[Daily] Does Biden hate bitcoin?

Good morning! Welcome to The Daily Moon. FTX really wants to repay. Not the investors but its employees. The bankrupt exchange wants to launch a $4 million bonus programme to retain skilled staff. Bonuses of up to 94% of the salary are on offer. Apparently, FTX needs these people to help recover the lost assets.

As of Thursday, 8PM IST

The markets were jittery over regulatory uncertainty. Bitcoin slipped over contagion risks from Silvergate's collapse. Ethereum was bearish due to profit booking by whales. S&P 500 and Nasdaq saw brisk buying in early trade despite fears of an aggressive rate hike. Back home, Sensex and Nifty ended lower on a hawkish outlook by the US Fed.  

Uncle Sam Spooks BTC  

Will the US government sell $1 billion worth of Bitcoin? There is speculation that a mass dump will crash Bitcoin. This caused investors to sell and Bitcoin fell to $21,650. This and the Silvergate collapse just make it all worse. 

Why the FUD?US authorities typically recover hacked Bitcoin and store it and sell it in auctions.  But this time around, they’ve decided to go solo. The accumulated Bitcoin has been transferred to new wallet addresses, including an exchange wallet. 

Sentiments are hitFrom a neutral sentiment till Wednesday, the Fear and Greed Index for Bitcoin is in the fear zone. But, there is a difference in sentiment between the short-term and long-term investors: 

1. Short-term holders have started to exit their holdings to avoid losses.

2. Long-term holders are, erm, holding.

Yet it is an outperformer While the market has been volatile for the past few weeks, Bitcoin has outperformed traditional assets such as gold, silver, and US stock markets. 

A momentary relief came from the Mt.Gox whales. They plan to HODL the Bitcoin Mt.Gox will receive later this year. 

FYI Mt.Gox was a Bitcoin exchange that collapsed in February 2014 after a ~$500 million Bitcoin theft. The exchange will repay account holders by the end of 2023.

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Ether’s A Commodity?

The good news doesn’t stop from the US. CFTC claims that Ether and stablecoins will be considered commodities. 

AGRH!So, the SEC and CFTC have been playing a little tug-of-war over crypto. Both want to regulate digital assets. And that’s where it is stuck right now. If Ethereum is a commodity, ETH futures contracts will be regulated by CFTC. But if it is a security, it will be regulated by the SEC. 

It’s a flip flopCFTC hasn’t really made up its mind on crypto. In October, its chief said that Ether is a commodity. Two months later, he switched to the view that just Bitcoin is a commodity. Now he's back to the original stance. Meanwhile, there’s chatter that the SEC is keen to regulate all stablecoins. 

Bored Apes Has A Use Case

Yuga Labs, the company behind the most popular NFTs the Bored Ape Yacht Club, is finally unveiling its endgame.

What is it doing?It announced the second test of its metaverse platform. It’s called Otherside, and debuted in May 2022. It had its share of hiccups before the launch, but it managed to make $285 million from it. In a couple of weeks, Yuga Labs will host a second trip to the Otherside. It is open to people who hold Otherdeed, NFTs linked to land in Otherside. Those who don’t have Otherdeed can watch a live stream on Yuga Labs’ Youtube channel. 

What’s the point?To create a metaverse that has more lasting utility than just an ugly NFT collection. The BAYC creator is building an ecosystem that uses everything they’ve made. Right down to the currency people are allowed to use to buy the Otherdeed NFTs. 

Silvergate’s Time Runs Out

It isn’t exactly a surprise, but it’s a jolt nonetheless. Silvergate Bank will voluntarily liquidate its assets and wind down operations. 

Under scrutinySilvergate was under scrutiny from regulators. There was also a criminal investigation by the Justice Department’s fraud unit into dealings FTX and Alameda Research. Nothing was found amiss, but Silvergate was showing signs of collapse since the beginning of March. 

Sector wide impact?Silvergate was known to be a crypto friendly bank and it was ultimately its overdependence on this one industry that has led to its downfall. It’s inviting cautionary remarks across the spectrum. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown said the “risks of crypto” need to be mitigated through “strong safeguards for our financial system”. We’ll keep bringing you the latest on this one.

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Who are we? This newsletter’s ambition is to educate (and to entertain). The world of money is changing everyday and we want to help you decode what’s happening in the world of crypto, public markets in the US and India.