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• General Bytes, the largest cryptocurrency ATM manufacturer, experienced a security incident on March 17 and 18. The hacker was able to liquidate 56.28 bitcoins, worth approximately $1.5 million from about 15-20 crypto ATM operators in the U.S.
• This forced a majority of U.S.-based crypto ATM operators to temporarily shut down as General Bytes urged customers to take immediate action to protect their funds and personal information.
• General Bytes is transitioning crypto ATM operators to self-hosted servers and has discontinued its cloud service while also conducting multiple security audits since then.

General Bytes Security Incident

General Bytes experienced a security incident on March 17 and 18 that enabled a hacker to remotely access the master service interface and send funds from hot wallets, according to the company and sources. The breach forced a majority of U.S.-based crypto automated teller machine (ATM) operators to temporarily shut down.

Hacker Liquidates $1.5M in Bitcoin

The hacker was able to liquidate 56.28 bitcoins, worth approximately $1.5 million, from about 15 to 20 crypto ATM operators nationwide .Crypto ATM Operators Temporarily Shut Down After General Bytes Security Breach Enables Hacker to Liquidate $1.5M in Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies

General Bytes ATMs Around The World

According to Coin ATM Radar statistics, General Bytes has produced 9,505 such machines globally with thousands located in the United States alone .On Saturday ,March 18 ,the company informed the public of a serious security incident that occurred on March 17 as well .

Security Measures Taken by General Bytes

We released a statement urging customers top take immediate action to protect their personal information said at 4:42 p .m .(ET) on Saturday .General bytes stated that they are discontinuing its cloud service and have conducted multiple security audits since then .They are also transitioning crypto ATMs operators into self-hosted servers which can be a lengthy process for some users .

Upto Date Crypto Safety Tips:

It is important for all cryptocurrency users especially those who use services like automated teller machines (ATMs) regularly ,to stay up-to-date with safety tips regarding their funds & personal information such as setting strong passwords & making sure 2FA is turned on whenever possible etc

• Billionaire Bill Ackman has warned of „vast and profound“ consequences if the U.S. government does not guarantee all Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) depositors by Monday morning.
• Ackman stressed that unless JPMorgan, Citibank, or Bank of America acquires Silicon Valley Bank before Monday’s market open, or the government provides a guarantee for all deposits, “the giant sucking sound you will hear will be the withdrawal of substantially all uninsured deposits from all but the ’systemically important banks‘ (SIBs).”
• He warned that these withdrawals would drain liquidity from community, regional and other banks and begin the destruction of these important institutions and drive short rates lower complicating the Federal Reserve’s efforts to raise rates to slow the economy.

Billionaire Warns of Imminent Bank Runs

Billionaire Bill Ackman has warned of „vast and profound“ consequences for the U.S. government if it fails to guarantee all Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) depositors by Monday morning. Unless JPMorgan, Citibank, or Bank of America acquires SVB before Monday’s market open, or the government provides a guarantee for all SVB deposits, Ackman warns that „the giant sucking sound you will hear will be the withdrawal of substantially all uninsured deposits from all but the ’systemically important banks‘ (SIBs).“

Expected Impact on Banking System

Ackman believes that these withdrawals would drain liquidity from community, regional and other banks and begin the destruction of these important institutions while also driving short rates lower complicating the Federal Reserve’s efforts to raise interest rates in order to slow down economic growth. He added that thousands of venture-backed companies in America could fail to make payroll due to this situation.

Government Has Until Monday Morning

The billionaire has stated that there is until Monday morning for the U.S. government to fix its „soon-to-be-irreversible mistake“. He explained that allowing SVB to fail without protecting all depositors would create an understanding among people about what an uninsured deposit is – an unsecured illiquid claim on a failed bank – thus increasing pressure on transferring cash into UST money market accounts with higher yields than bank deposits offer.

Consequences Are Dire

Ackman cautioned that failing to provide protection for SVB depositors would have dire consequences for both businesses and individuals across America as well as cause disruption in financial markets worldwide . Therefore he urged authorities take action quickly before it was too late in order avoid such catastrophic results which could potentially ripple throughout global economies due lack of trust between customers and financial institutions once again .

Cause Of The Problem

The issue stems from Silicon Valley Bank senior management investing short-term deposits into longer-term fixed rate assets causing a bank run when short term interest rates began falling , leaving many customers unable trust their investments any longer .

• Silvergate Bank has discontinued its cryptocurrency payments network, the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN).
• The decision followed the withdrawal of banking relationships by several major crypto firms, including Coinbase, Gemini, Paxos, and Circle.
• Silvergate’s financial stability and future prospects have been put in question as it is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Silvergate Bank Terminates Crypto Payments Network

Silvergate Bank has discontinued its cryptocurrency payments network, the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN). This decision followed the withdrawal of banking relationships by several major crypto firms such as Coinbase, Gemini, Paxos and Circle.

