FTX Ignites and Impacts the Entire Crypto Industry, Forcing Regulators to Respond: Hodler’s Digest, November 6-12

Coming every Saturday, Summary of Hodler will help you follow every important news that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, major coins, predictions and more – a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

Top stories this week

The Ongoing FTX and Binance Saga: Everything That Happened So Far

An earthquake rocked the crypto space this week, its impact felt in many related stories regarding FTX, Alameda Research and Binance. Although the bad news fell this week, the suspicions regarding FTX’s status seem to have started on November 2. The concerns centered on a large number of FTX (FTT) tokens held by Alameda (Sam Bankman-Fried, aka SBF, founded Alameda and co-founded FTX). On November 6, Binance had decided to sell its large position in FTT. FTX withdrawal issues surfaced on November 7, symptomatic of a bank run. Binance expressed interest in buying FTX but declined the purchase, citing concerns on November 9.

Other developments during the week included SBF reportedly requesting $8 billion to cover exchange withdrawals and news of the situation affecting other big players such as Sequoia Capital, as well as related regulatory headlines. .

November 11 saw the resignation of SBF as well as FTX, Alameda and FTX US who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States. Around 130 FTX Group entities are filing for bankruptcy.

Breaking: Bahamian Securities Regulator Freezes FTX Assets

On November 10, FTX had its assets frozen and its registration suspended by the Bahamian Securities Commission, based on suspicion of mismanaged client funds. A provisional liquidator has been elected by the Supreme Court of the Bahamas, which means that FTX must now obtain permission to touch one of its assets. FTX is primarily based in the Bahamas, within its jurisdiction. The situation regarding FTX user withdrawals has been tricky, with some withdrawals appearing to be approved and funds leaving the exchange. Additionally, FTX negotiated an agreement with Tron to allow holders of TRX, BTT, JST, SUN and HT to exchange assets from FTX to external wallets without penalty.

Chainlink Labs Offers Proof of Reserve Service for Struggling Exchanges

Given the situation with FTX, there has been talk of requiring crypto exchanges to show proof of reserves, which would essentially provide assurance that the exchanges have enough assets to cover their debts. Chainlink Labs has developed a product that aims to facilitate this trading process. Several crypto exchanges have come forward with the intention of providing some sort of proof of reserves system (not necessarily Chainlink’s product, but some type of system in general), including Binance, which has already made progress on a proof of reserves system. .

White House Says ‘Careful Regulation of Cryptocurrencies’ Needed, Alluding to FTX Situation

This week’s unrest has prompted US President Joe Biden’s administration to keep tabs on the crypto space, with US regulators helping with enforcement. “Administrative […] has always argued that without proper oversight, cryptocurrencies risk harming everyday Americans,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a Nov. 10 press briefing. indeed necessary.

Post-election roundup: Who were the pro- and anti-crypto winners and losers of the US midterm elections?

The US midterm elections took place on November 8. The crypto space was present during the election, spanning a slew of positions and stances on industry regulation held by the politicians involved. Among the mix, JD Vance, a well-known bitcoin owner, won a seat in the Ohio Senate. Crypto-friendly figures Tom Emmer and Patrick McHenry also retained their positions in Minnesota and North Carolina, respectively. Brad Sherman, who is less sympathetic to the crypto space, however, won re-election in California.

Winners and losers

At the weekend, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $16,932, Ether (ETH) at $1,274 and XRP at $0.37. The total market capitalization is $859.61 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the 100 biggest cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are PAX Gold (PAXG) at 5.69%, Gemini dollar (GUSD) at 0.71% and Dai (DAI) at 0.14%.

Top three altcoin losers of the week are FTX Token (FTT) at -89.18%, Solana (FLOOR) at -50.30% and Loopring (RCL) at -38.47%.

For more information on crypto prices, be sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotes

“If the global economy is a circulatory system, it stagnates. Parts die.

Michel Khazzaka, cryptographer and founder of Valuechain

“If you take a closer look, fractional NFTs represent the essence of the Web3 concept.”

Alexei Kulevets, co-founder and CEO of Walken

“I think what people often misunderstand is that Web3 is not a new exclusive Internet. Inside Web3 we also find Web2, the same way we found the old World Wide Web in Web2.

Max Kordek, President of Lisk

“With a global MiCA [Markets in Crypto-Assets regulatory framework]the FTX crash wouldn’t have happened.

Stefan Berger, Member of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament

“All crypto exchanges should do merkle-tree proof of reserve.”

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, CEO of Binance

“FTX.com was an offshore exchange not regulated by the SEC. The problem is that the SEC has failed to create regulatory clarity here in the United States, so many American investors (and 95% of business activity) have moved overseas. Punishing American companies for this makes no sense.

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase

Prediction of the week

Bitcoin price bottom takes shape as ‘old coins’ hit record 78% supply

Bitcoin started the week above $21,000, although the asset fell significantly following the announcement of the new FTX, plunging below $16,000 on Nov. 9, according to the BTC Price Index from Cointelegraph. BTC then rebounded to $18,000, but then fell again.

Decentrader’s pseudonymous co-founder Filbfilb explained why the FTX situation is such a big industry event. His explanation basically said that all was well during the last bull market in the crypto industry, but players had become overstretched. Then the bear market hit and falling prices created holes in corporate balance sheets. He explained that a healthy recovery could be a multi-year effort.

FUD of the week

Report: Tether freezes $46 million of FTX’s USDT, setting new precedent

Stablecoin issuer Tether Limited apparently froze approximately $46 million USDT held in FTX’s Tron blockchain wallet, based on Whale Alert blockchain sightings on Nov. 10. Tether has yet to freeze any company or exchange wallet, only private wallets in tandem with regulatory investigations. In comments to Cointelegraph, a spokesperson for Tether did not confirm the alleged freeze, but noted the company’s regular communication with law enforcement.

Bitcoin miner Iris Energy faces $103 million default claim from creditors

The bear market losses continued this week as news surfaced of financial difficulties at Bitcoin renewable energy mining operation Iris Energy. According to a notice of default issued by mining rig maker Bitmain Technologies, the company owes $103 million in total. Multiple factors have apparently contributed to Iris Energy’s declining financial situation, such as the falling Bitcoin price and rising electricity costs.

BlockFi limits platform activity, including stopping customer withdrawals

Withdrawals and other features have been suspended on BlockFi, with the digital asset lending platform explaining that it is awaiting clarification on the FTX trial. Additionally, BlockFi noted that customers should refrain from depositing to BlockFi wallets or its platform of interest. BlockFi and FTX US previously entered into an agreement involving a $400 million line of credit extended to BlockFi.

Best Crypto Features

How to prevent your crypto community from imploding

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Some central banks have abandoned the digital currency race

So far, at least four countries have abandoned or halted CBDC plans, and each central bank has its own reasoning for not launching one.

Could Bitcoin Have Launched in the 1990s – Or Was Satoshi Waiting?

With the internet, elliptic curve cryptography, even Merkle trees and PoW protocols all present, Bitcoin was “technically possible” in 1994.