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VOYAGER, 3AC: Voyager Digital (VYGVF), a publicly traded crypto broker, suspended all trading, deposits and withdrawals and temporarily deactivated its crypto-backed debit card on Friday, citing market volatility. - The company, which previously disclosed it had significant exposure to failed hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), had received a $200 million loan from Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research to safeguard Voyager's customer assets.
- Meanwhile, 3AC filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York on Friday, a move that could help protect its U.S. assets from those liquidated by a British Virgin Islands court order.
- Though 3AC had billions under management and likely owes money to a number of failing crypto lenders (including BlockFi, Celsius and Babel Finance) an obscure, Singapore-based trading unit called TPS Capital is still aggressively trading.
- Finally, American-Israeli crypto lender Celsius laid off some 150 employees as it faces possible insolvency.
BITCOIN'S BAD MONTH: Was June bitcoin's worst trading month ever? Not quite: The cryptocurrency slid almost 38% in June to record its second-biggest monthly loss since its debut in 2009. Outlook for the asset has changed amid poor macroeconomic conditions, fears of inflation and systemic risks from the crypto market. Traders are now searching for a bottom. - BTC traded over $31,000 on June 1 and dropped to as low as $17,700 mid-month, pushing it below 2017's highs – dashing hopes that the asset could never fall below previous bull markets' high water marks.
- Dispelling another rumor, a new Coinbase report claims that crypto miners selling coins has a limited impact on price. This comes as miners and other firms begin offloading digital assets previously held on their balance sheet to cover expenses amid falling profits.
- Speaking of, Hong Kong-listed software firm Meitu notched approximately a $90 million loss in the value of its crypto holdings for the first half of 2022.
REBRANDS → REORGS: Meta (FB) will shut down Novi, the social media company's stablecoin pilot, on Sept. 1, in what appears to be a final blow to its ill-fated Libra project. When announced, Libra was an ambitious attempt at creating a non-nation-state-backed global currency, but was scaled back and renamed (just like its parent company, Facebook, did) after regulatory pressure. - Novi allerted users to remove funds from its test-ready wallet and claimed that the technology developed would be repurposed for future products, including its metaverse initiative, in an announcement.
- Separately, following a contentious rebranding and reorganization, Cosmos-builder Ignite (nee Tendermint) has laid off more than 50% of its workforce. The news follows CEO Peng Zhong's departure on Friday.
- Last, Singapore-based crypto lender Vauld is looking at restructuring options, after previously laying off staff and limiting withdrawals.
ACQUISITIONS: The Kevin O'Leary-backed WonderFi (WNDR.TO) closed a $30 million acquisition of licensed Canadian crypto trading platform Coinberry on Monday, following its "uplisting" to the Toronto Stock Exchange last week. STABLECOIN SALVATION? Following the resignation Saturday of Argentina's economy minister Martin Guzmán amid an economic crisis, Argentines purchased between two and three times as many stablecoins as they do on a typical weekend, crypto companies in the country told CoinDesk. - Three major crypto exchanges said that consumers were looking to hedge against a potential devaluation of the Argentine peso (ARS), whose buying power has plummeted over the past year as inflation skyrockets.
- This comes as India's controversial crypto tax went into effect beginning July 1 (to roll out over the coming three months).
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Strong Fundamentals, Higher Insurance In today's market conditions, uncertainty can be overwhelming. That's why having a strong fundamental layer as a base for our business model has always been essential for Nexo. Strict over-collateralized lending, a real-time audit, prudent risk management, global licensing, and fully-automated processes, are the pillars that ensure the robustness of our products and the safety of your funds at all times. As a security-first platform, we recently increased our total insurance on custodial assets to $775 million. These additional protections come through our years-long collaborations with BitGo, Ledger Vault, Bakkt, and other industry-renowned custodians via the most prestigious underwriters, including Lloyd's of London, and Marsh & Arch.
Nexo's fundamentals are in place to keep your funds safe and to provide you with confidence that regardless of market conditions you can rely on your assets. We urge you to read more about these features and our sustainable practices on our Security page.
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- Circle CEO Says USDC Stablecoin Provider Is in 'Strongest Position' Ever (Decrypt)
- British Army's Twitter and YouTube accounts hacked to promote cryptocurrency scams (CNBC)
- Despite crypto ban, China's tech talent rides the global web3 wave (TechCrunch)
- Here's how undercover Feds got a drug ring near Boston to send $1M in bitcoin (Protos)
- Singapore regulators mulling more restrictive crypto policies (The Block)
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