Share Prices Plunge to Record Low

The discontinuation of SEN sparked concerns over Silvergate’s financial stability and future prospects. In response to these concerns, shares of Silvergate (NYSE: SI) hit a new all-time low on Thursday.

Investigated By US Department Of Justice

In addition to this market reaction, the bank is reportedly being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over accounts tied to FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). On Wednesday, Silvergate informed the SEC that it is unable to file its annual report with the regulator for reasons related to these investigations.

Additional Debt Securities Sold At Loss

The filing further states that the bank has sold additional debt securities at a loss this year which raised questions about its ability to operate as a going concern. As a result, Silvergate is currently reevaluating its businesses and strategies in light of current business and regulatory challenges it faces..

Conclusion

Overall, despite assurances from Silvergate that FTX represented less than 10% of total deposits from all digital asset customers as of September 20th 2022; investors remain wary due to ongoing investigations into links between SBF and accounts held with Silvergate Bank

• Paxos announced the removal of 4.98 billion BUSD stablecoins from circulation, causing it to drop out of the top 10 crypto assets by market capitalization.
• The majority of BUSD trades were paired with the stablecoin tether (USDT), while the Turkish lira still accounted for 2.80% of all BUSD trades on Saturday.
• BUSD’s dominance has decreased significantly over the past 12 days, and its market cap is now below dogecoin’s at around $11.12 billion.

Paxos Announces Removal of BUSD Stablecoins

On February 13th, 2023, Paxos announced that it would no longer mint and issue BUSD, a dollar-pegged cryptocurrency asset. As a result, 4.98 billion BUSD stablecoins have been removed from circulation to date.

BUSD Drops Out of Top 10 Crypto Assets

Consequently, BUSD has fallen out of the top ten crypto assets by market capitalization and is currently valued at around $11.12 billion which is lower than dogecoin’s market cap which stands at $11.24 billion as of writing this article.

Global Trade Volume & Dominance

As far as global trade volume is concerned, 24 hours worth of trading amounted to around $6.84 billion with Binance being the most active exchange for this currency pair according to coingecko stats where USDT was the most commonly used pairing for trading with this asset followed by Turkish Lira accounting for 2.8%. Although USD parity remains intact since day 1 when PAXOS made their announcement regarding no more minting/issuing new coins .

Current Market Cap

As per current stats out of entire crypto economy’s net value 1 trillion dollars worth ,BUSD accounts for only 1% or 1/10th percent in total market share due to significant decrease in dominance since PAXOS’s announcement ,which has caused it to fall below dogecoin and Lido Staked Ether (STETH) in terms market valuation .

Conclusion

In conclusion after all these events that took place in span 12 days we can safely say that although there was redemption going on but still USD parity remains intact and currently it is 11th largest crypto asset by market cap as per current stats out there .

• NFT sales surged 43.97% this week, with total sales of $397.86 million and 345,716 buyers.
• Ethereum dominated the NFT market with 90% of total sales, followed by Solana and Polygon.
• The top-selling collection of NFTs this week was Otherdeed, with $47 million in sales; Blur also outpaced Opensea as the leading marketplace.

NFT Sales Surge

NFT sales over the last seven days rose 43.97% compared to the previous week, according to statistics recorded on Feb. 18, 2023. The volume of NFT sales reached $397.86 million this week, with 345,716 buyers and roughly 1.62 million transactions.

Ethereum Dominates Market

Sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum blockchain led the way, with $360.32 million in sales, a 54.77% increase from the previous week. Solana-based NFT sales followed with $18,790,359, down 7.47% from last week. In terms of seven-day sales, Ethereum and Solana were followed by Polygon, Immutable X, and Binance Smart Chain respectively.

Top Selling Collection

The top-selling collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) this week was Otherdeed, with total sales of $47 million increasing 160% compared to the previous week.. Azuki’s sale increased 174%, while Moonbirds‘ sale rose 502%.

Marketplace Statistics

According to weekly metrics from both dappradar and Dune Analytics,, Blur captured more than 66% of market share while Opensea accounted for 23%. The top five marketplaces across different chains were Blur; Opensea; X2Y2; Immutable X Marketplace; Lookrare respectively..

Conclusion

Non-fungible token (NFT) assets have experienced a surge in popularity in recent months as more people come to understand their potential applications as digital collectibles or as investments in art or other digital assets such as music or video games.. With Ethereum dominating 90% of all NFT transactions this past week and collections like Otherdeed topping off weeks’ worth of activity it will be interesting to see where these numbers go next!

