‘Good luck bears’ — Bitcoin traders closely watch April close with BTC price at $29K

Bitcoin (BTC) narrowed volatility on April 30 as the weekly and monthly candle closes loomed. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Trader sees BTC price upside capped at $32,500 Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked BTC/USD as it loitered just above $29,000 throughout the weekend. After unsettled price action earlier in the week, Bitcoin returned to sideways trading, with markets witnessing an eerie calm despite the potential for volatility thanks to lower weekend liquidity. As such, traders were hopeful that no unwelcome surprises would greet the candle…

FDIC pins Signature Bank’s failure on poor governance and illiquidity

The United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corp’s (FDIC) post-mortem assessment of Signature Bank of New York (SBNY) revealed poor management and inadequate risk management practices as the root cause for its collapse. Signature Bank was shut down by federal regulators on March 12 in a bid to protect the U.S. economy and strengthen public confidence in the banking system. FDIC was appointed to handle the insurance process. @federalreserve @USTreasury @FDICgov issue statement on actions to protect the U.S. economy by strengthening public confidence in our banking system, ensuring depositors’ savings…

Mastercard launches Web3 user verification solution to curb bad actors

Global financial services giant Mastercard has launched a new Web3 solution aimed at enhancing user verification standards and “reducing the opportunities for bad actors” in the digital asset space. The solution is dubbed the “Mastercard Crypto Credential” and its launch was announced on April 29. In an accompanying explainer video shared to Twitter, the firm outlined that its “building a way for Web3 and blockchain service providers to help secure transactions between users, verified according to standards set by Mastercard.” At #Consensus23, we announced how we are instilling trust in…

Tax law researchers propose IRS framework for deducting crypto losses

Researchers at Indiana University and the University of Maine recently published a study examining the current state of cryptocurrency tax law in the United States. The research concludes with recommendations for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that, if adopted, would prevent taxpayers from weighing crypto losses against other capital gains. The paper, dubbed simply “Crypto Losses,” seeks to define the various forms of loss that can be accrued by businesses and individuals invested in cryptocurrency and proposes a “new tax framework.” Current IRS guidelines concerning cryptocurrency are somewhat nebulous. For…