Well That Escalated Quickly...

Hey there! Welcome to the second of my weekly crypto news roundups ????

As always, never a dull moment in crypto, and the last week was certainly no different.

As we are all aware inflation is the number one priority for every central bank across the globe. And as we progressed into Friday evening last week, the US banking sector appeared to be experiencing some trouble, causing quite a bit of concern among commentators.

The Fed's position; and the way it was responding to the inflation crisis was quickly and loudly brought into question, particularly their documented prior comments of "we will go until something breaks" with three major banks about fail in the space of a week, many are saying it looked pretty broke.

Bitcoin and the wider crypto market however seemed to like the news, rallying throughout the week and still continuing to show signs of strength.

??Here are some key points from the events that unfolded ??

• Depositors of the now-backstopped SVB withdrew billions before the market opened on Monday as rumours spread over the weekend.
• USDC, whose parent company Circle had collateral trapped in the bank and subsequently lost its peg, slowly began regaining its peg on Sunday night
• The crypto-favourite bank, Signature, was seized and many renowned commentators cried foul play against crypto.
• Joe Biden called an emergency speech for Monday morning to instill confidence in the market, and he assured Americans that their deposits were safe.
• Bitcoin immediately rallied on Monday post-speech and topped out a 30% move in 3 days, with alts following sluggishly.
• Later in the week the 167-year-old investment banking giant, Credit Suisse, was also in big trouble, adding to the week's woes for trad-fi.
• The narrative in the crypto world quickly jumped to "the flight to safety had begun" and BTC continued to reach highs not seen for months.

Despite all the turmoil, the excitement in the crypto space has somewhat returned, for now. But, as always, caution is to be observed. If this week showed anything it was how quickly it can all change.

So in addition to the above, let's dive in and see what else has been happening in the world of crypto this week!

?? Banks that are still open to working with cryptocurrency firms in the US! ??

?? Despite some high-profile bank failures, certain traditional finance (tradfi) banks are still willing to work with cryptocurrency firms.

Here are some of the banks that are reportedly still open for business:

• Santander
• HSBC
• Deutsche Bank
• BankProv
• Bridge Bank
• Mercury
• Multis
• Series Financial

Messages obtained by CoinDesk show Digital Currency Group (DCG) reached out to various banks, however, even if banks are willing to work with crypto firms, services may be restricted based on their crypto exposure.

Check out the full article here: https://www.theblock.co/post/219551/some-banks-are-still-willing-to-play-ball-with-crypto-coindesk

?? Cathie Wood's Ark Invest adds $6.4m worth of Block shares across three funds

?? Cathie Wood's Ark Invest has recently invested $6.4 million in Block shares across three funds.

• The investment added 92,165 Block shares in total.
• Ark Innovation ETF gained 77,991 Block shares, Ark Next Generation Internet added 13,170, and Ark Fintech Innovation ETF received 1,004.
• Shares of Block closed down about 2.2% at $69.46 on the day of the purchase.
• The fund has also been purchasing shares in Coinbase, bringing its total investment to nearly $30 million this month.

Cathie Wood's Ark Invest has been actively investing in digital wallets, public blockchains, bitcoin, and smart contract networks, as she believes they are part of the 14 "big ideas" for 2023.

Check out the full article here: https://www.theblock.co/post/219569/ark-invest-adds-6-4-million-worth-of-block-shares-across-three-separate-funds

??? EU Parliament passes Smart Contract regulation under Data Act!??

?? The legislation, focused on data from connected devices, includes provisions on smart contracts, which could have far-reaching effects on the crypto industry if not clearly defined.

• The aim of the legislation is to optimize existing business models and processes, boost the development of new ones, and create new values and jobs.
• Smart contract provisions include rigorous access control mechanisms and protection of trade secrets. There would need to be a possibility to terminate or interrupt transaction mechanisms, with lawmakers deciding permissible conditions.

Many in the industry worry that setting substantive requirements for blockchain development would restrict innovation and make the EU an unwelcome place for smartcontract developers.

