Author: Ciaran Lyons

Switzerland preparing emergency measures for UBS’ takeover of Credit Suisse: Report

Ciaran Lyons

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and Switzerland’s financial regulator reportedly believe that the acquisition of investment bank Credit Suisse by UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, is the “only option” to prevent a “collapse in confidence” in Credit Suisse. According to a March 18 Financial Times report citing three people familiar with the situation, Switzerland is preparing to use “emergency measures” to accelerate the takeover by UBS of Credit Suisse, in an effort to finalize the acquisition before “markets open on Monday.” It was noted that the emergency measures set in place…

US crypto regulation happening ‘behind closed doors’ – Blockchain Association CEO

Ciaran Lyons

The United States Congress needs to take control of crypto legislation to make it a more “open process” where the entire marketplace is looked over “comprehensively,” suggests the chief of the prominent U.S. crypto industry body. In a Feb. 22 Bloomberg interview, Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith said the industry needs U.S. lawmakers to lead crypto legislation despite it making the process “very slow” and regulators “stepping in” in the interim. Smith noted that despite regulators “moving very quickly,” progress on legislation is happening “behind closed doors,” suggesting it’s vital…

Voyager creditors serve SBF a Subpoena to appear in court for a ‘remote deposition’

Ciaran Lyons

Representatives for Voyager’s Unsecured Creditors have requested that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and a number of top-level executives from FTX and Alameda Research, provide documents and appear in court remotely next week for a deposition. A court filing on Feb. 18 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, stated that Bankman-Fried has been served a “Subpoena to Testify at a Deposition in a Bankruptcy Case.” A snippet of Voyager’s subpoena for Sam Bankman-Fried. Source: cases.stretto.com It was served by the Official Committee for…

Protocol Labs, Chainalysis and Bittrex add to crypto layoff season

Ciaran Lyons

Several crypto firms have made job cuts this week amid the ongoing crypto winter, retaining “impactful” employees as they prepare for a “longer downturn.” At least 216 jobs were slashed between three crypto firms – open-source software laboratory Protocol Labs, blockchain data firm Chainalysis and U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex, with reductions of 89, 83 and 44 employees respectively. Juan Benet, CEO of Protocol Labs, the parent company of Filecoin (FIL), announced the job cuts in a blog post on Feb. 3 stating that the company has had to focus its…

FTX reboot could falter due to long-broken user trust, say observers

Ciaran Lyons

Several crypto industry commentators have laid skepticism on FTX CEO John Ray’s vision to potentially reboot the crypto exchange, citing trust issues and “second-class” treatment of customers as some reasons why users may not “feel safe to go back.” Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted on Jan. 20 praising John Ray for looking at a reboot of FTX, suggesting it is the best move for its customers. I’m glad Mr. Ray is finally paying lip service to turning the exchange back on after months of squashing such efforts! I’m still…

Grayscale ETH trust nears record 60% discount as nerves continue over DCG

Ciaran Lyons

The Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) is trading at nearly a 60% discount to the underlying value of its assets, with shares falling 93% from its Jun. 2019 all-time high (ATH). There are many reasons behind the ongoing decline, but in recent weeks fears have grown that fallout from parent company Digital Currency Group’s debt of approximately $1.675 billion to troubled crypto lender Genesis could impact Grayscale assets. YCharts data shows a 59.39% discount at the time of writing, a level the trust has traded at since at least Dec. 28.…

Getting funds out of FTX could take years or even decades: Lawyers

Ciaran Lyons

While investors are eager to know when they will be able to get their funds back from the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, insolvency lawyers warn it could take “decades.” The crypto exchange, along with 130 affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States on Nov. 11. Insolvency lawyer Stephen Earel, partner at Co Cordis in Australia said it will be an “enormous exercise” in the liquidation process to “realize” the crypto assets then work out how to distribute the funds, with the process potentially taking years, if…

NFTs will be ‘as disruptive’ as Bitcoin was 10 years ago — Kraken exec

Ciaran Lyons

Non-fungible token (NFT) trading volumes may have dropped nearly 98% since January, but several industry executives tell Cointelegraph it’s nothing to fear as the technology continues to develop and mature.  Jonathon Miller, managing director of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken in Australia said “despite NFT market activity and sales volume having slowed down in September, we are still seeing positive adoption signals at an institutional level and continued growth in use cases.” He told Cointelegraph that the company remains “bullish on the NFT space” and believes it will be “just as disruptive…