Paypal Puts Stablecoin Plans on Hold

• Payment service giant Paypal announced they were exploring the launch of a stablecoin in early 2023.
• However, due to the regulatory scrutiny of the crypto industry, Paypal has put the concept on hold for now.
• This follows recent crackdowns and fines from U.S. regulators on crypto businesses such as FTX, Nexo, and Kraken.

Paypal Explores Stablecoin Development

In January of 2023, payment service giant Paypal said it was exploring the launch of a stablecoin. An executive at Paypal stated that if they were to move forward with this venture, they would work closely with financial regulators.

Regulatory Scrutiny Halts Plans

On Feb 10th however, sources reported that Paypal had put their plans for a stablecoin on hold amid increasing regulatory scrutiny of the crypto industry. The multinational financial technology company was also working with Paxos – an issuer that is reportedly under investigation by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

Recent Regulatory Crackdowns

The regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrency businesses has been significant following the collapse of FTX. Crypto lender Nexo recently agreed to settle with U.S Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) and state regulators over its earn product and was mandated to pay $45 million in fines while ending its services in the United States. Similarly, Kraken was fined $30 million for its staking service program and was forced to stop offering this service to US retail customers outside US will continue using its services though but founder Jesse Powell is calling for clear regulatory guidance from Congress protect retail investors from using offshore services..

No Comment From NYDFS or Paypal

Nikhilesh De of Coindesk learned about the alleged investigation but was told by an NYDFS spokesperson that they could not comment further due to ongoing investigations. Bloomberg’s Yueqi Yang and Jennifer Surane did not specify why exactly Paypal had decided to pause their plans either .PayPal recently entered into cryptocurrency industry by launching various services but did not comment regarding reason behind putting their plan on hold .

• Protocol Labs, the creator of Filecoin, announced that 21% of its staff will be laid off due to an „extremely challenging economic downturn“ in the crypto industry.
• Other crypto-related businesses such as Blockchain.com, Huobi and Gemini have also made layoffs to weather the ongoing crypto winter.
• The native cryptocurrency FIL is currently ranked #35 based on market capitalization, having gained 65.7% against the U.S. dollar in the past 30 days but still down 97% from its all-time high of $236 per coin.

Protocol Labs Announces Layoffs Amid Crypto Winter and Economic Downturn

Protocol Labs CEO Juan Benet published a blog post on Friday announcing that 21% of the company’s staff will be laid off due to an „extremely challenging economic downturn“ in the crypto industry. Benet emphasized that it has been especially hard for the crypto sector during this macro winter and potential longer than expected dip in demand for digital currencies and blockchain services worldwide.

Cuts Jobs in Response to Macro Winter and Crypto Market Decline

Protocol Labs is not alone in making cuts as other cryptocurrency and blockchain-focused companies such as Candy Digital, Blockchain.com, Opensea, Huobi, and Gemini have also reduced their workforce numbers recently. In his Friday blog post Benet noted that although they worked hard to avoid layoffs it was necessary for them to focus their headcount against the most impactful efforts for their business moving forward.

Filecoin’s Native Cryptocurrency (FIL)

The native cryptocurrency FIL is currently ranked #35 based on market capitalization with a global trade volume of about $136 million over the last 24 hours. FIL has gained 65.7% against the U.S dollar over 30 days however it is still down 97% from its all-time high of $236 per coin which was reached on April 1st 2021. At 3:30 pmeastern Standard Time Saturday Feb 4th 2023 Filecoins (FIL) market valuation was approximately $2 billion USD according to Coinmarketcap data online .

Crypto Industry Widespread Layoffs

The industry-wide layoffs began last year and have continued into 2023 with many other cryptocurrency businesses facing similar fates when navigating through these difficult times . Despite these challenges Protocol Labs are hosting a “PLGO All Hands” meeting on Monday to further address any remaining questions or concerns employees may have following these cuts .

Conclusion

Overall , Protocol Labs joins other leading crytocurrency businesses like Blockchain , Huobi , Gemini who are all partaking in layoff processes due to long term effects caused by Covid 19s macro winter effecting cryptomarkets across industries globally . Although there have been some gains made by Filecoins native currency (FIL) with a 65 . 7 % increase over 30 days it still remains 97 % below its all time peak at 236 USD per coin back in April 2021 .

• Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder of FTX, is seeking access to crypto assets associated with FTX and Alameda Research.
• Bankman-Fried’s attorney, Mark Cohen, has requested that the existing bail conditions „related to crypto asset transfers should be removed.“
• Cohen is asking for two additions to be removed from Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions, including a restriction on speaking with certain individuals and a restriction on crypto asset transfers.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder of crypto asset trading platform FTX, is seeking removal of bail restrictions on crypto asset transfers. Bankman-Fried, who was indicted by a federal grand jury in Manhattan and faces eight charges, was released from custody on bail with certain restrictions. His attorney, Mark Cohen, has written a letter to the Southern District of New York (SDNY) judge Lewis Kaplan, asking for two additions to be removed from Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions.