Check out the full article here: https://www.theblock.co/post/219590/eu-parliament-passes-smart-contract-regulation-under-data-act

?? Fidelity Crypto is finally open to the public, giving millions of users access to bitcoin and ether investments ??

?? The app was previously restricted to a waitlist, with users given access on a rolling basis

• BTC and ETH transactions on the app are commission-free, while Fidelity Digital Assets will collect a spread of no more than 1%
• Fidelity, which has 37.1 million total retail accounts, has acted sooner than most of its peers in the U.S. in offering crypto to retail clients ????
• The launch coincided with an increasingly hot regulatory environment in the U.S. and the collapse of two of crypto's biggest banking partners, Silvergate and Signature Bank

The investment manager also filed three U.S. trademark applications at the end of 2022, including providing services in the metaverse and other virtual worlds

Check out the full article here: https://www.theblock.co/post/220298/fidelity-crypto-quietly-went-live-giving-millions-of-retail-customers-access-to-bitcoin-ether

??? DeFi protocol Euler Finance flash loan hack ??

?? DeFi protocol Euler Finance has become the latest victim of a?flash loan hack resulting in approximately a $200 million loss.

• The attacker used flash loans from Aave, a non-custodial lending protocol, to carry out the attack, targeting four tokens: DAI, WBTC, sETH, and USDC.
• The exploit allowed the attacker to borrow more funds than they should be able to, leading to massive losses for the protocol and its users.
• DeFi exploits have been on the rise recently, with over $3 billion stolen from DeFi protocols via hacks or exploits in 2022 alone.

According to DeFiLlama data, hackers stole over $20 million in February 2023 from Orion, dForce network, and Platypus Finance, among others.

Check out the artivcle in full here: https://www.newsbtc.com/news/defi/this-is-how-a-hacker-stole-roughly-200-million-from-euler-finance-a-defi-protocol/

?? US Fed Injects $297 Billion, Boosting Bitcoin Rally ??

?? The US Federal Reserve injected $297 billion into the market to avoid contagion following the collapse of three banks.

• Assets held by Fed banks rose by 3.56%
• The intervention resulted in the "Fed Put," where the central bank intervenes to roll an out accommodative policy whenever there are sharp price falls in the equity markets
• Bitcoin and crypto prices rallied following the intervention

Bitcoin began trading above $26,000, a nine-month high off the back of the news this week and continues to show strength.

Check out the full article here: https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/the-us-fed-adds-297-billion-in-a-week-fanning-bitcoin-rally/

?? Coinbase considers launching new platform outside of US amidst increasing regulatory scrutiny ??

?? As US regulatory authorities intensify their scrutiny of the crypto sector, Coinbase is reportedly contemplating the launch of a new crypto trading platform outside of the country.

• Coinbase is exploring the creation of a new trading platform located outside the US.
• The exchange is currently in talks with institutional clients to determine the platform's location.
• Other US-based crypto firms are also seeking to set up in other jurisdictions as regulatory pressure mounts.
• Despite the regulatory climate, Coinbase remains committed to global crypto adoption.

It remains to be seen where Coinbase will ultimately launch its new platform, but the move is reflective of the growing challenges facing the crypto industry in the US.

Check out the full article here: https://www.coinspeaker.com/coinbase-non-us-trading-platform/

I am genuinely looking forward to the new week in crypto, it feels like something has changed. In spite of the obvious banking issues currently facing crypto firms, I feel regulation is coming, and whilst I hold the concepts of decentralisation dear to my heart; I also acutely understand the challenges of when tradfi and crypto collide, but failure often leads to innovation and this week was a week of failures. let's hope something good can come from this.

So That's it for this week's crypto news roundup! Make sure to stay tuned for more exciting news next week. Get your weekly dose of crypto news with my weekly newsletter! Stay up-to-date on the latest developments in the crypto world with my selected talking points and articles from the week.

Good luck in the week ahead!

Ade