Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is reportedly being probed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over whether it breached rules around the offering of securities. According to a Feb. 8 Bloomberg report, the probe relates to certain offerings that Kraken has made to U.S. clients. A person with knowledge of the matter said the probe is at an advanced stage and could reach a settlement in the coming days. However, at this stage, it is not clear which offerings are being scrutinized by the securities regulator. When asked about the alleged probe, an SEC spokesperson told Cointelegraph, "The SEC …

It is no secret that the global economy has continued to weaken over the course of the past year. To this point, on Jan. 19, the United States government hit its “debt ceiling,” i.e. the total sum of money that the U.S. Treasury can borrow to fund its ongoing federal operations, leading to renewed concerns that more financial pain and the economic slowdown could be incoming. Similarly, on the other side of the Atlantic, the United Kingdom has been struggling as well. This is made evident by the fact the number of company insolvencies registered in 2022 hit 22,109 — …

In this week’s newsletter, read about how Yuga Labs settled a lawsuit with one of the creators of a copycat nonfungible token (NFT) collection. Learn how the Bitcoin Ordinals creator fixed the first instance of porn uploaded to the protocol and how YouTuber Coffeezilla tricked MMA fighter Dillon Danis into promoting fake NFTs. In other news, Logan Paul and his team face a class-action lawsuit for allegedly executing a rug pull, and don’t forget this week’s Nifty News, featuring Mastercard’s former NFT lead minting his resignation letter as an NFT. Yuga Labs settles lawsuit with developer involved in copycat BAYCs …

The United States Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Feb. 7 that the “disinflationary process, the process of getting inflation down,” has started but it is still in its very early stages. He cautioned that strong data would be met with more rate hikes. Though the comments are mixed, they triggered buying in the S&P 500 and Bitcoin (BTC) on Feb. 7 as investors speculated that the Fed may soon end its rate hikes. Bitcoin’s strong rally in January and signs of ebbing inflation seem to have turned around investor sentiment. CoinShares data on Jan. 30 shows that institutional …

A little-known Bitcoin (BTC) price metric has just given a new bull run signal — and it has never been wrong. As noted on Feb. 8 by Caleb Franzen, senior market analyst at Cubic Analytics, the Williams %R oscillator has left its bottom zone for the first time since May 2022. Analyst: Oscillator crossover is "great sign" Bitcoin gaining 40% in January and continuing to hold higher levels has produced breakout signals across various on-chain indicators. Some analysts are cautious, opting to wait and see if the improved conditions last, but for Franzen, the data coming from the Williams %R …

Bitcoin (BTC) held by Tesla is still worth 33% less than its 2021 purchase price, the latest data shows. Two years to the day that Elon Musk’s firm added BTC to its balance sheet, most gains continue to evade the auto manufacturer. Tesla and Bitcoin: From $1.5 billion to $225 million Bitcoin and Tesla have proven an explosive combination since CEO Musk announced that it would buy $1.5 billion in BTC. The move in February 2021 came as BTC/USD was on its way to its first all-time high of the year, which it reached in April, topping out at $58,000. …

Major cryptocurrency data aggregator CoinGecko and crypto investment firm 21Shares have joined forces to launch a global standard for classifying various types of cryptocurrencies. On Feb. 8, CoinGecko and 21Shares released The Global Crypto Classification Standard report, proposing a uniform method to categorize crypto assets. The effort aims to help investors and regulators better understand the specifics of each asset class in crypto, including potential failures like those seen by the industry in 2022. “Since Bitcoin’s inception around 13 years ago, thousands of unique crypto assets and protocols have emerged, each with unique characteristics and different value propositions,” Carlos Gonzalez, …

Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded to key resistance into Feb. 8 as crypto markets got a boost from a familiar source. Powell: "Disinflationary process" is here Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching the important $23,400 zone on Bitstamp overnight. The pair reacted positively to the latest comments from the United States Federal Reserve, these also serving to send equities higher during the Feb. 7 Wall Street trading session. Fed Chair Jerome Powell again mentioned “disinflation” during his appearance, reinforcing market hopes that interest rate hikes could cool more quickly in line with inflation. These stemmed from the latest …

Crypto brokers and investment advisors offering or giving advice about cryptocurrencies will be put under the scope of the United States' securities watchdog this year. A Feb. 7 statement from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Examinations outlined its priorities for 2023, suggesting brokers and advisers dealing in crypto will need to be extra careful when offering, selling or making recommendations regarding digital assets. It stated that SEC-registered brokers and advisors will be closely watched to see if they followed their “respective standards of care” when making recommendations, referrals and providing investment advice. Today we announced the Division …

Cryptocurrency conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) has reportedly begun to sell its holdings in crypto funds managed by its subsidiary Grayscale Investments as it looks to raise capital and preserve liquidity. According to a Feb. 7 Financial Times report citing seen United States securities filings, DCG sold around a quarter of its shares in Grayscale’s Ether (ETH)-based fund for around $8 per share, despite each share holding a claim to nearly double that amount in ETH. It’s also said to have sold down small share parcels in Grayscale’s Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC)-based trusts in addition …

Avalanche (AVAX) witnessed a meteoric start to 2023, gaining 98% in 30 days, and traders are now curious about whether the rally will extend throughout February. AVAX’s year-to-date gains for 2023 have outpaced those of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). Recent reasons for AVAX’s rally can be attributed to an Amazon partnership announcement on Jan. 11. The partnership is meant to easily deploy nodes on the Avalanche blockchain with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Ava Labs, which supports the Avalanche ecosystem, hopes the partnership increases blockchain usage for enterprises and governments. While AVAX price has benefited from the news, some analysts …

Bitcoin (BTC) rebounding 40% in January sparked the largest inflows of institutional cash since June 2022, data shows. In its "Digital Asset Fund Flows" Weekly" report on Jan. 30, digital asset investment and trading group CoinShares confirmed $117 million headed into crypto in the last week of the month. Institutions "not sold" on post-merge Ethereum Bitcoin is still on the radar as an institutional investment opportunity. As demonstrated by CoinShares’ latest data, it took a matter of weeks of BTC price action recouping prior losses to spark a major turnaround in investment habits — and not just in the United …