The latest moves in crypto markets, in context By Lyllah Ledesma, CoinDesk reporter Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here. |
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Welcome to Friday! Here’s what's happening in crypto today: |
- Sam Bankman-Fried is released on $250 million bail.
- The SEC said it's increasing its scrutiny of audits when it comes to crypto companies.
- Justin Sun was a top client of crypto asset manager Valkyrie Investments.
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Want our 5 p.m. ET market update? |
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CoinDesk Market Index (CMI): 799 +0.3%
Bitcoin (BTC): $16,845 +0.1%
Ether (ETC): $1,223 +0.5%
S&P 500 futures: 3,853.50 +0.1%
FTSE 100: 7,473.57 +0.1%
Treasury Yield 10 Years: 3.67% −0.0 |
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Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been released on bail after appearing in U.S. federal court in New York on Thursday. Bankman-Fried was told he can live with his parents on $250 million bail secured by their Palo Alto house. His release also includes a long list of requirements for him to remain free while he faces charges. He's not allowed to make financial transactions for more than $1,000, can't open new lines of credit, can't leave the house except to exercise and must go through substance abuse and mental health treatment, according to the agreement. |
(David Dee Delgado/Getty Images) |
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is increasing its scrutiny of audits of cryptocurrency companies in an effort to warn investors who may feel assured by audits such as proof-of-reserve reports. “Investors should not place too much confidence in the mere fact a company says it’s got a proof-of-reserves from an audit firm,” said Paul Munter, the SEC’s acting chief accountant. Having such a report “is not enough information for an investor to assess whether the company has sufficient assets to cover its liabilities,” he added. Tron founder Justin Sun was a top client of crypto asset manager Valkyrie Investments. A private financial document reviewed by CoinDesk shows that Sun, one of the richest figures in crypto, was responsible for the vast majority of a key Valkyrie division’s assets under management. He had more than $580 million of bitcoin stashed with the asset manager at one point in August. This amounted to over 90% of money at Valkyrie’s largest division, Valkyrie Digital Assets LLC. |
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Cryptocurrency exchange OKX published a second proof of reserves (PoR) report, adding features that allow users to verify that the second-largest platform by trading volume has sufficient assets to handle customer withdrawals. The report, released Thursday, shows that as of Tuesday, 12:00 UTC, OKX's wallets held 113,754 bitcoin ($1.87 billion) against a user balance of 112,192 bitcoin (BTC). That's a bitcoin reserve ratio of 101%, a slight decline from 102% disclosed in the first report released on Nov. 22. The reserve ratio for leading stablecoin tether (USDT) held steady at 101%, while ether's (ETH) reserve ratio ticked higher to 103% from 102%. The exchange addresses tracked by analytics firm Nansen show BTC, ETH and USDT make up over 90% of holdings. |
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- The chart shows year-to-date performance of bitcoin and crypto stocks.
- While bitcoin has tanked 63% this year, crypto stocks, often seen as a proxy for digital assets, have suffered bigger losses.
- It shows that buying bitcoin is the best bet if you want to add crypto exposure to your portfolio.
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Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments. |
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