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There is an old Warren Buffett quote that has become a cliché.
But the words of the Oracle of Omaha have become cliché simply because of their high reliability. The market fell and suddenly the hucksters and scammers lost cover. From 2020 he will keep an eye on the cryptocurrency industry around 2023.
A huge chunk of the digital asset space has collapsed after the boom caused by the pandemic. Even the seemingly mainstream and strict player looks suspicious.
See here: At least four cryptocurrencies and crypto-adjacent giants have made headlines in the last few days, sending chills to an already uneasy community. This is the kind of negative press that crypto enthusiasts want to completely ignore or condemn as a passing scandal. But cryptocurrencies are tight-knit networks, and when one corner collapses, everything is at risk. (Bloomberg News has created a handy chart that explains these complex relationships.)
First, the elephant in the room: Former Crypto Golden Boy Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal fraud and conspiracy charges related to the failed exchange platform FTX.
Two months after FTX and dozens of its affiliates went bankrupt, an implosion triggered by a liquidity crisis has exposed what prosecutors called the biggest fraud in American history.
On Thursday, crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital said total deposits from customers in digital assets fell 68% in the fourth quarter of 2022, from nearly $12 billion to just $3.5 billion. rice field. As of December 31, approximately $150 million of Silvergate’s deposits were from customers who filed for bankruptcy.
Silvergate shares fell more than 40% on Thursday after the bank announced it would lay off 40% of its workforce, or about 200 people.
And we’re not done yet…
Also this week:
- Publicly traded U.S. cryptocurrency platform Coinbase agrees to $100 million settlement after New York regulators discover “serious failure” to comply with state anti-money laundering laws Did. According to regulators, these compliance lapses could have exposed the platform to criminal activity, including suspected child sexual abuse-related activity and possible drug trafficking.
- The SEC has indicted six people over an investment scheme named CoinDeal that raised over $45 million with false promises of access to blockchain technology. (Let’s be clear, CoinDeal is not a cryptocurrency company, it’s a good old scam. But the tens of thousands of people who invested in CoinDeal didn’t know that.)
- The former CEO of Celsius Networks has been sued by the New York Attorney General for defrauding hundreds of thousands of investors who deposited billions in the platform before it filed for bankruptcy in July. I ended up removing FTX.
- Cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Trading has laid off 30% of its staff and is considering filing for bankruptcy, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Genesis is dealing with huge losses on Bankman-Fried’s loans to the now-defunct Alameda hedge fund and Three Arrows Capital. — is also bankrupt.
- Finally, a little late to the party, US regulators have released their first joint statement warning banks and other market participants about the risks of fraud, volatility, and poor risk management in the cryptocurrency world. bottom. “It is important that risks associated with the cryptocurrency sector that cannot be mitigated or controlled do not migrate into the banking system,” read a statement issued jointly by the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Secretariat. Currency auditor.
Conclusion: I’m not here to write an obituary for Crypto. We are fully aware that there are many legitimate crypto companies out there. The problem is that it’s difficult, if not impossible, to know who is selling snake oil. It seems that we are just beginning to realize that it is not a trend. Banks and exchanges need regulation. However, no one in the cryptocurrency industry agrees on what these regulations should look like, and some even dispute the need for them in the first place.
So what should investors do? First, under no circumstances should you consider the content of this ridiculous newsletter to be investment advice. Find a pro. They will tell you to diversify. And if you still have her FOMO of cryptocurrency, get some of it without depositing your savings to someone swimming naked in shark-infested waters without a life jacket. There is a safe way to enter. water.
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