The first request is that Bankman-Fried be allowed to speak with Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, two redacted witnesses, and George Lerner (Bankman-Fried’s therapist). Cohen argues that this restriction is „overbroad“ and Bankman-Fried’s intentions to contact these individuals are attempts to „offer assistance in FTX’s bankruptcy process.“

The second request is that Bankman-Fried be allowed to transfer his crypto assets. Cohen explains that Bankman-Fried’s crypto asset transfers are „necessary to meet his obligations to creditors and other financial obligations associated with his business and personal affairs.“ He adds that Bankman-Fried will be unable to meet these obligations without access to his crypto assets.

Cohen also stresses that Bankman-Fried has been „forthcoming and fully compliant“ with the government and the court since his arrest. He believes that Bankman-Fried should be allowed to transfer his crypto assets in order to meet his obligations and that the existing bail conditions are an unnecessary restriction on his freedom.

It remains to be seen whether the SDNY court will accept Cohen’s request and remove the bail restrictions on Bankman-Fried’s crypto asset transfers. In the meantime, Bankman-Fried is unable to access his crypto assets and is unable to meet his obligations to creditors and other financial obligations associated with his business and personal affairs.

Solana (SOL) rose by as much as 20% on Saturday, breaking out of a key price ceiling in the process.
Cardano (ADA) also rose to its strongest point since November, with the global cryptocurrency market cap up 6.86%.
Both tokens have seen notable gains over the weekend, with bulls looking to drive prices higher in the near term.

The crypto markets saw some notable gains to start the weekend, with several tokens moving to their highest points since November. Solana (SOL) was one of the major movers, as the token rose by as much as 20% in Saturday’s session. This surge saw SOL/USD break out of a key price ceiling of $25.00, with the token hitting a 12-week high of $26.41 as of writing. The 14-day relative strength index (RSI) also broke out of a ceiling of its own at the 73.00 mark, tracking at 73.84 as of now. This surge follows on from Friday’s low at $21.27, with bulls looking to drive prices higher in the near term.

Cardano (ADA) was also one of Saturday’s notable gainers, as the token moved to its strongest point since November. Following a low of $0.3364 on Saturday, ADA/USD raced to an intraday peak of $0.3726 earlier today. This surge saw cardano jump to its strongest point in the past 12 weeks, breaking out of a resistance of $0.3650 in the process. The move took price strength to a ceiling of 73.00, however, it has so far failed to overcome this hurdle. As a result, earlier gains have somewhat eased, as traders moved to secure gains, leading to ADA currently trading at $0.366.

The global cryptocurrency market cap also saw a notable rise on Saturday, with the index up 6.86% as of writing. This surge followed on from a period of sideways trading over the past week, with traders now looking to drive prices higher in the near term. With both solana and cardano looking to break out of key resistance levels, the next few days could prove to be quite interesting in the crypto markets.

• Bitcoin surged to a fresh two-month high on Jan. 14, as crypto markets were significantly higher on Saturday.
• Ethereum traded above $1,500 to start the weekend, also hitting its strongest point since November.
• Both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have added over 20% in value in the past seven days.

The crypto markets have seen a significant surge in prices on Saturday, as both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) hit two-month highs. Bitcoin surged to its highest point since November, climbing above the $21,000 mark and posting a 10% gain in the last 24 hours. Ethereum followed a similar trajectory, trading above $1,500 and recording a 23% increase in the last seven days.

The Bitcoin rally came as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) continued to surge, reaching its highest point in two years. Typically, a reading of 70.00 is seen as overbought, and with this print, many traders are expecting bearish sentiment to grow and for traders to begin to short the market.

For Ethereum, the bullish momentum was driven by the 10-day (red) moving average extending a crossover of its 25-day (blue) counterpart. This bullish trend has been bolstered by Ethereum 2.0, the latest update to the Ethereum blockchain, which was released on December 1. The update is expected to bring a number of new features, including sharding and staking, which could improve the platform’s scalability and security.

The current rally in the crypto markets could be driven by a number of factors, including increasing institutional interest and the weak US dollar. The Biden administration is expected to launch a new round of stimulus measures, which could further weaken the greenback and lead to more demand for alternative assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Overall, the current surge in crypto prices is a positive sign for the industry, and could be a sign of further gains in the coming weeks. However, traders should remain cautious, as a sharp correction could occur if the rally loses momentum.