Jack Dorsey’s payment company Block Inc. reported $1.83 billion of Bitcoin (BTC) revenue from its Cash App business unit in the fourth quarter, representing a 7% fall from the same time last year. In its Q4 and full-year results announced on Feb. 23, Block cited the fall in Bitcoin revenue to the decline in BTC price in the year — which fell approximately 65% throughout 2022. This fall in revenue led to a 25% year-on-year drop in Bitcoin gross profit for Cash App, which fell to $35 million in the quarter. Cash App is a mobile phone payment processing app …
Investors of crypto mining firm Argo Blockchain have filed a class action lawsuit accusing the miner of making untrue statements and omitting key information during its initial public offering (IPO) in 2021. A newly filed lawsuit on Jan. 26 is aimed at Argo and several of its executives and board members. It claims the firm failed to disclose how susceptible it was to capital constraints, electricity costs and network difficulties. "The Offering Documents were negligently prepared and, as a result, contained untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state other facts necessary to make the statements made not misleading," …
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase won’t escape from the profitability challenges it will face from the crypto market downturn, despite having a strong brand and credibility in the crypto market, according to investment analysts. Credit rating firm Moody’s released a note on Coinbase on Jan. 19 discussing its downgrade of Coinbase’s senior debt and corporate family rating (CFR) — a rating assigned to reflect the opinion of a company’s ability to honor its financial obligations. Coinbase’s CFR and senior debt were re-graded to B2 and B1 from Ba3 and Ba2 respectively, indicating the firm is “non-investment grade” and “speculative and subject to …
Crypto exchange WonderFi, which is backed by crypto investor and billionaire Kevin O’Leary, has confirmed it is in preliminary discussions with fellow Canadian crypto exchange Coinsquare for a possible merger. In a statement on Jan. 12, WonderFi responded to a Bloomberg report suggesting the two exchanges were in "advanced merger talks" to "create a Canadian crypto giant." WonderFi clarified that the discussions were "preliminary" at this stage, adding that it cannot guarantee that an agreement will be reached. "In response to the press speculation, the Company acknowledges that it has held preliminary discussions with various third parties with respect to …
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, borrowed over $546 million from the exchange’s sister firm Alameda Research to fund his purchase of Robinhood shares. Those same shares were later used by Bankman-Fried as collateral for a loan taken by Alameda from BlockFi, one of the entities that are laying claim to the shares. An affidavit by Bankman-Fried filed in the Antigua and Barbuda High Court on Dec. 12 — the day of his arrest — and made public on Dec. 27, revealed he and FTX co-founder Zixiao “Gary” Wang took out the loans from Alameda through four …
Newly-bankrupt crypto lending platform BlockFi has filed a lawsuit against Sam Bankman-Fried’s holding company Emergent Fidelity Technologies seeking his shares in Robinhood that were pledged as collateral earlier in November. The suit was filed on Nov. 28 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey just hours after BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the same court. As per the filing, BlockFi is demanding Emergent turnover collateral as part of a Nov. 9 pledge agreement that saw Emergent agree to a payment schedule with BlockFi that it has allegedly failed to pay. BlockFi names the …
Valkyrie Funds, a major cryptocurrency fund manager in the United States, will soon be liquidating one of its Bitcoin (BTC)-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The firm announced on Oct. 11 plans to close the Valkyrie Balance Sheet Opportunities ETF, a crypto investment product offering indirect exposure to BTC. The fund will be delisted from the Nasdaq Exchange as Valkyrie plans to liquidate the ETF on Oct. 31, 2022. According to the announcement, Shareholders will be able to sell shares up until the end of the trading day on Oct. 28, 2022. Any investors still holding the fund shares at liquidation will …
Crypto exchange Huobi Global announced that About Capital Management (HK) Co. Ltd, an Hong Kong based-asset management firm became the exchange’s controlling shareholder following a successful buyout deal. While the transaction of an undisclosed amount crowns About Capital as Houbi’s new controlling shareholder, the exchange stated that core operation and business management teams would have no impact due to the transition. As a majority stakeholder, About Capital intends to fuel Huobi’s international brand promotion and business expansion initiatives, adding that: “Upon successful implementation of the initiatives, Huobi Global will be well positioned to provide first-class trading and investment services to …
An international law firm representing groups of Celsius investors has filed a motion to appoint a committee to represent their interests in the crypto lending firm’s bankruptcy case. In a Thursday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, lawyers with the law firm Milbank requested the appointment of a ‘Official Preferred Equity Committee’ to represent certain Celsius shareholders. According to the filing, the equity holders “urgently require their own fiduciary” for representation in court alongside Celsius debtors and an Unsecured Creditors Committee, or UCC. “The need for a fiduciary to pursue the Equity Holders’ …
On Aug. 30, global investment bank UBS increased its view on the risk of the United States entering a recession within one year to 60%, up from 40% in June. According to economist Pierre Lafourcade, the latest data showed a 94% chance of the economy contracting, but added that it "does not morph into a full-blown recession." Partially explaining the difference is the "extremely low levels" of non-performing loans, or defaults exceeding 90 days from credit borrowers. According to Citigroup Chief Executive Jane Fraser, the institution "feels very good about" liquidity and credit quality. Furthermore, Reuters states that the financial …
Michael Burry, the investor who famously shorted the 2008 housing bubble, has dumped nearly all the stocks in his portfolio during Q2, suggesting there may be carnage ahead for stock and crypto markets. According to a 13F disclosure filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Aug. 15, Burry’s hedge fund Scion Asset Management shed around $292 million worth of shares across companies from Apple and Meta to pharmaceuticals giant Bristol-Myers Squibb, leaving only a minor position in a private prison company. Michael Burry selling everything and buying a large position in a private prison company after seeing the …
Twenty-three agonizing days have passed since Bitcoin (BTC) last closed above $32,000 and the 10% rally that took place on May 29 and 30 is currently evaporating as BTC price retraces toward $30,000. The move back to $30,000 simply confirms the strong correlation to traditional assets and in the same period, the S&P 500 also retreated 0.6%. Weaker corporate profits could pressure the stock market due to rising inflation and the upcoming U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, according to Citi strategist Jamie Fahy. As reported by Yahoo! Finance, Citi’s research note to clients stated: “Essentially, despite concerns regarding recession, …