, which show the circulating supply that is either in profit or loss, based on the price of the token being higher or lower than the current price at the time of last moving. Market cycle bottoms coincide with the Supply in Profit (SP) and Supply in Loss (SL) lines converging, which happened most recently around Q4 2022. Since then, the SP band has moved up sharply to diverge from the SL band, suggesting a macro upturn in price could be on the cards if the pattern holds.

Another metric which can be used to indicate when the Bitcoin price is trading above or below fair value is Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV). This metric is further split into two categories; Long-Term Holders and Short-Term Holders. Long-Term Holder MVRV is the ratio between the market cap (or market value) and the value stored by long-term holders. Similarly, Short-Term Holder MVRV is the same ratio between the market cap and the value stored by short-term holders. By comparing these two ratios, investors can gain an indication of when the Bitcoin price is trading above or below fair value.

Finally, there are macro factors in play which may not have been present in previous cycles, potentially impacting the current market cycle. These factors must be taken into consideration when interpreting the data, as the current cycle may not play out the same as past cycles. Ultimately, it remains to be seen if these on-chain metrics continue to indicate a market bottom, but investors should keep a close eye on these metrics in the coming weeks and months.

• Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has released a Substack report detailing his account of what happened at FTX.
• He claims that no funds were stolen and attributes the collapse of FTX to Alameda’s inability to hedge against a market crash adequately.
• SBF believes that FTX can still recover with the right plan of action.

Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, has released a Substack report detailing his account of what happened at the trading platform. In it, he claims that no funds were stolen, and that the collapse can be attributed to Alameda’s failure to adequately hedge against a market crash.

Alameda, a hedge fund run by SBF, had grown to a balance sheet of roughly $100 billion in Net Asset Value, $8 billion in net borrowing, and $7 billion in liquidity on hand. However, over the course of 2022, a series of large broad market crashes occurred in both stocks and crypto, leading to a ~80% decrease in the market value of its assets. In November 2022, the situation was made worse by a targeted crash precipitated by the CEO of Binance, thus ultimately making Alameda insolvent.

Despite this, SBF has expressed optimism that FTX can still be recovered. He compared the situation to that of Voyager and Celsius, two cryptocurrency companies that emerged from similar situations. He believes that with the right plan of action, FTX can emerge from this crisis unscathed. He is currently confined to his parent’s house according to the terms of his bail, and is working on a recovery plan.

Ultimately, the future of FTX is uncertain, but SBF is hopeful that the situation can be remedied. He is urging investors to remain patient and trust that the right course of action will be taken.

• Animoca Brands has lowered its fundraising target for a web3 investment fund to $1 billion in the first quarter of 2023, down from its original target of $2 billion.
• The fund, called Animoca Capital, will be co-managed by Morgan Stanley’s former executive, Homer Sun, and will be used to make strategic investments in developing the Web3 ecosystem.
• Animoca is in talks with potential investors to support Animoca Capital, and CEO Yat Siu says the company will focus its funding efforts on growing a Web3 ecosystem.

Animoca Brands, a global leader in digital entertainment, recently announced that it has reduced its fundraising target for a web3 investment fund to $1 billion in the first quarter of 2023. The company had initially planned to raise up to $2 billion during the same period, but readjusted the goal due to “challenging” market conditions.

The new fund, called Animoca Capital, will be co-managed by Morgan Stanley’s former executive, Homer Sun. It will be focused on making strategic investments to develop a Web3 ecosystem. Animoca is currently in talks with potential investors who may be interested in supporting Animoca Capital.

CEO Yat Siu spoke about the announcement, saying: “[The first quarter] is the goal and then let’s see what happens. It is fair to say it’s a challenging market. But we have quite a bit of interest.”

Animoca has around $98 million in its cash balance, $870 million worth of liquid crypto, and $4 billion in off-balance sheet coins. At the beginning of 2022, the company raised $358 million in funding as well and has stakes in over 380 companies. Temasek also invested a hefty sum in Animoca.

Siu mentioned that Animoca is not planning to raise funds for itself in the foreseeable future, but will instead focus its funding efforts on growing a Web3 ecosystem. This includes making investments in metaverse projects, which will be funded with the targeted $1 billion.

The Web3 ecosystem is made up of decentralized networks, protocols, and applications that are powered by blockchain technology. This new system is set to revolutionize the digital economy and create opportunities in areas such as finance, gaming, entertainment, and more. Animoca is committed to developing this ecosystem and creating a more secure and efficient digital economy.

Animoca’s readjustment of its fundraising target for the web3 investment fund is a testament to the company’s commitment to developing the Web3 ecosystem and creating a more secure and efficient digital economy. With its latest efforts, Animoca is set to make a lasting impact on the industry.