THE RUNDOWN
The Rundown Powered By Arcane Research
• June U.S. CPI numbers are released on Wednesday. The last release ignited the June sell-off in bitcoin, and the market expects a 40-year high YoY level of 8.8%. Will expectations be right this time? Read article
• The pace of the M&A activity in the crypto sector aligns with what we saw in 2021, per a new half-year report published by Architect Partners. Read article
• The offshore futures basis has declined below 2% as BTC once again trades below $20k after failing to breach range highs last week while open interest in BTC perps reached an ATH last Friday. Read article
• Second consecutive downward difficulty adjustment as daily miner revenues see further downside. Read article
• Distressed crypto lender Celsius has repaid its Maker loan of $440m, releasing 21,962 WBTC worth of collateral. Read article
A Deep Bite
Inside Celsius: how one among crypto’s largest lenders floor to a halt
The Celsius disaster has been labelled the crypto group’s “Lehman Brothers moment”. It is without doubt one of the largest crypto firms to fall sufferer to a brutal sell-off in token costs this year, as rate of interest rises prompted traders to flee dangerous property. The chill deepened in May when a $40bn cryptocurrency known as Terra imploded. At least a dozen hedge funds, exchanges and lenders comparable to Celsius have crumbled, blocking buyer withdrawals, elevating cash at fire-sale costs, or collapsing out of business. More here
Weekly Bites
After firing 150 employees, crypto lending platform Celsius Network files for bankruptcy
Cryptocurrency lending company Celsius Network, that recently laid off 150 employees, has now filed for bankruptcy in the US amid extreme market conditions. The platform said that it initiated voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings to provide it with the opportunity to stabilize its business and consummate a comprehensive restructuring transaction that maximizes value for all stakeholders. More here
Former Crypto Adviser Michael Barr Confirmed as Top US Financial Watchdog
Michael Barr, a former Ripple adviser, is set to assume one of the most important U.S. regulatory roles after winning Senate confirmation to be vice chairman for supervision at the Federal Reserve. Barr will take over as the leading U.S. banking watchdog, where he’ll have a say in how the traditional financial system interacts with cryptocurrencies – especially stablecoins, the lifeblood of crypto transactions. More here
Musk Scraps $42B Deal to Buy Twitter, Prompting Board to Threaten Suit
Tesla CEO Elon Musk scrapped his $42 billion takeover deal to buy Twitter, claiming the information provided by the social media giant was false and misleading, prompting the company to threaten to sue to enforce the agreement. Musk, in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, claimed Twitter was in material breach of multiple provisions of the deal and had apparently made false and misleading representations that Musk had relied upon. More here
Ethereum price risks ‘bear flag’ breakdown, 20% drop against Bitcoin
Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH), is down nearly 40% against Bitcoin (BTC) since December 2021. But, even more pain is possible for the ETH/BTC pair in the coming weeks, based on a classic technical indicator. More here
Crypto compliance provider TRM Labs is helping top Wall Street firms like JPMorgan wade into digital assets
This year's volatility in the crypto markets has seen billions washed out of the digital-assets ecosystem. But one startup, TRM Labs, is seeing increased interest in its back-end tools used by a swathe of players working across digital assets despite — or because of — the market's turn. More here
Hong Kong Regulator Ashley Alder to Head UK Financial Supervisor
Ashley Alder, the CEO of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), has been appointed to head the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is expected to start in January 2023. Alder, a former lawyer, has been the head of the SFC since October 2011, overseeing the introduction of the territory’s digital assets rules. More here.
Tweet Of The Week
People dunking on #Bitcoin because it hasn't outperformed dollars during this high inflation are forgetting one important thing.
— Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) July 13, 2022
Bitcoin will go back up.
The dollar only goes down.
