SBF legal fees, BTC market cap flips Meta,USDC climbs back to $1

Top news this week

Sam Bankman-Fried asks the court to prioritize the reimbursement of his legal fees

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is trying to use FTX's corporate insurance policies to cover its legal expenses, according to a March 15 court filing. According to the filing, the policies give "payment priority" to insured people like Bankman-Fried. The move would put the former chief executive at the top of FTX's pay list. Another headline shows that Bankman-Fried's inner circle received $3.2 billion in payments and loans of entities linked to FTX. The amounts exclude more than $240 million used for the purchase of luxury properties in the Bahamas, political and charitable donations, as well as "substantial transfers" to non-FTX subsidiaries. In another headline, FTX debtors reported $11.6 billion in claims and $4.8 billion in assetswhich means that there is a hole of 6,800 million dollars in the balance sheet of the stock market.

Signature Bank shut down by New York regulators for failing to provide data

Crypto-friendly Signature Bank was officially closed and taken over by the New York Department of Financial Services on March 12 for "failure to provide consistent and reliable data." the bank has been investigated by two United States governments agencies on whether it took the appropriate measures to monitor and detect possible money laundering by its clients. Former member of the US House of Representatives Barney Frank suggested that New York regulators shut down Sign as part of an apparent show of force against the crypto market.

USDC Rallies Towards $1 Peg After Fed Announcement

Circle's stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC)rose back to its $1 peg following positive developments related to Circle's $3.3 billion worth of reserves held at Silicon Valley Bank and its new banking partners: USDC refunds it will now be processed by Cross River Bank and BNY Mellon. The stablecoin depegged from the US dollar on March 10 following the sudden collapse of SVB, which triggered the depegging of many other stablecoins. The unpegging of stablecoins triggered a growth in loan repayments over the weekend, allowing borrowers to save over $100 million in loans

US Federal Reserve announces $25 billion in funding to support banks

United States federal regulators announced "decisive actions" that would "fully protect depositors" at both Silicon Valley Bank and the now-shuttered Signature Bank, including $25 billion in funds earmarked to support banks and other depository firms. The Federal Reserve is investigating the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank — including an internal investigation into how the Fed supervised and regulated the financial institution. Amid sudden collapse, the UK arm of SVB was acquired by HSBC for £1 ($1.21), with loans of 5.5 billion pounds ($6.7 billion) and deposits of 6.7 billion pounds ($8.1 billion).

Bitcoin Market Cap Changes Tech Giant Meta, Widens Gap At Visa

Despite a turbulent week for crypto Following the fall of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, Bitcoin's market capitalization has managed to flip that of tech giant Meta. On March 14, Bitcoin's market capitalization reached $471.86 billion, surpassing the $469 billion Meta, according to data from Companies Market Cap. The leading cryptocurrency rose to 11th place among major assets by market capitalization, behind electric vehicle maker Tesla. Bitcoin's market capitalization has added more than $190 billion by 2023, outpacing major Wall Street banking stocks, particularly as fears of a global banking crisis mount.

Winners and losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) I sat down $27,571Ether (ETH) in $1,823 and XRP in $0.38. Total market capitalization is $1.18 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the largest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Conflux (CFX) at 186.02%, Network of Masks (FACE MASK) at 120.56% and batteries (STX) at 102.97%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are UNUS SED LEO (LION) at -2.22%, Tether (USDT) at -0.35% and Binance USD (BUSD) at -0.16%.

For more information on cryptocurrency prices, be sure to read Cointelegraph Market Analysis.

most memorable quotes

"The recent closures of financial institutions may be the opportunity for cryptocurrencies to achieve mass adoption."

johnny liuKuCoin CEO

“We believe that the elements of the future of finance will be blockchain-enabled and we are already seeing rapid change in the tokenization market.”

drew bradfordExecutive Managing Director, Markets at National Australia Bank

"Great adoption by mainstream businesses and their consumers is just around the corner thanks to recent developments in privacy technology and scalability."

smargon brandCEO of Fuse Network

“Drop the blockchain/NFT/play-to-earn (P2E)/metaverse/Web3 talk. […] They [players] I just want to have an entertaining gaming experience, not a science lesson."

Pedro Bergstromformer producer of Age of Empires and CEO of BitBlock Ventures

“We are going to have a credit crunch in the US and around the world. […] You want to be long gold and silver […] and you want to be long Bitcoin.”

Michael Novogratzfounder and CEO of Galaxy Digital

"I think the regulators are using crypto as a scapegoat for their own mistakes in overseeing traditional banking."

cathie woodARK Invest CEO

prediction of the week

Bitcoin Price Hits $27K At New 9-Month High As Fed Injects $300B

Bitcoin Hit New Nine Months highs from March 17 as the latest developments in the US banking crisis boosted crypto markets. Data of Cointelegraph Pro Markets and TradingView showed that BTC/USD reached $27,025 on Bitstamp before consolidating. A catalyst for a new rise had arrived overnight in the form of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet data, which showed that nearly $300 billion was pumped into the economy as part of the response to the banking crisis.

Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, noted specific levels up and down.

“Chopperino lands on Bitcoin, which means we will probably have some structures on the side,” he wrote on Twitter. “He needs to have $26K. If that holds up, $28–30K is next. If he loses $26,000, I'll bet around $25,000 for a few longs. Relatively easy to understand.”

FUD of the week

Euler Finance hacked for over $195 million in quick loan attack

Eurler Finance loan protocol faced a flash loan attack on March 13. The exploiter carried out multiple transactions, stole nearly $196 million worth of DAI and USDC stablecoins, as well as staked Ether and wrapped Bitcoin. The attack was billed as the biggest hack of 2023 so far. A portion of the stolen funds began being transferred to cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash shortly after a $1 million bounty was released to identify the hacker. As of March 18, only a small part of the funds were recovered – around 3000 Ether ($5.4 million).

Europol seizes $46 million from crypto mixer after $2.88 billion was allegedly laundered

Europol security agency has seized $46 million worth of assets from cryptocurrency mixer ChipMixer for its alleged involvement in money laundering activities. ChipMixer's website has been shut down and four servers hosting the app have been seized. Europol claims that ChipMixer has laundered more than 152,000 BTC ($2.88 billion) since its creation in 2017.

FBI and New York Authorities Investigate Collapse of TerraUSD Stablecoin

The US Department of Justice It is reportedly looking into the collapse of the TerraClassicUSD (USTC) stablecoin, which contributed to a $40 billion wipe in the Terra ecosystem last May. Former Terraform Labs personnel have been questioned in recent weeks by US agencies, including the FBI. The investigation covers similar ground to a lawsuit filed against Terraform Labs and its founder Do Kwon by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in February, including misleading investors.

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